The Walking Dead: Return to Paradise Part Two

Chapter One: Snatchers

Clementine yawned, fighting the drowsiness that came with waking up early. Watchtower duty was always her least favourite in the mornings, it meant she would have to get out of bed, leave Violet and stand alone in the snow for hours on end until somebody came to relieve her.
She pulled the collar of her coat up and drew them around her neck in an effort to ward off the harsh chill of the winter air.
Her numb fingers cradled the bolt action rifle, keeping it ready to fire at a moment's notice, just in case.
The homemade wool gloves she wore did wonders for keeping her hands warm, however her fingers remained exposed so that she was still able to use a weapon. This unfortunately led to her fingers remaining cold while her palms were perfectly toasty in the gloves.
It was thankfully, a slow morning. The snow that padded the ground as far as the eye could see made it very easy to distinguish somebody moving through the forest off in the distance. As a result, Clem knew for sure that nobody was coming from that side to attack them. After everything that had happened two months prior with Zeke and his group of bandits attacking the school, cutting off her finger and injuring Wily, it was good to finally get a break from all of it.

"Hey, you." A familiar voice greeted from below the wooden tower.

Clementine turned around and smiled when she saw her wife. Violet climbed the ladder and handed her a chipped mug with steam billowing from the top.

"Good morning." Clem said, taking the mug and kissing Violet.

"Brought you a coffee, figured you might need it out here."

"I love you so god damn much, you know that?" Clem chuckled, taking a sip from the mug.

The coffee instantly warmed her up, even alleviating the numbness in her hands from simply holding the mug. Violet sat down on the watchtower, crossing her legs and leaning against the wooden handrail.

"When do you get off?" She asked, looking up.

"Whenever the next person comes to take over I guess."

As if on cue, Minnie stepped out of the dorms and made her way across the courtyard. She wore her usual green, fur lined coat but was sporting a hoodie underneath it. She adjusted the beanie on her head, tucking her short red hair underneath it as she approached the tower.

"Hey, Clementine. I got next watch, so you're good to go." She said, resting one hand on the ladder.

"Thanks, Minnie." Clem leaned the rifle against the side of the platform and stepped down the ladder, Violet followed her down.

The tall redhead waited for them to pass, nodding to Clementine as she turned towards the admin building. Violet didn't meet Minnie's gaze, instead ignoring her and frowning off into the distance.

"Where are you going?" Violet asked, confused.

"The den, I wanna show you something." Clem smiled, waving her wife over.

Clementine pushed open the double doors to the den, stepping over the sleeping Rosie who had decided to sit herself directly in the doorway.
She took off her coat and threw it on the arm of the couch, leaving her black wool sweater on and motioned with her head for Violet to sit down.
Once he blonde was seated, Clementine walked across the room and picked up the guitar that was resting on the wall next to Louis' piano. She took a seat opposite Violet, pulling up a stool and laying the guitar across her lap.

"Ok bear with me, I kind of suck." She chuckled.

Clem began playing a soft melody, picking at the strings and moving her left hand up and down the neck. The sound was raw and unrefined, Clem struggled with certain chords on account of her missing finger, substituting her pinkie finger for her ring finger in the shapes. Despite her rough playing, she was proud of the simple tune.
Violet smiled and gave her a short round of applause once she had finished playing.