I Need You, a Clementine x Male Reader Story *rewrite*

Chapter 3: Two Paths

You walk through the woods with your bow out. You've been tracking a few rabbits roaming around. You see something on the ground, so you get on one knee and you inspect it.

Some rabbit poop. Still seems fresh.

You hear leaves crunching so you look up. You ready an arrow and you pull back. You wait for something to pop out.

A few seconds later, you see the rabbit. You smirk.

You whisper: Got ya now...

You let go of the string.

[Six Years Earlier]

The arrow hits the rabbit, killing it. You walk over to it and you take off your hood, revealing your hair to be longer. You pick it up by the ankles and you wrap your bow around your shoulder.

Your eyes widen when you hear something groan. You stand up and you turn around quickly. You take out your knife. You squint at where you heard it come from.

A walker approaches from behind a tree. You stop squinting. It gets stabbed from behind the tree. Your brother steps out. He looks at you.

Jack: Nice catch.

You: Thanks.

Jack: I'm hoping you got more. He says, walking up to you.

You: Nope, just the one.

Jack: Damn it. Me too.

He sighs.

Jack: We need to head back. I'll bet mom's starting to worry. He says, turning around and starting to walk.

You catch up to him.

Jack: I mean, hell, she gets worried about everything. Remember when a few nights ago, the wind knocked over one of the empty cans? She checked the whole house before she found out what actually happened.

You: Can you blame her? We just barely got away from a raider attack. Who knows how far they are?

Jack: That was a whole month ago. I don't think those guys care if we take a duffle bag of their enormous stockpile of food. Either way, we handled it; like we always do.

You: Until "always" becomes "never".

Jack stops walking, so you stop walking.

Jack: You worry too much.

You: You worry too little.

Jack: Why do you always have to talk like you know better and everyone else doesn't?

You: Because no one listens to the actual facts.

Jack: Which are?

You: You're confidence is your weakness.

Jack crosses his arms.

Jack: Did you just fucking quote Luke Skywalker?

You: Whatever, let's just keep going. You say, starting to walk again.

Jack starts following.

Jack: No, no, I think you did!

You: Oh, my God, shut the fuck up.

[Time Skip]

You both arrive at a gate. You can see the house through the holes. You both climb over it and make it to the other side. You walk up to the house and you both step over a trip wire.

You make it to the back porch and you knock on the sliding glass door once, then twice. A few seconds later, your mom walks up, unlocks the door, and opens it.

Mom: Good, you're back.

You both walk inside. Your mom closes the door and locks it.

Mom: What'd you boys find?

You and Jack walk into the kitchen.

Jack: Two rabbits.

Mom: Shit. She says as you and Jack set the rabbits on the kitchen counter. Well, at least it's somethin'.

You walk out of the kitchen and you sit on the floor, next to the staircase. Jack walks up and sits down next to you. Your mom walks into the kitchen.

Mom: We need to head out soon.

She picks up one of the rabbits and starts cutting into the fur.

Mom: Once I get that damn emergency safe open, we'll head out. We'll head for the oceans. We'll have to stock up on gas to keep it running, but that shouldn't be too hard. She says sarcastically.

She rips the fur off the rabbit.

[Time Skip]

You and your family are eating the rabbits on the floor. Your brother's laying down, your mom's standing, leaning against the wall, and you're sitting down against the wall with your legs crossed. There's a lantern in the middle of all of you.

Jack: I was thinking...

You and your mom look at Jack.

Jack: We should head for West Virginia.

Mom: Why?

Jack: ...I've heard about a place. A place that's being set up right now. They're in this giant armored boat, and it's well guarded. It shouldn't take that long to make it there.

Mom: Where'd you hear about all this?

Jack: You remember when we passed that caravan a few weeks back?

You: You mean the group with the guy who was missing a finger and had a neck tattoo?

Jack: Yes, THAT group.

You: Those guys were idiots.

Jack: Elliot wasn't. Elliot told me that they were headed to this place. It's called the Elysium.

Mom: Jack...

She sighs as she rubs her eyelids.

Mom: Jack, I appreciate that you wanna help. Really, I do... But a boat is safer.

Jack: Safer than armed guards and crops that are grown? A boat will last a few weeks with all the gasoline it would use.

You: Didn't you say the Elysium had a boat?

Jack: Yeah, but this one doesn't move, dingus. And it's armored. Something you don't see on any boat. And for the record, I don't remember the last time I've seen ANY boat. We know where this one is, we know that it's protected, and we know it has people.

Mom: And what if they're just saying this to lure people to their trap? That caravan group could've been one of many scouts that find desperate people, kill them, and take their stuff.

Jack: It's not!

Mom: How could you possibly know that, Jack?

Jack stands up.

Jack: How could YOU possibly know they're bad?!

Mom: It's too risky, Jack!

You look down as they continue arguing. They're like this a lot. You look to your left to see little carvings in the wall. You run your finger through the carves.

[Now]

You walk back to camp with the rabbit. You could only find the one. You make it up to the campsite as a stick snaps underneath your foot.

Mia turns and aims her gun at you. She sees that it's you and lowers it. You start walking into camp.

Mia: You scared me.

You: I scared YOU? You're the one who aimed at me.

Mia: You know why.

You set the rabbit down on the table.

You: I was kidding. You say as Mia climbs down the ladder. I only managed to get one.

Mia: Shit.

You: Yeah, well...bon appétit.

You start cutting into the rabbit's fur.