Life Goes On || TWDG Season 5 Fan Fic

Again, We Rise

Clem yawned, opening her eyes ever so slightly. The morning light was shining in through the cracked glass of her window. She rose carefully with a groan, using her upper body strength to get into a sitting position. Once she was stable, she held the top bunk's rail with one hand and used her other hand to reach out for her crutches. She was still getting used to the awkward movements with them, but she was improving. She had learned to keep them right next to her bed every night, in case of emergency. Glancing around, Clementine realized AJ was already gone. Had she slept in? She shrugged, knowing that he couldn't be far. She had to trust him more than ever. She fumbled to the other side of the room, noting that her hat was not in its resting place on the table. AJ had probably already taken it for the day. Clem smiled. He was growing up so fast. Opening the creaky door, she stepped into the hallway. Everyone had been working hard with repairs around the building to make up for the damage the raiders left in their wake. She smirked. Jokes on them. The majority of them got bullets in their brains or eaten alive.

    Lost in her own thoughts, Clem didn't see AJ and Willy come zooming past, nearly losing her balance. "Woah you two, watch out!" She steddied herself on the wall. Alvin Junior slowed down, looking back. Willy just kept running. AJ paused and laughed, running up to her. "Clem! I'm helping Vi in the yard! We found some stuff in the greenhouse and she said that we can help!! It's something called gardening! It seems really cool! I don't know what it does, but-" Clem chuckled. "Slow down there, goofball." She smiled, booping his nose. "She probably found seeds. They're.. little things that can grow into food." AJ's eyes widened. "Really?!" He then smiled a bit, a goofy, questioning expression painted on his face. "Are you being silly?" Clem shook her head. "Nope, swear to you. If you take care of them, you'll see I'm right in a few months." She gestured over to the end of the hall. "Now c'mon, let's go see Vi."

    The pair made their way out the door, AJ helping Clem down the steps to avoid tumbling over. She was fine on her own, but it made AJ feel important to help, so she didn't mind the extra assistance. Once he double checked that she was steady, he ran over to Violet who was seated on the side of the admin building with Louis in front of an old rickety picnic table. Louis looked up, nudging Violet, offering Clementine a wave and smile. He still occasionally opened his mouth in an attempt to speak, but his expression fell every time the truth dawned on him. Violet looked up, and smiled when their eyes met. She got up and greeted Clem with a light kiss on the cheek. Clem smiled at her. "Hey." Violet smiled back, leading her over to the table. "Hey sleepy head." She scoffed. "I wasn't asleep THAT long.. Plus I had watch last night!" Her attempts to justify her slumber went ignored by her immensely focused girlfriend. "Yeah, yeah. Check this out!" She gestured to the table that had small piles of random seeds. "Ruby found them when she was helping Willy look for some.. Well, I dunno. Some fucking thing for his bombs." She shook her head, laughing. "Those people we met didn't seem too bad, I don't know what that shitbrain's problem is." Clem's mouth formed a line. "Guess we can't blame him after... well, y'know.." Violet nodded, silently agreeing. "I guess.." There was an awkward pause, the quiet only being broken by Louis making a muffled sound to get the girls attention. He held up his tattered notepad he had been using to communicate for the past few days, handing it to Clem. 'They wanted to meet you.' She nodded. "Alright, thanks for the heads up Lou." He gave her a smile and pointed to the gate. "Oh, now?" He nodded, making a gesture to Vi to join them. Violet shrugged, calling AJ. "Hey kid, can you come watch these seeds for me? I gotta take a quick break. Make sure they don't blow away, kay?" AJ smiled. "Okay!" He dashed over to the table, and sat down, looking closer at the seeds. Aasim climbed down from watch, greeting Ruby, then looking up at them. "You heading over to them now?" Louis nodded, offering a fist bump to Aasim, replied with a comical scowl and a laugh. Aasim walked away, trading places with Omar. Vi pushed the fragile gate, the old metal creaking. Louis walked ahead, chairles in hand.

    "So, what are these people like?" Violet shrugged. "I dunno.. They did kinda pull a gun on Lou at first but.. They came around. They seemed nice once they realized we didn't want their damn supplies." Clem nodded, thinking. "Did you get their names? How many of them were there?" "I honestly didn't ask, and.. I don't know, maybe seven? Eight? There was some little girl, maybe three, four guys? Two women?" She pointed ahead. "It's not too far, you'll see soon." Clem was a bit skeptical, but trusted her friends. Just to be sure, she had a hand on the knife resting in her pocket past one of her crutches. A growl could be heard a few feet away, and Vi and Clem looked over to find Louis playing with a walker trapped in a tree. They laughed, Vi shaking her head. "C'mon guys, we gotta go." Lou made a comical frowny face, but followed.

    After another few minutes of walking, conversation could be heard ahead, and Violet stepped in front of Clem to announce their presence. "Hey, everyone." Two men in the group perked up, pulling their guns on instinct, but lowered them upon seeing the trio. One of the men greeted them, the other silently observing. "Violet, Louis. Is this the friend you were telling us about? The one.. in charge?" He looked Clem up and down, his gaze resting on her leg. "Yeah, and her eyes are up here dipshit." The man cleared his throat, embarrassed. "My apologies.. I just didn't expect her to be.. Well.." Clementine nodded, giving a smile of understanding. "It's no problem, I still catch myself looking at it. My name is Clementine. Where's the rest of your group?" The quiet man perked up a bit. "Two of our people are out getting water from the stream, and the others are-" He was cut off by a rustling in a tent behind him. A young girl emerged from a tent, followed by a woman. "Oh, hello there neighbors." The woman was friendly, with graying dirty blond hair, faded green eyes, and a tired expression. "Boys, did you introduce yourselves?" They shook their heads in response. "How rude." She turned her attention back to Clementine, Violet, and Louis. "Greetings! My name is Evelyn." She smiled. "Good to see you again Violet, Louis. Is this your leader?" Louis nodded, putting an arm around Clem and giving a thumbs up. Violet laughed. "Paws off my girlfriend, Lou." Clementine chuckled. "I'm Clementine. I.. Well, they say I'm in charge but it's a bit difficult these days." Evelyn nodded, looking at her leg. "Ah, I see. Well.. this is Henry and Antoine. And this beautiful young lady here is Mariana." She gestured to the small girl hiding behind her legs. Clem perked up. "I knew a Mariana once.." She frowned a bit, flashing back to the fight at the junkyard. Evelyn saw in her eyes that she was remembering an unfortunate event, and attempted to intervene. "We have a few others, they're just out getting some resources. They should be back any minute no-" Just as the words left her mouth, a group of four emerged from the woods. "Ah, there you all are! Meet Clementine." Clem scanned the group, stopping on two familiar faces.

"Holy shit..."