Life Goes On || TWDG Season 5 Fan Fic

Everyone's Luck Runs Out

A few hours had passed. Clementine had finished Mariana's hair, her knotted, straight locks now weaved into a tight braid that she clipped into a bun. Considering she hadn't had much experience, she was happy with the result. That being said, Christa did lend a hand. Clementine was now standing watch after fumbling up the tower, Louis helping her. She did her best to peer over the line of trees. The woods seemed reasonably clear, not including the few stray walkers. The sun had begun to set beneath the black tree line. She bit her nails anxiously. The hunting group had not yet returned. Everyone else was down below, eating happily, but Clem's bowl stood next to her: still full. There was a slight concern washing over the members of the crowd, but no one was taking it too seriously yet. The woods were new to these people, after all. The assumption that they had gotten lost was the story everyone seemed to be forcing themselves to believe. Clementine heard the creak of the ladder and turned to see AJ approaching. He had a grim expression on his young face. "Have you seen them?" She shook her head, shifting awkwardly. Sitting was still a bit strange with.. well, the stump. "They really should be back by now.. the traps aren't so far out, are they?" He shook his head. "Dunno.. I never went to check them. That's usually Louis and Aasim's job.." She nodded. "Well.. fingers crossed.." He giggled. "What will that do to help?" She smiled at him. "It means.." Clem thought for a moment. How does one describe it? She shrugged. "It's kind of like saying.. you hope something will go right?" He nodded. "Oh, okay!" AJ adjusted the familiar hat atop his head. "Violet said to tell you she'd take your watch for you if you want." She looked down to spot Violet, who was helping Ruby stack the bowls. "You can tell her to come up here." He gave her a quick hug. "Alright, I'm going to go play cards with Mariana, Louis, and Javi! They're gonna teach us a game called Ueckre!" Clem shivered at the memories of that game, but decided to spare AJ the story. "Alright, go have fun, goofball." He climbed down, leaving Clementine to spiral deep into her own thoughts.

~~~~~Flashback~~~~~

It was bright, painful. The heat was unbearable. Her skin felt like it was boiling as the structure around her crumbled to the ground. Her lungs were tight as she covered her mouth with her sleeve, trying to find an exit. There was always an exit, right? She desperately wanted to cry out for help but she knew her efforts would be futile. A chunk of wood fell down, missing her by a matter of inches. She stumbled back. A spot on the wall beside her had become weak from the flames: the layer of paint gone and the wood blackened. Clementine got into proper stance and kicked it with all her might. She heard a crack, and kicked it again. And again. Soon enough, she had broken through and the evening breeze washed over her. She struggled to get through the gap: crashing to the ground outside. She took a moment to catch her breath before stumbling away as quickly as she could. Looking back, Clem saw the rest of the structure ablaze: people darting this way and that in an attempt to escape. Walkers had begun to gather: approaching the opposite end where the gunfire rang out through the night. She watched in horror as people fell in clumps, their screams cutting through the moans of the dead. She steadied herself just in time to knock down an approaching walker. Clementine scowled when she realized they had taken her weapons. She assumed that Javier had sent these people to come retrieve her and the others, but she wasn't sure. She hadn't been in that cell too long.. had she? The windows were too dusty at the time to really get a good guess. She shook her head. She knew she had to find him.. Clem ran towards the crowds, ducking behind a boulder. She glanced over the rock to observe the crowds. She saw a woman holding a young boy, and her heart lit up. Could it be? Before she could get there, a scrawny, tall  man sent a bullet straight through the woman's chest. The child screamed out as a walker grabbed a hold of it. She sobbed, running towards the child. "NO!" Clementine kicked away the walker and turned the child over. It.. wasn't AJ. Relief flooded through her. The poor kid.. she tried not to think about it. Everyone seemed to be preoccupied with the dead, so she took the opportunity to grab anything the woman had on her. A few bullets, a pistol, and.. a stuffed rabbit. Clem turned to look at the child and laid the plush besides him, closing his eyes. She didn't have time for this.. she tried to leave but.. a part of her couldn't. What if AJ was in his place? She wouldn't be able to handle it. She'd lost him before, and she couldn't again. She looked back to the building, and saw chunks collapsing. She ran to the woods for cover as more bullets began to fly: dodging walkers as she went. She was so close.. the ranch wasn't far now. Clementine ran as fast as her legs could take her-

~~~~~End Of Flashback~~~~~

"Hey, Clem." Vi said, taking a seat besides her. Clementine snapped out of her trance, swallowing hard. She hadn't thought about that since.. since the bite. She attempted to greet her with a simple smile. She didn't have the motivation to attempt to be okay. Violet frowned. "I'm.. I'm sure they will be back." She wrapped an arm around Clem. "It won't be like last time.. they're long gone. You know that." Clem looked away. "I know but.." She sighed. "It's dangerous out there.." The image of that young boy wouldn't leave her head. Violet gave her a soft kiss. "I know what you've seen. The things you had to do. But we're safe here. The danger of being out there isn't permanent anymore." Clem nodded, looking to the sky in a desperate attempt to distract herself. "Hey look.. there's the knife." Violet laughed. "Which one was that again?" She chuckled. "I honestly couldn't remember if I tried.." They sat together in blissful silence for a few minutes: the sounds of chatter growing distant.  Everyone else seemed to be turning in for the night. Everyone besides the missing group. Violet sighed, whispering in Clem's ear. "We should get to bed.. it's been a long day." Clementine sighed. "For you it was.. all I do nowadays is stay here doing any bullshit jobs I can.." Violet grabbed Clem's chin, forcing her to look her in the eye. "Your part here is not bullshit. Hell, Clem, none of us would be fucking alive if it wasn't for you." She scowled, trying to turn away. "But look what happened as a result... Marlon, Brody, Mitch, Tenn.. and we see what happened to Louis." "That would've been all of us, Clem. Don't just think about us.. what about AJ? If you hadn-" Clem cut her off. "Mistakes were made there, Vi. You know it." Her tone came across more hostile then she intended. She really needed to relax, and she knew it, but how could she? No one had relaxed in eight fucking years.. Sighing, Violet got up. "Look, you need re-" 

A shriek from the woods interrupted.

Jess ran in besides Antoine, Rosie trailing behind. Violet helped Clementine off the tower, and the rest of the community began to trickle to the center, disturbed by the sound. Clem made note that Clay and Louis were in the music room alone together. Javi opened the gates. "What the hell happened?! Where's Marty??" Antoine squatted down, holding his head, breathing heavily. "Shit.. Shit.. Shit.." Jess was in tears, stumbling along. "He- he's gone.." A silent sense of shock passed over the crowd. Evelyn shakily stood. "What happened?" Jess, fueled by rage, tossed down the bags she had been carrying: one backpack, a duffle bag, and a smaller tote. "This MORON thought it would be a fucking GOOD IDEA to look for supplies!!" She was upset, clearly. Clementine sighed. Of course she was. Willy chimed in. "Well what actually happened?" He was clearly a bit cranky. She wondered how he'd react if someone gave HIM that attitude when Mitch died. Antoine stood, sweating. "W-we..." He inhaled sharply. "We tried to. .to head further out. We got some shit.. a bunch  had washed up on the river near an old department store a few miles out.. w-we grabbed what we could.." He buried his face in his hands. "So many.." His voice was a whisper, and Clem searched the crowd for AJ to see him standing cross armed near Viola and Mariana. It was funny to see him without her hat. Now a days, he was rarely seen without it. She gestured him over and put a hand on his shoulder. He was okay. She repeated it over and over in her head. He's okay. He's okay. Therefor, everything else is okay. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, before reopening them to face the reality. "Why did you go further out without telling anyone?" Clem was a bit on edge already, so this wasn't exactly the greatest addition to her day. "I thought that it could help! With us running lower and lower on food everyday.. we.." Antoine was trying to justify his actions as the Erickson kids stared at him disapprovingly. Jess was an emotional wreck. She stopped speaking and just stared at the sky, back to the group. The fighting began. "So what, Ant?! You thought it was fucking safe to do that?" Javi shouted, approaching him. He tried to push back a bit. "Where else would we get it from?!" A few others joined the conflict as it continued. Evelyn desperately attempted to defend Antoine. "He had good intentions!!" Soon enough, the group was split. Everyone was bickering this way and that.

Which probably explained why no one had been paying any mind to Jess as she pulled the gun from her left pocket...

Put the barrel to her forehead..

And fired.