Legless, But Alive | TWDG Season 5 Fanfic

Untouched Memories

AJ was getting sleepy. Everyone was up far later than usual. Was something wrong? It sure felt like it. Clem and Violet returned to the courtyard. That sure did take a while, he thought to himself. Upon seeing her, Ruby smiled. "There ya are!" Omar sighed in relief. "Finally, we can get to bed.." He turned and left for the dorms. What a warm greeting, Omar.. Louis offered a wave and a smile. Aasim and Willy seemed to still be hanging around the greenhouse. Violet looked to Clem. "You and AJ should get some rest. I'll go grab numbnuts and bomb boy and drag their asses to bed." She gave her a soft kiss, and waved to Ruby. "You too." She nodded. "Don't have to tell me twice." Her southern drawl exasperated her words as she walked away. AJ twisted his expression into a frown. "I think they thought you left." She turned her attention to him, looking down. She pondered her response for a moment. Did they really think she'd do that? After all this? Where would she be going? Everything she's ever wanted, everything she's ever worked for, is right here. These people, this place. She leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead. "I will never leave you, never again." He smiled. "I know, Clem." She patted his head. "You better know, Goofball." He yawned. "Clem.. who's doing watch tonight?" She frowned. It felt.. Wrong for that to be something that he had to worry about every night. She looked up to the vacant, hand made tower. Should someone stand watch? She shrugged. Nothing was out there that she couldn't face, that they couldn't face. She found comfort in that. "No one is, kiddo. And.. that's okay." He raised an eyebrow, but decided not to make an issue of it. "Let's get you to bed."

The two entered, Clem shutting the door behind them, AJ flopping onto his unmade bed. He carefully undid the Velcro of his shoes and laid them neatly on the floor. "I like sleeping under the covers." He said, grinning. She smiled down at him. "It's nice and warm." leaning on one crutch and the poster of the bed, Clementine delicately pulled the blankets to his chin. "Maybe I'll teach you to make your bed yourself." She sat beside him on the bed and looked down at him, stretching. "I like pillows, too." She smiled. "I bet you'd like stuffed animals." He raised a sleepy eyebrow. "Stuffed animals? But we eat the animals." She ran a hand through his hair. "Back before the monsters, people made these.. Toys.. that were fake animals. They were like disco broccoli, but.. soft. Like a pillow." He yawned dramatically. "Maybe Tenn had some." Her demeanor changed, and she sighed. "I bet he did." Clementine silently got back up and made her way to her own bed. AJ didn't think anything of the shift. "Goodnight, Clem." She blew out the candle and settled down, sinking into the mattress. "Night, goofball." As the silence settled, her thoughts started racing in that dreary fashion that they did before she slept. Did they really think she would've left? This is everything she's ever worked for. She looked in AJ's direction, squinting in the dark. She watched his chest rise and fall as he drifted off to sleep. Maybe if they go past the old safe zone they could find a stuffed animal for AJ. Clem thought back to her old room, her pile of colorful plushies towered atop bed, and how she used to have little tea parties with them, or bring them up to the treehouse to be her pirate crew. If only AJ could have a life like that. Maybe he could here. Was it worth getting her hopes up, though? She rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. Who knows, she thought to herself. Maybe she could, too.
This was new. This dream felt hazy. She was back in Savannah, back in the Marsh house. The room was imprinted in her memory. She felt the weight of a knife in her back pocket. She looked down at herself. Her wound had reopened, and she frantically tried to stop the bleeding. She leaned down to try to put pressure on the exposed flesh, but the echo of a loading gun stopped her in her tracks. Clementine rose shakily, to meet the eyes of the figure sitting opposite her. It was Lily, yet her face was younger and softer. Her hair was not yet cut, and she was wearing her attire from back in the day. How odd, Clem thought to herself. She had such a fiery hatred for her now, after all that had happened, but back then.. She tried not to think about it. She closed her eyes. It's just a dream, just a dream. She repeated it a dozen times over in her mind. When she opened her eyes, she was still in that same chair, in the same hotel room, with the same face before her. "Shit.." The searing pain was still in full swing, the carpet absorbing the dripping blood: staining it a crimson red. She was seated where.. Where Lee was. Lily opened her mouth, as if she was disciplining her like back in the cell, but no words came out. Clementine shifted uncomfortably, and looked back to the door behind her opponent. She remembered being in that room, the promise of her parents' arrival keeping her silent and obedient. How stupid she was. Leaving Lee was one of her greatest regrets. The door creaked open, and Lily paid no mind to it. Why was she remembering this night now? She remembered herself hesitantly walking out that door. Tip-toeing towards the man, waiting for Lee's instruction. Though, instead of the skinny, confused little girl, it was AJ. He had that look on his face. The same look from when Abel died, the same look from after he shot Marlon. It was frozen there, even as he raised the gun. "AJ-" She knew she was too late, even as the words leaped off her tongue. He pulled the trigger, again and again. With every gunshot, the sound got louder and louder. "Am I a murderer, Clementine?" Clementine covered her ears, trying to silence the ringing and radio static that was now crushing her eardrums. "AJ!!!!!!!"