Ashes (Clementine X Male Reader Book 2)

Aftermath-Solitude

You're not sure how long you've been in the sewer. It's day now, and Brooklyn is using the small amount of light peaking through a slit for drainage to look around. "Damn it." You hear her whisper somewhere else. She returns to you and sits down.

"What?" You ask. You expected her to just say it.

"Another grate that won't move." She sighs. "I feel like I'm about to pass out."

"We can stay here for a little bit. Let you sleep." You know you can't do that, but you're going to overwork her. You don't have food or water, neither of you slept well before Salvation, and your leg is probably getting worse. There's something inside of it. You can feel it whenever you move your leg.

"We have to get you out of here. Then we have to go find Emma." She's trying to stay focused and hopeful. You don't blame her. But the more time you spend in the sewer, the worse off you are. It doesn't help that you can't move fast, both because of your leg and the lack of food, sleep, and water.

"I wish you would have left me." You tell her the truth.

"Don't start this right now." She stands up and stretches.

"If you'd have left me, you'd have a better chance now." You tell her as she helps you up.

"I helped you. That's that. There's no taking it back, and I would never have done it anyway." She's loyal to a fault.

"If we can't find a way out of here soon, leave me." You tell her. You have no intention of letting this go on longer than it needs to. You refuse to drag her down with you.

-

The day has passed. You can see the moonlight peeping through a new grate. "We need to sleep." You both need it, but Brooklyn is refusing. She keeps marching you forward. "Brooklyn."

"We can't. What if some walkers find us? I was barely able to handle the last group." A few hours ago, she fought off a small group of three walkers. She couldn't see them, and her knife came in handy.

"Then I'll stay awake and wake you if there's trouble." You're not sure how much longer she can keep going. You're slowing down so much, and you can feel how much she is struggling to keep you up.

"We keep going." She's too stubborn.

-

You think it's afternoon, but you can't tell. That's two days you've been stuck in the sewer when you find an opening at the end of the tunnel you're in. It shouldn't have taken so long, but you stopped too often, and by the end, you weren't moving very quickly.

"Thank god," Brooklyn whispers next to you. When you come out, you're standing in a man-made ditch. You shield your eyes from the sun. You've spent too long in the dark.

"Do you know where we are?" You ask Brooklyn because you have no idea.

"I'd say we follow the tower, but that's gone. We're in the city still... In a ditch." She pulls you out of the ditch. It's a slow process, but you manage. You lie down when you make it to the top. You nearly fall asleep before Brooklyn starts speaking. "We'll take you somewhere safe, sit you down, and then I'll go see what I can find."

"You should rest too." You're getting worried about her.

"I'll rest when you're ok." She crouches down next to you. "Can I look at it?" She points to your leg. You nod. She pulls at your pants, and you wince. "Something went through here."

"No shit." You're lost. You don't know what to do.

"Can I take your pants off? I need to look at it, and we need to get you new ones." You nod to her, and she pulls them down gently, careful not to hurt you. It doesn't really help. "This... Y/N, we need to get you treated." She sounds so exhausted and tired of everything that's happened. You feel the same.

"How bad is it? How badly do I need it treated?" You don't want to sit up to look at it. Maybe it's laziness, or maybe you're trying to stave off panic.

"I think that if we let this fester for longer than a week, maybe less, you'll die. Either of infection or if whatever is in your leg cuts something important." She doesn't sugarcoat it. You're thankful she told you how it is.

"So we don't have long." You watch the clouds float by overhead. If there's a god up there, he hates you... You hate him too.

-

"Sleep if you can." She tells you before departing. "I'll be back as soon as possible. Hopefully, with the rest."

"Don't make me come looking for you." You're already falling asleep, lounging in an old, dirty chair. You can feel her eyes on you, and then you hear the door open and close.

And open and close again. You shoot up and grab for the knife at your hip. "Easy," Brooklyn says.

"That was quick." You say that, but it's dark out. It was late afternoon, but it wasn't that close to dark when she left.

"It's been a few hours." She walks over to you. She sounds defeated, and no one is with her. She puts her hand on your forehead. "You're not running a fever yet. That's good."

"Give me the details, Brooklyn." You're already preparing yourself. She pulls out a note and hands it to you.

Y/N and Brooklyn. We looked for you. We think you're dead.

We left. We don't know where we're going.

But try to find us if you lived.

-Aasim

They think you're dead. They may end up being right about you. "Anything else?" You have to ask.

"I got some supplies. Meds, food, water, a pistol, and a blanket for you if you need it somewhere down the line." She looks like she's about to cry. She's frustrated. "Where do we even go from here?"

"We just go. We walk and hope we find something." If she left you, it'd be easier for her to survive, but you know that you can't ask her that now. She's carried you around this long, not because she has to but because she wants to. It'd be spitting in her face at this point.

"We need to get you treated." She raises her voice. "I can't do anything about that leg. We're alone. Sam's dead, maybe Cas got caught in the fall, and everyone else is gone... We're alone, and I can't do this on my own. We need to get your leg treated, or you're gonna..."

"Sleep. You need to sleep. We're safe in here." She's too stressed, and you're sure the amount of time she's been awake isn't helping her.

"What I need is you up and walking around. Not dying." She sets the pack she brought with her down next to you and walks toward the door. She sits down and leans against it.

"Come take the blanket." You're already fishing it out of the pack. It's not that big, but it is a blanket.

"Keep it. I'll be fine." She closes her eyes. You leave the blanket lying on the pack, just in case she wants it later.

She doesn't want to be alone... So you'll live.