---
Three weeks after slipping away from the gas station, the world stretched out around Zack and Clementine, a bleak expanse dominated by the oppressive grey of asphalt intertwined with the creeping forces of nature reclaiming its territory. They moved through this desolate landscape like specters, their routine polished to a chilling efficiency: scavenge, kill, move. Repeat. Supplies were dwindling, but the most urgent need was for medical provisions. The small first-aid kit in Zack's possession clung to its last few bandages, and just a single, irreplaceable bottle of antiseptic glimmered like a beacon of hope buried beneath the debris of their existence.
It was this desperate need that drew them to the wreckage lying just off the highway—a crumpled ambulance, toppled on its side in a shallow ditch, resembling a wounded beast sprawled in surrender. The back doors swung open like the gaping maw of a predator, already ransacked by previous scavengers, but whispers of possibility lingered in the air. Perhaps there was a hidden compartment, a forgotten bag crammed with treasures yet to be claimed.
Zack raised a fist, the universal signal to halt, and Clementine melted seamlessly into the shadows of an ancient, rusted pickup truck, her movements silent and fluid. He advanced with measured steps, the blade poised in his grip, his senses sharpened, heightened. Silence blanketed the area, an eerie stillness that sent a prickle of unease skittering down his spine. He circled the ambulance cautiously, his boots whispering on the gravel underfoot. Peering through the darkness that enveloped its interior, he was met only with scattered remnants of uselessness—a bust.
Just as he was about to signal Clem to move on, a sound sliced through the silence—a weak, ragged cough emanating from the depths of the cab. Zack's body tensed instantaneously, coiled like a spring ready to unleash. He glided toward the driver's side door, which hung ajar, precariously balanced against the embankment's earth. Leaning closer, he looked through the shattered glass, heart pounding in rhythm with the mounting tension.
Inside, a figure sagged in the passenger seat, half-conscious and shrouded in shadows. A woman, her skin pallid and stretched tight over bone, a grotesque reminder of survival's toll. One of her legs lay twisted at a sickening angle, as if nature itself had revolted against her plight. When Zack's shadow cast over her, she stirred, eyes flickering open to reveal a wild mixture of fear, disbelief, and – impossibly – a faint glimmer of recognition.
"...Clem?" her voice emerged as a dry, desperate whisper, laced with a rasp that echoed the hardship she'd endured.
Zack's thoughts spiraled into chaos. An attachment. A liability. A complication. He should just leave; it was the rational, defensible course of action. But as he stole a glance back at the pickup truck, he caught sight of Clem peering over the hood, her eyes wide with a fragile, dawning hope—an emotional blow that shattered his cold, methodical reasoning in an instant.
He exhaled deeply, the breath he hadn't known he was holding escaping his lips in a rush. Dammit.
---
The reunion was quiet and grim. Clem, after a moment of shocked disbelief, had scrambled into the cab, her small hands hovering over Christa's injured leg. Christa, for her part, couldn't stop staring at the hardened, silent boy Zack had become.
"Omid... he didn't make it," Christa said softly, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at Clem. "A bite. A few months back. It was fast. He... he told me to find people. To not be alone."
Clem's face fell, another ghost joining the crowd in her memory. She reached out and put her small hand on Christa's arm. "We're here now," she whispered.
Zack remained silent, his face unreadable as he expertly fashioned a makeshift splint for Christa's broken leg using a floor mat and strips of a seatbelt. His movements were efficient, detached, like a field medic who had long since learned to shut out all emotion.
YOU ARE READING
Walker? or Zombies? (Walking Dead Game x Strong OC)
FanfictionA legend just died and was reborn into the real world that was full of Walker? And he once said, "What the heck, I just reborn to the normal world!? Where is my fantasy Isekai?!" Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead game or series and Left for D...
