We Don't Die

Catching Up

Jeremiah stands there with shock. "Clementine?" He asks shocked. She lowers the shotgun. "Oh, my god." She says quietly. "AJ, lower your gun!" She orders. "Why? We don't know him!" He responds. "You may not recognize him, but I do." She says. AJ keeps his gun raised at Jeremiah. Jeremiah turns around and faces AJ. "Son, it's me." AJ lowers the gun and stands there. He immediately runs toward Jeremiah and gives him a hug and tries hard not to cry. "I missed you buddy." Jeremiah says. "I missed you too." AJ says while buried in Jeremiah's chest. AJ backs away and watches Jeremiah and Clem as they hug. "How did you find me?" Jeremiah asks. "Came across an old friend that we knew twenty one years ago." Another figure steps out. From what Jeremiah can see, he wears a light blue button shirt, a leather vest, black jeans, and brown cowboy boots and has really long hair. The figure steps close to the fire and shows himself and immediately recognizes the man with long, slicked back hair and a beard. "Jeremiah?!" The two approach each other and hug. Derek buries his face in Jeremiah's shoulder and Jeremiah places his hand on the back of his head. He feels Derek's hair and immediately puts his hand away. "Damn Brother, you gotta shower." He jokes. Derek lightly shoves him in a joking way. "Fuck you." He jokes. The four of them chuckle and place themselves in front of the fire. Clementine puts her head on Jeremiah's shoulder and he wraps his arm around her. AJ sits next to Clem and Derek sits next to Jeremiah and they stare into the fire. "How old are you now, AJ?" Jeremiah asks. "Twenty seven." He answers. "You became a caveman, brother." Derek jokes. Jeremiah chuckles. "Yes I did." He responds. "Where did you go?" Clementine asks. Jeremiah looks down at her. "After what happened at Alexandria, I stayed with Travis. We took care of each other until we couldn't no more." "What happened?" AJ asks. "Travis... lost it." Jeremiah replies. "How?" AJ questions. "After months of being together and countlessly watching over each other, he lost who he was and ended it." Jeremiah replies. He then looks up at the dark sky and stares at the stars. "I hope you're finally in a better place, T." Jeremiah says. A star shines brighter after he said that. Jeremiah smiles and realized that Travis was up there watching over him and the others. "I had two kids." Jeremiah starts. "Jeff and Jane. The mother was Diana. They didn't make it." They all look at Jeremiah. "I notice you have Rick's python. How'd you get it?" Derek asks.

Flashback to Alexandria

Jeremiah and Travis reach the inside of Alexandria and notice chaos. There were bodies everywhere and blood splattered all across the community. "Think there are any survivors?" Travis asks. "Let's go find out." Jeremiah suggests. He pulls out his Beretta M9 and they begin walking. They pass Rick's house and something catches Jeremiah's eye. "Hold it." He says. Travis stops and glances at Jeremiah. "What? What is it?" Travis questions. Jeremiah walks to the side of the street and kneels down and picks up Rick's python. He shows it to Travis. "Aw man." Is all Travis can say. "Think he made it out?" Travis questions. "There's no blood on the street or on the gun. He must've made it out." Jeremiah says confidently. "I sure hope so." Travis replies. They begin searching of what's left of Alexandria.

Back at the Campfire

"That's how I got the gun." Jeremiah finishes. Clementine looks up at him. "What's wrong?" Jeremiah asks Clementine. "It's nothing. I'm just glad we found you." She says. Jeremiah leans down and kisses her. "How did you encounter Derek?" Jeremiah asks. "It's a long story." AJ steps in. "Care to tell it?" Jeremiah asks.

Derek's POV

Derek approaches the busted down gate of Alexandria on his motorcycle and looks around and instantly regrets leaving. He sprints towards the houses hoping to find someone but finds no one. He lays on the street staring up at the blue sky, hoping people made it out alive.

Back at the Campfire

"That's how I at least decided to stay closer." Derek finishes. They all look at him as he finishes his story. "You still never told me how you crossed paths." Jeremiah says. "Okay." Clementine says.

Clem's POV

Clementine and AJ are in the woods nearby Alexandria and notice a man entering inside of Alexandria. Clem turns around and faces AJ. "Okay goofball, we got one guy. You ready for this?" She asks. "I'm ready." AJ says confidently while staring into her eyes showing her how serious he is. AJ pulls out his revolver and loads three bullets in it and puts it in his holster. "Just in case." He says and she nods. "That's right. You don't pull the trigger unless you absolutely have to, you understand?" She questions. "I do." AJ replies. They crouch walk over to the wall of Alexandria and Clementine sticks her head out. "No one's in my sights so far. Keep your eyes open." She says. AJ nods and they enter inside. Clementine notices a motorcycle and gasps. "What?" AJ asks. "Derek could have came back!" She exclaims. "But at the wrong time." AJ says and pauses. "He came back to notice the carnage of the walkers and those shit-for-brains assholes." AJ says. Clementine looks at him. He notices this and he looks at her then back down at the ground and frowns. "I'm sorry, I just-" he pauses. "It's okay, AJ." Clementine responds. "I understand how you feel." She takes a deep breath. "Let's hope that this is Derek and not some bandit." Her and AJ begin walking inside of Alexandria. After ten minutes of searching, she notices a man laying down in the street with his arm covering his eyes. "Stay close to me." She says. They begin crouch walking to the figure. She recognizes who it is as soon as she hit the stop sign and instantly breaks out of stealth. "Derek!" She yells while running towards him. Derek uncovers his eyes and stands up with his knife in hand, ready to defend himself. He notices Clementine and sheathes his knife as she stops in front of him. They look at each other and hug. "Where's Jeremiah?" Derek asks. Clementine looks down to the ground. This makes Derek worried. "Clem, did he?" He begins to ask but pauses in the process. "I don't think so. The last thing I saw was Travis trying to remove the piece of burning wood off of Jeremiah. We were at Jeremiah's house when it caught fire due to some assholes throwing Molotov's." Clementine replies. "There's no sign of him. I searched everywhere, hell, I even searched in the woods and looked for any signs of tracks but found nothing." Derek says. "We have to stay together now." Clementine suggests. "I agree." Derek responds. Clementine, Derek, and AJ begin walking to the entrance of Alexandria and hope for the best.

Back at the Campfire

"We stayed together for twenty one years, Jeremiah. Can't believe we're almost forty." She jokes. "Hell, I'm thirty eight and feel like fifty." Derek steps in. They chuckle. "It's best to get some shut eye. We'll look for supplies and a home in the morning." Jeremiah says. "Don't worry about me, I'll keep watch." Jeremiah replies. "No, I'll do it. Had to watch over Clem and AJ a couple of times when we were together. I'll do it for you." Derek says. "You sure?" Jeremiah asks. "Yeah, I'm sure. Get some rest." "Okay." Jeremiah closes his eyes and falls asleep.