Short Hair

Chapter 3

Clementine walked through the field, rubbing at her tired eyes as she trudged forwards.

She made her way towards an old barbed wire fence and slumped down on a wooden log. She looked around and gazed at an old run down car, it's rusted appearance was illuminated by the sun's rays, it's once bright red paint wearing off from constant sun light.

Clem sat nervously, itching with fear, expecting a walker to pop out from the billowing tree behind her, or the tall farm crops surrounding her.

She sat, hand clenched around a small pistol and glanced at the dirt below her, sadly.

Her eyebrows pricked up slightly as she noticed some dull red and golden bullets laying a metre or two away from her dangling feet.

She made a grasp at them and picked one up, holding it towards her face, looking at it curiously.

Abruptly, Clem stood up, holding the items and squinting her eyes against the sun's vicious rays. Two figures walked in tow, moving across the field at a slow pace upon the hill infront of her.

Clem looked around her for a second, before glancing back at the couple, almost not believing her eyes.

Clem hunched over, still grasping the pistol and the stray bullet. Her gaze stayed on the pair and her chest heaved up and down in rapid speed.

Her golden eyes widened, the couple had stopped in their tracks and faced her direction.

Clem wanted to run away, as fast as her legs could possibly carry her aching limbs. But she didn't, she couldn't.

Clem was frozen on the spot, eyes widely staring at the duo of people, actual people, walking towards her.

She started to smile, believing it was friendly people, here to help her.

Then, the people broke into a sprint, it took Clem a moment to realise it wasn't who she had stupidly thought it was.

It wasn't Christa and Omid.

Her reaction, delayed by exhaustion, fear and hunger, was slow and she shrieked as she hurried to duck underneath a wave of bullets flying over her.

Clem yelped and snatched up the remaining dull red and golden pistol bullets that she'd be looking at before, as she ducked. She rushed over to the log she'd been sitting on and crouched behind it.

Another load of bullets rained over her and she quickly crawled away, nearly hugging the ground.

Clem rushed behind the tree and gripped her gun close to her chest, a sob built in her chest, forcing it's way out of her mouth as she realised she had no idea of what to do.

She heard a shout and dared a glace at the couple, a bullet zoomed past her face. Clem took off sprinting in the direction she came from and came upon a large pool of water, covered by a wet and muddy trench near a pier.

Clem looked behind her as she made her way towards the trench. As the bullets rained down, Clem saw the pair get closer and made out some of their features.

One was a dark skinned, 6ft tall and strong looking man. He wore a murky red hoodie and a black leather jacket, dark green trousers, which was cut off half way exposing his calves, and a pair of black trainers. There was a tattoo on his right leg, appearing to be a red dragon, but Clem couldn't make out the details from where she stood.

The other man, slightly shorter, had dark eyes and lighter skin. He had an angry looking scar running across his arm, half covered by his black shirt, he wore black jeans and a pair of trainers. The man had a brown bushy beard and a large shotgun on his back, on top of a large mocha coloured coat.

Both men were aggressively staring at the way they'd seen her running, large guns in their grasp and Clem was frozen, peeking out from her hiding place behind the trench.

They stepped closer to Clem's hiding place and as they neared her, she heard them yelling.

"Hey! Lil' girl! Where are you?"

"Yea'! We aren't 'ere to 'urt you."

Clem held her breath as she heard their heavily accented voices close in near her.

She heard their footsteps and in a moment of panic, Clem took a deep breath and carefully slid underneath the water, just below the wooden pier. Clem desperately hoped the men didn't see her under the water.

A few seconds passed, feeling like hours.

Clem's lungs were burning and her chest was on fire, so after another few seconds she slowly broke her head above the water.

She tried to take a breath, only to take a harsh gasp and frantically rub the water out of her eyes.

She heard footsteps on the pier and tried quietened down.

Clem took slow, deep breaths and supported herself by using the pier's legs.

"Fuck. Now where we gon' get a kid for Tanner?!"

Clem heard a loud whack, flesh hitting flesh, and she assumed that one of the men slapped the other around the head.

"Shut the fuck up! Jesus Christ, Evan. She's gonna be here, she got lil' legs, she can't 'ave gone far!"

Clem waited for the water to drain out of her ears and remained quiet as she caught her breath.

Hearing the men talk about her without even regarding her as a human being, and as an object instead, was disgusting.

Clem waited as they stood at the end of the pier, and tried to calm down. She slowly trudged in the water and, using the pier's legs, she made her way towards the trench again.

With the men distracted, Clem carefully climbed the bank and went around the trench quietly.

Clem snuck along the trench, careful not to make a single noise or to trip over her clumsy wet feet.

She went over to a tree and, after making sure the men didn't notice her, she leaned against it and sat down, just out of the men's view.

Sighing, Clem peeked out around the tree, pushing a strand of wet curly hair behind her ear, and gazed at the men still on the pier. Closing her eyes she gave a yelp as something grabbed her.

Being so focused on the men, Clem had forgotten that walkers existed and were very much a threat to her. Well, she had forgotten, until one reached out a grubby hand and went to bite her arm.

After a second, a bullet pierced the air and soon silence fell. The tension was thick and unforgiving as Clem slowly let her eyes wonder down to the ground.

To the truly dead walker, laying stilly on the ground, a small round hole perfectly centred in it's forehead.

"Well, look'y 'ere." A wide grin.

"Hello, lil' girl." A smooth voice, filled to the brim with arrogance. The two men shared a glance and laid their gaze on the small nine year old.

"Tanner's gonna love this 'un."