A Shred of Hope (The Walking Dead) (The Final Season Retelling)

3. The Last and the First Day

"How does that place look?" Clementine asked, bringing the car to a halt as she pointed at the building.

It was an abandoned train station. A couple of dysfunctional engines decorated the area in front of the building, the latter itself looking dozens of years old. It was one storeyed. A few trees grew around the broken-down fence of the property, with the forest a little distance away, making it look quite pleasant barring the couple of walkers aimlessly stumbling about near the engines.

"Yeah," AJ said, fatigue showing in his voice. Day after day on the road was affecting him and he was growing weary of travelling so much. The last few days had been much more tiring, mentally more than physically, especially after that walker that got in when they were sleeping.

Clementine, too, was tired. The nightmares were keeping her up and she was starting to realise she couldn't keep this up for very long. She'd done it for a few years now and it was beginning to take a toll on her. She wanted to stay in one place but she also knew that they were safer moving around. AJ was her priority and she wasn't going to endanger him in a place where she didn't feel they would be safe.

"Tired?" she asked, looking back at him.

It was late afternoon. A few clouds painted the blue sky white in patches. It hadn't rained for a while and Clementine hoped it would stay that way. The cold and the wetness that the rain brought with it made them miserable.

They'd been driving for a few hours now, halting only when they needed to relieve themselves. Most of their runs had turned up dry again, forcing Clementine to drive further this time around.

"Yeah. Cars aren't fun," he said, without emotion.

"They definitely aren't," she replied. "Let's go see what we can find." She pulled her gun out of her backpack and put the bag on as she stepped outside the car, rubbing her arms.

There was a large open space leading up to the station.

"Hopefully, we find something worth taking here," Clementine said as they walked.

"Maybe," AJ said flatly.

She sighed. "Come on, kiddo. I didn't want to leave the house back there. It just wasn't safe."

"Then what's safe? You say that every time!"

"I'm just looking out for us. I don't want anything happening to you."

"Maybe something will," he said angrily.

"AJ!" Clementine exclaimed, shocked. "You're not supposed to say things like that."

He immediately regretted his words. "I didn't mean it," he said softly.

"I know you didn't," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

AJ was finding it difficult to cope with things and so was she. There was only so much she could tell him before he felt things could be done differently. He hadn't seen as much as Clementine had and there was no way he would always understand her actions. Things that she did were in line what she believed was the best course of action for their survival. He had only seen the horrors of the world and he was getting tired of life like this.

They reached the fence of the station. The two engines on either side provided a straight path to the door of the building. The walkers in the middle had caught onto their sound and were slowly making their way over to a potential meal.

"Stay behind me, AJ. I'll deal with this," Clementine said, pulling out her knife. She waited for the first walker to reach her before she kicked its knee, breaking it. The walker with an agitated growl collapsed onto the ground. She moved aside from it and proceeded to make quick work of the second walker. Once that was done, she did the same to the walker on the ground.