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

8. It's Time We Go

The quartet crouched in the bushes, waiting for their prey to arrive. Rabbits were a difficult target to hit for any novice, but that hadn't deterred Clementine. The notion of the hunting grounds had fascinated AJ and her when they went on their first hunt, nearly three weeks ago. She'd come a long way since then, learning how to handle the bow and trying it out on live targets.

Hunts took place twice a week, with the current one comprising of Clementine, AJ, Louis and Violet. Their first hunt was with Marlon, who was genuinely impressed by Clementine's aim. She wasn't perfect, but she understood how to shoot and most importantly, where to shoot. AJ had also tried his hand at the weapon, but it wasn't designed for children, making it impossible for him to pull back the string and hold the bow at the same time.

"Are you sure this is a good spot?" Clementine asked, bow in her hand as she peeked over the bushes at the little clearing between the trees. "Cause Marlon only showed me the ones by that side." She pointed her thumb in the direction behind her.

"Positive. You gotta trust me, Clem. I've been here a few times and gotten lucky," Louis replied. "You just gotta be patient."

Clementine ducked out of sight once again.

"You sure you're gonna be able to hit one? Or do you want me to take over?" Louis asked jokingly.

"Not a chance," she replied. "If anything, I'm better than you." She grinned at him.

"Oh, you're on."

Clementine once again scanned the area with her eyes. Then she saw it. The rabbit sat by the tree, nibbling at the grass, the morning sun shining off of its brown fur. It hadn't noticed her yet, allowing her to slowly get up and ready the bow. She placed the arrow against the string and pulled it back, aiming at the animal. Taking a deep breath, she released the arrow. They watched as it sliced through the air and found its mark.

"Well, gotta admit. That was a pretty damn good shot, although, it was just a sitting duck," Louis said as Clementine retrieved her prize.

"You're such a bad loser, Lou," Violet told him as she took the bow from Clementine.

"That was a really good one, Clem," AJ said. "I wish there was a smaller one for me to use."

"Thanks, AJ. We can try making one for you," Clementine said, smiling as his face lit up.

"That would be really cool."

Louis grasped Chairles in his hand. "It's time we get back. I could use some breakfast."

"Yeah, me too," Violet agreed. "We're running really low on supplies. We'll need to do a run soon enough."

"I spoke to Marlon last night and he said the same thing I did. That our last one wasn't very useful."

"At least we salvaged some meds. Food is just becoming difficult to come by and.... I hope we don't have to move again."

Clementine sighed. "If we have to move, we will. There's no point holding out here until we're starving."

"I know. I just don't like being out there, without a place to go to, you know? It was shitty enough when we had to leave Ericson's."

"I get it. Let's discuss this with everyone."

They began making their way back to the house. Clementine and AJ had been staying there ever since Louis brought AJ there three weeks ago. She felt safe within the walls of the house and most importantly, she felt AJ was safe. She was proud of the way he was stepping up to do his share of the work. Seeing the other kids, he felt motivated to make sure he earned his place at the house.