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

12. Carpe Diem

The three figures stood on the street, jerking their heads about at the slightest of sounds. Their glassy eyes stared into oblivion, waiting for their next meal to present itself on a silver platter. With a sudden crunch, the first walker crumbled to the ground. A flash of a blade preceded the demise of the second walker. The final undead creature hobbled over to the boy and girl, only to meet the wooden chair leg.

"Chairles has more brain bits than nails at this point," Clementine observed, wiping her knife against the torn clothes of the walker.

"I know, right? How do these guys even have brains? It's not like they use them at all," Louis wondered aloud, trying to flick the gore off his weapon.

Noon had come by the time Clementine, AJ and Louis reached the town. The trip there had been uneventful since the three of them found it relatively easier to simply evade the dead than to slash their way through them.

"That journey took a hell of a lot longer than I expected," Louis said, setting his bag down and rubbing his shoulders.

"There are quite a few houses. This could take a while to finish," Clementine said. "We'll have to work really fast."

"We can't cover every house anyway. We'll do what we can."

"I don't think we can make it home tonight," AJ commented.

"Me neither. Night time and walkers don't sit well with me," Clementine told them.

"Got it. Let's get to it then," Louis said.

The street ran straight ahead of them. Houses dotted the sides of it. Most of them seemed to be decaying with a few of them just sitting there with their doors and windows flung open. The front lawns were in no better conditions. The walkers wandered about, blissfully unaware of the newcomers.

"Come on, let's be quick about it." Clementine led the stealthy approach towards the first house. The houses weren't very big, which was a good thing. They'd be able to check more in the limited time they had.

She opened the door, knife in her hand. Letting the others in, she closed the door behind them. They stood in a living room, with a doorway on the left as well as the right side. She could vaguely spot a kitchen through the right one. The furniture was covered with cobwebs and a stale smell filled the air.

She stepped forward, rapping the end of the knife against the sofa. A growl answered the call, but nothing appeared.

"Stay close," she told them, stepping over the creaky floorboards towards the left doorway where the growl had come from. It was a hallway, with a bathroom in front of the doorway and two bedrooms. A walker lay on the floor, missing the lower half of its body.

"So, that's who was growling," Louis said. He brought Chairles down onto its head, cracking it open. "Disgusting."

Clementine eyed the bathroom. Opening the medicine cabinet, she was greeted by empty shelves. Other than a few scampering spiders, there seemed nothing useful for the taking.

The first bedroom was fully stocked with dusty trophies and books. The orange glow of the sun lent an eerie atmosphere to it. A lone knife sat on the table. Clementine picked it up. It appeared to have rust spots all over and a dull edge. She bagged it with the thought that perhaps she could clean and sharpen it up. It's not like it was being useful in there anyway.

They opened the door to the final bedroom. Dust particles danced about in the light of the sun that coursed in through the window. A walker sat handcuffed to the bed post.

However, it wasn't an adult.

"Fuck," Clementine said as she realised she was staring at a child.