Things That Are Lost: Season 3

Chapter 26: All Downhill From Here.

A/N: I am very sorry for taking this long to get a new chapter out. I've been dealing with a lost of stuff recently, so I hope you can forgive my extreme lateness and enjoy a new chapter.
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Clem stares down the hole AJ fell through, her vision blurry and hearing ringing. She lost the last thing she had to live all those years, even though she couldn't confirm that Sarah was dead. "Clem!" She barely hears Violet yell. "Clem!" She gets pulled away from the hole by Violet.

"Clem!" Violet shakes Clem, which only gets her to start crying. "AJ..." "Fuck." Violet looks over and sees the herd of walkers heading towards them. "We gotta move, and I'm not leaving you. So snap out of it!" Violet shakes Clem some more, which this time seems to get her to realize what's happening. "Oh fuck." Clem has Violet help her stand before she hands her the gun. "Hope you can shoot." "We never had guns." "Well I'll teach you on the way back."

Violet runs ahead while Clem limps behind her. "Shit. They're gonna trap us!" Violet stops in front of more walkers. "I know." Clem looks for a way through before spotting a fence. "Over there!" Violet looks over and runs over to it. "I'll help you up first and climb after you!" Clem limps over to the fence, and she grabs onto it while Violet tries to boost her over. Clem tries to climb up the fence, but loses her grip and falls back down. "Shit. I won't be able to climb fast enough." "Look out!" She sits up just as a walker grabs her from behind.

The walker is then shot in the head. Clem looks at Violet, who's holding the gun in her hands. "It wasn't that hard." Clem uses the axe to stand herself back up. "We can't go that way. Come on!" Violet nods and runs ahead of Clem again while she limps behind. "Clem! We can try climbing up there!" Violet points to a hill that can only be reached by climbing rocks. "Yeah." Clem smacks a walker down with the axe. "I can go at an angle instead of straight up." "Hurry then!" Violet shoots another walker before starting to climb up. "This first." Clem throws the axe on top of the hill.

Clem reaches the bottom of the rocks and starts climbing after Violet, the walkers right behind her. Violet reaches the top and extends her arm down for Clem. "Grab on!" Clem reaches up and grabs Violet's hand, when a walker grabs her injured leg, and bites right into it.

"NO!"

Violet tries pulling Clem up, but the walker holds its grip on her. Clem kicks it several times, but it doesn't budge. "The gun, Violet!" Violet quickly grabs the gun and shoot the walker in the head. She then pulls Clem all the way up the hill. Clem climbs up the hill, and rolls onto her back. "Clem...your leg...no..." Violet starts to cry a bit as Clem sits up. Clem grabs her boot, and pulls back the torn pieces to find the worst thing possible.

A walker bite was on her leg.

Clem exhales, starting to shake. Her vision was blurry, and she couldn't tell if it was tears, or due to how much blood she lost. "I...I got bit...didn't I?" She looks to Violet, then behind her, noticing walkers. "C'mon. We can't stay here." Violet looks from the bite and up at her. "What're we doing?" Clem uses the axe to help herself up. "Well, I'm getting you back to the school alive." "But.." "Don't even try to believe. I'm already dead." Clem starts hobbling forward slowly, even more slowly than earlier. "I think I lost too much blood..." Violet quickly stands up. "I can help. I'll support-" "Don't. Just don't." Clem hobbles along into the forest past all the walkers. Violet watches her. "Don't give up, Dammit." She runs after her.

The two manage to escape the herd of walkers for the time being, as the travelled through the forest in silence while the sun rose. Clem was checking every side, noticing stray walkers here and there. Violet kept checking behind them, and look forward just to stare at Clem's bite. "Stop staring at it...please, Violet." Clem says. "I'm sorry. I just can't look away...it's too hard to believe." "You have no idea..." "But... there could still be a chance that..." "Please don't talk like that. I've heard too many people talk like that, I don't want you to as well." "But-" "Violet!" Clem stops in her tracks. "I told you to shut up!" Violet jumps at the sudden yelling. Clem turns to Violet. "I don't want to hear that shit from you! I've heard everyone I've been with say that! I can't take it! They never got it. Once your bit, you're pretty fucking dead! Not a lot of other options! Yeah, we could cut it off, but I'd bleed out before making ten feet! Just face it, I'm fucking dead!"