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

23. Coffee After Calamity

Clementine opened the door, letting Louis and Violet in before she closed it behind her. The remainder of the breakfast still lay on the kitchen counter, untouched. Feeling the pangs of hunger, she decided it would be a good idea to eat something too, along with the coffee.

"You guys are back," she heard a voice from the living room. Turning, she saw Jared sitting on the sofa, cleaning his rifle. He looked like he had just come from a marathon, the way his face was shining with sweat. "Had a look around?"

"Yeah," Louis replied. "Who does the piano belong to in the Hall?"

"Oh that? It used to belong to one of the families living here, but they never really used it. So, it was moved into the storage room. You know how to play one?"

"Yeah. I can probably fix it too."

"Really?" Jared looked surprised. "Feel free to fix it then. I can show you guys around later, if you want."

"That'd be cool," Louis said. "So, you're done with the walker traps?"

"What?" He looked confused for a moment. "Oh yeah, yeah. Done with them, yeah. We call them roamers. Took a while to set them up, but they're done."

Clementine left Louis to talk to Jared and headed to the kitchen. She could hear their conversation in the background as she made herself a much-needed cup of coffee.

"Could you make me one, too?" she heard Violet's voice next to her. The blonde girl was leaning against the kitchen counter, looking at the coffee jar.

Clementine nodded. Stirring up another cup, she handed it to the girl.

"This is really good," Violet remarked, clutching the mug in both hands as she sipped at the liquid. She got a small smile in return as they walked back to the living room.

"Where are you guys from?" Jared asked them.

"Georgia," Clementine replied.

"Violet and I are from Virginia," Louis said. "I'm Louis, if you didn't know."

"I'm Jared. My family's from England, originally. We moved here a few years before things went south."

"I've always wanted to see London. My dad used to show me photos of the times he'd gone there," Clementine reminisced, sipping her coffee.

"I've actually been there once. When I was a couple of years old," Louis said. "Not that I remember anything, obviously."

"I don't enjoy travelling very much, honestly. We moved here cause most of my family was already here," Jared said. "I wonder if it's any different back there, with all these roamers."

"I doubt it is," Clementine answered. "I've moved around a bit and it's all the same. People attacking each other and the walkers get what remains."

"That's true. There's no one to judge you for what you do, so, it brings out the worst in people."

"That... actually quite well put," Louis said. "We used to have a home. There were more of us there. Lived there for nearly seven or eight years before Delta took it from us."

"Delta? Beth?"

"That's the one. She's your aunt, isn't she?" Violet asked.

"Wh-Wh-What?" Jared sputtered, taken aback. "Wh-Who told you that?"

"Jonathan. We found photos of her in our room."

He exhaled. "Did dad tell you everything?"

"Yeah. Anything else you wanted to add in there?" Violet looked straight at him, taking a sip of the hot, steaming coffee.