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

32. Dangerous Alliances

Clementine poked at her food absent-mindedly, head supported by one hand. It was morning, with the lot of them gathered in the cafeteria. She moved the vegetables back and forth across her bowl, unaware of the conversations around her. The images of Aasim's final hours with them kept flooding her mind. She sighed, trying to drown out the gruesome visuals.

"Clem?"

She looked at the source of the voice. Violet had a concerned look on her face.

"You haven't eaten anything," Violet said.

"Not hungry," she replied, finally setting down her spoon.

"Yeah, me neither," Louis added, following her actions.

"I can't get it out of my head. Yesterday. All of it," Clementine told them.

"Yeah, it was fucked up, to say the least," Violet responded. "We're going to have to be much more careful. We can't have anything else happen to the rest of us."

"I don't know how we're going to do that."

AJ looked up at Clementine. "Did Aasim die because of me?"

Clementine surveyed the faces around the table. "You didn't mean for it to happen," she replied, going easy on him.

"I didn't," AJ replied, shaking his head. He looked visibly upset.

"We all make mistakes, okay? Sometimes they're small, sometimes they're big. You just have to own up to yours and learn from them."

"Yeah, we've all made mistakes," Violet chimed in. "You learn not to make the same ones again. It's just a part of being human."

Clementine managed a smile, grateful for the help.

"Guess Aasim didn't get that chance," Marlon commented.

"Not fucking now, Marlon," Violet said, annoyed.

"Come on. We can't be fighting among ourselves. We won't last in here for long if we do that," Louis interjected.

Marlon hmphed.

"I can't believe Louis is right. We need to stick together," Violet said. Her eyes caught onto something behind Clementine. "Cain's coming this way."

"You," Clementine heard behind her. Turning around, she saw him standing a couple of feet away. "Beth wants to talk to you."

The fear was palpable at the table. Clementine heard Louis exhale across the table. Bracing herself, she stood up.

"What does she want?" Violet asked, standing up as well.

"That's not for you to know. Only this one was called for. So, the rest of you can get to your work before one of us finds you sitting idle." He gestured at Clementine to follow him.

She took a quick glance at her friends' worried faces before setting off after him. He walked leisurely as she trailed behind him, keeping her distance.

They walked out of the fence. Delta members roamed around, going about their own work. She noticed some of them gathering at the gates, conversing between themselves. Cain led her to one of the buildings close to the gates, motioning at her to follow him inside. Climbing up the staircase, he guided her along the corridor to one of the rooms. The door was shut.

Clementine stood there silently.

Cain stared at the door before turning to her. "It's in your best interest to not irk her." He opened the door.

Beth sat at the table, facing her. From the looks of it, it was her office. Her handgun sat on the table, glaring menacingly at Clementine. She folded up the map open in front of her, before turning her attention to her guest.