Walking Dead Game Collection

"Burning Up"

Title: Burning Up
Characters: Clementine, Javier, Kate, Gabe
Summary: When bandits storm Richmond and set a building on fire, Clementine passes out inside due to a lack of oxygen. After escaping the nightmare, Javi realizes Clementine is still inside and goes after her.
Author's Note: okay I'm honestly reaaally happy with this one
Requested By: ebimanami
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♡ user: justajournalist ♡
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Everything happened so quickly that the past hour felt like a nightmare.

Bandits had stormed Richmond in full force: slamming through the front gates with their vehicle. They began with open fire, and were holding walkers in the back ready for release. The goal, clearly, was to generate as much havoc as possible.

But that wasn't what happened. What happened was so much worse.

Due to the damage the vehicle had taken, the entire front half was starting to crumple. The engine was starting to fail, the vehicle was starting to slow, and the driver — now with a head injury — was starting to lose control.

That was when it happened.

The vehicle, full force, slammed into one of Richmond's buildings, crashed through one of the wooden walls, and burst into flames. The entire building was quickly engulfed, and everyone — and everything — that was onboard the vehicle died instantly.

The rest of the bandits vanished without hesitation.

Richmond was thrust into utter panic.

Javi and Gabe were on the main floor, and immediately scrambled out, coughing and hacking. They ran into Kate, who pulled both of them into her shaking, terrified arms.

"Are you okay?" Javier asked.

"I'm okay," she said. She pressed a quick, terrified kiss to Gabe's head and shooed him behind her.

Then, watching the rush of panicked, terrified Richmond onlookers, Javier's heart sunk at a realization.

"Clementine," he said, the words leaving him before he could register them. That was who was missing. It was Clementine. "Where is she?"

She had been inside. She assumed she would be flooding out right behind them. He never doubted that she wouldn't make it out — she always did. So, she wasn't the first person on his mind when they'd evacuated. But now, glancing through the swarm frantically, a pit grew in his stomach.

She wasn't there.

She wasn't. There.

"Clem?" He asked again, his voice more strained and frantic. It was hardly audible given the surrounding cries — families clutching one another in panic. "Clem?" The longer he didn't see her, the longer he didn't get answers, the more terrified he became.

"Javi?" Kate asked, pushing her way through the crowd to grab his shoulder.

"What's going on?" Gabe asked, his voice bubbling from the crowd.

Javi wasn't listening. He was frantic, his shaking hands gripping and pushing aside everyone he could. Where was she? Where was she? There was no way that she was still inside that building. It was impossible.

Right?

Plowing his way through the crowd, finding nothing upon nothing, he slowed to a stop. His feet ached, his heart raced, and his head slammed against every corner of his skull.

"Javi? What's happening?" Kate asked, spinning him around to face her.

She wasn't there.

"Where's Clem?" Gabe asked. "Is she missing?"