The Walking Dead A New Frontier: Six Years Later

Chapter Seven: Neither Forgiven Nor Forgotten

The gate was raised as the group got close, Clementine shifted the weight of the bag over her shoulder. When they got inside the walls of the city she saw a familiar face waiting to greet them.
David.
She immediately felt her face forming a glare, David began walking towards her and Gabe.
"Clementine." He sounded surprised.
"David." She said flatly.
"Heard you've been back for a few days, I haven't seen you around."
"I'm sure there's a reason."
David hesitated for a moment.
"So how is AJ? You found him, right?"
Clem was very quickly getting sick of talking to David.
"AJ's fine," she dumped the bag of guns at his feet and walked away leaving him standing with a confused expression on his face.
Gabe ran to catch up with her.
"Hey, are you okay?" He said, trying to match her pace.
"I'm fine, I'm just gonna go pick up AJ." Clementine lied, she was most definitely not fine. Seeing David pretending to be nice made her even more mad. Despite David telling her he helped AJ recover from his sickness years ago, she still hadn't forgiven him for separating them. Gabe gave her a concerned look.
"Ok, well I'm going back to help with the guns. I'll give you some space, unless you want me to swing by your place later?"
"Okay, yeah. See you later."

A cool breeze blew the tattered curtains in the bedroom back and forth, there was a hole somewhere letting in the night air. Clem and Gabe lay huddled under the blanket as a result.
"Hey, how come you don't like my dad?"
Clem tensed up, she really didn't want to talk about David.
"No offence Gabe, but he's a piece of shit."
"Yeah he was, but he's a lot better now. Give him a chance, he might surprise you."
His final comment pushed Clem over the edge.
"I hate David because he was the one who took AJ from me."
Gabe was silent.
"He was sick, I took some medicine for him and David kicked me out and kept AJ. That asshole is the reason I was separated from him for so long. So no, I won't give him a chance because I don't owe him shit." She was fuming by now.
Gabe lay there in silence, she heard him open his mouth to say something.
"I didn't-." He stammered
Clementine was eager to stop the conversation, she rolled over to her left facing away from Gabe as far as the small bed would allow.
"Goodnight Gabe." She said sternly.

Clem stirred from her sleep, she noticed the bed was empty and the blankets were pulled out where Gabe had been sleeping. She sighed and sat up, there was a light coming from the bathroom in the center of the hall. Clem pushed off the blankets and got out of bed. The floorboards creaked and the closer she got to the light the more clearly she could hear wheezing, labored breaths. The bathroom door was ajar, she pushed it open and saw Gabe standing over the tub. He turned around slowly when he heard her entering the room, his skin was pale and clammy and his eyes were glazed over, milky. There was blood soaked around his mouth and all over his hands, he groaned and began walking towards Clem. She drew her pistol and fired one round through his head, Gabe went limp and dropped to the ground. Clementine lowered the gun and noticed the bloody mess in the tub, she slowly approached it and looked over the edge. The color drained from her face, her hands went weak and the gun clattered to the floor. AJ's clothes sat in the bathtub among the mess of viscera and blood. Clem backed up until she was against the wall, tears streamed from her eyes and she couldn't breathe.

Clementine woke with a start, her heart was beating out of her chest. She shuddered and looked over to Gabe who was fast asleep next to her. The sheets where she has been laying were soaked with sweat, she sat up and lit a candle. On the way down the hall she checked on AJ, he lay there sleeping peacefully with the blankets bunches up around his neck. Clem turned the kitchen tap on and splashed the water onto her face. The image from the dream was still burned into her mind.
"Bad dream?"
She turned around and saw Gabe standing behind her.
"Yeah, bad dream." She affirmed.
Clem sighed and turned the tap off, leaning on the kitchen bench.
"Do you wanna talk about it?"
She hesitated before answering.
"In the dream you were a walker. I shot you and then I realised that you'd killed AJ, and I didn't even hear it. I was asleep in the room, I was too late." She could feel herself beginning to choke up so she stopped talking.
"Damn, that's...pretty horrible." Gabe said.
Clem slowed her breathing so that her heart would beat slower.
"I think it's because deep down I know that all this hurts more than it helps."
Gabe looked confused, "what do you mean?"
"The walls, the houses, the market. It's all amazing, but it's like playing make believe. If people forget what it's like out there, if they get too comfortable, that's when people start dying. And I don't want AJ to be one of them."
Gabe stayed silent.
"Clem that's not going to happen, there's no way you'd let it."
Maybe he's right. She thought. Doesn't change the fact that if I let myself get soft, that dream could become a reality.
"Thanks Gabe." She said sincerely.
He smiled and gave a slight nod.
"Hey, I'm sorry for going off at you before." Clem continued.
"It's alright, You probably told me at some point and I didn't pay attention. I shouldn't have-."
"Stop it," She interrupted him, "don't try and turn this around and make it your fault. I'm the asshole, not you."
Gabe moved closer and Clem wrapped her arms around him. She felt better for having that conversation, in spite of the grim subject matter. It was good to have someone to talk to about her problems, someone aside from AJ. Clem cupped her hands under the flowing tap and took a drink. Feeling refreshed, she blew out the candle and rejoined Gabe in bed.