Leave a comment if you want more!
Next Update? Walking Dead: One Man Army
______
Chapter 9
She woke up with a gasp, a cold shiver going down her back.
Her chest rose and fell with quick, shallow breaths as her wide eyes darted around the dimly lit room.
For a moment, the shadows on the walls looked like arms reaching for her, and the creaking of the old building like whispers in the dark.
But there were no walkers, and no screams, just the familiar space around her.
She exhaled slowly, pressing a hand to her pounding heart.
"Just another nightmare…" she muttered softly to herself, her voice barely a whisper.
But even as she said it, the remnants of the dream clung to her like smoke.
She wouldn't be going back to sleep any time soon.
The pale light of early morning was beginning to spill through the boarded-up windows, making her wince.
It wasn't quite dawn yet, but it was close.
With a tired sigh, Clementine slid out from under her blanket and got ready for the day.
She slipped on her boots, grabbed her hoodie, her cap, and made her way outside.
At the very least, her stomach wasn't trying to kill her now.
The cool air kissed her cheeks the moment she stepped out.
It was crisp and calm, still tinged with the faint chill of night.
She hugged her arms around herself for a moment, letting the air clear her head.
It helped, if just a little.
Then she noticed it as she looked around the motel, the place she called home for the past few months.
Movement, voices, the clinking metal, and soft chatter.
Leo's group was already awake and seemed to be busy at work.
Spread out across the yard, she watched them as they moved with a quiet, precise energy.
Some were checking the Hummers, others were checking weapons, sharpening blades, and scanning the perimeter.
No one was slacking, no one was chatting idly, everything they did felt like part of a rhythm, a routine they'd long since mastered.
But what caught her attention wasn't the gear or the masked men working…
It was the smell that she thought she would never smell again.
Her eyes widened.
Eggs and bacon.
Her stomach growled loud enough to make her blush.
She turned her head towards the direction of the delicious smell and saw him, Leo.
He was off to the side by a small portable stove, sleeves rolled up, mask off, brow furrowed in quiet thought as he gently flipped bacon in a cast iron pan.
The sizzle was music to her ears, and the smell…
Clementine's face lit up, a spark of excitement cutting through the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Without thinking, she ran toward him.
Leo didn't hear her at first, too focused on the pan, but then the sound of small, quick footsteps hit his ears, and he glanced up.
Clementine.
Hair tousled from sleep, hoodie too big for her frame, and the biggest, most genuine smile he'd seen.
For just a moment, the cold weight he always carried, the pressure, the calculations, the responsibility, lifted.
She just looked so happy.
And all because of something as simple as breakfast.
Clementine practically skidded to a stop near the stove, her smile widening as the warm smell wrapped around her like a hug. She tucked a few loose strands of hair beneath her cap and looked up at Leo, who blinked at her like a deer caught in headlights.
"Morning!" she chirped brightly, trying and failing not to stare at the food.
Leo straightened a little too quickly, nearly dropping the spatula.
"M-Morning," he replied, voice cracking just enough to make his ears burn.
Clementine giggled softly. "Where on earth did you get eggs and bacon?"
Leo opened his mouth to answer.
Closed it.
But pushed through.
"A-Ah, well, we… I—uh, we have a—there was a place, and—uh—"
He froze, eyes wide, like his brain had short-circuited mid-sentence. The poor guy looked like he was buffering.
While she was curious about where he had gotten them, she was more interested in eating them than in knowing where they came from.
Clementine tilted her head and unconsciously gave him a look.
A very specific look.
The one perfected by every child who's ever stared longingly at a cookie jar they weren't sure they were allowed to touch.
Her bottom lip jutted out ever so slightly, her brows lifted, and her eyes grew wide and pleading.
The Puppy Dog Eyes.
His grip on the spatula tightened as he gazed upon such an overpowering sight.
The effect was immediate.
All across the yard, masked figures paused.
One nearly dropped the crate he was carrying, and another fumbled, almost nicking himself with his own blade, causing him to let out a soft curse.
Two more glanced over from the truck they were inspecting, somehow slamming their heads on the hood of the car, saw what was happening, and immediately turned away like they'd seen something they weren't supposed to.
It was a chain reaction, like watching a network of CPUs fry simultaneously.
Leo's hand twitched, and he muttered something under his breath that might've been, "Sorry."
Clementine blinked and looked around in confusion. "…What happened?"
Leo's cheeks were pink, his jaw tight as he tried to regain control of his own damn body.
"N-Nothing!" he stammered quickly, waving his hand like it might erase the whole moment. "No, you're, um, you're fine! I just-here!"
He quickly stabbed the spatula under a slice of bacon and one of the eggs, fumbling to scoop it onto a spare plate.
The movement was frantic, a little clumsy, but he managed.
He thrust the plate toward her like he was surrendering it in a hostage negotiation.
Clementine blinked at it, then smiled softly, touched.
"Are you sure? I thought this was for your group."
Leo shook his head quickly, nearly too quickly. "No, no! We already ate, and I was actually making it for you guys! So it's fine!"
Behind him, one of the masked figures groaned, face-palming, and muttered under his breath.
"This is so fucking painful to watch."
Another elbowed him playfully.
"Like you would do any better."
He shoved him back, getting a laugh in return.
"Fuck you."
Leo cleared his throat, cheeks burning hotter by the second. "Just, uh, please enjoy."
"Thanks!" Clementine giggled, accepting the plate like it was the most precious thing she had ever held before.
He gave a tight, crooked smile that he hoped didn't look as painfully awkward as it felt.
"Y-Yeah, no problem…"
She turned to sit near the now dead fire pit, the plate warm in her hands, her heart lighter than it had been in weeks.
She took a bite… it was the best breakfast she'd ever had.
And Leo?
Leo turned back to the stove, only to find another one of his men now standing beside him, deadpan.
"…You gonna survive this? Or should we start digging?"
Leo groaned and buried his face in his hands.
"Fuck off."
That nearly made her choke on a piece of bacon as laughter escaped her before she could stop herself.
___
The others soon woke up as well, while some were still nervous, most of them were much more relaxed now.
Especially when they were greeted by the sight of bacon and eggs, that got smiles out of them.
Except for Duck, who was more excited by the dragon-masked men than the food. His mother had to hold him back and remind him of his manners, and that he should get some food in him first.
Much to the boy's disappointment.
After having their fill of another satisfying meal… the adults began heading to their meeting spot while the kids were sent to play.
Lee and Kenny asked Leo to keep an eye on their kids, putting their trust in the boy despite his protest, and headed inside.
In one of the cleared rooms at the back of the motel, the adults of the group sat, or in some cases, paced around a rickety folding table.
The atmosphere was tense.
Lee leaned against the far wall, arms crossed over his chest, his eyes flicked to each person as they spoke, absorbing every word.
Across from him, Carley was seated with her arms folded and a skeptical frown pulling at her lips.
She wasn't saying much yet, but she didn't need to; her silence alone was telling.
Larry stood near the doorway, glaring like a bulldog.
"They expect us to just go with them?" he scoffed. "Just because they gave us food? They could be lining us up for a bullet in the back for all we know!"
"They haven't done anything to make us think that," Katjaa argued, gently seated beside her husband. "They've given us food, they've kept watch, protecting us."
Kenny nodded, agreeing with her. "And they didn't have to help us either, but they did! And that has more than earned my trust, not to mention the fact that they can give us a boat!"
"That's what scares me," Carley muttered, getting the other's attention. "It's too good."
That got a glare from Kenny, who was about to argue before he was stopped by his wife.
Lee frowned slightly but didn't argue with her.
Mark, seated at the far end, spoke up, his voice more hopeful than most.
"I don't know, man… Leo's group? They're weird, yeah, but I've seen a lot of bad people since before this started, and these guys don't feel like that. I think we should take them up on their offer."
"Are you forgetting about those masks they're wearing? How does that scream 'trustworthy'?" Carley shot back.
Mark looked down awkwardly, unable to argue against that.
Larry slammed a fist on the table, making some of them jump.
"And what the hell is a kid doing with them!? You all just gonna pretend that's normal?! Not to mention the fact, besides the kid, none of them have shown their fucking face!"
Lee didn't respond immediately. He shared Larry's suspicion, but he was quieter, rooted not in paranoia, but in experience.
He'd seen too much to take anyone at face value now.
Still, he glanced toward the window, where the scent of bacon still lingered.
"I don't trust easily," he said finally, voice calm but firm. "But they haven't given me a reason not to."
Larry looked ready to explode at that, but Kenny beat him to the punch.
"Thank you!" he snapped. "For once, someone's talkin' sense."
"Oh, so now you're on Kenny's side?" Carley asked with an arched brow, clearly unimpressed. "Didn't you just tell us to keep our guards up around them?"
Kenny threw up his hands while Lee sighed.
"Maybe I did, but Kenny's not wrong. These people showed up, gave us food, watched our backs, and offered us a place in their community, all while not asking a damn thing in return. We're fucking lucky that it was them or would you rather sit here until raiders comes sniffing around?"
"No," Carley said slowly, "I'd just rather we not walk into something worse without knowing what we're getting into."
They continued to argue amongst themselves.
They were at an impasse.
…Lilly sat in the corner, arms folded, gaze distant.
She hadn't spoken once during the whole argument, not even when her father practically demanded her input with a scowl and an elbow jab earlier.
Because her mind was somewhere else.
Ghost.
Back to the conversation she had with him
Back to what he told her…
"You can trust us."
The way he'd talked to her, like someone who understood the weight of leadership, the exhaustion of command, the pressure of having people depend on you.
She was still deep in thought.
"Hell, let's just put it to a vote!" Kenny's voice suddenly rang out, loud and sharp, startling everyone.
Lilly blinked, jerking back to the present as all eyes turned toward Kenny.
His hands were on the table now, knuckles white, jaw tight with frustration.
"Seriously, enough dancin' around this. We've been barely scraping by here. We finally get a shot at something better, and half of you wanna throw it away 'cause you're scared of ghosts in the trees."
Mark nodded in agreement. "He's right."
"No," Carley snapped. "He's not. What if they're just fattening us up before they decide we're useful for something else?"
"Then we deal with that when it happens!" Kenny barked. "But this?"
He gestured around the room.
"This isn't living! This is us waiting to die!"
The silence after that was as heavy as before, thick with tension and raging emotions
"We vote," Kenny said again, quieter now, but just as firm. "We stay here, keep doing what we're doing until it kills us or… we take a chance. We go with them to a place that's safer, better."
They all took a moment to think before agreeing to decide it all on a vote.
Her father, Carley, and Mark voted against going.
While Lee, Kenny, and Katjaa voted to go.
Three to go and three to stay.
One last vote to decide it all.
Lily's eyes drifted back to the doorway to where Ghost was standing outside, quietly watching the children play while one of his men repaired the wall in case they refused their offer and decided to stay.
She looked back at the others, looking at her expectedly, especially her father, who was looking at her as if he had already won.
…And maybe he would have if something in her chest hadn't already shifted.
She made her vote.
____
It was just the two of them now.
Duck had run off to talk to Ghost in order to beg him to make him a wizard.
And Leo's group was busy with other stuff…
Which left the two of them in each other's company.
"So what do you do for fun?" She asked the boy to her right, wanting to get to know him better.
She was met with nothing but silence, causing her to raise a brow.
She waited, eyes fixed curiously on the boy sitting beside her. The remains of breakfast rested forgotten on her plate, and the warmth of the early morning sun filtered through the trees.
Leo, for his part, stared straight ahead like he was trying to find the answer in the dirt.
He shifted, rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, and mumbled under his breath, "...I like to read."
Clementine blinked.
"Really? You don't seem like the book type."
Leo's eyes darted toward her, uncertain if that was a good or bad thing.
"Not in a bad way," she added quickly with a light laugh. "Just… I don't know. You look like you're the type to wrestle a bear or fix a truck or something to pass the time instead of reading."
Leo gave a quiet snort at that, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"I do fix trucks," he muttered, then added, "and I've… fought a bear before, sort of."
Her eyes went wide, looking at him in pure disbelief. "Wait, seriously?"
Leo immediately looked like he regretted saying that.
"Long story."
Clementine laughed at how he was to say that.
"Alright, alright, I'll ask about the bear later." She nudged him with her shoulder. "So, what kind of books do you read?"
He hesitated a moment to think, then gave a small shrug.
"All kinds like history, survival books, science fiction, fantasy… mostly stuff I find during scavenging runs, honestly."
She hummed thoughtfully. "That's cool, I didn't really get into reading until… well, until everything went crazy."
Leo glanced at her again, quietly curious.
"What do you do for fun then?"
Clementine leaned back slightly, watching as Duck clapped happily when Ghost pulled a quarter from his ear. "I draw when I can, not like, super well or anything, but it helped to keep me occupied."
He silently listened, eyes focused on her as she talked.
"I'd draw stuff I saw, or things I remembered from before, or just stuff I wished I could see again. Sometimes I'd read comic books when we found any that weren't soaked or torn."
Leo nodded slowly as Clementine spoke, watching the way her fingers idly played with her hair, her voice soft but steady.
"You still have the drawings you made?" he asked after a moment.
Clementine thought about it before shaking her head.
"None from before, unfortunately." She gave a small, sheepish shrug. "But I've made some new ones and I like to think I've improved compared to when I was six."
He gave a smile.
She glanced at him from under her cap, thoughtful. "I can draw you if you like."
Leo tilted his head and smirked.
"Only if you make me look good."
"No promises~"
They continued to talk, asking questions and telling jokes.
"Favorite animal?" He asked while they began to walk around the motel.
"Ever heard of Kooikerhondje?" She asked back.
He raised a brow, getting a laugh.
"What about you?" Clementine smirked, not bothering to explain what a Kooikerhondje was.
Noticing this, Leo decided to play her game.
"Ever heard of Futalognkosaurus dukei?"
Now it was his turn to smirk, especially when he got a glare from her.
His smirk got even wider when time passed, and he did nothing to explain what the hell a Futalognkosaurus dukei was.
"…Favorite color." Seeing that he wasn't going to say anything, she moved on by asking another question.
Leo gave her a sidelong glance, the corner of his mouth curling upward as a playful glint sparked in his eyes.
"Hmm," he hummed. "Tell you what, guess my favorite color right on the first try… and I'll give you a piece of chocolate."
Clementine blinked. "You have chocolate?"
He didn't answer, instead, he brought two fingers to his lips and gave a sharp whistle.
One of his masked men, stationed near the Hummers, looked over. Without a word, the man reached into the backseat of the vehicle, rummaged for a moment, and then casually tossed something through the air.
Leo caught it with ease with one hand, smooth as butter.
He held it up with a flourish, a small, shiny-wrapped bar of chocolate, and waved it in her face.
She made to swipe it from his hands, but he held it just out of her reach.
"That's so mean," she said, half-laughing, half-pouting. "You can't just dangle something that good in front of me like that."
Leo chuckled, clearly enjoying himself. "Then you better guess right."
She squinted at him, hands on her hips as she examined him from head to toe.
He looked like someone who spent most of his life in muddy boots, grease-stained clothes, and tactical gear. His mask was red and most of his clothes were black… but it could be just because he had no other clothes of a different color.
She tilted her head, thinking for a moment, before making her guess.
"Yellow," she said finally. "It's yellow, isn't it?"
Leo raised both brows, clearly surprised by how fast she came to that answer. "You sure about that?"
"Yup~!" She nodded, arms crossed confidently. "Definitely yellow."
There was a pause.
A moment of silence passed as she waited for him to say she was right.
The trees rustled faintly overhead, and a distant bird cawed.
Clementine stared at him, expression expectant, daring him to say she was wrong.
He looked at her for a long beat, then, without a word, tossed her the chocolate.
She snatched it mid-air, grinning triumphantly.
"I got it right, didn't I?" she asked smugly.
Leo just smirked and said nothing, turning away as if she hadn't spoken at all.
"Oh come on!" she called after him, holding up the chocolate like evidence. "You can't just not answer!"
Still no reply, just that little smile tugging at the edge of his lips.
"I knew it," she muttered to herself, unwrapping the chocolate with reverence. "Totally yellow."
They returned to the spot they started walking from and sat down on the chairs that Leo's group had given to her group.
She was quietly enjoying the chocolate for what could be the first time in a long time. While Leo was looking around, silently making sure everything was going smoothly.
She watched the way he looked out at the others, at Ghost entertaining Duck, at his group quietly working, and at the forest near them as if expecting walkers to appear at any moment.
Her eyes drifted back to his face, to the tired lines in his expression and the scars that marked his face that shouldn't belong on someone his age.
Dark thoughts suddenly filled her mind.
"Can I ask you something kind of… serious?" Clementine said, wrapping the remaining half of the chocolate back so that she could give them to the others, her tone quieter now.
Leo turned to her, his expression soft. "Yeah, of course."
She hesitated, eyes flicking away for a moment before she asked, "How many walkers have you killed?"
Leo blinked, caught off guard by the question.
"Why do you want to know?"
She didn't answer right away.
Her fingers tightened around the hem of her sleeve, tugging it gently as her gaze dropped to the ground in front of her.
"Because…" she began slowly, "I had to kill my babysitter when she turned."
The words hung in the air like a weight.
"I didn't even know what was happening at that time," she went on. "I was hiding in a treehouse, calling out to her, waiting for her to come back and tell me everything was okay, but when I came down to check on her…"
Her voice faltered.
"She wasn't her anymore, just this… thing. And when she started to try and bite me, I had to…"
She trailed off, unable to finish what she was about to say.
He didn't rush her, didn't speak, he patiently waited for her to say what she wanted to say.
"I've killed more since then," Clementine continued, a little quicker now, like she just wanted to get it out. "A whole group of them once, at a farm. He was stuck and unable to get out while Walkers were just inches away from ripping into him. I was scared, and I didn't want to kill anymore of them… but I did it. I had to, or they would've killed him instead."
She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them close.
"Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I still see their faces."
Leo stared at her for a long moment, and his heart twisted.
He didn't see some battle-hardened survivor or a girl trying to sound strong.
He saw someone who had seen too much, did things they didn't want to do, and was now carrying their trauma like a backpack made of lead.
And she was still carrying it.
Without saying anything, he gently reached over and placed his hand beside her shoulder.
She noticed, glanced at him, and found him already looking at her.
There wasn't pity in his eyes.
Just understanding.
And something softer, something warm.
"I know you probably won't believe me, but… I understand what you're going through."
Clementine looked at him with wide, searching eyes.
"I've killed a lot," he said quietly. "Too many to count, honestly, but that first one, that first kill… I still remember her... I didn't want to do it then either, and I wish I could say you'll get over it eventually… it would be a lie."
Her lip quivered, but she nodded in understanding.
They sat there in somber silence, his hand still on her shoulder.
___
The sun was high in the sky, now making it high noon.
Ghost stood near the center of the lot, one hand resting casually on the hilt of his knife as Duck excitedly circled around him, babbling about magic spells and wizard duels.
The masked man, still and quiet, nodded along with a kind patience that seemed oddly at home behind his unsettling dragon mask.
He tilted his head occasionally as Duck acted out some exaggerated "Wand" gesture, but otherwise remained wordless, listening.
From the side of the building, Lily and the rest of the adults approached.
Kenny had a hand on Katjaa's back, his expression firm with purpose.
Mark and Carley followed behind them, silent.
Lee, as always, walked with quiet intensity, his gaze flicking toward Ghost, then to Duck, and smiled.
Larry was last, dragging his feet a little, wearing an expression that made no attempt to hide his contempt.
As they neared, Katjaa crouched to Duck's level, brushing a few unruly strands of hair from her son's forehead.
"Go sit with Clementine and Leo for a bit, alright?" she said gently.
Duck's mouth opened to protest, clearly ready to continue his wizardly interrogation, but Kenny gave him a pointed look.
"Go on, bud, just for a little while."
With a sad sigh and a muttered,
"But I almost got him to teach me," Duck finally turned and dashed across the lot, making a beeline for Clementine and Leo, who were still sitting together watching them.
Ghost watched him go, then turned back to the group now standing before him.
There was a brief pause, the kind of silence filled with tension.
"You've made your decision," Ghost said.
It wasn't a question, it was a quiet certainty.
His gaze flicked over to Larry's barely concealed sneer, and though his expression remained unreadable behind the mask, something in his posture shifted.
Before anyone else could speak, Lily stepped forward, arms loosely crossed but not guarded.
She offered a small smile, faint but genuine.
"We took a vote," she said. "It was close… but we've decided to go with you."
Ghost didn't answer right away.
He looked at her for a moment, searching her expression.
Then he gave a nod.
"Thank you. You won't regret it," he said calmly, then turned, some of his men having gathered around him. "Get ready to move. Pack up, prep the Hummers, and have Cobra confirm the route."
They were already in action.
Across the yard, his men, who had remained at work even during the conversation, began to move with renewed purpose.
Within moments, the entire group seemed to shift from quiet patrol into full mobilization.
Tents were quickly broken down, gears were packed into duffels.
Lily stepped back as Ghost moved, speaking to one of his men, who responded with a curt nod before jogging off.
"Looks like a military op," Mark whispered, eyes widening slightly.
"They don't play around," Kenny muttered, clearly impressed, though he did his best not to show it too much.
As the others turned to begin relaying the news to the rest of their group, Carley lingered behind, her arms folded as her sharp eyes followed Ghost's every move.
She leaned over to Lee, voice lowered.
"I still don't trust them," she murmured. "But if it ever comes down to it… we can use that crush Leo has on Clementine to our advantage."
Lee tensed slightly.
He didn't look at her, just stared ahead.
"That wouldn't be right," he said after a moment, his voice quiet but firm. "And we won't have to do that."
Carley frowned a little, her eyes scanning his face. "You sure?"
He finally looked at her.
"No," he admitted. "But I want to believe we won't."
Carley sighed, clearly not satisfied, but didn't press it.