Young and Young at Heart (The Rewrite of The Walking Dead Game: S2) [TWDG/TWD]

7. The Girl at the End of the Hall

"What..." Clementine checked again, still in disbelief at what she saw. "No... why?" Turning away from the sink, Clementine eyed the linen closet by the door. She raced over to it and pulled the closet open, hoping somehow the first aid kit had been moved into it, but it hadn't.

Someone else must have already taken the first aid kit. Suddenly the agony of her wounded arm became unbearable in light of losing the only means to mend it. She clutched the injury in a pitiful attempt to soothe the pain even slightly. Unsure of what to do now, Clementine gazed at the bathroom door.

Realizing there was little for her to lose at this point, Clem very slowly slid the door open and peeked outside. Seeing nothing, she carefully stepped out into the hall. A succulent scent seemed to be hanging in the air. So compelling it was to the hungry girl she found herself drawn to the banister overlooking the first floor.

She could hear a familiar crackling and realized someone was cooking in the fireplace. Clem recognized the fragrance, it was definitely freshly roasted fish. Normally she was indifferent to that smell, but at the moment it was intoxicating. Clem found herself almost forgetting about her objective before a muffled bang startled her back to her senses. It was immediately followed by more bangs in quick succession.

"Sounds like she's at it again," noted a gruff voice. "You two must have really pissed her off something fierce." Clem didn't recognize the voice, but it sounded like it was coming from the living room.

"Let her vent," insisted Carlos. "She'll get tired eventually."

"Maybe... maybe I should go check on her?" suggested Nick.

"You really think she'd want to see you?" asked Carlos. "Just leave her until morning. If she feels like talking, we can talk then." Since everyone was still on the first floor, Clem realized she could search the upstairs in relative safety. She moved to the door that led to the room Christa was in. There were three boards nailed over it. Clem tried pulling on one, but it wasn't coming off. Even if it did, she couldn't reach the highest one.

With no clue where to start looking, she headed for her own room, figuring it was as good a place as any to search for the missing first aid kit. She cracked the door open, and was immediately greeted with a pair of startled brown eyes staring right at her. They belonged to a dark haired girl in red-rimmed glasses sitting on Clem's bed with a book in hand. The two girls just stared at each other in utter bewilderment until the girl with glasses finally broke the silence.

"You're... you're not supposed to be here," she whispered nervously.

"This is my room," proclaimed Clementine.

"It is?" Reasoning she had already been spotted, Clem stepped into her room and closed the door. "Who are you? Why are you..." The girl stopped mid-sentence when she caught sight of Clementine's bandaged and bleeding arm.

"Please, can you help me?" The girl didn't answer. Her eyes were wide open in terror and she was taking deep panicked breaths. "Hey, can you hear me?"

"Wuh... wuh... what happened to your arm?" she stammered.

"A dog bit me," answered Clem.

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just need to fix it."

"I... I'll go get my dad," suggested the girl. "He—"

"No!" Clementine wasn't sure which man was the girl's dad. Judging from her brown skin, she was probably the daughter Carlos mentioned, the last person Clem wanted to see right now. "I just need one thing. It's a red and black plastic box. If you could give me that, or just tell me where it is, I'll go away, and you won't have to tell anyone I was ever here."

"I haven't seen anything like that."

"Well, maybe you could help me find it?"

"I... I can't," answered the girl reluctantly. "My dad said—"

"I could die if I don't get it." This revelation clearly disturbed the girl, twisting the expression on her face from wide-eyed terror to deep-seated concern. "Please," begged an anguished Clementine. "Please don't let me die." The plea clearly affected the girl, all though Clem couldn't be certain how. She set her book down and stepped off the bed. Clem was surprised to see the girl was a head taller than her, and at least a few years older as well.

"Just wait here," she spoke softly as she headed for the door. "I'll be right back."

"What are—"

"I'll help you," she whispered. "I promise." There was sincerity in the way she said the word promise, but it did little to ease Clementine's mind. She watched the girl peek out the door, before stepping outside and quietly closing the door behind her. Clem was now alone in her own room.

It felt surreal being an intruder in her own home. Looking at the bed, Clementine realized the book the girl was holding was actually one of Clem's own. In the span of an afternoon these people seemed to have claimed what little she had left. They had moved into her house as if it was their own and already given what meager possessions Clem had to some other girl. It was probably even the fish Omid had caught they were cooking for dinner.

Clem moved to the dresser and opened the top drawer. She was relieved to see her radio and her drawings were still where she had left them. She thought about taking them, but then she realized she'd have to carry them back out the window and into the rain, something that might ruin them, or at very least would be even more work for something she didn't really need right now. Clem sighed as she pushed the drawer shut, annoyed she seemingly couldn't hold onto what little she had left in this world. She sat down on the bed, wondering how long until the girl returned, or if she'd even return at all.

It then dawned on Clem that this person had no reason to actually help her, and was probably just looking for an excuse to leave the room. If she really was one of these people's daughter, then she was probably telling one of them right now about what she saw. A shiver shot up Clementine's spine as she realized Carlos or the others may be on their way upstairs this very moment. Clem raced to the exit, hoping to escape through the bathroom window. Opening the door, Clem was greeted with a pair of familiar brown eyes staring at her in surprise, again.

"Um... is this what you wanted?" Clem opened the door wider to see the girl was holding the first aid kit in question.

"That's it." Clem snatched it right out of the girl's hand and set it on the floor. She popped the clasps on it and flipped the top open.

"I guess it got mixed in with my dad's things." Clem examined the kit's contents and, much to her relief, it looked like everything was still there. "You can have it back, just please don't tell my dad. Okay?"

"I won't." Clem hastily closed the first aid kit and raced back into the bathroom, leaving the girl behind in the hall. She scampered onto the window sill and leaned outside with the first aid kit in hand. She swung the kit back and forth a few times to build up momentum before sending it tumbling through the air and back onto the porch roof. She then stood up on the little bit of room afforded to her by the sill and hopped the gap with relative ease. Clem scooped up the kit and raced towards the window.

"You're back," exclaimed a relieved Christa. "You'd been gone so long I figured they'd caught you, or worse." Christa took the first aid kit and then helped Clementine through the window.

"The first aid kit wasn't in the bathroom," explained Clementine. "I needed... help, to find it."

"Help?" questioned Christa as she started digging through the kit for what she needed.

"I'll explain later." Clementine watched as Christa threaded a sewing needle with a length of fishing line. "Oh no..."