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

10. A Time to Reflect

"How's the arm sweetie?" asked Christa.

"It still hurts, a lot" whimpered the wounded nine-year-old. "But, I guess it's a little better than before."

"I'm so sorry about that Clem," apologized Christa. "It'll take some time for it to get better. But now that it's closed up you're gonna be okay. We'll get you cleaned up and then you can get some rest. Okay?" Clem didn't answer. "And, here, I want you to take this." Christa retrieved a pill bottle from the first aid box.

"What is it?"

"It's an antibiotic." Christa placed a rather large capsule in Clem's hand. "You swallow that so you won't get an infection. They're leftover from Savannah, from when Omid's leg..." Christa begin to choke up upon mentioning Omid's name. "Come on, I'll take you to the bathroom. Then I've got a lot to tell these people." Christa took Clem by the hand and led her out the door. As they emerged into the hallway they saw Carlos approaching from the direction of Clementine's room.

"Here." Carlos thrust a pink shirt and a small pair of jeans into Christa's arms.

"It didn't scare your girl too much to give these up?" scoffed Christa.

"I'm serious when I said to keep away from her," reminded Carlos in a cold voice. "If either of you do anything to her, Pete won't save you." Carlos marched down the stairs without another word.

"Can you believe that man?" asked Christa. "Going on about his girl after what he did to you?" Christa walked with Clem to the bathroom. She set Clem's clothes on the sink and moved to the linen closet.

"What a shock, they didn't steal our towels while they were at it." Christa handed Clem a towel and moved to the open window. "I can't believe what they put you through." Christa closed the window. "Okay, you get all cleaned up. And don't forget to swallow that pill I gave you. I'll be back in a minute." Christa gave Clem a final concerned look, then left her alone in the bathroom.

Clem locked the door and then moved to the mirror over the sink. It was dark so she could only see her reflection's outline. She moved in closer to the mirror, hoping to see more, when a flash of lightning briefly illuminated the room. The sudden sight of her own reflection startled Clementine. Her face was completely caked in dried blood and dirt.

Clem instinctively started scrubbing her face as hard as she could. As her eyes adjusted to the low light, Clementine could see the rest of herself in the mirror. Her dress was more of a tattered rag than a piece of clothing at this point. It was only now Clementine realized her hat was gone. It must have come off sometime during her escape.

Saddening as its absence was, Clementine was presently more concerned with trying to clean off the layer of filth she had acquired. She wished the cabin had running water so she could just take a bath, instead all she had was handfuls of rainwater from the window sill.

After cleaning herself the best she could, Clementine changed into the pink shirt and jeans Christa had left her. She usually didn't wear them because she liked her dress more, and the shirt was a little too big as well. But looking at what was left of her dress lying on the floor made Clementine realize it had probably seen its last day.

Clem took the pill Christa had given her and put it in her mouth. She had never swallowed a pill before, only having chewable or liquid medicines. The size of the capsule made things difficult, seemingly choking Clem as she tried to swallow it. Eventually, the pill worked its way out of her throat and into her stomach. Although it paled in comparison to what else she had suffered this day, swallowing the antibiotic proved to be yet another miserable new experience for Clem.

Stepping back into the hall, Clementine wandered over to the handrail and looked down at the first floor. She couldn't see anyone, but she could hear Christa arguing with the others. She couldn't really focus on what they were saying, it just sounded like ambient noise to Clem. As her eyes drifted across the hall, she noticed the door to her room was slightly ajar. As she looked more closely, the door creaked open a bit more, revealing that the girl with glasses was watching her through the opening.

Her eyes locked with Clem's, much to Clem's surprise. She could see a clear sign of concern on Sarah's face, as well as what looked like an inkling of curiosity. Clementine looked at the older girl, unsure what to think. She was expecting her to say something, but instead, Sarah just smiled at Clementine. It was a strange sight, but not an unpleasant one. It was then Christa came marching upstairs, prompting the older girl to retreat back into Clementine's room.

"What they say?" asked Clem, not particularly interested in the answer.

"They said they'll deal with getting food and water while they're here, and they'll give us our guns back when they leave in a few days," reported an irritated Christa. "And here. That Nick guy found this when he went to check out the shed." Clem was surprised to see Christa holding her hat. "Shocked he didn't claim it as his own or something." Clementine eagerly took her hat back, only to find it was soaking wet. "You might want to wait for it to dry out before you put it back on."

"Yeah..." Clem was also disappointed to see how dirty it was. Covered in both blood stains and patches of mud.

"One other thing. Carlos refuses to move his daughter, so you'll need to stay in my room." Christa retrieved the first aid kit and led Clementine to the bedroom.

"Carlos also says we're not to talk about any of this in front of his kid." Christa sat down with Clementine and carefully grasped her arm. "He doesn't even want us mentioning the fact you're not my daughter in front of her." Clem flinched as Christa applied the alcohol soaked rag to her arm again. It didn't hurt nearly as much as before, but it still hurt. "And we can't say anything about what they did to you." Christa removed a bandage from the first aid box and started wrapping Clem's arm. "And especially not about what happened to Omid." Christa finished wrapping Clem's arm and hastily closed up the first aid box. Looking at Christa, Clem could see she was on the verge of tears. Looking away Clem noticed a pair of plates sitting beside Christa.

"What... what's that?" asked Clementine.

"Dinner." Christa slid one of the plates over to Clem. It had a piece of cooked fish on it and a fork. "Apparently, they will be feeding us." The anger in Christa's voice was overshadowed by her sorrow. Clementine looked down at the plate. She was very hungry, yet she didn't really feel like eating. Reluctantly she took the fork and started cutting into the fish.

"They..." Christa covered her face with her hand, trying to hide how distraught she had become. "They said they'll bury him in the morning." Clementine watched Christa try to hold back her tears, making choked little sobs in an attempt to swallow her sadness. She moved in close to Christa, who instinctively put her arm around the small girl. Christa held Clem close, who simply laid her head against the woman's pregnant belly. They ate their meals in quiet, then went to bed without a word between them.

The next morning, Pete did as he promised. He and Nick dug a grave for Omid and buried his body beside the back porch. Christa was barely able to control herself as she watched what was left of the man she loved be put to rest. She bounced back and forth between sobbing to herself and angrily staring at Nick, who seemed troubled by the funeral himself.

Clementine however couldn't find it in herself to cry. Seeing the man who had been so kind to her dragged into a shallow grave was a deeply saddening sight. Yet she didn't seem to have any tears left to spare even for someone she cared so much for. It was if she had used them all up already on all the other people she had already lost.

Finding it difficult to watch Omid be buried, Clem's eyes drifted skyward. It was a beautiful day. Sunny and not too cool. Clem could hear a few birds singing in the distance. There was a slight breeze blowing. The trees glistened from the fresh rain. And out of the corner of Clementine's eye, she spotted the girl in glasses, watching the whole thing through one of the cabin's windows.