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

65. Amid the Ruins

Clementine's legs throbbed in pain from running so much. Her throat was sore from coughing repeatedly. Her lungs ached for air. She was cold, hungry, very thirsty and utterly alone. She had been moving along the highway as fast as she could, but each step was becoming more and more difficult. Finally, the girl found herself at her limit and just came to a stop.

While gasping for air, Clementine felt a familiar scratching sensation in her already tender throat. She tried to stifle it, but it was useless, and she started coughing uncontrollably. Clem coughed so hard, she felt like she'd hack up her very lungs before long, but the fit passed and she was able to breathe again.

After taking a few breaths, Clementine decided to survey her surroundings. It was getting late and it was still overcast out, painting the area in a dim gray light. Looking behind her, Clementine didn't see any walkers. She didn't know how long she had been running, but the herd moved slowly, allowing her to gain some ground on them.

Clem hadn't seen Sarah since she ran off after Carlos's death. Nor had Clementine seen anything that told her what happened to Nick or Christa. She didn't know what happened to Matt either, but she found herself not particularly concerned with him. Still, she had lost track of everyone right after Shaffer's gates were closed, where it took every bit of Clem's effort to get through the flood of walkers rushing towards them.

Recalling how hard it was to get away from the initial rush, Clementine found herself having a horrible thought. What if Christa never made it out of Shaffer's? What if she had been buried under walkers before she had a chance to get away? What if she was dead right now?

Clementine tried to tell herself that she made it out, and so did Sarah and Carlos, so Christa probably did too. But then she remembered that one walker who bit Carlos's leg despite smelling like them, and it just made her ponder Christa's fate all over again.

Trying to distract herself from such depressing thoughts, Clementine looked around for anything of interest. Failing to find anything, Clem forced herself to be interested in a dilapidated gas station near the edge of the road. Seeing as she was still catching her breath, Clementine figured she could investigate, reasoning she might find something to eat or drink in there.

Moving past the pumps, Clementine noticed a couple of open metal covers on the ground. Looking down into one of the openings, she saw a cap of some kind and realized these must be the gas tanks Ed told her about. It also dawned on Clem that Shaffer's had probably already visited this gas station, and there wasn't must chance of finding anything. But the door was right there, so she figured she'd at least check.

Holding her gun tight, Clementine carefully pulled the door open. She didn't see anything threatening, so she stepped inside. Much to her disappointment, if not to her surprise, someone had clearly already looted this gas station long before she got here. The shelves were completely bare. It was almost surreal how neatly picked clean they were.

Moving up and down between the aisles, Clem could read the displays attached to many of the shelves advertising colas, candy, jerky, and a great many things Clementine wished she had right now. Moving towards the cold case in the back, Clem sighed at viewing empty section after empty section. Not a single bottle of anything left to take.

Moving back towards the front, Clementine looked at the ground, noticing a few discarded wrappers and empty bottles lying about. Desperate for anything, Clem picked up an empty chips bag, hoping maybe to find some crumbs. But it was completely empty. She also opened one of the bottles, desperate for even just a drop to drink, but again, nothing, the bottle was dry as a bone.

Moving to the counter, Clem found some keychains and posters advertising lottery tickets. Neither of which she found all that helpful. There was also an item rack for lighters, but no actual lighters. Past that were several broken and empty cases for cigarettes, but no actual cigarettes.