Chapter Text
What an awful day.
Lee had said something like that once, on that train to Savannah after Duck and Katjaa died. It was a good fit for how Clementine felt at the time, and it worked just as well for how she felt right now.
Bandits attacking. Christa gone. Herself freezing and wet and sore all over. Lost. No weapons.
No food.
Clementine could feel the ache in her stomach. That… weasel or whatever it was would’ve been her first good meal in a while. Now she didn’t even have that.
At least the hunger was a decent distraction from the throbbing in her overworked legs.
She’d been following the same dirt path for a while now, with no sign of an end or anything useful in sight.
All around her, the forest felt like it was closing in. Thick pine needles and branches kept much light from reaching the ground, and Clementine’s mind swam with visions of walkers and bandits lurking in the darkness all around her.
Better to stick to the path, where she at least had some light.
Keeping her eyes firmly on the path ahead in search of potential threats, Clementine noticed something out of place with the nature around it.
There was a large rock, bigger than her, sitting right next to the path. And laying against it, was a light blue and green backpack.
At once, Clementine froze. Backpacks didn’t just show up in the forest on their own, which meant someone must’ve put it there. And if they’d put it there, they could still be nearby.
But if they were still around, why would they just leave it out in the open for someone to take? Maybe it’s empty and they ditched it?
As she tried to assess the potential dangers of checking it out, Clementine’s stomach reminded her of her hunger with a sudden pang.
Dang it. I guess it’s either take a look or starve…
In spite of her best judgment, Clementine advanced towards the backpack cautiously, keeping an eye out for danger. Seeing none, and finally reaching the rock, she knelt down to see if there was anything useful inside.
She opened up the zipper, and-
Oh. Oh wow.
Food. So much food. There were cans, and bottles of water. Packages of crackers and a box of cereal. Clementine sifted through the contents of the backpack, spying energy bars and-
“Oh wow...” Clementine whispered out loud this time.
Cookies. A pristine, unopened package of chocolate chip cookies.
It’s been so long since I’ve had chocolate!
They were probably stale after all this time, even unopened, but still.
Clementine laughed quietly to herself. It’d been an awful last few hours, but maybe things were finally looking up. This could keep her going for-
Clementine’s train of thought froze, her heart jumping into her throat at the unmistakable sound of footsteps rushing towards her.
She tried to turn to face it, only for the attacker to slam into her, knocking her to the ground on her belly. Before she could try to stand up or roll away or do anything, a weight settled on her back, pinning her in place.
Crying out, Clementine writhed and struggled, but couldn’t seem to break free as her attacker forced her harder against the ground. She whimpered, as she realized that her carelessness had finally gotten her killed.
Just like Omid. Just like… Lee.
But the expected sensation of teeth tearing into her flesh never came. As Clementine’s wits returned to her, she realized that her assailant had to be a person. Partially because they weren’t currently tearing her apart, but mostly because of all the shouting.
“-get away from my stuff, you dirty thief!” Clementine managed to catch out of the flurry of words being thrown at her.
There was no time to think. Renewing her struggle with determination, Clementine managed to catch the other person in the stomach with an elbow, forcing their breath out with a grunt.
Finally, Clementine was able to buck them off, and she rolled onto her back.
Before she could get her bearings though, they were back on her, and Clementine was met with angry green eyes glaring down at her.
Gotta find shelter soon, Jessie thought to herself, leaning against the large rock she’d found next to the trail.
Her backpack was propped up against the rock, full of hard-won food and supplies that would hopefully keep her going for weeks, if she was careful.
It was risky checking out those houses, but it was definitely worth it. Even if those creeps nearly got me. Just a few moments longer, and they’d have been all over me…
No point worrying about that right now. She was alive, and she had food. That’s all that mattered.
Still, would’ve been nice to find some medical supplies…
Jessie was shaken from her musings by a bloodcurdling sound: footsteps, headed her way.
Crud!
Immediately Jessie was standing up straight, preparing herself to run or fight, whatever she needed to do.
She looked down at her backpack, realizing just how hard it would be to run with it weighing her down. Looks like she’d have to fight. Or hide. No way was she leaving it behind.
Thinking quickly, Jessie ran across the dirt path, slipping behind a tree large enough to hide her frame.
Let’s see what I’m dealing with. If it’s a creep, maybe it’ll just pass me by.
Jessie listened as the footsteps drew closer and closer, fingering the survival knife sheathed at her hip. She held her breath as they suddenly stopped close by.
Deciding to risk it, Jessie quietly poked her head around the tree.
It was a girl. One around her own age, in a purple shirt, jeans, and ballcap. And she was rooting through Jessie’s bag.
Jessie saw red.
Before she could really process her own actions, she left her hiding place, charging across the trail and slamming into the little brat who was trying to steal the food she’d worked so hard to get.
They tumbled to the ground, and Jessie was immediately on Purple Shirt’s back, trying to hold her down.
Trying was the keyword, because Purple Shirt was putting up one heck of a fight, twisting and writhing like a snake trying to break dance as she tried to escape. Jessie was shouting, though if you’d asked her she wouldn’t have been able to remember everything she was saying.
“Get away from my stuff, you dirty thief!”
Suddenly, Jessie found herself dislodged from her position of dominance as the little thief slammed an elbow into her stomach, driving her breath out. She yelped as she was thrown off of Purple Shirt’s back, and the thief rolled over.
Unfortunately for her, Jessie was a fighter. She quickly lunged forward again, pinning Purple Shirt down by her arms.
She stared into panicked amber eyes, and opened her mouth to tell the thief to just give up already.
That was when a knee slammed into her gut.
Wheezing in pain, Jessie fell off of her opponent, heart racing as she realized she was open to a counterattack.
Panting heavily, Clementine pushed herself up into a sitting position, ready for another attack any second.
Seeing her attacker gasping on the ground, Clementine decided it was time to get some answers.
She scrambled forward, pinning the girl’s arms down and straddling her so that she couldn’t use her legs to fight back.
Clementine stared down at the girl, and it was definitely a girl, one her own age.
The girl’s pale skin was flushed red from both her struggles to escape, and obvious rage that Clementine could see in her green eyes. Her hair was a sandy brown, cut close to her ears, and she wore a faded pink hoodie that was patched in a few areas with red thread.
As Clementine examined the girl, her attacker continued to rant and shout at her. Words like “brat” and “thief” were spat out at an impressive rate.
Clementine waited for a pause in the shouting, and then started asking her questions.
“Who are you?”
“Screw you, you dumb thief!”
“Why did you attack me?”
“You tried to take my stuff you-you dirty thief!”
“Is that your backpack?”
“Of course it is, you stupid brat!”
“Do you know any other insults besides brat or thief?”
“Screw you!”
This wasn’t really solving anything, and so Clementine sighed. “If I let you up, do you promise not to attack me again?”
For a moment, Clementine thought the fight was back on, as the other girl scrunched up her face and glared. Instead, the girl simply growled out a “fine” and went limp.
Slowly, carefully, Clementine stood up, still holding onto the girl’s arms. Then, she let go and scrambled back, not willing to give the girl a chance to double-cross her.
Rather than go back on her word, the other girl got up and rushed over to the backpack. She frantically pawed through it, as though making sure Clementine hadn’t pocketed anything.
Clementine approached, and the other girl whipped around, pulling out a knife from a sheathe at her hip.
“So, uh-” Clementine paused as the other girl glowered at her. “My name’s Clementine. What… what’s yours?” she asked, aware of how awkward it was to be so polite to a girl she’d just been fighting with.
She thought Pink Hoodie wouldn’t answer, until: “it’s Jessie.”
The girl-Jessie’s words were clearly forced, but at least she was being civil.
“So… Jessie. Any reason you decided to leave a pack full of food out in the open where anyone could find it?”
Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to start antagonizing her, but between how sore Clementine was, the hunger pangs she felt, and Jessie ambushing her like a lunatic, she wasn’t exactly in the friendliest of moods.
Jessie’s face reddened again, after it’d only just started to go back to normal. “Is it normal for you to go around trying to take stuff that doesn’t belong to you?”
Clementine’s mind went back years ago, to a station wagon in the woods. “I try not to. I’m… I’m sorry, okay? I’m just… really hungry.”
There was a brief glint of sympathy in Jessie’s eyes. Clementine didn’t doubt that she could relate to that.
Before she could do anything with that though, Jessie’s face hardened, and she pointed her knife at Clementine. “That’s not my problem. You don’t get to try and take this from me, not after what I went through for it.”
Clementine’s eyes narrowed. “I already said I was sorry. You don’t have to be such a jerk about it.”
Jessie scoffed. “A jerk? At least I’m not some little brat who goes around trying to steal peoples’ food.”
“Little brat?” Clementine glowered. “You’re the same age as me. Besides, if anyone here is a brat, it’s the girl who threw a temper tantrum because someone touched her stuff.”
That might’ve been a mistake. Jessie bared her teeth, and for a second Clementine thought the other girl would charge her again.
And then a growl emanated from a nearby bush.
They both whipped around to face it, Jessie raising her knife. Very aware of how defenseless she was, Clementine prepared herself to run if she needed to.
As they stared, temporarily united by shared fear, Clementine’s heart rate increased, until something emerged from the bush that she’d never thought to prepare for.
A dog.
At once, Clementine relaxed. That… wasn’t what she was expecting, but she’d take it over a walker or a bandit.
Jessie on the other hand, kept her knife up, gazing warily at the dog.
Starting forward slowly, Clementine raised her hands to show she meant no harm. “Hey there, buddy… where are your owners?”
“Are you crazy?” Jessie whisper-yelled, as though somehow the dog wouldn’t hear her. “Don’t go near that thing; it could be rabid or something.”
“Why would you care?” Clementine scoffed, kneeling down to check the tag on the dog’s collar. “You seem perfectly willing to let me starve to death.”
Jessie flushed, then scowled. “Fine. Get your face ripped off for all I care.”
Smirking at her small victory, Clementine gingerly held the tag as the dog stood patiently. “Sam, huh? That’s a very nice name for a very nice boy, isn’t it, Sam?”
She fought the urge to look back at Jessie when she heard the brunette snort.
“Do you know where I can find food, boy? I need to find some since somebody isn’t willing to share.”
This time she did look back, just in time to see Jessie scowl and look away.
Heh. Another point for me.
Clementine was distracted from her self-satisfaction as Sam turned and began to lumber away into the forest.
“Hey, wait for me!” Clementine cried, hurrying after him.
Jessie scowled at Clementine’s back as she ran after the probably-rabid dog, fully prepared to just take her bag and start walking in the opposite direction.
That was the plan. Until she started to think about it.
That dog must live somewhere nearby. If it has a place safe enough that the creeps haven’t got it yet, maybe it’s safe enough to stay for the night?
The thought of spending any more time with that little thief didn’t exactly fill Jessie with delight, but anything was better than being stuck out in the open at night where bandits and creeps could get at her.
Sighing, Jessie heaved her backpack over her shoulder, buckling slightly at the weight.
She set off after Clementine and the mutt, hoping very much that she wouldn’t regret this.