Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ben stiffened as another Walker thumped against the shudders covering the way out of the abandoned store. His grip tightened around Clementine slumped against his side. The poor girl had cried herself to sleep not twenty minutes ago. Her small hand was curled in his, squeezing his fingers every couple of seconds. Ben forced himself to relax back against the wall as he pointedly kept his eyesight on the ground. His stomach twisted in knots at the thought of what laid ahead of him. Who laid ahead of him.

He still couldn’t believe Lee was gone.

The man’s final words still rang in his head. Ben, I need to you t-to take care of Clementine...Get-get her out o-of the city...Find Omid and Christa.

Ben looked towards the entrance as the banging quieted down some. They had to leave soon if they stood any chance of getting out of the city. He hesitated at the thought of waking Clem, she looked exhausted. He was exhausted. It took a long time for Ben to finally get moving. He gently moved Clem off his side and laid her down on the ground before he pulled himself to his feet. She shifted slightly and curled onto her side.

‘Maybe there’s a back door,’ Ben thought. He made his way towards the office, quickly moving around the dead guard. The room was small with only a desk, computer, a large storage shelf, and two doors. Peeking through the dirty window in the far door, he could just make out what looked like a storage room. Ben could barely make out overturned boxes and spared display cases. He tried the doorknob, finding it locked, before moving to the second door. It looked to be a possible backdoor with what looked like the remnants of an exit sign that had fallen off. Unsurprisingly, the door was also locked. ‘The keys must be around here somewhere.’

Ben dug through the desk draws and the surrounding area. Hesitantly Ben turned towards the Guard, spotting the key ring on his belt. He was partially laying on them so Ben would have to move him to get to them.

“Of course that’s where they’d be,” Ben grumbled.

Ben slowly inched himself towards the corpse, watching him for the slightest movement. He knew realistically he was dead, Ben had bashed his head in with a baseball bat, but he couldn’t help but expect him to suddenly lunge at him. Ben nudged the Walker over with his foot before leaning down to quickly snatch the key ring. Luckily there were only three keys so it didn’t take long for him to find the right one.

Ben had to take a couple of minutes to calm his anxiety before slowly pushing the door open and peeking out into the alleyway. It was eerily quiet outside with the distant sounds of the undead in the streets. Ben ducked back inside and closed the door. He walked back into the main room and over to Clementine. Kneeling down next to her, he reached out to gently shake her shoulder.

“Clem, wake up,” Ben said. Clem mumbled something that Ben couldn’t catch before blinking her eyes open.

“Ben?” Clem sat up and rubbed her eyes before looking up at the teen. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying making Ben’s heartache. He tried to offer her a comforting smile, though it didn’t reach his eyes. Clementine reached up to adjust her hat on her head (a coping mechanism Ben had learned) as she looked around the shop. Her eyes drifted towards the far corner where Lee was. Her eyes started welling up again. Ben quickly moved to block her gaze.

“Clem, we need to get going,” Ben said, catching her attention. He tried to not let his anxiety bleed into his voice, not wanting to scare her. “Christa and Omid are probably looking us. We can get out through the back.”

Clementine didn’t respond. Ben sighed before offering his hand to her and pulling her to feet once she took it. He guided her back to the office, stopping to grab the baseball bat from where it laid by the desk. He swallowed thickly at the sight of blood and still clinging to the wood. Both Clem and Ben took one last look to Lee, an air of finality coming over them.

“Goodbye, Lee,” Clementine whispered. She tightened her hold on Ben’s hand as she turned away.

Ben stayed silent as Clementine wiped her eyes on her sleeves. He felt horrible for rushing her but he gently pulled her towards the back door and out into the empty alleyway. Ben looked around the corner of the alley's entrance, checking the surrounding street. There was a small group of Walkers off in the distance, slowly ambling towards their end of the street. They were far enough away that Clem and Ben could possibly go unnoticed if they were quiet.

Clementine peaked around Ben and out into the street. Across the way was another alleyway with a chain link fence at the far end they could hop. Ben knew Lee wanted them to stay up high and off the streets, but he didn’t trust himself to keep Clem safe on the rooftops. Ben couldn’t tell if it was his hand trembling or her’s. Either way, he tightened his hold on her hand as he prepared to make a run for it. “Stay close to me,” Ben whispered. The Walkers were slowly growing closer so if they were going to go they had to go now.

Ben took a deep breath and counted to three before running to the adjacent alley. Ben only slowed down enough to kneel down to give Clementine a boost to get over the fence. Clem looked unsure as she looked over to down at the ground. The fence looked to be about 8 feet tall. For Ben, it wouldn’t be much of a problem to jump down, but for Clem, it was a rather high hight. Ben quickly climbed up and swung his legs over the other side so he a sitting next to her.

He reached out a give her arm a comforting squeeze; “It’s ok. I’ll catch you.”

Ben climbed down a foot before jumping down the rest of the way. After gaining his balance, he looked up to Clem offering her a smile as he held out his arms. Sounds of Walkers were growing steadily louder and Ben spared a quick glance to the entrance to see some Walkers stumbling towards them. Clem noticed them too. The Walkers starting shaking the fence, making Clem tighten her grip.

“Clementine!” Ben cried. He shoved his bat through the fence in an attempt to Knock back a Walker. It only succeeded in making the fence shack more. Ben’s anxiety was rising quickly. “Shit. C-Clem, you have to-to jump down.”

Ben threw down his bat to raise his arms as Clem leapt off the top of the fence. Clem landed in his arms, wrapping her arms tightly around the teen’s neck. Ben held on to her just as tight. They stayed like that for a long time before the sounds of the undead brought them back to reality. Ben placed Clementine on the ground, keeping his arm around her shoulders.

The Walkers still tried to get to them, pushing their fingers through the chain links in hunger. The sun was starting to set over the city and the light was starting to fade quickly into long shadows. It was going to be harder to get out of the city in the dark. They still had no idea where Christa and Omid were. Ben slid down the brick wall and pulled his knees up to his chest. It was getting harder to breathe as he dug his fingers into his scalp.

“Ben?”

He shakingly looked up at Clem. She reached her hand out to him, stopping just before he touched his shoulder. Her eyes were filled with terror as he shot from him to the alley opening and back to him. It only helped to make him feel worse. Ben forced himself to climb to his feet. His legs felt like they were going to give out on him at any moment. He took a moment to try and calm his heart rate before speaking.

“I...I-I’m ok. Let-let’s keep m-moving.”

Clementine looked unconvinced but said nothing as she reached up to slip her hand into his, squeezing it tight. It took another minute before Ben could get his legs to move. They had maybe twenty minutes of light left before they would be running around blindly. He held tight to Clem’s hand as he grabbed his bat off the ground as led her out of the alley into the street. They were past the hoard now, a few stragglers could be seen in the far distance. Clementine tugged on Ben’s hand, gaining the teen's attention to before pointing to the other end of the road.

“The bridge.” Ben brightened up. “We get across that and we’ll be in the countryside!”

“Christa and Omid could be out there already!” Clem said, smiling up at Ben.

He returned it easily. “We shouldn’t keep them waiting then.”

The jovial air that had come over the duo was broken by the sight of a group of Walkers blocking the bridge. There was only five of them ambling around. Ben tightened his grip on his bat. There’s no way he’d be able to kill them with just a bat. Neither he or Clem had any bullets left, their only gun in Clementine’s bag, and he wasn’t about to risk her life to smash each of the Walker's brains.

'We’ll have to make a run for it.' Ben thought, his heart rate speeding up. Out loud he said; “Clem, when I say ‘run’, run.”

Clementine looked up at him startled. Ben knelt down in front of her, offering her want he hoped was a comforting smile; “I promise I’ll be right behind you. I’m gonna knock the Walkers out of the way with my bat, and we’re going to run across the bridge.”

Clem hesitated before nodding. Ben rose to his feet before letting go of Clementine’s hand. He gripped the handle of the bat tightly in both hands as he stepped forward. He tried his best to keep his breathing calm as he rose his weapon up high. A Walkers turned its head towards him just as he wrung. The bat collided with the Walker with a loud crack. Ben’s shoulders ached from the force of the collision, causing him to let out a hiss of pain.
“Run!” He shouted.

A flash of red shooting past him was Ben’s cue to start running. He took off down the bridge behind Clementine, quickly catching up to her. They wove between abandoned cars and other obstacles in their way, neither daring to slow down even for a second.

~*~

The moon has begun its ascent by the time Ben and Clementine reached the end of the other end of the bridge into the countryside. Both were breathing hard when they finally came to a stop. Ben took a few shaky steps forwards before toppling over into a patch of grass. He laid there on his back for a long time just staring up at the darkening sky and trying catching his breath. Clementine came to sit down next to him, reaching up to fix her hat that had almost fallen off during their escape across the bridge.

“So...now what do we do?” Clementine asked after a long moment.

Ben pushed himself up into a sitting position. “We should look for Christa and Omid. They must be worried about us.”

“Before we do,” Clem paused, playing with a bill of her hat. “What, what happened to Kenny? You and…and...Lee” She rubbed her palm into her watering eyes. “only mentioned looking for Omid and Christa. But not Kenny.”

Ben looked down at his lap, wrapping his arms around his abdomen. He took a deep breath before speaking; “He, um, Christa had fallen through the floor and Kenny jump down to help her up.” He stopped, trying to find the right words.

“There had been Walkers and...and couldn’t reach him-” He cut himself off when his voice cracked.

Clem was silent as she presses into Ben’s side, the teen did not hesitate to wrap his arms around her. He leaned down to rest his cheek against the top of her head. Soft cries filled the air as the events of the day finally caught up to them. Ben looked towards the dark silhouette of Savannah as tears fell down his face. He thought of all the friends he had lost, who they had lost in that damned city. His hold of Clem tightened.

‘Ben, I need to you t-to take care of Clementine.’ The thought ran through Ben’s head.

He would. No matter what he was going to care of Clem. He wasn’t going to run away again.

Chapter Text

Ben adjusted his hold on Clementine resting on his back as he continued along the road. Clem’s arms were wrapped loosely around his neck, snoring softly on his shoulder. The moon was high in the sky, giving off just enough light for him to see where he was walking. They still had yet to run into Christa or Omid. He was starting to think they never would.

Ben shook the thought from his head. He couldn’t think about that. They had to be around here somewhere. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Clementine shifting around behind him.

“Ben?” She mumbled, barely raising her head up. He tilted his head to glance back at her. “It’s dark, you should sleep.”

“I’m ok…” He said. He fought back a yawn.

Ben didn’t like the idea of sleeping with them out in the open like this. He turned his gaze back towards the road. They were about 2 miles away from Savannah and the road was empty, save for a few cars scattered here and there. He fixed his grip on Clem again as his arms grew tired. He knew, realistically, he should stop. He was running low on energy and his legs felt like they’d give out on him any minute now.
Clementine pulled on Ben’s jacket, making him come to a stop.

“What’s wrong?” Ben asked, turning back to her.

“You need to stop,” Clementine stated firmly. A pout formed on her face.

It made Ben think of his little sister. She’d pull the same face whenever Ben being stubborn. ‘She’s not that much older than Clem.’ He thought, frowning. “I- ok. I’ll stop.”

Clem smiled at him before resting her head back on his shoulder. Ben looked around their surroundings, trying to find a good place to rest for the night. His eyes landed on a short hill with a tree and a long laying on top of it. He turned in its direction and quickly made his way up to the top. It had a good vantage point, he’d be able to see any Walkers coming from a mile away. The fields around them were vacant of any other beings, alive or otherwise, so Ben forced himself to relax.

He knelt down, allowing for Clem to slid off his back and onto the grass. She rubbed her eyes with a sleeve covered hand as she watched the teen sit down next to her, his back resting against the log. His hand landed on cold metal on the ground, and a glance down showed that there were stray bullets. He scooped them up in his hand to get a closer look at them. He didn’t know much about guns (Lee had attempted to show him how to use a gun), but he hoped these could be used for the gun in Clem’s bag. He put the bullets into Clem’s bag before she moved to rest against Ben side, tucking herself under his arm. Ben smiled down at her as he finally let his eyes slip closed.

“‘Night, Ben.” Clem curled closer before falling silent.

It was quiet then, almost peaceful. Ben shifted around until he was laying on his back before letting Clementine’s soft snores carry him off to sleep.

~*~

Ben was jostled awake by something grabbing at his jacket. His eyes shot open and for a few sickening seconds, he thought a Walker had him. At another shake, Ben’s gaze shot down to Clem's hand pulling at his lettermen before looking up at Clem herself. She was practically bouncing in place and she pointed excitedly ahead of her.

“Ben, look!” She exclaimed. “I think it’s them- Christa and Omid!”

Ben looked to where she was pointing before jumping up himself. Off in the distance were two figures walking over another hill. They were too far away to make anything out, but Ben could almost see one was shorter than the other. The shorter one stopped and seemed to turn towards them, the other following suit. Before Ben could react, Clementine took off running towards them.

“Clem! Wait up!” Ben quickly grabbed their things before he ran after her, almost stumbling on his way down the hill.

The two were practically sprinting through the field as excitement took over. Subconsciously, Ben noticed that the couple weren’t moving towards them and seemed to just be standing there, not reacting to them at all. They were a foot away from the pair when any excitement Ben was feeling was replaced with dread.

It wasn't Omid and Christa.

Ben’s hand shot out to grab Clem’s arm and yank her back towards him. They fell back down the hill as the two Walkers lunged at them. Ben scrambled out of the way of grasping hands, wincing as a sharp pain erupted from his right knee. He swung his bat at the closest Walker, Knocking it down to slam his weapon into its head.

Clem snatched her backpack from Ben, digging through it for a couple of seconds before pulling out the gun and bullets. She quickly loads the weapon. Ben shoved the remaining Walker away from him, allowing for Clem to shot it in the head. The shot rang out through the field, almost deafening in the otherwise silence.

Clementine was shaking as she ran to Ben’s side. Her eyes flicked over Ben, as her hands hovered over his person. When her gaze landed on the new bloodstained tear in the knee of his jeans, he immediately knew what she was looking for.

“It’s ok, I just scraped my knee.” He was quick to reassure. He wiped the blood away from the small wound, hissing at the slight sting.

Clem was quite as she looked at his knee for another second before looking in her bag again. She produced a bandage and handed it to the teen. A soft smile tugged at Ben lips as he took the bandage, bending down to place it over his scraped knee. He straightened up, bending the joint slightly.

“Thanks.” He said. He rested his hand on top of her hat, giving it a gentle tousle.

It had the desired effect as Clementine let out a giggle. Ben chuckled warmly in response. He pulled away to check the surrounding area. There weren’t any more Walkers around, though he was sure that wouldn’t last long.

“We should get going.” He said, turning back to his younger friend. “That shot was pretty load.”

Clementine frowned, looking down at her feet; “Sorry.”

Ben mentality kicked himself.

“No, no, you really had my back there.” He smiled at Clem. “Honestly, I probably would have wasted all our bullets trying to get the shot and make a bunch of noise.”

A small smile appeared on Clem’s face as she lifted her head up to him. She put the gun back into her bag before he slung her backpack straps over her shoulders and moved to put her hand in Ben’s. The duo moved back towards the road, continuing in the direction they were the night previously.

“I wish we had a map.” Ben sighed. “Maybe we can find a rest stop for one.”

“And find Christa and Omid on the way,” Clementine suggested.

Ben smiled faintly as he looked ahead of them. Clementine lightly swung their hands between them as she looked around their surroundings. Ben silently noticed that despite her almost calm demeanour, Clem’s hold on his hand was borderline too tight. He squeezed back in the hopes of soothing whatever was going through her head. It didn’t seem to have much of an effect.

Chapter Text

Ben moved through the aisles of the small store in the rest stop. Clementine was a few aisles down, looking for any food that wasn’t expired and still edible. He glanced up at her over the shelves, making sure she was ok before going back to looking for a map. The two worked in silence, to focus on their respective tasks to really hold a conversation.

Ben made his way towards the counter and quickly climbed over it. There wasn’t much, just some knick-knacks and a few packs of cigarettes. He dug around in the shelves and pulled open drawers and cabinets.

“Found one,” Ben called, hold up a well-worn map.

The words and route markings were faded but legible enough to still be useful. Clementine came to stand in front of him, pulling herself up onto the counter to see the map. Looking over the map, Ben came to the sudden realization that they had nowhere to go. He rested his elbows against the surface and hung his head between his shoulders.

“What W-Well-ing-ton?” Clementine questioned, carefully sounding out the word.

Ben raised his head to follow where Clem was pointing on the map. Writing in red marker over Ohio was the word Wellington. He thought he remembered hearing Christa talk about it.

“I think I overheard Christa telling Lee about a ‘Wellington’,” Clem visibly flinched at the mention of Lee. “It’s some kind of settlement in Ohio.”

Ben found himself weighing the options and whether or not they should go. They had no idea what was up north and if was just as bad as the south or worse. Ben looked but over at Clem. ‘She could be safer in Wellington than here with me.’ He thought and that made going to Wellington worth it.

“It’d be worth a look,” Ben said.

“Really?” Clementine raised a questioning brow at the teen.

“Yeah.” Ben straightened up and crossed his arms. “It could be like a big road trip. Plus, it gives us somewhere to go.”

Clementine looked off in thought before turning back to him and nodding. Ben nodded in return before looking back at the map. He traced his index finger along its surface, trying to draw out a rout.

“I think we should go up through the Carolinas to Virginia,” Ben suggested, tracing the path. “Then to West Virginia and we’ll be in Ohio.”

Ben wasn’t sure if it was the best plan, he’s never travelled that far before, but it was best he could come with. Seeming in agreement, Clem nodded once more before grabbing the map and hopping down as Ben climbed back over the counter. She handed the now folded map to teen, who tucked it into his back jean pocket.

“Oh! I found this for you.” She pulled out a black faux leather-bound notebook with Travel written across the top. Her eyes were bright with excitement as she presented it to him. “You said once that you liked to write and how you had lost you last notebook before we met.”

Ben smiled as he took the notebook. He was surprised Clem remembered that since he had kind of just it in passing. “Thanks, Clem. This-this means a lot.”

Clem’s smiled only widened. Ben turned the book over in his hands and flipped through a couple of pages. It was a bit scuffed along the edges and the pages had a layer of dust on them. His mind was already coming up with ideas to fill the pages with. He slipped it into the backpack he had found earlier in the store, frowning at the abysmal amount of supplies he had manages to find: a box of Tylenol, 4 packets of beef jerky, and a small flashlight. He sighed softly, zipping the bag up and slinging it over his shoulders.

“Clem, did you find any supplies?” Ben asked.

“Um, I found a bag of trail mix under one of the shelves,” She pulled out a decently sized bag from her pack. “And 2 water bottles. One for both of us.”

She handed one of the bottles to Ben, tucking the other back in her bag with the trail mix. She mimicked the teen’s actions and moved her backpack to her back. The two walked to the entrance to peak out into the empty parking lot. Ben went out first, checking around before gesturing for Clem to follow.

“If we’re going to Ohio, We should see about finding a car,” Ben said. “Otherwise, it gonna be a long walk.”

“Do you know how to drive?” Clem asked.

Ben playfully nudged her shoulder; “Yes I know how to drive, Clem.”

Clementine brought a hand up to cover her mouth as she giggled. Ben rolled his eyes, bringing up a fist to rub into Clem’s head and rub into her hat. She squeaked and ducked away from his hand, sticking out her tongue at him. She fixed her hat to sit properly on her head, before crossing her arms with a huff. The small smile that had appeared on her face, disappeared just as quickly as her hand reached out to take its usual spot in Ben’s hand. Ben didn’t mind though. He found it just as much of a comfort she seemed to.

Ben could already tell they weren’t going to find a useable car anytime soon. The parking lot around them was vacant with trash strewn about the ground. Ben sighed deeply, closing his eyes. Reopening his eyes, Ben looked up at the sky. It was only about late morning, almost noon and if they were going to get any progress done before sundown, they should get moving now. He hesitated. He had no idea if they would find any sort of shelter before night. Yet the idea of spending the night in another store sent a shudder down his spine.

“I guess we should start walking,” Ben sighed again. He pulled the map out of his pocket. Ben wished he still had his phone and GPS. “We need to head in that direction.” Ben pointed down the road ahead of them, hoping he was reading the directions right.

Clementine didn’t say anything as she followed along when Ben started walking. He glanced down at her, but couldn’t see her face under the bill of her hat. Her head was tilted down slightly and her hold on the teen’s hand was slowly getting tighter. Ben didn’t know what to do. He knew she was grieving, but he didn’t know how to make it better.
“So…” Ben started lamely. “Any specific car you want?”

“Um, a moving one..?” Clem said, a teasing lilt in her voice.

Ben snorted; “I’ll keep an eye out for one.”

The duo fell back into silence, the sound of birds chirping overhead and their shoes hitting the asphalt were the only sounds to be heard.

Chapter Text

When they finally found a working car, Ben nearly cried in relief. It had been four weeks by the time they had found the vehicle and the two were more than happy to not have to walk long distances anymore. The discovery coincided with their arrival to South Carolina.

Ben glanced up to the rearview mirror at Clem in the backseat. She was curled up on the seat with Ben’s school jacket draped over her as a makeshift blanket. He turned back to the dimly lit road. It was sunset and he’d have to stop soon before it got too dark. It was all strangely calm out here on the road, he wasn’t the greatest driver in the world but it was pretty smooth going. It was relaxing.

That is until Clementine suddenly shot up in the backseat with a cry of “Lee!”

Ben jumped, swerving to the left before his foot slammed down on the breaks. The car lurched forwards before stopping completely. Ben hissed in pain as his elbowed buckled. At the sound of a strangled cry, his gaze shot to the back of the car. Clem’s tearful gaze shot around the car as her breathing hitched. Her eyes landed on Ben in front of her and he felt his heart jump to his throat that the pure sorrow and fear in her eyes. Her breathing hitched once more as tears began to stream down her face.

Ben’s mind blanked on what to do was Clementine pulled her knees up and buried her face in them as she sobbed. His hands hovered in the space between them as he tried to think of what Lee would do, only to realize he had no idea. He’d never seen Clem have a nightmare before.

Ben hesitated before shutting off the car and climbing between the front seats and into the back to sit next to Clem. He reached out and lightly pulled Clementine to his chest, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. She stiffened for a second before her arms flung up and wrapped around his waist tightly.

“Hey, i-it’s ok.” Ben tried. He lifted a hand to card his fingers through Clem’s hair.

“I-I...I got L-Lee k-killed!” She cried. She buried to face into Ben’s chest, grip tightening.

Ben swallowed around the lump forming in his throat; “No-no you didn’t.” Clementine shook her head in denial.

“Clem, Lee- he loved you so much a-and would’ve done a-anything for you. Y-you didn’t kill him.”

Clem sniffled, wiping her face against Ben’s hoodie. Ben felt his own tears start to fall down his cheeks. ‘This is my fault.’ Ben thought dejected. He hadn’t been strong enough to shoot Lee when he started to turn. He pulled her closer, resting his cheek on top of her head. Clementine’s muffled sobs filled the small space to where Ben was worried the noise might attract something. Ben immediately pushed that thought to the back of his mind to focus on his distressed friend.

“I-If Lee n-never-”

“Don’t say that.” Ben cut in. “What happened to Lee isn’t your fault.”

His frown deepened as Clem shook her head. He continued to rub his hand over her back as he struggled to think of what to do. Without thinking, Ben starts to hum quietly. It was something he would do for his little sister when she was upset and it was almost second nature to him. Ben knew he wasn’t really that great at singing, his voice cracked too much to sound nice. Clementine didn’t react at first, but slowly her sobs quieted to sniffles and hiccups. She curled closer to turning her face so could wipe her face on her sleeve.

Ben’s humming slowly turned to quiet singing as he leaned back against the seat. He picked his jacket up from where it had fallen onto the floor and wrapped it around his young friend’s shoulders. Clem curled her fingers into the faded blue fabric, pulling it closer as she relaxed into the teen’s side. Ben waited until her breathing evened out before he stopped singing. Ben sighed, bringing his hand up to press into his eyes.

‘What the hell am I doing?” Ben thought, defeated. He pushed his grown bangs off his face with a grimace.

Ben looked down at Clem. He lowered his hand to wipe any stray tears off of her face before resting it on her shoulder. Clem shifted slightly, her hand slipping out from under his jacket to curl her fingers around his. A small tired smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

Clementine trusts him to keep her safe, and he’d be damned if he wasted that trust.

Chapter Text

The weeks following Clem’s nightmare, she seemed happier. Though she still had her moments where she’d just hold Ben’s hand and wouldn’t say anything. Simply nodding or humming to what Ben was saying. Ben tried to be there for her in those moments. Even if ‘being there’ meant just holding her hand and giving her time to process everything.

This morning was one of those times. The two were currently travelling down the forested mountain roads of South Carolina. Ben relaxed back in the driver seat while Clem sat next to him on the passenger side. She sat cross-legged on the seat with Ben’s journal sat in her lap. She was quietly doodling on one of the pages. Ben glanced over to her quickly before turning back to the road.

“What, um, what are you drawing?” Ben asked, awkwardly.

She paused for a few seconds before responding, “Us.”

“Can I see?” Ben smiled. He slowed down before turning his gaze to Clem.

Clementine slowly held up the notebook to show the teen her drawing, holding the book sideways. The two figures on the page were holding hands, big smiles on both their faces. Their names were written over their respective drawing to indicate who was who.

“That’s really good, Clem,” Ben said.

Clem smiled shyly and she pulled the notebook back to continue her drawing. Ben smiled down at her before turning back to the road, the two falling back into silence. The only sounds to be heard was the scraping of graphite on paper and the soft roar of the car engine.

The silence was once again broken by Ben’s stomach growling. He tried to ignore it, keeping his attention focused on the road ahead. His attention was pulled away by the sound of a ripper and a bag crinkling. Ben looked back over to the passenger side as Clementine held up the almost empty bag of trail mix to him. She held it closer to him when the teen hesitated, her mouth in a thin line. Ben relented and released a hand from the steering wheel to reach into the bag and scoop up a hand full of the mix.

Clem watched the boy to make sure he ate all of it. Ben felt a pang of guilt in his gut. He knew she noticed that most of their supplies went to her, despite him trying to be subtle about it. Clem looked satisfied with Ben eating as she took her own hand full and tucked the bag back in her pack. She adjusted the bottom of her new blue hoodie, as she leaned back in her seat, resting her head against the window.

“We have a few hours of gas left,” Ben stated. “You can sleep more if you want.”

Clementine was quiet as she moved her hat to shield her eyes from the sun. She sat Ben’s journal on the middle console before tucking her legs up under her. Her amber eyes looked out over the dense foliage as it sped by outside.

“Ben?” Clem’s voice was almost too soft for Ben to catch.

“Yeah, Clem?” He flitted his gaze between her and the road.

She was quiet for a moment before speaking; “Can- can you sing to me again?”

“S-sure. Any requests?”

Clem shrugged and shook her head. Ben started quietly singing the same song sang to her days prior. He looked over at Clem every couple of moments to see she was falling asleep. Clementine was soon slumped against her seat, her hat tipping awkwardly to the side. Ben chuckled quietly as he reached over to take the accessory and sat it down on the dashboard. Turning back to the road, Ben continued to quietly sing to himself as a smile found its way to his lips.

Chapter Text

Laughter filled the air as Clem and Ben made their way into the forest clearing. It had been a month since they lost their car and the two continued on foot

“I’m sorry,” Ben started, fighting back a grin. “What’s the character’s name again?”

“Disco Broccoli!” Clem exclaimed.

Ben snorted, bring his hand up to cover his snickering. He remembered his sister watching a show with a character by that name, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember what it was called. His smile only grew as Clementine went on to excitedly recount the show's plot to him. A warm feeling filled Ben’s chest at his younger friend’s happiest. He knew she was still grieving Lee, but it was nice to see that Clem was starting to act like her old self again. The two soon quieted down as the approached an abandoned restroom.

Much like many places nowadays, it looked like no one had been here for a long time. The building was rundown with stains and graffiti all over the walls. Ben made his way over the beat-up car in the parking lot, reaching through the broken window to unlock the door. The door was stuck and it took a couple of good pulls to open it. There were a few empty cans strewn about the floor but nothing of value. Leaning over to the driver side, he pulled the small peddle to pop open the trunk.

“Hey, Clem,” Ben stood and turned to the child. “Why don’t you go get cleaned up in the girls’ room. I’m going to search this car a bit more and then I’ll catch up with you.”

“I hope the sink works in there,” Clem said, stepping towards the rusted door.

“I doubt it. But be careful and watch your things. I’ll be right out here if you need anything.” Ben instructed before turning to the trunk.

Clem nodded before pushing the door open and disappearing from sight. Ben dug through the bags and boxes, hoping to find something among the mess. He was about to give up when his hand came in contact with something denim. Ben pulled out a pair of jeans, along with two shirts, One a dark purple and the other a blue and purple stripe long sleeve shirt. They looked to be child size and surprisingly in good shape.

‘These would be perfect for Clem.’ Ben thought with a smile.

“Turn around.” A voice from behind Ben made him freeze. His heart pounded in his throat as he slowly turned to face the woman pointing a gun at him. “Hand over your bag.”

Ben did as he was told, pulling his pack from his back and handing it over. The woman snatched it from him, continuing to point her weapon at him as she started to dig through it.

“This is all junk.” She hissed. “What else you got?”

“T-that’s all I-I have.” Ben voice cracked slightly as his panic started to rapidly rise.

“Bullshit!” The woman glared at him jerking the gun at him. “Show me what else you have.”

Ben shook his head as he trembled all over. He swallowed loudly as bit his lip to stay quiet. The woman noticed this and mocked him with “What, are you start crying?” Ben wanted to deny it, but a lump was forming in his throat. The woman laughs as she turned back to digging in his bag.

Behind him, Ben heard the soft squeak on the bathroom door opening. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Clem slipping out into the lot. Her eyes were wide with fear as her eyes met Ben’s. The woman noticed Clem and aimed the gun away from Ben to Clementine.

Without thinking, Ben lunged forwards and tackled the woman to the ground. A gunshot rang out through the clearing and his thoughts immediately shot to Clem’s well being. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Ben registered something wet touch his hand, causing him to jump back to see a bullet hole in the woman’s head. Ben slowly turned to face Clem, finding her standing a few meters away with their gun in her hands. She shakingly met Ben’s gaze as she lowered the weapon.

“Sh-she was g-going to hurt y-you.” Clem stammered.

Ben worked his jaw for a minute as he tried to process what happened. Slowly, Ben stood and moved to grab the clothes from the car and tuck them into his bag. He picked up his bat from where it had fallen during the struggle, throwing it in the bag as well.

“Are- are you mad at me?” Clem’s voice cracked as she spoke.

Ben felt his heart sink as he turned to Clem. She looks down at the ground, a hand reached up to fiddle with her hat. The teen knelt down in front of her and pulled her to his chest, holding her tight.

“No, I’m not mad at you,” Ben said softly. “I- I just wasn’t expecting it.”

Clem sniffled loudly, hiding her face in Ben’s shoulder. Ben held her closer, bring a hand up to run through Clem’s hair. Giving one last squeeze, Ben pulled away to try and meet her gaze. Clem hesitated for a long moment before raising her eyes to the teen’s. He had a small smile on his face as he reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes. The duo was quiet for a long time, neither able to say anything. Ben finally climbed to his feet and brushed off his jeans.

“We- we should get going,” Ben said. His eyes scanned the surround woods, looking for any sight of Walkers lured by the gunshot.

“Ok…” Clem mumbled.

She silently reached up to take Ben’s hands, squeezing his fingers. Ben paused, thinking, before leaning down to pick was the woman’s gun. He turned on the safety before tucking it into the back of his pants. Part of him didn’t feel right taking a dead woman’s gun, but the other part knew it was necessary to keeping Clem safe. Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, Ben led Clem back toward the woods.

A heavy silence fell over the pair.

Chapter Text

Clementine tugged at the bottom of her new purple t-shirt as she trudged along. Her new clothes were a tad big on her (obviously made for a much taller child) but they did a good job at keeping her warm. She glanced up at Ben walking alongside her. His eyes were glued to the tail ahead of him, his bat gripped loosely in his hand. It had been three days since the incident at the rest stop and they had yet to talk about it.

Clem turned away from the teen and focused back on the path ahead. They were somewhere in the forests of North Carolina, currently looking for somewhere to make camp. The sound of rustling caught both of their attention. Ben tighten his hold on his bat, his other hand reaching out to pull Clem behind him. Slowly Ben made his way toward the rustling. He ducked down as he peeked over the bushes in front of him. Clem came up next to, spotting a weasel just a few feet ahead of them.

“Here,” Ben whispered. He passed her his gun, keeping his eyes on the small animal. “You’re a better shot than I am.”

Clem took the gun, lifting it to aim at the weasel. ‘ Aim a bit to the left .’ A long since gone voice echoed in her head. She shifted aim an inch to the left before pulling the trigger.  The bullet hit the animal in the chest, killing it.

“Good job,” Ben praised. “You just got us dinner.”

Clem felt herself grin as she stood and followed Ben as he went to retrieve the weasel. Ben pause in the realization that he had no idea how to cook a weasel.

“You, uh, you don’t happen to know how to cook Weasel do you?” Ben said, awkward.

“No,” Clem answered.

“Damn,” he sighed. He brought his free on up to rub his face. Silently, Ben noticed that Clem hadn’t said her usual “Swear.” whenever someone cursed. “Well, I guess we’ll figure it out.”

Ben adjusted his hold on the weasel as he made his way into the clearing a yard ahead of them. Clem silently walked along behind him, picking up some fallen sticks as she went. She dropped the stack next to where Ben was crouching in the dirt. He was holding the pocket knife he had found in a run-down car. His gaze flicked between the knife and the animal in front of him. Clem already knew what he was thinking.

“We need more wood for a fire,” Clem said. She reached out to take the knife from Ben. “I can set up camp while you get firewood.”

“No, I’m not leaving you alone,” Ben said firmly.

“I’ll be fine,” Clem reassured, “I have my gun and my hatchet.”

Ben heaved a sigh, “Don’t leave this spot. I’ll be gone for five minutes.”

Clem nodded in agreement. Ben climbed to his feet, hesitating for a couple of seconds before walking past the treeline. Clem shook her head as she got to work setting up sleeping bags and grabbing rocks for the fire.

 ------

Ben bent down to pick up another fallen log off the ground. He tried to hurry, he didn’t like that Clementine was alone back at their camp and wanted to get back to her. The sun had set a couple of minutes, chilling the air now that Autumn had officially settled in. Ben shivered, working faster in the want to get a fire started.

“This should be enough for tonight,” Ben said to himself.

He turned back towards camp, thrilled to get back to his younger friend when the sound of footsteps caught his attention. He turned his head as three men came into view. One pointed a gun at Ben’s head, causing him to drop the firewood and raise his arm up in front of him. The men stepped towards him and Ben took an involuntary step back. The men surrounded him, blocking his escape.

 ‘Not again.’ Ben thought panicked. He mentally kicked himself for leaving his bat and gun back at camp. ‘ Oh god, Clem! Please let her be ok .’

“-He obviously has a group!” The man with the gun yell, pulling Ben out of his thoughts. “He does have anything on him!”

“No! I-I’m by m-myself!” Ben stammered.

“Bullshit!” The third man growled. “Tell up where your group is!”

“I-’m a-alone!” Ben heart pounded hard against his ribcage. “I-I don’t-t have a g-group!”

“He’s not going to fucking say anything!” The second step forwards, drawing a gun.

“P-please! J-just me g-go!” Ben cried.

The second armed man aimed his gun at Ben’s head and he knew he going to pull the trigger. Before he could, a rock flew through the air, hitting the man’s head. Ben’s head shot to the side where he spotted Clem yelling “Ben, run!” before taking off herself.

Ben didn’t have to be told twice. A gun sounded off and a bullet whizzed by Ben’s head, just grazing his cheek. He could feel blood running down his cheek but he didn’t care and just kept running. His gaze flew from one side to the other, looking for any sign of Clem.

He spotted her fighting off a Walker. He ran over to her, grabbed his bat from his bag over her shoulder, and swung. The Walker fell and He grabbed Clem’s hand pulling her along as he started running again. The trees ended and suddenly they were coming to a dropoff. Down below was a river rushing by, blocking any way from getting across.

Loud footsteps sounded behind them and they turned to the bandits entering the clearing. Ben pulled Clem behind him as he stepped back. Clem stepped back too far and her sneaker met thin air. In a panic, She tightens her hold on Ben’s hand, inadvertently pulling him with her as she fell.

“Shit!” Ben cried.

Pain exploded through Ben’s head as he hit the water. He vaguely registered Clem yelling for him before everything faded black.

Chapter Text

Ben groaned as what felt like a foot hit his shoulder. He tried lifting his head, only to be overcome with the overwhelming feeling of dizziness. The foot came in contact with Ben’s shoulder again and finally opened his eyes. Everything was blurry but be to vaguely make out the outline of two figures standing over him: one orange and the other green.

“Hey, Kid, you still with us? The green one asked, kneeling down.

“Pete, what if he’s with Carver?” Orange one paused when Ben looked up at him.

“Wha- W-who are-” Ben reached up to rub his eyes with a groan.

“Easy there.” The green one, Pete said softly.

“Who- who are y-you?”

“I’m Pete, this here is Luke.” Luke waved awkwardly behind Pete. “What about you, Kid?”

“I-I’m B-Ben. A-and thi-” Ben looked next to him, only to pause when no one was there. “Clem? Clementine?!”

Ben shot up only for his legs to give out under him. Luke was quick to catch him, wrapping his hand around Be’s upper arm. Ben closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. It felt like the world around him was tilted. Ben reopened his eyes, trying to focus his sight to try an spot the young girl.

He tried to move away from Luke, only to stumble over his own feet. Luke once again caught him, holding him upright despite Ben easily towering over him. Ben’s head continued to pound and the dizziness was making it hard to concentrate.

“I-I need to f-find Clement-tine,” Ben pressed his palm to forehead in hopes of relieving his headache.

“Whoa, whoa you need to sit down,” Pete said, resting a hand on Ben’s shoulder.

“N-No! I n-need to find C-Clem!” Ben struggled to pull away from Luke. His anxiety started to rise as he started to shake. “I-I promised I’d p-protect her! She o-only 10!”

“Ben, breath!” Luke tightened his hold on the teen’s arm. “We’ll find your sister, but you. need. to. calm. down.”

‘ My sister ? ’ That made Ben pause. Clementine wasn’t his sister, even if Ben did forget that fact sometimes. He shook his head only to immediately regret the action. He pressed his hand to forehead, only to jolt at the feeling of something wet. He pulled his hand away to reveal his palm was stained crimson. He just stared at his hand for a long time as his fog-filled mind tried to process what he was seeing.

“Shit, you’re bleeding!” Luke’s voice pulled Ben back to reality.

“Here.” Pete pulled out what looked like an old rag from his pocket and pressed it to bleeding scape on Ben’s left temple.

Ben winced, trying to move from the stinging pain that followed the action. Pete held his head in place, reaching to bring up Ben’s hand to hold the rag over the wound. Ben kept it in place as he leaned against Luke. He helped Ben along as they started walking, the trio slowly making their way along the river bank.

“So what does Clem look like?” Luke questioned.

“Um, she about this tall,” Ben raised his free hand to just above his waist. “Has dark brown hair in pigtails, and a blue baseball cap with a ‘D’ on the front. She wearing blue jeans and blue and purple long sleeve shirt with a dark purple T-shirt over top.”

“Does she have any weapons?” Pete asked. The thought a missing child worried him greatly.

“Y-yeah. She has both our guns and her hatchet.” Ben answered.

Ben’s eyes trailed around the surrounding area. His vision was still a bit blurry around the edges. He adjusted his hold on the rag, trying to lighten the throbbing pressure. The sound of a cry from the left caught the men’s attention. Ben scrambled towards the sound, stumbling into an abandoned campsite. Clementine was pinned under a Walker, struggling to keep it away.

Pete came forwards, grabbing his crossbow off his back to shoot the Walker. The arrow hit the Walker in the head, bringing it down the ground. Clem pushed the corpse off of her before trying to push herself up.

“Clementine!” Ben cried, stumbling to towards her.

“Ben! Your head’s bleeding!” Clem reached out for him. The groan of Walkers cut her off.

“Talk later. We need to go.” Luke knelt down to scoop Clem up into his arms.

Pete moved to wrap his arm around Ben’s waist, helping him walk as things became too blurred. After that Ben barely registered what was happening. Suddenly Luke and Pete were arguing.

“-She’s bitten!” He caught Luke say.

‘ No she can’t- ’ His gaze landed on Clem’s arm, a red blotch staining her sleeve. He could hear Pete speaking but could make it out as he finally lost consciousness.

------

Ben awoke to the sound of arguing. It took him a second to realize he was laying on something soft with what could only be a pillow under his head. Opening his eyes, he could only to stare up at a wooden ceiling. To say he was confused would be an understatement. ‘ Where the hell am I? Where’s Clem? ’

She’s bitten!

Ben’s blood ran cold as he remembered Luke’s words. He tried to push himself up only to fall against the back of the couch he was laying on. He pressed his hand to his forehead, pausing at the feeling of bandages wrapped around his head. He touched a moist spot, causing him to hiss in pain.

“You’re awake.” Ben turned his head at the sound of a voice. There was a young girl standing beside the couch. She looked to be around his age but a year or two younger. Her brown eyes looked at him through red framed glasses. “I’m Sarah.”

“I’m B-Ben.” He stammered. “Was there a little girl with me when I was brought here?”

“Clementine! Yeah, she’s in the first bedroom upstairs,” Sarah answered, smiling.

“Oh thank god.” Ben sighed. “Is she ok? Can I see her?”

Sarah frowned, shaking her head. “She quarantined. The others want to make sure the bite on her arm isn’t from a Monster. Dad says it’s a dog bite though.”

Ben rubbed his hands over his face. “A least it’s not a Walker bite.”

“Walker?”

“Y’know the...Monsters.” Ben awkwardly explained. He caught sight of his arms and looked down to see he was wearing new clothes. He was wearing black jeans, a dark blue t-shirt with an off white long sleeve shirt underneath. “What happened to my clothes?”

“Oh, your clothes were all wet,” She explained. “We didn’t want you getting sick and Rebecca found you something dry to wear.”

Ben didn’t know how to respond. He moved so his sock covered feet were on the ground, trying not to move too quickly. The sound of footsteps coming down the hall alerting the two teens to someone coming. A man entered the living room and when he saw Ben was awake he made his way over to the couch.

“Sarah, I told you to let him rest.” The man said.

“Sorry, Dad,” Sarah looked away guilty. “Ben was asking about Clem.”

“Can I please see her?” Ben begged. “We’ve never been separated before.”

“I’m sorry but under morning, I can’t let you in her room,” He looked at Ben with sympathy. “Until then the other’s have questions for you.”

Ben sighed, dropping his head back into his hands. “Promise me Clem is ok, and I’ll answer your questions.”

The man didn’t miss a beat; “I promise your sister is ok.”

Ben nodded. He slowly made to stand, Sarah reaching out to steading him. It took him a couple of seconds to adjust to standing before he could stand on his own. Sarah’s father looked apprehensive to Ben standing up and he reached out to hold Ben’s arm as they walked towards the kitchen.

At the door, he turned to Sarah; “Sarah, can you stay out while we talk to Ben.”

"Ok, Dad.” She turned back to the living room, disappearing around the corner.

Ben raised a brow in confusion but decided not to say anything. He turned back to the kitchen following Sarah’s father into the room where the rest of the group members were.

Chapter Text

Ben rested his elbows against the table as he rested his chin on his palm. Sarah’s father, Carlos he had learned, sat across from him with Pete next to him. Luke was leaning against the counter with another man, Pete’s nephew Nick. And there was a couple behind Carlos and Pete, Alvin and Rebecca.

“Like I said, I don’t know who Carver is,” Ben replied to the repeated question. “It’s just Clem and me.”

“How long has it been just you and Clementine?” Nick asked. “You had to have been with a group.”

“We used to be,” Ben sighed. “We lost them on the way and in Savannah. That was over a year ago.”

“How old are you?” Rebecca asked, a concerned look in her eyes.

“I’m 17 and Clementine’s 10, almost 11.” Ben leaned back in his chair.

“You’re kids.” Nick frowned.

“I’m not a kid!” Ben growled, glaring at the man.

Nick glared back, looking as if he was about to start something. Luke wrapped his hand around Nick’s bicep, pulling him back when he leaned towards the teen. Ben just huffed and crossed his arms. He glanced around the room at the adults looking at him before his gaze landed on the door. He so badly wanted to just walked out the door and up to where Clem was. He needs to see for himself that she was safe. He decided against it, not wanting to cause any more trouble with the group.

Ben turned back to Pete as the man said; “You said you were in Georgia. What are you doing up here in Virginia?”

“We’re heading to Wellington, Ohio,” Ben replied. “It’s a settlement where Clem will be safe. Clem hopes two of our old group members will be there, but I don’t know.”

“Were you and Clementine the only children in your group?” Alvin’s question made Ben stiffen.

Ben stared down at the table. “N-no. There, um, t-there was a boy, a-a year o-or so older th-then Clem. He- he, um, he didn’t-”

“You don’t have to answer, Ben.” Alvin an apologetic look.

Ben shook his head, wiping at his eyes; “He was a g-good kid. Hard to follow half the time but…” He stood from his chair. “I’m done answering questions.”

He moved towards the kitchen door and out into the hall. He looked up the stairs, thinking for a second before climbing. The first bedroom . Ben assumed it was the one closest to the stairs on the left and reached out to take the handle. He wasn’t surprised to find it locked. It was a simple turn lock, so it was easy for him to unlock the door and push it open.

Clementine was sat on the bed flipping through a book. She looked up when the door opened, her eyes widening at the sight of Ben. Before she could react, Ben came forward and enveloped her in a tight hug. Clem melted into the embrace, wrapping her arms around Ben’s torso. Ben gently rocked her, resting his cheek against her hair.

“You- you just collapsed,” Clem whispered. “When we were in the wood. I-I thought-”

“I-I’m ok, We’re b-both ok,” Ben cut her off. He pulled away. “Let me see your arm.”

Clem held up her injured arm, pushed up her striped sleeve. Her forearm was wrapped snuggly with bandages resembling those wrapped around his head. Ben gently took hold of her wrist, lifting her arm to get a better look at it.

“Carlos stitched it up when we first got here,” Clem said. “After he cleaned you cut. He says we’ll both have scars.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” Ben said. His thumb lightly rubbed over her bandages.

“No, don’t go blaming yourself.” Clem lightly scolded. “It’s my fault for pissing off a starving dog.”

“Swear,” Ben teased, smiling at her.

Clem snorted as she reached out to shove his shoulder. Ben laughed, grabbing to the bedpost to keep from falling off the bed. He reached down to grab Clem’s book from where it fell on the floor. He flipped it over to read the cover: ‘ Peter Pan ’.

“This was my favourite story when I was your age,” Ben commented. “I always wanted to go to Neverland.”

“C-can you read it to me?” Clem questioned shyly.

“Of course.” He smiled. He moved up to rested against the pillows, tucking Clem under his arm when she settled next to him. He flipped to the first page. “Chapter one: Peter Breaks Through.”

----------

Ben awoke much more pleasantly than he did yesterday: to the smell of oatmeal. Clem was curled into his side as she slept soundly. The copy of ‘ Peter Pan ’ laid open on Ben lap, they had fallen asleep somewhere around chapter 2. Ben closed the book before sitting it on the side table next to the bed. He gently shook Clem’s shoulder, snickering when she grumbled at him.

“Mornin’,” Ben brushed her hair out of her face. She needed a haircut.

“I smell food.” Clem lifted her head from his shoulder, looking towards the door.

Ben chuckled; “Come on, I’m hungry.”

He pulled himself out from under her, leaning down to lift the half-asleep girl into his arms. Clem whined, but wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her head on top. She was getting a bit heavy for Ben to carry and he had to adjust his hold as to not drop her. He was glad he hadn’t completely closed the door last night and easily nudged it open with his foot.

He could hear clattering and talking come from the first floor. He carefully made his way down the steps, looking over Clem’s shoulder so he wouldn’t miss a step. Carlos greeted them at the base of the stairs, he and Ben made eye content. Ben already knew where this was going by the look in the man’s eyes.

“I told you not to go up there until morning.” Carlos scolded.

“I didn’t listen,” Ben replied, He didn’t mean to be annoyed, but he didn’t understand how they expected him to wait until morning to know Clem was safe. “I would think you as a father would understand why I didn’t.”

“I suppose I do.” Carlos sighed, rubbing his eyes. “There’s breakfast for you in the kitchen. And I would like to check Clementine’s temperature and change your bandage.”

Ben nodded before turned toward the kitchen. Carlos stepped ahead of him, holding the door open so Ben could walk through with Clem. He carefully sat her down in a chair before sitting down next to her. Carlos rested the back of his hand against Clem's forehead, moving it to her cheek before moving away.  

“She doesn’t have a fever, and she’s not showing any symptoms,” He stated. Ben sighed in relief. Carlos moved to sit two bowls of oatmeal in front of them, the two kids immediately digging in. “I’ll change your bandages after you eat.”

“Thank you,” Ben said, around a mouth full.

Clem just nodded her thanks as she lightly elbowed Ben in the ribs. The teen snorted but otherwise didn’t respond. Ben caught the glimpse of a smile on Carlos’s face as the man left through the door.

“How’s your head?” Clem asked. Her eyes glanced up at the white bandage on his head.

“Better. I have a small headache, but nothing bad.” Ben answered.

“Carlos said you might have a small concussion.” Clem comment. “You hit your head on that rock pretty hard. I-I tried to get to y-you but-”

Ben pulled Clementine into his side, holding her close. Clem curled her fingers into the back of his t-shirts. Ben tucked her head under his chin as he muttered inaudible words to her.

“Don’t think about that,” Ben said, pulling away. “What we should think about is: what do we do next?”

“What do you mean?” Clem asked, before scooping a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth.

Ben thought for a second; “Well Wellington has been our end goal for a while now. I think --if the group will let us-- we stay here until your arm’s healed and then continue on the Wellington.”

“ And your concussion needs to get better,” She pointed out. “I think that’s a good idea.”

“You sure? Your opinion matters too,” Ben clarified.

“We’ve been travelling nonstop for over a year,” Clem started. “We could use a break.”

Ben nodded, smiling. He turned back to his breakfast, grab that they not had a plan. A minute after they had finished eating, Carlos returned. He had a first-aid kit in his hands. He set the kit down on the table before moving to put the dishes into the sink for later. Ben watched as Carlos opened the kit to pull out a packet of gauze pads that had antiseptics on them.

“Alright, Ben,” Carlos started. “I’m going to unwrap your wound and It may sting.”

“O-ok.” Ben felt Clem’s hand curl into his sleeve.

Carlos nodded before reaching out to undo the bandage. Just like he warned, it stung quite a bit. Ben wince but tried to stay still. The bloodied bandage fell away and Carlos moved to throw them away. Clem looked up at the wound. It was scabbed over and no longer bleeding. The cut started just below his left temple and ran diagonally up to his forehead, cutting along the edge of his eyebrow. Carlos picked up the cleaning pads to open the packet to take it out. He brought it up to the cut, cleaning off the dried blood and cleaning the scab.

“How- how’s his concussion?” Clem asked nervously.

“He seems more aware than yesterday,” Carlos answered as he reached to a large band-aid package. “But I should test your memory and eyes.”  

Ben just nodded. Stilling when Carlos placed the now open band-aid over his wound. Carlos pulled out a penlight from the kit. He pulled up a chair to sit in front of Ben.

“Alright, look right here and follow the light,” Carlos instructed. Ben hissed as the light hit his eyes. It took a couple of seconds for his sight to adjust before he could follow the slowly moving light. Carlos thought for a second before speaking; “First question: what is your full name?”

“B-Benjamin Cameron Paul,” Ben answered.

“You’re middle name’s Cameron?” Clem asked, smiling.

“Y-yeah. My family is S-Scott-Irish decent.” Ben blinked as Carlos turned off the flashlight.

“Have you ever been to Scotland or Ireland?” Carlos asked.

“Once, when I was 12 my family went to Scotland,” He reached up to lightly touch the bandage.

“Aside from Clementine,” Carlos closed up the first-aid kit. “Do you have any other siblings?”

Ben stiffened, looking away; “A- a younger s-sister. I- I don’t know w-where she is th-though.”

Carlos nodded, looking at the teen with an apologetic look. “Well your memory seems to unharmed, but you are still showing small signs of a concussion. Take it slow and rest. You are welcome to use the room you slept in last night.”

Ben nodded. Clem stood from her seat, Ben following close behind. They thanked Carlos before leaving the room. Clementine let them up the staircase, pulling him into the room and to the bed.

“Do you want me to read some more ‘Peter Pan’?” Ben asked, sitting back. “It’s not too much trouble.”

“Ok. But don’t strain yourself.” Clem narrowed her eyes at him in warning.

Ben chuckled softly as he picked up the book, moving back to get comfortable on the bed. Clem climbed up next to him and took her usual place curled into Ben’s side. He flipped to the beginning of chapter 2, where they had fallen asleep.

“Alright, so they just got to Neverland,” Ben said. Clem nodded against his shoulder.

He had a feeling she was going to fall asleep soon. He yawned as he rests back against the pillows and started reading aloud.

Chapter Text

“Clem, hold s-still.” Ben forced out. He moved her head back up before once more trying to get the brush through her knotted locks.

“Ow! Stop pulling so hard!” Clem whined. She tried to move away, only for Ben to hold her in place.

“It’ll hurt less if you hold still!” He finally pulled the brush free of a particularly tough knot, quickly moving on to the next one.

Clementine winced as she gritted her teeth against the pain. The only reprieve she got was when Ben would stop every so often to smooth his hand over her hair as some sort of apology. Clem tried not to hold too much of a grudge against him, knowing it had to be done.

“You know,” Ben started, after a moment. “We wouldn’t have this problem if you’d let me do this more often.”

Clem only rolled her eyes. She shifted slightly the bed, trying to get more comfortable. She knew her hair was overly thick, her dad liked to remind her of that thought.

“My sister didn’t like to have her hair brushed either,” Ben laughed at the memory. “My mom used to chase my little sister around the house to brush her hair.”

“I always liked when my mom would do my hair.” There was a wistful look on Clem’s face.

Ben’s mind was assaulted with memories of their escape from the Marsh House. Clem’s reaction to finding out her parents’ fate was forever burned into his memory. His thought wandered to memories of his mother. He was much closer to her than his dad.

“Moms are pretty good at brushing hair,” Ben tried to joke. He focused back on Clem’s hair. “I’m almost done.”

“ Finally .” Clem sigh dramatically. “You’ve been brushing forever !”

Ben rolled his eyes. “It’s been five minutes.”

Clem stuck her tongue out at him, crossing her arms in a pout. Ben just laughed as he finally set aside the brush. He pulled the purple hair ties from around his wrist and pulled Clem’s hair into two pigtails. Ben grabbed Clem’s hat and plopped it down on her head.

“There, all done.” He teased.

“Can we go now? If we take any longer they’re gonna leave without us.” Clem hopped off the bed. Luke and Nick had invited the pair to come with them down to the river to check and set up traps. Clem was much more excited than Ben was, but he was still happy to be included.

“Hang on,” Ben moved to the chair in the corner on the room where his hoodie and lettermen were. He picked up the faded red hoodie, tossing it to Clem. “You need a jacket.”

“Ben, it not cold outside,” Clem held up the article of clothing.

“It’s cold enough.” Ben tugged on his lettermen. “You’ll be happy to have that once we’re outside.”

Clem sighed before tugging the hoodie on and zipping it up. Ben fought a smile as he looked the girl over. The hoodie was much too big for her, completely covering her hands and ending just above her knees. The red fabric swamped her small frame, making her look smaller.

“I look ridiculous.” She grumbled, fixing her hat. She tugged at the sleeves, trying to uncover her hands.

“Yeah,” Ben laughed as he knelt down in front of her and started folding the sleeves up. “But it’s cute.”

Clem shoved at his shoulder with a huff. The teen just laughed and continued to fix the hoodie over Clem. “There you go.”

“Now can we go?” Clem was already heading for the bedroom door.

“Yes, we can go now.” Ben grabbed his bat from where it rested by the bed and followed Clem out of the room.

————

“That, uh, that hoodie big enough for you?” Luke snickered. The group were walking down the wooded path to the river. Nick and Luke leading the way while Ben and Clem trailed behind a couple of paces. Clem stuck her tongue out at him making the man laugh. Ben bit his lip to keep from smiling as he glanced down at her. Clem noticed his amused look and shot a glare at him. Ben snorted and turned forwards again.

“Shut up,” Clem grumbled, her cheeks heating up. She crossed her arms with a huff.

Despite how she looked a bit ridiculous, she had to admit that she was warm. There was the faint smell of Ben still on the jacket and it made her feel safer in a way. She curled his fingers into the red fabric, pulling it closer to herself. She pointedly refused to look at the companions as she heard faint snickering from them.

The group soon arrived at the river, splitting off into two groups: Ben with Nick and Clem with Luke. Every now and then Ben looked up to check on Clem, making sure she was still in sight.

“She’s ok,” Nick chuckled. He didn’t look up from the trap he was working on, passing fish to Ben to put in the cooler they had brought along. “She’s pretty firey. She fought tooth and nail to stay with you while you were knocked out.”

“That was the first time we were separated in almost two years.” Ben wished away the memories of the last time they had been separated that assaulted his mind.

“You’re doin’ a good job.” Nick finally turned to the teen. “Raising her I mean. It can’t be easy taking care of a kid on your own.”

“I got lucky. Clem’s not too hard to take care of.”  A warm feeling filled Ben’s chest at the afferent that he was taking care of Clem well. He looked over that the girl who was now setting up a trap in the shallow water. “Sometimes to feels like she takes care of me.”

“You take care of each other. It’s sweet.” Nick smiled as he set the trap back in the water and securing it in place.

“Hey, Nick,” Luke called, gaining the duo’s attention. He quickly made his way over to the two, Clem not far behind. He was holding a beat up leather notebook. It was faded along the spine and edges and a tattered black ribbon stapled to it to hold it closed. Though not it was untied. “I found this journal on the river’s edge. The words are a bit smudged, but it could still belong to one of Carver’s people,”

Ben looked closer at the book before blurting out; “My journal!” He hadn’t even noticed on it was missing.

“See? Told you.” Clem said, crossing her arms in annoyance.

“How do we know it’s yours?” Nick raised a brow at the teen.

“Look,” Ben reached for the journal, taking it from Luke’s hold. He opened it and flipped the wrinkled pages to the drawing of him and Clementine. The pencilling was smudged and Clem still had her dress and hoodie on but it was clearly them. “See? That’s me and Clem. Our names are right there.”

Luke came forwards to look closer at the picture and writing. He rested his hand on Nick’s shoulder as he leaned back. “I did find it not far from where we found Ben.”

“We should still see if there’s anything about Carver in there,” Nick said as he turned to his friend.

“Clem and I aren’t with Carver. I told you that already.” Ben defended. He didn’t like the idea of someone he barely knew going through his journal, he got self-conscious when Clem would go through it despite her not being able to read well. Ben held the journal to his chest in a protective manner. “Besides...I-I have some personal stuff in here.”

As if sensing his anxiety, Clem moved to stand in front of Ben as if to protect him. She glared at the two men in front of her as if daring them to try something. Luke raised his hands in mock surrender. Ben slowly uncurled a hand from around the notebook and rested it on Clem’s shoulder. Her shoulders slumped but he could still feel some tension in her form.

“Alright, we’ll trust you on this,” Luke said finally.

“Thanks,” Ben mumbled. He loosened his grip on his journal.

Clem relaxed as well but stayed in front of Ben. Nick shot his friend an annoyed look but didn’t say anything.

“We should head back,” Luke turned to take hold of the cooler, Nick taking the other side. “We have enough here for dinner.”

Ben nodded, removing his hand from Clem’s shoulder for her to quickly take hold of. He caught sight of Nick’s faint smile as he passed the kids. Ben looked away as his cheeks heated up and quickened his pace back to the cabin. Only sounds he heard were crows overhead and Clem’s laughter next to him.

Chapter Text

“Clem, wake up.” Ben’s voice drifted through her sleep-addled mind. She could hear the smile in his voice. A hand gently shook her shoulder and she groaned. Finally cracking open her eyes, Clem rolled over to face the teen sitting on the end of the bed.

“What…?” She murmured tiredly. His next words woke her up.

“Happy birthday.”

Ben’s smile was almost blinding and Clem felt a smile tug at her lips. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“How do you know it’s my birthday?” She asked.

“I was helping Rebecca with her calendar and noticed that it was the third week of September,” Ben answered, smiling even more.

Despite how they had celebrated their birthdays during their travels, it still felt weird to Clem to have birthdays nowadays. Ben’s excitement was making her excited for today. She allowed Ben to pull her out of bed and lead her by the hand out of their room and down the stairs. The group was gathered in the living room, smiling when the duo came down of the landing.

“Happy Birthday, Clem!” Rang through the room. Sarah’s voice rang out the loudest.

Sarah met them at the bottom of the stairs, wrapping Clem up in a tight hug. Clem was taken aback for a second before returning the hug just as tightly. Ben smiled as he stepped back. He was happy that Clem had a friend closer to her age. As close as they were, Ben knew Clem needed people her age to be around. Sarah broke the embrace and wrapped his hands around both their wrists, careful not touch the scaring bite on Clem's forearm, and pulled the two over to the couch. Ben sat to one side of Clem while Sarah sat on her other side.

“So we can’t necessarily throw you a party,” Pete started, with a chuckle. “But we could go fishing at the river.”

“It was fun when we went yesterday.” Clem nodded excitedly. “I’d like to learn how to fish.”

“I guess that settles it then.” Ben laughs. He seemed to remember something then and reached for the inside pocket of his Varsity jacket. Clem watched curiously as Ben pulled out a small rectangle. Her eyes widened as she saw what it was. It was a box of crayons. “I found these a while back. I wanted to wait until your birthday to give you these.”

Clem gasped as she took the crayons from Ben. “Thank you, Ben!” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a tight hug.

Ben returned the hug with a soft chuckle. He pulled back after a couple of seconds, reaching up to fix her lopsided hat. He gave the bill a light tap. Clem rolled her eyes and swotted at the teen’s hand.

“So, should we head out?” Ben asked, looking between Clem and Pete.

“Yeah, now’s a pretty good time to catch anything,” Pete stood from the other couch, stretching out his back.

“Can I come along?” Sarah asked brightly.

Before Clem could agree, Carlos cut in; “No, Sarah. You can Hang out with Clem when she returns.”

Sarah slumped and nodded, sinking back into the couch. Ben opened his mouth to respond but decided against it. He instead offered Sarah a sympathetic smile when she turned her head in his direction. He didn’t understand why Carlos was so overprotective of Sarah. Ben knew full well he could be overprotective of Clementine, he knew she could take care of herself and knew when to step back.

Ben shook his head before climbing to his feet. Clem followed close behind him, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. Pete and Nick split off from them to collect fishing gear before meeting the kids at the back door.

“Ready to head out, you two?” Nick asked, adjusting the bag strap over his shoulder.

Ben grabbed his baseball ball from by the door before nodding. Clem tugged on Ben’s red hoodie before wrapping her hand around his. The air outside was crisps and not too cold, a perfect day to go fishing. Pete and Nick led the way down the path.

“Ever been fishin’ before?” Pete asked, looking over his shoulder at the kids.

“My dad tried to take me once but…” Ben trailed off, as he looked off to the side.

Clem looked up at the teen with a raised eyebrow. She didn’t comment though, tightening her grip on his hand.

“I used to take this one fishin’ when he was about your age,” Pete looked back at Clem as he pointed to Nick walking next to him.

Nick rolled eyes, walking head. As the river came into view, the group froze at the sight in front of them. Bodies littered the river bank, both Walkers and humans.

“Wait- those are the guys who attack our camp!” Ben exclaimed.

“I’ll go over to the other side, you three stay here and look for survivors!” Pete quickly made his way across the river.

Before they could do anything the groans of the dead filled the air. Ben pulled Clem to him as Walkers ambled into their clearing. He tightens his hold on his bat. Nick shot at the closest Walkers, Ben swinging at Walkers that were now coming from the other direction. He looked toward Pete as a Walker on the ground grabbed the man and bit into his ankle. Ben stiffened as he watched, unable to do anything. They were quickly becoming surrounded.

“Ben! Help Nick, I’m going to go help Pete!” Clem Exclaimed.

“Clem, wait-” Before Ben could stop her, Clem was already halfway across the river.

“She fine!” Nick grabbed Ben’s arm and started tugging him away from the river. “She’s with Pete, we need to go!”

Ben struggled against Nick, but the man was too strong and pulled him away from the river. Ben could only watch as Clem disappeared into the woods with Pete, Walkers swarming the bank.

Chapter Text

Ben struggled against Nick grip on his arm as he shouted at him; “Let me go, Nick!”

“Ben, shut up!” Nick continues to pull Ben through the woods. 

The river had disappeared from their sight minutes ago. The sounds of the Walkers that filled the forest weren’t enough to stop Ben from fighting against Nick. The man just tightened his hold and did his best to ignore the teen. The groans of the dead grew louder as they grew closer to the duo. That detoured Ben a bit, his struggling going weak. 

Nick pulled Ben up to what looked like a shed and pushed Ben inside, Slamming and blocking the door behind them. Ben crumbled to the floor, bringing his hands up to tangle in his hair. Nick left him be for a minute as he looked around. 

“I- I need to get to Clementine!” Ben stammered. He looked towards the blocked door. He can feel his anxiety rising quickly. 

“Ben, she’s fine!” Nick yelled. He was going through the shelves surrounding them. “Besides, we can leave with all those damn Lurker everywhere. She’s with Pete, she’ll be fine..

“But- But P-Pete was b-bitten!” Ben cried. He was shaking now.

“Turns out this place is a whisky still.,” Nick completely ignoring what Ben said. He held out a jar of liquid. “Here maybe this’ll help you.”

“Um...You know I’m only 17 right..?” Ben took the jar anyways and looked it over, a bit unsure. He could practically feel Lee glaring at him to taking the drink.

“So? One drink isn’t gonna hurt ya.” Nick sat down with his own jar. He leaned back against a shelving unit as he popped open the lid.

Ben hesitated for a moment before doing the same. The strong smell of alcohol hit his nose, making him wince. He looked to Nick how was busy drinking the whiskey, watching him for a few seconds before looking down at his own drink. He hesitated for a moment before taking a sip from the jar. The whiskey burned his throat and Ben coughed painfully.

“Never drank whiskey before?” Nick teased. He sounded more relaxed.

“N-no…” He coughed. “Ne-never really tried alcohol before..”

Ben tried to clear his burning throat. He sat down the jar next to him, wrapping his arms around himself. He looked back at the door, his whole body tense.

“Relax kid…” Nick drawled.

‘ How is he already getting drunk …’ Ben thought, watching him.

He turned away to watch the door and tried to ignore the sounds of the dead just outside. Ben hugged his knees to his chest, resting his head on top. He felt jittery. Ben didn’t like being away Clementine. He spaced out, thinking of where Clem was and hoping she was safe.

A crash from the other side of the room startled Ben out of his thoughts. He jerked his head to his companion who was throwing empty jars against the wall, making them shatter loudly. Ben jumped at another loud crash. The Walkers outside started making more noise.

“N-Nick, stop!” Ben stammered. “The Walkers can hear you!”

Nick didn’t say anything and continued throwing jars at the wall. Ben didn’t know what to do.

“Nick, please-- stop!”

Nick lifted his hand to throw another jar but stopped himself, lowering his hand to his lap. He hung his head, unscrewing the cap of the jar.

“I had to kill my mom…” His voice was soft. “It sounds weird, saying that out loud…”

Ben nodded and stayed silent. He stood to slowly walk over to the man.

“And now Pete... It’s happened to everyone I’ve known.” Nick sighed, taking a swig of whiskey. “I wish I could be like Luke… he just keeps going, no matter what. Nothing stops him…”

“I had a… friend, like that.” Ben looked away. His handed wondered up the old chain around his neck. When he touched the ring looped on it, he pulled his hand away.

Nick just nodded, not looking at the teen. He took another drink before sitting the container. Ben sat next to him, resting his back against the wall.

“My friend… Travis was always pushing me.” Ben started. “Always had a scheme and dragged me along with him.”

Ben wrapped his arms around himself, gripping onto his sleeves. Nick didn’t look at him, instead of looking down at his lap. He brought the whisky up to his mouth to drink again.

“Travis helped me come out of my shell, and to keep going… even when it got hard.” Ben turned to look at Nick. “I’ve never been brave or all that good at anything--”

“You’re raising a child on your own.” Nick interrupted. “Doin’ a good job too.”

“Clem would do just fine on her own. She doesn’t really need me.”

“You’re her brother. She does need you.” Nick finally turned to face the teen.

“No, I’m not.” Ben sighed, rubbing his eyes. “I’m just some teenager she got suck with…”

“Well y’all act like siblings, I’d say that makes you siblings,” Nick said with an air of finality.

Ben decided not to argue. He looked around the small room, trying to find a way out. The sounds of Walkers outside had settled but it was easy to see there were still some around.

“We need to get out of here.” Ben stood, looking around for any way out without unblocking the door. He looked out the small window to look around outside. There were still Walkers out there but not too many. “Come on, Nick. We need to go.”

Nick didn’t respond. Ben sighed in growing annoyance. He was getting out of here. Ben started pushing the crates and boxes aside to get to the door. He slowly pushed the door open and peeked out. There were a few walkers a few feet from the door. 

Ben raised his bat, slowly inching towards the Walkers. The closest one turns towards Ben and reached out to the teen. Ben swung, nailing it in the head. Before he could regain himself, the second Walker grabbed his bat, yanking Ben forwards. He was brought off balance and fell to the ground hard, hitting his head. He felt dizzy and his vision doubled. The Walkers came close to him but were nailed in the head before they could do anything. Ben looked up as another jar went flying into the Walkers’ head.

Nick came running up to Ben and started pulling him up. “Come on!”

Ben could do nothing but follow as Nick pulled him along. Ben’s vision started to darken around the edges. He could see the cabin coming into view before his vision darkened completely.

————

When Ben came to, he was laying in bed and the sun was going down. He took a couple of minutes to try and focus his vision before shooting up in bed.

“Clementine!” He cried. His vision doubled and extreme dizziness came over him. 

Carlos came running into the room, having heard Ben yell. He grabbed Ben’s shoulders, pushing the teen back down. 

“Ben, you need to calm down.” Carlos spoke, trying to relax the struggling teen.

“Where’s Clementine?!” Ben pushed himself up again, trying to stand. “I-I need to find her!”

He finally got out of the man’s hold and stood. He felt lightheaded but ignored it in order to get to the door.

“Benjamin, you need to rest. You’ve been out for hours.”

“And apparently Clem’s been missing for those hours!” Ben stumbled out the door as Carlos followed after him. He sped down the stairs and towards the back door, ignoring Sarah and Luke now calling after him too. 

Ben slammed the door open and was about to go down the stairs when a small figure came out of the tree line. It was dark but he could barely make out a D on the person’s hat. Ben jumped down the stepped and fell to his knees, engulfing Clem in his arms.

“Clem! A-are you okay?!” Ben pulled back to look her over, checking for any injuries. 

“I-I’m okay.” She was shaking and gripped onto Ben’s sleeves tightly.

“Clementine? Where’s Pete?” Rebecca came out onto the back porch, looking over the railing at the kids.

Clementine looked away. She tightened her hold on Ben, curling into his chest. The other’s had come out onto the porch now, looking down at them. Clem was quiet for a long time before speaking.

“P-Pete is dead…”

Chapter Text

Everyone was quiet for a long time. Ben stiffened as the words left her mouth, tightening his hold around her. Clem was quiet, her head on Ben’s shoulder as she looked at the ground.

“What do you mean Pete’s dead?” Luke’s voice broke the silents. 

“He was bit... Back at the river.” Ben didn’t look at the group, focusing on Clem. He had taken off her hand to fix her pigtails a bit.

“Where is he?” Nick came down the steps towards the kids.

“In-in a van not far from here. I-I couldn’t get him back here…”

“Take me to him.” Nick came over to Ben and Clem.

“What? Nick, it’s dark out and Clem just got back.” Ben partly turn to the man, holding Clem protectively.

Clem pulled away from Ben, adjusting her hat on her head. She ran her fingers along the brim as she turned to face Nick.

“I-I’ll take you to him.” Clem refolded the sleeves of Ben’s hoodie. “He’s not far from here…”

Ben stood from the grass. “I’m coming too.”

“Ben, your concussion--”

“If Clem goes, I go.” He cut off Carlos, looking over at the man.

“Benjamin--”

“I’m going!” Ben argued. 

He stood next to Clem, crossing his arms. Clem hesitated before reaching up to take Ben’s hand. Ben held it, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. Clem held his hand tight as if it would be enough to ease the teen’s anger.

Carlos and Ben stared each other down before the older eye contact. “Clementine, make sure Ben does not strain himself. He still has a concussion.”

Clem nodded and tightened her hold on Ben’s hand. “I’ll take you to Pete. It’s just across the river.”

Nick, Luke and Alvin followed when Clem started off back to the river, still holding Ben’s hand tight. Ben held just as tight, his other hand on the pocket knife in the pocket. Luke shined his flashlight around, lighting up small parts of the darkened woods.

Clem led the way and they soon came upon a run-down van. Nick came forward and threw open the back doors to climb inside. Luke rushed to follow him, shining his light into the van. Clem and Ben stayed back with Alvin, the kids have seen enough death to know what was in there. Alvin rested his hands on their shoulders. Nick came back out. There was a grim look on his face and Clem looked away from him. 

“He’s been shot in the head…” Nick didn’t look at anyone.

“Clem, did you run into anyone else out here?” Alvin asked gently.

“No…”

Ben knew what that meant and tightened his hold on her hand.

“I-I shot Pete. He- he was bit a-and I could get h-him back to th-the cabin...” Clem kept her gaze on the ground.

Nick didn’t say anything as he hopped out of the van. Luke went to put his hand on his shoulder, but Nick pulled away from him.

Luke frowned. “We should get the others so we can bury him.”

Ben mutely nodded, holding onto Clem. Nick walked past them, not looking at either of the kids and headed back to the cabin. Ben followed a ways behind him with Clem, Alvin and Luke behind them. The group was quiet on the way back to the cabin, nothing could be heard but the sounds of animals that were still around. 

They got back to the cabin and soberly enter through the backdoor. Sarah came running up to them, looping her arms and Ben and Clem’s. Ben tried to smile at the girl but couldn’t muster up much. Luke and Nick went off to talk to the others. 

“Did you find Pete?” Sarah asked, looking between the two.

“Yeah…” Ben looked away.

Sarah frowned but before she could say anything, footsteps sounded from down the hall and the others appeared from around the corner. 

“We’re going to bury Pete.” Luke’s voice was soft. “Ben, Clem, you two should stay back here.”

The two nodded in agreement. They didn’t really know Pete and knew it was for the best if they didn’t go.

“Sarah, you too. It is too far from the cabin and it’s not safe.” Carlos explained.

“She was friends with Pete, right?” Clem looked up at the man. “She should get to go!”

“No, it’s dark and not safe. She’s staying here with you two.” Carlos’ voice had an air of finality to it.

Sarah just nodded and left to go upstairs. Ben frowned and opened his mouth to argue.

“Benjamin, I do not tell you how to raise Clementine. Do not tell me how to raise my daughter.”

Ben huffed and looked away. “Fine.”

Clem glared at the man before walking off to the living room. 

“The front door is locked, do not open it for anyone but us.” Carlos explains. “And don’t go outside for anything.”

Ben nodded. “Got it. I’ll keep an eye on Sarah while you’re gone.”

“Thank you.” Carlos relaxed a bit.

That group left and Ben headed to the living room with Clem.

------

It was almost twenty minutes before Sarah came down and into the living room. She sat down between Clem and Ben on the couch. She was quiet, looking down at her lap as she played with her fingers.

“Hey, Sarah.” Ben looked down at the girl.

“Hey.” Her voice was soft. 

“Is there… is there anything you wanna do?” Clem awkwardly asked.

She thought for a moment before her face lit up. “Yeah! Come with me.” 

She grabbed Ben and Clem’s hands and pulled them up the stairs. She led them into her room before letting down to grab something. Before Ben or Clem react, a bright flash went. The two blinked for a moment, trying to clear their vision. 

Sarah giggled as she shook a polaroid. When the photo developed she smiled. “Look!”

Ben took the polaroid from her, smiling in amusement. The photo was of him and Clem looking startled, though he could see a faint smile forming on their faces. He frowned a bit at how ragged he looked. His hair had gotten shaggy in length, his hair curling before his ears and his bangs were getting a bit long. His eyes landed on the forming scar splitting his left eyebrow into two parts. It was the first time he’s seen it. Clem looked better though. She needed a haircut, her pigtails almost reaching her shoulders now. She looked healthier too, through her ambure eyes looked sad. 

“This is a pretty good picture.” Ben smiled a bit. 

Clem looked up at the polaroid. “Yeah.”

Sarah moved to stand with them, holding the camera so it faced the trio. “Say cheese!”

Ben bent down a bit to a closer height with Clem and Sarah. He smiled in amusement at the thought of helping Sarah and Clem feel better. He glanced over at Clem who’s frown looked forced. Ben poked her side, making her giggle as Sarah snapped the photo, a big grin on her face. The photo developed and the three smiled. They looked happy in it. Ben was a bit too tall still, cutting off the top of his head a bit. Movement could be seen out of the window. Sarah peaked out quickly before turning away.

“Luke’s back!” Sarah rushed out the door. “I want to show him the photo of us!”

Ben and Clem followed a moment later. When they got down the stairs, they were confused to see Sarah hiding behind the wall.

“Th-that’s not Luke!” Sarah panicked. “He- he can’t see me! Y-you have to make him go away!”

Ben looked to the door. The outline on a man could be seen through the frosted glass. Loud knocking came from the other side. The man wanted him. Now .

“Sarah, go find under your bed. Don’t come out until we say.” Ben instructed. 

Sarah nodded feverishly before bolting up to her room. Clem stood on the stairs, trying to look casual as she leaned against the railing. Ben looked back at her before turning to the door, booming knocked still erupting from the other side. 

‘ Do not open it for anyone but us. ’

The loud knocking was making seem like he didn’t have a choice in opening the door or not. Ben grabbed his knife in his pocket and as unlocked the door and opened it. The smile on the man’s face unnerved Ben. He was a few inches shorter than Ben.

“Hello there.” The man greeted. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya. My family and I are set up a ways down river. Kind of surprised we haven’t run into each other yet. What’s your name?”

Ben hesitated for a long moment. “Cameron.”

“Cameron? I wouldn’t have thought that for someone as tall as you.” The man laughed.

Ben frowned in annoyance at him.

“Mind if I come in, Cameron?” He was already coming forward, moving Ben aside. He noticed Clem. “And who’s this?”

“I’m Carly.” Clem answered. She picked up on using a fake name, even if Ben was just using his middle name.

“Nice place you got here. Do see a lot of cabins this size out here. Sure could pack a lot of people in here.”

“Just us and dad. He’s out right now, but he’ll back soon.” Clem crossed her arms.

“Dad? Both or--”

“Both. We’re siblings.” Ben gestured between him and Clem.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to imply anything. He left you two all alone? He must trust you.”

“Cam’s in charge.”

The man nodded, looking around the cabin. Like he was looking for someone. 

“I’m looking for some of my people, seven to be exact.”

He started rattling off descriptions and Ben could put a face to each one. The man wandered into the kitchen and Clem and Ben quickly followed behind him.

“Looks like a damn tornado came through here. And you say it’s just you two and your dad?”
“We um, don’t do the dishes that often. We were just getting to do clean up.” Ben awkwardly explained.

The man didn’t look like he believed him, like he was just playing along. He nodded, leaning against the counter.

“Are you passing through? Don’t tell me you’re some of those crazy people heading up north to some ‘safe haven’. You got a good set up here.”

“Just passing through.” Ben crossed his arms. “Headin’ north.”

“Lot of people heading that way. Don’t know why though.”

A floorboard creak loudly above them. The man looked up before looking at the pair and heading for the door. Clem and Ben looked at each other with shared concerned looks before rushing after the man. They tried to tell him it was just the wind or a squeal and he shushed them harshly.

He entered Sarah’s room and looked around. Clem saw Sarah under the bed and smiled weakly at the girl. The man knelt down to pick something up. He showed it to Ben and Clem. It was the polaroid of them and Sarah.

“Just you and dad, hm?” 

“Y-yeah… us and dad.” Ben stiffened. “She passed through over a week ago.”

The man nodded, not looking like he believed Ben at all. He handed the polaroid to him and as he passed, stopped to Ben.

“Oh, and Cameron. Next time you want to use a fake name... Be careful of what’s on your jacket, Ben.”

Ben went rigid, looking down at his letterman. He had forgotten about it.

“Right.” Ben nodded, taking the polaroid.

“Just a suggestion.” The man smiled eerily at the teen. “Well, I’ll be going. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

“Wait, who are you?” Clem called after him. 

The man didn’t answer Clem question and bid the two goodbye. He left through the front door, leaving them alone. They stood at the top of the stairs for a long time before going back into the room. 

“I-is he gone?” Sarah peaked out that them with wide eyes.

“Yeah, you can come out.” Ben sat down on the bed with a sigh.

Sarah came out from under the bed. She was shaking and her eyes were wide with panic.

“He- he saw the photo of us! He- he…” 

“Sarah- Sarah, you need to breathe." Ben gently took hold of her shoulder. She flinched but didn’t pull away. He turned her to face him. “Do as I say okay? Breath in.”

Sarah’s breath was shaky but she did as Ben said. Ben smiled encouragingly at her. “Now hold it.”

She did. Ben smiled at her. “Now breathe out.”

She breathed out, letting her shoulders slump. She curled her fingers into Ben’s jacket sleeve. Ben shushed her and pulled her forward, hugging her. Clem joined in, hugging the older girl from behind. Sarah curled her fingers into the back of Ben’s jacket, holding tight. 

The sound of a door opened downstairs startled the children. Carlos’s voice sounded from downstairs and they relaxed. Sarah pulled away from Clem and Ben and bolted down the stairs. Ben and Clem followed after her. Sarah was already in the kitchen, hugging her dad tight.

“A man was here! He- he saw the picture of me, Ben and Clem!” She cried into his shirt.

“What?!” Carlos shot around to scold Clem and Ben. “What did I say about not opening the door? And you were taking pictures?!”

“That was coming in weather I opened the door or not!” Ben argued. “And this picture. We only took this one and there’s on of just me and Clem.”

He showed the polaroid Sarah had taken of the three. Carlos took it and looked it over.

“The man, did he saw what his name was?” Luke asked. He looked nervous.

“No. But he’s looking for you.” Clem answered.

“Shit… what did he look like?” Nick asked. “Was he wearing a fur-lined coat and had some facial hair?”

Ben and Clem nodded.

“Carver.” Rebeca put her hands over her swollen stomach.

“ That was Carver?!” Ben’s looked at her in shock.

“We need to leave!” Luke said. The others nodded in agreement. “Ben, Clem, go get your things, we’re leaving now .”

They nodded and went to collect their stuff.

Chapter Text

The group settled down after a long day of walking. It had been almost five days since they left the cabin. Ben set up his and Clem’s sleeping bags next to each other by the fire. Clem sat next to him, taking her hat off to fit her pigtails. Ben smiled at her.

“We’re supposed to be going to Wellington.” Clem practically pouted.

“We will. That’s still the plan.” Ben smiled at her.

“As long as Carver’s after us, you two are staying with us.” Carlos’ voice sounded from a few feet away.

“Why? He’s not after us. He’s after you .” Clementine huffed

“He saw you though.” Luke tried to explain.

“So? He doesn’t know we’re with you guys. We told him Sarah was just someone passing through.”

“You really think he believed that?” Nick raised a brow at them. “He’s smarter than he led you to believe. He was playing along.”

Ben gave a deep sigh. He sat his pack down to use as a makeshift pillow. Sarah sat across the fire from them flipping through a book she had packed. Ben smiled over at her. Sarah noticed him and smiled weakly back at him. 

“How are you doing, Rebecca?” Ben heard Clementine asked.

“I’m fine, Sweetie.” She smiled at her, resting her hands on her stomach. “Just ready for this baby to be here.”

“Do you have an idea of what it is?” Ben asked, looking at Rebecca’s stomach. 

“No, but Alvin thinks we’re having a boy.” Rebecca shook her head in amusement. “I’m happy as long as the baby’s happy and healthy.

Ben smiled at that. The group was settling down now and Ben laid back on his sleeping bag. He could see some stars through the treetops, sparkling overhead. Clem laid beside him, tucking herself into Ben’s side. Ben looped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close. 

“Night, Ben…” Clem was already drifting off.

“Night, Clem.” Ben held her protectively. He turned onto his side and held her in his arms as he finally closed his eyes and drifted off.

------

It was sunrise when the group packed up and started moving. With one hand, Clem loosely held Ben’s and with the other, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Ben’s tired eyes trailed the tree line, holding his bat tight in his hand.

“Hey, Clem, come check around with the binoculars.” Luke called from up ahead. 

Clem pulled away from Ben and went to take the binoculars from the man. She climbed up onto a large boulder and looked around.

“There’s a giant drop off and-- a building. Like a big cabin or something!”

“Let me see.” Ben took the binoculars from her and looked. “It’s a ski lodge.”

“Do you see anyone?” Carlos questioned.

“No.” Ben looked around the area. “There’s a bridge.”

“Maybe we should check it out?” Clem suggested.

“Yeah. Clem, come on we’ll check out the bridge.” Luke gestured for her to follow him.

She nodded and hopped down from the boulder. Ben frowned as anxiety twisted in his stomach. 

She noticed and bumped her shoulder against his side with a smile. “I’ll be fine, Ben. Don’t worry.”

“Just stay in my line of sight, alright?” He smiled slightly, tapping her hat.

Clem puffed out her cheeks, narrowing her eyes at Ben. She lightly shoved Ben before following after Luke. Nick followed behind as back up. Ben watched them leave, making sure to keep Clem insight. He started when a hand touched his shoulder. He turned his head to Alvin. 

“She’ll be okay, Ben. Clem’s a tough kid.” Alvin smiled at the teen.

He nodded. “She is. Nick and Luke are with her too.”

“They’ll make sure she--” Alvin was cut off by a gunshot ring out.

Ben’s head shot to the bridge before he took off running. He ignored Carlos and Alvin yelling after him. He got to th bridge quickly, pausing when he saw Nick and Luke yelling at each other. Clem was standing with them, looking startled. 

“What the hell happened?” Ben came over to them.

“Nick shot someone.” Clem had her arms crossed.

“I thought he was gonna shoot you and Luke!” Nick argued.

“He wasn’t going to! He was gonna help us.” Luke snapped at the other man.

Nick looked away with a huff and deep frown. Ben took hold of Clem’s arm, pulling her to him. The rest of the group soon joined them on the bridge.

“We’ll talk about this later. It looks like a snow storm’s coming let's get up to the lodge.” Rebecca started passed them.

Clem over at the edge of the bridge before turning away with a frown. She held onto Ben’s hand tight as they started walking off the bridge to go to the lodge. Snow started to fall, joining what little was on the ground already. Clem scooped some up into her hand to get a closer look.

“Have you ever seen snow before?” Luke asked, as he walked up next to her.

“Not in real life.” She let the snow drop back to the ground. Her hand was a bit red from the cold and she tucked it into the sleeve of Ben’s hoodie. 

“Maybe we can have a snowball fight!” Sarah grinned at the younger girl. 

Clem weakly smiled back and nodded. Ben looked around the mountain as everyone made their way up the path. Suddenly he and Clem were getting pushed towards the back of the group as loud voices erupted from ahead. 

“-Lower your gun and he’ll lower his.” Ben heard Carlos negotiate.

“Fuck that!” An all too familiar voice sounded out. One that Ben and Clem thought they’d never hear again.

The two looked at each other with wide eyes before pushing their way to the front of the group. They stared in awe as Kenny did a double-take at them and lowered his rifle.

“Clementine? Ben?” Kenny blinked at them, like he believes his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Clem pulled away from Ben and rushed over to Kenny who embraced her tightly. Ben watched from where he was frozen in place. Kenny looked over at Ben, looking like he wanted to say something. He didn’t and turned back to Clem and he pulled away to kneel down in front of her, hands on her shoulders.

“I’m assuming you know him?” Luke whispered to Ben.

“He was in our old group…”

Kenny shared soft words with Clem before standing. “Why don’t we talk more inside.”

“Good, I just started dinner.” The man behind Kenny said with a smile. “Come on in.”

Ben came up to stand next to Clem as they all headed for the doors. Clem’s hand curled around Ben’s after a moment. Kenny looked over at the kids, a faint smile on his face. He looked at Ben like he wanted to say something but once again held back. He turned forward as they entered the lodge, a sense of warmth and coziness wrapped around Ben’s form. Though the underlying sense of tension remained.

Chapter Text

Soft holiday music drifted to Ben’s ears as he stepped in with Clementine and Kenny. Clem looked around at the decorations and soft lights strung up on the poles, her eyes trailing to the lit fireplace in a small sitting area. Across the way was a small kitchen and a dining area with picnic tables. 

Walter smiled, turning to face them. “Kenny and Sarita have been saying with me and Matthew for a few weeks now.”

“I’m surprised we never ran into each other…” Ben thought out loud.

Kenny kept going as if Ben had never said anything. “Walter here can make a mean can of beans.” 

“Well why don’t you three catch up while I get some dinner started.”

The rest of the group filed in behind them, looking around in wonder.

“Dad look there’s a christmas tree!” Sarah’s looked excitedly at the tall pine tree standing in the main room.

“Please make yourselves at home. You can leave you things there.” Walter gestured to the long side table along the wall by the door.

“Only if he does.” Nick looked Kenny. 

There was a long silence that followed. Ben looked to Kenny who was frowning deeply at Nick. Kenny turned his head to look at Ben before looking down at Clem.

“Clem, do you trust these people?” Kenny finally spoke.

She didn’t miss a beat. “Yes.”

Kenny nodded and moved to put his rifle on the side table. Ben moved next, putting his backpack and baseball bat down.

“I think you three have some catching up to do.” Walter said as the rest of the group was led up to the second floor. 

Kenny nodded and walked with Clem and Ben over to the couch by the fireplace. Clem sat in the center of the couch with Ben and Kenny on either side of her. 

“Still got that old thing huh?” Kenny tapped the brim of Clem’s hat. “And— are you wearing Ben’s hoodie?”

Clem nodded, a smile forming on her face. “He gave it to me to keep me warm.”

“That’s nice.” Kenny smiled. “Y’know, I half expected Lee to walk up next to you. Wasn’t really expecting Ben.” 

Ben frowned, leaning back against the arm of the couch. He was well aware he was the last person most people expected to be about to do something well. Though he thought it debatable if he was taking care of Clementine well.

“I didn’t see Omid and Christa with y’all…” Kenny started.

Clem’s smile fell. “They aren’t with us… it’s been me and Ben since Savannah.”

“Since Sannah? That was, what, almost two years ago?” Kenny looked between the two kids, his eyes lingering on Ben.

“Yeah. Ben got me out of Savannah and took care of me.” Clementine’s smile reformed. “Just like Lee told him to do.”

The man looked to Ben like he was seeing him for the first time. There was a look in his eyes a kin to… respect? Ben pushed that thought aside, menally berating himself. ‘ What are you thinking, of course he doesn’t respect you.’

Ben looked away, his staring into the warm fire. The woman who led their group to their rooms come over and leaned over the back of the couch, her elbows resting by Kenny’s shoulder.

“Oh, this is my girl Sarita. Ain't she a beaut?” Kenny smiled at Sarita.

“Hello. Ben and Clementine right?” She smiled at the kids. “It’s so nice having another girl here.”

Clementine smiled. “Yeah. It’s been just me and Ben for a while.”

Ben tapped the brim of Clem’s hat, making it tilt down into her face. Clem narrowed her eyes at Ben as righted her hat on her head. 

“Dinner is ready everyone.” Walter called out.

“Hmm, Matty isn’t back yet..” Sarta straightened up.

“He’ll be back soon, Hon.” Kenny smiled at her as he stood from the couch. “He’s probably on his way back now.”

Ben grew wary as he thought back to the man on the bridge. He pushed that thought down as he walked with Clem to the dinning area. He looked around as he was faces with a new cerent problem. Who to sit with.

Chapter Text

Ben and Clementine had separated, Clem sitting with Kenny while Ben went to sit with Nick and Luke. Ben slowly started eating, glancing over at Clem every couple of minutes. Luke looked back at Clem talking to Kenny before turning back to Ben.

“That Kenny guy, he seems to just disregard you.” Luke raised a brow.

“We, um… didn’t really get along in the past.” Ben looked down at his bowl of beans. ‘ One way to put it Ben.. a more accurate way would be he wanted you dead. ’

“Well if he tries anything tell us. You’re in our group now and we look out for our own.” Nick said in a voice that held no room for argument.

Ben weakly smiled at the man before going back to eating. Sarita and Walter soon left, talking in huffed voices to each other, and Nick and Luke moved to sit with Clem and Kenny. Luke gestured for Ben to follow when the teen didn’t move. He stood with bowl and moved to sit next to Clem, Luke and Nick sitting on either side of Kenny.

Ben picked up the can of peaches on the table and held it up by Clem’s head. “The girl on the can kind of looks like you.”

The girl gave Ben an unamused look. Ben snickered, sitting the can back on the table. His laughter grew as Clem elbowed him in the ribs. Clem fought back an obvious smile as she started eating.

“So what were you talking about?” Luke awkwardly started.

“Clementine staying here when y’all move on.” Kenny simply said, coming off blunt.

“I told you: if I stay, Ben stays.” Clem spoke firmly, causing Kenny to frown. “We stick together. That’s rule number one.”

“Rule number one?” Kenny looked between the children.

“Some rules Clem and I made up.” Ben awkwardly played with his food, taking a small bite before responding. “Never go alone, always know where the way out is... Always aim for the head...”

“And keep your hair short.” Clem added, looking at Ben. “Speaking of short hair.”

“Yeah, we both need a haircut.” Ben pushed back his long bangs. 

“There’s scissors in the upstairs bathroom.” Kenny gestured towards the stairs leading to the upper landing.

“Come on, please don’t ruin my hair this time.” Clem stood, pulling Ben with her. 

He just shook his head and let her pull him up the stairs.

--------

Clem sat on the bathroom counter, facing the mirror, as Ben carefully cut her hair. Ben carefully measured out the curls, making sure it all came out the same length. Clementine watched him in the mirror, snickering a bit at Ben biting his tongue in concentration. 

He raised a brow at her; “What are you giggling about?”

“You bite your tongue when you really concentrate.”

Ben’s ears heated up and he ducked down behind Clem to hide it. She snickered into her hand.

“Keep laughing and I’ll cut off all your hair.” Ben looked over Clem’s shoulder to smile at her through the mirror.

“You wouldn’t dare!” She narrowed her eyes at him.

Ben opened and closed the scissors a couple times as he smiled at Clem. She glared at his reflection. He got back to cutting her hair. Despite his ‘threat’, Ben was still careful to cut her hair. The finished product was a bit shorter than he intended but it was still decent and he could pull the hair into two small pigtails. Ben grabbed Clem’s hat from the counter and placed it on her head. 

“There. And I didn’t mess it up this time.” 

“Debatable.” Clem smirked at him, hopping off the counter. “Your turn now.”

He hesitated before handing the scissors over. “I only need my bangs cut.”

She nodded and and Ben sat down on the side of the tub so Clem could reach. She mimicked what Ben had down and measured out the strands. The teen stayed still for her, not wanting to make Clem mess up. She took her time, cutting his bangs to just below his brows. 

Clem looked up at Ben’s bandaged brow. She reached up and gently pressed to make sure the bandaid stayed in place. It was bumping out in places of carefully smoothed it out. Ben leaned away from the touch with a grimace. 

“Sorry, did that hurt..?” Clem’s guilt could be heard in her voice.

“No, no just… tender I guess?” Ben awkwardly finished. He wasn’t sure how to describe how the wound felt. 

Clem nodded, accepting the explanation. At least for now. Ben stood and started cleaning up the hair from the ground and counter. Clem moved to help, tossing chucks into the wastebasket. They soon had all the hair cleaned up and just in time for Sarah to rush in.

“Sarita said we can decorate the tree! Come on!” She was practically bouncing in excitement.

Sarah took hold of Clem and Ben’s wrists and started pulling them out of the bathroom. As the holiday music and chatter filtered up to their ears, Ben and Clem could feel a familiar sense of holiday cheer that they hadn’t felt in what felt like a lifetime.

Chapter Text

“Ben, your height will come in handy for getting the decorations up higher.”

Ben rolled his eyes, starting to hang up ornaments on the tall tree. His eyes trailed over to Nick and Luke talking quietly on the far side of the main room. He turned back to the tree and hang a snowman ornament Sarah was handing him.

“Did you celebrate Christmas before?” Sarita asked him.

“Yeah. I used to help my mom and sister decorate the tree.” He smiled a bit at the memories filling his head. He could practically hear his sister and mother’s laughter. “We’d even make paper snowflakes to hang on the wall.

“And your father?”

Ben turned back to the box of decorations, suddenly frowning. “He and I would, um, hang up lights outside.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to bring up anything bad…” Sarita looked genuinely guilty.

“No, it’s fine!” Ben turned to her to quickly try to comfort the woman. “Really, just...um..”

“It’s okay, Ben. You don’t have to explain.” Sarita reached out to gently squeeze his arm in comfort. 

Ben weakly smiled, turning back to the tree. He couldn’t help but think back to his family. His sister would jump on his bed every Christmas morning until he’d get up and let her pull him downstairs. His mom always made french toast for breakfast on the holiday. He could almost smell his mom’s cooking. He missed her…

He shook the thoughts from his head to get rid of the thoughts. He tried to listen to Clem and Sarah happily talking to each other. His attention was pulled away to Luke and Nick who were now looking over at Ben. Luke gestured the teen over to them while trying to be discreet. He came over to them, looking confused.

“What’s going on?” Ben frowned at them.

“We have a problem. The guy Nick killed on the bridged,” Luke looked over at the other man who looked guilty. He held up a framed photo to Ben that made his anxiety rise. “He was Mathew.” 

Ben’s blood ran cold as his heart rate shot up. “W-what do we do..?”

“We need to stay calm .” Luke emphasised. 

“W-we need to tell Walter…”  Ben hugged himself, holding his sleeves tight.

“I’m with Ben.” Nick nodded, not looking at his friend next to him.

“What? No! We need to keep this quiet.” Luke quietly scolded them. “Who knows what he’ll do if he finds out.”

Ben made an unconscious noise of nervousness as he tightened his hold on his sleeves. He glanced around the lodge, only now noticing he couldn’t see Walter anywhere. That only helped to skyrocket the teen’s anxiety, a mantra of ‘ Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! ’ going through his head. Ben nearly jumped out of his skin when a hand gripped his arm. His wide eyes snapped to Luke who was gripping his arm tight.

“Ben you need to calm down .” Luke whispered. His voice was harsh but he had a gentle look in his eyes. “Take some deep breaths and calm down. You look like you’re gonna bolt any second now.”

Ben honestly felt like running. He could only see this ending badly. 

“H-he probably k-knows already.” Ben stuttered. They should just come clean now, before things go south. ‘ Before anyone else dies over a mistake… ’

“Ben, shut up for a minute,” Luke snapped at him. He sighed then, squeezing Ben’s arm as an apology. “Go get the knife we got from him, it’s with the other weapons, Nick and I’ll run interference. Get rid of the knife.”

Ben shakingly nodded and pulled away from Luke. His eyes jumped around for any sign of Walter as he made his way down to the weapons. All their weapons were there… except for the knife. Ben looked around on the table and under it, find his and Clem’s bags open when he knew for a fact they were closed when they left them. His breathing picked up as he looked through their bags. A few things looked like they had been touched but not much. Like the desired object was found quickly. 

Ben caught movement in the corner of his eye and slowly turned in its direction. His heart rate skyrocketed when he saw Walter out on the main decking.

Mathew’s knife was in his hands.

Ben tried to steady his breathing as he slowly opened the glass door. He stood in place for a long moment before stepping outside completely and closed the door behind him. He was shaking and his breathing was getting shorter. Walter still had his back to Ben, but there was no way he couldn’t know the teen was there.

“Walter…?” Ben finally managed to get force out.

“I always liked this knife,” Walter said, sounding eerily calm. He unsheathed the knife, what little light there still was bounced off the blade. “Gave it to Mathew when all this started. I know he’s dead.”

Ben kept his eyes trained on the knife in the man’s hand. Walter had yet to turn to Ben so he couldn’t see the man’s expression. That scared him. He couldn’t read the man in front of him and one misstep could get that knife sunk into his chest. Ben’s whole being tense painfully at that thought.

“Who did it? What is that kid? What’s his name… Nick?” Walter demanded. “Heard him talking earlier. Something about shooting a man. When you were cutting Clem’s hair.”

“I-It was us, it’s our fault. I-I’m so sorry, Walter.” Ben’s voice trembled as he choked out the words.

Walter tensed up and was quiet for a long time. His hand tightened on the knife handle and Ben took a step away from the man. Walter blew out smoke from the cigarette Ben only just now noticed in his hand. There was a long tense silence between the two.

“Is Nick a good man?” The older man suddenly asked, startling Ben. He finally turned to face the teen with an expression of anger and grief. He furrowed his brows, staring at Ben intensely. “Or is he just like everyone else? Is he just one of those… those fuckers that don’t give a shit about anyone but themselves?”

Ben shook his head vigorously. “H-He’s a good guy, Walter… He s-saved my life.”

Walter turned away from Ben then, blowing out more smoke. Nick opened the door, looking to Ben before spotting Walter and freezing. He slowly came out to stand next to Ben, meeting Ben’s wide eyes with similar fearful ones.

“What’s going on?” Nick whispered to him.

“Y-you need to tell him.” Ben whispered back. “W-what happened on- on the bridge.”

Walter turned to fully face the pair. The anger from before seemed gone now and only the grief remained.

“Tell me what you did.” Walter’s voice wavered and he closed his eyes. “Just tell me, Son.”

“F-from a distance it looked like anyone. I… I thought he was gonna shoot my friends and I… I shot Mathew. But it happened real fast, I didn’t know if I hit him but I did… I-I’m so sorry, Walter.”

Walter tightened his grip on the knife as he stepped forward. Ben tensed, ready to pull him and Nick out of the way at any moment. Walter stopped then and stood there for a long time before he tossed the knife to the side with a clatter. Ben opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the loud sound of the wind turbine speeding up. 

The rest of the group came outside, looking around confused. Clem came to stand by Ben’s side. She looked at his trembling form over before taking his hand and squeezing it to comfort him. He appreciated it and squeezed back, letting her know he was okay.

“Walt, what’s going on?!” Kenny spoke up, looking towards the turbine. Kenny cursed under his breath. “This storm’s got it spinnin’ outta control! That’s gonna draw Walters! We gotta shut it off!”

Kenny started giving out orders for getting the guns and passing them out, much to Sarita’s disapproval. Ben startled when something was pushed into his hands. He looked down to see Clem was handing him his bat while she took the gun. He tightened his hold on his bat and followed Clem who took after Kenny towards the wind turbine. 

The Wind Turbine was going crazy now. There was a loud explosion before the lights in the lodge blinked and went out.

“Shit, the generator much’ve blown out.” Kenny cursed “I could use a hand getting it back up.”

“I’ll go with you.” Luke stated, stepping forwards.

Kenny nodded. “The rest of you, get this thing shut down.”

Kenny and Luke ran off towards where the generator was housed. Sarita opened up the turbine control panel but it was too dark to see. Ben pulled out a lighter he had found and flicked it open for a flame, lighting up the compartment. 

“Does anyone know how to do this?” Carlos asked, looking between everyone.

“Um, my grandparents had a setup similar to this on their farm.” Ben didn’t know how relevant that was to their current situation. “M-maybe I can try?”

“Okay, we’ll watch you back.” Carlos nodded to him before turning to Nick. “Nick, scan the trees with me.” 

Ben was honestly surprised at how willing they were to just trust him to do this. He shook his head and turned back to the compartment. He looked around for anything before Clem grabbed a key off a hook to the side.

“Maybe this turns it off.” She suggested, handing him the key.

Ben took it and spotted the key hold. ‘ There’s no way it’s this easy. ’ He was sceptical but willing to try. Ben pushed the key into the hole and turned it, pressing it forward. 

The wind turbine slowed to a stop.

Ben started up at it in disbelief. It was eerily quiet now and Ben looked around for anything. Suddenly the sounds of Walkers could be heard from the tree line. 

“We need to get back to the lodge.” Nick said. 

More Walkers came up behind them, slowly surrounding them. Ben grabbed Clem’s arm pulling her back to him as he tightened his hold on his bat. Nick, Carlos and Sarita started firing at the undead creatures slowly approaching them. 

Ben pulled Clem to cover behind a rock. A Walker grabbed his arm, pulling him backwards. Clem regained herself quickly and shot it in the head before Ben had a chance to do anything. She pulled him this time and ducked down behind a boulder. The group was slowly making their way to the lodge, but a large group of Walkers blocked their path. Ben felt useless with his bat. There were too many Walkers for him to get close enough to swing at one.

Clem was firing at Walkers ahead of them. She managed to take out three before running out of bullets. The remaining Walkers were quickly on them and Ben swung, taking down one before a bullet whizzed by taking out another. Ben startled and whipped around to see Carlos firing at them.

“Get to the lodge!” He yelled to them before running off, taking out another Walker. 

Ben grabbed Clem and ran for the lodge. He took out Walkers on the way, some wood splintering off his weapon. 

“Nick!” Clem yelled, suddenly stopping. 

Ben looked to where Nick was struggling to hold back a Walker. Before either of them could react, the Walker was shot in the head. The trio looked to the source to find it was Walter who fired. He weakly smiled at them before rushing to meet up with the others.

“Ben, take Clem inside! Go!” Carlos yelled to them, firing at a group of Walkers.

Ben didn’t need to be told twice. He grabbed Clem’s hand and all but dragged her into the lodge. He shoved open the door and pulled Clementine up the steps to the main landing. Rebecca looked up from the window and looked to them with wide eyes.

“Clementine, Ben, are you okay?” She looked them over in concern.

“Y-yeah we’re--” Clem was cut off by the sound of an automatic rifle going off.

Ben ran to the window to try and see. No one in their group had a gun like that. He ducked down as Clem and Alvin came to kneel next to them. People were coming out of the tree line and gunning down the Walkers in quick succession. 

Rebbeca grasped as the people came into view. “Carver.”

Ben’s eyes widened when he saw the man. Clem’s hand grabbed his arm as he started to panic, her presence helped to calm him slightly. They could hear what was being said, but they could see Carver punch Carlon. Sarah cried out before taking off before anyone could stop her, running out to her dad. 

Carver looked towards the lodge before he and his men started towards the door, bringing everyone with them. They needed to hide. Fast. Rebecca and Alvin quickly head up to the second-floor landing. Ben and Clem got caught off on their way and dived down behind the couch. Ben hand to practically bend in half to be completely hidden. He tucked Clem into his side, holding her tight. 

A woman from Carver's group whistled as she looked around. “Look at his place.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Ben sees Alvin gesturing for them to come up the stairs. Ben stared with wide eyes. There was no way he and Clem could make it over without getting caught. Clem shifted out of his arms, taking Ben’s hands. Ben startled as Clem suddenly yanked him forwards and up to the stairs, going up to the landing.

From the high point of view, the rest of the group could be seen. Everyone was lined up along the front of the kitchenette. Kenny and Luke were nowhere to be seen. Everyone had their hands bound with zip ties. Carver started looking around, looking towards the upper area. Suddenly he turned back to the group and grabbed Carlos, yanking him to the centre of the area. He punched him in the stomach, making Carlos fall to the ground. 

Ben couldn’t make out what Carver had said to Carlos but he was soon grabbing his hand broke one of Carlos’ fingers. Carlos yelled in pain and Sarah cried out.

“Rebecca, our baby deserves to be raised in a place of safety.” Carver called out. “I know you’re out there. And Alvin. And Luke, and the boy and girl. This can be real simple. You want this over quick, you play nice and show your faces.”

Ben tightened his hold on Clem’s hand. Sarah could be heard crying loudly. Rebecca and Alvin started arguing quietly.

“He’ll kill him. We gotta go down there.” Alvin argued.

Rebecca shook her head. “I can’t do that.”

“Bec, the baby, you need a doctor.”

“We have to help Carlos.” Clem chimed in.

“The only way to help is to go down there.” Alvin whispered.

“What about Luke and Kenny? Clem can sneak out-”

“What the hell she gonna do?” Alvin interrupted.

Ben shook his head vigorously, tightening his hold on Clem. There was no way he was going to let her go off on her own. Carlos cried out again as Carver broke another one of his fingers. Carlos started yelling for someone to shoot Carver to pulled a knife to the doctor's throat.

“We have to give up. He’s gonna kill Carlos.” Clem argued. “Come on, Ben. We need to go down there.”

Ben stared at Clem like she had grown another head. Rebecca could see she was losing this argument and sighed. She gave Ben an apologetic look before she stood.

“Bill, stop!” She yelled down to him.

He looked up to her and smiled, tossing Carlos aside. Ben allowed Clem to pull him up and lead him down the stairs. Rebecca led the alway with Alvin close behind her. Carver smiled even more as they got closer. Ben and Clem were pulled away from Rebecca and Alvin and their hands were bound with zip ties before they were roughly pushed to the floor. Rebecca was brought off to stand to the side. Ben leaned over towards Clem as comfort for her.

Ben tried to not think of the last time he had his hands bound together and guns pointed at him.

“Ben, can you reach my hands?” Carlos asked, now bound next to the teen. 

Ben looked to Carlos’s hands, trying not to look at his broken fingers, before looking to Carver and his men. He shook his head. “I can’t. T-they’ll see.”

Carlos sighed. Ben felt guilty for not helping but he didn’t want to make things worse. Suddenly, the sound of a gun going off sounded as the front window broke and one of the guards fell to the ground. A bullet in his head. Everyone jumped and Carver and his group went behind the pillars.

Carver stepped forwards and grabbed Walter by the collar. He pulled him out to the middle of the room and shoved him to the shoved. He shot Walter in the head without a moment’s hesitation. Ben watched with wide eyes as Walter fell to the ground.

“That’s for our man!” Carver yelled out. “Now I didn’t want to do this, but here’s what’s gonna happen; I’m gonna march another one of your friends out and I’m gonna put a bullet in their head. Or you can give up. Your choice.”

“Kenny, stop!” Clem yelled. The pillar Carver was standing behind was shot.

Carver shrugged, looking to Clem who had yelled. He came over and grabbed her arm, pulling her away from Ben. He picked her up and brought her out, putting the gun to her head.

“No! Clementine!” Ben cried. He tried to reach for her but couldn’t with his arms bound behind his back. “Kenny, just fucking stop! Please!”

“Listen to the boy. Be a shame if he had to see his sister die.”

Before he knew it, Ben jumped to his feet and ran at Carver to stop him. The man saw him and nailed in hard in the stomach with his gun. Ben fell to the floor in a coughing fit. He swore he could taste blood. He tried to catch his breath but couldn’t. Fuck it hurt. Ben’s hair was suddenly grabbed and he was yanked up onto his knees by it. Clementine was now on the floor not to him. She looked to Ben with wide, terror-filled eyes.

“I suppose both siblings are going.” Carver said and Ben felt the hard metal of a gun press against the back of his head.

‘ I’m sorry, Clem… I really fucked up this time... ’ Ben closed his eyes so he didn’t have to see Clem’s grief-stricken expression.

The doors to the lodge opened then and Kenny came through with his arms raised. Carver smiled and Ben and Clem were dragged back over to the others. Kenny was brought up and bound like the others. He was put in Walter’s now empty spot. Ben looked down the line at the man who was looking at Ben like the teen was crazy. Ben looked away.

“I warned you not to follow Luke. look at where he’s led you.” Carver paced in front of everyone. “But you’re safe now. We’re going home, as a family.”

Carver then ordered his people to round everyone up and be taken outside. Ben and Clem were at the back of the line, neither of them looking at each other. Ben found himself looking to Walter left on the ground. ‘ He’s with Mathew now …’ Ben looked away as everyone was taken out of the lodge.

Chapter Text

The truck shook back and forth as it drove down the bumpy road. Clem was tucked snuggly into Ben’s side who had his arms draped over her. The truck jerked as it came to a sudden stop. Before anyone could move, the door to the back slid up, blinding everyone with the blinding sunlight. 

“Alright! Taking a piss break.” The guard, Ben thought his name might be Troy, yelled. “Only two at the time! You, the dumbass with a death wish and the trigger happy idiot. You’re up first.”

Ben was pulled away from Clem and out of the truck with Kenny. Their hands were untied, along with the threat of not to try anything. Ben nodded, looking down as he rubbed his wrists. He kept his eyes on the ground as he went into the treeline. The guards stayed back but could see where he and Kenny were.

“Ben--”

“If you’re gonna say we should run or fight again don’t...” Ben interrupted, glancing over at Kenny. His voice was soft, almost like he wasn’t used to speaking. 

“That wasn’t what I was gonna say, Smartass.” Kenny rolled his eyes. “I was gonna ask why the hell did you run at Carver like that?” 

Ben’s hand pressed against his gut in an attempt to lessen the pain still radiating there. He could feel a bruise forming. 

“He had Clem.” Ben said simply. 

The man studied the teen for a moment. “Guess you have changed since Savannah. Though not sure if you running away or running at a guy with a gun is better.”

Ben sighed, his mind drifting back to Savannah. It felt like a lift time ago. “Either way, I could’ve gotten Clem killed…” 

“Yeah, what you did was stupid.” He nodded in agreement. 

“Somehow I keep doing it.” Ben muttered. “I tackled a woman that was trying to rob me and Clem at gunpoint.”

“How are you so reckless?” Kenny crossed his arms, leaning against a tree.

“It just happens okay?” Ben grabbed his sleeves. “I can’t always think things through.”

He wasn’t looking at Kenny but he could feel the man’s eyes on him. Kenny didn’t say a word, turning away from the teen.

“Hurry it up you two! We don’t got all day!” Troy yelled to them.

Kenny rolled his eyes. Ben rubbed his arm, cringing at the feeling of peeling pleather. He turned away from Kenny, going a bit further. Being in the woods was nothing new to Ben, having spent almost two years camping. Though he didn’t like the woods. Unwelcome memories came to the forefront of his mind and he tried to force them back down. He did what he needed to do before quickly heading back to the truck, practically leaving Kenny behind. 

Another guard, Bonnie, redid the ties around Ben’s wrists. She didn’t look up at the teen’s face, stepping aside so he could get back into the truck. Clem looked up as Ben sat down next to her and pulled his knees up to his chest. Kenny climbed after Ben, sitting next to Sarita. 

After Nick and Carlos were taken, then Alvin. After him was Sarita and Rebecca. Clem and Sarah were taken out next. Ben watched them leave with a frown. Nick came over and sat down next to Ben, as if to silently reassure the teen. Ben glanced at him, giving him a weak smile to show his appreciation. He looked back towards the open truck door, trying to see if he could see Clem and Sarah. 

“Now could be our chance,” Kenny spoke up, speaking lowly so Troy and Bonnie couldn’t hear him. “We take out the guards, get their guns, take out everyone else and get the fuck out of here. We just gotta get these binds off.”

“The truck’s empty...” Ben’s voice had the same tone of unfamiliarity to it.

“First off, we’re in it so it ain’t exactly empty.” The man snapped, turning to face the teen across from him. 

“There’s nothing to cut the binds I mean.” Ben hunched his shoulders. 

Kenny opened his mouth to argue only to be cut off by troy yelling. A moment later Clem and Sarah climbed back into the truck. Clem had a red mark blooming on her cheek in the faint outline of a hand.

“What happened?” Ben reached out to take hold of Clem’s arm, pulling her to him the best he could. 

“Are you okay, Darlin’? What happened— hey!” Kenny turned to yell the last part at Troy who slammed the truck door down, plunging them back into darkness.

-------

The next hour or so was filled with a thick silence. Clem was curled up on Ben’s lap, her head on his shoulder as she dozed. Ben held her the best he could. The red mark on Clem’s cheek was fading but the hand outline could still be seen.

“We need to get out of here.” Kenny once again started up. 

“Kenny stop. There is no way out of here.” Carlos sighed in annoyance. 

“Right, ‘cause y’all are just getting a ride home.” Kenny glared at the other man.

“You don’t understand.” Rebecca looked down in remorse. “He’s different… worse. He wants to punish us.”

“You could’ve warned us.” Ben looked over at her. “Y’all wouldn’t tell us anything or were cryptic and we just had to follow you. Clem and I’ve been half way to Wellington by now.”

“He saw your faces, Benjamin.” Carlos said shortly.

“And? We gave him fake names and we said it was just us and our dad. That we were passing through.” The teen tightened his hold on Clem.

“You honestly think he believed that? Carlos turned to completely face the teen.

“I…” Ben averted his gaze as he trailed off.

“He played along with you. Carver’s smart and he knew you were lying to him.”

“He did catch your fake name…” Clem muttered. “And you didn’t deny it.”

“He caught me off guard.” Ben looked away.

“You’re alway caught off guard. You’re like a scared pup--” Kenny stopped, looking to the side. “There was go.”

Kenny stood, walking to what looked like a broken piece of metal sticking from the wall. He cut his restraints, free his hands. He rubbed his wrists, leaning against the wall to keep his balance. 

“Carver will be there with ten guards. Sit down, Kenny before you get us all killed.” Carlos snapped. 

“Y’all don’t know what you’re talking about. We get cooped up in some kennel like a buncha fucking dogs, it’s over.” Kenny glared at Carlos. “I’ve been in this situation before. Ben and Clementine too, they know what I’m talking about.”

Clementine and Ben both looked down and tried to block out the memories assaulting their minds. Ben had only heard bits and pieces of what happened at the St. Johns’ Dairy, while Clementine… witnessed the horrors first hand. Ben held Clem closer to his chest.

Sarita noticed their discomfort and moved over to them. He gently rested her hands on Ben and Clem’s shoulders, offering them silent comfort. The teen smiled weakly at her, appreciating the comfort. He pushed back the memories in favour of focusing on the present. 

Kenny looked over to them, opening his mouth to speak only to be interrupted by the truck jerking to a halt. He fell back and hit his head on the door with a loud thud. 

“Kenny!” Sarita moved to check on her boyfriend. 

Kenny rubbed his head and let Sarita help him sit up. He looked surprised by what had just happened and just sat on the floor of the truck. 

The door slid up and they were greeted by three guards. Ben recognised two of them but one was new. Everyone was brought out single file into what looked like a large wearhouse. 

Carvers’ voice started coming over an overhead intercom; “We’ve got some familiar faces back with us tonight. Now, I understand some of you are confused as to why we’d bring them back people back when they left us as they did.”

Ben stuck close to Clem as the group was led through the warehouse into the main building. It looked like it was a hardware store before the Outbreak with tall shelving units filled with food and other supplies. Armed guards on top of the units, watching the group as they went by. Ben moved in an attempt to shield Clem, should any of them decide to pull the trigger. 

“It might not come all at once but time will heal these wounds. So be patient with them until it does. They’re here to make our home better. No one needs to forget what they did but we do need to find it in our hearts to forgive them.” 

“Look at all this food they have.” Clem commented, looking at a shelf full of canned food and bags of rice and corn.”

“Yeah. They got a nice variety.” Ben nodded. It only reminded him of how hungry he was, it wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling at this point.

“I hope you two aren’t saying what I think you’re saying.” Kenny’s voice had a sense of disappointment to it.

Ben looked away from the man, feeling a twinge of guilt for even saying something. Carlos was separated from the rest of the group and led off to an unknown part of the building while the rest were led to a large sliding gate.

“Now, don’t be messing with the fence. We’ll be able to see what you're doing.” The gate was slid up, opening to what used to be the gardening section. 

“Thanks, Bonnie.” Nick said walking past.

“No problem…” Bonnie looked away from Nick, getting to work untying everyone’s bonds.

“Y’all best get some rest, ‘cause there ain’t gonna be much for you tomorrow.” Troy said. “You’re gonna be working hard.”

Ben looked around the area, stopping on the makeshift beds and a sitting area with lawn chairs. They reminded him of the chairs his parents would take to the beach. He looked away from the chairs to go over to the beds and laid down on a bottom bunk. He was a bit too tall and had to bend his knees to fit, curling up on his side and closing his eyes. It wasn’t that long later that Ben felt Clem get on the bunk with him. He carefully turned over to face her, draping his arm over her. Clem sat her hat further up on the pillow before curling into Ben’s chest. The teen held her closer and into a tight, protective hold. 

“Get some rest. Got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” Nick’s voice drifted into Ben’s head.

Ben made himself to relax, knowing he was gonna need all the energy he could get for tomorrow. 

Chapter Text

Ben’s head felt drowsy as he lifted it, like he had just awoken from a deep sleep, the distant smell of fire and pine hitting his nose. The smell gave a sense of coziness, like a warm blanket. He felt a weight on his left arm and turned to meet Travis’ warm brown eyes. Travis was smiling up at him, looping his arm around Ben’s.

“Finally come back to the Land-of-the-living, Sleepy-head?” Travis snickered. 

Ben rolled his eyes, yawning. He turned away to look to his little sister sitting by the Christmas tree, opening presents with a big grin on her faintly freckled face. A present bow was sunk in her dirty blond hair, Ben had stuck it there from one of his presents. Colourful wrapping paper covered the floor.

“Hey,” Travis nudged Ben’s side, pulling his attention back. He had a small wrapped box, the size of his palm, in his hand. “I got one more present for ya.”

Ben watched him, noticing the nervousness on the other’s face. He took the offered box and tore open the blue wrapping. He paused at what looked like a ring box. He looked at Travis who gestured for him to continue. Ben opened the box and audibly gasped. Inside the dark velvet was a ring in his favourite metal, silver. It was a simple band with a single light blue gemstone in the center. 

“Now before you say anything; this isn’t an engagement ring.” Travis laughed. “Also don’t ask the price.”

“Travis..” Ben was at a loss for words. He picked up the ring to hold.

“It’s a promise ring,” Travis took the ring and slipped it on Ben's left ring finger. “That we'll always be together.” 

“Always.” Ben smiled, holding Travis’ hand.

Travis leaned forwards to kiss him but Ben didn’t feel it. Ben opened his eyes, thinking Travis was playing his usually tricks, only to be met with the bottom of a shelving unit shelf. 

The warm, cozy blanket was gone, replaced with a deep cold. The smell of smoke hit his nose and he slowly rolled over to face the fire pit and a group of chairs a few head away. Ben, pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, feeling tears prick in them. Of course it had been a dream. Travis was gone and so was his sister, as much as he wanted to believe she was still alive.

His hand wandered down to the tarnished chain around his neck and traced the ring on it. He cringed when he felt the small chip in the gem, his heart hurting. He did his best to take care of the ring, but he could only do so much. 

“Where’d you get that?” Sarah’s voice broke through Ben’s thoughts.

He jumped, gripping his ring as his eyes snapped to Sarah standing next to him. She tilted her head in curiosity as she waited for an answer. 

“It, uh, was a gift…” Ben looked down at the ring.

She perked up at his response. “Oh, from who? Why do you wear the ring on a chain?”

“Um… I should be getting up and getting ready for today.” Ben jumped out of bed, tugging on his jacket and tucking away his ring.

He felt bad for blowing off the conversation but the ache in his heart was telling him not to continue the topic. He heard Sarah sigh behind him and let out a sigh of his own. Ben made his way over to the small sitting area where a few of the others were eating.
“Hey, Sleepyhead.” Clem greeted him. “Bonnie brought us breakfast. We don’t have a lot of time so eat quickly.”

Ben took the offered bowl from Clem as he sat down. It looked to be oatmeal that wasn’t cooked long enough. He wrinkled his nose as he mixed it around.

“It tastes better than it looks. Kinda.” Clem shrugged.

Ben took a bite and grimaced. “Definitely a kinda.”

She snickered, going back to her own food.  Disite the food not being the best tasting, it was better than nothing and helped warm Ben up. Though it did nothing for the ache. The other’s were talking around him but he wasn’t paying attention. His mind wandered back to his dream, or more accurate, memory.

Why did he have to dream about… that ? His last Christmas. 

“-en? Ben.”

“Huh?” Ben looked up at Nick from across the fire.

“You okay? You seem… distant.” Nick looked the teen over.

“Yeah. Just tired…” Ben looked down at his food. He stirred it around before taking a big bite. 

Nick watched the teen in a way that showed he didn’t believe him. Ben kept his gaze down and everyone ate in relative silence.  They had to eat quick and soon enough the guards were there to take them to their assigned jobs for the day. 

------------

Ben was taken with Clem and Sarah to the rooftop greenhouse. There, they met with a man named Reggie. Sarah lit up and ran up to hug Reggie. Reggie seemed happy, smiling down at Sarah before looking up at Clem and Ben standing behind Sarah.

“What happened to your arm?” Sarah down at the man’s missing left arm. 

“I got grabbed fixing a wall and Carver removed the arm to save me.” Reggie said casually.

Ben and Clem both stiffened, memories from long ago rushing back. Clem fisted Ben’s hoodies that she still wore. She didn’t understand. How did this guy survive a bite but Lee did? It didn’t feel fair. It wasn’t fair.

“Who are you?” Reggie asked, sounding genuinely curious. 

“I’m Clementine.” Clem spoke up first, a bit short in her response. She pointed to the teen standing next to her. “And this is Ben.”

“Hi.” Ben awkwardly waved. 

“Hello.” Reggie smiled back at them. “Now, for your job. It’s pretty straight forward; pick the berries from the vines and put them in the basket. And if you see any dead branches, cut and sit them aside for composting.  Now get to work and don’t ‘cause any trouble for me.”

Ben frowned but didn’t say anything, stepping over to the table where there were six potted plants. He quickly got to work. Behind him, he could hear Clem and Sarah chatting quietly to themself. He peeked over his shoulder to see Clem helping Sarah pick the berries who seemed nervous. 

Sarah looked over to Ben and they made eye contact. He smiled gently, coming over to them. Clem looked up at the older teen who leaned over on the table to be closer to their heights.

“Everything okay?” He asked, looking over Sarah’s face.

“I miss my dad… it makes me nervous..” She looked down, holding a pair of shears in her hands.

“Do you remember the breathing exercise I showed you back at the cabin?” Ben smiled when Sarah nodded. “Take a minute to do it. We got time.”

Sarah nodded and started taking deep breaths. Ben softly directed her when she needed it. He glanced over to Clem who nodded and turned back to the plants to work. She knew Ben could handle this. 

It took longer than a minute but Sarah’s shoulders soon relaxed and she smiled up at Ben. Ben opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the door to the roof opening. Looking out the window, he saw Carver coming towards the green house. 

“Oh shit.” Reggie started walking by, stopping next to the tables. “Ben, you didn’t do your work.”

The door opened and Carver stepped in; “Just coming to see how the new kids are doing… What the fuck happened in here?”

“Look, Bill, they’re new and me with my arm--” Reggie started.

“Shut up, shut the fuck up.” Carver interrupted, glaring at the man. “You better have an explanation for why the work isn’t done. And I mean now.”

“It was my fault.” Ben nervously spoke up. “I was helping the girls instead of doing my work…”

“Nah, this ain’t your fault.” Carver shook his head, keeping his eyes on Reggie. “Why don’t you kids wait outside? Reggie and I need to talk.”

Ben took both Sarah and Clem’s arms and quickly pulled them outside. Sarah pulled away from him and walked towards the edge of the roof, looking out over the parking lot. Clementine and Ben shared a look of concern before slowly making their way over to Sarah.

Before either could say anything, the greenhouse door swung open as Reggie stumbled out. Carver was quickly behind him, grabbing Reggie’s collar.

“I gave you plenty of chances!” Carver shouted, bringing him up to the edge of the roof.

“No, no, Bill please--” Reggie’s words cut into a scream as Carver pushed him over the edge of the build.

Ben grabbed Clem as she ran forward, pulling her to his chest. He grimisted at the wet sound that came from below. She didn’t need to see. Sarah was shaking next to him and Ben reached out to gently hold her arm. She flinched and pulled away, crossing her arms and gripping her sleeves. 

“Weakness, incompetence. It puts us all at risk and it won’t be tolerated.” Carver turned and he and Ben made eye contact. “You think about that the next time you're asked to do something.”

Ben glanced down at Reggie before nodding. His brain conjured up an image of himself down there, thrown over the side for not doing his job. He quickly pushed the image away, telling himself that wasn’t going to happen.

“Benjamin, Clementine, get down stairs! Bonnie has some work for you two.” Carver ordered. “Go!”

Clem grabbed Ben’s arm and pulled him away from the edge and back towards the door to the build. The two were silent as they descended the stairs, Clem’s hand moving to hold tight to Ben’s.

Chapter Text

Ben lugged the large bucket of nails Bonnie had given him. The plywood walls shook from Walkers pushing against them, making Ben speed up his walk. He opened the door to the small store front Kenny and Mike were working in, stopping in his tracks at the sight of them fighting.

“I ain’t nobody’s labourer. Fuck that!” Kenny had Mike pulled against a boarded up window by his neck. “Let them do it if it’s so goddamn important.” 

“I’m trying to help you, Asshole!” Mike yelled back.

Ben dropped the bucket with a clatter and ran over to the two men. “Guys, stop fighting!”

Kenny shot a glare at the teen, but there was no real anger pointed his way. “I want to, Ben but this son of a bitch keeps testin’ me!”

“Then just let him go! F-fighting isn’t gonna solve anything!” Ben sounded timid yet firm. 

Kenny grumbled angerly and shoved away from Mike. The other man huffed as he moved away from the window. Ben relaxed going back over to the door and cleaning up the nails he spilled.

“What are you doing out here anyways, Kid?” Mike asked. 

“Bonnie wanted me to bring out this bucket of nails.” Ben straightened up and brought the bucket over to the table with the other supplies. “And it's Ben, not ‘Kid’...”

“Thought you were sent to the roof with Clem and Sarah.” Kenny started on getting a plank of plywood over a window. 

Ben came over to help hold up the wood so the man could hammer into place; “There, uh… something happened.. Clem and Sarah were sent to organize ammo and I was sent out here…”

“What happened?” Kenny rounded on Ben, giving the teen a stern look.

Ben stiffened and took a step back. His breathing picked up a bit as he stared at the man with wide, fearful eyes. The familiar twist of anxiety raised inside him.

Kenny seemed to notice the stress in the teen and his demeanor softened. He rubbed a hand over his face with a deep sigh. After a long moment he responded. 

“What happened?” He repeated, this time softer.

“Carver…” Ben averted his eyes downward. “Carver killed Reggie… ‘C-cause I didn’t do my work…”

“What?!” Mike jumped.

“I-I was trying to help S-Sarah! Sh-she was struggling- I was g-gonna do my work-”

“Ben… Ben! Calm down!” Kenny cut in, startling Ben. “Take a breath.”

Ben looked away, trying to remember his breathing exercise. He counted in his head as he took a shaky breath. He turned at the sound of footsteps, finding Kenny stepping away. 

Kenny was digging behind a pile of wood. Ben watched him confused as he came back over, holding what he dug out to Ben. 

A Rubix cube?

“Found it in the store next door.” Kenny awkwardly stated. “These used to help… Duck… figured it’d help you too.”

“I… thanks.” Ben was taken aback but took it, turning the colourful toy over in his hands. 

“Hey, we gonna continue the talk about Carver killing Reggie?” Mike cut in shortly.

“Right… sorry.” Ben turned his attention to Mike. “Carver wasn’t happy that work wasn’t getting done- my work wasn’t getting down- and blamed Reggie for it… pushed him off the roof.”

“So that’s what the commotion was.” Kenny muttered.

“I-I didn’t mean to get him killed. I w-was gonna do my work after h-helping Sarah, really.”

“Ben, shut up you didn’t get him killed.”

“I mean he kinda-”

“ Carver is a fucked son-of-a-bitch,” Kenny sternly continued, glaring at Mike. “Would’ve probably killed him anyways.”

“I, uh, I should head back before Troy comes in yelling…” Ben kept his head down, heading for the door. “Thanks for the Rubix cube…” 

He tucked the toy into the inside pocket of his jacket. Kenny gave a “be careful” as a farewell. Ben stepped out and closed the shop door behind him. Kenny and Mike once more got to work, the sound of hardware reaching the teen’s ears.

Ben made his way back the way he came as his thoughts raised through the day’s events so far. His thoughts however he interrupted as he was grabbed from behind and pulled into an empty store. His yelp of surprise was muffled by a hand clamped over his mouth.

Chapter Text

Ben struggled against his assailant as he was pulled into the dark. Out of pure instinct, he bit down hard on his hand over his mouth, gagging at the blood hitting his tongue. The hand was yanked away with a cry of pain. Ben scrambled away whipping around to face… Luke?

“Son of a-- Ben, what the hell? Bit the hell out of me!” Luke held his bleeding hand, looking over the bleeding bite mark that laid between his pointer and thumb. 

“You grabbed me!” Ben countered. “Wait- what are you doing in here?”

"Alright listen, we ain’t got much time, okay?” The stress in Luke’s voice was clear. “They got guards everywhere, watching everything. Sh-shh!”

Heavy footsteps past by the door. Ben stiffened as he watched the door with wide eyes. He knew full well that if that door opened, he and Luke would be caught like deers in headlights. Ben held his breath to the point his lungs started to hurt. 

Luckily the footsteps continued on past the door. Ben and Luke both let out a deep sigh as they relaxed. Luke frowned as he looked towards the door with tired eyes. 

“There’s a herd of lurkers just South of us, bigger than usual around here.” He started pacing the width of the store.

“Yeah, I-I think I heard something about that…” Ben nervously crossed his arms over his chest. “Maybe it’ll pass us?”

“Yeah I heard folks talking about that but it ain’t so. It’s gonna hit here.” Luke rushed, sounding panicked. “Now I-I don’t know when it’s coming but it’s gonna be soon. I’ve been looking for a way to get y’all out but I h-haven’t found anything yet…”

Ben let out a stressed noise, digging his fingers into his sleeves. He hadn’t seen a large herd since Savannah. His stomach twisted as the memories of Savannah came to the forefront of his mind. 

He closed his eyes and shook his head to be rid of the thoughts. Reopening his eyes, he looked ahead to Luke.

“You should get back before Troy gets pissed.” Luke rubbed a hand over his face. “I need you to get me a walkie-talkie… or maybe Clem would be better.”

“I could easily steal a walkie-talkie.” Ben muttered indignantly.

“What?” Luke looked to the teen in surprise.

“Nothing, I’ll talk to Clem.” Ben looked away. “Stay hidden. Maybe get some sleep..?”

“Y’know… that’s actually not a bad idea…” Luke already looked like he was about to pass out. “Bring the walkie-talkie as soon as you can.”

“Will do.” Ben turned away to leave. 

He was quiet as he headed, carefully peeking his head out. He looked right to left, then left to right, before slipping out into the walkway. 

“Hey! The hell are you doing down there?” Troy shouted down at him.

Ben jumped, looking up at Troy on the roof; “Uhhh… Though I say a comic I liked. Sorry...”

“Stop wasting time and get going.” The man glared at him. “You’re going to help the doctor in the infirmary.”

Ben nodded quickly and sped off back inside. There, he was intercepted by a guard who all but dragged Ben to the infirmary. It wasn’t a long walk, just down a few aisle and down a hall. The doubled doors swung open and Ben was pushed into the room by a firm hand on his back.

The room was small with space for five cots to line the far wall. There were places for storage around the makeshift infirmary, all filled with medical supplies. The window was covered with planks of wood for protection. Two of the cots were taken, the occupants sleeping under a thin blanket. 

“Ben, come over here.” Carlos called the teen over.

Ben moved around the cots to where the man was standing by a low table, looking over some written notes.

“Is Sarah okay? You were supposed to be grouped up with her.” He raised a concerned brow. 

“Yeah, I-I think so…” Ben rubbed his arm nervously. “Carver… killed Reggie and split us up…”

Carlos looked horrified.

“But Sarah was okay when we split up.” Ben tried as comfort. “I-I think she was put back with Clem in the Armory.” 

“Hopefully they’re together…” Carlos sighed, looking no less worried. 

Looking around for anything to distract himself, Ben spotted a thick book sitting on a shelf. Going over, he lifted up what he now saw was a medical textbook.

“‘Pregnancy, Labor and early life’?” Ben read over the cover.

“I found that earlier. Thought it would be good to brush up for Rebecca.” Carlos replied.

Ben flipped through a few pages; “Can you teach me some stuff…? Just if you need help.”

Carlos was quiet for a moment. “How are you with blood?”

“Terrible…” Ben cringed. “Sometimes I pass out. But not always!”

“It is good to know how to take care of a baby.” The man nodded. 

“I used to help with my sister when she was a baby. I mean I was 7 when she was an actual baby but I can do basic stuff like changing diapers and feeding.” 

“That’s a great start.” A small smile formed on Carlos’ face. 

Ben felt his own smile form at the complement. It was nice to know he was doing something right. 

“We need to be working right now,” Carlos started. “But we can do a little talking now and get into more once we’re finished with the day.”

Ben nodded in agreement, setting the book down. He followed Carlos’ lead as they got to work.

Chapter Text

It was close to sunset by the time everyone had returned to the outdoor gardening section. Slowly but surely everyone filed in, either going to the fire pit or falling onto the makeshift bunks. The air was chilled with the temperature slowly dropping with the loss of sunlight.

Ben fidgeted with his hands as he entered through the gates. He needed to tell someone he had seen Luke, needed to get the Walkie-Talkie.

“Hey, what’s got you so fidgety, Ben?” Nick raised a brow.

Ben looked behind him to make sure the entrance was closed; “We need to talk. I talked to Luke outside.”

“What?!” Multiple voices chimed in with Nick.

“Shh!” Ben harshly hushed, making a downward motion with his hands. “Keep it down!”

“Where did you see him? Is he okay?” Rebecca questioned.

“Falling asleep on his feet, but otherwise okay.” Ben crossed his arms. “He needs a Walkie-Talkie. We’ll need to steal one.”

“Well, Mr. Plan-maker, how do we do that?” Mike too crossed his arms as he watched the teen.

“I’m just repeating what Luke said…” Ben looked down, nervously picking at his sleeve. “He thinks Clem should do it but- wait, where is Clem?”

“Carver wanted to see her in his office…” Sarah spoke up.

A visceral feeling twisting in a pit of Ben’s stomach. Much like back at the lodge, Ben’s only instinct was to protect Clem. He tightened his hold on his sleeve, digging his nails in. The gate was already locked so he couldn’t even go get her. The rational part of his brain kicked in for a second to tell him that wouldn’t be a good idea anyway.

The logic did nothing to settle his anxiety that coiled tightly around his insides. All he could think of Clem being held at gunpoint back at the lodge. Before he knew it, his breathing had picked up extremely. 

“Ben, hey…” It was Sarah. She pulled away from where she was tucked in her dad’s side and came over to Ben. She reached out and held on to his arm. “Breath in for six seconds.”

“Clem-” Ben struggled, his voice cracking.

“ Breath in for six seconds .” She stressed. “Come on.”

Ben took a shaking breath, taking a couple tries to get a proper breath. Sarah gave him a small smile of encouragement.

“Now hold it for seven seconds. You can do it.”

He nodded and held the breath. He struggled a bit but held the breath as he counted the seconds in his head.

“Okay, and breath out for eight seconds.” Sarah watched as he blew out shakingly. “Now take another breath for six seconds.”

Ben nodded and followed along. It was smoother this time, already going into the next step. He loosened his hold on his arms, letting Sarah take his hand when she went for it. She squeezed his fingers and he returned the action. 

“Sarah, where did you learn this?” Carlos questioned in confusion. 

“Ben taught me it.” She smiled at the older teen.

He gave a small smile in return, giving her hand another squeeze. Just then, the gates creaked open and Clem was brought in by Troy with the gate being shut behind her. Her eyes met Ben’s and it was clear that she could tell something was wrong. 

Clementine sped over but before she could say anything, Ben knelt down and wrapped his arms around her. He squeezed her tightly to his chest, fully relaxing now. Clem stiffened against him at first but easily relaxed against him, looping her arms around his shoulders.

“Are you okay?” Clem’s soft voice questioned. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay now.” Ben nodded against the top of her head. “Are you okay? Sarah said Carver wanted to see you.”

Clem leaned into Ben more, curling her fingers into his jacket. “He wants me to be a leader like him. He wants you too.”

“Like hell that’s gonna happen.” Kenny cut in angrily. “We’re getting out of here. Starting with getting Luke a Walkie-Talkie.”

“Luke’s here?” Clem perked up.

“Yeah, I talk to him outside. He says there’s a herd coming and needs a Walkie-Talkie to help.”

“I can get it! I’m small so I can get into tight places.” Clem smiled and pulled away from Ben. When Ben frowned, Clem bumped his shoulder with her’s. “Come on, I can do it. You know I can.”

“I… Yeah I do.” He sighed and nodded. He lightly tapped the brim on Clem’s hat. “Be careful. If anything happens I’ll be right behind you.”

“Like always.” She snickered. She looked up to the adults. “Where are the Walkie-Talkies?”

“They’re kept in the warehouse. You should be able to climb up over there and get in through the roof.” Mike gestured to the rope pulley system on the building wall that led up over the roof. “We gotta be careful not to make a commotion and get caught.”

“I’ll give you a boost up.” Ben offered. Since he was already kneeling he leaned so Clem could easily climb up on his shoulder. 

Clem climbed up and held on as Ben slowly stood, making sure she wouldn’t fall.

“Don’t let go.” Clem carefully stood on Ben’s shoulders who held securely to her legs. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Ben carefully helped balance Clem as she reached for the rope.

Clementine was able to reach the rope and pull it down. She kept pulling until the hook came down from the other side and both sides could be reached from the ground. Ben then brought her back down to the ground. Clem used the hook as a foot hold.

“I can take it from here, Kid.” Mike was already taking the otherside side of the rope. “We gotta be quick. I wouldn’t say they’re the sharpest guards in the world, but they’re not idiots eithers. They see you’re not in your bunk and we’re all done for.”

Clem just nodded and she reached out for the latter. Ben watched from below, ready to catch Clem should the need arise. She pulled herself up onto the ladder and started pulling herself up. She was quick and soon disappeared over the roof.

Ben sighed as he turned away. He made his way over to the firepit, plopping down into one of the lawn chairs. 

‘ She’ll be fine. She’s smart and now’s how to handle herself. ’ Ben mentally told himself.

A hand landing on his shoulder startled the teen out of his head. He looked up to meet Sarita’s warm eyes. 

“She’ll be back soon. Don’t worry, Hon.” She said.

Ben just nodded, turning back to the fire; “What should we do when Clem gets back?”

“We get the Walkie-Talkie to Luke and then blast our way through the herd.” Kenny had his arms crossed as he leaned back in his own chair.

“So you want to get us killed by Lurkers before Bill can do it.” Rebecca said exasperated. “That’s what it sounds like to me.”

“There was a girl back in Crowford that used church bells to send Walkers all over the city. We just need something really loud.” Kenny explained.

“The PA system Carver’s always using is quite loud.’ Sarita chimed in.

“And there’s speakers outside. Troy’s always standing next to one of them.” Mike joined in, resting his hands on his knees.

“It’s all controlled in Bill’s office. I used to make a lot of the announcements back in the day.” Rebecca said.

“We could turn on the PA system and Luke can tell us where a good opening is.” Ben thought out loud. 

“I think that’s the smartest thing you’ve ever said.” Kenny smiled, looking over at the teen. 

“So what, we're just gonna stroll through a herd of Walkers? That’s never gonna work.” Rebecca crossed her arms, growing disapprovingly.

“Actually,” an unfamiliar voice sounded from behind Ben. He turned to see a woman covered in grim and extremely short hair. He hadn’t noticed her til now and wondered when she had arrived. “I do it all the time. When you cover yourself in their smell, rub the Walker guts all over you, they can’t tell you apart from one of them.”

“Now I don’t know who’s crazier-”

“She’s right.” Ben spoke up, cutting Rebecca off. “It’s how we got out of the Marsh house, back in Savannah….Lee… Lee covered Clem and I in Walker guts and we walked right through a herd.”

Ben looked down as the memories from that day came flooding back. He remembered how he almost was sick as Lee had smeared Walker guts on his face. Yet he was so fascinated by how it hid them from the Walkers. Though that had been short lived by Clem finding her parents and discovering their fates. 

“I, uh, should go do something to make it look like Clem’s in bed…” Ben stood and walked away from the group without another word. 

Ben pulled all his jacket and put it around his pillow, tucking it all under the blanket. It made it look like someone small was lying under the blanket. He smiled, it was a trick Travis had taught him so they could sneak out on a night. He laid down next to it, putting his arm over the lump to make it look more convincing. 

He just hoped the guards would fall for it. 

-------

Ben didn’t know how much time had passed before he heard Mike’s loud whispering. It was quiet otherwise, as everyone had been sent to bed for lights out. He lifted himself up onto his elbow, looking over to Mike in the darkness. He heard the soft sound of sneakers on asfalt about a minute later, Clementine coming into view. 

“Hey, did you get it?” He smiled, feeling relieved at seeing her back. 

She pulled the walkie-talkie out of her pocket, smiling proudly. She tucked it away then and moved to lay down next to Ben who fixed up the pillows and blanket, making space for her. 

“You really used your jacket and a pillow as a dummy?” She comments, tucking into his side. “No wonder you’re freezing.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He snickered a bit, making sure she was covered properly. “And I’ll have you know it worked like a charm. Troy didn’t suspect a thing.”

She stifled a soft laugh, curling into Ben further. Ben draped his arm over her, ready to get some real sleep now that Clem was back and safe.

Chapter Text

Carlos was already gone by the time Ben and Clem had crawled out of bed. Ben figured he was needed in the infirmary early today, though he was disappointed he could go along and learn more.

He sighed and tugged on his jacket, doing up the snaps. The others were all getting up around him, varying stages of grogginess. It seemed like they had slept later in that day, the sun already up and shining bright in their pen.

“Clem, you got the Walkie-Talkie?” Kenny asked.

Clementine nodded and pulled out the device from her pocket. 

Kenny smiled bright, giving Clem’s hat an affectionate tap; “I knew you could do it, Darlin’.”

“How do we get it to Luke?” Ben questioned.

“We’ll need to act quick so Troy doesn’t notice.” Mike chimed in. “I doubt we’ll be able to just hand it to Luke and will need to put it somewhere he can find it.”

“Does he usually just watch from the roof?” Ben asked.  

“For the most part. But he keeps a very close eye and will come to check on us if he thinks something’s up.”

“Ben you know where to find Luke, so you’ll sneak in and leave it for him.” Kenny said.

Mike gave the teen a once over with a sceptical look; “Really? You want him to do the sneaking?”

“Hey, he’s surprisingly good at sneaking around.” Kenny argued. “Concerningly good.” 

Ben fidgeted insecurely. His hands found their way to his sleeves, curling his fingers into the fabric. 

“That’s high school for ya...teaches you how to keep your head down.” Was Ben’s weak excuse. 

He didn’t like having his...odd skills put into the spotlight. Picking at the pleather sleeves helped to soothe him in a way. There were small paths of missing pleather on the sleeves and the texture felt nice on his palms.

“Maybe someone else should do it. Like...someone smaller?” Ben continued on. 

“You can do it Ben.” Clem encouraged. She took his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. “You gotta believe in yourself.”

Ben weakly smiled down at her. “I’ll get it to him.”

“There you go.” Kenny patted the teen’s shoulder. Ben stumbled forwards a bit, not expecting it. 

The gate loudly creaked open, silencing the group. Troy, along with another guard came into the area. Like usually, he looked pissed already, a seemingly permanent scowl on his face. Kenny grabbed the Walkie-Talkie, hiding it behind his back and out of Troy’s view.

“Alright! You got to sleep in today so time to stop lollygagging and get to work!” Troy snapped at them. He pointed to Kenny and Mike. “You two are going back out to work on the walls. Along with you two.” He pointed to Clem and Ben.

“All of us are going out?” Clem asked, looking between her group.

“Yeah, all of you.” Troy sounded even more annoyed by the question. “Now get going! Come on!”

Kenny cut off Ben in his tracks; “Geez, Ben, your pockets are all out.” 

Kenny tucked the walkie-talkie into Ben’s letterman pocket, giving him a short nod. Troy shoved them both out the door with the other. It was a long walk from the gardening section to the construction area, having to go through multiple aisles and the main warehouse. 

“Hey, hold up!” Bonnie called out, as she ran over from a different area. “I need Ben and Clementine to come with me.”

“Wait, shouldn’t they stay with their group?” Kenny tried. Ben could hear the faint worry in his voice.

Bonnie shook her head; “I need them to help in the armoury.” 

“Alright go on you two.” Troy pushed the children forwards.

Ben looked back nervously at Mike and Kenny as he was led off to a different area.

“Sorry to pull y’all away, it’s just… I was thinking about you told me yesterday Clementine, about Reggie.” Bonnie started, taking Ben off guard. Did Clem tell her? “I went to talk to Bill about it and...he didn’t even try to hide it. Like he was proud of it.”

Everything about Bonnie read as guilt. A deep frown pressed into her face and her shoulders were hunched. Ben wasn’t really paying attention to Clem and Bonnie talking, his focus on the walkie-talkie stuffed into his pocket. 

“Ben? You okay?” Bonnie’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Oh, uh yeah…” Ben sighed as he stepped into the workshop.

“I know we didn’t get off on the best foot back at the lodge but, you can talk to me. ” Bonnie pushed.

Clem looked up at Ben, tilting her head towards Bonnie when he looked down. She made a ‘go on’ gesture when Ben just stared at her for a long moment. 

He sighed again, pulling the walkie-talkie out of his pocket. “Luke’s waiting for me to get this to him. I just need you to not care where I am for fifteen minutes.”

Bonnie looked at the teen in a mix of disapproval and shock. Ben started to panic, thinking he made the wrong decision. He tightened his grip on the item in his hand as he mentally berated himself.

“Listen-” Bonnie once again brought him back to the present with a sharp tone. “If you get caught and mention my name, Carver’s gonna be the least of your problems. Now go, what are you waiting for?”

Ben quickly nodded and scurried out the door. He walked with a quickness and silence that could only be acquired through years of practice. He was out the rear door before anything could notice his slipping out.  

He ducked down behind a shelving unit, peeking out the check the walk way. Ben would see Troy at the over end, could even hear him telling Kenny and Mike to hurry up. Once the man had his back to Ben, the teen quickly moved down to the comic bookstore where he had met Luke the day prior.

“Luke?” Ben loudly whispered once the door was shut. There was no response. “Luke, come on.”

The store was dead silent. Ben crept through the storefront, his eyes scanning over any possible hiding places. No matter where he looked, there was no sign of the man. 

He slowly made his way behind the only standing shelves to, what he assumed, was Luke's sleeping area. There was a tall cabinet on the far way that looked big enough to fit someone. 

“Luke? You hiding in there…?” Ben whispered nervously. Behind him, Ben suddenly heard footsteps. Ben relaxed, turning to come out to meet Luke. “There you-”

"I swear you’re gonna regret this!” Troy’s shout made the teen freeze up.  Before Ben could even make himself move, Troy was on his. Troy delivered a hard punch to Ben’s left cheek. “You ain’t supposed to be out here!”

Ben could taste blood pooling in his mouth as his hand shot up to hold his bruising cheek and jaw. He was quickly grabbed by his collar and roughly dragged out of the store. Ben could be nothing but stumble along with Troy’s fast pace.

--------

All too soon Ben was being shoved into the gardening area. Kenny and Mike were close behind him. Up ahead, he could see Luke on the ground with Carlos next to him. Everyone seemed to have been rounded up quick as Carver paced back and forth, giving a speech. Troy dug his gun into Ben’s back forcing him forward towards the group.

“And this is how we’re paid for our trust? With treasury? With deceit?” Carver continued. He held up a walkie-talkie, the pair to the one in Ben’s pocket. “Whatever you were planning is over... It’s done. Luke can’t help you now. You gotta help yourselves, help me find the strength to forgive you. And you can start by telling me where the other one is. If it’s not in my hand by the time I get to three….things are gonna get more difficult for y’all.”

Ben stuffed his hands into his pockets as Carver started to slowly count. His stomach twisted in knots that made him feel nauseous as his mind raced through his options. Every part of his body was screaming at him to run. But he couldn’t. Not with Troy firmly holding him in place. His hand gripped the Walkie-Talkie.

‘ If you don’t say something...everyone’s gonna get hurt. ’ He harshly thought. Ben closed his eyes with a deep breath. Carver was already on the count of two. “I found-”

The Walkie-Talkie was suddenly pulled out of his grasp as Kenny stepped forward. Ben wasn’t having it though, he wasn’t about to let someone else take responsibility for him. He wasn’t about to just stand there and cower now. Ben yanked the Walkie-Talkie back from Kenny’s grasp.

“It’s right here!” Ben quickly moved away from Kenny who stared on in shock.

Ben stepped up to Carver and placed the Walkie-Talkie in his outstretched hand.

“Thank you, Benjamin. That was very big of you to come forward.” Carver spoke. “Though I can’t help but think it’s because you were once again ‘causing trouble. You were meant to be with Bonnie and Clementine, were you not?”

“I...I don't know what I was thinking. I’m sorry…” Ben looked down as fear started to once more consume him. “I promise it won’t happen again.”

“I know it won’t.” Before Ben could react, pain exploded in his face as Carver slammed the Walkie-Talkie into him.

Ben fell to the ground as every one of his nerves lit up in hot pain. His vision was darkening with each continued hit. He barely registered a loud voice shouting because Carver, to what he could guess, was pulled off of him. 

The last thing Ben saw was two blurry figuring on the ground next to him before everything went black.

Chapter Text

Ben felt like he was floating.

He couldn’t feel a thing and it was oddly freeing. Everything was cloudy and fuzzy, like waking from a deep sleep. He was comfy, wherever he was, and warm. He wanted to stay in this state for a while longer. 

Slowly though, an ache seeped into his bones, interrupting his dozing start. It was made worse was a steady pounding in the left side of his head, centering over his eye. As he was pulled into consciousness, the pounding became accented by a sharp pain. He groaned deep in his throat as he tensed up. Slowly, Ben cracked his eyes open. Everything was far too bright and there was clearly something wrong with his vision. He couldn’t see anything to his left and it was making his head hurt even worse. He reached up to rub his eyes only to get his wrist to be gently grabbed and pulled away.

“Don’t touch your face.” Carlos’ voice was foggy but Ben could register his voice.

“Wha…” Ben trailed off, his question being quickly forgotten.

Carlos rested Ben’s hand down to rest back on his sternum. “Are you able to understand me right now? If you, raise your left hand”

It was clumsy and more just rolling and flopping his hand than actually lifting, but Ben was able to get his left hand moving. He tried blinking to help his vision but wouldn’t seem to clear.

“You have a concussion. It’s worse than the last one you had. ” Carlos said it more as a statement than to Ben himself.

Ben tried to nod but couldn’t tell if he had or not. “W-wha….what happened…? I can’t see…”

“Carver damaged your left eye, so it’s covered, you won’t be able to see out of it for a while,” Carlos explained. “As for your right, you’re still waking up so just give it time and it should clear.”

Memories of what had happened suddenly came flooding back, hitting Ben like a truck. “H-how bad is it…?”

Carlos was quiet for a long moment. “Your vision in your left will most likely be bad...if not fully blind. It’s too swollen to tell right now.”

Ben looked away, trying to process what he had just been told. His mind was still heavily clouded, making it difficult to untangle his thoughts. Ben closed his eyes once more with a deep sigh.

Ben’s rest was quickly interrupted by a shout.

“We’re not leaving him!” It was Clementine.

Ben immediately tried to clear his head as he struggled to push himself up. He clumsily pushed away Carlos’ attempts to stop him, pushing himself up. Everything was spinning, making him nauseous, and he had to fight to not fall back. Clementine sounded distressed and he needed to make sure she was okay.

“Clem..?” He wasn’t sure she could hear him at first.

“Ben!” Clem ran over to him, wrapping her arms around him when she reached him.

Ben’s head spun even worse, but he ignored it in favour of clumsily hugging Clem back. He could hear Carlos telling Clem to be careful. A moment later, Clem pulled away but kept her hand on his arm. 

Ben’s vision was slowly clearing more and more and he could now see the concern on Clem’s face. Her amber eyes drew up to his left eye.

“You’re finally awake…” Clem’s voice was full of relief.

“Yeah. What’s going on?” Ben asked.

“Luke wants to leave you behind during the escape.” Clem answered shapely. “Even after everything you’ve done to help.”

Looking up, Ben could see the man’s guilty gaze; “You don’t have to leave me behind. I’m fine.”

“You still need to rest,” Nick chimed in. “Kenny managed to stop Carver from going further but… he still did a number on ya.”

“Kenny stopped him?” Ben didn’t even try to cover the shock in his voice.

“Well I wasn’t about to just watch him beat you within an inch of your life.” Kenny shrugged. There were clear bruises on the man’s face, along with a busted lip and smeared blood below his nose.

Ben just stared on in disbelief. Kenny had really helped him? Kenny raised a brow at the teen.

“Don’t act too surprised there.” Kenny said. 

“I...thanks.” Ben awkwardly replied. 

“Just try to think your actions through next time, alright?” Kenny gave him a look that reminded Ben of being scolded by his father. “You’re two for two on bad decisions.”

“I’ll be careful.” Ben looked away.

He reached up once more to his face, feeling a pile of gauze around his eye and a few lines of stitches on the bridge of his nose. One line was longer than the other, going half an inch onto his left cheek. His hand was once again pulled away from his face.

“Don’t disturb your wounds.” Carlos reminded him.

Ben just nodded, looking down. His head felt heavy tilting and hard to lift back up. A fog was starting to settle over it again, making it hard to focus. 

“Go back to sleep.” He heard Clem say and felt her hand push him backwards. “We won’t do anything without.”

He went easily, not having any strength to push back. A moment later he felt her hand wrap around his securely. He gave her hand a small squeeze.

His mind was fully taken over by the fog, pulling him back under into unconsciousness.

—————

Clementine watched as Ben’s breathing evened out. His fingers twitched slightly against her hand as he finally fully fell asleep. she watched his face relax of any pain, though not all the pain left. Clem’s eyes trailed over the bruises littering the teen’s face with a frown. 

“You know those backpacks some parents get kids that have a leash on it?” Clem tilted her head up to look at Carlos. “Maybe I should tie a rope to Ben’s bag like that. So I can just pull him back when he’s about to do something stupid.”

A faint smile formed on Carlos’ face; “Perhaps that would be a good idea.”

Clem looked back down at the teen. “Is he....going to be alright?”

“He needs to rest and take things slow for a while,” Carlos started. “Whatever damage has been down to his eye, his vision may take getting used to.”

Clementine nodded. She looked down to trace light patterns over the back of Ben’s hand. She could feel multiple pairs of eyes on her but ignored them. She needed to focus on Ben’s well being.

Footsteps sounded behind her and a hand landed on her shoulder. She glanced up to Kenny kneeling down next to her. She turned away.

“Ben’s gonna be fine, you know how thick-skulled he is.” Kenny said.

“I want to give him time to rest before we go through any plans.” Clem said in the sternest voice she could muster. “I don’t think he can move in this state.”

“If Luke’s right about this herd, we shouldn’t wait too long, Darlin’.” Kenny looked from the child to the teen. “Tell ya what, if he’s not able to move on his own, I’ll carry him out.”

Clementine perked up. “Really? But how, he’s so much taller than you?”

“Probably saved my ass back there, I owe him one.” Kenny said. “And the kid’s a twig, he can’t be that heavy.”

“You’ve never had him fall on you. He’s heavy.” Clem stated, making Kenny laugh. “Sometime on purpose. He’s kind of a jerk. But he’s my jerk…”

“That’s brothers for you.” The man said. “Doing stuff just to annoy you.”

“But Ben’s not my brother.” Clem tilted her head in confusion.

“Really? Could’ve fooled me. Family isn’t just blood.” Kenny stated. “I mean, hell, Lee saw you as his daughter.”

Clem was quiet, looking down. Kenny gave her shoulder a squeeze before stepping away. She could hear Kenny speaking lowly with Luke, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. She focused back on Ben, reaching out to carefully brush his fringe out of his face.

‘ Just an hour, then we can go. ’ Clem thought to herself.

Chapter Text

“We’re not leaving!” Clem snapped, finding herself once again in an argument with Luke. “Ben’s not awake yet or able to walk straight.”

“Which is why it might be better to leave him behind.” Luke looked sympathetic which only angered the child more. “Even if we get him out of here, I don’t think he can get through the herd.”

“Well it’s your fault he’s like this!” She shouted. “ He  passed your message to us, he delivered that stupid walkie-talkie to you ! But you had to get caught, leading to him getting caught and blinded by that same walkie-talkie! You owe him!”

A stunned silence fell over the group, shared expressions of wide-eyed shock. Clem didn’t have it in her to regret her statement. It was true and needed to be said.

“I…” Luke trailed off.

“Clementine,” Kenny jumped in, coming to kneel next to her. “Remember my promise? I’ll make sure Ben gets out.”

“Better.” She grumbled. She looked towards Rebecca; “I just gotta turn on the speaker system right?”

“Be sure to flip the switch for the outdoor speakers. By default, it’s set to play music so you should just have to turn it on.” She explained. “Then climb back up and meet us in the stockroom. And.... see if you can find Alvin. I haven’t seen him in a while.”

Clem nodded. She and Mike headed over to the rope leaver and started hoisting her up. She shot a glance over to Ben sleeping on the cot before he disappeared from view as she got higher. 

She hopped up onto the roof and scurried to the skylight over Carver’s office. Giving it a look through she couldn’t see anyone in there. She opened the hatch and jumped down onto the filing cabinet and climbed down. 

“Alvin!” Clem spotted the man slumped over in a chair and ran over to him. “Alvin, hey, are you okay?”

Alvin didn’t respond or make any movement. He was covered in blood that Clem could only guess was his own. She timidly stepped away from him and made her way to the desk. 

The speaker system was on the window shelving. She pressed the button to the outdoor speakers, ‘causing them to make a low ringing. When she went to turn on the mic, the broadcast started playing in the speakers.

Turning, Clementine jumped as she saw Alvin now sitting at the desk and going through a drawer. A moment later he pulled out a small pistol.

He chuckled weakly. “Carver talks a lot of tough guy shit, then keeps the tiniest gun in the universe. Something funny about that.” 

“We have to go.” She pushed. “Rebecca’s waiting for you.”

“I ain’t going anywhere.” He sighed. “Go on, I need some payback.”

“No, we’re all leaving.” Clem wasn’t about to leave him here in this place.

“I’m not fit to move, kid. I’ve run out of rope…” Shouting sounded and Alvin frowned before looking back at Clem. “They’ll be here any second. Look after my girls... I think it’s gonna be a girl.”

“I will.” She promised.

Clem ran back to where she had climbed in. A guard came running through the door and spotted Alvin. The two fired at the other, killing both of them. Clem spared one last look at Alvin before climbing back out onto the room.

The hatch to the stockroom was only a short distance that Clem covered quickly. Clem could see the herd now coming through the parking lot. It made her heart jump in her throat and she had to push away the memories of the last time she was in a herd. She forced her eyes away and climbed down into the storeroom. 

Carver’s voice rang out through the room as he confronted the cornered group. She snuck her way over the shelving units and behind Carver. Taking out her gun, Clem aimed and fired, hitting the man in the ear.

Carver shouted, taken off guard long enough for Kenny to punch him and for Luke to take his gun. He raised his arms in surrender as Luke aimed at him.

Clementine jumped down to join them. Looking around she spotted Kenny going to support Ben who, while he was more aware than he had last been, looked like he couldn’t quite stand on his own yet. The two made eye contact and Ben offered her a weak smile.

A shot suddenly rang out as Kenny shot Carver in the leg, followed by another. Ben jumped, being so close to the bang, and shot his gaze over to Kenny. Kenny once more moved away from Ben as everyone else was frozen in place. They could only watch as he walked over to a table and grabbed a crowbar laying there.

“Go wait outside. I only need a minute.” Kenny spoke in an eerily calm voice.

“Wait, y’all are just gonna let him do this?!” Luke exclaimed as some members moved towards the doors. “We don’t have time for this!”

“Well I’m making time.” Kenny turned towards them. “Ben? You’re the one he hurt, what do ya say?”

“Go for it.” Ben lifted his gaze from Kenny to Carver laying on the ground. Clem stared at the teen in shock.

“Ha! There’s the spirit back, just like when you charged me in that lodge.” Carver had a sick smile on his face as he looked to Ben. “In fact, why you don't take a swing.”

Ben didn’t respond, letting Clem pull him towards the door. He stumbled a bit but forced himself to walk on his own.

“Aw, come on! I know you want to see the show.” Carver jeered.

Ben stopped Clem so he could turn to Kenny. “Give him a good hard one for me.”

“You got it.” Kenny nodded.

Clem pulled on Ben again to get to follow her. She tried telling herself that Ben’s not thinking straight to try and keep her anxiety down. She had never seen the teen like this or make a choice like that. He normally wouldn’t do that.

They could still hear the wet, cracking, impacts, even out in the lot. Ben hopped down from the ledge and stumbled to catch his footing, Sarita coming to catch his arm. He gave her a half smile as he straightened up. Clem came down and took hold of his other arm.

“I’m okay.” Ben breathed. “We need to get one of those walkers.”

“Here, you’ll need this.” Luke passed over a hatchet that Clem took.

Clem moved away from the teen and snuck up on one of the stragglers. She embedded the hatchet into the walker’s head and dragged it away from the herd. She could see Jane getting another one and doing the same. Clem made quick work of slicing opened the walker's torso and started smearing the guts on herself.

“I hate this part.” Ben groaned as he slowly knelt down. Clem huffed a laugh and smacked a hand full onto his chest to smear. Ben rolled his eye; “Thanks.”

“Be careful not to get it in your eye.” Carlos ordered.

Ben nodded as he covered himself, keeping the muck from the left side of his face. Clem and Ben helped each other cover their backs and soon enough were completely coated. Walkers started drifting past them, like they weren’t even there. Ben and Clem regrouped with the others to start moving.

“Just keep calm.” Jane instructed. “Act like you belong and you will belong.”

“I’ll be right behind you.” Ben whispered to Clem. “Promise.”

Clem took Ben’s hand and squeezed tight as they started to move. They followed behind Carlos and Sarah. Ben kept his head down as he concentrated on staying on his feet. It was slow going, but they were getting through the herd.

“Clementine, Ben, help Sarah.” Carlos suddenly whispered to them and they say Sarah had stopped.

“Hey, remember the exercise.” Ben whispered to her. “Inhale for-”

A gunshot sounded off from the roof, hitting Carlos in the neck. The man stumbled back into the herd and out of their sight. Sarah screamed for him as Ben caught her with his arm. He panicly tried to shush her as she was drawing attention to them. Clem did her best to take down the walkers around them.

Suddenly Sarah was no longer in his arms as she sprinted through the herd. Nick and Luke sped past him in the direction Sarah had gone. Ben snapped his attention back to Clem who was struggling to get her weapon out of a fallen walker's skull. 

Another walker was coming up behind her. Ben charged forward to stop the walker but his aim was off as he smacked into its arm and stumbled. Ben regained himself just in time to watch in horror as the walker sunk its teeth into his arm.

-------

Clem yanked the medkit from Bonnie, the supplies were meant for Ben's eye but she didn’t care. The woman watched her startled as she took the kit. Clem ran back over to where she had left Ben resting against a tree.

“Give me your arm.” She ordered.

“Clem-”

“Give me your fucking arm!” She snapped, startling the teen. It wasn’t like her to swear.

Ben lifted his arm out to her and she helped him get it out of his jacket sleeve. Blood was oozing down his arm from the wound on his upper bicep. Clem dug out the bottle of rubbing alcohol and poured it into the wound.

“Son of a- Fuck that hurts!” Ben gritted his teeth.

Clem gave him a quick “sorry” but didn’t stop cleaning out the bite. She couldn’t lose another friend. She used a rag in the kit to clean up the blood and help stop the bleeding. She then dug out a roll of gauze and tightly wrapped up the wound.

“There, that should do it.” Clem smiled at her work and packed up the remaining supplies.

“Clem…” Ben tried again, only to be cut off again.

“Don’t worry, there’s still stuff to change your eye bandages.” She wasn’t looking at him.

Ben sighed and tugged his jacket back on. He cringed at the wet slimy feeling from the large stain still on the torn sleeve. He stood from the ground, taking a second to get his bearings. Clem was at his side, taking his hand and squeezing tight.

When Ben looked up he was meant with looks of pity from the rest of their group. He hated that. He didn’t want to be pitied. He just started walking down the forest path, pointedly not looking at anyone. 

“Wait, we’re just going to take the bitten guy with us?” Jane questioned behind them.

“Yes because he’s fine .” Clem said over her shoulder.

Ben didn’t really believe that, but also wasn’t ready to face the truth. He just stayed quiet and just tried to focus Clem’s hand in his. He just had to make it to the meeting point, just a couple hours.

“I should probably give you your hoodie back.” Clem said, tugging lightly on the faded hoodie. “You’re arm’s gonna get cold with the giant hole in your sleeve.”

“Keep it.” Ben shrugged. “You still need a jacket. I’ll just patch this.”

“You should get one of those patches with like words or pictures on them.” Clem finally looked up at him, looking excited. 

“I used to have a couple back home.” Ben returned her smile. “We’ll have to keep a look out for some.”

Clem continued to smile as she looked ahead again. Ben relaxed a bit as he looked forwards as well.

The walk to their destination proved to be more strenuous than Ben first thought. He felt like all his energy was drained from him and wanted to take a nap. Clem had to practically drag in through the ruined wall and over to sit on the fountain rim. He clumsily plopped down with a deep sigh. Ben rubbed a hand over his face, being careful not to hit the bandages.

“We should probably change your bandages.” Clem said, getting the medket out of her bag. “Carlos...he said it only needed to be cleaned and rebandaged.”

Ben just nodded. Clem came forward and carefully unwrapped the bandages around Ben’s head and gently peeled away the gauze pad covering his left eye. Ben hissed through his teeth at the sting. Ben slowly blinked his eye, trying to focus it. Everything to his left was blurry or barely noticeable. 

“So, am I still pretty?” Ben joked.

Clem snickered and teased; “You look like a dork.”

Ben made a noise in mock offense. “Excuse you. If anyone’s the dork it’s you.”

She stuck her tongue out at him and he returned the gesture. CLem rolled her eyes and got out the same rubbing alcohol from earlier and a new rag. Unlike before, Clem doused the rag in the liquid before carefully wiping down the area around Ben’s now closed eye.

“It looks better than it did.” She commented. “The swelling’s gone down.”

“That’s good. Clem,” He started, getting a hum in response. “We should talk, about...y’know.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Clem said shortly, going back to digging in the kit. She got a package of gauze pads and ripped it open, applying it to Ben’s eye. “You’re gonna be fine.”

Ben sighed deeply again. He could feel the others watching them, feel their eyes burning into his back. He ignored them in favour of focusing on Clem as she finished rebandaging his eye.

Clem’s eyes trailed away from Ben’s and down to the hole in his sleeve; “How does it feel?”

“It stings and like that ache you get when your arm falls asleep.” Ben answered truthfully. “Surprisingly it doesn't really hurt. Could use a nap.”

They were interrupted by Jane of all people coming over. “Luke, Nick and Sarah aren’t back yet. We should go look for them. Just Clem.”

“I’m not leaving Ben.” Clem crossed her arms.

“I’ll be fine. Go find Sarah and those knuckle-heads.” Ben said, smiling tirely at her. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

Clem searched the teen for a moment before nodding. “I’ll see you soon. You take that nap you mentioned.” Ben nodded. 

He pulled towards him for a quick hug that she readily accepted. Ben watched her leave then as she walked off with Jane into the woods.

‘ She can take care of herself. She’s strong. ’ Ben thought to himself. ‘ She’ll be fine .’

Ben turned away, looking towards the rest of the group. He met Kenny’s eyes before looking away. He stood, a bit wobbly, and headed towards where some tents were set up. They’ll leave him alone, whether for his sake or to avoid Clem’s wrath he didn’t know. 

Closing the flap behind him, sat down on the ground. Ben looked down at his bloodstained sleeve and couldn’t hold it in anymore. He clutched his arm as tears started down his face. Ben reached up to curl his hands into his messy hair tightly as he curled in on himself. 

While he tried to stay quiet, Ben let himself cry freely. Safe in the privacy of the tent. He wasn’t ready, still had so much he needed to do yet. But he was so tired.

Ben doesn’t know when he had laid down, just curled up on the ground as the world around him darkened.

Chapter Text

Ben looked out over the forest as he walked along the edge of the train tracks. His left arm was stretched out, a hand holding his. His eyes watched the leaves rustle in the breeze and listened to the soft bird songs. 

“Hey, Ben are you listening to me?” Travis called out behind him.

Ben turned to face the other turn behind him; “Hm? Oh, uh, sorry. Could you repeat it?”

Travis playfully rolled his eyes; “I said, we should go down to Macon this weekend.”

“There’s not much to do down there.” Ben shrugged.

“Oh, pfft.” He waved dismissively with his free hand. “It’s fun when we go. Plus I wanna go to the electronic store there.”

Ben smiled teasingly. “And here I thought you were asking me on a date.”

“There’ll be that too.” Travis winked.

Ben laughed and shook his head. He looked down as he walked along the rail. He could feel himself zoning out once more. Travis suddenly stopped, pulling Ben out of his thoughts. He looked back at the other in confusion as Travis squeezed his hand.

“What’s up?” Ben turned to fully face the other.

“You know I love you, right?” Travis sounded unsure.

“Yeah, of course! I love you too.” Ben moved up close to the other. “Why, what wrong-”

Ben was cut off by a sudden deep pain in his left eye. He pressed his hand into his eyes. He could feel his arm starting to tingle. Travis’ hands gently cupped his face, brushing his thumbs over his cheek.

“Looks like you have to go back now.” Travis had a sad lilt in his voice.

“W-what?” The pain in Ben’s eyes was increasing and his vision was fading. “No, I-I want to stay!”

Travis shushed him, giving him a quick kiss; “You’re gonna be okay.”

His vision fully whited out and he couldn’t feel anything at all.

Ben breathed in deep, his lungs aching as they expanded. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and snapped his gaze around the tent interior. His vision was impaired, only being able to see out of his right eye.

He startled when a hand suddenly grabbed his arm. He whipped around to meet Kenny’s wide eyes. The man searched the teen. Whatever he saw must have satisfied him as he loosened his grip on the teen’s arm.

“Was starting to think you weren’t there anymore.” Kenny said.

“How long was I out..?” Ben rubbed his good eye, getting rid of any wetness there.

“You slept all afternoon and through the night.” Kenny pressed his hand to the teen’s forehead, his brow wrinkling in confusion. “You’re warm but not burning up. How do you feel?”

“Like shit. I feel like I didn’t sleep at all and everything aches.” Ben sighed, laying back down. 

Ben spread his arms out to the sides and stared up at the tent roof. He let his sight unfocus just wanting to zone out.

“Y’know, it weirdly doesn’t hurt. My arm.” Ben said, continuing his blank stare. “Like sure, if I put pressure on it it does but for the most part it’s just a numb ache.”

“Silverlining I guess.” Kenny said.

“Not much of one…” Ben turned his head away as fresh tears burned at his eyes. “Kenny, I don’t wanna die.”

A sob ripped its way through the teen’s chest. He startled a bit when he felt a hand brush his hair out of his face. It just made him cry harder as he pressed his palm into his good eye. Kenny was quiet, just calmly combing Ben’s hair and letting him cry.

Ben started coughing harshly, curling in on his side. He froze when a wet glob hit his hand on a particularly painful cough. He pulled his hand away and his heart jumped at the sight of blood splattered on his palm.

“Ah, shit.” He heard Kenny mutter. 

Ben was breathing heavy; “I-I want Clem. I-I should see her before….”

“Alright. She returned while you were sleeping.” Kenny stood. “I wanted to check on ya before letting her in.”

Kenny stepped out of the tent. Ben whipped his hand on his jeans to try and get the blood off. He barely had a second before Clem came bursting through the flaps. She was visibly holding herself back to tackling him. Clementine sat down next to him, reaching out to hold his face.

“W-we found Sarah, Nick and Luke.” She stammered out. “Bonnie and M-Mike went to find supplies for Rebecca...and Jane went for medicine.”

“Sounds like y’all have been busy.” Ben smiled weakly.

“Kenny said we should start saying good-bye but…” She looked down at her lap. “You can’t die. N-not after everything we’ve been through.”

“I’m sorry, Clem…” Ben reached out and she immediately came forward to hug him.

Ben rubbed her back, holding her tight in his arms. Clem buried her head in his neck as she hugged his waist.

“Clem,” Ben leaned away to dig in his jacket pocket. Clem watched him, a confused look on her face. He pulled out a polaroid and handed it to her. “Here.”

It was the polaroid Sarah had taken of them back at the cabin. Their shared startled expressions looked back at her. Her voice cracked as she let out a laugh.

“You look like a doofus.” Clem teased.

“You look like a goofball.” Ben counted, tapping her hat.

“What does that even mean?” She rolled her eyes at him.

Ben just shrugged, smiling when Clem pouted. She tilted forward, pressing her face into his chest. The two were quiet for a long time after that, just enjoying each other's company.

“You’ve been like my big brother.” Clem spoke after a long silence. 

Ben looked down at her in surprise. His expression softened after a second; “And you’ve been like my little sister.”

“And I’m with you to the end.” She said confident in her words.

“Just you and me...til the end.” Ben held her closer, tucking her head under his.

How ever long they had left, it was gonna be together. Just like it’s always

Chapter Text

“Do you know how to solve your Rubix cube?” Clem spoke. It had been an hour or so since they started their ‘hang out’ as they were calling it.

“Uh, not really. I just like spinning the parts.” Ben said, spinning the far left of the cube. “Gives my hands something to do. My friend Travis could though.”

“I thought Travis was your ‘best friend’.” Clem raised a brow at him.

“Why did you say best friend like that?” Ben laughed. “And what’s with that look.”

“You just always look like you wanna say something else. Like...maybe boyfriend ?” Clem teased. 

Clem laughed when the teen suddenly turned red, reaching up his ears and down his neck. Ben sputtered as he tried to explain himself, making the child laugh harder. Ben huffed, crossing his arms in a pout. She came over to where the teen was reclined, poking his warm cheek. 

“So you did like-like him?” She teased, grinning wide.

“Okay, fine, yes! He was my boyfriend!” Ben was flustered and refused to look at her.

Clem cooed at him and Ben playfully pushed her over. She giggled and raised her hands in mock offence, sitting back up. Ben cleared his throat then and sniffed. Clem watched him carefully, looking for any signs of change in his health.

Despite being hours into being infected, Ben wasn’t showing many signs. He had a fever but it was more like he had the flu or a bad cold. Every now and then he’d go into a coughing fit or have some kind of ache. His skin was pale and blotchy with under-eye bags. He hadn’t thrown up any more blood but his throat was raw and sore.

There was a sudden cry from outside, startling the pair. The two looked at each other before going to check it out. Ben was slower than Clem getting up, but was close behind her. They ducked out of the tent and looked towards where their group was. 

Rebecca was doubled over in pain, hugging her stomach while Sarita and Kenny talked her through it.

“What’s going on?” Ben questioned as he and Clem hurried over.

“Rebecca’s having her baby.” Nick looked panicked as he stood with Sarah. 

Sarah gripped Nick’s arm and she stammered; “W-walkers!”

A small herd of walkers came ambling out of the treeline. Undead monsters completely surrounded them from one side, trapping the group with the parameters of the outdoor museum. 

Kenny stood from where he was kneeling with Rebecca and stepped forwards towards the herd.   

“Keep that baby safe.” Kenny ordered back at them.

“Kenny, wait!” Ben came forwards stopping the man. “You’re not going out there alone.”

“Hey, kid, catch!” Mike tossed something to Ben that he was just barely able to catch. It was a fire axe. “Snagged that while looking for supplies.”

Ben smiled, gripping the weapon tight. It was different to how he would hold a bat and weighed differently but confident he could use it. He changed up his grip but was still clearly how one would wield a bat.

“Are you really about to use an axe like it’s a fuckin’ baseball bat?” Kenny raised a brow at the teen.

“Yes. Yes I am.” Ben raised his weapon and swung at a walker that had come too close.

“You really are a crazy son of a bitch.” The man shook his head, though clearly amused by the teen. He cut down his own walker, taking a couple of swings to kill it.

Ben huffed a laugh, looking back towards the group. Clem was helping Nick get Sarah moving, but she was also watching Ben. He offered her the most confident smile he could muster. She smiled back, relaxing but still clearly concerned. She went back to helping Sarah, gently leading her by the hand to where the rest of the group was heading inside. 

Ben turned away, knowing she was safe. He made his way out towards the herd, cutting down stragglers. He founded himself getting winded after cutting down only three of the beings. Normally he would’ve been able to do more before needing to catch his breath. But with his depth perception off and his growing sickness, he had to work harder to keep moving and fight.

“You don’t gotta be out here.” Kenny stated, after taking out another walker with ease. “You should go be with Clem.”

“Being out here is keeping her safe.” Ben spat out into the grass, straightening himself back up. “Besides, if I’m dying, they gotta drag me down kicking and screaming.”

He swung and took down another monster, stomping on its head to get the blade out. Ben found it oddly therapeutic cutting down the walkers. He had an outlet to take all his frustration out on. They were the reason he had lost everything, why he had to leave Clem so soon. Mentally, it helped him feel better.

Physically on the other hand, his body was screaming at him to stop. Every muscle felt like it was on fire and like they were gonna lock up any second. His head was pounding and his throat burned with bile. Ben caught painfully and spit a much larger and crimson glob into the grass. He couldn’t catch his breath no matter how hard he tried.

“Come on!” Kenny was suddenly grabbing Ben, all but carrying him to where their group had gone. “You deserve better than getting eaten alive.”

Ben didn’t respond, letting Kenny drag him inside and out to a back alley, to where there was a secondary building. He could hear arguing and shouting but couldn’t make out specific words. Suddenly he was dropped to slump against a wall and his right arm was brought up and bound to a metal shelving unit. 

Ben lifted his head to look around at everyone scrambling. Rebecca was on the other side of the room across from him with Kenny and Bonnie. She was most definitely in labor as her companions talked her through it.

“I-I can help.” Ben stuttered out. “Carlos taught me what to do.”

“You’re not coming anywhere near the baby.” Bonnie said sternly back at him.

“I can stay over here and tell you what to do.” He suggested.

“Kid’s dyin’, at least let him feel useful.” Ben heard Kenny say to Bonnie. Kenny turned to the teen then; “Alright Ben, what do we do?”

Ben smiled weakly and started instructing them on what to do. He tried his hardest to recall everything Carlos had told him and what he had read in that medical textbook. He wasn’t entirely sure how much time had passed but Rebecca gave one final loud cry and the baby was born.

It was eerily quiet.

“Oh no…” Kenny held the baby in his hands as it laid still.

“No, no, no…” Rebecca’s voice cracked painfully.

Then the baby coughed and started crying. Ben relaxed back against the wall in relief. He heard Kenny say it was a boy before his vision faded up and he slipped into unconsciousness.

-------

Ben groaned as he lifted his head, blinking his eye to focus. It was dark now and he could barely make out outlines of figures. When he could finally see he was met with Kenny holding a knife and ready to strike. Ben let out a startled cry, making the man drop the weapon in surprise. 

“Jesus Christ, Ben!” Kenny put his hand to his chest. “Just about gave me a heart attack.”

“Yeah same! Don’t just hold a knife over me!” Ben snapped. He took a deep breath as his heart rate went back to normal. 

“The hell’s going on over there?” Luke grumbled, sounding like he just woke up.

“Kenny almost stabbed me in the head!” Ben answered, not even trying to hide his annoyance. 

“Well you’re a walker so…” Luke rubbed his eyes clumsily.

“Luke,” Ben sighed. “If I’m a walker, how are we talking?”

Luke blinked multiple times, fully sitting up to look at the teen in the dark. Ben gave him a blank stare as the man searched him. There was a bit of moonlight streaming in, making it easy to see each other. 

“How the hell?” Luke climbed to his feet and came over to the pair. “You looked like absolute death when you got dragged in here.”

“He actually looks...better now.” Kenny knelt down in front of the teen and pressed a hand to his forehead. He looked confused and he examined his face. “Fever’s gone down and you actually got some colour in your face.”

“I feel better, well, compared to earlier.” Ben commented, finding himself surprised by how good he felt. While he still felt sick and tired, it wasn’t as bad as it was. He felt like he was coming down from a cold, not some fatal virus.

“No offense, Bud, but you should be dead.” Luke said with awkward politeness. “It’s almost been two days.”

Ben just shrugged. Kenny moved around to the side of the teen and gently lifted the teen’s injured arm. Ben got the hint and let Kenny take his arm out of his jacket and unwrapped his bite. The area was discoloured and raised, showing signs of scarring tissue. The bite itself was scabbed over, a bit pulling off with the bandage, and clearly in the process of healing.

Kenny angled the arm, being careful not to hurt the teen, to get a better look in the light. There’s no way he was seeing this right. The walker bite was healing and Ben was getting better .

“I don’t think he’s gonna turn.” Kenny spoke in disbelief.

“What to mean he’s not turning? He’s bit .” Luke came over to look.

“If I’m not turning, could you untie my arm? It’s fallen asleep.” Ben spoke up.

He was trying to wrap his own head around the information. He wasn’t turning. He wasn’t leaving Clementine. He was both confused and relieved. Though he wasn’t about to question it, for fear of jinxing his luck.

Luke came around to Ben’s other side and started undoing the duct around his right arm. Ben stretched out his now free arm and sighed as feeling started coming back to it.

“We should watch you though.” Kenny said. “Just in case.”

“Go for it.” Ben stretched his arms up over his head, feeling his back and shoulders pop. “How’s the baby and Rebecca?”

“A.J.’s good. He’s slept through the night so far.” Luke answered. He frowned then. “Rebecca though...isn’t doing too well.”

“Oh…” Ben looked down.

“Ah, she just needs some rest.” Kenny waved his hand. “She’ll be good as new in no time.”

“Ben’s apparently surviving a walker bite, so I’ll believe anything at this point.” Luke crossed his arms.

Ben looked down at his bite, being his hand up to touch it. It was sensitive to the touch while also being numb. He was careful of the scabbing as he traced the ridges of the teeth indents. He sniffed and pulled away from it. He was gonna live.

Chapter Text

“So you’re saying Ben’s immune?” Mike questioned with a raised brow.

“How else would he last two days and heal?” Kenny countered.

There was a stir in the group seeing Ben still alive and well at sunrise. He had been bombarded with question after question all along the lines of his health and how he was still alive. Ben tried to keep up with it all and was getting a bit overwhelmed.

Clem and Sarah had been ecstatic and almost tackled the teen in a tight hug. Ben groaned from the impact of their combined weight but didn’t do anything to stop them. He just wrapped his arms around the girls and hugged them just as tight.

“You’re okay.” Clementine whispered.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” He squeezed her before pulling back, keeping his hands on her shoulders. “Thanks to you.” 

“Me?” she tilted her head up at Ben in confusion.

“You cleaned the bite!” Sarah chimed in with a grin. 

“Really saved my hide there.” Ben rested his hand on Clem’s head.

Clem ducked down to hide her reddening face in her brother’s jacket. Both teens giggled at the child’s sudden bashfulness. A muffled shut up came from her, making them snicker even more.

Over their heads, Ben could see Mike and Kenny talking quietly. The two adults caught the teen’s gaze and immediately quieted and separated. Ben frowned and had a feeling they were talking about him. He could get why, he survived a virus with a hundred percent kill rate, but that didn’t mean he liked it. He was a high school student, he was well versed in people whispering behind each other’s back, even joined in himself on occasion. In his experience of being the topic, it didn’t usually end well for him.

Before Ben could go catch one of them, he was interrupted by Mike saying they needed to get moving. He sighed and pulled away from Sarah and Clem to go get his things. Bonnie had managed to grab his and Clem’s backpacks, luckily with most of their stuff intact. He slung the bag over his shoulder, being careful not to hit his still healing bite. The wound had been redressed, a quick wipe down with rubbing alcohol and a gauze pad taped over to keep it covered. Despite not being able to feel that part of his arm, there was a soreness to it. It reminded him of any time he had been numbed for treatment and feeling sore once it started to wear off.

“We should find you a new jacket.” Mike said, appearing next to the teen. “I had found one, but Rebecca has it.”

“I’m fine.” Ben awkwardly shrugged. “I like this jacket.”

“Kid, there’s a giant hole in your sleeve,” Mike pointed out, raising a brow. “And just looks worn out in general. Like it'll fall apart any second now.”

“Look I’m just… sentimental. It means a lot to me…” The teen put his hand over the hole in his sleeve.

Mike studied the teen for a long moment; “You really are an odd one.”

“I know.” Ben readjusted his bag straps on his shoulders as he awkwardly stepped away.

Mike let him leave and Ben sped off. He ended up making his way over to Rebecca who looked tired and pale. She was cradling A.J. in her arms as he slept in his blanket bundle. Rebecca glanced up at the teen with a cautious but not unwelcoming look. Ben kept a small distance between them, understanding why she would feel apprehensive around him.

“How are you two doing?” Ben asked.

“We’re doing alright.” Rebecca looked down at the infant in her arms and brushed a finger over his cheek. “I didn’t think I’d get to say this but, thank you, Ben. You were so much help with the delivery.”

“I was just repeating what Carlos had told me.” The teen’s face heated up.

“Well, you did a good job at remembering.” She smiled. She gave the teen a once-over before looking back at his face. “Now, how are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling alright, weirdly enough.” Ben nodded, finding that to be true. “I mean, my eye’s kinda sore and I’m still getting used to my new sight. And my arm...well bites go numb so it’s not really hurting or bothering me.”

Rebecca’s eyes lingered on Ben’s injured arm before studying his face; “Do me favour please. Could you hold A.J. while I stand up?”

Ben hesitantly nodded and held out his arms to take the baby. Rebecca made sure the teen had a proper hold and watched him closely as he cradled the baby to his chest. A.J. cooed and he squirmed a bit before settling as Ben gently swayed him. Rebecca slowly got to her feet, using the wall for support.

She took a long moment to steady herself and catch her breath that had become a bit short. Ben watched her in concern and was ready to reach out if she needed support. 

“Have you been around babies before?” Rebecca suddenly asked. “You seem to know what you’re doing with him.”

“Eh, that’s only ‘cause he’s not crying. Otherwise, I’d be panicking.” Ben joked. “I used to carry my little sister around all the time. Though she hasn’t been a baby in a while.” 

“How old is she?” Rebecca straightened up properly and reached out to scoop up A.J..

“She’s… shit, her twelfth birthday will be coming soon.” Ben’s eyes widened in realization.  

“She’s older than I thought.” Rebecca looked just as surprised as the teen. “The way you talk about her makes her sound a lot younger.” 

“I did tend to baby her… She was always so anxious and I wanted to take care of her.” The teen shifted on his feet self-consciously. 

Rebecca’s expression softened as she smiled towards the teen. A.J. started to grow fussy and her attention was now focused on him. She bounced him and spoke softly to the baby. She pretty much forgot about the teen, not even noticing when he stepped away. 

------- 

Jane was gone. Clem, who had been the last to see her, explained that Jane had left in the middle of the night. She didn’t want to be with a group ‘keeping a Walker around’. Clem hadn’t even tried to hide her irritation, nor did she look remorseful at the loss. She stayed close to Ben after that, keeping her hand firmly in his.

Kenny mentioned there was a town not too far from the park. They could stock up on supplies and get some proper shelter from the snow. The only problem was getting there. The strong wind slowed their movement and chilled everyone to the bone. 

The group had already been walking for an hour and there was still no sign of reaching town any time soon. Things only got worse as Rebecca, who had been steadily growing paler, suddenly collapsed with a sharp cry from A.J.. Bonnie and Sarita rushed forward to help her up. 

“Are you okay?” Ben watched the woman in concern as she wobbled over to sit on an old large tire.

“I’m fine.” Rebecca sounded exhausted, like she hadn’t slept in days. “I-I just need to sit down for a minute.”

“I think we all need a rest.” Luke chimed in. “And we should also get our bearings-”

“Hello!”  A voice sounded out behind them.

Off in the distance, a small figure was coming towards them. They looked to be limp and Ben could see a leg brace when it caught the light. As the stranger came closer, it was easy to tell he was a teenager close to Ben’s age. He started speaking again but in a different language.

Clem’s eyes suddenly widened. “Arvo?”

“You know him?” Bonnie raised a brow at the child.

“Jane and I met him when we had gone looking for supplies.” Clem explained. She fidgeted on her feet with a look of guilt on her face. “We… stole supplies from him…”

“Clementine.” Kenny looked down at her in disbelief but Clem didn’t meet his gaze.

“I didn’t want to, he says his sister’s sick. It was Jane’s idea.” She played with her hands.

Ben felt a pang at the mention of Arvo's sister. Arvo was soon up to them and looking over the group through cracked glasses. Ben stepped forward, tagging off his backpack as he went. The other teen looked at him in guarded confusion.

“Ben, what are you doing?” Nick reached out to grab him but Ben brushed him off.

“Don’t start doing something stupid.” Kenny added on.

“I got it.” Ben turned back to Arvo. “Arvo, right?”

He nodded. “You are friend of Clementine, yes? She robbed me.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Ben started digging through his bag, pulling out his painkillers. He held them out to Arvo. “Here. I know it’s not much but maybe it could help your sister.”

“Ben, you idiot what are you doing?” Kenny frowned in annoyance. He came forwards, grabbing the teen’s arm. “You need those, and even then why would you just give them away when we could use them?”

“Well they’re for me and I want to give them to Arvo.” Ben yanked his arm back from the man as he pushed the medicine bottle into the other stunned teen’s hands. “If I was robbed and my sister was sick, I’d want to try getting them back too.”

“I-I…” Arvo stumbled over his words as he clutched the bottle in his hands.

Before Arvo could find his wording, shouts came from the woods as two men and a woman stepped out of the treeline. The trio all had guns trained on the group. Arvo had a look of guilt on his face as the woman came to stand next to him. 

The woman asked something to Arvo who answered hesitantly. The men started yelling something then.

“Because you robbed me, they want you to put down your guns so we can take your things.” Arvo awkwardly translated. He pointedly didn’t look at Ben. “Please, just listen and everything will be fine.”

“Fine my ass!” Kenny pointed his pistol at the men. It became a stand off as everyone had a gun pointed at someone. 

“Wait! We have a baby!” Clementine exclaimed. “A-and Ben gave you medicine!”

“You have a baby..?” Arvo spotted A.J. and hurriedly started yelling to his group again.

While no one could understand them, it was clear by the tone they were arguing. Kenny started shouting at them as well, and it was only made worse by A.J. starting to cry.

Suddenly a gunshot rang out and Rebecca stumped over. It was like a domino effect as a full one shootout started. 

Ben dove to grab A.J. who was abandoned on the ground and ducked behind a large rock in the trees as someone shot in his direction. He fell onto his side with a wince and scrambled up to sit with his back pressed against the rock. A.J. wailed as Ben covered him and squirmed around. Risking a peak, Ben could see Clem ducking behind the broken wall with Sarah while Luke covered them.

“Shhh, i-it’s okay little guy.” Ben whispered, bouncing A.J. gently. “I-I know it’s loud, but n-no one’s gonna hurt ya.”

Ben held the baby tight to his chest with his knees curled up and his head down. He kept one hand on his axe next to him, just in case he needed to fight off anyone or anything close up. Against a gun at long range, there was no way he’d win. He just wanted to wait it out.

No one seemed to come his way and the firing soon stopped. Ben slowly lifted his head to look out once more. The only people still out there was his own group and Arvo crying over his sister’s body. Ben carefully crawled out of his hiding spotting. A.J. had settled and was now, sleeping curled towards the teen’s chest.

“There you are.” Sarita came forwards, taking hold of the teen’s shoulders to look him over. “And you got A.J.. Are you okay?”

“Yeah- yeah I’m okay.” Ben found himself a bit out of breath as the adrenaline started wearing off. He adjusted his hold on the baby. “Just tried to keep him covered.”

“Good job-”

“You piece of shit!” Sarita was cut off and the two turned just in him to see Kenny punch Arvo.

“Kenny, stop!” Sarita yelled, running forwards.

Mike and Luke were already there and pushing Kenny away, shielding Arvo behind them. 

“Get out of the way!” Kenny glared at the two men, raising his gun. 

“Kenny, come on he’s not a threat- he’s just scared!” Ben tried to reason with him.

Kenny wiped around, turning his anger now on Ben. “You are the last person I want to hear anything from! What the fuck do you think you were doing giving him supplies?!”

“Hey, leave him alone.” Nick said, coming to Ben’s defense. “He was just trying to help and not cause any trouble.”

“Shut it!” Kenny snapped at the man before focusing back on the teen; “You really haven’t learned anything in the last two years, have you? Still a decent fuckin’ shitbird trading with our enemies!”

Ben hunched in on himself and he stepped away from the man. Everything part of his being was screaming at him to run as his good eye started welling up. His breathing picked up again as he started shaking. He forced himself to stay quiet, his throat burning in the process. 

‘ What the hell is wrong with you?! ’ Ben could hear his father’s scolding voice echo in his head.  Something he was familiar with hearing.

A.J. was gently taken from his arms and hands were taking his. He barely reacted as he was pulled along to continue down the path. Ben kept his gaze firmly on the ground, kicking a small rock with his sneaker.

Clementine and Sarah’s hands were warm in his and it helped ground him. Though it didn’t do much about his downtrodden mood. They were quiet, or at least he didn’t register anything if they did. Ben was firmly in his own little world that wasn’t much better than the real world.

‘ Why do you never think before acting? How are you this dumb? ’ The voice in his head berated. 

He deeply sighed, not even trying to block out the voice. For now, he let it run rampant for the remainder of the walk.

Chapter Text

Ben leaned back against the fence of the small power plant. He curled his legs up to his chest and looped his arms around his knees. It was freezing but there was no way he was going to sit at the fire. Shivering be damned.

He looked over to where Arvo was sitting a few yards. Kenny had attempted to tie him up, to ‘keep him from running away', but Sarita had thankfully talked him out of it. Though he was still pretty much ostracized from the group. Arvo turned his head, and the two teens made eye contact for a moment before they both looked away.

Ben deeply sighed, dropping his head onto his knees. He was slowly getting a headache, his injured eye pulsating. He heard footsteps coming to a stop in front of him. He lifted his head, spotting Clem.

“Do you want some wine?” Clem asked, holding up a green bottle.

“I- where did you even get that?” Ben raised a brow in confusion.

“Bonnie,” She answered. “It’s Luke’s birthday so she thought we should pass it around. To the adults anyways… I mean, technically you’re not an adult, Kenny said, I think you’re close enough. You’re 18 in...a couple of weeks if Rebecca’s calendar is right.”

“More or less.” Ben smiled weakly. He eyed the bottle before reaching out; “I could use a drink.”

He took the bottle from Clem and took a big swig from it. He cleared his throat after, it was way easier on his throat than the whiskey was. He handed it back to Clem after. She stayed in place, giving the teen a once-over. She looked to be thinking over something.

“Can I change your bandages? It's been a couple days.” Clementine asked.

“Alright.” Ben sighed.

Clem quickly moved away and back to the group. A moment later, she returned with her bag. She knelt down next to Ben and reached out and started unwrapping Ben’s eye. There was a slight sting from the bandage being pulled away and chilled air hitting the injury.

Ben blinked, testing his sight. He could see next to nothing out of the eye, just bits of light. He realized in dismay his sight was permanently gone in his left eye.

“I think it’s healing okay.” Clem remarked. “Gonna look like you’re gonna have some scars though.”

“Awesome. I’ll look so badass.” He joked with a sarcastic lilt. 

She giggled; “Maybe more pirate. I’m gonna find you an eyepatch.”

Ben rolled his eye at the teasing. Clementine finished gently wiping down around Ben’s eye and covered it with fresh gauze. Her hand lingered on his cheek, a frown on her face as she kept her gaze on his eye. Ben reached up and took hold of her hand, giving it a squeeze. 

“I’m okay.” He smiled faintly.

“You shouldn’t have been hurt in the first place…” Clem’s frown deepened. She looked away from the teen and down at her lap. “You didn’t get up and were covered in blood and… I thought he killed you.”

“Hey…” Ben took hold of Clem’s shoulders and pulled her to his chest in a hug. “I’m right here, he didn’t kill me. I’m so so sorry you had to see that.”

Clem’s arms came around his shoulders, squeezing with all her might. Her fingers curled into the worn fabric of his jacket. Ben rubbed his hand over her back, resting his chin on top of her hat.

When she pulled away, her eyes were wet. Ben used his sleeve over his hand to gently wipe at her eyes.

“Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you that easily.” Ben genuinely smiled this time. “You’re stuck with me.”

“Unfortunately.” Clem snickered.

Ben playfully rolled his eyes and tapped the brim of Clem’s hat. Clem scowled at the teen, though there wasn’t much heat behind it. Clem straightened back up and dusted off the knees of her jeans.

“I should go return this.” She lifted up the wine bottle. “Wanna come over to the fire? It’s much warmer over there.”

Ben looked over at the group in thought. After a moment he shook his head. “Nah. I just want some space for a bit.”

Clem gave the teen a once over, studying him for a long moment.

“I’m okay.” Ben hoped he sounded more convincing than he felt.

She was quiet for another moment; “Alright. But when we get to the house, you’re sitting there it’s warm, even if I have to drag you.”

“Okay, okay.” Ben raised his hands in mock defense.

Clem firmly nodded and turned back to the fire. Ben watched her. Once she was far enough away, his smile fell from his face. He reached up to lightly touch the fresh bandages over his eye. It was still sore but having the gunk and dried blood cleaned away, it did feel better. 

Ben dropped his hand, letting it flop loosely onto his lap. He tilted his head upwards towards the sky. The clouds were cleared enough that stars could be seen twinkling in between.

It was a nice distraction from his racing thoughts.

--------

The group packed and moved out from the power plant early the next morning. Despite Arvo’s assurance that they were close to the safe house, they still had miles to trudge through fresh snow and ice. For the most part it was quiet, the only sounds being the occasional squawk of birds and the rustling of trees and shrubs. 

Ben was quiet, having said nothing since his and Clem’s talk the previous night. He was tired, having not gotten much sleep, and just wanted to keep his head down until they got to their destination.

Clementine wasn’t with him, walking ahead with Kenny and Sarita. Her and Ben seem to have an unspoken agreement to give the teen some alone time as they walked. Clem looked back at the teen in worry.

“Ben’ll be fine.” Kenny said next to her. “Just gotta let him be grumpy for a bit.”

Clem frowned, looking up at Kenny. “He’s not just ‘being grumpy’. You really hurt his feelings yesterday.”

“If he wants to be an idiot, then he needs to understand what that’s gonna get him.” Kenny shrugs, though he sounds mildly annoyed.

“Stop saying he’s an idiot. He’s not, he just...thinks differently..” Clem’s wording was a tad awkward, not knowing fully how to say what she wanted. 

“So an idiot.” Kenny doubled down.

“Kenny, stop.” Sarita said, her tone calm but firm with her boyfriend.

Clem huffed in annoyance, turning away. She actively ignores the remainder of the conversation between Kenny and Sarita. She crossed her arms, staring pointedly ahead on the trail. 

“There.” Arvo suddenly spoke up. He pointed to a house construction sight, across a frozen lake a head of them.

“That piece of shit? It’s half built!” Kenny snapped.

“It’s warm...fireplace.” Arvo struggled to translate his words into English. “Just have to cross. The ice is fine...I can go first.”

“If you’re so confident, sure. Go first.” Kenny gave the teen a shove towards the lake. 

Arvo stumbled a step but managed to catch his footing. He went slow, taking short steps across. The rest of the group slowly followed him, fanning out over the ice so as to not put too much weight in one spot.

Clementine lagged back, waiting for Ben to start walking across. Ben caught her gaze and offered a tired smile before looking away. The two walked side by side, though kept a short distance between them. The ice softly creaked under their feet.

There was a sudden commotion towards the front, and looking up, Ben and Clem could see that Arvo had started running. Kenny chasing close behind him. The two looked at each other before quickly and carefully following after them, knowing it possibly wouldn’t end well. They got there just in time as Arvo fell to the ground and Kenny was looming over him. 

“Kenny, stop!” Clem called.

“What do you mean stop? I haven’t done anything.” Kenny wielded around.

“You’re scaring him.” She argued. “Can we just go inside?”

Kenny looked visibly annoyed but pulled back from Arvo as the others joined them; “Fine. Get inside and let’s see about these supplies.”

While the outside of the house walls were built, the inside was more so just beams and archways. There were tools and piles of plywood laying around, along with some tarps covering the floor.

Bonnie quickly started setting up the fireplace. Sarah sat down next to her with Nike, clinging onto his arm. She slowly pulled away as Bonnie spoke softly and came to help get a fire started. 

Ben let Clem pull him over as well and push him down to sit near the fire. He sat with a sigh, adjusting his position as Clem tucked into his side. Her and Sarah started talking but Ben only half-listened as he started to doze off, his lack of sleep finally catching up with him.

------

Ben woke an unknown amount of time later to a gun going off. He jolted awake and scrambled to his feet as everyone came awake in a similar fashion. A quick scan was all he needed to see Clem wasn’t next to him or anywhere he could see her in the dark. Along with Mike, Bonnie and Arvo. 

There was an obvious commotion coming from the back door and no amount of cursing from Kenny could stop him and Ben bolted for the backdoor. He threw the door open and his blood ran cold.

Clem was sprawled out on the ground as blood stained the snow under her.

“Clementine!” Ben all but screamed and he fell to the knees next to her. She didn’t respond as Ben gently lifted his shoulders to hold her. His mind blanked as he frantically searched for a pulse. Tears blocked his vision and his hands became sticky with blood. “Clem please, just something- anything !”

The sound of rushing footsteps caught his attention as he tore his gaze away from Clem to Mike, Bonnie and Arvo running away. Ben’s anxiety quickly boiled to anger, coming to the conclusion they were behind this.

“You better fucking run! If I catch any of you I will fucking kill you, do you hear me?!” Ben shouted after them.

“What the fuck is going on- Shit, Clem!” Kenny rushed over.

“Get away!” Ben lashed out, swinging at him.

Kenny jumped back just in time to dodge the teen’s arm. Ben quickly turned back to Clem in his arms, pressing his hand to the wound on her shoulder. Blood soaked his palm and between his fingers, along with the sleeve of his arm under her. 

“Not like this, Clem. Come on…” Ben’s beg fell on deaf ears as Clem stayed still. “Please…Don’t leave me…”

Chapter Text

Clem woke with a jolt, blinking rapidly to focus her vision. She rubbed her eyes as she took in her surroundings. She was in an RV, curled up on a built in couch. Looking to her left, she spotted Ben sitting at the far table. He was slumped over, obviously having fallen asleep. He looked different, his lettermen looked cleaner and his hair was less shaggy than she remembered it looking in a long time. From where she was, she couldn’t see any bandages covering his eye. Had he removed them? It was too soon for that wasn’t it?

“Ben?” Clem’s own voice sounded different, higher than it should’ve been.  She straightened up, only to be stopped by an arm around her shoulders.

“Shh, let him sleep, Sweetpea.”

She froze in place at the sound of the voice. Slowly, Clem turned her head to face Lee. The man was looking down at her with a soft fondness that made her throat tighten. Lee’s expression changed to one of worry, tilting his head down towards her.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked. “Did you have a bad dream? Maybe about Ben?”

“I guess so.” Clem shifted to lay more comfortably against Lee’s side. She missed this so much it ached. “He was hurt- his eye, a-and bit... but he was getting better!”

“Don’t worry it was just a dream.” Lee smiled down at her. “He’s not injured in any way. Just tired I think.”

Clem looked back over at the slumbering teen. He had shifted around to rest his head on his folded arms on the table. A snore reached her from his direction.

“The dream wasn’t all bad. Just the ending...” Clementine trailed off, averting her gaze downward. “It was like a road trip. You know when you just drive around to different places?”

“Yeah, I know.” Lee chuckled. “Went on a couple with my brother and parents when I was your age.”

“That doesn’t sound like a lot. You can only be my age once!” Clementine found herself joking.

It got a chuckle out of Lee. Clementine smiled and tucked further into the man’s side. She curled her fingers into his shirt. Lee’s arm came around her shoulders, squeezing her gently.

“I liked traveling with Ben,” She started as her mood turned sullen. “But...I don’t want you to leave me.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that. I promise.” Lee brushed his fingers through Clem’s hair. “Everything’s gonna be alright.” 

Clementine sniffled as her eyes started to water. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t hold back a sob. Lee pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her head. He spoke softly to her though Clem couldn’t make out what he said. Clem could feel her mind growing foggy as her eyes started to fall close.

Distantly, she could feel her shoulder starting to ache. 

-------

Ben was running on pure adrenaline as he clutched Clementine to his chest. His hands were sticky and slipped as he tried to apply pressure to her wounded shoulder. He was situated in the back seat of the pick up truck Kenny had somehow got running. It was a cramped space, Sarita and Luke were in the back with him while Nick was up front in the passenger with Sarah and A.J.. Kenny sped down the snow covered road.

It was snowing and there were signs of a blizzard starting soon. Ben would barely focus on that though, all his attention on the girl in his arms. He had one arm looped around the shoulders from behind and another against her wounded shoulder. Sartia had her hand around Clem’s wrist, keeping track of her pulse.

“J-just hold on, Clem. W-we’re gonna get you help and y-you’re gonna be fine, Okay?” Ben stammered. Though there was no reaction from the child.

“Damn this snow!” Kenny cursed. He was having a hard time driving as the weather progressively worsened. He was leaning forward in his seat in an attempt to get a better view out the windshield. Suddenly he slammed on the breaks and the truck swerved. Ben tightened his hold on Clem as he was roughly jerked forward. “There’s a fucking pile up!”

Kenny continued to curse under his breath as he turned off the engine. With a groan, everyone started clambering out of the vehicle. With Clem in his arms, Ben had to move slower. He had one arm hooked under her knees and the other around her shoulders.

Clementine’s head lulled against Ben’s shoulder, one of her arms dangling freely. As Ben stood, he turned his body to shield Clem from the harsh weather as he held her tight.

Once everyone was out of the truck and together, the group started the slow trudge through the snow. Luke and Sarita stayed close to Ben, in case the teen suddenly needed help. Kenny led the way, carrying his shotgun close, while Nick held onto Sarah and A.J. close behind him. 

“Stay close together! Don’t want anyone getting lost out here.” Luke called out to the group. 

“We got Walkers!” Kenny fired off a shot, taking out the closest undead.

The Walkers were moving slower than usual, some not even moving entirely. The blizzard seemed to be slowing them down and gave the group time to make their way through the pile up. Despite the Walkers being slower, there was still a danger of getting grabbed.

Ben held Clem as close as he could to himself to keep her from getting grabbed. Sarita stayed to his left to cover his blind side. His left arm was starting to arch under Clem’s weight, still recovering from the bite. It still had yet to get feeling fully back. 

“Up ahead! I think there’s a town!” Nick called out.

From what can be seen through the snow, it was a small town, barely any room between the buildings. Abandoned vehicles lined the street in varying states of disarray. Many continued the pile up the group had worked though, blocking their way further into town.

The closest unblocked building was at the end of a row of townhouses with boarded up windows. The painted wall shingles were chipping and covered in a thick layer of grime. 

Kenny rushed up the creaking porch steps and towards the front door. With a few good kicks, the door flung open to a dark entrance wall. Once everyone was inside he slammed the door and with the help of Luke and Nick, barricaded the door with an end table and chairs that were in the hall. 

“Sarah, s-see if you can find a first-aid kit!” Ben called as he rushed past into the small kitchen.

Sarah shakily nodded before rushing further into the house. Sarita, now carrying A.J., followed Ben into the kitchen as he carefully laid Clem down on the rounded table. He started slamming through cupboards and drawers. Ben found a dish towel folded in one of the drawers and scurried back to Clem, pressing the cloth to her wound. While the bleeding had slowed, it still needed pressure to stop completely.

“Ben, why don’t you take A.J. for a bit?” Sarita spoke up as she carefully approached the teen.

“No, I-I-I need to look after C-Clem!” He stammered. He was trembling and his slick hands kept slipping from the blood.

Sarah reappeared, along with Kenny, Nick and Luke. Kenny all but shoved Ben out of the way, not noticing -or ignoring- the teen’s distress. 

“Get out of the way!” Kenny barked at him. He took the first-aid kit from Sarah.

“Hey-” Ben started but was cut off by a hand on his arm. His gaze snapped to Sarita next to him.

“Come on, Sweetheart. Let’s go get you cleaned up.” Sarita shot a quick glare at Kenny as she pulled the fussing teen out of the room. 

“You can help later, Bud.” Luke promised with an apologetic look to the teen.

Sarah scampered after Ben and Sarita as they headed up to the second floor. The woman led the children into the hall backroom and gently pushed Ben down to sit on the toilet seat. She passed A.J. to Sarah before pulling off her backpack and dug out a water bottle. She grabbed a towel from the rack and daust it in the water.

Sarita took hold of Ben’s hands and started wiping the blood away. He sat there mutely, having given up fighting. He looked exhausted as he stared down blankly. Sarah came to hand next to him, gently bouncing A.J. who gurgled happily. Ben glanced over at the baby and couldn’t help the faint smile tugged at his mouth. 

“Clem is going to be just fine.” Sarita comforted, drawing the boy’s attention.

“Y-Yeah!” Sarah chirped. Though she didn’t seem entirely convinced.

Ben didn’t respond, looking down at his lap. While his hands had been washed of blood, his clothes were still stained. It felt like the stains went through the layers under his shirt and stuck to his skin.

“Do you want to go find something clean to wear? We can try to wash your jacket.” Sarita offered.

Ben just nodded and stood. Sarah moved A.J. into one arm so she could hold Ben’s hand with her free one. Ben flinched but didn’t pull his hand away, weakly curling his fingers around Sarah’s palm.

The trio stepped out of the bathroom and made their way over to the nearest room.  The door creaked on its hinges as it opened to what looked to be the master bedroom. There was a layer of dust over all the furniture, everything looking strangely untouched. 

Sarita walked over to the closet and slid open slatted doors. She pushed through the hung clothing. She soon pulled out a black long sleeve shirt, along with a red flannel.

“Here, come try these on.” She passed the shirts over to the teen.

Ben took the clothes and stepped back over to the bathroom to change in private. He unbuttoned his jacket and tugged it off to drop to the floor. He cringed as he peeled off his bloodstained shirts, pointedly trying not to look. Ben could feel himself starting to shake with prickling anxiety and quickly tugged on his new shirt and buttoned up the flannel part way. 

‘ I need Clem… ’ Ben thought in distress as he clenched his hands together. He forcibly shook his head. ‘ No, I’ll just get in the way...Kenny’ll get mad. Madder…’

Ben groaned and grabbed his lettermen from the floor and left the bathroom, leading his old clothes in a heap. He returned to Sarah and Sarita, the two quietly chatting on the bed as A.J. curled into Sarah. He quietly made his way over and sat down on the far end of the bed, making sure there was a sizable amount of space between them.

“It looks like they fit you pretty well.” Sarita attempted to start a conversation with Ben. “Red suits you.”

Ben shrugged and hummed. He glanced over at the door, staring out into the hall like he was waiting. He knotted his fingers together nervously, cracking his knuckles in the movements. 

The feeling of someone leaning against Ben’s back and arms coming around his waist made him stiffen up. He turned his head to look down at Sarah now resting against his back. 

“Does this help?” She asked nervously.

Ben didn’t respond verbally, not entirely knowing their own feelings and just shrugged again. He sighed and leaned forward on his lap, burying his face in his hands. He could feel his throat tightening up and tried to force back the tears he could feel building.

Ben hoped Sarah couldn’t feel him starting to shake, but her arms tightening around him threw that thought out the window. Then Sarita’s hand came to to gently rest on his shoulder and the dam burst.

Ben couldn’t hold back a whimper as his held back emotions broke loose. Sarita’s arm slid around his shoulders as she came to lean against his side. Ben’s head came to tuck into her neck, hiding his face inwards. Sarah’s head rested against Ben’s back.

“Y-You’re not going to lose her, l-like I lose my d-dad.” Sarah whispered barely loud enough for Ben to hear. 

Ben’s breathing hitched as he buried further into their holds. A munch smaller hand curled around his right pointer finger and he tilted his head down at A.J. who was holding his finger and looking up at the teen. Ben gave a weak watery smile, resting his hand on the baby’s stomach.

He sniffled, feeling heavy hearted yet comforted.

Chapter Text

Ben hissed softly as the bandage was removed from his arm. The scabbing had become attached to the bite wound, making it sting as it was pulled away. The only form of feeling he still had in that part of his arm. The area around his wrist, including the base of his hand, was still numb and even showed a bit of discolouring in the skin.

He flexed his fingers and rolled his wrist to test the moment. It was slow and even a bit stiff, but he still had movement in the appendage and was happy for at least that. He lightly traced his fingers over the whitening raised scar that was steadily forming. It was healing relatively normally, but no matter how he took care of it, it looked harsh and striking against his skin.

‘Maybe I’m doing something wrong?’ Ben thought as he continued his inspection. ‘Maybe I should clean it more thoroughly.’

He was already cleaning it well though, according to Sarah who has been helping him. Thanks to what her father had taught her and what she’s learned from the medical textbook Ben had, Sarah was becoming a great young nurse. He smiled softly. He was proud of her and how much she was growing.

“Hey, Ben.” Sarah’s voice sounded behind him, startling the teen out of his thoughts.

“Oh Hey!” Ben stammered out as he tried awkwardly to act casual.

The younger teen giggled, bringing her hand up to poorly hide it. She came over to sit across from Ben at the kitchen table. He grumbled under his breath at her but his smile gave him away.

Sarah looked down at Ben’s arm resting on the table. She carefully reached out and gently cupped Ben’s wrist in her hand. Ben watched her closely but didn’t stop her from lifting his arm and leaning over to inspect his bite.

“It’s looking good!” She smiled. She looked up at Ben’s face with a tentative look in her eyes. “Any feeling yet..?”

Ben shook his head. “No…”

Sarah frowned.

“But hey! It’s fine!” He tried to lighten the topic. “I’d much rather have some numbness than any alternatives.”

The younger teen tentatively smiled at him, “It’s still healing, you could still get feeling back.”

Ben just nodded. Though he wasn’t really convinced. He turned his gaze back on Sarah as he noticed her looking to his covered eye.

“It’s fine.” Ben quickly spoke. He reached up to touch the gauze patch taped over it. Nervousness raised up in him. “I cleaned it yesterday. It looked fine.”

“Are you sure..?” Sarah asked, disbelief. “I don’t mind checking it.”

“Yes. It’s fine.” He reached for the packet of gauze next to him on the table, focusing on redressing his bite.

Sarah watched him, making sure he bandaged it right and reminded him to be careful of adhesives irritating his skin. It had a tendency to make his skin break out in a slight rash. He nodded along with her instructions.

“I’m going to go check on Clem.” Ben pushed his chair away from the table and stood.

He stepped away as Sarah gave him a small wave.

-------
Ben stepped into the doorway of Clem’s room and leaned against the frame. He crossed his arms as he mutely started on towards the bed. Clementine had yet to stir, even after nearly a week had passed. He moved across the room and pulled a chair out from the desk, sitting down next to the bed. It was meant for someone much smaller than him and shook from side to side slightly, but it was sufficient.

He reached out and carefully took Clem’s hand, maneuvering it to rest his fingers over her wrist. The steady pulse against his finger tips helped to relax him, even just the slightest bit. Clem’s fingers twitched but otherwise, her condition didn’t change.

Ben weakly chuckled; “Are you dreaming, Clem? Hope it’s something good.”

He paused, looking down at their hands in thought before continuing; I sometimes dream about my family or Travis…it’s nice, though they’re more like memories. Do you ever dream about your parents…or maybe Lee..?”

Ben looked up at her face, searching for any signs of movement. There was a faint outline of her eyes moving under her eyelids; “Is this why you’ve been asleep for a week? Having too good a dream? Thrust me though, you’re gonna wake up with such a sore neck and shoulders after a week of sleeping.”

Ben shifted his chair to sit parallel to the bed, resting their connected hands on the mattress space between them. Ben rubbed circles over the back of Clem’s hand with his thumb.

Clem’s fingers twitched again, curling inward towards Ben’s hand. He looked up at her face as blue met amber as their eyes met. Clem’s eyes were barely opened and she looked like she could fall back asleep at any moment.

Ben’s heart jumped into his throat but he tried to stay calm, not wanting to startle her; “Hey, you’re awake.”

Clem groaned, her throat healing like sandpaper. “‘M tired...”

“I bet you are.” He chuckled. “Stay awake okay? I’ll go get you some water.”

“Wait.” Clem tightened her weak grip on Ben’s hand.

“Don’t worry I’ll be quick and we can talk then.” Ben leaned down to kiss her forehead.

He pulled his hand away and left the room to run down to the kitchen for a water bottle. The group kept all their bottles in one of the overhead cabinets which creaked as it opened. He grabbed a full bottle and quickly left.

Returning back to the bedroom, he stopped Clem gingerly touching her wounded shoulder.

“Don’t touch that.” Ben moved over to her bedside, gently holding her wrist and pulling her hand away. “Here, I got you water.”

Slipping his arm under Clem’s shoulders, being careful of her injury, Ben slowly helped her into a sitting position. She winced in pain and Ben quietly apologized and comforted her. He uncapped the bottle and held it to her lips for her to carefully drink. After, Ben sat the bottle aside and helped Clem lay back down.

“How are you feeling?” He asked.

“Like I was shot.” She joked with a weak smile.

Ben huffed a laugh; “That’s pretty accurate.”

Clem laughed before groaning. She huffed and looked around the room surrounding them; “Where are we?”

“We’re in a town, not too far from the construction house we were staying the night in.” Ben answered. “It’s nice here, we’re safe and have a decent amount of supplies. Kenny, Nick and Luke are actually out right now looking for more now that the snow’s stopped.”

“That’s good…” Clem’s voice trailed off. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t careful and got shot.”

“Hey, hey.” Ben reached out and took her hand again. “It’s okay.”

“You don’t even know what happened.” Clementine sighed as he looked down.

“What did happened?” Ben gently asked.

Clem shifted around her position for a long moment; “I followed Arvo, Bonnie and Mike out to see what they were doing. I started the argument but Arvo escalated it… next thing I knew I was on the ground and my shoulder hurt a lot.”

She took a breath before continuing; “I think I hear you shouting.”

“I did shout. I was angry you were hurt.” Ben rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

Clem tightened his grip on the teen’s hand. His lips lifted in a corner to form a crooked smile. He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, giving her hand a small squeeze.

“Hey Ben?” Clem spoke up after a long moment. “Can we continue reading Peter Pan? If you still have the book.”

“Sure.” Ben smiled. He pulled away and stood to leave the room.

Ben returned quickly with the book in hand and back in his hair. He opened the worn book and flipped to the bookmark.

“Alright, chapter thirteen; ‘Do you Believe in Fairies?’” Ben began reading aloud.

Clem relaxed back in bed, closing her eyes as she listened to Ben’s voice.

Chapter Text

“What do you think?” Nick asked as he watched the teen.

Ben adjusted the new eye patch over his eye in the bathroom mirror, making sure the strings sat properly over his ear and brow; “I feel like a pirate. Like a really stupid looking pirate.”

“Well maybe a little.” Nick laughed. “But you look cool!”

Ben flipped him off, making the man laugh harder.

“Don’t let Sarita see you doing that.” Nick playfully scolded.

Ben rolled his eye, turning back to the mirror. He made a few more adjustments before stopping, letting his grown out bangs fall over the patch. He turned away to step out of the bathroom with Nick and into the hall.

There was the faint sound of A.J. giggling from the room he and Sarah are playing while Kenny and Sarita could be heard talking down stairs. Ben walked across the hall to Clem’s room and peeked inside. She was on her back sleeping, her uninjured arm bent up to lay next to her head. Ben smiled softly before turning away.

“How is she?” The man asked.

“She’s sleeping. Which is good for healing.” The teen answered.

“Good to know, Doc.” Nick joked.

Ben huffed a laugh.

“Seriously, between you and Sarah, we’re pretty well taken care of medically.” Nick stated. The two headed towards the stairs and descended to the ground floor landing.

“All we do is read a textbook.” Ben awkwardly shrugged. “I can’t even stitch in a straight line or look at blood.”

“Practice makes perfect.” Nick shrugged, stepping away to head into the kitchen.

Ben made his way into the living room where Kenny and Sarita were sitting on the couch. Hearing his footsteps, Sarita looked up and smiled at him while Kenny frowned.

“Hello, Ben.” Sarita greeted. “I see you got your new patch. How is it?”

“Weird but I’ll get used to it I guess.” Ben shrugged. “Better than the headaches.”

Since removing the gauze, Ben suffered from headaches trying to see out of his blinded eye and straining it. There was some vision left but only in lights in outlines of objects.

Kenny regarded him suspiciously; “And you’re arm?”

“Numb as ever. I think that’s just gonna be permanent.” Ben moved to sit down in the arm chair.

“Be careful not to hurt yourself. If you can’t feel it, you could really injure your arm and not realize.” She advised.

“I’ll be careful.” Ben smiled. “I think the most danger I’m in around here is A.J. chewing on me. I’m glad he doesn’t have teeth yet.”

“Better not let him bite you,” Kenny started, almost snapping. “You might not have turned but he might catch the virus from you.”

“Kenny.” Sarita frowned at her boyfriend, taking on a stern tone. “Don’t talk to him like that.”

“No, he’s right.” Ben sighed, slumping back in his chair. “I’ll be careful with him.”

Sarita’s frown deepened. Kenny crossed his arms, clearly not happy with the conversation. Ben could practically feel the distaste coming off the man and directed towards him.

“I’m gonna go check on Clem.” Ben said as he stood. “She’ll need her bandages changed soon.”

Ben stepped away from the couple and back towards the stairs.

—-------

“Sit up slow. Nice and easy.” Ben kept his hand on Clem’s back as she sat up in bed.

Clementine groaned, keeping her eyes shut to try and stave off any dizziness. She finally opened her eyes and lifted her tilted head to glance up at the teen watching her. Her vision slowly focused on him as she blinked.

“There you go.” He encouraged with a gentle smile. “How are you feeling?”

“Dizzy, but I’m okay.” She said.

“According to the textbook that’s normal and should go away soon.” Ben said. He grabbed the water bottle on the desk behind, uncapped it and held it out to her. “Here, this should help.

Clem lifted the hand of her uninjured arm to hold it as she took a long sip from the bottle. Once she was finished, Ben put the cap back on and sat it aside. After, he picked up the first-aid kit and sat next to him and laid it out of the bed.

“Now, I need to check your wound and change your bandages.” Ben stated, unpacking what he needed from the kit.

Clem sighed, dropping her head again.

“Come on.” Ben laughed. “The sooner we do it, the sooner it’s over and you can relax.”

“Fine.” She grumbled.

Clem carefulled moved so Ben could help her remove her t-shirt. Ben gently started removing the bandages, giving a quiet apology when Clem winced as the gauze was peeled away from her wound. The area was bruised and raised into a forming crescent scar, but the stitches laid as they should.

“It’s healing really well.” Ben smiled. “Slowly lift your arm and tell me how it feels.”

Clementine did as she was told and slowly raised her arm. She winced at the sore pulling from her shoulder before dropping her arm again.

“It’s really sore.” She said.

“It will be.” Ben started wiping down the two sets of stitches on either side of her shoulder. “Once it’s fully healed, you’ll need to start exercising it. Sarah and I will help you.”

Ben began rewrapping her shoulder and helping Clem back into her shirt.

“You make it sound so easy.” Clem rolled her eyes and relaxed back against the headboard.

“Well if it doesn’t get better, we’ll just cut it off.” Ben said nonchalantly.

“What?” Clem snapped her head towards him.

Ben immediately started laughing; “I’m just messing with you.”

Clem smacked his arm. “Don’t joke like that you jerk!”

The teen started laughing harder, doubling over in his chair. Clem smacked him again on the back.

“You’re such an asshole!” Clem whined.
“I’m your older brother, it’s my job to annoy you.” Ben said between bursts of laughter.

“Ugh.” Clem groaned, sitting back in bed. “I want to be an only child again.”

“Love you too.” Ben gave her a crooked grin.

Clem glared at him for a short moment before starting to laugh as well. The two relaxed in the light atmosphere as they continued laughing at themselves.

Chapter Text

Ben kept a tight grip on the handle of his axe as he trudged through the melting snow. Nick and Luke walked along with him, keeping their eyes on the surrounding area. The trio was tasked to go out scavenging, a task that was getting harder and harder as time passed.

“Either we need to go out further or the group might need to move on soon.” Luke said.

“We should move to a farm and live off the land and what not.” Ben half joked.

“Oh yeah? Gonna have some animals too.” Nick teasingly raised a brow.

“Actually I do know how to take care of livestock.” Ben genuinely answered. “Primarily goats, chickens and sheep. I can make some good goat cheese.”

“Wait- really?” Nick and Luke asked in shocked unison.

“Yep! I used to work on a goat farm during the summer.” The teen smiled as he recalled the memories. “I mostly worked with the kids- baby goats, and helped when we did petting zoos at my home town’s annual summer festival.”

“Damn.” Luke whistled. “And here I thought you were just a band nerd before all this.”

Ben gasped in mock offence and rolled his uncovered eye. He turned back to the road ahead of him, kicking a small rock in his path. Off to the side, a twig snapped, alerting the trio to what, hopefully, was dinner.

Luke raised his rifle towards the sound, waiting for the creature to pop out on its own as not to scare it off.

“Woe there!” A woman’s voice called out to them as she came out of her hiding spot. “Is this how you greet people?”

“Who are you?” Ben questioned.

“I’m Ava.” She answered. “What about you?”

“I’m Ben, this is Nick and Luke.” The teen studies the woman who seemed to be doing the same.

Her gaze wandered down to his rolled up sleeves, most importantly his wrist; “You’re bit.”

The trio froze in place and Ben could feel his heart pounding painfully in his chest.

“No, this is from my sister.” Ben laughed nervously. “She got pissed off by a prank I played and bit me.”

Ava raised a brow. Her eyes stayed on Ben’s bite. It was now a scar but even then looked suspicious with clear veins and pale, almost grey skin around the area, along with gaps from missing teeth.

“You’re immune to the virus.” She suddenly said. “Huh, Lonnie was right.”

“Being immune isn’t a thing.” Luke cut in. “No one’s immune to Walkers.”

“We need to get out of here.” Nick whispered to Ben who nodded nervously.

Ben slowly stepped back towards Nick, tightening his grip on his axe.

“If you come with us for exams we can trade supplies in return.” Ava offered. “My group is pretty well off, we can give you food, medicine.”

“Let us talk to our group first.” Nick took the opportunity to get out. “We’ll get back to you on that.”

The men stepped away, Nick and Luke keeping Ben snug between them. Ava did nothing to stop them, simply watching as they sped away.

—-----
Luke, Nick and Ben quickly made their way up the porch steps and into the house, shutting and locking the door behind them. Once the locking mechanism clicked into place, they breathed a sigh of relief.

“You’re back already?” Sarita raised a surprised brow from where she stood in the dining room. “Did you find anything?”

“Just a crazy lady who wants Ben.” Luke answered.

“What?” Sarita’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, wants to do exams or experiments or whatever on me.” Ben crossed his arms to hug his stomach. “In trade of supplies.”

“We told her we’d talk to y’all and get back to here.” Nick explained. “Obviously we aren’t though.”

“We might not be safe here for much longer then.” Sarita thought out loud.

“W-what if we were followed?” Ben stammered.

“Don’t worry bud, we won’t let anything happen to you.” Nick bumped his shoulder into Ben’s. “We need to start packing now and get out of here.”

Ben nodded and turned away to head upstairs to pack, the paranoia of something happening never leaving his brain.

Chapter Text

The raid was a whirlwind and all happened so fast.

Ava and other members came bursting into the townhouse and caught the group by surprise. They fought back as best they could but were soon overpowered. Ben remembered feeling a prick at the nape of his neck before his vision started to fade before finally slipping into unconsciousness to the sound of shouting and furniture crashing.

When Ben finally came to, it was in an unfamiliar white room and the sound of a monitor beeping next to him. He groaned as bright light hit his eyelids and slowly blinked them open, squinting painfully. Turning his head to the left, he spotted a heart rate monitor connected by a clip on his finger along with an IV attached to his arm.
Pushing himself up in bed, Ben took in his surroundings. He was in what looked like a hospital room with simple furnishings. He himself was dressed in pale blue scrubs that were a tad too big for his lithe frame. His eye patch was missing as well.

“Where am I?” He spoke out loud to the empty room.

Carefully detaching himself from the IV and monitor, Ben slowly stood from the bed and took a moment to get his balance as dizziness came over him. Once he was sure he would fall, the teen made his way to the door and pushed it opened.

The hallway was empty as well aside from a few chairs and boxes.

“Hey, you there!” A voice came from behind him, making Ben jump out of his skin.

Ben slowly turned to face the man coming down the hall towards him. He quickly looked around for a makeshift weapon but found nothing.

“You need to be laying down, or sitting at the very least.” The man said.

“Who the hell are you and where am I? Where are my friends and sister?” Ben demanded.

“I’m Lingard. You’re in Richmond.” He answered. “As for your group I don’t know.”

“Richmond?” Ben’s voice went up an octave in his shock. “No way are you experimenting on me, let me go back to my group!”

“Sit down and settle.” Lingard scolded. “You’ll work yourself up and make your effects worse, I’m sure you’re feeling dizzy.”

Now that it was mentioned, Dizziness hit Ben like a truck. He collapsed into a nearby chair, his limbs becoming sluggish; “What did you do to me…”

“You were given a couple sedatives on the trip here, but the side effects should wear off soon.” Lingard reached down to take hold of Ben’s arm. “Come on, back to your room so you can properly rest.

Ben didn’t have the strength to fight and let the man help him back to his room, leaning heavily on him. He fell back into bed and the man hooked him back up to the IV and heart rate monitor.

“I swear if anyone in my group was hurt or killed I’m killing everyone here.” Ben’s words didn’t have the bite he wanted them to as he slurred.

The man simply hummed as he checked over Ben’s vitals.

“I mean it.” Ben weakly glared. “It’s a threat and a promise.”

“I know.” Lingard dismissed the teen as he pulled out a notepad and wrote some stuff down.

Ben turned his head away from the man to stare at the ceiling. He mind started racing with ways to escape and figuring out how to get back to his group in Tennessee.

‘If they’re even still there.’ He thought to himself. ‘Maybe they’ll come save me. God I hope they’re okay.”

Drowsiness started to wrap around and was quickly dragging the teen into unconsciousness.

“You better not…be giving me anything.” He slurred as he closed his eyes.

He couldn’t make out Lingard’s response as everything went black.

—------

When Ben awoke again he could faintly make out people talking just outside his room, the door muffling the words before he could make them out. He slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position and noted he was no longer dizzy and sluggish, simply the usual grogginess from waking from a deep sleep.

The door clicked as it was opened with a soft squeak. Lingard and another man stepped in. There was a stark contrast between the two; while Lingard was dressed up more with a lab coat, Lonnie was more casual in his attire with jeans and muscle shirt.

Ben immediately recognized the man from the raid.

“You fucker, you attacked my group!” The teen practically growled.

“Just followin’ orders.” He said. “And I need to know if my theory is right.”

“Wait- you’re Lonnie?” Ben lunged forward only to be stopped by a sharp pain from the IV in his arm.

“If needed we will restrain you.” Lingard threatened.

“I like to see you try.” Ben spat. “You attacked my group and kidnapped me, I think I’m allowed to be angry.”

“Never said you weren’t.” Lonnie crossed his arms.

“You wanna experiment on me?” The teen said. “How ‘bout I do one of my own; I’ll bite you and see if you turn.”

Lingard left the room, returning a long moment later with two men. They came forwards and grabbed both of Ben’s arms. He trashed and struggled against the men’s too strong grip. No matter how much he fought, he couldn’t break free as they tossed him back on the bed and looped cloth and metal cuffs attached to the bed around both of his wrists and tightened them, effectively trapping him in bed.

“Thank you, Badger, Max.” Lingard said.

The two men just nodded and left, closing the door behind them.

“You bastards! I’ll kill every one of you!” Ben shouted, struggling against his restraints.

“Should we sedate him too?” Lonnie gestured to the IV standing next to the bed.

Lingard shook his head; “He’s had too many, anymore could do damage. We should just get ready to introduce him to David.”

Ben flopped back against his pillow and glowered at the men as they moved around the room. Lingard did most of the medical tasks while Lonnie assisted in small things, getting the doctor what he asked for and watching the teen like a hawke.

“Alright now we just need to do a small questionnaire.” Lingard addressed him after an hour. “Full first, middle and last name, along with your age and height.

“Benjamin Camron Paul, but I usually just go by Ben and I’m eighteen.” Ben answered, having given up on fighting for now yet still having a snap to his words. “I’m around six foot four, maybe six foot five. I don’t know, I don’t measure my height regularly.”

Lingard wrote the answers down in his notepad; “That’s all we need for now. Lonnie go get David and tell him we’re ready.”

Lonnie nodded and left the room. Nearly an hour passed in silence before the door opened again. A man who Ben assumed was David stepped in and studied the teen for a long time.

With a small unwelcoming smile he spoke; “Hello, Ben. Welcome to the New Frontier.”