Chapter Text
I didn’t know safety would make me feel guilty.
Safety hurts more than danger itself. Especially after all that has happened.
How did we get here?
How did everyone manage to die so fast?
How did everything fall apart so quickly?
We lost all of our friends, dead or alive – or just… gone.
So many people died for me and Louis to get here.
So many people could’ve lived to see the gates of Wellington. All because of stupid Carver. It’s all Carver’s fault. But it’s my own too. Luke died because of my actions. Louis could’ve gotten hurt because of my recklessness. We were lucky we managed to get out together, now with a baby under our care, we have to work extra hard to keep all of us safe.
But we’re stronger together, right?
꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦
The air felt cold, colder than winter. Like oxygen biting into their skin and the wind gnawing at them, whispering into their ears and tickling their hair. Every step they took, their feet froze then sunk into the snow. But each one felt heavier than the last, like chains wrapped around their ankles that forced them to drag their feet.
It’s all your fault. They died because of you… Guilt hissed in their ears. It only made the imaginary chains tighter around their cold skin, guilt weighing their pacing.
That guilt felt familiar to her; almost part of her, that feeling stuck to the back of both of their heads like an impulsive wasp.
Two children walked side by side, a boy with dreadlocks and a brown trucker hat. His freckled, youthful face slick with tears no matter how much he wiped away his face.
A shorter girl with curly pigtails and a blue baseball hat walked by him. She held a baby wrapped in a green blanket in her arms, bundled up close to her chest to battle the cold. The younger girl struggled back any other stray tears, the sides of her eyes were red from sobbing.
The gates closed behind them, sealing them off from the outside world and in the walls of Wellington.
Clementine couldn’t bother wiping away her tears, her eyes were half lidded and tired. Louis constantly wiped his red eyes, tears continuously pouring as he sobbed. The boy wore Kenny’s hat, the last thing the man had given him before departing.
Louis gripped onto Clementine’s sleeve as they walked through, Clementine moved closer to the point their shoulders were brushing. The woman paced behind them, giving them their space. The woman, Edith, saddened at the crying children. It must have been really hard for them to leave someone they care about. Especially after having to walk all this way for however long.
From the looks of it, the two children genuinely cared about Kenny.
It truly pained her heart.
Watching them discuss whether to stay here or leave pained her heart. Especially seeing little children cry this much. She wondered how long they were together if it really felt this bad. Hopefully Kenny could come back in a few months, they should have more room by then. But in the meantime, these kids can finally live normally instead of surviving for a while.
After passing through the gate, they stood in a moderate area with a few guards, medics and some members nearby. All the guards held rifles tightly, some wore bullet proof vests or helmets.
They entered a small rural part of Wellington, the rest of the community sealed off by a chained fence barricaded with scraps of metal and cloth. Even when they were registering with the help of Edith, the woman at the gate, getting checked for bites and injuries, and waiting to be accepted; they remained gloomy and quiet.
Even Louis, who often is always trying to light the mood and is such a chatter box, was silent. Sitting in a near-empty medical tent in the section, with a medic re-bandaging his hand while another one is checking the baby. The boy stared blankly at the floor, his eyes red from crying while he held the baby close.
Even though Clementine was across from him, her side was shielded off by a medical screen. Her quiet winces and grunts from the pain of medics cleaning her gunshot wound in her shoulder. On the other side, she sat tensed, a female medic continued to clean her wound. Using gauze to wipe off any blood, then applying some ointment Clementine didn’t recognize and applying it to her injury.
“I’m gonna wrap this up, okay, sweetie?” Clementine nodded absently. She felt the bandages wrap around her shoulder, and some extra ones wrapping around her middle, “This is so the bandages don’t fall apart, okay? Alright, you’re all set.”
Clementine slipped back on her shirts and jacket, “Thanks.”
Then, it continued on with no conversation left to be continued. They trailed closely behind Edith as she toured the two children around.
The East and West residences are where they’ll be staying, Edith had said. East is for our singles and new arrivals, sometimes it’s for people who aren’t staying long but that’s rare. Edith had told them.
The east residence would be to their right as they walked through the place, it consisted of tents, very few shipping containers, some cars and even trailers. The woman explained that it was more like public dorms and that many of them had roommates for the bigger homes with up to 4 occupants.
The west residence would be on their left, consisting of numerous shipping containers with some stacked on each other, stacked ones consisting of ladders of some sort or items like unusable cars to be used as stairs. Some had sheds, others had more specific types like he sheds or she sheds. And very few tents on either ends of the residence, even for both sides.
Edith said this was for families, small groups and long term.
Edith told them she’ll show them to their housing after she finishes the tour.
Then, she led them to the main square. It appeared to be the biggest part yet, it had a rough rectangle-ish shape to it. Clearly shoveled paths faced in numerous directions with signs, RESIDENCES, SHOOTING RANGE, WORK ZONE, MEDICAL FIELD, ADMIN BUILDING. Their eyes widened at the sight of numerous survivors just going on about their days. Real life people. Not dead or injured. Unharmed!
No walkers amongst them.
Neither the stench or traces of the human guts torn apart.
Not a person screaming for their life or on the verge of death.
At least they have something to boost their morale!
There appeared to be notice signs on some of the paths, close enough to read, far enough to not block anything. In the very middle, there was some sort of raised grounding. Four crates on each corner raise a pallet platform, wooden steps on each side and a podium at the top.
On the edges of the main square were lit up fire barrels, good enough for warmth. Near the outer edges of the square had benches for resting. Further away, numerous feet behind the platform had 3 long foldable tables beneath a canopy tent. Edith explained to them about where the rations were and how it worked. The first, the left one, was for singles and mainly adults. The second, the middle, was for families. And the third, the one on the far right, was for the children.
They apparently classified as children according to the admins.
As they toured around Wellington, she showed them the shooting range; a rural area to this place full of targets and chests with guns and ammo. The working station was just to the left of the square, hiding behind a bunch of “buildings”. It’s where most of the members apparently get their shifts, some volunteer or work there most of the time.
Edith told them about the admins, she only gave them a glimpse of the building because a rule around Wellington says to not go to the admin building without a purpose or an emergency. But to Louis, that said stay out and don’t bother us.
But now, in the present, the woman leads them back to the west residences. Louis and Clementine walked just a step or two behind, the trio made a stop in front of a door to a shipping container, “Welcome–” Edith pulled the door open, revealing what’s inside, “To your new home! Take a look inside.” she announced cheerfully.
Clementine took a step inside, then Louis entered along with her.
This was… actually pretty decent for a home inside a life-sized container. It had two shelves on the further end, a lantern sitting on one of the shelves, boxes and chests in the corner. A small desk on the side, two beds next to each other and a carpet on the ground.
“Thank god we found this place,” Edith sighed, “It was actually supposed to be a music festival before it went down, which definitely explains why our headquarters, or admin building is mostly made up of a…” the woman’s voice faded away, noticing the two.
Louis held Kenny’s hat in his hands, his cold hands trembling. The two of them stared at the hat, which was in fairly decent condition.
“Look… I’m sorry,” Edith mumbled, catching the two kids’ attention. She hunched down, her hands on her knees, “Maybe your friend will be back in a few months. But right now, we’re stuck with a few community issues and believe me, I didn’t want this either. But let’s just keep our heads up high, okay? Maybe it’ll get better and Kenny will come back.”
Edith smiled warmly at them, “We just have to be patient,” she added. “So, turn that frown upside down, eh?”
Louis and Clementine exchanged looks, the boy placed Kenny’s cap on his head silently before they looked towards Edith. Louis cracked a weak smile, “That’s supposed to be my line,”
Edith’s lips quivered into a meek expression, she stood up straight, clapping her hands against the sides of her thighs with a sigh, “Well… Uhm… I’ll give you three some space, okay? I’ll come get you when it’s rations hour.”
Edith spun on her heel, exiting herself out of their home, leaving the three alone.
Louis let out a shaky sigh, took a few steps back and collapsed on one of the beds. Down casting his gaze to the hard ground, he kicked his legs up onto the bed and flopped onto his back, staring at the ceiling wide-eyed.
“Oh, this bed feels great…” he moaned, he felt his tense muscles relax into the bed.
But he felt so guilty feeling like this.
When Kenny is still out there.
Alone. Fending for himself.
“What are we gonna do?” Clementine murmured, she slowly sat down next to him. Her eyes gave off a hazel-gold glow and they downcasted to AJ.
The boy raised a brow, he sat up, giving a glance to the back of her head, “What do you mean?”
“I mean what are we supposed to do now that we’re here?” Clementine frowned, “We just left Kenny out there. I know it was what he wanted, but I feel like we did something wrong. I feel like coming here wasn’t a smart choice… But maybe it’s just me being selfish. I did this all for AJ and you, not for me.”
Louis shifted closer to her, his legs swinging off the mattress, “Then why bring us here?”
Her eyes cast to the ground, “Christa told us to. Then Kenny encouraged it. I just thought we could all be together again. But Christa isn’t even here, and Kenny’s out there somewhere,” she replied, “And with AJ and you, I thought it would keep the both of you okay here… I wish I knew better before thinking about these things.”
Clementine shifted AJ in her arms, the boy next to her saddened, she looked up at him. Sad round eyes that made his heart ache, “What if he doesn’t come back? What if I just ruined everything..?”
He softly grazed his hand on her closest shoulder, “Clem. The best thing you could do was do the right thing,” he says, slowly, “You didn’t ruin anything, that would be my job,” he added with humor, but it deemed as a failed attempt judging from her reaction, “Just like what Edith said, maybe we’ll see Kenny again! You never know,”
Clementine nodded slowly.
“Besides, there’s stuff we can do here. Wellington is worth it! We can uhm… Oh, learn how to drive! Make friends and also help AJ make friends! We can help out here in one way or another,” he continued.
“I guess so… I hope we’re doing the right thing,” she murmured, “I don’t want anyone to die, especially not you two…”
“No one is going to die here, not while we’re here anyways.”
She looked up, gazing at the far wall, “No one will die here, not anymore.” she said in a serious, determined tone Louis always recognized.
Louis’ eyes became rounder, chocolate with a black pit in the middle staring back into the vibrant glistening gold. He cracked a tiny smile, “That’s the spirit!” his other hand grabbed onto hers, lifting up her spare arm, “We’ll make the best of it while we’re here!”
Clementine nodded quietly, “Kenny wanted this and… and he’d like to see us happy a-and safe!” continued Louis.
“Yeah. Happy and safe.” She repeats quietly. Louis flashed her a smile. Interrupting them, the sound of knocking could be heard from their door, catching their attention. The two looked at each other then back to the door, Louis stood up and strode to the door.
“Oh, hi miss Edith,” he waved.
The woman smiled lightly, “Hello. You and the other two aren’t falling asleep right? ‘Cause rations start in three.”
“Oh, no, we're still awake. We’ll be out in a minute.” Louis replied.
“Alright. Be quick,”
He gently closed the door shut and glanced at Clementine, they held eye contact for a few moments. The girl stood up, AJ groaned from the sudden movement. The two stood at the door before Louis opened it up again, letting Clementine through.
He stepped out, closing the door shut behind him.
Click.
****
”Leave all your love and longing behind
You can’t carry it with you if you want to survive.”
Dog Days Are Over — Florence + The Macchine