Duck sat on the crate in front of the shed door that was currently keeping the walkers out, feeling the same ache in his heart he felt when his mom and dad left this world, a new wound adding to his collection. He was no stranger to heartbreak and death. The thing that made it worse was that every attempt Clementine and him made to keep the other alive was futile in the end! She was the one that was supposed to survive!

She was stronger than him and even he knew this! She knew much more about the world that he simply wanted to ignore! He wasn't supposed to be left alone again! It was selfish to think this, but if anything, he always thought he'd leave her first and had even wished to leave her first and not the other way around. Clementine was to survive longer than him. He was not supposed to be alive to feel this pain again!

Wetness pricked at his eyes, tears flowing freely as his heart thumped in his chest faster and faster. He could've saved her. He was supposed to protect her and she was supposed to do the same and this was all his fault! He could've checked behind him or grabbed her! He was selfish to think about saving himself. He was arrogant and he was never going to forgive himself. Not this time and defiantly not the next when, inevitably, he'd be the reason for another person's demise.

His breathing speed up gradually, getting faster and faster as his heart beat followed suit until he couldn't stop as his mind desperately tried to get him to calm down. Clementine was his one lifeline and now she wasn't here and she would never be here again! His last image of her was seeing her running with Pete. A bitten man who wouldn't be able to stop himself once the virus swallowed him whole.

He panted quickly and harshly, feeling like he was going to throw up and seating himself accordingly. He felt hands on his shoulders and almost immediately, he saw Nick kneel down in front of him with fear evident on his face. Fear that Duck was loosing it or fear more walkers would be attracted, Duck wasn't sure.

"Junior, come on! Snap out of it! Everything's gonna be okay, yeah? There's no reason to start panicking now. All we've gotta do is wait 'em out-"

"You don't get it!" Duck shouted at him, wondering just how much had to happen before Nick caught up to what is actually happening with Clem and Pete. "God, I wish I could tell you much more gently and approach it much more carefully but goddamn it, Nick!" He shouted, squeezing his eyes shut and shying away from Nick's questioning, worried gaze. "I'm so sorry.... I'm so sorry...."

"What's wrong, Junior? I know we're not close at all but you gotta tell me,"

"..Your uncle... He got... bit... and.... and Clem.... I'm sorry.." Duck could barely get the words out as he looked at Nick. Anxiety racked his brain as he watched the man process what he said. He didn't know how he'd react. Would he throw him out of the shed? Would he go into a rage?

Instead, Nick rubbed his hands up and down Duck's arms and patted him on the shoulder before standing and making his way to the other side of the shed, slumping into a corner with a face devoid of emotion. They both lost their lifelines today but at least, and Duck was sorry to say, but at least Nick's got friends in that cabin that can help him through this. To Duck, he felt as if he'd been stranded with a bunch of people that didn't truly care if he lived or died.

With Clementine, he could make sure she was okay and she would make sure he was. They mutually cared. They were each other's attachment to the outside world. The one thing that kept them praying to live another day. No matter how much he wanted to be optimistic, he knew she was the only reason he just didn't die already. Dependency was a bitch but what did he expect? His mother, his father, the whole gang and now Clementine. If he didn't know any better, he'd consider himself a bad omen.

Duck closed his eyes, having enough of today's stress and hoping that it was a dream. Hoping that when he went to sleep, that the real world finally showed itself. Wishful thinking but it was all he had left. That was enough to make him force himself to relax and slow his breathing to go to sleep faster. Real life was much more terrible than any nightmare he was bound to have.

—————————————

The sound of broken glass slowly made Duck wake up. His vision blurry from sleep before slowly adjusting and seeing glass jars being thrown from the other side of the shed. He got up, slowly approaching Nick as he did. The man was obviously drunk or at least tipsy but Duck couldn't care less on that fact. What he did care for, however, was attracting the walkers after they've already lost interest, evident from how the door isn't being banged on anymore.

"Hey, Nick, what're you doing?" He decided to whisper, making the man shake his head slowly.

"Nothin' really. Making the pain go away, I guess. Ha.... I thought I was through with this. My ma already gave me a broken heart. Now Pete..." Nick looked at Duck, seeing the confused expression on his face before giving a breathy laugh. "Ah, haha, I didn't tell ya that huh? Well, my ma got bit an' left this world. Funny thing is, she looked as if she just accepted it. Bitten by someone in the same situation as Clementine when she arrived. Except they didn't have a friend with 'em,"

There was a long pause before Nick spoke again. "You ever had to kill your mom..?"

"No but I slowed my mom down, which got her bit and turned into a walker. Dad had to shoot her,"

"...You know, I'm sure if your ma was here, she'd say that you didn't slow her down. Moms are like that, ya know? Always makin' ya feel better and makin' sure you're okay. She'd make sure to say that, I think,"

"...sure," Duck responded, not wanting an argument on the matter of whether or not he was truly responsible. There was another pause before Nick offered a jar to Duck.

"Ya want some? Moonshine,"

"No thanks. I'm not really big on that. That stuff tastes kinda bad to me," Duck said, recalling a time with Lily's dad. Alcohol isn't really his forte, he learned that day.

"We're gonna die. Might as well be drunk while we're dyin', right?" Nick said, making Duck narrow his eyes at him.

"We're not gonna die,"

"Bullshit,"

"It's true. We're gonna get back to the cabin and-"

"Kid, I know you don't really got anything to go back to. I know you don't wanna do anything but sit here and waste away but you know what?" Nick waited for an answer that never came before he continued. "The fact that you still need to make it outta here shows you've got some sorta spirit. Shows you wanna continue with or without a friend. I wish I was like you sometimes," Nick finished, standing and making his way to the shed's door. "Let's go then,"

Duck stood next to him, moving the crate away from the door and slowly moving it out of the way before opening the door and surveying the area. He nodded to Nick, snaking his way through the door's gap and sneaking through the open field, hiding behind a tree as he made it. He nodded to Nick again, giving him the go ahead. He watched as Nick made it halfway but tripped, alerting a walker nearby and causing Nick to hit it over the head with a moonshine bottle. Suddenly more and more walkers were attracted.

Duck was ready to help before he heard Nick's voice calling him. "Junior, don't you dare come over here! Go to the cabin! I'll be alright! Go!" He shouted as he fought his way back to the shed, forcing Duck to turn his back and run to the cabin, not allowing himself to look back and instead hoping to get help from Nick's group.

—————————————

Duck stumbled his way through the door in the kitchen, pausing as he was met with the stares of Rebecca and Carlos.

"Duck? Where's Luke? And Alvin? Where is everybody?" She asked him, making Duck swallow a nervous lump in his throat before responding.

"Nick's in a shed somewhere, I didn't know Luke and Alvin wasn't here and Clem's somewhere with a bitten Pete!" Duck explained in one breathe, making Rebecca sigh.

"Luke went looking for you! Clementine made her way back here before you but... we didn't know about Pete..." Carlos said, looking at Rebecca when she turned sharply to him.

"We need to go looking for Luke and Alvin! We can't just sit back now!"

"Wait a moment-"

"My husband is out there! This is not a debate, Carlos!"

Carlos went to grab the guns, handing one to Rebecca before turning to Duck. "Can you keep an eye on the girls? I hate to ask but it's just..."

"Sure,"

"Thank you," Carlos said, leaving without another word. Suddenly Duck felt small in the house. Did Clem get bit at all? There was no way he'd be able to shoot her, not after what kind of emotional turmoil he just went through. If Sarah got bit by Clem, he'd have to shoot both and he knew what would happen to him if he killed them.

He slowly ascended the stairs, taking a deep breath as he got closer to Sarah's room. His anxieties only grew as he took the doorknob in his hand, turning it and bracing himself for whatever scene unfolded. Surprise took over him as he was met with a flash that nearly blinded him, making him jump back slightly and blink a couple times to see normally again.

"Hey! Duck, right? This is going in the album as our first time meeting," The girl he assumed as Sarah said smiling at him and putting the Polaroid down on her nightstand. Duck entered the room, closing the door and not looking up. He didn't know why, but he didn't know if he wanted to know if Clementine was in this room or not.

"Duck?" A familiar voice called out to him, making him nearly bust into tears as he heard her voice. It was the most comforting, yet terrifying sound he ever heard. It made his legs feel weak and he wanted nothing more than to collapse on the floor. Almost as soon as she said his name, Clementine came in front of him, putting her hands on both of his arms, almost as if she were trying to hold him up. Finally Duck looked at her, her worried gaze making him feel guilty.

Clementine's eyebrows were furrowed, her eyes were shining and her face was dirty. She smelled faintly of cigarette smoke and she looked tired. He noticed her heavy breathing and assumed that she had been panicking almost as badly as he had when she didn't know where he was. He could almost imagine her coming back to the cabin and hearing that he had not come back yet. That message might as well of been saying that he died.

Duck mustered up all he had to smile at her, making his hand move to brush whatever grime he could from her face. "Hey, Clem..." It sounded like a weak greeting, he knew, but he couldn't speak up any more. Duck gave a breathy laugh as he patted her shoulder and bowed his head slightly. "You know.... I didn't like that. Let's never do that again..."

"Not if I can help it. I didn't know what would happen to you.... I didn't know what would happen to me!" Clementine said, making Duck give her a small smile.

"Did you know about Pete?"

"...Yeah..."

"And you followed him anyways.."

"I.... I uh... didn't really think, you know?"

"I want you to think from now on," Duck said, loosing his smile and trying to look as harsh as he could. "I don't need you dying and you could've easily died being stuck in the forest with him,"

"That's the plan for now on. Don't need you telling me," Clem said with a smile before having Sarah interject.

"I'm sorry but what happened to Pete?" She asked, forcing Clementine and Duck to share a glance at each other, neither knowing whether or not the girl truly knew the depth of the situation or not.

"Nothing really. I'm sure your father will explain everything to you once he gets back," Clementine said but it didn't look like Sarah bought it. Sarah grabbed her other arm and rubbed it nervously, shifting her feet. Things were silent for a moment before a shadow made its presence from outside. Sarah caught it first, going to the window to look.

"That must be Luke!" She exclaimed before going out the door with Clementine and Duck following closely behind only to see her backing from the front door cautiously as knocks came from it. "That's... that's not Luke..." She turned to Clementine, worry on her face. "Clementine, that's not Luke! I... I... You've gotta make him go away! Please!" Sarah panicked.

Clementine looked to Duck as he nodded to her and grabbed Sarah's arm gently. "We've gotta find a hiding spot for you,"

"What about you?"

"If he's here for anyone, it's not gonna be us," Duck said, dragging Sarah with him as he vanished out of Clementine's sight. She took a deep breath as she faced the door and looked at the lock, reaching for it before the man entered the house on his own accord.

"Hey there," The stranger said. The tone didn't sound right, almost as if he were trying really hard to be friendly and not scare her but there was an unmistakable growl in his tone. It hinted a bit of danger, making Clementine swallow harshly before responding.

"Hello," She said, making sure her expression was civil but able to tell him to go away.

"How are ya?"

"Okay. You?"

"Well I'm doin' just fine, thank you. My family and I are set up just a ways down the river I'm... kinda surprised we haven't run into each other yet. What's your name?" He asked, putting Clementine on edge. This stranger was too chatty, opting for small talk instead of getting to the point in this god forsaken apocalypse. You didn't have time for small talk which meant one thing: He wanted something from her and he wanted her to trust him first.

"Clementine," She said, having no time to think of and choose a fake name.

"Clementine. Well, you look just like a Clementine," The man said, making Clementine have to force down an eye roll. She needed the man gone if anything, everything about the man from the way he stood to the way he spoke threw her off. She didn't trust that there'd be any good in him being here. "Mind if I come in, Clementine? I've been out all morning and this heats got me cooked," He said, gently pushing her out of his way anyways as he entered the house.

"Could you please leave?" Clementine asked, having no patience in her to stand his taking attitude. He ignored her request however, opting to scan the area and smiled at her.

"This is a nice place. Anyone else around?" That was a question she knew was a tricky one. She didn't exactly know if Duck was hiding or not but she couldn't very well tell this man she was alone either.

"My friend, Duck,"

"Duck? You call them that?"

"His parents did. It's just a nickname,"

"I see. Where is he?"

"Somewhere around,"

"What's he look like?"

"Why do you care?" Clementine was becoming impatient quickly, not enjoying the interrogation and frankly hating the rudeness that this man was giving to her.

"I'll cut to the chase: I'm looking for my people. Seven, to be exact. I was wondering if this Duck was one of them but I don't think so. They've been gone a long while and I'm worried they might've gotten lost. Maybe you've seen 'em. Couple of farm boys and an old man... Spanish guy and his daughter. Quiet girl, a bit taller than you. Big black guy and a pretty little pregnant lady,"

Clementine was not a stupid girl. This man knew the group was holding up in this cabin. She knew he must've been tracking them down and she knew he would know if she were lying. But Clementine was also not going to rat out her new group if there was a sliver of a hope he didn't know. "I haven't seen them," She said, shaking her head and having an unbeatable poker face that she's perfected throughout the years.

"Well that's a shame. You sure?" There was a low grumble in his last sentence that told her all her assumptions were true.

"Pretty sure," She said, crossing her arms with an unfaltering gaze. He didn't seem to accept her answer as he looked around and turned to the kitchen door, opening it and entering the kitchen.

"Looks like a damn tornado ran through here. I thought you said there was one other person,"

"I said there was one other person in the house with me. I never said we were the only two here ever," Clementine corrected him, leaning on the kitchen island and glancing at the knife. It'd be wise to kill him, she knew but for some reason, she couldn't. The thought of killing this living, breathing man when he's done nothing but be nosy wasn't one she enjoyed.

"Hmm. Just passing through or you been here a while?" He asked. Clementine glanced at the knife again, only to have him pick it up himself and present it to her. "Where does this go?"

Clementine kept quiet for a moment before he moved on his own accord. "Um I'll take it..." She said but the man opened the first drawer he saw and shoved it in there. He then exited the kitchen, Clementine following close behind him.

"Well this is a real nice place. Kinda cozy," He said, continuing on before stopping to look at a shirt draped over the living room chair. "I knew a guy that always wore shirts like this. Doctor,"

"What happened to him?" Clementine said, feigning innocence before he turned to her again.

"Let's just say we had our differences. Sooner or later, people close to you will find a way to cross you. Happens every time," The man said, almost making Clementine become angry. She couldn't help but have Duck's face flash in her mind for a moment. She knew the boy for the longest time, she knew that he'd never hurt her intentionally, not unless she were doing something morally wrong. She wanted to correct this guy and say that just because it happened to him doesn't mean it will her but she kept her mouth shut, knowing that that wouldn't solve anything. A creak from upstairs caught their attention, making the man look up. "What was that?"

"It's probably Duck," Clementine said, thing to ease the man's worries in hopes that he went away as soon as possible. The man shook his head.

"I don't know. I think we'll have to take a look. Make sure it's not some sort of intruder," She could almost laugh at the irony the man presented on himself. He was the only intruder here. He unholstered his gun and cautiously made his way up the stairs.

"Hey, don't shoot unless you're positive. I don't want you shooting my friend," Clementine said as she followed him.

"You have my word," The man said as he made it to the second floor. He went to the first room he saw, aiming his pistol as he did and scanned the room. Duck looked at them from his position at the window, raising his hands in surrender as he did.

"Heya, Clem. Who's your friend?" He said in a casual tone that she knew had a hint of uneasiness.

"I'm assuming you're Duck,"

"Aw, you talked about me,"

"Don't get a big head," Clementine said, giving her companion a mock glare before she looked at the man again. "I told you, it's only Duck,"

"Seems that way. I didn't mean to be rude. I couldn't just leave you here with a good conscience if someone was just poking around, right?" He said, only rubbing the irony deeper as he spoke.

"Sure..." She said, crossing her arms again. The man started walking again, only to bend down and pick up the photo that she had taken earlier of Sarah.

"Who's this?" He said with an all knowing smirk. Clementine glared at him, looking at the photo as she did.

"I don't know. It was here when my group came here. We didn't want to throw it away, we're a very sentimental bunch," Clementine said, taking the photo from his hands gently and setting it on the nightstand almost as if to prove her that point a little more.

There was a silence as he glanced between Clementine and Duck. "Neither of you know who there people are, do you?" He asked, an edge to his voice as he did. Duck looked uneasily at Clementine, staying silent as he looked at her, hoping that she'd continue whatever bullshit lie she said downstairs.

"Do you know them?" Clementine asked, opting to turn the tables on him before he responded with a question of his own.

"Let me ask you this: When you met them, how much did they trust you?" The man asked, almost challenging Clementine to tell another lie. She stayed quiet, giving him another glare and a challenge of her own. "If they don't trust you, how can you trust them?" He asked, letting a silence fall between the three of them before letting out a sigh. "Well, I think I've troubled you guys long enough. I can let myself out," He said, pushing passed Clementine to get to the front door.

"Don't come back," She said after him.

"You have a real good day now," He said, letting himself out the front door. Sarah crawled from under the bed, taking Duck's hand as she did and looking out the window with Clementine.

"Where is he?" She asked, rubbing her arm nervously.

"He's gone," Clementine said, glaring out the window as if he could see her.

"What if he comes back,"

"Well, then we'd have to fight," Duck said, catching the attention of the girls. "That is, if he is aggressive the next time!" He added on quickly, suddenly nervous with the attention.

"You're right, though, Duck. We'd have to fight," Clementine said, looking at Sarah as she did. She made her way downstairs, sitting on the couch with her two friends in tow.

——————-

It had been hours. The group hadn't come back and now Clementine was getting worried. Duck and Sarah sat across from one another playing chess, though Clementine was sure that Duck was only playing to keep Sarah's mind off of how long her father had been gone. He wasn't fond of the game in itself. Clementine sighed, grabbing Duck by his arm and smiling at Sarah.

"Can I borrow him for a moment?"

"Sure! I have to think of a way to beat him anyways," Sarah said, giving her a smile in return as she studied the board. Clementine dragged Duck to the kitchen, her smile dropping as she did.

"They've been gone for a while. We have to go look for them,"

"We can't, Clem! We have to stay and watch Sarah,"

"Duck, it's been a long time. We have to-" The kitchen door opened mid-sentence, showing the familiar face of Luke and the rest of the gang minus Nick.

"Clementine!" He exclaimed.

"Sarah!" Carlos said, giving his daughter a hug as she appeared in the kitchen at the sound of the door.

"Duck! You were with Nick, right? We have to go find him," Luke said, only to be briefly ignored when Sarah's small voice spoke up.

"A man was here,"

"What?!" Carlos exclaimed, striking uneasiness into both Clementine's and Duck's soul.

"What did she say?"

"Someone came to the cabin!" Sarah said, explaining further. "Clementine talked to him,"

"And you just opened the door for him?" Rebecca accused, causing Clem to glare at her.

"No! I tried to lock it but he barged in here like he owned the place before I could!" She defended herself, feeling the weight of attention almost crushing her.

"Did he say his name? Did he say what his name was?" Carlos asked, fear evident in his voice as he talked to her.

"I didn't catch his name," Clementine said.

"What? So you didn't ask?"

"He was a stranger in the house with a gun. I know because he trained it on me. I'm sure that asking his name maybe would've made him just a little bit mad, Rebecca. Clementine tried her best to get him to leave as quickly as she could. This is no time to turn against her, since I'm sure you would've taken the same precautions if you were in her shoes," Duck said, making sure that Clementine did not turn into the enemy in this situation.

"Tell us what he looked like," Carlos said, referring to Clementine and trying to diffuse any and all anger.

"His voice was gravelly,"

"How?"

"Kinda deep and scratchy,"

"He talked about you, dad," Sarah said, notifying her father of what made her most uneasy. "You won't hurt anyone will you?"

"Of course he won't, Sarah. Your dads the nicest man I know which is why he's not going to do anything crazy or not nice, right?" Luke said, making sure Carlos got the jest. Carlos put his hand on Sarah's shoulder before he spoke.

"You know these are bad people, sweetie. They will do or say anything to hurt us," Carlos said, making Sarah hang her head in defeat.

"What do you think? Did he seem like he'd be coming back?" Luke asked Clementine gently.

"He saw a picture of me," Sarah said, making Clementine want nothing more than for her to stop sharing everything that happened.

"A picture?! What were you doing taking pictures?!" Carlos scolded.

"Carlos,"

"What?!"

"You need to calm down. You're scarin' your daughter," Luke said, keeping a level head in the situation.

"He was scouting. He wasn't expecting to find us and Clementine must've surprised him. He'll be back with the rest, so we don't have much time," Carlos said.

"He's right. Everyone pack up, we're movin' out," Luke said.

"What does he want?" Clementine questioned, seeing the fear in everyone's eyes as she did.

"To bring us back," Carlos answered, dread covering his tone. "I don't know what he told you, but William Carver is a dangerous man. He is very smart. We were lucky to escape. I'm so sorry to involve you both but now that he's seen you, you'll be safer with us," Carlos said, an order more than a request.

"We've gotta grab Nick on the way. You know where he is, right?" Luke said, looking at Duck as he did.

"Yeah," Duck said, a sigh in his tone. He didn't want to know what had happened to Nick after he left. The scene didn't look all too pretty for him but he couldn't let them leave Nick behind if he were alive either. He just hoped he wasn't blamed for another death.

"Alright. Everyone move out! We're leaving!"

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A/N: I am so sorry!!! I wasn't trying to ignore this book! I just forgot about it!