Marlon scans the group, then frowns. "Rosie! Where the hell is she? You give her her weapon back?"
Clementine draws her knife without hesitation.
Marlon nods. "Good. We're gonna need you to put it to use. We've got a hunting party out there trying to get back inside. Need our help to clear the way. Seems to be a few more than usual these last couple days."
Violet scoffs, sharp. "It's almost like something drew their attention. Something like... I don't know... an explosion. Or a car crash."
Marlon shoots her a look. "Vi..."
She shrugs, unrepentant. "What? Just saying. There's gotta be some explanation."
Rhett cuts in, voice flat. "She's not wrong." His glare lands on Clementine. "The idiot here can't even drive, apparently. Went and crashed loud enough to wake the dead. Literally."
Clementine bristles. "Look, I didn't know any of that was gonna happen. Sorry if it caused you guys problems."
Rhett takes a slow sip from his flask. "Sorry isn't gonna send the walkers away."
Louis, ever the peacemaker, clears his throat. "Ahem. 'Hello, Clementine. I'm Violet. Nice to meet you.'"
Violet rolls her eyes but plays along. "What he said."
Willy shifts nervously, gripping his spear. "Alright, boys and girls. They're starting to fill in!"
Violet adjusts her grip on her knife. "Come on."
Marlon hesitates, then nods. "Be careful out there."
The forest is a tangle of shadows and snarling teeth. Violet moves with practiced ease, slicing through walkers with quick, efficient strikes. Beside her, Marlon fires bolts into the fray.
But Rhett? He's not fighting.
He's running ahead, shoving past walkers, eyes scanning the underbrush.
Rosie.
Louis sidles up to Clementine, brandishing his nail-studded chair leg. "Don't mind Violet. She, uh... grows on you. I promise."
Clementine glances at him. "And the guy?"
Louis winces. "Rhett? Well... uh... I can't say. I kind of like his bluntness, though." He twirls his weapon—"Chairles"—with a grin. "Oh, this? It's a chair leg. I call it 'Chairles.'"
Then he's off, joining the others.
Clementine steps outside the gate, closing it behind her. AJ runs up, small hands gripping the bars.
"Clem? Lemme help!"
She softens just a little. "I need you to watch my back. Call out from inside if you see anything. Cool?"
AJ nods, serious. "Okay..."
Clementine: "See you on the other side."
The gate clangs shut.
(Violet's POV)
We cut through the walkers like they're nothing—well, most of us do. Rhett's movements are stiff, like every swing of his machete is a distraction from what he really wants to be doing. But even he can't ignore the herd pressing in.
By the time we reach the bridge, my arms are aching. Aasim, Brody, and Mitch are there, rabbits dangling from their belts.
"Nice timing," I say, wiping walker gunk off my knife. "We're not gonna be able to hold them off much longer."
Brody looks jumpy, eyes darting around. "No kidding. Where'd all these walkers come from?"
Marlon doesn't even glance at Clementine, but we all know the answer. "We can talk when we're back inside the gates. Keep an eye out for stragglers."
I side-eye Clementine. She's holding her own, at least. "You know, you're not half bad. Considering the circumstances and all..."
She nods, breathing hard. "Thanks."
"Let's finish these guys off," I say. "We don't need them attracting more walkers back to the school."
We take down a few more. Aasim grumbles as he yanks arrows out of rotting skulls. "Piece of shit. I hate this cleanup bullshit."
Then it happens.
A walker—one we missed—lunges from the bushes and grabs him.
"What the fu—? AHH!"
Clementine moves fast, driving her knife into its skull. But the damn thing backhands her before it dies, sending her stumbling. Another one grabs her—
Then a blur of fur tackles it.
Rosie.
The dog crushes the walker's head in her jaws like it's nothing.
Rhett's across the clearing in seconds. His face—shit, I haven't seen him smile like that in... ever. He kills the walker still twitching under Rosie, then drops to his knees, grabbing her scruff.
"You goddamn idiot," he mutters, but he's grinning. "Where the hell were you?"
Rosie just licks his face, tail wagging.
Then I notice Clementine.
She's shaking.
Not from the fight—from Rosie.
Rhett sees it too. His smile vanishes.
For a second, I think he's gonna say something. But he just stands, gives Rosie a rough pat, and turns away. "Let's go."
No snark. No lecture. Just... done.
He stalks off toward the school without another word, Rosie trotting beside him.
And Clementine?
She watches him go, and I can practically see her stock dropping in his eyes.
Scared of Rosie?
Yeah. That's a death sentence in Rhett's world.
******
Before Clem and AJ was rescued...
It's been almost a year since we last spoke. A whole damn year of silence, of passing each other like ghosts in the hallway, of pretending the other doesn't exist.
I'm not angry anymore. Not really.
But I'm not about to admit that.
Sometimes, though, his words still echo in my head. "You didn't crawl into my bed 'cause you were drunk. You did it 'cause you wanted to feel something that wasn't grief."
And the worst part? He wasn't wrong.
I still feel a twinge of guilt when I remember how I almost slapped him. Would've, too, if he hadn't leaned back like he saw it coming from a mile away. Even drunk, the bastard's reflexes are annoyingly sharp.
I watch him now from across the courtyard, crouched by the old picnic table, feeding Rosie bits of fish. He must've just come back from the river—his boots are still damp, his sleeves rolled up past his elbows. Half a bucket of fish sits beside him, glinting silver in the afternoon light.
Of course he caught more than anyone else. He always does.
He picks out a herringbone with careful fingers before tossing the meat to Rosie. She snaps it up midair, tail thumping against the ground.
Then—because Rhett's Rhett—he peels off one boot and uses his foot to scratch behind her ears.
"Hands got fish juice on 'em," I can practically hear him grumbling.
Rosie doesn't care. She leans into the touch, eyes half-lidded in bliss.
I don't realize I'm staring until he glances up.
Our eyes meet.
For a second, neither of us moves. Then he looks away, like I'm just another part of the scenery.
I should walk over. Say something. Anything.
But I don't.
Instead, I turn and head inside, leaving him to his fish and his dog and his stubborn, self-imposed solitude.
Some things don't change.
And maybe neither do we.
(Rhett's POV)
The little shit elbowed Marlon.
That's the first thing I saw after sitting down under the oak tree. How AJ damn near cracked Marlon's ribs just because he had the audacity to walk up behind him. And now? Now Clementine's parading the brat around the courtyard like some kind of fucking apology tour, talking to everyone like he's some misunderstood saint instead of the feral gremlin he is.
I lean back against the oak tree, fingers idly scratching behind Rosie's ears. She's dead asleep, her big head heavy on my thigh, snoring like an old chainsaw. Good. At least one of us is getting some peace today.
I watch from under the shade as Clementine drags AJ from one group to another. The little shit apologizes to Ruby, and the saint she is, she accepts. And now—fuck me—they're heading this way.
I exhale through my nose, tipping my flask back for a swig. Maybe if I don't move, they'll think I'm part of the tree.
No such luck.
Clementine stops a few feet away, arms crossed. AJ stands beside her, scowling at the ground like it personally offended him.
"What d'you want?" I mutter, not bothering to look up.
Rosie twitches in her sleep but doesn't wake. Thank Christ for small mercies.
Clementine nudges AJ forward. The kid doesn't budge.
"We're talking to everyone," she says, like that explains anything.
"Thrilling."
She ignores the sarcasm. "Were you a student here? Before?"
I glance at her, then back at Rosie. "Yeah."
"How long?"
"Long enough."
AJ kicks a pebble. "This is stupid."
Finally, something we agree on.
Clementine shoots him a look before turning back to me. "He's working on it."
"Mm." I don't bother hiding my disbelief.
She shifts, clearly annoyed. "You got any advice?"
"Yeah. Keep him on a leash."
AJ glares. Clementine sighs.
Rosie lets out a loud snore, her tail thumping once against the ground like even in her dreams, she's done with this conversation.
I smirk. "See? Rosie agrees."
Clementine opens her mouth—probably to argue—but then AJ tugs on her sleeve. "Can we go now?"
She hesitates, then nods. "Yeah. Let's go."
They walk off, AJ already muttering under his breath.
I lean my head back against the tree, closing my eyes.
Finally.
Rosie snores louder, as if to say, "Told ya so."
I scratch her ears again.
Damn right.