Everyone's faces fell as they took in the scene. Rebecca struggled to keep moving, her breaths ragged, her face twisted in pain. It was obvious, they couldn't keep this up much longer.
Carlos looked at his daughter, trembling and sobbing in terror. His heart pounded. After a brief hesitation, he tightened his grip on Sarah's hand and ran toward the woods.
"Fuck," Luke muttered under his breath. He glanced at Rebecca, who could barely move even with Clementine supporting her.
"I'm sorry."
Then he turned and ran, guilt weighing down every step.
Rebecca watched them go. Betrayal flickered across her face, but she didn't blame them. In their place, she might have done the same.
"You're a good girl, Clementine," she whispered through tears. "Leave me… save yourself. I don't want you dying because of me."
Clementine's chest tightened. She wanted to save her. She wanted to save everyone.
But she knew the truth.
She thought of Max.
Slowly, reluctantly, she began to let go.
"Fuck this!" Kenny shouted, yanking out his axe. "Get her out of here. I'll buy you time!"
"You don't have to do this," Rebecca said weakly.
Kenny gave her a sad smile. "I'm already a dying man... inside and out. I failed to protect everything I loved… including my boy. If I can save you and your baby, maybe I can forgive myself. Even a little."
He looked at Clementine.
"Stay safe, kid. Lee would've been proud of who you've become."
Then he charged toward the lights.
Clementine took a shaky breath, hoisted Rebecca's arm over her shoulder, and ran.
Jane watched, torn. Every instinct told her to leave, just like she had left her sister. The memory burned in her mind.
She hesitated.
"If you're going to help, then help," Clementine said without looking at her. "If not, go."
Jane cursed. "This is why I don't do groups… fuck."
But she stepped forward and took Rebecca's other side.
A gunshot cracked behind them.
They flinched. Clementine glanced back, grief flashing across her face—but she kept moving.
As they neared the woods, they slowed.
Luke, Sarah, and Carlos had stopped.
"Keep moving! Why are you stopping?" Clementine demanded.
No one answered.
When she reached them, her breath caught.
Dozens of walkers emerged from the darkness between the trees.
"Fuck our lives," Jane muttered.
"Didn't Carver clear this area yesterday?" Carlos asked, panic rising in his voice. "Why are there still so many?"
"It was clear," Jane said grimly. "The gunfire must've drawn them back."
Rebecca pointed weakly to the left. "What about there? I only see a few…"
"We can handle a few," she added, her voice trembling.
"Yes," Jane replied. "But we don't know how many are deeper in."
Behind them, engines roared closer. The Saviors were nearly upon them.
Panic rippled through the group.
Sarah collapsed, sobbing. Carlos stood frozen, unable to comfort her.
Luke scanned the darkness, searching desperately for a gap, but hope drained from his face.
"There's no way out," he whispered.
"We're all going to die," Rebecca cried, her strength fading.
"The forest is still our best option," Clementine said, forcing her breathing under control as she drew her knife. "If we're lucky, we can break through."
No one believed her.
She barely believed herself.
Walkers advanced from the trees. Engines thundered behind them. Men shouted.
They were being crushed from both sides.
Clementine clenched her jaw.
"If you want to stand here and die, fine," she said, her voice shaking but fierce. "But I'm not giving up."
She wasn't afraid of dying.
She was afraid of never seeing Max again.
For so long, the hope of finding him had kept her alive. She refused to let it end here.
"Same here," Jane said, drawing her knife. "I didn't survive this long to quit now."
Luke stepped beside them, understanding there was no other way out.
Carlos pulled Sarah to her feet. Her sobs faded into trembling breaths.
Together, they moved toward the forest.
Luke ran at the front, taking down any walker that came toward them. Suddenly, one he hadn't seen, a crawling walker grabbed his leg. He fell hard, and before he could pull free, it sank its teeth into his flesh. He screamed, struggling to escape.
The group behind him rushed to help but froze when they saw the swarm closing in around him.
"Go! This way!" Clementine shouted, pointing to the side.
They veered off, running as Luke's screams were swallowed by the walkers tearing him apart.
Jane's face twisted with grief as she glanced back; she had truly cared about him.
They circled around the herd.
Several bikes screeched across their path, cutting them off.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" a man called from one of the bikes. Half his face was burned, scar tissue stretched tight over ruined flesh. "After killing so many of our men?"
More Saviors poured in behind them, headlights blazing, guns raised. The harsh light erased the darkness that had shielded them. They felt exposed, almost naked.
"Boys, no need to waste ammo," the scarred man said, eyeing their empty weapons. "Some of you deal with those walkers. We're all Negan. We'll handle these people like him."
He swung off his bike and pulled out a wooden bat.
Clementine gritted her teeth and raised her knife. Jane shifted beside her, ready. Rebecca trembled. Carlos wrapped his arms around Sarah.
"Drop your weapons and kneel," the scarred man ordered. "We'll give you a quick death if you..."
A knife flew through the air.
He tried to dodge, but it was too fast. The blade pierced his chest. He staggered, gasping.
"Shut the fuck up and die!," Clementine growled.
"Fuck it," Jane spat. "If we're dying, we're taking some of you with us."
They charged, but were quickly overwhelmed. The men slammed them to the ground. Bruised and bloodied, Clementine struggled to rise, but three men pinned her down. The rest of the group was restrained the same way.
The Saviors were about to kill them all when the scarred man shouted through his pain:
"Don't you… fucking kill them," he rasped, clutching the knife in his chest. "I'll kill them myself. Especially that slut."
He pointed the bat at Clementine, his face twisted with hatred.
"Before I die… I'll enjoy killing you slowly. Even that pregnant bitch."
Walkers poured from the forest, closing in.
"We need to go! There are hundreds of dead coming!" one of the men yelled.
"Fuck!" the scarred man roared.
He staggered toward Clementine, lifting the bat high. "I'll start with you!"
"Don't you fucking hurt her, you piece of shit!" Jane screamed, struggling uselessly.
Clementine stared up at the descending bat.
A single tear slid down her cheek.
I'm sorry, Max.
She closed her eyes.
A deafening roar split the air.
A motorcycle shot forward at terrifying speed and slammed into the scarred man.
The impact killed him instantly. Bone shattered. Blood sprayed across the dirt. His body burst apart like a watermelon dropped onto concrete, fragments scattering in every direction.
The bike skidded to a stop with a violent screech.
Silence fell.
Everyone stared in stunned disbelief at what had just happened, their eyes fixed on the blood-soaked motorcycle barely visible in the dark.
From the bike, a figure stepped off, holding a revolver in one hand and a sword in the other. His face was hidden in shadow.
Gunfire cracked like thunder. The heads of the three men restraining Clementine exploded. Before anyone could process it, the figure moved like lightning. Limbs and heads flew as he tore through the nearby Saviors. The carnage unfolded so quickly no one had time to react.
The few men who still had their guns raised tried to aim, but he moved like a ghost, cutting them down before they could pull the trigger. Their bodies collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
In the dim light, the survivors finally saw his face, smeared with blood. With a furious shout, they charged, but anyone who came close was sliced apart with ruthless precision. He advanced slowly, eyes glowing red, a terrifying smile stretching across his face.
Terror froze them as he slaughtered their brothers with brutal efficiency. Every second, another limb struck the blood-soaked ground. Screams shattered the night. Some fled in panic, their cries echoing through the darkness. One by one, he cut them down. Some were kicked so hard their bodies flew like rag dolls into nearby trees. Others were cleaved cleanly in half.
Only one man remained, sprinting toward the woods.
Jane stared in disbelief as the figure grabbed a motorcycle and hurled it at the fleeing man. The bike crushed him mid-run. His scream ended abruptly.
Silence fell again.
Jane trembled. The man before her was not human, he seemed like the devil himself. His footsteps boomed like thunder as he approached. The closer he came, the more her fear consumed her. She had never been this terrified.
Everyone stared at him in horror... everyone except Clementine. Her eyes shone brighter than ever. She rose slowly to her feet.
Before Jane could speak, Clementine ran toward the blood-soaked figure. Jane and the others squeezed their eyes shut, certain Clementine would meet the same fate as the rest.
Instead, laughter broke the silence.
Jane slowly opened her eyes, shock and disbelief flashing across her face. Clementine was wrapped in the man's arms, spinning beneath the starry sky as if they were dancing, their laughter echoing across the wilderness. The man who had seemed so terrifying moments ago was now unrecognizable smiling warmly as he held her close and kissed her passionately.
The rest of the group stood frozen, shaken, and unable to comprehend what they were witnessing.
When they finally pulled apart, Clementine, breathless and trembling, whispered through tears, "I never thought I'd see you again… I love you, Max."
"Love you too, my love," Max replied softly.
He gently set her down and wiped the tears from her cheeks. They gazed at each other; their eyes filled with love.
===
Happy Valentine's Day to all of you! Spread love shamelessly, just like people spread hatred.
I hope you all enjoyed this long chapter.