Clementine stared at the white butterfly thoughtfully. It looked so peaceful, which contrasted with the insane situation she was currently in. She reached forward and tried to touch the tiny bug, only for it to fly off swiftly, much to the young girl’s disappointment.

 

“You about done over there?” Called Troy, one of her abductors. 

 

“Yeah, one second!” Called Sarah, who had just come out of the woods, zipping up her jeans. She turned to Clementine. “Thanks for coming with me. It’s scary out here.” The other girl was with the group Clem had recently met, being incredibly sheltered by her father, Carlos. Now she was roped into their mess, being dragged to god-knows-where. “I know they made you, but it’s still nice that you came.”

 

“We’re friends… friends look out for one another.”

 

Sarah thought for a second. “We are, aren’t we… Well, if you need to pee, let me know. I’ll keep lookout for you, too.”

 

“Uh… okay.” Clem said awkwardly.

 

They walked back to the van, with Troy looking impatient. “Everything come out all right, girls?” 

 

The two girls stared at him in anger. As she did, Clementine realised something- she had to pee too. Maybe she could talk Carver into taking a few more minutes to let her go. “Troy. get ‘em tied up.” Carver said, who was looking at his walkie-talkie. It sort of reminded Clem of her walkie-talkie that she used to own.

 

“Will do…” Troy said, looking annoyed.

 

Carver turned on the walkie-talkie. “Well, we’re on our way, probably thirty minutes out. Make sure everyone’s prepped. Emotions might be running high.” He turned it off and looked at Troy. “If I find out you’ve been wastin’ fuel to keep that fuckin’ heater going, I’ll make you walk back."

 

“Nope. Froze my ass off, just like you told me to.” 

 

Carver looked at Clementine angrily. “It ain’t polite to listen into other folks’ conversations.”

 

Clem looked at him, wondering if maybe she should raise her needs. He seemed reasonable enough, but this was also the man who killed Walter. After a moment of silence, Carver approached the girl with a smile. She momentarily thought he realized what she would ask him for, only for his smile to be wiped clean. He swiftly slapped Clementine across the face, making her fall to the ground. 

 

“No, stop!” Sarah shouted. “Don’t hit my friend!”

 

Carver ignored her. “You don’t want to test me, girl. I’ll pass every time.”

 

“Leave her alone!”

 

Carver looked up from Clementine to look at the older girl. Sarah looked down nervously. “Tie her up and throw her in with the rest of ‘em.”

 

Bonnie, the third of her captures, came up to Clem, offering her hand. She reluctantly took it and groaned as she got up, the effort straining her bladder. Bonnie put her hand on Clem’s shoulders and took a quick look at her face. Troy grabbed her hands, tied her up and opened the back door of the truck. He pointed a gun at them and gestured to the vehicle. “In.” He said firmly. The two girls obeyed and climbed inside. 

 

“Are you guys okay?” Sarita asked worriedly.

 

Kenny looked even more worried. “The hell did he do to you!? Hey! Did he hurt you?” He looked out to Troy and Bonnie. “Hey. Hey!” Before they could respond, Troy slammed the door shut. He turned back to Clem, noticing the red mark on her left cheek. “Jesus, Clem, are you alright?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Clementine assured.

 

“Carver hit her!” Sarah blurted out.

 

“What!? The hell is wrong with that bastard!?”

 

“It’s alright! I’m not bleeding or anything.” Clem said, embarrassed by the attention.

 

“Are you sure?” Sarita approached Clem, holding her face.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Admittedly, she was less than satisfactory; she felt shaken up after Carver’s slap, but she just wanted some peace and quiet now. She still had to pee, but she knew damn well not to ask for another break after what Carver just did. 

 

“Well, you're bruised, but other than that, you seem to be doing fine.”

 

“Good,” Kenny butted in. “If that sonnuva bitch hurt you-”

 

“Relax, Kenny.” Carlos interrupted. “She said she’s fine.”

 

“Fine, fine.” He turned to Clementine. “Let me know if you need anything, you hear?”

 

Clementine nodded solemnly. She needed something, but she was not about to tell Kenny that. 

 

With the conversation over, Clem leaned back against the wall, thoughts wandering back to her bladder, realizing she had to go a lot worse than she thought. The girl gulped nervously, regretting how much she drank at Walter’s cabin. How did she only notice how bad it was now? She supposed she had been so focused on Sarah’s desperation earlier that she had barely noticed her own. 

 

Fidgeting slightly, Clementine tried to ignore the signals her bladder was sending her. She sighed, trying to focus on everyone else in the vehicle to distract her. Sarah was talking to her father, Carlos. Kenny was talking to Sarita, and she could hear her three captors bickering up front. The only one in the truck who wasn't busy was Nick, who was sulking in the corner. She approached him, trying to get her mind off her issue.

 

“Are you alright, Nick?” Clementine asked.

 

Nick scowled at her. “What the fuck do you think?”

 

Clem crossed her arms (or at least as close to “crossed” as she could get them in her bindings). “I'm sorry about Pete, but it's not my fault he's dead.”

 

“Well, maybe if you-” Nick stopped talking. “Whatever. Just leave me alone.”

 

Clementine frowned and sat back down where she had previously been sitting. Sighing again, she bounced her legs up and down, hoping to take some pressure off her bladder. Time passed, and she got into the rhythm. Carter said they would be there in half an hour, and that was a good bit ago now, right?”

 

“Are you alright?” Sarah startled her, making her leak.

 

Blushing, Clem brought her legs together to prevent any more leaks. “I’m fine.”

 

“You sure? Because you look-” 

 

“I’m fine, Sarah.” Clem said, a little more aggressively than she intended.

 

“Okay, if you say so.”

 

Clementine looked away and continued to fidget a lot. Sarah tried ignoring it and continued talking to her father, but it didn’t take a genius to tell what was wrong with Clem—more time passed, with every second getting harder and harder for Clementine to hold back her bladder’s contents. All of a sudden, she let out a gasp, shoving her hands into her midsection to no avail. Sarah looked over at her, watching a wet spot appear on her pants and a puddle growing on the ground with it. “ Shit .” Clem muttered to herself.

 

Sarah quietly walked over to her friend. “ Are you alright? ” She whispered.

 

“ No. ” She felt utterly humiliated, desperately trying to hold back tears. Surprisingly, when she looked up, nobody was looking at her. But she wasn’t sure how long that would last. “ E-Everyone's going to see me! ”

 

Sarah thought for a moment. “ Just move to that corner over there. ” She pointed to a corner closer to the entrance of the truck.

 

“ But the others will notice my pants!”

 

“ No, not if I’m walking behind you. Trust me. ”

 

Clementine nodded and followed the order, subtly walking to the other end of the truck. At last, she sat down, covering up her soggy pants with her hands. “ God, this is so embarrassing. I’m supposed to be the one protecting you. ”

 

Sarah sat down. Now that they were a bit further away from everyone else, she began speaking at an average volume again. “It’s okay to need help sometimes. Besides, I’m older than you, remember?”

 

“Of course. You're older. I bet you’ve never had this happen to you.”

 

“Not exactly. When my dad and I first had to leave our house, I didn’t know how to pee outside. I figured I could hold it until we reached our destination- I couldn’t.” Sarah looked away, blushing.

 

Clementine scratched her head awkwardly. “Sorry that that happened.”

 

“It’s fine; at least we’re tied on end-of-the-world accidents.”

 

It was Clementine’s turn to blush this time. “Uh, actually, I might be in the lead there.” Clem regretted mentioning it right after she closed her mouth. However, looking at Sarah, she saw a great curiosity in the older girl’s eyes. “Eugh, how do I put this? It was a few days into, uh, y’know, all this. I was in this drugstore, and I really had to use the bathroom, and the guy taking care of me at the time showed me where the key was so I could go, but um…” Clem shifted nervously. “A walker jumped out and tried to bite me… the guy with me killed it, but…” She paused. “I was terrified, and I wet myself. Nobody noticed, thankfully, but it was still super embarrassing.”

 

“Sorry that all of that happened to you.” 

 

“It’s fine.” There was a moment of silence between the two. “You think it’ll dry off by the time we get there?”

 

“Hopefully- I mean probably!” Sarah said, trying to be optimistic. She got up. “I’m gonna go back to my dad if you’re alright.”

 

“Hey, uh… Sarah?” Clem called.

 

“Hm?” Sarah looked back.

 

“Thanks for helping me out.”

 

Sarah smiled. “No problem.”