AS PROMISED!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I started this fanfic promising to finish it within a month, but a lot of things happened and I've been busy. I'm really sorry for the let down. Next, I really didn't expect this to receive the attention it has been receiving and I'm beyond grateful to each and every single one of you. Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed and reviewed this fanfic! It's the second most favorited and followed Fear the Walking Dead fanfic and everytime I get an alert my heart gets a little bigger. So thank you to Anonymouspostings, GoatEatingToilet, Shannon, CuteSango07, cynthia, sofiaaelisabeth, karla, jollysaintnick, Mae, Ruby, xxGreywind, WriteBrain, Nirvana14, Scout out, XxXLIFEafterDEATHXxX, Ceruleanrainblues, Noel, Selena, QueenDisney, MissTeller-Ortiz-Dixon, Reader-Writer Hybrid, anr017, SleepySiren.

Please let me know your suggestions, comments, reactions, via review or PM.

And to answer the latest question: what indeed happened to Shannon and Eunice? Yes, the time skip was intentional, because I believe what has transpired will help Clara transition from one world to another. Also note how she would alternate from calling Peter by his name and by it, as it signifies that she doesn't yet have the grasp of what was happening and still really really coming to grips with everything that's happening.

Thank you all!

Ch 4: I wonder what my life is going to be if it's gone (Part III)

Peter heard us and moved away from Ace. He turned around to us and I couldn't believe what I saw. His face was smeared with blood and innards of his dog, eyes glassy and devoid of life. He was snarling as he advanced towards us. Travis, despite our protests, stepped forward to try to talk to Peter. "Peter? Hey, you're sick."

The thing hadn't said anything and was just staggering to get to Travis. "Come on, Peter, it's Travis."

"Dad, what are you doing?" Chris tried to grab his father but I held him back. "Stay away from him, Chris."

Then, Peter was trying to get to Travis, making them fall to the ground. I heard Chris and Liza's shouts and I almost stood there in fear. Peter was snarling at Travis, trying to lower his mouth to Travis' skin. I came back to my senses, I had to do something. I had to help Travis. A small glint on the corner of my eye caught my attention. My pocket knife. It was across the room, and without thinking I whizzed past the thing attacking Travis and scrambled for the knife. Travis was desperately trying to get it off of him when I gritted my teeth and stabbed Peter's shoulder. Could he feel the pain? If he was alive he'd feel it, the excruciating pain when stabbed in the shoulder. But all that did was turn his attention to me. When it stood up, Travis took the opportunity to push it against the wall. My knife, which was still embedded in its back, could be seen from the front, its tip glistening with blood.

"Travis!" I called out, "Push it out of the house!" Travis barely gave a nod as he gripped Peter's shoulders tight and slammed him on the glass door, just when, to my utter relief, Madison came in, holding a gun.

"No! Put the gun down." Travis said from behind his back, glancing at Madison for a while.

"Clara!" Nick turned to me, flashlight still in his hand, "Where the hell were you?"

I opened my mouth to answer when a man I didn't know took the shotgun from Madison and aimed it at Peter's head. A gunshot sounded and the bullet took off half of Peter's face. His left eye was displaced, his nose and lips were gone, just blood and tissue on where the half of the face was seconds ago. The man cocked the gun again and aimed it at Peter's forehead. I heard a resonating gunshot and Peter's brains blew off, smearing the curtains. His body fell to the floor.

The man glanced at us, before handing the gun over to Madison and got out of the house. I exhaled forcefully, "Who was that?"

Nick was holding my arm with his right hand, the flashlight in his left aimed towards Peter's corpse. Chris was barfing and vomit was threatening to come out of his mouth when he bumped into my shoulder and ran out the backyard. "Jesus Christ," I whispered, letting Nick pull my shaking body into the house.

Suddenly, a yell of help was heard and we all turned to the source of the sound. "Alicia!" I called, running outside and passed Chris, to climb over to Susan Tran's home. She was almost inside the fence, only her other leg was stuck. Something was pulling Alicia down. "Clara, help!" She screamed at me. I climbed up next to her, pulling her arm towards me. The thing was trying to pull her back to the Trans'. I extended my arm to pull on Alicia's leg, "Move your leg, Alicia!"

"I'm trying," she groaned.

Alicia hands flew to my shoulders to balance herself and her weight resting quite literally on my shoulders made me tip over. I gave out a shriek and fell to the ground, my back to the fence. Chris was rushing to Alicia's aid, helping her out and succeeding but then they also fell, right in front of me. Then, I felt someone pulling my hair. I gave out a yell, hands coming up to the hands pulling my hair and I was shocked with the cold hands stinging my own. "Help me!" I yelled at Alicia and Chris.

Travis, Madison, Liza and Nick got out of the house, and my eyes flew to Nick. Tears were coming out of my eyes from fear, and the pain of my hair getting pulled relentlessly. Nick rushed over, hitting the hands behind me with the flashlight repeatedly, and it finally let go. I could hear Chris shouting at his parents, and getting inside the house was just a flash in my memory. I had cold sweat, heart racing so fast I felt like I would cough out my heart and I felt Nick's hand on my hair. His arms were wrapped around me and I had buried my face in his chest. "You okay?" It was so soft I almost didn't hear it, but I nodded a little, still trying to calm myself.

I turned to look at Alicia, then to Travis and Madison's distressed faces, then to Liza. A hand was extended from the other side of the fence, and I saw the face of the person behind it. "Susan Tran? Oh god," I said shakily, knowing for a fact that she was as good as dead.

"She's sick," Liza commented. Travis moved closer to Susan, "Was she bitten?"

Madison shook her head, "I can't tell."

I pulled out of Nick's embrace, standing between him and his sister. "She's not sick!" I exclaimed, and they all turned to me. "It's just like Calvin, like those people at the hospital. The videos online? The flu did this, but…" I shook my head at them, "She's not sick."

"She's dead." Nick commented.

I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't want to stand there and tell them what has been happening frame by frame. The flu was killing people, causing them to die. They reanimate but without that person's memories, no. They—it reanimates into the shell of the person, attacking people, killing them, eating them. The world has gone to the dogs. I raced back into the house and was surprised to see the man who shot Peter was standing by the sofa. "Help us."

"Who are you?" I raised a brow at him. He did not answer, but he gestured to the front door, asking me to follow him. I didn't want to trust him, I didn't even know him. But this man saved our lives, and I felt in debt. I followed him cautiously outside, leading us to the back of Travis' Ford.

"My wife," he gestured, "She's in pain."

I turned to see two women, one elderly—his wife, and one young. I assumed it was their daughter. She looked a little pleasant, and was kind enough to smile and greet me a good evening. "I'm Ofelia Salazar, this is my mother Griselda, and my father," I turned my head to her father, "Daniel."

"What happened to her?" I nodded to her mother. If she was bitten, then I knew what was going to happen.

"Her leg got pinned when scaffolding collapsed." Daniel explained.

"Okay," I gestured inside the house, "Just let her rest inside, I'm gonna go look for some painkillers."

Ofelia sent me a smile, "Thank you."

I searched the cupboards for anything that could relieve the pain, but all we had was aspirin. I gritted my teeth and searched every room, but came out fruitless. Nevertheless, I handed them aspirin and excused myself to the bathroom.

After quickly washing myself, ridding myself of the clothes I had worn, I stared at myself in the mirror. It has been a really long fucking day. Tears started forming in my eyes. The day started out as normal as it could be, and now…now everything was lost. I was lost. The only thing I was concerned about when I woke up was how I'd live with myself knowing Nick had come back from the haze of drugs. I only thought of dealing with his drug problem and Gloria. All I ever had a problem with was how do I forgive someone who cheated on me? Now, it's not like that. I just didn't expect to wake up on the day of the Apocalypse.

A knock on the door brought me back. "Clara?" It was Nick. I sniffled, turned away from the mirror and wiped my eyes, "Yeah?"

"You alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He didn't say anything. For a moment, I thought he'd left, but he rapped the door again. "Open the door, baby."

I opened my mouth to call him out. Don't call me baby, did you think I forgot about your little expedition amidst the end of the world happening around us? But I stopped myself. I did not want to sound selfish. This isn't really about me anymore, not just about me anyway. A lot of people are in this house tonight, some of them I do not even know, and I had to play well. I opened the door to see him waiting for me, a ghost of a smile on his face.

"What?" I asked him.

"We're leaving first thing tomorrow."

"Alright," I nodded at him, "Gotta get some sleep then."

He gestured to his room, "Come on."

I shook my head at him, "No…I—uh, I really want to stay with Alicia for tonight."

"Alicia's room is rented by the Salazars, she's in my room." Nick grinned a little, "Come on."

We walked in silence, I was getting really uncomfortable beside him. I could hear him breathe, almost feel his chest rise and fall…

"You still mad at me? About…Gl…Gloria?"

I clenched my jaw at the name. We were just outside his room, and I glanced to see Alicia sleeping in his bed. A blanket and pillow were on the floor. "Oh god, Nick, what do you fucking think?"

"Look Clara, I—I'm sorry, alright? I didn't—"

"Nick," I turned to face him, "To be honest, this isn't how I imagined this conversation to go. This isn't where I want to have this conversation. Maybe…some other time."

He was looking at our feet, his eyebrows crinkled as he was thinking of words to say. He opened his mouth but I cut him off.

"Please, Nick."

He sighed, finally looking at me in the eye, nodded and gave me a tight-lipped smile. I smiled back, kissing his cheek.

I moved to lie down next to Alicia near the end of the bed so that I was in between her and Nick, who was on the floor. I had my back to Nick and placed my hands under my head, watching Alicia's sleeping face. Atleast, she didn't have to worry in her sleep. I willed myself to sleep, thinking about my parents, my aunt, my friends, and the sake of the entire world.