A/N: Okay, so I am writing a sequel to Tainted Innocence. You don't have to read Tainted Innocence to read this story. As a lot of people who read my stories can a test too, I am quite terrible at finishing multi chapter stories, so I am going to attempt to make this story into ten chapters, we will see if I can succeed or not. This is set 6 and half years into the future, Clementine is just turning 18, and because it is in the future, there will be quite a few OCs because a lot of the cannon character would have died at this point. There will still be some cannon characters, but not many. Also, because I am starting after only playing Episode 3 of Season 2, I don't actually know what Wellington will be like. I have made up my own idea of what is to happened in Episode 4 and Episode 5. I hope you enjoy the story.

Her sword slammed into the back of female walker's head, splitting and piercing easily either because of the sharpness of the sword or how decayed the body had become. She ripped it out, and it a quick precise movement swung it back and straight up through the jaw of a bald male. Black blood squirted it out as they both collapsed to the ground.

She heard Taylor laughing as her large hammer that was certainly used for building railroads before all of this had come to be, slammed down hard on another one. Nate laughed as well, butting the back of his gun hard into female's head, cracking and collapsing. He grabbed Taylor's arm and yanked her small body against him, kissing her roughly. "I love watching you work, babe," he said to her into the kiss.

Clementine made a disgusted face as she watched the episode before slashing her blade through two more as they came towards her.

"Bonnie and Clyde, save your criminal love affair for back home!" Russell hissed at them as he threw a knife into another's head followed by a heaving drop of his ax into the following one.

"Oh Russ, still the party popper," Nate laughed. Clementine saw a walker coming up behind Nate, but she didn't make a move to stop it. Nate was crazy just like Taylor, but the two fools had survived like the rest of them and they both had a keen sense of their surroundings. He threw his gun over his shoulder, causing the zombie to stumble back, and allowing Nate to swing Taylor out of his arms and pull out his knife to jab it into its skull.

It was summer up in the mountains of New York, which meant increased walker activity, but it also meant the easiest time to scout surrounding areas for important medical supplies.

"This way," Vince shouted back at them as they buried deeper into pharmaceutical research center.

Clementine followed after Vince, her guns kept in her holster for emergencies, but they all walked into it, knowing that you only fired a shot at the last resort. It would call down more walkers then it would kill them. "I hope they are right about this one," she said under her breath as she slashed through another walking corpse. She was the youngest on what their town called the suicide team.

Russell pressed his lips together in annoyance, "Hm, you know the scouts. Get close enough to see, but not close enough to touch."

"We can always blow it up and find out what's inside like piñata!" Taylor's long blond hair whipped to the side as she did a flip and slammed her hammer into another walker, giggling to herself. Since Clementine had met that woman six and a half years ago, she still understood little about her. She learned she had been a gymnast in college and that was about it. There was a rumor that when the outbreak occurred she chopped her boyfriend at the time into tiny pieces and fed him to the zombies below her window. Supposedly it had been an abusive relationship, but it didn't change the fact that she thought the woman was bat shit crazy. She had to admit though, on these type of missions, it was good have her on their side.

"I like you're brain sugar drop," Nate grinned as he swung his large gun into another's head. Nate also was crazy and when he had come across their town, Russell had done everything to kick him out. Something about running into him on the road and an elderly couple. The only reason he got in was because he warned them of an upcoming attack by bandits. Of course, they also managed to convince him to join the suicide squad with a little help from Taylor.

They followed Vince around the corner and saw the large room full of different types of medicines, some still in testing phases. "There we go," Vince said with a grin, "Gotta have a little faith now and again, Clem." He went to the door and attempted to open it. It shook, the lock clicking into place.

She gave him a deadpan look. "A little faith, yeah, of course," she said before taking in the glass window at the top of the door. It was thick, and the door had a keycode that none of them had. "We might be able to bust it," she said, but it would have to be something heavy with a lot of force.

"Batter up!" Taylor shouted. Clementine's eyes widened, and she ducked right as Taylor hit the window hard, shattering the glass with her large hammer.

Clementine's jaw locked in anger. It wasn't the first time the woman almost got her killed. "I swear," she hissed under her breath, as she moved out the shower of shattered glass, "one more time, I'm going to kill her."

Russell gave her a disbelief look. "You say that every time, Clem. You're too sweet to do something like that," he remarked, "Me on the other hand…" He went behind Taylor and swatted her hard on the back of the head. "Get you're shit together."

"Russ don't hit my girl!" Nate shouted, pushing the younger boy.

"Put a leash on your dog then!" Russell shouted back, pushing the man to the wall.

Nate grinned and rolled the Russell to the wall instead. "You wanna fight? Let's fight," he said, pulling back his fist.

Clementine ran her hand down her face. It would make her nervous, if it didn't happen so regularly. "You guys, stop! We're not done yet," she snapped at them.

Taylor pouted and rubbing the back of her head. Vince had his hand through the window and unlocked the door. "Clem right, let's finish this, then you guys can do your bromance back in town," he stated opening the door.

Nate kept his fist in the air, until he shrugged and pushed away from Russell. "Another time, good sir," he tipped his baseball hat.

Clementine sighed and followed in after Vince, pulling her bag off of her shoulder. She went to the pills. She first went after the familiar ones, like penicillin, before throwing in the obscure name ones. She was sure one of the doctors could figure out the labeling. As she filled her bag, she couldn't deny the small smile that came to her face. It had been so long since they had seen such medicine. This place was so overrun by walkers no other groups had risked it, and she couldn't help, but be thankful for it. It would be such a help with how rough the winter had been.

"Oh is that a smile?" Vince teased to her side, "Haven't seen one of those on you since I met you."

The smile disappeared in an instance, and she gave him her blank stare again. "Shouldn't you be leading the team?" she remarked as she zipped up her full bags.

"Hey guys, more party guests on the way," Taylor said from the door. Clementine threw her backpack over and looked down to see what Taylor was talking about and saw a heard of walkers pushing and squeezing through the hall way.

"It's time to go," she stated, squeezing passed Taylor. The others quickly followed.

"So what do you think, parade?" Nate remarked as they moved on horseback up a mountain pass trail. They were about thirty minutes outside of town now. It had been a bloody mess of guts, but they all had made it out of the research center without a scratch. It had been half day ride, but they all decided they would rather make it back then camp out a night with being so close.

The night had already crept on them, but they had made it into their territory before the sun had set. "A parade would be nice and pretty," Taylor yawned, she was wrapped around Nate ridding on his horse with him.

"You don't get praise for surviving. It's merely required," Vince commented, his eyes scanning the woods for any unexpected threats. He was always on edge until they were safely in town.

Nate snorted, "Ignore them, babe."

Clementine wasn't listening to their conversation. She had pulled out a worn piece of paper. It was too dark to read it. She just looked at it, feeling the familiar texture of it. It reminded her of a life so long ago of a man who had saved her and taught her how to live, and another man who came back from death only to protect her and leave again. It was in the beginning before there were towns and territories, when there only small groups trying to make it, trying to get to something better. Wellington had been a lied like most supposed sanctuaries at the time. There group had made it there with hope of a new life, but quickly found out that the town was ran by scientist, who were using the people who came in for sanction as test subjects to find the cure for the walkers. They said what they were doing would save countless of lives, so the deaths were merely a sacrifice for the future. They managed to escape, but Luke, Mike, and Rebecca were caught in Wellington's sick grasp.

With little hope left, they had decided to start their own safe haven. They had learned the North truly was the best defense against Walkers as many others had, and they slowly came part of another group. They eventually found their way to an abandon town, that they all called "The Town". It was town situated in the valley hugged and surrounded by tall mountain peaks. There was only one road into it and two mountain trials. It was a perfect defense against bandits, walkers, or any other person with ill intent.

They had started a community that had grown larger and larger. They even managed to expand their strength further outside their little valley. Of course, problems occurred with dealing with such a large group. There were some who were exiled, others executed when a deed was so horrendous. Food and medicine were a constant hurdle every month, but they survived, each day after the next.

They had heard of other communities similar to theirs popping throughout the mountain range and in the plains of the north. The South was still struggling with the mass movements of walkers, but the North was slowly coming to life. However, as each community became larger some broke into violence. Last year, there were rumors of two going to war, and they had seen evidence of it on their missions into the outside territories. There were quite a few more walkers then there had been in the previous year. It was a fear some of the citizens thought might come to them.

"I hear your birthday is coming up," Russell said from the horse that was now riding next to hers. He was about eight years older than her, but had the maturity of a forty year old, then again, she was the same way.

She folded the paper up and placed it into her pocket. "Oh let me guess who told you that," she sighed and glanced over at Taylor who was snoring softly on Nate's back.

Russell scratched his arm nervously, "Yay, well the crazed twins have to have some use, right?" he muttered. "I uh, well I got you something." He reached into the side pouch of the saddle and pulled something out.

Clementine looked at him curiously. Her birthday passed every year, but she usually forgot about it. To be honest, she wasn't entirely certain how old she was anymore. So when Russell held something out for her, a blush crossed her cheek. She reached out and he dropped it into her hand. "You didn't have too," she said, as she brought her hand back with the unknown object. She opened it to see a necklace. It wasn't much, a gold chain with a single bright ruby on the end of it.

"I don't think you're much of a jewelry person, but, I don't know, saw it on one of our raids, and well, I like red on you," he said in a brash way, but it was obvious he was nervous.

She smirked and put the necklace around her neck as she rode on the horse. "Probably because you see me in blood so often," she smirked. It was a sick joke, but you had to joke about those types of things at times.

"Now, you're sounding like those two," he remarked, his eyes kept forward. Russell didn't joke. She knew that about him, but she could tell by the way his shoulders slightly relaxed that he found a small amount of humor in it.

"Thank you, Russell. It's really nice," she said, after clasping it on her neck. She wasn't sure how long it would last. One of the main reason she didn't wear jewelry was because it always ended up getting yanked off.

He nodded, "It was nothing." He kicked his horse, and it jutted forward.

Nate whistled. "Romeo, do you have more up your sleeve," the man laughed.

"Shut the fuck up, Nate," Russell snapped, they could see a bright light shining through the trees up ahead.

"Give the kid a break," Vince remarked, but kicked his horse ahead of them all to meet the guards at the entrance. They came through the clearing of the trees to a large fence that blocked the entrance. As they rode into the clearing, they could hear the guns cocking and pointing in their direction. Clementine hid her eyes by pulling her hat a bit lower on her face. They shin the lights bright to prevent strangers from seeing where the snipers might be.

"We're back with the supplies, Garrett, open it up," Vince stated, stopping his horse in front of the fence. Garrett could be heard, spitting his tobacco into the can before a loud sound occurred and the fence slowly opened outwards. The horses nahed and huffed as each one of them pulled them back. When the gate was opened, they rode in and up over the trail. At the top, they looked down at the town. They had about a hundred and fifty people living within the town, each had a purpose, even the children. It wasn't a force prison camp like some of the earlier communities she had come across when she was younger. They didn't force anyone to stay or into a certain type of work. People did what they could and understood surviving required it.

Clementine followed Vince's horse and they headed down the trail and into town. Only a few lights were on. They had managed to get the electricity going with the hydro plant not far from town that they claimed as their territory, another fifteen families lived around it. As they reached the flat streets of town, Vince kicked his horse into full speed heading straight to the city council building, which was in the large clock tower in the center of town. Vince always got like this when he made it into town, always in a rush. He had a pregnant wife at home, and she would be due in a couple of weeks. She wondered if he would continue to lead their group, once the child was born. It certainly wasn't an easy job they did.

They rode through the town square straight up to the entrance of the city council building. The Sherif as his nickname had become was still awake in his office or sleeping at his desk with the lights on because the lights shown from the window. They halted the horses tying them up to the lamp post before the four of them, and Taylor, who was thrown over Nate's shoulder, sleeping, wandered up the steps. The two guards nodded at them as they slipped into the building and made the familiar path to the Sheriff's office.

Right when Vince was about to open the door, Nate jumped ahead, kicking open the doors. "Booyah!" he shouted with a grin, waking the Sheriff up from his desk with a startle.

"Shit," the man cursed. He was a man in his late thirties, early forties. His dark brown hair started to grey on the edges, and his face had seen its fair share of sadness and death. His eyes were a cool blue that could turn dark when anyone angered him. He was missing two fingers from time before the town, and he had mentioned to her that he used to have three boys that had died within the first year of it all. He was strong leader. He never was a cop, so he never understood why the nickname Sheriff stuck with him. He actually had been a firefighter, but he didn't argue it. He was had been a simple man from Buffalo, New York, and Clementine called herself lucky when her, Christa, and Taylor ran into his group outside grocery store. He wore the same button down shirt she had seen all those years ago. It was black. He always told her, he liked black. It could get stained and no one would notice. His glasses were ontop of his head, and he pulled them down as he pushed himself out of his sit. "Nate, can you ever just walk into here normally?" the man grumbled.

"No, can do, boss," Nate grinned, patting Taylor's butt.

Clementine sighed and walked in with Vince and Russell.

"What happened to her?" the Sheriff noted to the woman Nate was carrying, but he wasn't talking to Nate.

Vince walked up to his desk, "She's sleeping. Chick can sleep through pretty much anything." He threw his bag onto the desk that contained the bottles of medicine.

The Sheriff's eyes widened. "Good work," he said, walking around the table, "You're team never fails to disappoint." The Sheriff whistled in the guards from the hallway who came up to Clementine, Russell, and Nate, taking their bags of medicine. "Get those delivered to the hospital, a lot of sick people might make it through the night now."

Vince smirked, saluting him in a half ass way, "We're just doing our job. I'm going to head back home. Told Jill I'd make it before dinner, and I'm already super late." He patted Russell on the back as he left, and Clementine heard him whisper, "Good luck."

"Yay, we're getting the fuck out of here boss. Better shit to do then sit in this shit hole," Nate announced swinging around with his passed out girl, almost knocking Russell in the head with her body.

"Dude, watch it!" Russell snapped, which Nate responded with his middle finger. Russell grumbled under his breath.

The Sheriff shook his head. Clementine realized that he had given up on arguing with Nate and Taylor a long time ago. She wondered if Russell would ever get to that point. His eyes then fell onto Clementine. "Clementine, can I have a moment?" he asked.

She glanced up, almost surprised. He rarely spoke to her alone, not since she was very young. Russell shifted next to her side. She could tell he didn't want to leave, but with an annoyed sigh, he turned and went out the door.

She stepped forward, "What's going on?" She said jumping straight to whatever point he might hope to get too. She had learned life was quick, and if you waited, it could be taken from you. You couldn't waste time.

He went to his chair at his desk and sat, reaching into one of the drawers. "Have a seat, I want to discuss something with you," he said pulling out a pack of cigarettes. She looked at the man in front of her. He might have been known as the Sheriff to the town, but to Clementine, he was Tommy Matthews, or Big Tom for short.

Clementine followed his request and went to the sit across from the desk, taking a seat. Admittedly, she probably looked like a mess like she usually did after mission. She wore torn jeans, with a holster for her gun and knife, and bright green north face jacket, covered in blood, underneath was a plain long sleeve tee-shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a short pony tail, and her old hat kept it out of her face. Two long swords were strapped on her back. "I didn't think you were a smoker," she noted, as he lit the cigarette and took in a long drag.

"I'm not," he let out a half laugh, "But I'm dying of cancer, so hell, why the fuck not."

Her eyes widened in horror and she leaned out of her seat. "What, no? Tom, you can't be serious?" she said in complete shock. Her brows furrowing hoping this might be a sick joke.

He smiled, "I am. Docs think it's lung cancer, and they can put me on the kemo they found at the hospital, but even then they suspect I have about six months." He shook his head and took another drag.

Her heart fell in her chest. When they first met, she had been suspicious of him, like she was of most group leaders, especially after Carver and Wellington, but after a few months, she had gotten very close to him. He had taught her how to fish and how to hunt, not relying on supply raids, but rather using nature to survive. She pressed her lips together in a straight line, sitting back in her chair. "Oh," she whispered.

"Don't look so sad, Clementine. It really ruins your features. Besides, the reason I asked you to stay is because I'm thinking on who I want to run this place after I go," he said, putting out the cigarette and going for the bottle of scotch. He pulled out two glasses and poured into both.

Her eyes had fallen to the floor. She was certain who ever took over, they wouldn't be able to run things as smoothly as Tom did. He had a friendly personality that naturally got along with everyone, but a stern strict hand when things got out of hand. "Tate," she mentioned his obedient second in command, "Or Kelly Shin," the head doctor, "Or even Vince. They would be good." Her voice was soft, knowing that each of them would have their own difficulties if they took the lead.

Tom nodded, pushing her glass to her side of the table before taking his own in his hand. "Those are some good choices, but I was thinking someone different," he stated, taking a sip of the scotch.

She looked up at him, finally seeing the glass of scotch, but she didn't reach for it. "Who?" she asked confused, no other possible candidates coming to mine.

"You," he stated with a smile as if it were the most obvious choice, but Clementine's face looked like she had just been shot.

She shook her head, "What? You're sounding like mad man. I'm only eighteen…I think. I can't run a town like this." She dismissed the idea immediately, and it was good thing she hadn't drank the scotch or should would have spit it out.

He chuckled, swirling the scotch in his glass. "I thought the same about myself, but when people ask you to step up to the challenge. When lives depend on you, you find a way to get it done. I have no doubt you would do the same." She opened her mouth to say something because she was certain the man had lost his mind either in alcohol or tobacco. She knew some great leaders. She had seen Lee, Kenny, Luke, and now, Tom, but she had seen some terrible ones as well. She could never be like them. He held his hand out to stop her protest. "No, listen to me. I ran through that same list of potentials. Tate," he shook his head, "I trust that man with my life. He would die for this town, but he's not too quick during the tough calls. He doesn't like to have those type of choices on his shoulders. Kelly Shin is intelligent and sweet as a dime, but she is easily manipulated by a friendly smile. She would be far too kind to outside threats, and with the current circumstances of what is happening out there, she would leave the town vulnerable. Vince, he has it in him. He can lead, but to lead you have to put the town before friends and family. He is about to have a new one in his life. His focus will be on that child's protection, not the town, and god forbid, it dies, like some do, he might be a mess for years. That lead me to my next choice. You."

"I understand what you're saying, Tom. I do, but I'm not qualified. The town would never take me as the new Sheriff," she said honestly.

"No, some might not, and it will be a rough transition, but I suspect from any new leader. It will take adjustment, but you already have Tate backing you. I have told him my plan, and he agrees full heartedly. He will be the muscle behind your words. More importantly though, you shouldn't be selling yourself short, kid. You risk your life almost daily for this town. You live for this town. You fight for it. You are smart. You look at both sides before determining an action. I saw it when you were thirteen and I would be fighting with Kevin, and you would step in, diffuse the situation, and come up with a plan. You're born leader, kid. I was always thinking you would be my best successor. You're not afraid to make the tough decisions. Now, I admit, I never thought it would happen so soon. I thought it would be five or ten years down the road, but we can't change the fate of our stars," he smiled and tilted his glass to the ceiling as if a toast to god. His eyes fell back onto her. "I leave the final decision to you of course. I am offering you a chance to protect this town."

He placed his cup back on the table, his expression finally turning serious, his deep blue eyes holding her locked in her position.

"Do you want to become the new Sheriff?"

Another note: In my game choices, Russell and Vince did not go with Carver's camp. It's not that big of a deal, but it might help with understanding their past. I hope I kept Clem in character. I am sorry if I didn't. I don't know why, but writing her older is so difficult, mostly because I don't know how she might be as an adult.