And so, it was here in Savannah that a chapter of the cabin group had ended...

and another began.

Changing the lives of all individuals in the group.

For the better and for the worst.

Carver's obsession over control and perfection had finally led to his downfall. His greed and obsession over Clementine finally making him reckless enough for his final mistake. Risking the lives of his own to follow the cabin group and losing all of them to either a walker or the end of Carver's gun when they questioned him. Luke's bullet had hit its mark. Although he was caught off-guard by Carver's sudden will to kill him, Clementine had warned him just in time, giving Luke the chance to fight back. The end result being a bullet wound right between Carver's eyes, once full of greed, now filled with nothing.

Although the mad man had been put down for good, it didn't come without a price.

One that was heavy and changed the cabin group forever.

Clementine's luck had finally come to an end. After escaping death so many times, death had seemed to finally lay its hand upon her shoulder. Clementine's road had been long, treacherous, and filled with unease over who to trust. Greed, selfishness, and hate seemed to have claimed all who had been alive through the apocalypse. Thankfully, it was Clementine who refused to give into such evil, that had already claimed so many others.

But it wasn't until the end of this long road that Clementine discovered the most noble of actions.

Sacrifice.

Freeing herself of her restraints and making the split-second decision to place herself in front of one who she held dear to her heart. The bullet had gone through her head, killing her instantly, that would have been lodged in Luke's heart, had Clementine not intervened.

Clementine had owned up to her actions and finally given herself the forgiveness she deserved. The last time she was in Savannah, her kidnapping had led to the death of Lee Everett, her guardian and father. But this time, Clementine refused to let someone else take the fall for her mistakes. Following in the footsteps of her guardian, giving up her own life for that of someone who she held close.

Her sacrifice, noble as it was, did not come without negative outcomes.

Luke was there. He came to save her. As soon as he realized that Carver hand sunk his claws into Clementine, he had been out the door of the diner heading straight for the location Carver had so "generously" provided to him with nobody to back him up. He was satisfied when he saw Carver go limp and fall to the ground lifeless until he heard a second body collapse near his feet.

He couldn't bear to look at her once cute face longer than a few seconds.

He didn't know that Clementine had put down Lee's walker form, thinking that she now would never be able to. Clementine had described Lee very well to Luke, but the years that had passed had made Lee's form unrecognizable to all but Clementine herself. With that realization, came another.

How would he tell the others?

It wasn't easy, but it was after a few minutes of the cabin groups return and their search in the diner and the surrounding area that Luke had broken the news to the group.

Carlos had gone silent.

His eyes had closed, trying unsuccessfully to maintain his uneven breathing and keep the tears from falling, knowing that he never got the chance to really apologize on how badly he had once treated her. She gave him advice and kindness.

He returned it with a cold-shoulder.

Sarah was baffled.

Her best friend (and only friend of her own age) had been killed. She didn't really understand the full extent of what Carver was capable of, due to Carlos coddling her. She only had known that Carver was mean and could do mean things. When she heard mean, her worst thoughts turned to slaps or kicks.

But nothing like murder.

Nick needed a moment.

He had lost a lot of family to the apocalypse. Killing his own mother had already wounded him enough to the point of hopelessness (at least by his standards). When Pete's death had come, he just wanted to lay down and die.

Clementine had changed that.

She was a survivor who had seen even more death and destruction than any of them. Yet she had maintained a bit of her childlike demeanor.

There was those moments when that child-like side would show through.

Those were the moments that everyone couldn't help but smile at.

Alvin and Rebecca needed each other.

It was basically an unspoken agreement that, even though she had not been with them long, Clem had earned her place within their family.

They were hoping Clementine could be an older sister to their child.

Broken, tear-stricken, and subtracted one group member, the cabin group didn't know what to do next. It was finally decided that the cabin group would return to Howe's Hardware. Now that Carver was dead, they could turn the once cruel and unforgiving prison onto a sanctuary for all.

The cabin group should have been happy with the news of Carver's demise. But the price for his death was all too high to consider it something worth a celebration.

However, before the group could leave Savannah, Luke had told them they had one last thing to do before they departed.

The cabin group couldn't have agreed more.

They buried her on a hill overlooking Savannah. They managed to scrape together a cross made from wood to place over her grave. Using a pocket-knife, they had engraved all they could in respect to Clementine on that cross.

It took a lot of effort, but they managed to do it. Howe's Hardware had become a safe-haven for all who had shown up at its doors. Although there weren't many people who made it there, they still took solace in knowing that they saved every life that came to them.

It wasn't long after their arrival at the hardware store that Rebecca had gone into labor and given birth to twins.

A boy named Pete.

A girl named Clementine.

For the cabin group, all had seemed to end after Clementine's demise. But the arrival of baby Pete and Clementine had changed their views.

For life goes on in the world.

Life is created and life is taken.

People still cheated one another for their own personal gain.

People still died and left others scarred by the experience.

But life was still created.

Selfless individuals still gave to those who needed.

Heroes still gave their lives for the weak and loved.

For there is always a noble soul who walks among us.

Rest in Peace

Clementine Everett

"Sweet Pea"

AN: The End. I know A LOT of people didn't want Clem to die but, to be a good author, I need to realize that there will always be people who disagree with me on what I've created. I can't be afraid to write (or in this case, type :P). I thought that this was nice closure however. Clementine made a mistake and someone else had paid for it (Lee), but this time Clem took the fall willingly and paid her own price. I always try to make my stories with an ending that isn't too depressing as in "She died, the end." I hate those. I always try to end everything with a silver lining. Hope you all had a nice 4th of July! My family slept during it :/. As always, I thank everyone who had stuck with me from beginning to end. I know I haven't been on top of my updates as I said I would and I am so grateful on how understanding everyone was about it. Be sure to leave a review! This is DARK-EVIL-GODS21 signing off..