We all finally find the end of the cave, walking out and entering the forest with sighs of relief. I extinguished the torch and dropped it on the ground, using the moonlight as we continued to move.
Clementine: Coast is clear. If the shore is that way… the school is probably that way.
Tenn: Aasim was the fourth.
I looked up from my feet, realising what he was talking about.
Clementine: Huh?
Y/n: The day after AJ killed Marlon, you know we had the vote. Me, Violet and Tenn voted for you to stay, but you already know that. Aasim was the fourth one.
AJ: Wait, that means… Omar voted us out? And… Ruby?
Tenn: Uh, yeah.
AJ: Huh.
Clem turned to look at Tenn.
Clementine: What made you think of that?
Tenn: Aasim said you knew how to survive. He could just tell the school would be safer with you there. I voted for you because I liked you, but his reason, it was better. I just… just thought you should know. Aasim was right. We were safer. We were more scared than we let on, when you met us. You made that go away.
Y/n: Hey! I thought my reason was pretty good.
AJ: What was it?
Y/n: The girl was cute and the boy’s funny.
AJ chuckled and Clementine blushed slightly, but turned back to Tenn.
Clementine: That’s really nice of you to say, Tenn. Thank you.
Tenn: That’s okay. Now that we’re out of danger and going back home, it just made me think of it.
AJ: I like Aasim.
Tenn: If Marlon was still in charge, we’d be taken away to wherever. Or dead. Instead, we fought back. Because you showed us how. We weren’t safe with Marlon. Even in his ‘safe zone’, we were just… hiding.
Suddenly, a breaking of twigs could be heard from the bushes and I brought out my sword, while Clementine drew her knife. Then, we all sighed in relief and Violet stepped out from the woods.
AJ: Violet!
Him and Tenn rushed over to the girl, hugging her.
Violet: You made it. You’re all alive.
I hugged her, giving her a smile and then Clementine hugged her.
Y/n: Did everyone else get out?
Violet: Yeah, they’re okay. They took the cart and headed back to the school. We’re safe. All we gotta do now is find our way home.
Clementine: Any idea which way that is?
Violet: I know an old bridge near here. If we cross it, we won’t be too far from the school.
Y/n: Is that the same bridge that me and you ran out to that one time?
Violet: Same one.
Clementine: I’m sorry, what? I need this story.
Y/n: Okay, so, me and Violet got bored of the school and being the little troublemakers we were, we decided to just run past the safe zone and to the bridge. Took a while because neither of us were that athletic.
Violet: Speak for yourself.
Y/n: I am. Now, we made it to this bridge and just as we got to the edge, what did Violet do?
I looked at her, a smug smile on my face.
Violet: I nearly fell off the edge.
Y/n: And what did Y/n do?
She mumbled something and I leaned forward, a hand to my ear while Clementine chuckled.
Y/n: I’m sorry, what was that?
Violet: She saved my life.
Y/n: That’s right.
I smiled proudly and Clementine messed up my hair.
Clementine: There’s my little hero.
I rolled my eyes and Violet now had her time to laugh and then we kept walking in comfortable silence.
Violet: While we were looking for you guys, and I… I thought you might be… gone for good… um, shit. I was trying to figure out what I’d do if you were gone, and I realised how goddamn stupid I was. About Minnie. For a whole fucking year. I was so wrapped up in losing her and Sophie, I pushed away everyone who tried to care about me. Marlon, Brody, Louis. Even you two and AJ. I tried my damnedest not to care about any of you. And I still couldn’t tell you why.
Clementine: Because you were afraid of losing someone else.
Y/n: It’s understandable, Vi.
Violet: I was a goddamn coward. I’m not a coward anymore. Jesus. Everything’s so different now. Me, us. The school. I remember how Marlon and Y/n/n described it, what we were gonna turn Ericson into. It’s not the way any of us pictured it.
Clementine: How did you picture it?
Violet: I guess I couldn’t. I just listened to what Marlon and Y/n/n said. How it would be a home, a real one. But I couldn’t really wrap my head around it. My family lived in a trailer. What about you two? Where did you live before this?
Y/n: Macon. Pretty far from here. Lived in an apartment, downtown.
Clementine looked at me, her eyes wide at what I said.
Clementine: Macon? Downtown?
Y/n: Yeah. Don’t remember it that much apart from my parents and stuff. But I do remember passing past this motel, would stay there sometimes when my Mom knocked out on the couch while I was out with friends.
Clementine: Huh… Right.
She looked deep in thought and I was about to ask, but she cleared her throat.
Clementine: I lived in a house, with my mom and dad. Fence around it. Big backyard.
Violet: What was your favourite part of the house?
Clementine: I had a treehouse in the backyard. I used to take my walkie-talkie up there and play for hours. I’d pretend it was a ship and I was the pirate captain, or it was an igloo and I was a hunter. Ooh, or a castle, and I was a princess.
Violet: Really?
Y/n: Frilly dresses? Tiaras?
Clementine: Yeah, but also a sword. A warrior princess.
Violet: Yeah, obviously.
I brandished my own sword in front of me.
Y/n: Yeah. Swords are the shit.
Clementine: The treehouse kept me alive, when all this started. It’s where I hid.
Y/n: Y’know, Vi, Ericson can still be the home Marlon and I promised. I’ve already started building, I mean, we have that treehouse type thing on top of the greenhouse. As soon as we get back, we can keep rebuilding.
Violet: It’ll be a lot of work, but you were right, and you are now. It is worth it. Hell, we’ve already got a treehouse.
There was another piece of silence as we all took a breath.
Violet: After all that’s happened, it’s still hard to imagine. I mean, we fought for it. Defended it. It should feel more like home than ever. But it doesn’t. You know what the problem is? That stupid fucking name, ‘Ericson’.
Y/n: I completely agree, we should change the name. I mean, who the fuck is ‘Ericson’ anyways?
Violet: He was the headmaster…
Y/n: Oh. Well, how should I know that? I was hardly at the school before he abandoned us.
Violet: I suppose, but I mean, you could’ve guessed.
Y/n: How?
Violet: He was a selfish, rich asshole. Of course he would name his school after himself.
Y/n: Again, how was I supposed to know that? Hardly knew the guy.
Clementine: Okay, if we’re renaming it. How about you two choose?
Violet: Texas. We’re calling it Texas.
Y/n: There’s already Texas. We can’t just rename it a state.
Violet: Fine. Texas Two.
Tenn: I want to help rebuild our school.
Y/n: Don’t worry, Tenn. You will. We all will. We can start as soon as we get back.
Violet: Let’s get home to Texas Two.