THE WALKING DEAD ALTERNATIVE

THE WALKING DEAD ALTERNATIVE SEASON 3: NEW WORLD ORDER

It had been a year.

Twelve months of fighting, running, and surviving. A whole year since I found AJ again—since I held him in my arms and swore, like I always did, that I wouldn't lose him again. But the world had a way of tearing things apart, of forcing people down different roads whether they wanted to go or not.

We all went our separate ways.

I don't even know where everyone is now. Maybe they're alive. Maybe they're dead. Maybe they found something better. But me? I'm still here, still moving, still carrying the weight of everything I've done and everyone I've lost.

Some nights, I close my eyes and see them.

Lee.

Kenny.

Luke.

Alvin.

AJ's mother.

Javier.

Violet.

Louis.

Even the ones whose faces have started to fade, their voices nothing but echoes in my mind.

But Lee's voice is the clearest.

"Keep that hair short."

"Don't be afraid."

"Survive."

I did, Lee. I survived. But I don't know if I'm doing it the way you wanted me to.

A cold breeze sweeps through the empty streets as AJ and I move carefully between the crumbling buildings. The city is quiet, almost peaceful in its destruction. But peace never lasts in this world.

I take a deep breath, trying to shake the memories creeping into my head.

The first time I met Lee.

I was just a kid hiding in my treehouse, scared and alone. My parents were gone—dead, probably. The world had ended, and I had no one. Until I saw him.

A stranger covered in blood, limping into my backyard.

I remember peeking out, my voice small and uncertain.

"Hello?"

And then everything changed.

Lee was the first person who made me feel safe again. The first person who taught me how to survive. The first person who cared.

And then, just like everyone else, I lost him too.

A sound breaks me out of my thoughts.

Low, guttural groans. The scrape of dead feet on pavement.

I grip my knife, heart pounding as shadows start to emerge from the alleyways.

Walkers.

A lot of them.

AJ sees them too, already raising his gun. "Clem—"

"Run," I say.

No hesitation. No second chances.

We bolt down the street as the dead swarm behind us, their rotten hands reaching, their moans rising in a sickening chorus. My legs burn, my breath sharp in my chest, but I keep moving. AJ is right beside me, fast and focused. He knows what to do. We've done this a hundred times before.

I spot an old convenience store up ahead with its metal door half open. A way out.

"This way!" I grab AJ's arm and pull him inside.

We duck through the door and shove it closed just as the first walker slams against it. Their bodies pile up outside, their teeth snapping at the air. The barricade holds—for now.

AJ leans against the wall, catching his breath. I do the same, my pulse still racing.

For a moment, we just sit there in the darkness, listening to the dead claw at the metal.

Then AJ looks at me, his voice quiet. "You were thinking about him again. Weren't you?"

I swallow hard, forcing myself to meet his gaze. "Yeah."

Lee may be gone, but he's never really left me. He's in every choice I make, every step I take. And no matter how much time passes, I'll never stop remembering.

Because he saved me.

And now, it's my turn to keep us alive.