An hour passed and a tired looking Cara and Gary stumble through the doorway. Alice jumped at the sound of the knob turning, but sighed in relief as her friends walking in. Sweat creased their brows as the tossed their work bags to the floor and collapsed on each bed, not even taking notice to the girl sitting at the desk in their room.
"Hi guys," Alice said casually.
"Not now, Alice, I had-" Cara stopped. "Alice?!"
Gary sat up quickly his focus on the girl.
"You're better!" He exclaimed. Alice smiled a bit, nodding.
"We need to talk to Armando as soon as possible," Cara groaned.
"You really think he's gonna let us go just like that? There'll be some sort of catch, you know."
"Well, we can't stay here for several months and not get back to the others. I mean, Bobby and Felicia are probably wondering when we'll make it home. We didn't even chop any wood up, so they're probably freezing."
"I'm sure they'll manage a few days with out us. We'll have to figure out how to escape or persuade Armando to let us go. The goddamn psycho loves beggars."
"Humph. Figures," Cara rolls onto her side, burying her face into her pillow. Gary turns the opposite way, and before Alice can stand up, she hears snores emerging from both of them.
She wondered what kind of work they were forced to do. Her curiosity took her to the bedroom key on the table. She pocketed it and exited the room silently. She figured if they were that tired, they weren't waking up any time soon.
Her legs took her to a staircase. She noted that she was on floor 5 before descending the stairs. At the bottom, there was an exit leading to the road outside. It was still light enough to see, and she also noticed a lot of people mingling around still.
"...You see the new guys? I heard they owe an unpayable debt to the one and only," A man she passed was saying. She twisted the key in her hand, walking past more groups of people.
"I heard they're from the upper west side," Another person said.
"Who told you that? They don't seem like they're from around there. They're probably not even native New Yorkers." A woman answered.
Alice gulped. She wasn't sure she liked these people, or where they were staying. It may look nice, but that doesn't mean it is nice.
"Hey! Kid!" Someone called behind her. She turned to see a boy around her age. He had dark hair and a tan complexion.
"Me?" She said, looking toward the boy.
"Yeah you! Who else would I be calling? You coming to the party tonight, or what?"
Alice was confused. Did he realize who she was? Or did he not even know that she was new around there.
"Am I obligated to go?" She asked.
"A good looking thing like you should be obligated to go anywhere," The boy attempted to flirt. Not knowing how to react, Alice replied,"Ah, no. I have to get back to my-"
"Come on! Let loose! Get some booze in ya! We'll have fun! Let's go!" He grabbed her wrist before she could register and she was being dragged through the crowd. They entered a different apartment building, ascending the steps to the top floor.
"What's your name?" The boy asked.
"What's yours?" Alice asked back.
"Haha, touche. But I asked first. Gimme an answer."
"I'm Alice. Now you," She said.
"Kendall." He replied. Kendall pushed open a metal door labeled 'Roof', and the beating of music entered Alice's eardrums.
"Hey, turn it down Spaz! You know what Armando said about the music being too loud!"
"Right, right," The kid, presumably Spaz, said. He looked near eleven.
A ton of other kids ranging for ten years old to twenty littered the dancefloor, their shoes crunching on the gravel roof and stomping on the wood platform.
"Dance chica! Dance!" Kendall said, pulling her in. The dark began to circle around her and the tightly packed bodies made her panic a little. Where the hell was she, and what was she doing?
The group of people began chanting the lyrics of the next song, and Alice tried to press down the impending headache forming around her temples.
"Have some of this," Another boy offered, smiling slyly. Not knowing what to do, she smelled the cup. It was pure alcohol.
"No thanks, I-"
"We insist! Drink it, new girl. Drink it!" The boys all chanted, laughing hysterically and shoving the cup in her face.
"No, please. I-" The boy had someone bump into him, causing the cold liquid to drench Alice's new sweater. She stood there in shock, as the boy apologized and walked away.
Kendall walked back over,"Oh, shit! Sorry about that! Listen, I'll take you home. I can see you ain't enjoying your time here."
"Please," She said, shivering from the cold.
Oh Alice.
Why did you let that boy take you home?
I'll let you interpret that last line your own way. It could mean something bad, or maybe it isn't. You'll see next chapter, don't worry.
I have figured it out, it's a sadistic pleasure of yours to keep us hanging, isn't it? Funny, I really do think you like doing that, and that last little line, priceless! Bravo and touche!
An hour passed and a tired looking Cara and Gary stumble through the doorway. Alice jumped at the sound of the knob turning, but sighed in r… moreelief as her friends walking in. Sweat creased their brows as the tossed their work bags to the floor and collapsed on each bed, not even taking notice to the girl sitting at the desk in their room.
"Hi guys," Alice said casually.
"Not now, Alice, I had-" Cara stopped. "Alice?!"
Gary sat up quickly his focus on the girl.
"You're better!" He exclaimed. Alice smiled a bit, nodding.
"We need to talk to Armando as soon as possible," Cara groaned.
"You really think he's gonna let us go just like that? There'll be some sort of catch, you know."
"Well, we can't stay here for several months and not get back to the others. I mean, Bobby and Felicia are probably wondering when we'll make it home. We didn't even chop any wood up, so they're probably freezing."
"I'm sure they'll manage a few d… [view original content]
I have figured it out, it's a sadistic pleasure of yours to keep us hanging, isn't it? Funny, I really do think you like doing that, and that last little line, priceless! Bravo and touche!
Hey, one other thing, I am going to ask for an indulgent favor. I have created a fan fiction in forum games Road of Bones. I would be really curious of your opinion and thoughts if/when you have time. The link below will take you to it.
Alice and the boy exited the front of the building. It was dark now, and she saw that no one lingered in the streets any longer.
"So, you were the sick girl they brought in, right?" Kendall began a conversation.
"Yeah, I guess. Me and my aunt, and a friend. We have two others who stayed behind to keep our house safe," Alice said. They took their time, though Alice was freezing with the ice-cold beer soaking her down the front.
Kendall takes a cautious look behind him, turning his head to see if anyone's around. Then, he turns to face Alice.
"Listen. I know a way out of here. This ain't no place for a girl like you, or your family, to be associating yourself in. Women are used here. It don't seem like it now, but you'll get it soon enough. Armando ain't too keen on females, think they should be put in a place and reproduce willingly. Unfortunately, a lot of the asshat men here believe it too. I don't wanna see you used like that. So tomorrow, after the work shift, I'll meet you in the stairwell."
Alice simply nodded,"Uh, alright."
"I can't follow you into the Green, so you'll have to walk up by yourself. I'll see you in class."
"Class?" Alice asks.
"Yeah, all minors go to school in here. I'd like it if it weren't so goddamn socialist," He laughs. Alice again, does not understand a joke.
Kendall begins to walk away, and Alice sees herself starting to think about him more than she intended to.
His eyes were a nice shade of blue.
After Kendall turns the corner, Alice forces herself to walk the opposite direction, toward the Green, which she assumed was the building she was living in. The doors creaked open as she reminded herself what floor to get off on.
She reached the 5th floor. The next set of doors didn't make as much sound, but the her shoes made an echo down the carpeted hallways.
"Hey, good lookin'." She heard a rough voice behind her. The hair on her neck stood on edge as she pretended she didn't hear the man.
"Where ya goin'? The night's young! C'mon, kid!" He yelled. When she turned, she noticed he might have only been a year or two older than her, but it was still creepy that he wanted to do anything with her.
"Just leave me alone," She says calmly. The man grabs hold of her shirt. She rips out of his grip and fumbles through her pocket to get the key. As she reaches her door, the man rams into her, tossing her against the white colored walls and rubbing his hands into her abdomen. He's too strong for her to break away.
He starts forcing his lips on her, the smell of alcohol on his breath reaking more than the alcohol down her shirt. It's the kind of smell that makes you want to vomit in your mouth as soon as it enters your nostrils.
"Stop-" she says in between breaths.
He tears his arms up her shirt, grabbing her inappropriately when the door to her apartment launches open, and a confused Gary emerges
"Get out of here, you fucking bastard!" Gary yells, yanking the guy off of Alice. Her shirt was pulled off now, exposing the bra underneath and her pale skin. She began to cry, folding her arms around herself. Gary kicked the guy to the ground, yelling obscenities. All she could do was stand there and cry.
"I'll be reporting your fuckin' ass!" The man kept yelling.
"Reporting me for what? After you practically raped my kid? Fuck you, asshole!"
Cara emerged, a robe around her body. She pulled Alice into her arms and started to cry to, taking her niece into the apartment and away from Gary's wrath.
Alice and the boy exited the front of the building. It was dark now, and she saw that no one lingered in the streets any longer.
"So, you… more were the sick girl they brought in, right?" Kendall began a conversation.
"Yeah, I guess. Me and my aunt, and a friend. We have two others who stayed behind to keep our house safe," Alice said. They took their time, though Alice was freezing with the ice-cold beer soaking her down the front.
Kendall takes a cautious look behind him, turning his head to see if anyone's around. Then, he turns to face Alice.
"Listen. I know a way out of here. This ain't no place for a girl like you, or your family, to be associating yourself in. Women are used here. It don't seem like it now, but you'll get it soon enough. Armando ain't too keen on females, think they should be put in a place and reproduce willingly. Unfortunately, a lot of the asshat men here believe it too. I don't wanna see you used like that. S… [view original content]
When Alice had stopped crying, the shadows of sunlight had begun to emerge behind the buildings. Gary hadn't been out in the hall much longer after Alice and Cara had retreated. As soon as Gary entered from outside, his face was a mixture of anger and worry.
"Are you okay honey?" He asked. Alice buried her face in Cara's shoulder, mumbling a yes.
"Why don't you get a shower," Cara says. Alice stands and does so. She let the hot water trickle down her back for a while.
She realized then that she never had a hot shower before. There was a shower back home, but the water barely even got lukewarm.
When she dried off, she could hear her guardians talking outside the door.
"...We can't live like this, Gar! She goes out, probably not even for a minute, and some asshole already wants to fuck her!"
"I wasn't planning on having her get better so quick! I have to talk to Armando or something- We need to get out of this place ASAP."
Alice feels the guilt of not telling them consume her. She should have just stayed put. She knew it looked too good to be true, why did she have to test the limits? She entered the main room quietly, the adults already finished talking with each other.
Alice looks as they occupy themselves with getting ready. The sun has risen now, casting light glares into the room.
"Looks about 6 A.M," Gary says, pulling his socks up.
"Yeah. Alice, you're probably going to be going to the school they have here. Please, don't associate yourself with anyone. You hear? You go, you listen to what the teachers want you to do. And I really mean it. Listen to them. It might seem fine and dandy out here, but punishments are far harsher than they ought to in this community. The only reason we took you here is because if we didn't, you would have died. We're going to get out of here."
Alice thought about telling them that Kendall wanted to help. After a moment, she decided not to. She figured she would talk to him in school maybe, see where his words take her.
The school was comprised of the first two floors of the Blue Building. These buildings weren't those particular colors, but that's the way they differentiated each sector. She was issued a couple of notebooks and a backpack with pens. Her feet trudged the halls as she watched kids of all ages run past her. It almost irritated her that she be forced into whatever system this was supposed to be. Girls were treated like they were nothing, and men didn't give a shit. Well, at least most men didn't. There was Kendall.
She saw him leaning against the wall, his buddies of sorts crowding around. Even from a distance, he didn't look genuinely excited to be with those guys. When he spotted Alice, his smile brightened up.
"You made it!" He said. Everything he said, he said it excitedly. Like it was the most awesome thing in the planet.
"I made it..." She uttered. She didn't even try to hide her disgust of being anywhere near this town.
"Make it home safely, I assume?"
Alice simply shakes her head, ever so slightly. Kendall's expression turns grave for a moment, but he decides this isn't the best place to talk about it.
"Let me see your schedule," He says. Alice pulls the paper from her pocket and hands it to him.
"Sweet! Me and you have first period together! I'll show you around!"
"Alright," and she follows him to their class.
When she enters, the man behind the desk nods, and says in a monotone voice,"Welcome to History 101, I'm Mr. Speigleman. Take a seat."
She sits in a chair behind Kendall, who talks to his other friends until the class starts.
All day of sitting around. Writing things. Alice had never written so much in her life. According to her teachers, her grammar was impeccable.
"And you've never been to school?" The English teacher sounded so surprised, Alice almost didn't know how to react.
"No ma'am," Is all she said. She refused to share much of anything. She didn't want to tell any of the teachers how she'd read probably every classic American novel, from Mice of Men to Huckleberry Fin, all in the comfort of her old home. On the little leather sofa across from the little fire in the little apartment that contained her little family. Her family. She never even knew she'd ever call them that.
The last bell rang and she bolted from the classroom. Kendall bumped into her, taking her aside to talk a bit.
"Alright. So good news, and bad news.Bad news: We can exactly leave right away."
"Why not?" Alice was dying to leave this place.
"Well, I mean. We need to make sure we're well supplied. So we'll have to break into the supply room. Grab a few bags of food and medicine. Might as well, right? Then, the armory. I want to hit those places just before we make our escape. Comprende?"
"Okay. So, I'll tell my parents," Alice said. She felt a little weird calling Cara and Gary her parents, but at this point, they really were.
"Right. Don't tell them straight away. Wait until night. There'll probably be another party on the roof. As you saw, it's mostly young folks, but a some old ones do go up to, so you can just pretend like you're bringing them to the party. Once the main outdoor lights go out, that's when we make our moves. I'll tell you more later, for now just go home and get dinner in your stomach." After he's done talking, he gives Alice a smile and a wink and walks away. She walks along the makeshift walls, spread out in between roads that lead outward.
Above, there are patrolmen and women. They hold sniper rifles. Alice shudders.
Yes! Like it very much. It's scary though in a way, it's unimaginable, that the world might turn into a place where the walkers aren't the worst of things out there. This has that feel and it is very, very good because of that!
When Alice had stopped crying, the shadows of sunlight had begun to emerge behind the buildings. Gary hadn't been out in the hall much longe… morer after Alice and Cara had retreated. As soon as Gary entered from outside, his face was a mixture of anger and worry.
"Are you okay honey?" He asked. Alice buried her face in Cara's shoulder, mumbling a yes.
"Why don't you get a shower," Cara says. Alice stands and does so. She let the hot water trickle down her back for a while.
She realized then that she never had a hot shower before. There was a shower back home, but the water barely even got lukewarm.
When she dried off, she could hear her guardians talking outside the door.
"...We can't live like this, Gar! She goes out, probably not even for a minute, and some asshole already wants to fuck her!"
"I wasn't planning on having her get better so quick! I have to talk to Armando or something- We need to get out of this place ASAP."
… [view original content]
Yes! Like it very much. It's scary though in a way, it's unimaginable, that the world might turn into a place where the walkers aren't the worst of things out there. This has that feel and it is very, very good because of that!
"Hmmm... Okay then. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. It is very odd that he would do such a thing. So, I'm going to call him into my quarters and we are going to have a talk. I'm sure it's nothing too serious..." Vaughn turned heel and made his way to do so. "Enjoy your meal, little one."
Soon Vaughn was quickly out of her field of vision as she surveyed the tables around her to find Kenny and AJ, she couldn't spot them anywhere. She could only see... "Oh no..."
Helga and Wayne had zeroed in on her and they were heading right towards her. The latter carrying a small cardboard box and the former stomping right next to him. "Hey! Clementine right?" "Yeah, what's wrong?" Clem just wanted to be left alone so that she could finally eat but that wasn't happening yet.
"I told you she would be clueless." Helga spat at her as brother and sister stood in front of her. "You have fun going outside the wall with dust mite? And I heard you brought back Patchy the Pirate and a new guy. ...Looks like you'd rather travel in packs instead of toughing it out on your own." She must have referred to Kenny and Hazen.
"What do you guys want? I'm really hungry." Clementine retorted as Wayne lowered the box which had an extra knife and pistol already in there. "You forgot to turn in your weapons from work. Give'em back and we'll let you eat." Wayne told Clem as he motioned towards the box he had. "Put'em in here."
Return weapons
Hide weapons
"If you make this hard on us, we have the right to search and seizure." Helga smugly crossed her arms at her. "I dare you to give me an excuse." "Here, take them." Clem placed her pistol, knife, and even the stun gun she found back in the police station. "That's all I have, now can I please eat?"
"When did you get the taser?" Helga questioned but quickly condemned her. "She must have stolen it, she probably has a full set of sticky fingers." "I picked it up before you almost choked Michael to death... I could have used it." Clementine boldly stated to the two of them. "But I didn't." "Oh now you're trying to act like badass? Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night, but I can smell bullshit a mile away." Helga meanly challenged her.
(?) Wayne noted your compliance.
"That's enough Helga." Wayne quieted her once more and sent her off. "Go on and get us some food, just lemme talk to Clementine alone. Now!"
She scoffed at him but she listened and walked past Clementine, but not without pushing her aside. "Outta my way..." And she kept walking to get them some food. "Whatever, piece of..." And then she got into inaudible mumbling.
Wayne made sure she was out of earshot before he stated to the twelve year old. "Helga can be a real bitch sometimes... but that's just the way she is, how she deals with it. ...This is what this world made her. It's just... we've been through a lot together, experienced unspeakable shit. Stuff you'd never understand at your age... You chose to take dust mite's side, I didn't like that. But I know you could have used more than words back in the police station. I'm just saying, we ain't all bad kid, sort of a shitty start though..."
"What are you saying? That I should just forget what happened today with you guys?" Clementine argued.
"Sometimes people get carried away..." Wayne offered this to mull over. "What do you do when that happens? When you see someone overstep their boundaries, do you stop them? Help them? Or end them? Everybody makes mistakes. You and me, it's been hard on all of us."
"Then say you're sorry, and make Helga apologize too." Clementine declared as she began chowing down on ravioli, she couldn't wait any longer. "She'll say she's sorry when she's good and ready." Wayne was about to leave and join his sister. "Oh, and for what it's worth... thanks for not electrocuting me."
Clementine remained silent as she finished her meal and made her way towards Kenny's tent, it wasn't too far so maybe... then she spotted a familiar boy staring and sitting in front of a tree as he stabbed at the ground with his knife. Clementine approached him and made her presence known to Michael. The teen lifted his head, his dark matted fringe covering his eyes as he stared distantly at her. He then proceeded to stab at the ground.
"Hi, Michael." Clementine greeted with a small awkward wave. "Hey." "What are you doing?" She asked, wondering if he was distressed in some way. "Waiting... just nothing now I guess, it's been a real fucked up day for me." He replied. "What are you doing?"
"Checking on you." Clem thought that was pretty obvious. "Why would you do that?" "Well..." She reasoned. "Because you look upset... you're stabbing dirt..." "I'm not upset. Why does everyone think I'm upset? No needs to worry about me. Jesus Christ, I don't hear the end of it from Edith." Clementine sat down in front of him and crossed her legs "Something must be wrong. You're really acting... out of sorts."
Michael grunted and stabbed his knife into the ground, and then he released the handle once it was firmly in place. He then reached for his pocket and tossed a piece of paper to her. "Read it. You might as well."
Clementine unfolded the paper and read it aloud.
"Vaughn. I can't stay here. There's something I need to do. So I'm leaving. And I don't think I'll be able to come back. But I can't take Michael with me. It's just not possible. I'm not a good father, I never was, and he doesn't need me anyway. He may be young but he's strong. He can take care of himself. Could you just do me a favor? Keep an eye on him for me. And when the time comes, break it to him gently that I'm not coming back.
Thanks for everything.
Lucas"
Clementine finished reading the note and stared at a dejected Michael "Well, would you look at that? I've been lied to. Lies, lies, fucking lies. My dad told me then he would come back in a couple of months time. That was fucking ages ago. So I get suspicious, and I had a look around in Vaughn's desk and I found that."
"I'm sorry, Michael." Clementine apologized.
"It's fine though. I don't care. So there's no use crying over it. If we wants to run off and abandon me again just like he did when I was little, when the world wasn't like this, then that's his decision."
"Do you want talk about it?"
"Aren't I already?" Michael paused for a moment. "...When I was a baby he walked out on my mom. And then when the world turns to hell, of all the people we run into, my mom and me run into him. When my mom died..." His voice trailed off as he gave a pained expression "He was the only one I had. The only family I had left. And now he abandons me all over again." He growled angrily, pulling the knife out of the ground and in a blind rage, he threw it at the tree and it stuck.
"Nice hit. You're good at knife throwing." Clementine commented. Michael snorted a laugh "Thanks.""...So what are you going to do?" Clem inquired seeing as this boy may still be in a dark place.
"I might get into a lot of trouble if Vaughn finds out this letter is missing." Michael stood up as did Clementine as he went to pull his knife back out. "If you could sneak in and maybe put it back, I'd appreciate it." Clem crossed her arms in dismay. "Why me? I'm tired Michael, I just want to see my friends and then go to sleep." She looked at the horizon to see that it was almost sunset.
"It'll only take a minute if you're quick, and Vaughn won't be expecting you. Please Clem, I'll make it up to you." Michael smirked. "Anything you want, like maybe get back at Helga?" "Fine." Little had she known, she took hold of this letter once before almost a year ago. "I'll do it."
"And if you get caught, just blame me. I don't want you getting into trouble, not over this. So... yeah, I gotta go do something else..." Michael drew this favor to a close as he released his knife from the tree. He looked at the blade in his hands and decided. "You know what? Here, borrow this as collateral, that way if you get caught you can keep it or something... I think that's how these things work."
"Sure..." Clementine narrowed her tired eyes at him with much exhaustion as she accepted his knife and pocketed it. She just had to get this done then meet with Kenny and AJ. "I'll do my best." "Okay thanks again, Clem." Michael then turned and stormed off.
The two of them parted ways for now as Clementine made her way back to the large tent where Vaughn and Maree hopefully didn't reside at the moment. If he was still talking to Xavier things might prove to be more difficult. How was she going to sneak this note back in for Michael, she did not know, but if she got caught it wouldn't be the end of the world either.
The circus tent came into view, but oddly enough there was no one around, might be easier to do this than she thought-!
"AHHHH!" "MAREE! GAHHH!"
"Oh my god!" Clementine exclaimed as she ran into a full-on sprint towards the circus tent. Those screams were definitely owned by Maree followed by Vaughn. What could possibly make them scream in terror like that? Clem didn't want to know, but she was sure to find out. As she pulled back the flaps of the tent and witnessed what was inside, her worst fears were confirmed and time seemed to slow down, each second feeling like an eternity...
Walkers... on opposite sides of the tent, one attacking each of them by surprise. How the hell lurkers got inside the Wellington, Clementine had no clue. All they could do was struggle and hold their snapping jaws back, but they needed help, they needed it fast, both of them... but who first?
On her right, Vaughn was on his back trying to hold up the clawing corpse from digging into his stomach. Vaughn was strong but he was pinned and gravity was working against him here. He was the kind supportive leader of Wellington and Clementine had a chance to save him, what would happen among the power struggle if he had died?
But on the other hand to her left, Maree was in just as much trouble. Up against the empty crib, she was trying to kick away the walker and grab her knife, but her reach fell way short. Maree had the medical experience, and she always took care of AJ. Clem also promised Dusty to look out for her, but at the cost of her father's life?
Clementine had to chose who to run to... who to save first... the decision was at hand.
With a heavy heart, Clementine ran over to the struggling Maree, knife in hand... everything sped back up as she heard the young woman's pleas. "Clem no! Help him! Help my dad!"
"RYA!" The twelve-year-old grunted as she dove Michael's knife into the walker's skull. The lurker fell limp and silent, signaling that Clem's attack had worked, and the girl's life was saved. Maree pushed the walker off of her, and she took her own knife back that was out of her reach earlier. Then the two of them looked back at Vaughn, who was still managing by himself until...
"RAHHH! HAAA! HAA-!" Vaughn screamed in horrible agony when his lurker abandoned any attempt to bite down on his neck and instead dug its dead fingers and hands into his stomach.
"DADDY NO!"
"Oh my god! Vaughn!" Clementine and Maree ran to him in a split second, but before Maree could stab the walker herself, the lurker had tugged out a handful of his intestines and got the first bite. With all the writhing and bleeding, Maree raged against the walker that had done the deed and stabbed it in the back of the neck, and threw it off of her father. "No... NO!"
Vaughn was in a state of shock, but he had only about a minute of life left before he would bleed out. But due to bloody circumstances, that minute would be the worst suffering of his life. Barely even to form words. "...M-mar... I..."
"No! No. No. No! You can't! You can't leave me, please daddy...je t'aime..." Bawling uncontrollably, the young Haitian daughter coddled over her father's dying body. "Clementine... we have to do something... He's in pain, I-I don't know! I can't do anything! I can't fix this!"
Clementine knew exactly what it had to come to. "We... we can end the pain for him, Maree. ...You can do it." Maree sobbed. "...I-I can't... Oh god... no... please..." Clem then looked back at the dying man who had always been kind to her, kind to everyone.
Kill him herself
Have Maree do it
Clementine approached the grieving daughter with her knife in hand. "Step back Maree, I'll... I'll put him to rest."
Her breath hitched on her words, but she understood that it needed to be done, so that Vaughn wouldn't have to suffer anymore. He of all people didn't deserve this. Maree silently nodded and kissed her father's forehead one last time. "Au revoir... je t'aime..."
His last breathes were upon Vaughn, he only wished he could say those words back to his daughter before he had to go, but he was just physically incapable of forming words. And then Vaughn's eyes traveled from Maree to Clementine as she held the knife, aimed right for his head. Clementine somberly stated. "...I'm sorry."
With all of the twelve year old's might, she stabbed the metal blade easily through Vaughn's left eyeball and then deep into his brain. His suffering had ceased but his daughter cried out in grief. "NO! sobsob "
(?) Maree will remember this.
Clementine pulled the knife back out and realized that Vaughn, the leader of Wellington, was now dead before them, sprawled out on the floor in his own tent. Had the little girl made the right choice? What was going to happen now? And why in the holy hell were there walkers here in the first place? So many questions were left unanswered...
"What's going on in here?!" Someone had barged into the tent, seeing as what all the commotion was about. Fortunately it was a familiar face, and it turned out to be Dusty. "Clem, Maree, what? ...Oh no... oh fuck no..."
Dusty had sadly spotted Vaughn's corpse behind Clem and a bawling Maree beside her. His eyes had inspected the room, and he was able to put two and two together with the dead walkers in here as well. The young man approached them. "What happened?! Clem?"
"There were walkers attacking! I couldn't save them both!" Clementine tried to explain, but he was cut off by Maree.
"You could have saved him! Why did you come after me!? You could have helped him, Clementine!" She gave a distraught look at the young girl and then to Dusty who responded with one of guilt. "We needed him! We needed him to lead us..." She then took a deep breathe. " sobsobsob "
"Maree!" Dusty had quickly come up behind her and pulled her into a tight hug so that she would scream and cry into his shoulder instead. "Shh... shhh... It's okay, it's okay... he's in a better place now, alright? Just... it'll be okay."
Her muffled voice replied. "No... no..."
Clementine felt horrible for her loss, but it was done and that was that. Nothing would change it. Oddly enough however, when her eyes scanned over the dead walkers that were attacking them, they seemed very familiar. The corpses both seemed fresh, and their faces had spider tattoos. She gasped. "Wait, I know these people..."
"What? You know them? The walkers?" Dusty questioned her as he still held Maree in an embrace. "I saw them this morning, right before I met you." Clementine explained to him. "They didn't look friendly, but they were coughing a lot." "Coughing? Oh Jesus... Clem, look at their eyes." Dusty pointed out.
Yes indeed, both pairs of eyes from the dead walkers were black and bleeding from their already rotten sockets. Whatever these people had, it wasn't good, something that would make eyes bleed, something that extreme would be the cause of a disease, something terrible that had perhaps made these men die here. "They were sick..."
"Sick... What the hell then? What makes people sick like this?" Dusty stood up while he propped up Maree and they stepped away from the dead bodies cautiously. "Clementine, w-we need to tell someone, we gotta get the coun-!"
"Clementine!" Kenny had busted into the tent like he owned the place, and he advanced on the twelve year old and grabbed her hand forcibly. "Come on, you gotta get outta here, now!"
"Kenny I-!" She was interrupted when Kenny didn't want to waste any more time, and he picked up the girl in his arms, bridal-style.. "What are you doing?!" "You gotta trust me darlin', let's go." Kenny responded as he quickly carried Clementine out of Vaughn's tent, leaving Dusty and Maree behind with one another.
The sun had gone down below the horizon now, and it was the start of a clear evening with the full moon out and about. As Kenny and Clementine passed the tents of confused residents, wondering what all the commotion was about, the two of them internally remembered and connected what happened just now to the suspicious activities of their work day. A duffel bag full of medication that Xavier didn't want anyone to know about...
"Kenny! You don't have to carry me!" Clementine objected, but it didn't really matter since they already arrived at Kenny's medium-sized green tent which was conveniently next to Clementine's. "Put me down." "Alright sorry." The one-eyed man apologized. "But I had to find ya and get ya outta there."
From inside Kenny's tent, Clementine could hear Alvin Junior cries for companionship. "AJ-!" Clem was about to check on him but Kenny stopped her.
"No Clem, no. It's too risky." He clasped her shoulder firmly so that she was prevented to enter, but it only left the girl even more confused. "What? Why Kenny?" The twelve year old inquired.
Kenny looked around them to see if anyone would be close enough to hear them, there wasn't anyone around so that was good enough for him. He crouched down to her level. "Clem, the reason why you didn't see me and Alvie at dinner is 'cause I saw two guys coughing up blood in their food. ...Guys that had them tattoos. They were sick Clem... I know it. They were real sick and I wanted to protect AJ. And we can't see him till we know we ain't sick like them."
"You mean we're sick too? Kenny? Sick with what?" Clem questioned starting to feel a rise of anxiety.
"I'm sorry sweetie, but it's something bad, real bad, you saw them same folks back in Vaughn's tent..." Kenny frowned at the thought of a virus that could spread and turn them all into walkers within day. "We might already have it... How are you feelin'? You got a fever?" "Kenny... I'm fine." Little did he know though, Clem did a self-diagnosis of herself. Was she feeling hot? Was she coughing too? She didn't think so.
"You sure? Here, lemme see your forehead." Kenny put the back of his burly hand on Clem's face to check for a fever. To his relief... "You feel okay." He pulled his hand back and checked himself. "...Listen Clem, listen to me okay? You remember that Xavier's got them meds that could save lives, save yours and AJ's... He's gotta be hoardin' them for his buddies. Clem, we gotta put ourselves first and make sure we get some. ...Ain't no way in hell that bag will be enough to keep everyone in Wellington healthy..."
"But what about everyone else? If they get sick won't they die and turn into walkers too?" Clementine asked. "Isn't there another way to help them?"
"Screw everyone else, you two are the only ones I care about." Kenny declared to her. "It's been a good run, but we'll leave Wellington all together if we have too. ...But not without medicine to keep you and Alvie breathin'. ...So I hate askin' you to do this and it might be real dangerous, it ain't right but I have to watch over AJ from out here, Clem. ...You're quicker, you can hide better than me, so I'm just askin' ya to go to Xavier's place and get that medicine, just enough for us. Two people and a baby."
"We have to tell the others, we have to warn people Kenny." Clementine pleaded the bearded man in the more virtuous direction, to give everyone a fighting chance.
Kenny retorted as he stood back up. "Then this whole place will be fuckin' chaos, a damn shit storm where nobody ain't gonna get anything. Clem... think about Alvin, think about us, this is the only way we can make sure that we can't get sick like those other guys. So please, I'm beggin' ya, go on and do this, for us."
Warn Wellington about the flu
Protect your family
Clementine had to comply, these were things she had never faced before, so as if she were lost in the dark, Kenny was there to guide her and learn from this experience. She just needed enough medicine to combat this bug for them. Christa told her long ago that antibiotics and other drugs were invaluable when it came to getting sick. Because who wants to die in the apocalypse because of catching the flu? "Okay Kenny, I'll do my best."
"I know you will darlin'. Thank you." Kenny gratefully stated as they exchanged one more best of luck glances before Clementine went off.
Clementine innocently asked around as to where Xavier actually was, because he was a superior and he wouldn't exactly have a regular tent. Clem however found out that Xavier held up at the same old Wellington police station that she was in earlier this morning. Still armed with only a knife, she deduced that her objective would be on the second floor. There were steel bars on the windows, so the front door would still be her only option for entry. Sneak in and sneak out, that was the plan. "I have to stay as quiet as I can..." She whispered to herself.
Clementine tip-toed to the front door and hid off to the side of the entrance so that she could peek around the side. No one was fortunately present, the front desk was unattended, so he must have gone home. The twelve year old though spotted the stairs that were off adjacent to the desk, and that was where she needed to go. She let herself in and was about to make it to the stairs when she heard footsteps.
Clementine held her breathe as she instinctively hid behind the front desk, and a guard with a flashlight came around the corner. He had a radio on hand and he spoke into it. "Thought I heard something..."
Clementine held her breathe as she instinctively hid behind the front desk, and a guard with a flashlight came around the corner. He had a radio on hand and he spoke into it. "Thought I heard something..."
Clem had to peek up to see if it was clear, but she ducked back down just before the guard's flashlight would have shined on her. She had to be patient, wait him out if he had too. The guard then moved his way to the front doors with his back to Clem. "Ain't no one getting in here, sir."
Looks like she had an opening, Clem turned herself around and stayed crouched down as she made her way to the stairs with relative ease. After the short climb, Clem was on the second floor: where all the cops would have their meetings and desks, looked like a run down office. but that was when Clementine heard a voice coming from the Captain's private quarters in the far right corner of the squad room. "What?! What the hell happened?!"
There was no mistaking it, that was Xavier, Clem could see him through the window of the office door, bellowing into his walkie-talkie. Clementine the Ninja continued her infiltration and she stood by the wall next to the door to listen in on what he had to say...
"Vaughn's dead?! That's impossible! That's..." Xavier paused and realized what had happened. "Those motherfucking imbeciles died while they were waiting for him? I knew they were sick... but I thought they had more time. God help us, this could be worst than I realized... the fucking walker virus wasn't bad enough, now we got this goddamn super flu!?" Another pause from the response on the radio. "Okay... I'll be right there, we'll get an announcement going first thing in the morning..." He sighed. "...I hope I made the right decision. Just a little order amid the chaos... I only wanted to talk to him on my terms! But it looks like I have to take matters into my own hands..."
Xavier had stopped talking, and Clementine could hear footsteps coming towards the door. She hid, right behind where the door swung open on her, and Xavier strode out. He conveniently left his office door open for Clem. He was already down the stairs when the little girl let herself in, closing the door behind her for privacy.
His office was quite bare, there was a large cabinet for his coat perhaps, a large oaken desk, a matching chair, and a window to look out onto the settlement. He had a lantern that provided the only light in here, so it had cast long and ominous shadows all along the room. That duffel bag had to be in here, or Clem would be in trouble. "Gotta work fast."
Clem picked the only logical place she thought he could hide something like this, so she opened the cabinet first. Lo and behold, there it was: the bag of meds that they needed, she only needed a little bit to save a baby, herself, and Kenny right? No one will miss it...
"...It's not safe out there without a gun anymore." Xavier muttered to himself from afar. "I better get used to that now..."
"-!" Clem gasped. Xavier was coming back for his gun, and she was out in the open in the middle of his office. She had to hide or do something! Not enough time to find his gun and defend herself. In the ensuing panic, she realized she had to hide, that was her only valid option.
Episode 1: The fallen rise:
"Hmmm... Okay then. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. It is very odd that he would do such a … morething. So, I'm going to call him into my quarters and we are going to have a talk. I'm sure it's nothing too serious..." Vaughn turned heel and made his way to do so. "Enjoy your meal, little one."
Soon Vaughn was quickly out of her field of vision as she surveyed the tables around her to find Kenny and AJ, she couldn't spot them anywhere. She could only see... "Oh no..."
Helga and Wayne had zeroed in on her and they were heading right towards her. The latter carrying a small cardboard box and the former stomping right next to him. "Hey! Clementine right?" "Yeah, what's wrong?" Clem just wanted to be left alone so that she could finally eat but that wasn't happening yet.
"I told you she would be clueless." Helga spat at her as brother and sister stood in front of her. "You have fun going outside … [view original content]
Clementine quickly hid inside the cabinet where the duffel bag full of medicine resided, and she closed the doors behind her just enough so that she could see what was going on through the crack in between.
She slowed and controlled her breathing as she watched Xavier enter his office again, looking around suspiciously. She guessed he thought he might have heard something. He took his time as he made his way to his desk and tugged opened a drawer where his pistol was. He cocked it... Click arming it.
Suddenly, his head shot under the desk and searched the area. Good thing Clem didn't hide there... but then.
Xavier growled towards the cabinet. "...You closed my door."
BANG!
Clementine yelped as she slammed herself into the back of the wooden cabinet. She avoided the bullet by mere inches, but now there was a hole in the door. The light from the lantern shined through, making it look like a spotlight on Clementine's face before he pulled the cabinet doors open, revealing her.
The still greasy Xavier looked down on a frightened Clementine with his gun pointed at her. "I didn't want any visitors tonight, little one..."
End- Episode 1- The Fallen Rise...
Next time on The Walking Dead (Season Three Episode 2- The Perils Ahead)
Kenny approached Clementine with Alvin Junior in his arms. "Clem... I don't trust any of these folks, and if you ask me we're better off without any of them." He had a look of regret on his face then stared down at AJ. "Wellington might be done..."
Dusty sighed as he and Clementine were looking off into the distance. "Did you save Maree just because I asked you to look for her? Because, dammit, this wasn't what I had in mind. ...I, I shouldn't have put that on you. If I were only there just a little sooner, maybe we could have saved Vaughn too..." This isn't your fault, Dusty..." Clem assured him.
"We really need to find your friends, Clem." Michael stated to her. "Because we won't survive out here on our own. No supplies, no nothing. We made it this far, but that can change at any second..."
change at any second..."
Xavier spoke to the remaining citizens of the camp from behind a podium to make this emergency announcement. "There is no cause for panic. Now, I know that some of you are sad to hear the loss of some of our beloved members of our community... but you all have my word. This a place where we can work together and call a sanctuary in a world gone wrong, where you can sleep easy at night and live fearless productive lives. This settlement is our legacy, and I promise all of you, with my life, that Wellington is still safe..."
Connection- Would you have given Lucas note to Vaughn?
Feud- Between Dusty and Wayne, whose side would you have taken?
Secrecy- Would you have opened the duffel bag yourself?
Fidelity- Would you have saved Vaughn or Maree?
Priority- Would you have put the life of your family, over the life of the others?
With a heavy heart, Clementine ran over to the struggling Maree, knife in hand... everything sped back up as she heard the young woman's ple… moreas. "Clem no! Help him! Help my dad!"
"RYA!" The twelve-year-old grunted as she dove Michael's knife into the walker's skull. The lurker fell limp and silent, signaling that Clem's attack had worked, and the girl's life was saved. Maree pushed the walker off of her, and she took her own knife back that was out of her reach earlier. Then the two of them looked back at Vaughn, who was still managing by himself until...
"RAHHH! HAAA! HAA-!" Vaughn screamed in horrible agony when his lurker abandoned any attempt to bite down on his neck and instead dug its dead fingers and hands into his stomach.
"DADDY NO!"
"Oh my god! Vaughn!" Clementine and Maree ran to him in a split second, but before Maree could stab the walker herself, the lurker had tugged out a handful of his intestines and got the first … [view original content]
"You're ready?" Kendall asked. After Alice had gone home and told Cara and Gary, the adults thought she was crazy. But after she invited Kendall up to explain the plan, they were all for it.
"You're pretty good at coming up with this shit," Gary had told him.
"Well, when I'm not hanging with deadbeat friends, I do a lot of thinking," Kendall had replied.
Alice was across the hall from the armory. She hid in the laundry room, peeking out the window every so often. She had to wait for the signal. The signal was basically the moment that Kendall approached the guard and sacked him in the groin.
She saw him turn the corner from the side of the door. The muffled sounds of their conversation were barely audible, but decipherable.
"...Yeah, Armando said he wants a few guns over in the Blue building."
"Really? I didn't get a notice for-"
And Kendall did just what he said he would. The man crumpled to the ground as Kendall took the key from his belt. Alice ran out the door, grabbing the man's gun and training it on him. Kendall raided the closet, grabbing every carry-able weapon and ammo case.
"Let's get out of here. We're meeting your parents over at the west exit. It's boarded up, but we can get them down with a little force," Kendall explains as they run down the hall. A set of guards running the opposite way join eyes with the teenagers and lift their guns. Before Alice could register, Kendall already to the initiative to shoot each one in the leg and the shoulder.
The walked over the man and the woman and kept going.
"We there yet?"
"A few more halls," Kendall replied. And then there it was. The doors looked like any old doors, an old emergency exit light casting a red glow in the dark hallway.
"They should be here," Kendall says. He looks down the hall they came from, then down to where it continued. Just then, Gary and Cara run around the corner, the sounds of shots being fired in the distance.
"Fuck! They shot my thigh," Cara says. The blood is already soaking her jeans as she tightens the bags of food to her back.
"We need to get the door down now," Kendall tells Gary. The guys use their force to get the nailed on planks look.
"It's no use," Cara says, leaning over her knees to catch her breath. She grabs an extra gun off of Alice's back and aims for the bolts. Just as her gun goes off, more guards turn around the corners, their own weapons at hand.
The doors fly open. The group runs out, Kendall firing behind him at the guards who're pooring out faster than water.
"The truck is this way!" Gary leads.
Alice holds onto the gun she'd stolen. Using the skills Felicia had taught her, she aims at the men and women who are out to get them.
The bullet goes through someone's leg. They fall over, writhing in pain. Another man goes down, this one by Kendall. The two adolescents keep shooting, though trying their best not to do it fatally. They still run, approaching the truck ever so slightly.
Gary pulls open the door. Kendall runs to the back, hopping into the truck bed, while Alice follows. Cara takes a spot in the passenger side, and Gary revs up the engine. They book it.
The snipers. Alice's heart drops.
"They can shoot us if we give them the chance!" Alice yells.
"Well, let's not give them the chance then," Kendall says. He pulls the bigger rifle from his back, an AWC G2, as Kendall had told her earlier.
He looks down the scope, his aim perfect.
A shot is taken.
Alice tries to think that all he did was shoot the leg of another person.
"You're ready?" Kendall asked. After Alice had gone home and told Cara and Gary, the adults thought she was crazy. But after she invited Ken… moredall up to explain the plan, they were all for it.
"You're pretty good at coming up with this shit," Gary had told him.
"Well, when I'm not hanging with deadbeat friends, I do a lot of thinking," Kendall had replied.
Alice was across the hall from the armory. She hid in the laundry room, peeking out the window every so often. She had to wait for the signal. The signal was basically the moment that Kendall approached the guard and sacked him in the groin.
She saw him turn the corner from the side of the door. The muffled sounds of their conversation were barely audible, but decipherable.
"...Yeah, Armando said he wants a few guns over in the Blue building."
"Really? I didn't get a notice for-"
And Kendall did just what he said he would. The man crumpled to the ground as Kendall took th… [view original content]
They arrived home very late that night. Alice stirred away when she felt the car stop and turn off, then the sounds of everyone moving to get out. When she turned around, Kendall was already out of the truck. She grabbed the guns they had stolen and followed everyone into the apartment.
"This is where you guys stay?" Kendall asked as Cara knocked on the door. It creaked open, a slight glimpse of Felicia's face shown.
"You guys are alive!" Felicia exclaims, pulling the door open and hugging Cara tight.
Bobby appears, taking the bags off of Cara and Gary's shoulders, inviting them in from the cold.
Alice and Kendall walking in together, Kendall's head poking in before he lets the rest of himself follow.
"Who's the new kid?" Bobby asks, pointing at Kendall.
"He helped us escape," Alice tells him.
"Yeah, my name's Kendall. Nice to meet you, sir," The boy smiles and extends his hand for a handshake.
After everyone introduces themselves, the new arrivals sit together on the leather couch, letting the warm fire thaw their bodies as each eats a can of mixed vegetables from the supplies they brought back.
"It's a nice place," Kendall says in between bites.
"Yeah," Alice says, her eyes transfixed on her meal. The room stays fairly quiet for a while. Alice feels sleep creep up on her fast, and before she knows it, her eyes are forcing themselves shut. She feels one of the adults carry her to her room, to her bed, where she can sleep peacefully.
The next morning, there's a little more talking.
"So what exactly happened? You've been gone for days,"Bobby asks over a cup of hot coffee. Another thing that was stolen from the camp.
"We told Armando that we'd pay off the debt if he healed Alice," Gary said.
"No, you told Armando we would pay off the debt. We could've figured out a way to-"
Gary slams his handless arm down on the table,"There was NO bargaining with that bastard." The room falls silent. Alice and Kendall stand near each other, leaning against the counter.
Bobby turns his attention to Kendall. "What about you, boy? Where'd you get the idea of escaping?"
Kendall sips his coffee, then says,"I didn't like it there. Not one bit. I saw my mom get killed. My dad was an asshole. My friends were assholes. The girls feared any guy who gave them a single look. It was fucked up."
Bobby just nods, his mug reaching his lips as he sips.
Felicia enters the kitchen after using the bathroom again. She stands next to Bobby's seat, her hands working into the muscles in his shoulders.
Bobby places his mug down softly, then says,"Well, we found something out while you were all gone."
"What?" Cara asks. She turns her attention to her brother, a bit of worry in her eyes.
"Felicia and I think that she may be...well..."
"Pregnant," Felicia finishes his sentence.
Bobby just nods again, reaching for his half empty mug. Alice just noticed that there's a heart on it with the words,'World's Greatest Dad.'
What a coincidence.
The room again, falls silent for a moment.
"Well, that's not so bad, is it?" Cara asks.
"Maybe not. As long as we can keep this place protected. There ain't so many Walkers roaming around anymore, but they're still dangerous. And, if Armando gets word of where we're staying-"Gary gives a glare toward Kendall,"- then we'll have a bit of trouble in that regard."
"Hey, I'm not going back to that dick! I'd rather be here with you guys, who I barely know, than be in that shit community pretending like I enjoy getting shitfaced and disrespecting women and shit." Kendall's face goes sour as her turns around and places his cup in the sink.
"Yeah, whatever," Gary mutters. Cara places her hand on his back, rubbing it softly. Similar to the way Felicia comforts Bobby.
"Me and Kendall are gonna go out back to the courtyard, okay?" Alice says. Gary just grunts a 'Whatever,' and the rest of the group don't respond to it.
"What's their beef?" Kendall asks, once they get to the pen containing the hens.
"They don't trust you, because you used to be part of Armando's crew."
"The hell I was," Kendall kicks a can on the ground.
"I know," Alice says. Her and Kendall stand inches away from each other, staring up at the buildings surrounding them.
"At least you don't hate me," He says.
"Who said they hate you?" Alice asks.
Kendall shrugs, turning away from her. She follows him as he approached the two cows they also keep.
"Just give them a chance," She says. Her hand reaches his should and he turns to face her.
They share a smile before walking back into the house.
I have learned something about this story, and I am seeing it in evidence once again. You lull the reader into a false sense of security. I really like the way you do this, it makes the "Oh shit" moment coming that much better. Love this story!
They arrived home very late that night. Alice stirred away when she felt the car stop and turn off, then the sounds of everyone moving to ge… moret out. When she turned around, Kendall was already out of the truck. She grabbed the guns they had stolen and followed everyone into the apartment.
"This is where you guys stay?" Kendall asked as Cara knocked on the door. It creaked open, a slight glimpse of Felicia's face shown.
"You guys are alive!" Felicia exclaims, pulling the door open and hugging Cara tight.
Bobby appears, taking the bags off of Cara and Gary's shoulders, inviting them in from the cold.
Alice and Kendall walking in together, Kendall's head poking in before he lets the rest of himself follow.
"Who's the new kid?" Bobby asks, pointing at Kendall.
"He helped us escape," Alice tells him.
"Yeah, my name's Kendall. Nice to meet you, sir," The boy smiles and extends his hand for a handshake.
After everyone introduce… [view original content]
"Psst. Alice. Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiceeeeee...." Kendall's whispers fill Alice's ear. She pokes one eye open and notices his face is mere millimeters from hers.
"What do you want?" Alice whispers in the darkness. Cara stirs in her bed, and the two stay silently still, as if that would stop her from seeing them both if she did wake up. When they heard another snore emerge from her, Alice got up. She tiptoed behind Kendall to the livingroom, where he'd been sleeping the past week.
"What did you want?" Alice asks, a little louder than a whisper.
He takes a spot on the couch, the flames lighting the room enough for them to see one another.
"I wanted to talk," He said. It was simply stated, but Alice still couldn't fathom why on earth the boy would wake her up at these ungodly hours.
"About what?" Alice took her spot next to him, the both of them staring into the flames.
"About some stuff on my mind, I guess." He replies.
"So....start?"
"Okay, okay. Let me just...gather my thoughts."
They sit there in silence some more.
"Did you just want me next to you?" Alice asks after a while.
No response from Kendall. She turns her head to face him. His eyes are closed, his breathing steady.
She shakes him awake,"Kendall!"
"Huh? What?" He rubs his eyes.
"You said you wanted to talk?"
"Yeah, uhm.." He looks around for a minute. "Well, let's just start somewhere, I guess. Are any of these guys her your mom or dad?"
"...No. My parents are dead." Alice replies after a second.
"My mom is dead." Kendall says.
"Yeah."
"Yeah. She just....stopped working one day. I was a kid, and I came home, and she wasn't there one day. And then, Armando went on the intercom system and announced that there would be a public trial for her and a few other women who were....misbehaving."
Why was Kendall telling Alice these things?
"So she was....killed." Alice states.
"....Yeah, she was. I didn't....I didn't see them...do it. But dad came back pissed. Said she deserved it. Fuck..." Kendall rubs his eyes, a combination of sleep and tears getting to him.
"My mom died when I was little. My father never told me why, but I figured as I got older that she must've been bit. I was just a toddler then."
"Man. It sucks," Kendall says. The both of them sit up some, fixing their slouches. Kendall turns his head to Alice.
"What about your dad?" He asks.
"He died not very long ago. I was save by these guys. And...well, things got more complicated. I found out I have actual relations with some of them here. My aunt Cara, my uncle Bobby. They were my mother's siblings."
"Ah. Why weren't you guys together in the first place?"
"Things happened before I was born, between them and my mom. Well, more my aunt Cara and my mom."
"Oh."
"Yeah." Alice turns her head toward Kendall.
"You're very pretty," He says.
Alice blushes. Her face turns back toward the fire as it crackles softly in the dark.
Kendall kisses her cheek and says,"You can go back to bed now, if you want."
"You didn't really want me out here to talk, did you?" She says.
Kendall looks away, his cheeks blushing a bit of red,"...No. No, I..."
She doesn't respond back. She lets her head lean onto his shoulder as they sit there in silence. She keeps thinking about the kiss he gave her, and if it really meant something or not.
Oh yeah, reeling me in like a big ole catfish that you'll, skin, gut, and fry for supper. I just know it's coming. I like Kendall, he adds to the story for Alice in a charming way. Gawd! I was that young once; long, long, looong time ago. Those awkward moments. Yep, I can feel a sucker punch coming. Love this story Emmy, you are a very gifted writer, absolutely!
"Psst. Alice. Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiceeeeee...." Kendall's whispers fill Alice's ear. She pokes one eye open and notices his face is mere millimete… morers from hers.
"What do you want?" Alice whispers in the darkness. Cara stirs in her bed, and the two stay silently still, as if that would stop her from seeing them both if she did wake up. When they heard another snore emerge from her, Alice got up. She tiptoed behind Kendall to the livingroom, where he'd been sleeping the past week.
"What did you want?" Alice asks, a little louder than a whisper.
He takes a spot on the couch, the flames lighting the room enough for them to see one another.
"I wanted to talk," He said. It was simply stated, but Alice still couldn't fathom why on earth the boy would wake her up at these ungodly hours.
"About what?" Alice took her spot next to him, the both of them staring into the flames.
"About some stuff on my mind, I guess." He replies.
"So....star… [view original content]
"Psst. Alice. Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiceeeeee...." Kendall's whispers fill Alice's ear. She pokes one eye open and notices his face is mere millimete… morers from hers.
"What do you want?" Alice whispers in the darkness. Cara stirs in her bed, and the two stay silently still, as if that would stop her from seeing them both if she did wake up. When they heard another snore emerge from her, Alice got up. She tiptoed behind Kendall to the livingroom, where he'd been sleeping the past week.
"What did you want?" Alice asks, a little louder than a whisper.
He takes a spot on the couch, the flames lighting the room enough for them to see one another.
"I wanted to talk," He said. It was simply stated, but Alice still couldn't fathom why on earth the boy would wake her up at these ungodly hours.
"About what?" Alice took her spot next to him, the both of them staring into the flames.
"About some stuff on my mind, I guess." He replies.
"So....star… [view original content]
"What the fuck!" Gary's voice woke Alice with a jump as the booming echo rang in her ears.
She watched him grab Kendall by his shirt with one hand, while his stub threatened a punch.
"I swear, we didn't do anything!" Kendall yells in fear.
"The hell you-"
"Stop!" Alice yells. Gary turns his head to her, then says,"What did you two do last night?"
"Nothing," She says, rather calmly.
Gary's anger starts to diminish some, now that the others are awake and rubbing the sleep from their eyes.
"What's going on?" Bobby asks, slipping past Gary's massive body.
Gary let's go of Kendall, letting the boy fall to the ground as he scurries away.
"We did nothing," Alice says sternly. "We just sat, and talked. That. Was. It."
Gary is calmed now, though a scowl still fills his face, making creases at the seams. He walks out the back door, into the courtyard. She looks to Kendall, who heads to the front door, beginning to unlock it.
"Don't go," She says, but Kendall doesn't respond. He opens it up, grabbing his gun from the little end table and walking out. Alice grabs her own gun and follows him.
He stops midway down the street. He stares at a trap containing a squirming walker.
"What the fuck is wrong with me," Kendall says. He gets down on his knees, watching the walker struggle. Alice stands before him, her hand resting on top of his shoulder.
"Nothing is wrong with you," She says. Kendall lifts his gun, and shoots the walker in front of him. He drops it to the ground and slouches over, out of Alice's reach. She sits on the pavement next to him, her legs folded in front of her and her hand on his arched back.
He stifles a cry.
"I miss my friggin' mother. I miss her, and I miss my mom. Fuck it, I miss my dad sometimes. He wasn't a complete ass all the time, just when times got friggin' tough and my mom started not to care. God damn it."
She runs her hand down his back, up and down, in a soothing pattern. He sits back up, his face inches from hers.
She kisses him on the lips softly.
He sits there, shocked a moment, then smiles. She helps him up and they get back in the house. A rumbling in the clouds overhead threatens to rain down, so they grab their guns and head inside before it down pours.
The adults inside are doing their daily chores, sweeping and cooking. Kendall takes a place on the couch, a copy of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in his hands as he begins to read it.
Alice goes straight to the back door of the house and into the court yard. Gary is sitting on the bench, his head in his hand. She sits next to him, not uttering a sound. The rain begins to come down in little droplets.
"I'm so fuckin' sorry," Gary mumbles.
"It's okay," Alice says.
"No, it's not," Gary says back. He lifts his head to the sky, the rain starting to come down a little harder.
Alice copies him, a few drops hitting her face.
"I had a kid once," He started. "She was 7 years old when the shit hit the fan. And she died at 7 fuckin' years old. Her and her mama. Dead. Fuck...Alice, you remind me of her every single day."
Alice took her hand and grabbed Gary's stub. He crooked a sad smile, saying,"Let's get inside before we both catch colds."
Very nice as always, I've come to expect that. These characters are so very real, it's remarkable the way you bring them to life so simply. It's as I've said before, the fact that they are carrying on with normal life in a completely unnatural world, you capture that every day life feel vividly and expertly. I continue to look forward to and enjoy these.
"What the fuck!" Gary's voice woke Alice with a jump as the booming echo rang in her ears.
She watched him grab Kendall by his shirt with… more one hand, while his stub threatened a punch.
"I swear, we didn't do anything!" Kendall yells in fear.
"The hell you-"
"Stop!" Alice yells. Gary turns his head to her, then says,"What did you two do last night?"
"Nothing," She says, rather calmly.
Gary's anger starts to diminish some, now that the others are awake and rubbing the sleep from their eyes.
"What's going on?" Bobby asks, slipping past Gary's massive body.
Gary let's go of Kendall, letting the boy fall to the ground as he scurries away.
"We did nothing," Alice says sternly. "We just sat, and talked. That. Was. It."
Gary is calmed now, though a scowl still fills his face, making creases at the seams. He walks out the back door, into the courtyard. She looks to Kendall, who heads to the front door, beginning to unlock i… [view original content]
"What's on your mind?" She asks. The mug of coffee sits in her hands as she leans on the counter. It warms her up, since the heating doesn't always like to work in the apartment.
Gary hangs his head low, his hands gripping the table behind him. "You'll laugh if I tell you what I've been thinking as of late."
"How do you know?" Cara smiles at him.
Gary's grip tightens, then he lets out a sigh. "I was thinking about you."
He was right. Cara tried her hardest to contain the laugh, but it came out in a pig snort as she place her coffee on the counter behind her.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She says.
Gary's face burns red from embarrassment,"Shoulda said nothin'..."
"No, no. Gary-"
Gary exits the room without another word.
"There's nothing you miss?" Alice asks.
"Nope. Nada. I hated the damn place ever since the start." Kendall pulls a Jenga block from the tower.
The door swings open, Felicia and Bobby entering the living area.
"Anything?" Alice stands up from her and Kendall's game.
"No food. Not one thing on the entire trip." Bobby throws his bow and arrow on the floor with frustration.
Alice's belly grumbles.
"We're running out of the supplies you guys snatched. We need something more than canned beans and mixed vegetables. We need some goddamn meat." Bobby heads for his bedroom, Felicia close behind.
Alice and Kendall exchange looks, and they stand together.
"Thinking what I am?" Kendall asks.
Alice nods.
They take the bow and the arrows. Alice get's her gun and a magazine clip. The door sits wide open. They scoot out with childlike wonder.
"You think we can catch anything?"
"Maybe." Alice is a little uneasy about leaving without saying anything. The turn the corner at the end of the street and enter and allyway.
"Haven't seem a walker in days," Kendall says.
"Yeah. They seem to be dwindling down. Do you think after a while, when there are no people left, that they start to starve?"
"Maybe they start eating eachother, again, till they all stop walkin'."
They jog around another corner. Then they reach the park.
Or, what was left of it. The trees are overgrown, and seem not much shorter than the skyscrapers themselves. It looks more ominous around here. Alice stairs down the long street, watching birds fly in the distance and the substantially unstable, much taller, skyscrapers leaning to their sides some.
"Let's stay for only a little bit. Please."
"Yeah, that's fine. Let's get in there."
Kendall leads Alice into the forest, the trees making it seem much later in the day than it really is.
Small animals roam, mostly ones that are finished hibernating for the winter. There's not much around worth shooting. They reach the lake, the small brick path around it barely visible.
"Wonder what it looked like," Kendall mutters.
"It looked really clean cut. With a lot of people,"Alice replies. "I saw a picture in a book of New York once. It looked nice."
Kendall lifts the bow in his arms, getting an arrow ready. He sees something.
"Wait.." He lowers the bow.
"What?"
"I saw something big move, but I don't think it was an animal. It started...running away. Like a person."
"There's someone out there?"
"Seems like it. If it were a walker, it wouldn't notice us as easily."
The teenagers run around the lake, in the direction that whoever that person was running.
"AHHH!" It sounds like a male's voice.
"This way!" Kendall calls. Alice drags behind, her legs unable to keep up with his excitement.
The duck under a few branches. Then, they see him.
Walkers are bent over the man's body, their teeth digging into his flesh and pulling skin off the bones.
"Shit shit shit!" Kendall says. There are 3 of them, soon to be 4.
Alice grabs the gun from it's holster, and aims at their heads.
"No!" He whispers. The things haven't noticed them yet.
Alice nods, then places the gun back. They slowly back away, from the way they came from.
"...whew. That was close." Kendall says, when they're far enough away to feel safe. Alice grabs his bow and arrow from him, studying the intricate designs all the way down it.
"Fancy, ain't it," Kendall says after a while.
"Yeah."
"Let's get back before we have more trouble," He says. They exit the forest from where they entered, and there it stands.
A deer.
Kendall grabs the bow ever so slightly, training it upward and staring down the shaft. He focuses his eyes on the animal, it's head peaking down to eat some grass.
He let's go.
The arrow pierces it's head directly, and it only runs a few feet before dying.
Alice smiles really big,"Can we even carry that thing?"
"We better be able to. How else is it gonna get home?"
"We could get Gary," She suggests.
"No way. We have to stay near it. What if a walker comes and chomps on it? Ruined meat. Let's haul ass outa here. You grab the front legs and I'll grab the back.
"Okay."
The two of them lift with all their strength, only getting the animal a foot above the ground. They cover twenty feet before giving up.
"Get Gary. And Bobby. I'll stay by the animal," Kendall says.
"Are you sure? You should come with me, then we'll be safe."
"But what if a walker comes and eats it? I need to protect it til then."
"Right. Whatever. I'll be back in a minute."
"I'll be counting." Kendall watches Alice run back home. The growls of a nearby walker are heard, and he prepares another arrow.
The door slipped open,"Kendall? Alice?" The voice belonged to Gary.
"We need you, like, now!" Alice says. Gary opens the door fully and notices Kendall is missing.
"Where is he?" Gary asks.
"He's guarding the deer we shot down."
"Hold on- wait, what? You guys shot- Without- Goddamnit." Gary stepped out of the house.
"We need help carrying it home, but we should get back quick. Kendall is all alone over there."
"I'll get Bobby."
The three of them raced down the beaten path that leads to where Kendall had been left.
"...Where is he? And the deer?" Alice asked.
Gary and Bobby shared a grim look,"This smells fishy."
Alice's heart dropped at the thought that anything bad could have happened. "Maybe he dragged it somewhere safe?"
"No way. There's no blood trail. Must've been picked up by bounty hunters." Bobby concludes.
"Or, Armando had been watching us. Waiting for the right time to strike."
The two men contemplate scenarios while Alice scans the area for any sort of evidence. There's no way Kendall lifted the animal himself. She saw a few walkers that were shot down, arrows sticking out of their faces.
"He was able to defend himself," She says. Then, she sees a few broken arrows that must've missed their target. But where ever he was aiming, there weren't any walkers.
"Must've been people, some one tryin' ta capture him," Gary said.
"We need to find him!" Alice begged her guardians.
"Don't worry, we'll get him back. We need a plan, is all," Bobby says. They run their way back to their homestead, the smell of dinner wafting in the air as they enter the front door.
Short, but very good. Dang it I like Kendall, at least let me get to know him a bit, maybe let him by me dinner, take me to the movies, before you get him all kidnaped or eaten...Shesssh! Seriously though, very good chapter, but I am starting to see your pattern: mushy stuff, mushy stuff, feel good, WHAM, hit'em where it hurts! Very very nice
Her fist hit the metal front door several times.
"Comeoncomeoncomeon," She said out loud.
The door slipped open,"Kendall? Alice?" The … morevoice belonged to Gary.
"We need you, like, now!" Alice says. Gary opens the door fully and notices Kendall is missing.
"Where is he?" Gary asks.
"He's guarding the deer we shot down."
"Hold on- wait, what? You guys shot- Without- Goddamnit." Gary stepped out of the house.
"We need help carrying it home, but we should get back quick. Kendall is all alone over there."
"I'll get Bobby."
The three of them raced down the beaten path that leads to where Kendall had been left.
"...Where is he? And the deer?" Alice asked.
Gary and Bobby shared a grim look,"This smells fishy."
Alice's heart dropped at the thought that anything bad could have happened. "Maybe he dragged it somewhere safe?"
"No way. There's no blood trail. Must've been picked up by bounty hunters." Bobby concludes.
… [view original content]
The trio returned home fast, to discuss the game-plan to their comrades.
"We're breaking back into Armando's," Gary began explaining to the girls.
"You're fucking nuts," Cara said, a tinge of anger on her tongue.
"We gotta get the kid back," He replies.
"If I recall, you practically hated him not too long ago." She responded.
"Yeah, well, shit changes. I'm goin' back, whether you approve or not. I have no doubt it was Armando, who else'd let him live?"
"What if he went willingly?" The two began to full out bicker. Alice stood between, extending her arms to separate the two adults.
"Chill!" She yelled. "There's no way he went willingly. There were arrows shot in an area that held no walkers. I have no doubt he must've tried defending himself. They caught him, though. We need to find him."
They silenced, their attention fully on the teenage girl.
"Right. Okay, um. Well, how are we gonna do this then?" Felicia asks.
"Well, you're staying home," Bobby tells her.
"The fuck I am!" She says. "You think I'm incapable of fighting?"
"What? No! I just-" She cuts him off.
"I can still hold a gun!"
"I didn't say you couldn't! I don't want you to get hurt! That's all!"
Tired of the fighting, Alice exits the room. Her bedroom is dark, as usual, and she reached in the drawer to grab an extra clip. She shoves it in her back pocket, then makes sure her gun is secure in it's holster. Reentering the living room, things seemed to have died down.
"Fine. You can drive us there. Be ready to floor it as soon as we get out, ya hear?"
"No problem," Felicia answers.
The two nod and then Bobby goes to grab more weapons. The whole room is bustling with people moving.
"So who's staying?" Felicia asks.
Gary and Cara look at each other, then at Alice.
No one speaks up.
"Y'all are going?" Gary asked the two other girls. They both nod, and Alice pulls her gun out.
He gives her a quick smile, and then the group heads for the front door. The truck is gassed up and filled with people as they make their way around Manhattan to Armando's civilization.
This is my fan fic from fanfiction.net. I co-write this story with Drexbann15, I'm TWDGamerKenny'sbro. I have notes where I have written episode 2 and 4, I have constant PM chats with Drexbann15 to prove that this is our story to you and everyone here.
And I can't help but notice that you haven't credited us in any way at all. And I find that very... Ignorant. Me and Drex, we have worked our backsides off on this story and you think you have the right to claim it as your own?
Now, I understand if you maybe forgot or something, and if it's maybe just a little misunderstanding. If you want to use our content, then please credit us and reference the story from the site.
Clementine quickly hid inside the cabinet where the duffel bag full of medicine resided, and she closed the doors behind her just enough so … morethat she could see what was going on through the crack in between.
She slowed and controlled her breathing as she watched Xavier enter his office again, looking around suspiciously. She guessed he thought he might have heard something. He took his time as he made his way to his desk and tugged opened a drawer where his pistol was. He cocked it... Click arming it.
Suddenly, his head shot under the desk and searched the area. Good thing Clem didn't hide there... but then.
Xavier growled towards the cabinet. "...You closed my door."
BANG!
Clementine yelped as she slammed herself into the back of the wooden cabinet. She avoided the bullet by mere inches, but now there was a hole in the door. The light from the lantern shined through, making it look like a spotlight on Clementine's face before h… [view original content]
Excuse me sir, but this isn't your story/fan fic.
This is my fan fic from fanfiction.net. I co-write this story with Drexbann15, I'm TWDG… moreamerKenny'sbro. I have notes where I have written episode 2 and 4, I have constant PM chats with Drexbann15 to prove that this is our story to you and everyone here.
And I can't help but notice that you haven't credited us in any way at all. And I find that very... Ignorant. Me and Drex, we have worked our backsides off on this story and you think you have the right to claim it as your own?
Now, I understand if you maybe forgot or something, and if it's maybe just a little misunderstanding. If you want to use our content, then please credit us and reference the story from the site.
Thank you.
Title: TWD, Another Day.
Main Characters: Lee, Kenny, Clementine.
( If Lee hadn't died.)
Timeline: Picks up right after "Around Every Corner."
Lee, on the floor of the jewelry store, weak and dying from a walker bite, looks up at Clementine, who's holding a gun in her shaking hands.
He nods.
Clementine, points the gun at him, and pulls the trigger.
Suddenly, Lee bolts upright, terrified, and looking around, realizes he is still in the mansion, having fell asleep on the couch in the upstairs den.
"What a nightmare! I'm so glad I destroyed that radio a few hours ago. God knows what kind of trouble we could be inviting on ourselves as long as we had it," Lee thought.
Clementine, still lying by the window, having cried herself to sleep after Lee was forced to tell her that her parents were more than likely dead, her body being covered in the warm raise of the morning sun.
Lee walks over to her, and gently stroked her head.
Looking out the window, Lee sees Kenny working on the boat.
Exiting the den, and heading downstairs, Lee sees Omid sitting on the couch, while Ben and Christa are packing the few supplies the group has managed to scrape together, into three backpacks they had managed to find a few houses down the streets.
Walking out through the back door, Lee approaches the shed, where Kenny's working.
Lee: "How's the boat coming, Kenny?"
Kenny: "Pert-near done actually. Just a few more turns of this wrench, and we should be good-to-go."
Lee: "That's great Kenny! Best news I've heard in a long time."
Kenny: You and me both, pal. How's Clementine? Christa told me that you had to have a very rough heart-to-heart talk with her about her parents."
Lee looked down at the ground, and replied: "She's still sleeping, but man I don't know. She's a tough little girl, but she's still a little girl. I'm worried about her."
Kenny, wiping the grease from his hands with an old rag he'd found in the shed, stated: "She's been through a lot, that's for sure. You and I both know she's gonna be sad for a long time, but seeing how well you've done with her ever since I've known the two of you, I think she's gonna be just fine."
"I hope you're right," Lee replied, "Can I give you a hand?"
"Nah I'm good," Kenny said.
Looking at the boat, Lee crossed his arms and asked: "How do you see us getting this sucker down to the river?"
Kenny: I've been thinking about that! And I've been wondering what the odds would be of their being a working truck in this town. Yeah Crawford stripped most of the cars and trucks for parts, but what are the odds they got all of them? After all, they didn't find this boat."
Lee: "You've got a point! Maybe we should go out and scout the area, perhaps there still one around."
Kenny: "Sounds good to me. Why don't we head out now while we still got the daylight?"
Lee: "I'll grab are stuff and we'll get going."
Walking back into the house, Lee grabbed two backpacks, as well as two of the group's pistols, as well as the hatchet and machete they found earlier.
Christa, noticing this asked: "What are you doing Lee?"
"Kenny and I are gonna head on out and see if we can possibly find a working truck, in order to haul the boat to the river," Lee said while packing.
Christa sighed: "Lee, there's nothing out there. Crawford picked this whole town clean!"
Lee, hoisted one of the backpacks on to his shoulder and said: " They didn't find the boat, did they? So why think they got all the working vehicles? There's gotta be something out there."
"Good luck Lee," Omid said, "Be safe!"
"You too man! When Clementine wakes up, tell her we'll be back soon," Lee stated, "And Ben, keep an eye on the boat while we're gone."
After walking out the back door, Lee handed the other backpack and pistol to Kenny.
Choosing the machete for himself as a hand-weapon, Kenny shut the door of the shed, and the two stepped out into the open street.
Going from house-to-house, Lee and Kenny began their search.
For over six hours they searched, but to no avail.
Finally they decided to return to the mansion.
When they arrived, they heard pounding coming from the shed.
Upon opening the doors, they found the others locked up inside, with Ben sporting a number of bruises on his face, and the boat was gone.
Upon seeing Lee, Clementine ran and embraced him!
Lee wrapped his arms around her.
"Are you alright, Clementine?" Lee asked.
"I'm fine Lee, but the boat is gone," Clementine replied.
Kenny looking around in shock asked: "Guys, what the hell happened?!!!"
"It was Vernon, and that support group," Omid stated.
"GODDAMMIT," Kenny shouted!
Lee, looking back up from Clementine, noticed Ben's bruises, and said: "There ain't no mystery here! I told Ben to keep the boat guarded, and it looks like he gave it his all."
"I tried Lee, I really did," Ben responded!
"But there were to many of them," Ben continued, "What else could I do?"
"It's alright Ben," Lee assured him, "You did fine."
"What the hell do you mean he did fine Lee? The boat is gone," Kenny blurted!
"Look at his face Kenny! Does it look like he just stood by and did nothing," Lee asked?
Looking at Ben, Kenny said: "Tell me what happened!"
"We were all in the house at the time. Clementine had just come down, and Omid and Christa were trying to make something to eat," Ben replied, "Suddenly we heard noises coming from the backyard! We walked out and saw Vernon and his people taking the boat. I said: 'Hey man, what are you guys doing, we need that!' Vernon said they needed it more, and turned back to getting it out onto the street. For some reason, I just all of sudden grabbed a hold of Vernon and told him he couldn't do that! That's when the one they called Clive, grabbed a hold of me, and that's when Vernon started hitting me."
Christa said: "We would've done something to help, but they had a gun on us!"
Kenny, putting the rest of the pieces together in his head, stated: "No need to continue, it's clear what happened. I gotta say Ben, I'm surprised you did what you did!"
"As am I," Lee added, "You've never done anything like that before?"
"You've been good to me, Lee," Ben stated, "I didn't want to let you down, so I did what I felt I had to do."
"Good job, kid," Kenny replied.
"So what do we do now Lee," Clementine asked?
Everyone began looking at Lee, waiting for a response.
After a few moments, Lee responded: "Since our search for a truck was a dead-end, as well as for any additional supplies, I suggest we head north, following the coastline, and try to find somewhere we can settle for a bit. Somewhere where there might be some food."
"What about a boat," Kenny asked?
"We'll find another one, which is one reason I suggested following the coastline," Lee responded.
Not knowing what else to say, the others decided it was as good a plan as any.
And so, after creeping out of town, the group began their trek north
Title: TWD, Another Day.
Main Characters: Lee, Kenny, Clementine.
( If Lee hadn't died.)
Timeline: Picks up right after "Around Every Cor… morener."
Lee, on the floor of the jewelry store, weak and dying from a walker bite, looks up at Clementine, who's holding a gun in her shaking hands.
He nods.
Clementine, points the gun at him, and pulls the trigger.
Suddenly, Lee bolts upright, terrified, and looking around, realizes he is still in the mansion, having fell asleep on the couch in the upstairs den.
"What a nightmare! I'm so glad I destroyed that radio a few hours ago. God knows what kind of trouble we could be inviting on ourselves as long as we had it," Lee thought.
Clementine, still lying by the window, having cried herself to sleep after Lee was forced to tell her that her parents were more than likely dead, her body being covered in the warm raise of the morning sun.
Lee walks over to her, and gently stroked her head.
Looking … [view original content]
Eyes glued on the road, arms rapped around our shoulders. It's snowing heavily. I can barely feel my face. I have rapped my ragged scarf around my mouth and nose in an attempt to keep them warm, but the smell of my own breath is becoming insufferable.
"Are we there yet?"
I look at my brother who is walking right in front of me. He does not reply. We are both tired and so sick of this shit. My boots dig deep in the snow with every step I make, turning walking into a chore. My backpack is heavy, causing my shoulders to really hurt after all this time walking. Abandoned cars, reked doors and windows everywhere and a broken payphone on the opossite side of the road. Maybe there will still be money in it... My bother turns and looks at me, nods to tell me to go look. I do so. I look around, the dark is spreding, my flashlight is becoming pretty useless. I desperatly need batteries... I reach the payphone. The wire is cut, or maybe pulled, I can't know, and thrown on the road, next to red car. It is broken, tilting to the left. I look around but I don't manage to find anything but a quorter. I am of course not happy with this, but it is still better than nothing.
I put it in my pocket and make a turn to find my brother. I see a silluette and start walking towards it thinking it could be him. But someone grabs my hand. Without thinking about it much I pull out my knife and try to stab whoever, or whatever is holding me. They pull my hand and cause me to fall before I can do anything to stop them. I see a pair of boots in front of me. My brothers boots. He puts his finger in front of his lips in an attemp to tell me to hush. He has his light turned off, and he reaches at mine to turn it off as well. I get on my knees and lean against the car that is now next to me. I see my brother pull out his gun, and so do I. Being the older one, he makes the calls. More dark figures begin to apear as the snow slowly stops and everything becomes more visible. I've counted 10 people so far, 4 women, 5 men and a kid, a young girl around the age of 8. No way we can take all those people down, and even if we did, what would happen to the kid? Fear consumes me. Both of us hidding, hoping we won't be noticed, hoping that no one will come towards us. I see the wire pretty much next to me. My brother looks at me in question for a second, but he quickly understands what I have in my mind. I put my gun back in it's place and hold the wire with both my hands. My bothers follows and puts his gun away as well before pulling out some rope. We see one of the women walking towards us. As soon as she gets next to the car I grab her with the wire from the neck trying to choke her. She proves stronger than I thought she looks. My brother gets on top of her to stop her from moving. I tighten the wire which ends with her choking after a minute or two. I take a better look at her face. She seemed to be around the age of 30. Her clothers are far too big for me, but I take her hat, shoe-laces, socks and bag. One of the men was heard after a few minutes, comming closer to us.
"Kate, where the fuck are you? We need to get going bef-"
He stops talking as he sees us behing the car. He lets out a yell before my brother pierces his Jaw with his knife.
"WHAT THE-"
One of the women has seen us. We run to the building closer to us. I take out my gun and start shooting at them, shooting a man right between the eyes as my brother is trying to kick the door down. I keep shooting at them, which led to me shooting a man on the knee and woman in the stomach. My brother finaly kicks the door down and pulls me in, shutting the door behind him with force, telling me to bring anything heavy I can find. I struggle to push a couch towards the door. Must have taken a couple minutes but it felt way longer. People were trying to shove their knife in the door, the kid was crying and the two of us were on edge. I bring the couch on the door and my brother gets out of the way so I can put it into place. He helps me move it. This would buy us some time. We run upstairs not being able to do anything else. We find a bedroom with a lock and we get in the room. But before we have time to do anything we hear a loud gunshot and the little girl yelling in terror. We both know it's a sniper. We hide underneath the windows, hoping that he can't get one of us. Another one is heard a few moments after. Bodies are droping here and there. We can do nothing but wait at this point. After a while the gunshots stop. I look at the mirror in the wall in front of me. A red dot on it. He was looking for us. I looked at my brother, he had seen the red light as well. He looked at me and nodded me to run. The red dot was not on the mirror anymore, he was looking around. My brother took his bag off, made it slide on the floor towards my direction and crawled towards me. He took off my scarf, and rapped his around my neck before hugging me.
"I love you kiddo."
I wish I was oblivious to what he was planning to do. But I wasn't. I knew he would try to play the hero. And I knew he wasn't going to take no as an answer. I held back tears as I hugged him, probably for the last time. I wore his backpack and prayed that the extra weight would slow me down. The snow was starting to thicken, so at least I wouldn't be as visible. I moved along the wall, crawling, in hope that he wouldn't see me, but the was nothing better I could do. I reached the door, ran down as fast as I could and then walked out, hid behind the same car as before. The girl's body was right next to me, staring at me, with a blank stare, he brains blown out. It freaked me out more than anything I had ever seen before but I knew that I needed to get going as fast as I could. Once again, everything was pretty much invisible. I started walking towards where me and my brother were headed. I heard him yell, probably trying to captivate the shooter's attention. And then... Bam. I heard glass breaking, and something heavy falling down, right behind me. I kept myself from looking but I wanted to break down in tears, even though I knew that it would lead me nowhere. I kept going, as close to the walls as possible, begging that I wouldn't be seen. I could see nothing, but I kept walking for as long as I could.
Night came along, and even with my light, I barely knew where I was going. I came across an old dinner soon after. The door was broken down, but it was better than nothing. I looked around in the kitchen to see if there was anything edible left. Couple of cans, but nothing much other than that. Fortunatly there was plenty of water, so I drank as much as I could and I filled up my supply. I closed the kitchen door and sat down on top of a bunch of old rags. I empited all three bags and started thinking about what I was going to keep. I took my brothers backpack, which was bigger than mine and put in all my clothes. What followed was the food and the water we had. I had... Knife and gun on their holder. Lighter in my pocket. Reminded me of how my father was a smoker. I took the lighter in my hand and run my fingers on it, to feel the carving on it. It was a gift for when I graduated high school, but I quickly broke out of the nostalgia and kept going. I changed my batteries and put the rest inside an little plastic box. Next to it, I put a carton box filled with bullets, obviously for my gun. I tied the rope we had around my waste as a belt to save up some space in the bag and to make sure I always had it on me. Bangages in the bag, along with all the meds I could find and a needle and thread. I put all the money we had in my pocket. Even after hell came, we still needed that shit to control us. Nail cliper, compass, soap, blanket, my notebook and pencil, rags, and of course, my trustworthy spork all stuffed in my bag. My multitool in my pocket. I find some gum coming from the lady's bag and I chew up a piece before putting the rest of it in my pocket. I take all the clothes that lady and my bother carried and put them down, I stuff the two bags with the rest of the stuff, thinking it could help someone else. I lie down on the clothes and use some of them to cover myself and try to sleep, but the cold is too harsh and too much have happened. As I lie down I see a piece of paper and pick it up. It's the last picture me and my brother took together. He was smiling. I couldn't stop my self from crying this time. I cry to myself for a few minutes but force myself to stop after a while because of the fear of being heard. I fold the picture and put it deep in my pocket. I finaly manage to fall asleep with my eyes and head hurting from crying, hoping I will live through the remains of the night.
Comments
An hour passed and a tired looking Cara and Gary stumble through the doorway. Alice jumped at the sound of the knob turning, but sighed in relief as her friends walking in. Sweat creased their brows as the tossed their work bags to the floor and collapsed on each bed, not even taking notice to the girl sitting at the desk in their room.
"Hi guys," Alice said casually.
"Not now, Alice, I had-" Cara stopped. "Alice?!"
Gary sat up quickly his focus on the girl.
"You're better!" He exclaimed. Alice smiled a bit, nodding.
"We need to talk to Armando as soon as possible," Cara groaned.
"You really think he's gonna let us go just like that? There'll be some sort of catch, you know."
"Well, we can't stay here for several months and not get back to the others. I mean, Bobby and Felicia are probably wondering when we'll make it home. We didn't even chop any wood up, so they're probably freezing."
"I'm sure they'll manage a few days with out us. We'll have to figure out how to escape or persuade Armando to let us go. The goddamn psycho loves beggars."
"Humph. Figures," Cara rolls onto her side, burying her face into her pillow. Gary turns the opposite way, and before Alice can stand up, she hears snores emerging from both of them.
She wondered what kind of work they were forced to do. Her curiosity took her to the bedroom key on the table. She pocketed it and exited the room silently. She figured if they were that tired, they weren't waking up any time soon.
Her legs took her to a staircase. She noted that she was on floor 5 before descending the stairs. At the bottom, there was an exit leading to the road outside. It was still light enough to see, and she also noticed a lot of people mingling around still.
"...You see the new guys? I heard they owe an unpayable debt to the one and only," A man she passed was saying. She twisted the key in her hand, walking past more groups of people.
"I heard they're from the upper west side," Another person said.
"Who told you that? They don't seem like they're from around there. They're probably not even native New Yorkers." A woman answered.
Alice gulped. She wasn't sure she liked these people, or where they were staying. It may look nice, but that doesn't mean it is nice.
"Hey! Kid!" Someone called behind her. She turned to see a boy around her age. He had dark hair and a tan complexion.
"Me?" She said, looking toward the boy.
"Yeah you! Who else would I be calling? You coming to the party tonight, or what?"
Alice was confused. Did he realize who she was? Or did he not even know that she was new around there.
"Am I obligated to go?" She asked.
"A good looking thing like you should be obligated to go anywhere," The boy attempted to flirt. Not knowing how to react, Alice replied,"Ah, no. I have to get back to my-"
"Come on! Let loose! Get some booze in ya! We'll have fun! Let's go!" He grabbed her wrist before she could register and she was being dragged through the crowd. They entered a different apartment building, ascending the steps to the top floor.
"What's your name?" The boy asked.
"What's yours?" Alice asked back.
"Haha, touche. But I asked first. Gimme an answer."
"I'm Alice. Now you," She said.
"Kendall." He replied. Kendall pushed open a metal door labeled 'Roof', and the beating of music entered Alice's eardrums.
"Hey, turn it down Spaz! You know what Armando said about the music being too loud!"
"Right, right," The kid, presumably Spaz, said. He looked near eleven.
A ton of other kids ranging for ten years old to twenty littered the dancefloor, their shoes crunching on the gravel roof and stomping on the wood platform.
"Dance chica! Dance!" Kendall said, pulling her in. The dark began to circle around her and the tightly packed bodies made her panic a little. Where the hell was she, and what was she doing?
The group of people began chanting the lyrics of the next song, and Alice tried to press down the impending headache forming around her temples.
"Have some of this," Another boy offered, smiling slyly. Not knowing what to do, she smelled the cup. It was pure alcohol.
"No thanks, I-"
"We insist! Drink it, new girl. Drink it!" The boys all chanted, laughing hysterically and shoving the cup in her face.
"No, please. I-" The boy had someone bump into him, causing the cold liquid to drench Alice's new sweater. She stood there in shock, as the boy apologized and walked away.
Kendall walked back over,"Oh, shit! Sorry about that! Listen, I'll take you home. I can see you ain't enjoying your time here."
"Please," She said, shivering from the cold.
Oh Alice.
Why did you let that boy take you home?
I'll let you interpret that last line your own way. It could mean something bad, or maybe it isn't. You'll see next chapter, don't worry.
I have figured it out, it's a sadistic pleasure of yours to keep us hanging, isn't it? Funny, I really do think you like doing that, and that last little line, priceless! Bravo and touche!
I feel a mallet to the head moment coming.
Hey, one other thing, I am going to ask for an indulgent favor. I have created a fan fiction in forum games Road of Bones. I would be really curious of your opinion and thoughts if/when you have time. The link below will take you to it.
http://www.telltalegames.com/community/discussion/83621/the-walking-dead-interactive-fan-fiction-road-of-bones/new
Alice and the boy exited the front of the building. It was dark now, and she saw that no one lingered in the streets any longer.
"So, you were the sick girl they brought in, right?" Kendall began a conversation.
"Yeah, I guess. Me and my aunt, and a friend. We have two others who stayed behind to keep our house safe," Alice said. They took their time, though Alice was freezing with the ice-cold beer soaking her down the front.
Kendall takes a cautious look behind him, turning his head to see if anyone's around. Then, he turns to face Alice.
"Listen. I know a way out of here. This ain't no place for a girl like you, or your family, to be associating yourself in. Women are used here. It don't seem like it now, but you'll get it soon enough. Armando ain't too keen on females, think they should be put in a place and reproduce willingly. Unfortunately, a lot of the asshat men here believe it too. I don't wanna see you used like that. So tomorrow, after the work shift, I'll meet you in the stairwell."
Alice simply nodded,"Uh, alright."
"I can't follow you into the Green, so you'll have to walk up by yourself. I'll see you in class."
"Class?" Alice asks.
"Yeah, all minors go to school in here. I'd like it if it weren't so goddamn socialist," He laughs. Alice again, does not understand a joke.
Kendall begins to walk away, and Alice sees herself starting to think about him more than she intended to.
His eyes were a nice shade of blue.
After Kendall turns the corner, Alice forces herself to walk the opposite direction, toward the Green, which she assumed was the building she was living in. The doors creaked open as she reminded herself what floor to get off on.
She reached the 5th floor. The next set of doors didn't make as much sound, but the her shoes made an echo down the carpeted hallways.
"Hey, good lookin'." She heard a rough voice behind her. The hair on her neck stood on edge as she pretended she didn't hear the man.
"Where ya goin'? The night's young! C'mon, kid!" He yelled. When she turned, she noticed he might have only been a year or two older than her, but it was still creepy that he wanted to do anything with her.
"Just leave me alone," She says calmly. The man grabs hold of her shirt. She rips out of his grip and fumbles through her pocket to get the key. As she reaches her door, the man rams into her, tossing her against the white colored walls and rubbing his hands into her abdomen. He's too strong for her to break away.
He starts forcing his lips on her, the smell of alcohol on his breath reaking more than the alcohol down her shirt. It's the kind of smell that makes you want to vomit in your mouth as soon as it enters your nostrils.
"Stop-" she says in between breaths.
He tears his arms up her shirt, grabbing her inappropriately when the door to her apartment launches open, and a confused Gary emerges
"Get out of here, you fucking bastard!" Gary yells, yanking the guy off of Alice. Her shirt was pulled off now, exposing the bra underneath and her pale skin. She began to cry, folding her arms around herself. Gary kicked the guy to the ground, yelling obscenities. All she could do was stand there and cry.
"I'll be reporting your fuckin' ass!" The man kept yelling.
"Reporting me for what? After you practically raped my kid? Fuck you, asshole!"
Cara emerged, a robe around her body. She pulled Alice into her arms and started to cry to, taking her niece into the apartment and away from Gary's wrath.
Damn! Grrrrrr! Gary should've curb stomped the little punk into yesterday.
When Alice had stopped crying, the shadows of sunlight had begun to emerge behind the buildings. Gary hadn't been out in the hall much longer after Alice and Cara had retreated. As soon as Gary entered from outside, his face was a mixture of anger and worry.
"Are you okay honey?" He asked. Alice buried her face in Cara's shoulder, mumbling a yes.
"Why don't you get a shower," Cara says. Alice stands and does so. She let the hot water trickle down her back for a while.
She realized then that she never had a hot shower before. There was a shower back home, but the water barely even got lukewarm.
When she dried off, she could hear her guardians talking outside the door.
"...We can't live like this, Gar! She goes out, probably not even for a minute, and some asshole already wants to fuck her!"
"I wasn't planning on having her get better so quick! I have to talk to Armando or something- We need to get out of this place ASAP."
Alice feels the guilt of not telling them consume her. She should have just stayed put. She knew it looked too good to be true, why did she have to test the limits? She entered the main room quietly, the adults already finished talking with each other.
Alice looks as they occupy themselves with getting ready. The sun has risen now, casting light glares into the room.
"Looks about 6 A.M," Gary says, pulling his socks up.
"Yeah. Alice, you're probably going to be going to the school they have here. Please, don't associate yourself with anyone. You hear? You go, you listen to what the teachers want you to do. And I really mean it. Listen to them. It might seem fine and dandy out here, but punishments are far harsher than they ought to in this community. The only reason we took you here is because if we didn't, you would have died. We're going to get out of here."
Alice thought about telling them that Kendall wanted to help. After a moment, she decided not to. She figured she would talk to him in school maybe, see where his words take her.
The school was comprised of the first two floors of the Blue Building. These buildings weren't those particular colors, but that's the way they differentiated each sector. She was issued a couple of notebooks and a backpack with pens. Her feet trudged the halls as she watched kids of all ages run past her. It almost irritated her that she be forced into whatever system this was supposed to be. Girls were treated like they were nothing, and men didn't give a shit. Well, at least most men didn't. There was Kendall.
She saw him leaning against the wall, his buddies of sorts crowding around. Even from a distance, he didn't look genuinely excited to be with those guys. When he spotted Alice, his smile brightened up.
"You made it!" He said. Everything he said, he said it excitedly. Like it was the most awesome thing in the planet.
"I made it..." She uttered. She didn't even try to hide her disgust of being anywhere near this town.
"Make it home safely, I assume?"
Alice simply shakes her head, ever so slightly. Kendall's expression turns grave for a moment, but he decides this isn't the best place to talk about it.
"Let me see your schedule," He says. Alice pulls the paper from her pocket and hands it to him.
"Sweet! Me and you have first period together! I'll show you around!"
"Alright," and she follows him to their class.
When she enters, the man behind the desk nods, and says in a monotone voice,"Welcome to History 101, I'm Mr. Speigleman. Take a seat."
She sits in a chair behind Kendall, who talks to his other friends until the class starts.
All day of sitting around. Writing things. Alice had never written so much in her life. According to her teachers, her grammar was impeccable.
"And you've never been to school?" The English teacher sounded so surprised, Alice almost didn't know how to react.
"No ma'am," Is all she said. She refused to share much of anything. She didn't want to tell any of the teachers how she'd read probably every classic American novel, from Mice of Men to Huckleberry Fin, all in the comfort of her old home. On the little leather sofa across from the little fire in the little apartment that contained her little family. Her family. She never even knew she'd ever call them that.
The last bell rang and she bolted from the classroom. Kendall bumped into her, taking her aside to talk a bit.
"Alright. So good news, and bad news.Bad news: We can exactly leave right away."
"Why not?" Alice was dying to leave this place.
"Well, I mean. We need to make sure we're well supplied. So we'll have to break into the supply room. Grab a few bags of food and medicine. Might as well, right? Then, the armory. I want to hit those places just before we make our escape. Comprende?"
"Okay. So, I'll tell my parents," Alice said. She felt a little weird calling Cara and Gary her parents, but at this point, they really were.
"Right. Don't tell them straight away. Wait until night. There'll probably be another party on the roof. As you saw, it's mostly young folks, but a some old ones do go up to, so you can just pretend like you're bringing them to the party. Once the main outdoor lights go out, that's when we make our moves. I'll tell you more later, for now just go home and get dinner in your stomach." After he's done talking, he gives Alice a smile and a wink and walks away. She walks along the makeshift walls, spread out in between roads that lead outward.
Above, there are patrolmen and women. They hold sniper rifles. Alice shudders.
Another chapter! I hope you liked it
Yes! Like it very much. It's scary though in a way, it's unimaginable, that the world might turn into a place where the walkers aren't the worst of things out there. This has that feel and it is very, very good because of that!
You know, if/when you finish this, you should put it all together. It would make for a fantastic read!
"Hmmm... Okay then. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. It is very odd that he would do such a thing. So, I'm going to call him into my quarters and we are going to have a talk. I'm sure it's nothing too serious..." Vaughn turned heel and made his way to do so. "Enjoy your meal, little one."
Soon Vaughn was quickly out of her field of vision as she surveyed the tables around her to find Kenny and AJ, she couldn't spot them anywhere. She could only see... "Oh no..."
Helga and Wayne had zeroed in on her and they were heading right towards her. The latter carrying a small cardboard box and the former stomping right next to him. "Hey! Clementine right?" "Yeah, what's wrong?" Clem just wanted to be left alone so that she could finally eat but that wasn't happening yet.
"I told you she would be clueless." Helga spat at her as brother and sister stood in front of her. "You have fun going outside the wall with dust mite? And I heard you brought back Patchy the Pirate and a new guy. ...Looks like you'd rather travel in packs instead of toughing it out on your own." She must have referred to Kenny and Hazen.
"What do you guys want? I'm really hungry." Clementine retorted as Wayne lowered the box which had an extra knife and pistol already in there. "You forgot to turn in your weapons from work. Give'em back and we'll let you eat." Wayne told Clem as he motioned towards the box he had. "Put'em in here."
"If you make this hard on us, we have the right to search and seizure." Helga smugly crossed her arms at her. "I dare you to give me an excuse." "Here, take them." Clem placed her pistol, knife, and even the stun gun she found back in the police station. "That's all I have, now can I please eat?"
"When did you get the taser?" Helga questioned but quickly condemned her. "She must have stolen it, she probably has a full set of sticky fingers." "I picked it up before you almost choked Michael to death... I could have used it." Clementine boldly stated to the two of them. "But I didn't." "Oh now you're trying to act like badass? Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night, but I can smell bullshit a mile away." Helga meanly challenged her.
"That's enough Helga." Wayne quieted her once more and sent her off. "Go on and get us some food, just lemme talk to Clementine alone. Now!"
She scoffed at him but she listened and walked past Clementine, but not without pushing her aside. "Outta my way..." And she kept walking to get them some food. "Whatever, piece of..." And then she got into inaudible mumbling.
Wayne made sure she was out of earshot before he stated to the twelve year old. "Helga can be a real bitch sometimes... but that's just the way she is, how she deals with it. ...This is what this world made her. It's just... we've been through a lot together, experienced unspeakable shit. Stuff you'd never understand at your age... You chose to take dust mite's side, I didn't like that. But I know you could have used more than words back in the police station. I'm just saying, we ain't all bad kid, sort of a shitty start though..."
"What are you saying? That I should just forget what happened today with you guys?" Clementine argued.
"Sometimes people get carried away..." Wayne offered this to mull over. "What do you do when that happens? When you see someone overstep their boundaries, do you stop them? Help them? Or end them? Everybody makes mistakes. You and me, it's been hard on all of us."
"Then say you're sorry, and make Helga apologize too." Clementine declared as she began chowing down on ravioli, she couldn't wait any longer. "She'll say she's sorry when she's good and ready." Wayne was about to leave and join his sister. "Oh, and for what it's worth... thanks for not electrocuting me."
Clementine remained silent as she finished her meal and made her way towards Kenny's tent, it wasn't too far so maybe... then she spotted a familiar boy staring and sitting in front of a tree as he stabbed at the ground with his knife. Clementine approached him and made her presence known to Michael. The teen lifted his head, his dark matted fringe covering his eyes as he stared distantly at her. He then proceeded to stab at the ground.
"Hi, Michael." Clementine greeted with a small awkward wave. "Hey." "What are you doing?" She asked, wondering if he was distressed in some way. "Waiting... just nothing now I guess, it's been a real fucked up day for me." He replied. "What are you doing?"
"Checking on you." Clem thought that was pretty obvious. "Why would you do that?" "Well..." She reasoned. "Because you look upset... you're stabbing dirt..." "I'm not upset. Why does everyone think I'm upset? No needs to worry about me. Jesus Christ, I don't hear the end of it from Edith." Clementine sat down in front of him and crossed her legs "Something must be wrong. You're really acting... out of sorts."
Michael grunted and stabbed his knife into the ground, and then he released the handle once it was firmly in place. He then reached for his pocket and tossed a piece of paper to her. "Read it. You might as well."
Clementine unfolded the paper and read it aloud.
"Vaughn. I can't stay here. There's something I need to do. So I'm leaving. And I don't think I'll be able to come back. But I can't take Michael with me. It's just not possible. I'm not a good father, I never was, and he doesn't need me anyway. He may be young but he's strong. He can take care of himself. Could you just do me a favor? Keep an eye on him for me. And when the time comes, break it to him gently that I'm not coming back.
Thanks for everything.
Lucas"
Clementine finished reading the note and stared at a dejected Michael "Well, would you look at that? I've been lied to. Lies, lies, fucking lies. My dad told me then he would come back in a couple of months time. That was fucking ages ago. So I get suspicious, and I had a look around in Vaughn's desk and I found that."
"I'm sorry, Michael." Clementine apologized.
"It's fine though. I don't care. So there's no use crying over it. If we wants to run off and abandon me again just like he did when I was little, when the world wasn't like this, then that's his decision."
"Do you want talk about it?"
"Aren't I already?" Michael paused for a moment. "...When I was a baby he walked out on my mom. And then when the world turns to hell, of all the people we run into, my mom and me run into him. When my mom died..." His voice trailed off as he gave a pained expression "He was the only one I had. The only family I had left. And now he abandons me all over again." He growled angrily, pulling the knife out of the ground and in a blind rage, he threw it at the tree and it stuck.
"Nice hit. You're good at knife throwing." Clementine commented. Michael snorted a laugh "Thanks.""...So what are you going to do?" Clem inquired seeing as this boy may still be in a dark place.
"I might get into a lot of trouble if Vaughn finds out this letter is missing." Michael stood up as did Clementine as he went to pull his knife back out. "If you could sneak in and maybe put it back, I'd appreciate it." Clem crossed her arms in dismay. "Why me? I'm tired Michael, I just want to see my friends and then go to sleep." She looked at the horizon to see that it was almost sunset.
"It'll only take a minute if you're quick, and Vaughn won't be expecting you. Please Clem, I'll make it up to you." Michael smirked. "Anything you want, like maybe get back at Helga?" "Fine." Little had she known, she took hold of this letter once before almost a year ago. "I'll do it."
"And if you get caught, just blame me. I don't want you getting into trouble, not over this. So... yeah, I gotta go do something else..." Michael drew this favor to a close as he released his knife from the tree. He looked at the blade in his hands and decided. "You know what? Here, borrow this as collateral, that way if you get caught you can keep it or something... I think that's how these things work."
"Sure..." Clementine narrowed her tired eyes at him with much exhaustion as she accepted his knife and pocketed it. She just had to get this done then meet with Kenny and AJ. "I'll do my best." "Okay thanks again, Clem." Michael then turned and stormed off.
The two of them parted ways for now as Clementine made her way back to the large tent where Vaughn and Maree hopefully didn't reside at the moment. If he was still talking to Xavier things might prove to be more difficult. How was she going to sneak this note back in for Michael, she did not know, but if she got caught it wouldn't be the end of the world either.
The circus tent came into view, but oddly enough there was no one around, might be easier to do this than she thought-!
"AHHHH!" "MAREE! GAHHH!"
"Oh my god!" Clementine exclaimed as she ran into a full-on sprint towards the circus tent. Those screams were definitely owned by Maree followed by Vaughn. What could possibly make them scream in terror like that? Clem didn't want to know, but she was sure to find out. As she pulled back the flaps of the tent and witnessed what was inside, her worst fears were confirmed and time seemed to slow down, each second feeling like an eternity...
Walkers... on opposite sides of the tent, one attacking each of them by surprise. How the hell lurkers got inside the Wellington, Clementine had no clue. All they could do was struggle and hold their snapping jaws back, but they needed help, they needed it fast, both of them... but who first?
On her right, Vaughn was on his back trying to hold up the clawing corpse from digging into his stomach. Vaughn was strong but he was pinned and gravity was working against him here. He was the kind supportive leader of Wellington and Clementine had a chance to save him, what would happen among the power struggle if he had died?
But on the other hand to her left, Maree was in just as much trouble. Up against the empty crib, she was trying to kick away the walker and grab her knife, but her reach fell way short. Maree had the medical experience, and she always took care of AJ. Clem also promised Dusty to look out for her, but at the cost of her father's life?
Clementine had to chose who to run to... who to save first... the decision was at hand.
Vaughn the father? Or Maree the daughter?
With a heavy heart, Clementine ran over to the struggling Maree, knife in hand... everything sped back up as she heard the young woman's pleas. "Clem no! Help him! Help my dad!"
"RYA!" The twelve-year-old grunted as she dove Michael's knife into the walker's skull. The lurker fell limp and silent, signaling that Clem's attack had worked, and the girl's life was saved. Maree pushed the walker off of her, and she took her own knife back that was out of her reach earlier. Then the two of them looked back at Vaughn, who was still managing by himself until...
"RAHHH! HAAA! HAA-!" Vaughn screamed in horrible agony when his lurker abandoned any attempt to bite down on his neck and instead dug its dead fingers and hands into his stomach.
"DADDY NO!"
"Oh my god! Vaughn!" Clementine and Maree ran to him in a split second, but before Maree could stab the walker herself, the lurker had tugged out a handful of his intestines and got the first bite. With all the writhing and bleeding, Maree raged against the walker that had done the deed and stabbed it in the back of the neck, and threw it off of her father. "No... NO!"
Vaughn was in a state of shock, but he had only about a minute of life left before he would bleed out. But due to bloody circumstances, that minute would be the worst suffering of his life. Barely even to form words. "...M-mar... I..."
"No! No. No. No! You can't! You can't leave me, please daddy...je t'aime..." Bawling uncontrollably, the young Haitian daughter coddled over her father's dying body. "Clementine... we have to do something... He's in pain, I-I don't know! I can't do anything! I can't fix this!"
Clementine knew exactly what it had to come to. "We... we can end the pain for him, Maree. ...You can do it." Maree sobbed. "...I-I can't... Oh god... no... please..." Clem then looked back at the dying man who had always been kind to her, kind to everyone.
Clementine approached the grieving daughter with her knife in hand. "Step back Maree, I'll... I'll put him to rest."
Her breath hitched on her words, but she understood that it needed to be done, so that Vaughn wouldn't have to suffer anymore. He of all people didn't deserve this. Maree silently nodded and kissed her father's forehead one last time. "Au revoir... je t'aime..."
His last breathes were upon Vaughn, he only wished he could say those words back to his daughter before he had to go, but he was just physically incapable of forming words. And then Vaughn's eyes traveled from Maree to Clementine as she held the knife, aimed right for his head. Clementine somberly stated. "...I'm sorry."
With all of the twelve year old's might, she stabbed the metal blade easily through Vaughn's left eyeball and then deep into his brain. His suffering had ceased but his daughter cried out in grief. "NO! sob sob "
Clementine pulled the knife back out and realized that Vaughn, the leader of Wellington, was now dead before them, sprawled out on the floor in his own tent. Had the little girl made the right choice? What was going to happen now? And why in the holy hell were there walkers here in the first place? So many questions were left unanswered...
"What's going on in here?!" Someone had barged into the tent, seeing as what all the commotion was about. Fortunately it was a familiar face, and it turned out to be Dusty. "Clem, Maree, what? ...Oh no... oh fuck no..."
Dusty had sadly spotted Vaughn's corpse behind Clem and a bawling Maree beside her. His eyes had inspected the room, and he was able to put two and two together with the dead walkers in here as well. The young man approached them. "What happened?! Clem?"
"There were walkers attacking! I couldn't save them both!" Clementine tried to explain, but he was cut off by Maree.
"You could have saved him! Why did you come after me!? You could have helped him, Clementine!" She gave a distraught look at the young girl and then to Dusty who responded with one of guilt. "We needed him! We needed him to lead us..." She then took a deep breathe. " sob sob sob "
"Maree!" Dusty had quickly come up behind her and pulled her into a tight hug so that she would scream and cry into his shoulder instead. "Shh... shhh... It's okay, it's okay... he's in a better place now, alright? Just... it'll be okay."
Her muffled voice replied. "No... no..."
Clementine felt horrible for her loss, but it was done and that was that. Nothing would change it. Oddly enough however, when her eyes scanned over the dead walkers that were attacking them, they seemed very familiar. The corpses both seemed fresh, and their faces had spider tattoos. She gasped. "Wait, I know these people..."
"What? You know them? The walkers?" Dusty questioned her as he still held Maree in an embrace. "I saw them this morning, right before I met you." Clementine explained to him. "They didn't look friendly, but they were coughing a lot." "Coughing? Oh Jesus... Clem, look at their eyes." Dusty pointed out.
Yes indeed, both pairs of eyes from the dead walkers were black and bleeding from their already rotten sockets. Whatever these people had, it wasn't good, something that would make eyes bleed, something that extreme would be the cause of a disease, something terrible that had perhaps made these men die here. "They were sick..."
"Sick... What the hell then? What makes people sick like this?" Dusty stood up while he propped up Maree and they stepped away from the dead bodies cautiously. "Clementine, w-we need to tell someone, we gotta get the coun-!"
"Clementine!" Kenny had busted into the tent like he owned the place, and he advanced on the twelve year old and grabbed her hand forcibly. "Come on, you gotta get outta here, now!"
"Kenny I-!" She was interrupted when Kenny didn't want to waste any more time, and he picked up the girl in his arms, bridal-style.. "What are you doing?!" "You gotta trust me darlin', let's go." Kenny responded as he quickly carried Clementine out of Vaughn's tent, leaving Dusty and Maree behind with one another.
The sun had gone down below the horizon now, and it was the start of a clear evening with the full moon out and about. As Kenny and Clementine passed the tents of confused residents, wondering what all the commotion was about, the two of them internally remembered and connected what happened just now to the suspicious activities of their work day. A duffel bag full of medication that Xavier didn't want anyone to know about...
"Kenny! You don't have to carry me!" Clementine objected, but it didn't really matter since they already arrived at Kenny's medium-sized green tent which was conveniently next to Clementine's. "Put me down." "Alright sorry." The one-eyed man apologized. "But I had to find ya and get ya outta there."
From inside Kenny's tent, Clementine could hear Alvin Junior cries for companionship. "AJ-!" Clem was about to check on him but Kenny stopped her.
"No Clem, no. It's too risky." He clasped her shoulder firmly so that she was prevented to enter, but it only left the girl even more confused. "What? Why Kenny?" The twelve year old inquired.
Kenny looked around them to see if anyone would be close enough to hear them, there wasn't anyone around so that was good enough for him. He crouched down to her level. "Clem, the reason why you didn't see me and Alvie at dinner is 'cause I saw two guys coughing up blood in their food. ...Guys that had them tattoos. They were sick Clem... I know it. They were real sick and I wanted to protect AJ. And we can't see him till we know we ain't sick like them."
"You mean we're sick too? Kenny? Sick with what?" Clem questioned starting to feel a rise of anxiety.
"I'm sorry sweetie, but it's something bad, real bad, you saw them same folks back in Vaughn's tent..." Kenny frowned at the thought of a virus that could spread and turn them all into walkers within day. "We might already have it... How are you feelin'? You got a fever?" "Kenny... I'm fine." Little did he know though, Clem did a self-diagnosis of herself. Was she feeling hot? Was she coughing too? She didn't think so.
"You sure? Here, lemme see your forehead." Kenny put the back of his burly hand on Clem's face to check for a fever. To his relief... "You feel okay." He pulled his hand back and checked himself. "...Listen Clem, listen to me okay? You remember that Xavier's got them meds that could save lives, save yours and AJ's... He's gotta be hoardin' them for his buddies. Clem, we gotta put ourselves first and make sure we get some. ...Ain't no way in hell that bag will be enough to keep everyone in Wellington healthy..."
"But what about everyone else? If they get sick won't they die and turn into walkers too?" Clementine asked. "Isn't there another way to help them?"
"Screw everyone else, you two are the only ones I care about." Kenny declared to her. "It's been a good run, but we'll leave Wellington all together if we have too. ...But not without medicine to keep you and Alvie breathin'. ...So I hate askin' you to do this and it might be real dangerous, it ain't right but I have to watch over AJ from out here, Clem. ...You're quicker, you can hide better than me, so I'm just askin' ya to go to Xavier's place and get that medicine, just enough for us. Two people and a baby."
"We have to tell the others, we have to warn people Kenny." Clementine pleaded the bearded man in the more virtuous direction, to give everyone a fighting chance.
Kenny retorted as he stood back up. "Then this whole place will be fuckin' chaos, a damn shit storm where nobody ain't gonna get anything. Clem... think about Alvin, think about us, this is the only way we can make sure that we can't get sick like those other guys. So please, I'm beggin' ya, go on and do this, for us."
Clementine had to comply, these were things she had never faced before, so as if she were lost in the dark, Kenny was there to guide her and learn from this experience. She just needed enough medicine to combat this bug for them. Christa told her long ago that antibiotics and other drugs were invaluable when it came to getting sick. Because who wants to die in the apocalypse because of catching the flu? "Okay Kenny, I'll do my best."
"I know you will darlin'. Thank you." Kenny gratefully stated as they exchanged one more best of luck glances before Clementine went off.
Clementine innocently asked around as to where Xavier actually was, because he was a superior and he wouldn't exactly have a regular tent. Clem however found out that Xavier held up at the same old Wellington police station that she was in earlier this morning. Still armed with only a knife, she deduced that her objective would be on the second floor. There were steel bars on the windows, so the front door would still be her only option for entry. Sneak in and sneak out, that was the plan. "I have to stay as quiet as I can..." She whispered to herself.
Clementine tip-toed to the front door and hid off to the side of the entrance so that she could peek around the side. No one was fortunately present, the front desk was unattended, so he must have gone home. The twelve year old though spotted the stairs that were off adjacent to the desk, and that was where she needed to go. She let herself in and was about to make it to the stairs when she heard footsteps.
Clementine held her breathe as she instinctively hid behind the front desk, and a guard with a flashlight came around the corner. He had a radio on hand and he spoke into it. "Thought I heard something..."
Clementine held her breathe as she instinctively hid behind the front desk, and a guard with a flashlight came around the corner. He had a radio on hand and he spoke into it. "Thought I heard something..."
Clem had to peek up to see if it was clear, but she ducked back down just before the guard's flashlight would have shined on her. She had to be patient, wait him out if he had too. The guard then moved his way to the front doors with his back to Clem. "Ain't no one getting in here, sir."
Looks like she had an opening, Clem turned herself around and stayed crouched down as she made her way to the stairs with relative ease. After the short climb, Clem was on the second floor: where all the cops would have their meetings and desks, looked like a run down office. but that was when Clementine heard a voice coming from the Captain's private quarters in the far right corner of the squad room. "What?! What the hell happened?!"
There was no mistaking it, that was Xavier, Clem could see him through the window of the office door, bellowing into his walkie-talkie. Clementine the Ninja continued her infiltration and she stood by the wall next to the door to listen in on what he had to say...
"Vaughn's dead?! That's impossible! That's..." Xavier paused and realized what had happened. "Those motherfucking imbeciles died while they were waiting for him? I knew they were sick... but I thought they had more time. God help us, this could be worst than I realized... the fucking walker virus wasn't bad enough, now we got this goddamn super flu!?" Another pause from the response on the radio. "Okay... I'll be right there, we'll get an announcement going first thing in the morning..." He sighed. "...I hope I made the right decision. Just a little order amid the chaos... I only wanted to talk to him on my terms! But it looks like I have to take matters into my own hands..."
Xavier had stopped talking, and Clementine could hear footsteps coming towards the door. She hid, right behind where the door swung open on her, and Xavier strode out. He conveniently left his office door open for Clem. He was already down the stairs when the little girl let herself in, closing the door behind her for privacy.
His office was quite bare, there was a large cabinet for his coat perhaps, a large oaken desk, a matching chair, and a window to look out onto the settlement. He had a lantern that provided the only light in here, so it had cast long and ominous shadows all along the room. That duffel bag had to be in here, or Clem would be in trouble. "Gotta work fast."
Clem picked the only logical place she thought he could hide something like this, so she opened the cabinet first. Lo and behold, there it was: the bag of meds that they needed, she only needed a little bit to save a baby, herself, and Kenny right? No one will miss it...
"...It's not safe out there without a gun anymore." Xavier muttered to himself from afar. "I better get used to that now..."
"-!" Clem gasped. Xavier was coming back for his gun, and she was out in the open in the middle of his office. She had to hide or do something! Not enough time to find his gun and defend herself. In the ensuing panic, she realized she had to hide, that was her only valid option.
Clementine quickly hid inside the cabinet where the duffel bag full of medicine resided, and she closed the doors behind her just enough so that she could see what was going on through the crack in between.
She slowed and controlled her breathing as she watched Xavier enter his office again, looking around suspiciously. She guessed he thought he might have heard something. He took his time as he made his way to his desk and tugged opened a drawer where his pistol was. He cocked it... Click arming it.
Suddenly, his head shot under the desk and searched the area. Good thing Clem didn't hide there... but then.
Xavier growled towards the cabinet. "...You closed my door."
BANG!
Clementine yelped as she slammed herself into the back of the wooden cabinet. She avoided the bullet by mere inches, but now there was a hole in the door. The light from the lantern shined through, making it look like a spotlight on Clementine's face before he pulled the cabinet doors open, revealing her.
The still greasy Xavier looked down on a frightened Clementine with his gun pointed at her. "I didn't want any visitors tonight, little one..."
Kenny approached Clementine with Alvin Junior in his arms. "Clem... I don't trust any of these folks, and if you ask me we're better off without any of them." He had a look of regret on his face then stared down at AJ. "Wellington might be done..."
Dusty sighed as he and Clementine were looking off into the distance. "Did you save Maree just because I asked you to look for her? Because, dammit, this wasn't what I had in mind. ...I, I shouldn't have put that on you. If I were only there just a little sooner, maybe we could have saved Vaughn too..." This isn't your fault, Dusty..." Clem assured him.
"We really need to find your friends, Clem." Michael stated to her. "Because we won't survive out here on our own. No supplies, no nothing. We made it this far, but that can change at any second..."
change at any second..."
Xavier spoke to the remaining citizens of the camp from behind a podium to make this emergency announcement. "There is no cause for panic. Now, I know that some of you are sad to hear the loss of some of our beloved members of our community... but you all have my word. This a place where we can work together and call a sanctuary in a world gone wrong, where you can sleep easy at night and live fearless productive lives. This settlement is our legacy, and I promise all of you, with my life, that Wellington is still safe..."
"You're ready?" Kendall asked. After Alice had gone home and told Cara and Gary, the adults thought she was crazy. But after she invited Kendall up to explain the plan, they were all for it.
"You're pretty good at coming up with this shit," Gary had told him.
"Well, when I'm not hanging with deadbeat friends, I do a lot of thinking," Kendall had replied.
Alice was across the hall from the armory. She hid in the laundry room, peeking out the window every so often. She had to wait for the signal. The signal was basically the moment that Kendall approached the guard and sacked him in the groin.
She saw him turn the corner from the side of the door. The muffled sounds of their conversation were barely audible, but decipherable.
"...Yeah, Armando said he wants a few guns over in the Blue building."
"Really? I didn't get a notice for-"
And Kendall did just what he said he would. The man crumpled to the ground as Kendall took the key from his belt. Alice ran out the door, grabbing the man's gun and training it on him. Kendall raided the closet, grabbing every carry-able weapon and ammo case.
"Let's get out of here. We're meeting your parents over at the west exit. It's boarded up, but we can get them down with a little force," Kendall explains as they run down the hall. A set of guards running the opposite way join eyes with the teenagers and lift their guns. Before Alice could register, Kendall already to the initiative to shoot each one in the leg and the shoulder.
The walked over the man and the woman and kept going.
"We there yet?"
"A few more halls," Kendall replied. And then there it was. The doors looked like any old doors, an old emergency exit light casting a red glow in the dark hallway.
"They should be here," Kendall says. He looks down the hall they came from, then down to where it continued. Just then, Gary and Cara run around the corner, the sounds of shots being fired in the distance.
"Fuck! They shot my thigh," Cara says. The blood is already soaking her jeans as she tightens the bags of food to her back.
"We need to get the door down now," Kendall tells Gary. The guys use their force to get the nailed on planks look.
"It's no use," Cara says, leaning over her knees to catch her breath. She grabs an extra gun off of Alice's back and aims for the bolts. Just as her gun goes off, more guards turn around the corners, their own weapons at hand.
The doors fly open. The group runs out, Kendall firing behind him at the guards who're pooring out faster than water.
"The truck is this way!" Gary leads.
Alice holds onto the gun she'd stolen. Using the skills Felicia had taught her, she aims at the men and women who are out to get them.
The bullet goes through someone's leg. They fall over, writhing in pain. Another man goes down, this one by Kendall. The two adolescents keep shooting, though trying their best not to do it fatally. They still run, approaching the truck ever so slightly.
Gary pulls open the door. Kendall runs to the back, hopping into the truck bed, while Alice follows. Cara takes a spot in the passenger side, and Gary revs up the engine. They book it.
The snipers. Alice's heart drops.
"They can shoot us if we give them the chance!" Alice yells.
"Well, let's not give them the chance then," Kendall says. He pulls the bigger rifle from his back, an AWC G2, as Kendall had told her earlier.
He looks down the scope, his aim perfect.
A shot is taken.
Alice tries to think that all he did was shoot the leg of another person.
She knows he probably couldn't have, though.
Very nice. Kendall makes a nice addition, I am curious to see where this leads and learn more of him. Very nice as always.
They arrived home very late that night. Alice stirred away when she felt the car stop and turn off, then the sounds of everyone moving to get out. When she turned around, Kendall was already out of the truck. She grabbed the guns they had stolen and followed everyone into the apartment.
"This is where you guys stay?" Kendall asked as Cara knocked on the door. It creaked open, a slight glimpse of Felicia's face shown.
"You guys are alive!" Felicia exclaims, pulling the door open and hugging Cara tight.
Bobby appears, taking the bags off of Cara and Gary's shoulders, inviting them in from the cold.
Alice and Kendall walking in together, Kendall's head poking in before he lets the rest of himself follow.
"Who's the new kid?" Bobby asks, pointing at Kendall.
"He helped us escape," Alice tells him.
"Yeah, my name's Kendall. Nice to meet you, sir," The boy smiles and extends his hand for a handshake.
After everyone introduces themselves, the new arrivals sit together on the leather couch, letting the warm fire thaw their bodies as each eats a can of mixed vegetables from the supplies they brought back.
"It's a nice place," Kendall says in between bites.
"Yeah," Alice says, her eyes transfixed on her meal. The room stays fairly quiet for a while. Alice feels sleep creep up on her fast, and before she knows it, her eyes are forcing themselves shut. She feels one of the adults carry her to her room, to her bed, where she can sleep peacefully.
The next morning, there's a little more talking.
"So what exactly happened? You've been gone for days,"Bobby asks over a cup of hot coffee. Another thing that was stolen from the camp.
"We told Armando that we'd pay off the debt if he healed Alice," Gary said.
"No, you told Armando we would pay off the debt. We could've figured out a way to-"
Gary slams his handless arm down on the table,"There was NO bargaining with that bastard." The room falls silent. Alice and Kendall stand near each other, leaning against the counter.
Bobby turns his attention to Kendall. "What about you, boy? Where'd you get the idea of escaping?"
Kendall sips his coffee, then says,"I didn't like it there. Not one bit. I saw my mom get killed. My dad was an asshole. My friends were assholes. The girls feared any guy who gave them a single look. It was fucked up."
Bobby just nods, his mug reaching his lips as he sips.
Felicia enters the kitchen after using the bathroom again. She stands next to Bobby's seat, her hands working into the muscles in his shoulders.
Bobby places his mug down softly, then says,"Well, we found something out while you were all gone."
"What?" Cara asks. She turns her attention to her brother, a bit of worry in her eyes.
"Felicia and I think that she may be...well..."
"Pregnant," Felicia finishes his sentence.
Bobby just nods again, reaching for his half empty mug. Alice just noticed that there's a heart on it with the words,'World's Greatest Dad.'
What a coincidence.
The room again, falls silent for a moment.
"Well, that's not so bad, is it?" Cara asks.
"Maybe not. As long as we can keep this place protected. There ain't so many Walkers roaming around anymore, but they're still dangerous. And, if Armando gets word of where we're staying-"Gary gives a glare toward Kendall,"- then we'll have a bit of trouble in that regard."
"Hey, I'm not going back to that dick! I'd rather be here with you guys, who I barely know, than be in that shit community pretending like I enjoy getting shitfaced and disrespecting women and shit." Kendall's face goes sour as her turns around and places his cup in the sink.
"Yeah, whatever," Gary mutters. Cara places her hand on his back, rubbing it softly. Similar to the way Felicia comforts Bobby.
"Me and Kendall are gonna go out back to the courtyard, okay?" Alice says. Gary just grunts a 'Whatever,' and the rest of the group don't respond to it.
"What's their beef?" Kendall asks, once they get to the pen containing the hens.
"They don't trust you, because you used to be part of Armando's crew."
"The hell I was," Kendall kicks a can on the ground.
"I know," Alice says. Her and Kendall stand inches away from each other, staring up at the buildings surrounding them.
"At least you don't hate me," He says.
"Who said they hate you?" Alice asks.
Kendall shrugs, turning away from her. She follows him as he approached the two cows they also keep.
"Just give them a chance," She says. Her hand reaches his should and he turns to face her.
They share a smile before walking back into the house.
I have learned something about this story, and I am seeing it in evidence once again. You lull the reader into a false sense of security. I really like the way you do this, it makes the "Oh shit" moment coming that much better. Love this story!
"Psst. Alice. Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiceeeeee...." Kendall's whispers fill Alice's ear. She pokes one eye open and notices his face is mere millimeters from hers.
"What do you want?" Alice whispers in the darkness. Cara stirs in her bed, and the two stay silently still, as if that would stop her from seeing them both if she did wake up. When they heard another snore emerge from her, Alice got up. She tiptoed behind Kendall to the livingroom, where he'd been sleeping the past week.
"What did you want?" Alice asks, a little louder than a whisper.
He takes a spot on the couch, the flames lighting the room enough for them to see one another.
"I wanted to talk," He said. It was simply stated, but Alice still couldn't fathom why on earth the boy would wake her up at these ungodly hours.
"About what?" Alice took her spot next to him, the both of them staring into the flames.
"About some stuff on my mind, I guess." He replies.
"So....start?"
"Okay, okay. Let me just...gather my thoughts."
They sit there in silence some more.
"Did you just want me next to you?" Alice asks after a while.
No response from Kendall. She turns her head to face him. His eyes are closed, his breathing steady.
She shakes him awake,"Kendall!"
"Huh? What?" He rubs his eyes.
"You said you wanted to talk?"
"Yeah, uhm.." He looks around for a minute. "Well, let's just start somewhere, I guess. Are any of these guys her your mom or dad?"
"...No. My parents are dead." Alice replies after a second.
"My mom is dead." Kendall says.
"Yeah."
"Yeah. She just....stopped working one day. I was a kid, and I came home, and she wasn't there one day. And then, Armando went on the intercom system and announced that there would be a public trial for her and a few other women who were....misbehaving."
Why was Kendall telling Alice these things?
"So she was....killed." Alice states.
"....Yeah, she was. I didn't....I didn't see them...do it. But dad came back pissed. Said she deserved it. Fuck..." Kendall rubs his eyes, a combination of sleep and tears getting to him.
"My mom died when I was little. My father never told me why, but I figured as I got older that she must've been bit. I was just a toddler then."
"Man. It sucks," Kendall says. The both of them sit up some, fixing their slouches. Kendall turns his head to Alice.
"What about your dad?" He asks.
"He died not very long ago. I was save by these guys. And...well, things got more complicated. I found out I have actual relations with some of them here. My aunt Cara, my uncle Bobby. They were my mother's siblings."
"Ah. Why weren't you guys together in the first place?"
"Things happened before I was born, between them and my mom. Well, more my aunt Cara and my mom."
"Oh."
"Yeah." Alice turns her head toward Kendall.
"You're very pretty," He says.
Alice blushes. Her face turns back toward the fire as it crackles softly in the dark.
Kendall kisses her cheek and says,"You can go back to bed now, if you want."
"You didn't really want me out here to talk, did you?" She says.
Kendall looks away, his cheeks blushing a bit of red,"...No. No, I..."
She doesn't respond back. She lets her head lean onto his shoulder as they sit there in silence. She keeps thinking about the kiss he gave her, and if it really meant something or not.
They fall asleep together on the couch.
Oh yeah, reeling me in like a big ole catfish that you'll, skin, gut, and fry for supper. I just know it's coming. I like Kendall, he adds to the story for Alice in a charming way. Gawd! I was that young once; long, long, looong time ago. Those awkward moments. Yep, I can feel a sucker punch coming. Love this story Emmy, you are a very gifted writer, absolutely!
Damn, I definitely need to catch up on your story for sure. Falling behind as of late.
"What the fuck!" Gary's voice woke Alice with a jump as the booming echo rang in her ears.
She watched him grab Kendall by his shirt with one hand, while his stub threatened a punch.
"I swear, we didn't do anything!" Kendall yells in fear.
"The hell you-"
"Stop!" Alice yells. Gary turns his head to her, then says,"What did you two do last night?"
"Nothing," She says, rather calmly.
Gary's anger starts to diminish some, now that the others are awake and rubbing the sleep from their eyes.
"What's going on?" Bobby asks, slipping past Gary's massive body.
Gary let's go of Kendall, letting the boy fall to the ground as he scurries away.
"We did nothing," Alice says sternly. "We just sat, and talked. That. Was. It."
Gary is calmed now, though a scowl still fills his face, making creases at the seams. He walks out the back door, into the courtyard. She looks to Kendall, who heads to the front door, beginning to unlock it.
"Don't go," She says, but Kendall doesn't respond. He opens it up, grabbing his gun from the little end table and walking out. Alice grabs her own gun and follows him.
He stops midway down the street. He stares at a trap containing a squirming walker.
"What the fuck is wrong with me," Kendall says. He gets down on his knees, watching the walker struggle. Alice stands before him, her hand resting on top of his shoulder.
"Nothing is wrong with you," She says. Kendall lifts his gun, and shoots the walker in front of him. He drops it to the ground and slouches over, out of Alice's reach. She sits on the pavement next to him, her legs folded in front of her and her hand on his arched back.
He stifles a cry.
"I miss my friggin' mother. I miss her, and I miss my mom. Fuck it, I miss my dad sometimes. He wasn't a complete ass all the time, just when times got friggin' tough and my mom started not to care. God damn it."
She runs her hand down his back, up and down, in a soothing pattern. He sits back up, his face inches from hers.
She kisses him on the lips softly.
He sits there, shocked a moment, then smiles. She helps him up and they get back in the house. A rumbling in the clouds overhead threatens to rain down, so they grab their guns and head inside before it down pours.
The adults inside are doing their daily chores, sweeping and cooking. Kendall takes a place on the couch, a copy of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in his hands as he begins to read it.
Alice goes straight to the back door of the house and into the court yard. Gary is sitting on the bench, his head in his hand. She sits next to him, not uttering a sound. The rain begins to come down in little droplets.
"I'm so fuckin' sorry," Gary mumbles.
"It's okay," Alice says.
"No, it's not," Gary says back. He lifts his head to the sky, the rain starting to come down a little harder.
Alice copies him, a few drops hitting her face.
"I had a kid once," He started. "She was 7 years old when the shit hit the fan. And she died at 7 fuckin' years old. Her and her mama. Dead. Fuck...Alice, you remind me of her every single day."
Alice took her hand and grabbed Gary's stub. He crooked a sad smile, saying,"Let's get inside before we both catch colds."
Very nice as always, I've come to expect that. These characters are so very real, it's remarkable the way you bring them to life so simply. It's as I've said before, the fact that they are carrying on with normal life in a completely unnatural world, you capture that every day life feel vividly and expertly. I continue to look forward to and enjoy these.
Haha, yeah. Well, between this and my other story, I've been writing A LOT.
I've noticed.
Besides, you're quick, girl!
Cara and Gary stood in the kitchen alone.
"What's on your mind?" She asks. The mug of coffee sits in her hands as she leans on the counter. It warms her up, since the heating doesn't always like to work in the apartment.
Gary hangs his head low, his hands gripping the table behind him. "You'll laugh if I tell you what I've been thinking as of late."
"How do you know?" Cara smiles at him.
Gary's grip tightens, then he lets out a sigh. "I was thinking about you."
He was right. Cara tried her hardest to contain the laugh, but it came out in a pig snort as she place her coffee on the counter behind her.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She says.
Gary's face burns red from embarrassment,"Shoulda said nothin'..."
"No, no. Gary-"
Gary exits the room without another word.
"There's nothing you miss?" Alice asks.
"Nope. Nada. I hated the damn place ever since the start." Kendall pulls a Jenga block from the tower.
The door swings open, Felicia and Bobby entering the living area.
"Anything?" Alice stands up from her and Kendall's game.
"No food. Not one thing on the entire trip." Bobby throws his bow and arrow on the floor with frustration.
Alice's belly grumbles.
"We're running out of the supplies you guys snatched. We need something more than canned beans and mixed vegetables. We need some goddamn meat." Bobby heads for his bedroom, Felicia close behind.
Alice and Kendall exchange looks, and they stand together.
"Thinking what I am?" Kendall asks.
Alice nods.
They take the bow and the arrows. Alice get's her gun and a magazine clip. The door sits wide open. They scoot out with childlike wonder.
"You think we can catch anything?"
"Maybe." Alice is a little uneasy about leaving without saying anything. The turn the corner at the end of the street and enter and allyway.
"Haven't seem a walker in days," Kendall says.
"Yeah. They seem to be dwindling down. Do you think after a while, when there are no people left, that they start to starve?"
"Maybe they start eating eachother, again, till they all stop walkin'."
They jog around another corner. Then they reach the park.
Or, what was left of it. The trees are overgrown, and seem not much shorter than the skyscrapers themselves. It looks more ominous around here. Alice stairs down the long street, watching birds fly in the distance and the substantially unstable, much taller, skyscrapers leaning to their sides some.
"Let's stay for only a little bit. Please."
"Yeah, that's fine. Let's get in there."
Kendall leads Alice into the forest, the trees making it seem much later in the day than it really is.
Small animals roam, mostly ones that are finished hibernating for the winter. There's not much around worth shooting. They reach the lake, the small brick path around it barely visible.
"Wonder what it looked like," Kendall mutters.
"It looked really clean cut. With a lot of people,"Alice replies. "I saw a picture in a book of New York once. It looked nice."
Kendall lifts the bow in his arms, getting an arrow ready. He sees something.
"Wait.." He lowers the bow.
"What?"
"I saw something big move, but I don't think it was an animal. It started...running away. Like a person."
"There's someone out there?"
"Seems like it. If it were a walker, it wouldn't notice us as easily."
The teenagers run around the lake, in the direction that whoever that person was running.
"AHHH!" It sounds like a male's voice.
"This way!" Kendall calls. Alice drags behind, her legs unable to keep up with his excitement.
The duck under a few branches. Then, they see him.
Walkers are bent over the man's body, their teeth digging into his flesh and pulling skin off the bones.
"Shit shit shit!" Kendall says. There are 3 of them, soon to be 4.
Alice grabs the gun from it's holster, and aims at their heads.
"No!" He whispers. The things haven't noticed them yet.
Alice nods, then places the gun back. They slowly back away, from the way they came from.
"...whew. That was close." Kendall says, when they're far enough away to feel safe. Alice grabs his bow and arrow from him, studying the intricate designs all the way down it.
"Fancy, ain't it," Kendall says after a while.
"Yeah."
"Let's get back before we have more trouble," He says. They exit the forest from where they entered, and there it stands.
A deer.
Kendall grabs the bow ever so slightly, training it upward and staring down the shaft. He focuses his eyes on the animal, it's head peaking down to eat some grass.
He let's go.
The arrow pierces it's head directly, and it only runs a few feet before dying.
Alice smiles really big,"Can we even carry that thing?"
"We better be able to. How else is it gonna get home?"
"We could get Gary," She suggests.
"No way. We have to stay near it. What if a walker comes and chomps on it? Ruined meat. Let's haul ass outa here. You grab the front legs and I'll grab the back.
"Okay."
The two of them lift with all their strength, only getting the animal a foot above the ground. They cover twenty feet before giving up.
"Get Gary. And Bobby. I'll stay by the animal," Kendall says.
"Are you sure? You should come with me, then we'll be safe."
"But what if a walker comes and eats it? I need to protect it til then."
"Right. Whatever. I'll be back in a minute."
"I'll be counting." Kendall watches Alice run back home. The growls of a nearby walker are heard, and he prepares another arrow.
Her fist hit the metal front door several times.
"Comeoncomeoncomeon," She said out loud.
The door slipped open,"Kendall? Alice?" The voice belonged to Gary.
"We need you, like, now!" Alice says. Gary opens the door fully and notices Kendall is missing.
"Where is he?" Gary asks.
"He's guarding the deer we shot down."
"Hold on- wait, what? You guys shot- Without- Goddamnit." Gary stepped out of the house.
"We need help carrying it home, but we should get back quick. Kendall is all alone over there."
"I'll get Bobby."
The three of them raced down the beaten path that leads to where Kendall had been left.
"...Where is he? And the deer?" Alice asked.
Gary and Bobby shared a grim look,"This smells fishy."
Alice's heart dropped at the thought that anything bad could have happened. "Maybe he dragged it somewhere safe?"
"No way. There's no blood trail. Must've been picked up by bounty hunters." Bobby concludes.
"Or, Armando had been watching us. Waiting for the right time to strike."
The two men contemplate scenarios while Alice scans the area for any sort of evidence. There's no way Kendall lifted the animal himself. She saw a few walkers that were shot down, arrows sticking out of their faces.
"He was able to defend himself," She says. Then, she sees a few broken arrows that must've missed their target. But where ever he was aiming, there weren't any walkers.
"Must've been people, some one tryin' ta capture him," Gary said.
"We need to find him!" Alice begged her guardians.
"Don't worry, we'll get him back. We need a plan, is all," Bobby says. They run their way back to their homestead, the smell of dinner wafting in the air as they enter the front door.
Short, but very good. Dang it I like Kendall, at least let me get to know him a bit, maybe let him by me dinner, take me to the movies, before you get him all kidnaped or eaten...Shesssh! Seriously though, very good chapter, but I am starting to see your pattern: mushy stuff, mushy stuff, feel good, WHAM, hit'em where it hurts! Very very nice
The trio returned home fast, to discuss the game-plan to their comrades.
"We're breaking back into Armando's," Gary began explaining to the girls.
"You're fucking nuts," Cara said, a tinge of anger on her tongue.
"We gotta get the kid back," He replies.
"If I recall, you practically hated him not too long ago." She responded.
"Yeah, well, shit changes. I'm goin' back, whether you approve or not. I have no doubt it was Armando, who else'd let him live?"
"What if he went willingly?" The two began to full out bicker. Alice stood between, extending her arms to separate the two adults.
"Chill!" She yelled. "There's no way he went willingly. There were arrows shot in an area that held no walkers. I have no doubt he must've tried defending himself. They caught him, though. We need to find him."
They silenced, their attention fully on the teenage girl.
"Right. Okay, um. Well, how are we gonna do this then?" Felicia asks.
"Well, you're staying home," Bobby tells her.
"The fuck I am!" She says. "You think I'm incapable of fighting?"
"What? No! I just-" She cuts him off.
"I can still hold a gun!"
"I didn't say you couldn't! I don't want you to get hurt! That's all!"
Tired of the fighting, Alice exits the room. Her bedroom is dark, as usual, and she reached in the drawer to grab an extra clip. She shoves it in her back pocket, then makes sure her gun is secure in it's holster. Reentering the living room, things seemed to have died down.
"Fine. You can drive us there. Be ready to floor it as soon as we get out, ya hear?"
"No problem," Felicia answers.
The two nod and then Bobby goes to grab more weapons. The whole room is bustling with people moving.
"So who's staying?" Felicia asks.
Gary and Cara look at each other, then at Alice.
No one speaks up.
"Y'all are going?" Gary asked the two other girls. They both nod, and Alice pulls her gun out.
He gives her a quick smile, and then the group heads for the front door. The truck is gassed up and filled with people as they make their way around Manhattan to Armando's civilization.
There's no going back now, Alice realized.
It finally happened, the thread has died...
Hey Mark....oh Maaaark...
http://lilacsbloom.tumblr.com/post/102881798393/i-wish-the-others-were-here-title-skin-deep
:P guess what sequel to a TWDG fic I just posted.
Excuse me sir, but this isn't your story/fan fic.
This is my fan fic from fanfiction.net. I co-write this story with Drexbann15, I'm TWDGamerKenny'sbro. I have notes where I have written episode 2 and 4, I have constant PM chats with Drexbann15 to prove that this is our story to you and everyone here.
And I can't help but notice that you haven't credited us in any way at all. And I find that very... Ignorant. Me and Drex, we have worked our backsides off on this story and you think you have the right to claim it as your own?
Now, I understand if you maybe forgot or something, and if it's maybe just a little misunderstanding. If you want to use our content, then please credit us and reference the story from the site.
Thank you.
[removed]
[removed]
Thank you, Carlos.
He's not in denial, you're just stealing his story. You didn't write this. TeamKennyAlways and Drexbann15 did.
You liar. You are not the author. TeamKennyAlways is. If anything, you're the one who is in denial. So, go take your lies somewhere else.
[removed]
Title: TWD, Another Day.
Main Characters: Lee, Kenny, Clementine.
( If Lee hadn't died.)
Timeline: Picks up right after "Around Every Corner."
Lee, on the floor of the jewelry store, weak and dying from a walker bite, looks up at Clementine, who's holding a gun in her shaking hands.
He nods.
Clementine, points the gun at him, and pulls the trigger.
Suddenly, Lee bolts upright, terrified, and looking around, realizes he is still in the mansion, having fell asleep on the couch in the upstairs den.
"What a nightmare! I'm so glad I destroyed that radio a few hours ago. God knows what kind of trouble we could be inviting on ourselves as long as we had it," Lee thought.
Clementine, still lying by the window, having cried herself to sleep after Lee was forced to tell her that her parents were more than likely dead, her body being covered in the warm raise of the morning sun.
Lee walks over to her, and gently stroked her head.
Looking out the window, Lee sees Kenny working on the boat.
Exiting the den, and heading downstairs, Lee sees Omid sitting on the couch, while Ben and Christa are packing the few supplies the group has managed to scrape together, into three backpacks they had managed to find a few houses down the streets.
Walking out through the back door, Lee approaches the shed, where Kenny's working.
Lee: "How's the boat coming, Kenny?"
Kenny: "Pert-near done actually. Just a few more turns of this wrench, and we should be good-to-go."
Lee: "That's great Kenny! Best news I've heard in a long time."
Kenny: You and me both, pal. How's Clementine? Christa told me that you had to have a very rough heart-to-heart talk with her about her parents."
Lee looked down at the ground, and replied: "She's still sleeping, but man I don't know. She's a tough little girl, but she's still a little girl. I'm worried about her."
Kenny, wiping the grease from his hands with an old rag he'd found in the shed, stated: "She's been through a lot, that's for sure. You and I both know she's gonna be sad for a long time, but seeing how well you've done with her ever since I've known the two of you, I think she's gonna be just fine."
"I hope you're right," Lee replied, "Can I give you a hand?"
"Nah I'm good," Kenny said.
Looking at the boat, Lee crossed his arms and asked: "How do you see us getting this sucker down to the river?"
Kenny: I've been thinking about that! And I've been wondering what the odds would be of their being a working truck in this town. Yeah Crawford stripped most of the cars and trucks for parts, but what are the odds they got all of them? After all, they didn't find this boat."
Lee: "You've got a point! Maybe we should go out and scout the area, perhaps there still one around."
Kenny: "Sounds good to me. Why don't we head out now while we still got the daylight?"
Lee: "I'll grab are stuff and we'll get going."
Walking back into the house, Lee grabbed two backpacks, as well as two of the group's pistols, as well as the hatchet and machete they found earlier.
Christa, noticing this asked: "What are you doing Lee?"
"Kenny and I are gonna head on out and see if we can possibly find a working truck, in order to haul the boat to the river," Lee said while packing.
Christa sighed: "Lee, there's nothing out there. Crawford picked this whole town clean!"
Lee, hoisted one of the backpacks on to his shoulder and said: " They didn't find the boat, did they? So why think they got all the working vehicles? There's gotta be something out there."
"Good luck Lee," Omid said, "Be safe!"
"You too man! When Clementine wakes up, tell her we'll be back soon," Lee stated, "And Ben, keep an eye on the boat while we're gone."
After walking out the back door, Lee handed the other backpack and pistol to Kenny.
Choosing the machete for himself as a hand-weapon, Kenny shut the door of the shed, and the two stepped out into the open street.
Going from house-to-house, Lee and Kenny began their search.
For over six hours they searched, but to no avail.
Finally they decided to return to the mansion.
When they arrived, they heard pounding coming from the shed.
Upon opening the doors, they found the others locked up inside, with Ben sporting a number of bruises on his face, and the boat was gone.
Upon seeing Lee, Clementine ran and embraced him!
Lee wrapped his arms around her.
"Are you alright, Clementine?" Lee asked.
"I'm fine Lee, but the boat is gone," Clementine replied.
Kenny looking around in shock asked: "Guys, what the hell happened?!!!"
"It was Vernon, and that support group," Omid stated.
"GODDAMMIT," Kenny shouted!
Lee, looking back up from Clementine, noticed Ben's bruises, and said: "There ain't no mystery here! I told Ben to keep the boat guarded, and it looks like he gave it his all."
"I tried Lee, I really did," Ben responded!
"But there were to many of them," Ben continued, "What else could I do?"
"It's alright Ben," Lee assured him, "You did fine."
"What the hell do you mean he did fine Lee? The boat is gone," Kenny blurted!
"Look at his face Kenny! Does it look like he just stood by and did nothing," Lee asked?
Looking at Ben, Kenny said: "Tell me what happened!"
"We were all in the house at the time. Clementine had just come down, and Omid and Christa were trying to make something to eat," Ben replied, "Suddenly we heard noises coming from the backyard! We walked out and saw Vernon and his people taking the boat. I said: 'Hey man, what are you guys doing, we need that!' Vernon said they needed it more, and turned back to getting it out onto the street. For some reason, I just all of sudden grabbed a hold of Vernon and told him he couldn't do that! That's when the one they called Clive, grabbed a hold of me, and that's when Vernon started hitting me."
Christa said: "We would've done something to help, but they had a gun on us!"
Kenny, putting the rest of the pieces together in his head, stated: "No need to continue, it's clear what happened. I gotta say Ben, I'm surprised you did what you did!"
"As am I," Lee added, "You've never done anything like that before?"
"You've been good to me, Lee," Ben stated, "I didn't want to let you down, so I did what I felt I had to do."
"Good job, kid," Kenny replied.
"So what do we do now Lee," Clementine asked?
Everyone began looking at Lee, waiting for a response.
After a few moments, Lee responded: "Since our search for a truck was a dead-end, as well as for any additional supplies, I suggest we head north, following the coastline, and try to find somewhere we can settle for a bit. Somewhere where there might be some food."
"What about a boat," Kenny asked?
"We'll find another one, which is one reason I suggested following the coastline," Lee responded.
Not knowing what else to say, the others decided it was as good a plan as any.
And so, after creeping out of town, the group began their trek north
The End.
Not so fast!
I've just written a new story.
And I intend to write a sequel.
Check it out!
Very nice Fanfic, good to see the old group back together after such a long time. I really liked the chemistry between the characters.
I am looking forward for more of this and will work on another Fanfic myself as well.
Just like a phoenix, this Thread will rise from ashes and return even bigger and even better!
Eyes glued on the road, arms rapped around our shoulders. It's snowing heavily. I can barely feel my face. I have rapped my ragged scarf around my mouth and nose in an attempt to keep them warm, but the smell of my own breath is becoming insufferable.
"Are we there yet?"
I look at my brother who is walking right in front of me. He does not reply. We are both tired and so sick of this shit. My boots dig deep in the snow with every step I make, turning walking into a chore. My backpack is heavy, causing my shoulders to really hurt after all this time walking. Abandoned cars, reked doors and windows everywhere and a broken payphone on the opossite side of the road. Maybe there will still be money in it... My bother turns and looks at me, nods to tell me to go look. I do so. I look around, the dark is spreding, my flashlight is becoming pretty useless. I desperatly need batteries... I reach the payphone. The wire is cut, or maybe pulled, I can't know, and thrown on the road, next to red car. It is broken, tilting to the left. I look around but I don't manage to find anything but a quorter. I am of course not happy with this, but it is still better than nothing.
I put it in my pocket and make a turn to find my brother. I see a silluette and start walking towards it thinking it could be him. But someone grabs my hand. Without thinking about it much I pull out my knife and try to stab whoever, or whatever is holding me. They pull my hand and cause me to fall before I can do anything to stop them. I see a pair of boots in front of me. My brothers boots. He puts his finger in front of his lips in an attemp to tell me to hush. He has his light turned off, and he reaches at mine to turn it off as well. I get on my knees and lean against the car that is now next to me. I see my brother pull out his gun, and so do I. Being the older one, he makes the calls. More dark figures begin to apear as the snow slowly stops and everything becomes more visible. I've counted 10 people so far, 4 women, 5 men and a kid, a young girl around the age of 8. No way we can take all those people down, and even if we did, what would happen to the kid? Fear consumes me. Both of us hidding, hoping we won't be noticed, hoping that no one will come towards us. I see the wire pretty much next to me. My brother looks at me in question for a second, but he quickly understands what I have in my mind. I put my gun back in it's place and hold the wire with both my hands. My bothers follows and puts his gun away as well before pulling out some rope. We see one of the women walking towards us. As soon as she gets next to the car I grab her with the wire from the neck trying to choke her. She proves stronger than I thought she looks. My brother gets on top of her to stop her from moving. I tighten the wire which ends with her choking after a minute or two. I take a better look at her face. She seemed to be around the age of 30. Her clothers are far too big for me, but I take her hat, shoe-laces, socks and bag. One of the men was heard after a few minutes, comming closer to us.
"Kate, where the fuck are you? We need to get going bef-"
He stops talking as he sees us behing the car. He lets out a yell before my brother pierces his Jaw with his knife.
"WHAT THE-"
One of the women has seen us. We run to the building closer to us. I take out my gun and start shooting at them, shooting a man right between the eyes as my brother is trying to kick the door down. I keep shooting at them, which led to me shooting a man on the knee and woman in the stomach. My brother finaly kicks the door down and pulls me in, shutting the door behind him with force, telling me to bring anything heavy I can find. I struggle to push a couch towards the door. Must have taken a couple minutes but it felt way longer. People were trying to shove their knife in the door, the kid was crying and the two of us were on edge. I bring the couch on the door and my brother gets out of the way so I can put it into place. He helps me move it. This would buy us some time. We run upstairs not being able to do anything else. We find a bedroom with a lock and we get in the room. But before we have time to do anything we hear a loud gunshot and the little girl yelling in terror. We both know it's a sniper. We hide underneath the windows, hoping that he can't get one of us. Another one is heard a few moments after. Bodies are droping here and there. We can do nothing but wait at this point. After a while the gunshots stop. I look at the mirror in the wall in front of me. A red dot on it. He was looking for us. I looked at my brother, he had seen the red light as well. He looked at me and nodded me to run. The red dot was not on the mirror anymore, he was looking around. My brother took his bag off, made it slide on the floor towards my direction and crawled towards me. He took off my scarf, and rapped his around my neck before hugging me.
"I love you kiddo."
I wish I was oblivious to what he was planning to do. But I wasn't. I knew he would try to play the hero. And I knew he wasn't going to take no as an answer. I held back tears as I hugged him, probably for the last time. I wore his backpack and prayed that the extra weight would slow me down. The snow was starting to thicken, so at least I wouldn't be as visible. I moved along the wall, crawling, in hope that he wouldn't see me, but the was nothing better I could do. I reached the door, ran down as fast as I could and then walked out, hid behind the same car as before. The girl's body was right next to me, staring at me, with a blank stare, he brains blown out. It freaked me out more than anything I had ever seen before but I knew that I needed to get going as fast as I could. Once again, everything was pretty much invisible. I started walking towards where me and my brother were headed. I heard him yell, probably trying to captivate the shooter's attention. And then... Bam. I heard glass breaking, and something heavy falling down, right behind me. I kept myself from looking but I wanted to break down in tears, even though I knew that it would lead me nowhere. I kept going, as close to the walls as possible, begging that I wouldn't be seen. I could see nothing, but I kept walking for as long as I could.
Night came along, and even with my light, I barely knew where I was going. I came across an old dinner soon after. The door was broken down, but it was better than nothing. I looked around in the kitchen to see if there was anything edible left. Couple of cans, but nothing much other than that. Fortunatly there was plenty of water, so I drank as much as I could and I filled up my supply. I closed the kitchen door and sat down on top of a bunch of old rags. I empited all three bags and started thinking about what I was going to keep. I took my brothers backpack, which was bigger than mine and put in all my clothes. What followed was the food and the water we had. I had... Knife and gun on their holder. Lighter in my pocket. Reminded me of how my father was a smoker. I took the lighter in my hand and run my fingers on it, to feel the carving on it. It was a gift for when I graduated high school, but I quickly broke out of the nostalgia and kept going. I changed my batteries and put the rest inside an little plastic box. Next to it, I put a carton box filled with bullets, obviously for my gun. I tied the rope we had around my waste as a belt to save up some space in the bag and to make sure I always had it on me. Bangages in the bag, along with all the meds I could find and a needle and thread. I put all the money we had in my pocket. Even after hell came, we still needed that shit to control us. Nail cliper, compass, soap, blanket, my notebook and pencil, rags, and of course, my trustworthy spork all stuffed in my bag. My multitool in my pocket. I find some gum coming from the lady's bag and I chew up a piece before putting the rest of it in my pocket. I take all the clothes that lady and my bother carried and put them down, I stuff the two bags with the rest of the stuff, thinking it could help someone else. I lie down on the clothes and use some of them to cover myself and try to sleep, but the cold is too harsh and too much have happened. As I lie down I see a piece of paper and pick it up. It's the last picture me and my brother took together. He was smiling. I couldn't stop my self from crying this time. I cry to myself for a few minutes but force myself to stop after a while because of the fear of being heard. I fold the picture and put it deep in my pocket. I finaly manage to fall asleep with my eyes and head hurting from crying, hoping I will live through the remains of the night.