The Bath House (A Clementine Short)
The storm swept in amazingly fast, she was soaked down to the bone.
The winds were still building up as she made her way to the town she had spied in the distance.
Prescott had massive walls and gates, the giant turbines had stopped rotating as she got closer to the walls.
She heard the people inside, fortifying the walls against the winds. Even so here and there some piece of metal went flying off the top of the wall.
It was a good thing that the walkers did not know to avoid the water that was rushing down the hills and the mudslides that used to be roads.
She made her way to a gate and pounded on it. "Let me in please...I just need to get out of this weather!"
Two men looked down at her from the wall, one of them a tall blond haired man who was built like a bull.
The other one was a shorter man who wore a orange and yellow road construction jacket.
The two men looked at each other and then the shorter one yelled down, "I don't think so, we cannot let anyone in...no guarantee that we can get the gate closed again!", his head shaking.
Clementine started to look around desperate for some cover when a question was yelled at her.
"Are you bit?" She looked up, the tall man was gazing down at her.
"No...just soaked and tired, but not bitten", just then a gust of wind blew against the wall face first...splitting her lip.
A length of rope uncoiled as a looped end landed by her. "Hook a foot in that loop and hold on...I will pull you up!"
The other man was yelling at him as he started to pull her up.
"God dammit Tripp, this is not how we do things...she is not one of us!"
"Shut your face Gus before it gets smashed, I am not leaving a child out there.
One extra mouth is not going to hurt us, she is what a hundred pounds soaking wet, and that is with all her gear."
He tied the rope off and held out his hand to her. And she was over onto the platform, before she could say anything He pointed her down some steps to the ground below.
The wind pushed against the wall, but it held.
It was good to be out of it..the rain was still coming down, they made their way to a building that had looked unlike the rest of the slapped together buildings in this town.
"This used to be a small cargo airport for local companies...I am Tripp by the way and this sack of shit is Gus"
Gus's face started to turn purple, he turned back and went out into the storm" "Heh, asshole." Tripp gave her a sly wink.
"Hi, my name is Clementine and before you ask...I am alone and no I am not looking to join any groups or communities"
Her voice lost any bit of emotion as she spoke, years of hard experience taught her that it was best to be alone...even when it hurt.
"Well shit kid, wasn't going to ask you to drink the Kool-Aid. I get where you are coming from, not like I haven't other people like you out there.
Anyway, this is Prescott as you probably read on the sign..we trade with other settlements and have good walls and we have a bath
house if you are interested...there is also a laundry with a dryer...I can offer the bath..but the laundry will cost you."
Clementine's eyes lit up, a bath house!! "Hot water?!"
Tripp smiled, "Sure do kid...why don't we head over there before you catch a cold in those clothes."
The bath house, had 4 metal tubs partitioned by cheap wooden panels...pipes hung over the tubs with handles to turn on the water.
The owner of the Bath house was an older woman named Debrah, Clem traded her a mirror and a 8 pack of batteries
for her to wash and dry the clothes while she soaked.
"Red handle is hot water, the tank is full up so there is plenty..I even have some strong soap and
shampoo in the box by the tub for you...no one will bother you, so take your time...just throw your clothes out and I will take them"
"Thanks Debrah, this is going to be heaven!" Debrah left while Clem undressed,
her muscles all seemed to ache as she tossed her clothes into a pile just outside the partition.
All except her hat, which she put in the box to keep it safe.
The water was steaming hot as it came out and started to fill up the tub, she added some cold water to keep it from scalding her when she got in.
Bliss was a word that Clementine rarely thought about, but this hot water was so amazing.
She submerged herself fully letting her hair soak up the warm water. She reached in and found a bar of soap and a bath brush.
The water was a little murky now...as days of grime washed off her.
It was so pleasant to take a bath inhot water and not have to worry about a walker.
She put the soap back and reached for the shampoo...and it was a cartoon picture of a little girl on the bottle that sent a chill over her body.
Dora the Explorer.....
How she loved watching that show with Sandra and had begged her mom to get her the shampoo when they were in Target.
Her mom would sing that stupid song while washing Clem's hair and while drying it.
Clementine shut her eyes trying not to cry...trying not to think about her mom and dad...or how Carley and Lilly would wash and brush her hair.
Lilly had given her the hair ties to keep from getting tangles while she slept. It was Lee who had cut her hair to keep her safe.
She clamped her hands over her mouth trying to hold back her emotions...it was devastating and aggravating...a stupid bottle of shampoo.
She wanted them all back. She wanted her Mom and Dad. She wanted Lilly and Carley.
She wanted Kenny and Jane and Christa and Omid...oh god Omid...and Lee...most of all Lee.
She had killed Lee when she trusted a stranger...her fear had killed Omid...and the baby. And then Christa was taken from her.
Groups die, and maybe it was because she did not deserve to be happy. She killed good people and this was her punishment.
Was it for this why she no longer had AJ?
...
Outside the partition, Debrah stood with her back to the wall. Listening to a young girl cry, it hurt.
But she knew of no words to sooth when the world presented you with loss daily.
Sometimes you just have to keep going on, no matter how much you hurt inside.
The next day the storm had completely blown itself out, Clementine made some trades and left the town.
At least there was a place she could go if she had was hurt, in a lot of ways...perhaps this was better than a group.
Comments
Not gonna lie, I thought this was an erotic story at first.
Lol...you bastard!! That's my Trump reviews.
Oh yeah...Trump on the sex scene in Batman is going to be a winner.
This sucks
Hey thanks for the constructive criticism lol
I like it, better than Telltales writing for Ties that Bind.
Not gonna lie, this is good, I really enjoyed reading that.
got little emotional at that shampoo part.
That would be a good scenario for how Clem first knew Prescott, I think Telltale missed some great opportunities for some great ideas man.
What is that? I thought this was gonna be some ecchi stuff from animes in those bath houses. Weird.
Same.
You pervos! Of course perhaps the title is misleading and I am missing out on a secret market...hmmm
Heh, there is actually a Bath House in Prescott. Just in the background though.
Yeah that's why I decided to use it...should have been able to explore Prescott...I mean they put a lot of time and detail into it.
My damn imagination... I hate myself now -_-
Seeing the picture of the shampoo made me laugh at first but then I read on and it made me want to cry instead XD.
Really nice story btw.
Thanks
Most fanfictions suck.
Reads title
This better not be what I think this is.
That title worried me there for a sec.
Ok reading up on this Japanese thing called ecchi...I can see that the title could be misleading and worrying lol.
Oh! This so amazing now i really want to recreate that story somewhere, maybe in Unreal Engine 4!
The only problem is Voice Actors!
It would seem to me that Voice actors are the least of our problems...I do not know how to program..model...or anything....plus all these characters and locations are the property of Telltale and I respect them too much to fuck em over...plus...their lawyers could get mean. Wait I came up with Debrah....and Gus...so yeah.
But thank you for the kind words.
Tripp: "I can offer the bath... but the laundry will cost you."
Me: I've watched enough adult movies to imagine were this is going.
Telltale will get angry on us only if we start to sell it, if we do it for free they didn't say anything
Yes...ok the title is regrettable. I am too gentle for this world sometimes!
This story is really good! I only wish it was used by TellTale... Anyway, you did a great job!
No seriously it was a fantastic read, thanks for sharing your work with us
Thanks
Hey, man! I just made a "prequel" of your story! Check it out! (of course I can't reach your literary level
, sr)
https://telltale.com/community/discussion/112394/the-walking-dead-a-new-frontier-stories-story-1
Well that's cool, I am glad you decided to do some writing. I am nowhere near a good writer, but it is fun and I am getting better. Practice and loving the subject helps.
I have to disagree here. You are a great writer and, if you want to know, I was inspired by You to make my story, so don't say stuff like this.
I read this a while back and kept on forgetting to comment but I really liked this short story. It focused on a part of Prescott and served sort of a prequel. Not only that it was moving.
Good read!
Dang. The moment when she started reminiscing about the soap. It made this song play in my head while I was reading it... very heart-felt.
Firstly: the fuck? Secondly: should I be turned on by this? Thirdly: ddon't call the police, I'm about clem's age. Lastly: wtf am Insaying, she's a cartoon o_o
It is a short story.
Oh god I hope not.
Suuurrreee you are...wink Perv
Yep she is...so go find a real person your age to get to know. Though I make no judgement what so ever...I am fully confident you do not have any immoral thoughts in your head. This was just a short story about how I thought she first came to Prescott.