If only things were different
Chapter 2: tough decision
Wow, I didn't think this story would get at least 3 reviews, let alone 10. Still, I am grateful for these reviews and I think each and everyone of you.
Anyway, here is the next chapter, ladies and gentlemen, and by the end of it, you readers will get to make a choice on what will effect my next chapter. You'll see what it is. Enjoy chapter 2, folks.
Shortly after Carver and most of his group were killed, the group now slowly tried to recover from being captured and almost possibly killed, but with the help of Kenny, Clementine and Luke, it was all over now and the group was safe. But now they had Bonnie in their capture and were unsure on what to do with her.
The remaining group members were doing separate activates as the night slowly passed. Carlos was resting in his room after his fingers were fixed, and with him was Sarah, who did not want to leave her father's side.
Rebecca and Alvin decided to try and get some rest after what happened tonight. Alvin could have died if Carver survived or if Kenny missed and hit him. But the point was they were safe now and could sleep peacefully without the worry of Carver chasing them any longer.
Luke and Nick had worked together to drag Walter's, Johnny's and Carver's corpses outside the ski lodge and even helped clean the blood up. The duo now sat in silence by the living room area that was now brightened up with a fire, unsure on what to say.
Kenny still kept guard on Bonnie who was now locked inside one of the bathrooms. He knew for a fact there was no way out of there except for the entrance/exit that he kept guard on, and even had a chair pressed up against the door just in case.
Sarita was with him and could not help but thank him for saving her life. She now sat on one of the bench tables, unsure on what to say or do.
And last but not least was Clementine, who was sitting on the armchair near Luke and Nick, staring at the torn photo of Lee that she kept with her since the day they were in the drugstore. She kept it since that day as it was the only memento she had to remember him by. "Lee..." she whispered.
Luke and Nick spoke quietly among themselves about the situation that occurred earlier today when Nick had shot Matthew on the bridge. They felt all right speaking about it in front of Clementine since she knew, but kept quiet to prevent the rest of the group from hearing.
Nick had been thinking about telling Kenny and Sarita the truth, wanting to get it off his chest and now longer feel the guilt and shame. "Luke, I know we went over this, but remember, Walter was his closest friend, and he forgave me and saved my life. If he could forgive me, I'm sure Sarita and Kenny will too. I have to do it, Luke. It's what Walter would have wanted."
Luke had to admit that he still was unsure if this was a good idea or not, but he knew there was no stopping Nick from telling them. "All right, Nick, tell them. Be careful though."
"I will man, trust me." Nick assured before it was time for him to do something tough, but it was the right thing to do. He stood up and proceeded over towards Sarita.
After his best friend was gone, Luke shifted his attention back towards Clementine who continued to watch her photo closely, unable to take her eyes off it. He could tell something was wrong and decided to go over and ask.
He moved over towards the edge of the couch that was right next to armchair she was sitting on. "Hey, Clementine, you doing okay?"
Clementine was too deep in her thoughts to answer his question immediately. She eventually dazed out of her thoughts after a moment or so. "Huh? Sorry. Yeah, I'm okay. Just...Remembering someone."
Luke leaned over slightly and looked towards the picture, hoping he was not being too pushy by looking. He already assumed this was the man Clementine had mentioned was taking care of her during her first night at the cabin, but he decided to ask just to make certain. "Is...Is this Lee?"
"Yeah, that's him..." Clementine replied, still keeping her eyes locked upon the photo. "It was a photo of him and his family. He ripped his part off...It's a long story why. I...I miss him...He saved my life more times than I can remember. And I got him killed him..."
"Don't say that, Clementine." Luke comforted her, reaching out and placing his hand upon her shoulder. He now had a close bond with Clementine and considered her to be like the little sister he never had. "Look, we all make mistakes, but I know you wouldn't get him killed on purpose. I know it weren't your faulty, so don't go blaming yourself, all right?"
Clementine felt somewhat less sad after hearing Luke's words, and felt he was right, but she still continued staring at the torn photograph of Lee, her friend and guardian. "Thanks, Luke."
"Don't worry about it." Luke replied smiling. He got up and proceeded over towards Kenny who was still guarding the bathroom. "Hey Kenny, why don't you let me take over for a while."
"I'm fine, Luke." Kenny replied in a normal tone. "We let this bitch out of her sights for a second, and she'll come running out of there and will end up bring the rest of that bastard's friends."
"Kenny, I know we all came close to being taken by Carver tonight, but he's dead now, and Bonnie ain't going anywhere. Hell, you even got a chair up the door. She ain't escaping, Kenny." Luke reassured, but the only reason he was doing this was to get him away from the door and over to Sarita for Nick to tell them the truth. "You've done enough for us, Kenny, and we're grateful for that. Just get some rest."
Kenny hesitated for a moment or so, but he did feel pretty tired after tonight's events. He sighed as he handed over his rifle to Luke and proceeded to join his girlfriend. "All right, all right, just don't mess up, okay?"
"No problem, Kenny." Luke assured as he took a seat on a wooden chair and kept guard over the bathroom. He still insisted there was no way for Bonnie to escape, but he respected Kenny's wishes and kept guard on the door.
Kenny walked over to the cafeteria area where Sarita and Nick were talking among themselves. He decided to join in on their conversation, even though he and Nick had a bit of tense relationship with one another. "Heya babe."
"Oh, hello Kenny." Sarita agreed, shifting her attention towards her boyfriend for a moment. She greeted him with a hug and a peck on the cheek. "Kenny, Nick says he has something he needs to tell us. He says it's urgent."
"Oh, Jesus." Kenny already assumed the worse and placed his hand upon his face. "Let me guess: more of them are on the way?"
"What? No, no, no, it's not that." Nick assured that caused both Kenny and Sarita to sight in relief, but that still did not make this any easier for what he was going to confess. "Look, can we talk in private? It's really important."
"Sure. We'll talk near the fire." Kenny agreed, pointing his thumb towards the living room area.
The trio proceeded over towards the living room area where Clementine sat alone. She leaned up and saw the three approaching and already figured out that it was time for Nick to confess his actions. She placed the photo of Lee back into her pocket and left the living room before they arrived.
Seconds after she was gone, Nick sat down in the armchair whilst Kenny and Sarita sat together on the couch, waiting patiently for what Nick had to tell them that were so important.
Nick nervously played with his hands with his head lowered as he tried to find the right words, but he could not think of what to say. Instead, he thought back to earlier that day when he accidently shot Matthew. He panicked. He didn't know what to do.
Nick came running down the bridge when he saw an unfamiliar face approaching them, and already assumed it was someone with Carver. He came running down the bridge until he was almost with Clementine and Luke. He kept a slightly worried expression across his face as he aimed his rifle towards the man.
Clementine and Luke watched in shock as the man holstered his M14 up towards Nick, mistaking him for an enemy, too. One of them was going to shoot soon unless someone did something, and fast.
"No, no, no, no! He's wi-he's with us!" Luke quickly assured him, raising his hands in the air to prove they were not enemies, and that Nick was just mistaken. He swiftly spun around and waved his hands in the air, trying to signal for him to stop. "Nick! No!"
The man did not fully believe them for a moment and continued aiming towards Nick, preparing to pull the trigger on this man. "Put it down!" he ordered.
Clementine watched in panic and shock as both men aimed their weapons towards each other, and she knew one-hundred percent fact that one of them was going to fire soon and there would be blood spilt. She quickly turned towards the stranger again, trying to assure him they were not enemies. "DON'T SHOOT-"
Clementine was cut off when a shot was fired, and in the quick of an eye, she was yanked down by Luke, and both of them ducked down across the ground in an attempt to get out of the line of fire.
The shot caused everything to go silent. Clementine and Luke leaned back up when hearing gargling and groaning noise coming from the direction they were heading. They were both shocked to see the man had been shot directly in the side of his neck, blood spitting out from it as he held his left hand against out in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
The man tumbled back towards the edge of the bridge and aimed his gun up in an attempt to shoot Nick, but he tripped over the bridge as Clementine and Luke ran towards him. The two watched his lifeless body hit the water below, and upon impact, he caused a splash. Either he was going to die from blood loss, the impact of the fall, or drowning. There was nothing they could do to save him.
Nick dazed out from his thoughts that now made him even more nervous. He knew Walter had forgiven him before his death, but he had no idea how Kenny or Sarita were going to act, and he could tell Kenny was short-tempered.
Sarita had been silent along with her boyfriend for a couple of moments until she finally decided to ask. "What is it you want to tell us, Nick?"
There was no going back now. Nick inhaled a deep breath as he leaned up and looked towards Kenny and Sarita, his expression full of guilt and fear. "Okay...It's about Matthew..." he began.
"Matthew?" Sarita repeated, cocking her head to the side slightly. She was worried about Matthew ever since he had not came back yet, and now had the feeling she was going to find out where he had been. "You know where he is?"
Nick clutched his hands tightly and answered Sarita's question. He was extremely nervous, but he knew it was the right thing to do. "Yeah...Matthew...He's dead..."
Both Sarita's and Kenny's expressions changed into a surprised one when hearing this sudden news. Before either one of them could ask what happened, Nick continued.
"I...I shot him...He...He was on the bridge, speaking with Clem and Luke. I thought he had a gun pointed at them so I ran over and we both took aim at each other. I...I shot him...He fell into the river, but I never meant for it to happen...Before Walter died, I told him the truth and he forgave me. He saved my life, and I thought you two should know as well." Nick finished as he looked towards Kenny and Sarita who were both unsure on what to say next. "I didn't mean to hurt him. I'm sorry, Kenny. I'm sorry, Sarita."
Nick lowered his head for a moment as Kenny and Sarita turned towards one another for a moment. Sarita looked more sad than surprised, but by the look on her face, she did not seem angry. Kenny however was unsure on what to say or do.
For a moment or so, Kenny and Sarita discussed this quietly among themselves until it was time to reply to Nick, and Kenny was going to be the one to do it. He had been in a similar situation like this a couple of years ago. His best friend Lee had told him he was on his way to prisoner just before the walkers had risen, and he accepted that and was glad that Lee told him.
Kenny held Sarita's hand whilst speaking towards the younger man. "Nick...Sarita and I knew Matthew for a while now, and he was a good friend of ours. We won't lie that we're upset that he's gone now, but he understand that it was an accident. If Walt forgave you, then that means I can too. We forgive you, right Sarita?"
"Right Kenny." Sarita agreed with a slight smile across her face. "We both forgive you, Nick, and appreciate that you told us."
Nick felt a big weight lift from his shoulders. He thought for sure that Kenny was going to act the complete opposite to how he just acted, but to his relief, they responded in a calm and forgetful tone. He could now look at them without having to feel guilty over the death of Matthew. "Thanks guys."
Meanwhile in the upstairs area of the ski lodge, Alvin and Rebecca, who were thought to be asleep after tonight's events, were still awake, speaking among themselves. Shortly after Carver had arrived at the ski lodge, he had claimed his and Rebecca's baby deserves to be raised in a place of safety. And this now left questions.
Alvin was extremely angry when he first heard this sudden news, but Rebecca explained the situation. Carver had raped her one night when the rest of the group were sleeping and that was when they decided to escape, but Rebecca tried to assure him that Carver was wrong and the baby was not his.
Rebecca held her husband's hand as they both sat on the same bed together in silence. "Alvin, I promise you that this baby is yours. I don't care what that son of a bitch said, this baby is yours and no-one else's."
"Are you sure?" Alvin asked in a normal tone, but he did not look at her and stared off into nowhere. "We were trying for years to have a baby. And shortly after we escaped from Carver, that's when you got pregnant. Rebecca..."
"Alvin, this baby is yours and that's final." Rebecca reassured in a little bit of a harsh tone, but she only did this to convince him. "Alvin, I love you and you only. It's over now. We don't have to worry about Carver trying to get us no more. We can live in peace and have this and raise a family together. I promise."
Alvin felt quite relieved by his wife's words, but deep down, he still had a little bit of feeling the baby was not his, but all he could do was wait until it was born. He raised a smile as he turned towards his wife and hugged her. "I love you, Rebecca. I'm glad that bastard is dead now. I'll protect you and the baby no matter what."
Rebecca smiled herself as she returned the hug to her husband, but she did have to be careful due to her pregnancy. "(That's the man I love.)"
A short while had passed during the following night and everyone inside the ski lodge was still awake. But even if they were asleep, Kenny had called a meeting to the living room area, obviously eager to discuss something. Everyone (exception from Luke who was still guarding the door) was present and standing before him, including Carlos who looked like he was feeling better than earlier.
"All right, ya'll, we all need to discuss this situation about our guest here." Kenny began as he gestured his hand towards the bathroom. He turned back towards the group with his arms folded together. "We can't keep her here forever. I think it's time we end this..."
Everyone except for Sarah knew exactly what he was referring to immediately and were left with shocked faces.
Carlos turned towards his daughter and kindly requested that she leave, not wanting her to hear this, even despite what she had witnessed tonight. He placed his good hand upon her and looked at her with a concerned expression. "Sweetie, why don't you go upstairs and read your book for a while. I'll come and tuck you in soon, okay?"
Sarah knew her father always kept her out of group meetings, but she respected his request and nodded in agreement. She knew her father loved her very much and only wanted to protect her no matter.
After Sarah was gone, the group got back to the previous subject at hand.
"Kenny, are you saying we...Kill Bonnie?" Nick asked, wanting to make sure he got this right.
"That's exactly what I'm saying." Kenny answered whilst he looked towards each member of their group and noticed each of them had the same expression.
"We can't do that." Carlos asked, not wanting to become like them. "If we kill her, then we are no better than Carver and his men.
"And if we let her go, she'll just go and get more of that crazy fucker's people and kill every one of us." Kenny clashed whilst he had the feeling not everyone was going to agree with him.
Alvin had an idea as an alternative decision, but he had the feeling Kenny was not going to agree with it. Still, it was worth a try. "Well, we could leave her here. I mean, you mentioned you were going up north, right? So were we. We could all leave together and leave her here."
"We weren't planning on leaving until a couple of months from now. Besides, ain't Rebecca close to giving birth soon?" Kenny asked before him and Alvin staring towards the pregnant woman for a moment who had her hands placed upon her stomach. He sighed and tried to keep calm about this. "Look, I don't like it either, but what else can we do? It's her or all of us."
Everyone was now deep in thought as they turned towards one another for advice, but they were unsure on what to say or do. Killing walkers was no problem since they were no longer people, but to kill a living person was a hard thing to do.
Sarita, who stood beside Kenny, had an idea that made this situation fair on all of them. "How about we put it to a vote?"
Kenny turned towards her for a moment and was about to protest, but he knew Sarita was right. He would always soften when he stared into those beautiful eyes on hers. He turned back to the others for approval. "All right, we put it to a vote. Does that sound fair here?"
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
"Good." Kenny said, placing his hands upon his hips as he waited patiently for the voting results. "Okay, who wants to abstain?"
Only Alvin was the one who did not want to get involved in this decision. He stepped back away from the group, not wanting to be responsible for someone's death.
"All right, who thinks we should let her go?" Kenny asked.
Sarita and Carlos raised their hands in the air long enough for Kenny to add them up, even though there were only two of them. Nearby, Luke called out to them from the other side of the ski lodge with his hand raised in the air. "I say we let her go too."
"All right, now who thinks we should kill her?" Kenny now asked the next question.
Nick and Rebecca raised their hands in agreement. Kenny also raised his hand for this vote as it was his idea to bring this up in the first place. They put their hands down once Kenny finished counting their votes and realized one person had not yet voted.
"Well, looks like we got a tie for now." Kenny replied whilst he turned towards Clementine who had not yet voted, but even despite the fact she was a kid, Kenny had faith in Clementine as she always knew how to make the right choices. "Well, Clementine, looks like you're the swing vote?"
Clementine turned towards the group and then towards where Luke was. She was going to be the one who broke the tie between the votes, and whatever her answer would be would affect this group and Bonnie's fate. It was her choice now...
Let Bonnie go and take the risk of her bring reinforcements or kill her to protect the group?
And now you, the people of FanFiction will get to decide Bonnie's fate. Should they let her go or kill her? You people chose. I will need at least a few review votes before I can update chapter 3. Well, looks like that brings us to the end of the chapter, ladies and gentlemen. Stay tuned for chapter 3 where we shall see Bonnie's fate.