Multiple hours have passed since all that happened occurred. Multiple hours passed since he and Clementine reunited with Kenny,being attacked by Carver, and since Luke has been missing. Since then, they've been held captive by Carver and the group, heading back to the groups 'home' as he called it. Inside the woods, held Ethan looking down at a shard of glass so he could see his reflection, seeing he has a wound damaging enough to make a scar, which was bandaged, a Black eye on his right eye, and a bruise on his left cheek. He still looked until he heard somebody walking over to him.
"Ethan?" A female voice asked as he looked to see it was Crystal. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah...I am. The beating Carver gave me was nothing." He said, making her frown in concern.
"I don't believe that...D-Do you really expect me to-" Crystal said, making Ethan shake his head.
"I'm not expecting you to believe anything. All I'm saying is what he gave me, was nothing compared to what my dad did." He said as he looked behind him, seeing a truck that had one of his men, Troy, Bonnie, and Carver outside. "I'm just worried about everyone else. Clem especially."
"I'm sure they're fine, but it's you I'm worried for." Crystal said as she started to look at his wounds. "Carver really hurt you. I'm surprised you're even standing and alive."
"Trust me... After all I went through for these two years, it's going to take a LOT more than just a beating to kill me." Ethan said with a smile, making her slowly nod while looking down. "Hey..." He grabbed grabber her hand, making her instantly look at him. "Don't worry about it. I'm alive, and that's ALL that matters."
"Hey! You four done out there?!" Troy asked, catching their attention as they walked over while both Clementine and Sarah walked through the other side. "Everything go alright for you guys?" They stayed silent by the response, making him sigh. "Guess that's a yes then."
"Troy, get em tied up." Carver said while holding a walkie talkie, making Troy nod. "Well, were on our way, probably thirty minutes out. Make sure everyone's prepped. Emotions might be running high. Carver out." He then looked at both Ethan and Clementine while Crystal and Sarah was being tied up again by Troy. "It ain't polite to listen to people's conversations."
"Yeah?" Ethan asked. "And what are you going to do about-" He looked at Crystal at that moment, seeing her in worry until he signed. "...I'm sorry."
"Yeah. I'm sorry too." Clementine said, with Carver smiling.
"It's fine. You know now." He said until he looked at Bonnie. "Get them back inside with the rest of 'em. We got a long drive ahead of us." She nodded and walked over to tie them up with Troy, in which he opened the back door to the truck, revealing the rest and what remained of the group, Kenny, Sarita, Alvin, Rebecca, Carlos, Nick.
"In. Now." Troy said as they all entered in, making Kenny concerned.
"The hell did he do to you guys? Did he hurt you?" He asked until he looked at Troy. "Hey!" At that moment, the door closed, leaving them.
"Don't bother Kenny...He's not going to listen to us." Ethan said while looking down. "We can't do anything right now...So I guess we just wait."
"Until what?!" Kenny asked in anger.
"Until this thing stops." Ethan said while looking around the area. "I'm not sure where this place is taking us, but I bet it's not good."
"It's Carver's camp." Alvin said, with the ones never seeing it before looking at him. "Don't expect it to be all nice."
"I'm not expecting anything good anymore. After all we went through just yesterday." Ethan said as they all stayed quiet on the entire ride, and kept waiting.
At Carver's Camp
They all stayed silent through the entire ride, looking around in worry until Kenny sighed.
"Alright, we've got to do something." He said with everybody looking at him. "Come on. Anyone got anything sharp?" He looked at Clementine and Ethan. "One of you two, help me find something!"
"And what good is that gonna do?" Rebecca asked in anger.
"Look, we're in a fucking precarious situation here!" Kenny said back.
"Calm down Kenny." Carlos said reassuringly. "They took everything. We have to keep a level head."
"He's right. You don't know Bill like we do." Rebecca said, with Ethan looking at her.
"Bill? So now he's called Bill?" He asked.
"Funny. All I've been hearing is Carver, and now he's fucking Bill?" Kenny asked until his anger grew slightly. "Oh, I see what it is. Ya'll aside from Clementine and Ethan are getting a ride home, aren't ya? THAT'S what's going on here."
"Say that again." Nick said in anger, making Kenny look at him.
"I'd stay out of this boy." He said.
"You don't understand." Rebecca said in a slight bit of fear. "He's different. He's worse."
"Is he gonna kill us?" Clementine asked with Ethan shaking his head.
"No. That's not going to happen, not with me around." He said.
"And he ain't gonna get the fucking chance!" Kenny said, making Carlos angry as well.
"You have no idea what you're dealing with!" He said. "Have you SEEN what he did to that boy Ethan? Look at him now!"
"Yeah, and I got a pretty good idea of that as well, and I don't intend to sit around and let that happen to the rest of us!" Kenny said back. "I'm just trying to help!"
"I'm sure Walter really appreciated your help!" Carlos countered, making Ethan look at him.
"Hey now! Nobody's to blame for what happened to him. Things just happened that was beyond our control." He said with Sarita nodding.
"He's right! You're blaming him for the actions of a madman!" She said while Kenny still sat there in anger until he noticed a small cut part of the truck, making him smile.
"Oh shit! Jackpot!" He said as he got up and walked to it.
"You're going to get us all killed!" Carlos said in even more anger, with Kenny ignoring him entirely and trying to cut off the rope.
"Ya'll don't know what you're talking about! We get cooped up in some kennel like a bunch of fucking dogs, it's over!" He said.
"...We'll get killed unless we're caught." Ethan said as they all stared at him.
"You can't mean that, right?" Crystal asked with Ethan nodding.
"They're right." Clementine said. "We have to do something."
"Why is it just them that knows what's going on here?" Kenny asked until he finally cut free. "Alright, now we're talking."
"Carver will be on the other side of that door with ten people." Carlos said angrily. "At this point, Luke is the only hope we have."
"If he was, he'd be here." Ethan said. "I hate to sound like he's not coming for us, but what are the chances of him finding us?"
"And what are the chances of him dealing with something right now?" Rebecca asked. "Anything could happen out there."
"I'll tell you what happened; He abandoned us." Kenny said.
"You don't know that." Nick said in anger, making Kenny look at him.
"I know he ain't here." Kenny countered.
"Hey! Luke's a good guy! He always thinks about his friends like their family. He'll come find us." Crystal said with Kenny looking at her.
"And there's also a chance he's not!" He said, with Crystal staring at him in anger.
"We'll just have to wait and see." Clementine said as they looked at her. "It's all we really can do."
"Yeah...Guess you're right." Ethan said until they all heard a large bump. "Crystal, are we nearly there?"
"I think so." She said with a small bit of fear now with Kenny nodding.
"Ok. Let's do this." He said.
"They have guns!" Rebecca said. "What do you expect to do?"
"I'm gonna punch the first son of a bitch I see, then I'm gonna take his gun and use it to shoot the next son of a bitch I see!" Kenny said, with Ethan looking at him.
"Is that smart? I mean, this is suicide." He asked, making Kenny angry.
"Kid, you and Lee went through a shit ton of walkers to get Clementine. You tell me about suicide!" He said.
"THIS is different. We're not dealing with walkers; We're dealing with actually PEOPLE with GUNS. We'll be dead the second the trigger is pulled." Ethan said. "I agree we need to get out of here, but a plan like that will make all of that USELESS. We have to have figure out another plan."
"You got any other ideas then?!" Kenny asked in anger, with Ethan staring at him.
"Kenny...Maybe you should calm-" Clementine tried to say until the truck stopped, making Kenny hit the wall of the truck and knocked him down.
"Kenny!" Sarita said in complete worry until the door opened, revealing Bonnie, Troy, and an African-American woman holding a rifle with a nametag that said 'Tavia'.
"Alright, up and at 'em!" Tavia said, with them all getting up and walking out, with Troy noticing Kenny's ropes off his wrists.
"The fuck?! How did you get your restricts off?!" He asked until he shook his head and aimed his rifle at them to make them walk.
"We've got some familiar faces back with us tonight." Carver said through an intercom while they kept walking. "Now, I understand some of you are confused as to why we'd bring these people back when they left us when they did."
"I think I've got an idea." Rebecca muttered, with Ethan hearing and chuckling.
"No, you think?" He asked, with her hearing as well.
"It might not come all at once, but time will heal these wounds." Carver kept saying while all of them kept walking. "So be patient with them until it does, and take solace in knowing that they're hereto help us make our home a better place. All these feelings you have of anger, betrayal, hate... They're all valid. No one needs to forget for what they've done, but we do have to find it in our hearts to forgive." They kept walking as both Ethan, Clementine, and Crystal looked to see Carver in his office with a microphone near him.
"Well...Right back at you asshole." Ethan said, with Clementine seeing the large amount of food around.
"Look how much food they have..." She said.
"Yeah. They really like to pack up a lot of food. We need a ton of it in the community." Crystal said, making Kenny angry.
"Clementine, I hope you're not saying what I think you're saying." He said, in which they all decided to stay quiet.
"Come on. We need you for something." Troy said to Carlos.
"Can it wait until morning? We're all exhausted." He asked, with Troy giving him a dirty look.
"Just come the fuck on." He said, making Carlos sigh and follow him but leaving Sarah with wide eyes.
"I need him. I need my dad." She said a bit scared.
"He'll be back." Clementine said, with Sarah looking at her.
"When?" She asked.
"Don't worry too much Sarah. Your dad is a strong man. He can take care of himself." Crystal said reassuringly while holding Sarah's shoulder in support, making her smile and nod as they all caught up to the group, with Bonnie opening a metal roll up door.
"Make sure ya'll stay away from the fence." She said. "Bill can see if you're messing with it."
"Yeah...Anywhere away from you is already a better place." Ethan said coldly, making Bonnie look at him but sighed, and they all entered an open fenced area that had bunk beds, and lawn chairs surrounding a fire. They all looked at it until Troy began to untie the ropes on them.
"Ya'll best to get some rest." He said. "'Cause there ain't gonna be much for you tomorrow. You're gonna be workin' hard." At that moment, a Pakistani-American man around his forites with balding hair and only one right arm walked toward them.
"Hey guys." He said, with everyone from the camp before looking in shock.
"Reggie?!" Rebecca asked as the two of them hugged. "I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry... What they did to you?"
"This could have been worse. Trust me. I'm just lucky to be alive." Reggie said while Nick looked down.
"It's my fault." He said, with Crystal shaking her head.
"No. It's my fault. I was the one who accidentally tripped." She said as Reggie shook his head to both of them.
"No, it wasn't. It it was, I'd tell you. This happened well after you guys left." He said, nodding at his missing limb until he noticed Ethan. "I've never seen you with them before. You new?"
"Yeah. I'm Ethan." He said with a small smile, along with Reggie looking at his face. "Yeah, Carver did this to me. I'm going to repeat what I've always said, this is nothing compared to what I got. Trust me." At that moment, Tavia walked to them.
"Alvin. Carver needs you in his office." She said, surprising him.
"What? Why?" Alvin asked.
"Don't make this difficult. It's too late for that." Tavia said, making Rebecca's eyes widen.
"No! Please!" She begged sadly, with Alvin looking at her.
"It's ok, Bec. Just get some rest. If he wanted to do something to me, he'd have done it already. I'll be fine" He said with a smile until he looked at Tavia, nodded, and walked off with her alongside Bonnie and Troy as they closed the door right behind them.
"Is it just you that's new?" Reggie asked Ethan, with him looking at Kenny, Sarita, and Clementine alongside Rebecca.
"Oh, right. Let me introduce you. We were with them when we got caught." Rebecca said with Ethan nodding.
"That's Sarita and Kenny." He said while pointing at them, with them nodding until Reggie saw Clementine.
"And what's your name?" He asked.
"My name's Clementine." Clementine said with a smile, making Reggie smile.
"It's very nice to meet you Clementine." He said with Ethan nodding.
"I've been taking care of her since all of this started. We both had a ton of stuff happen to us, be we got around, always." He said with Reggie nodding as well. "Anyway, Carlos is out doing some stuff he needed to do."
"Ok, good. What about Pete?" Reggie asked, making them all look down sadly.
"Can you guys save it for the morning?" A voice asked in the distance, making them look to see a bald African-American man around his mid twenties to early thirties, but also had a scar on his left cheek and missing a part of his left ear.
"No problem! Sorry about that!" Reggie said as the man just shook his head and lied down. 'Ok, so that's Mike. He's kind of a dick when he tired, but he saved my life, so I put up with that shit." Ethan looked around the area until he saw Clementine looking at something, with him looking as well to see a woman in her early twenties with short Brown boyish, but had dirt on her face, sitting at a table alone as she stared at them.
"Why is she by herself?" Clementine asked, with them looking.
"More importantly...Who is she?" Ethan asked until the woman got up and walked away.
"Oh...Her." Reggie said while looking back them. "Ok, so she's fucking weird. They found her sneaking around outside of the camp covered in guts and just, like, the grossest shit."
"Can't say I've never seen that before." Ethan said with Reggie nodding.
"Yeah...Anyway, I know how it must look, but it's really not all that bad." He said, with Rebecca staring at him in suspicion. "I'm serious. Where else are you going to find food like we have? We've got canned stuff and now with the greenhouses coming along we've got fresh food. The building's getting more and more secure-"
"Carver killed a friend of ours before." Crystal said in anger. "Reggie, you should know what Carver is capable of."
"Well maybe he had his reasons..." Reggie tried to say.
"His reasons is he's a crazy piece of shit!" Kenny said angrily. "If i'm sure he's a 'Great guy' then there's nothing to worry about!" Reggie sighed a bit.
"Look. We can at least talk about this in the morning. Just have a quiet night and chat again tomorrow." He said. "Fact is, Bill had every right to have killed me when I helped you guys, but he didn't. I don't know what happened while you were all gone, but he's given me a second chance. And I'm sure he'll do the same for you."
"Reggie. I don't want a second chance." Rebecca said in anger while holding her stomach. "I just want to leave with my family, that's it."
"Look...Let's just rest or something. Not like we can really do much or anything." Crystal said, with Ethan nodding.
"Yeah... I guess so." He said until the gates opened up, with them seeing Carlos entering in with Troy, making Sarah smile and hug him tightly.
"Alright, go the fuck to sleep! I'm shooting the first one of ya'll I see wandering around before sun-up." Troy said before walking off and shutting the door, with all of them looking at each other. They all slowly walked to the bunk beds, with Ethan walking toward his until he saw the young woman he saw before.
"Hey. You awake?" He asked, with the woman staring at him coldly as he then did the same. "Mind telling me your name since we'll all be here?" She kept staring at him until he sighed. "Alright, fine. Your loss." He walks away, leaving the woman behind.
"...Jane." A voice said, with Ethan looking to see it came from her. "My name is Jane."
"...Ethan." He said until he turned and walked to the bunks, lying to the bed next to Clementine and Crystal. He lied there still until he took out his pendant, Emmy's old pendant, in sadness, thinking about that fateful day.
"Hey Ethan?" A voice asked as he looked to see it was from Crystal. "About...Yesterday... I..."
"What is it?" Ethan asked while getting up slightly.
"...I'm sorry." She said, leaving him in question. "I'm sorry. For everything. Doubting your friend Kenny. It was too soon and..."
"Crystal... Don't worry about it. I forgive you. I'm sorry for being a dick." Ethan said as Crystal shook her head.
"I was the one who made you mad to begin with." She said, with Ethan smiling and shaking his head.
"We're never going to win this, aren't we?" He asked with a chuckle. "How about this: We're both sorry and we plan to never have that happen again." Crystal smiled and nodded.
"That sounds good to me. And... If there's time tomorrow, maybe you and I can talk about something?" She asked, with Ethan nodding.
"I'll try. But let's try to get some sleep." He said as he turned around and began to go to sleep, trying to ignore the pain of his wounds.