A/N: My gosh… what a delay… My classes demand so much attention this semester. I guess it's normal since I'm getting to the end of my bachelor's degree… I'm hoping that next semester won't be as busy, but since I have two graduate classes waiting for me, I doubt there will be much time to spend on my fanfiction… Oh well... Oh and replaying Skyrim after years of not playing it with the remastered version was a very bad choice. Anyway, on with the story
Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. All rights reserved to their respective owners.
Zeke followed Luke and Pete as they approached the cabin. "If you think it looks cozy from out here, wait until you see the inside." Luke said. Zeke saw the cabin as a good place for him and Genevieve to rest. The best part was how secluded it was. A big worry for him about Wellington, if it even existed, was that its fame could attract bandits and scavengers, but this cabin would have been easily missed unless a person was specifically looking for it.
Zeke was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw someone exit the cabin with a hunting rifle in hand. He did not look happy. Zeke stopped altogether while still holding onto Genevieve. He had her turned around and looking over his shoulder. The look of the younger man was not welcoming. He ran up to him, Luke, and Pete.
"Luke, Uncle Pete, what the f***?" The young man inquired. "Who the f*** are they?" Zeke could feel Genevieve tighten her grip on his sweatshirt. She was scared, but after being in this world for her whole life, she knew that crying would only make things worse. The only thing Zeke could do to comfort her was to rub her back.
"Nick, calm down. It's just a boy and a baby." Pete said.
"You don't know that. They could be working for Carver! What were you thinking?" The young man, Nick, inquired.
"Come on, Nick. A baby and a teenager. Look… I know Carver is probably desperate to find us, but do you really think he would have the patience to deal with either?" Luke said.
A woman and a stocky man soon joined the group and looked to Zeke with questioning stares. The woman's eyes softened when she saw the toddler. "What's going on here?" The woman asked. Zeke was surprised to see the toddler's head move to look at the woman. Plus, her grip on his sweatshirt loosened. This was the first woman Genevieve had ever seen who wasn't out to kill her. She was curious especially after having a man and a boy as her only caregivers for her whole life.
"Rebecca, these two just brought back a couple of Carver's spies." Nick said.
"Now hold on." Pete said. "He told us that he was with the baby's father and they got separated."
"Did you even check them for bites?" Nick inquired.
Pete crossed his arms and he sighed. "No… I admit that I didn't do that."
"So f****** stupid. What were you thinking?" Nick snapped.
"I was thinking that a baby is a very rare sight these days. Seriously, when was the last time you've seen a baby?" Pete said.
"He's got a point." The stocky man said. He smiled as he looked to the toddler. The toddler kept her stare on the woman named Rebecca. "She likes you, Bec." The man said.
Rebecca smiled at the baby and she said, "Hi."
The toddler was a bit confused and curious. However, she did reply. "Hi." Genevieve said in a quiet voice. She was eying the woman intently.
"She is so cute." Rebecca said.
"Yeah… Her name is Genevieve. You're the first woman she's ever met." Zeke said.
Rebecca frowned and she said, "Where's her mother?"
Zeke shook his head and he said, "She died giving birth to her."
"Aw…" Rebecca said. Zeke knew that she felt bad for the toddler. Genevieve twisted her body and had her arms out for Rebecca to pick her up. Zeke was a bit surprised. He had never seen Genevieve warm up so quickly to a stranger. Given her circumstances, Genevieve was a warm and easy child, but she didn't trust new people immediately.
"Won't mind if I hold her?" Rebecca asked.
"No. Go for it." Zeke said. Rebecca picked up the toddler from Zeke's grip and held the toddler.
Rebecca gave the toddler a smile, but Genevieve could only respond by staring at Rebecca.
"This doesn't change anything." Nick said.
Rebecca rolled her eyes and she said, "Nick, give it a rest. If the baby was bit, she would be really fussy right now and she would be fading out of consciousness."
"What about him?" Nick inquired as he aimed the hunting rifle at Zeke.
"I'm not bitten." Zeke said.
"Carlos should have a look at him." Nick said.
"Okay… I'll go get him." Luke said. He left the group and went toward the cabin.
"In the meantime, why don't you point that damn thing elsewhere." Pete said as he gestured to the gun.
"I'm not taking my chances." Nick said as he kept his gun aimed at Zeke.
Zeke sighed. He was tense. The last thing he wanted to see happen was for this idiot asshole to get him shot. If the gunshot didn't kill him, the infection probably would. But if by some strange coincidence that the infection didn't kill him, Omid certainly would once he found him and Genevieve.
Several tense minutes passed by until Luke came out of the cabin with a Hispanic man. He must have been Carlos. There was something off about him… something he didn't like. They walked down from the porch and approached the group.
"Is this him?" Carlos asked. There was a tang of disgust in his voice.
"Yeah, that's Zeke." Luke replied.
Carlos sighed before he checked the teenager for a temperature. "He's not warm." Carlos said before he checked Zeke's arms and face.
Nick grumbled and he said, "This isn't how we do things man. If he is bit, he should be put down. We can't lose more people."
"Nick, we don't know if he is bit. Let Carlos take a look at him, alright?" Luke said.
Zeke noticed more movement from the cabin's door. His eyes widened when he saw a teenage girl at the door's entrance. He hadn't seen someone around his age in a while. "Who's he?" The girl asked. She seemed nice.
"Sarah, what did I say? Stay inside." Carlos said to the teenager. She slowly retreated inside, but she kept her gaze on Zeke. Zeke did the same and kept his gaze on her. She was cute, but he had never gotten along with girls in the past. There were a couple, but he later found out that they were manipulating him. The girl finally closed the door and Zeke looked back to the group.
Soon, Carlos finished his examination and stood up. Zeke pulled his hooded sweatshirt's sleeves down and waited for the doctor's verdict along with the other group members.
"Well, is he bit?" Nick said.
"No… but we don't know him. He could be a danger to the group as well as the girls." Carlos said. "Besides, he might be working for Carver."
"I'm not." Zeke said.
"We will see." Carlos said.
"Carlos, come on. The boy can't be all bad if he's looking after a baby. She seems quite happy." Pete said. "Hell, if he was bad, he would have left her to die."
"He's right." Rebecca said.
"It doesn't matter. We don't know him. Thus, we can't trust him. He'll stay inside the shed until we can trust him." Carlos said.
"How am I supposed to gain your trust when I'm in a shed?" Zeke inquired.
"You'll come out and help us with tasks for a few days, then we'll decide if we can trust you." Carlos said.
"So what? I'm slave labor?" Zeke inquired while aiming a glare at Carlos.
"Call it what you want. What we're doing is trying to keep everyone safe." Carlos said. He turned to Luke and he said, "Take him to the shed."
"Carlos, I… I don't think that this is right." Luke said.
"We've all had to do things we're not proud of Luke, but we do it to protect ourselves." Carlos said.
"Luke, this is for the best." Nick said.
"I… I can't agree with this. Y'all can do this if you want, but don't expect me to go along with it." Luke said.
"Fine. I guess Nick will have to take him to the shed." Carlos said. He turned his head and made a gesture for Nick to escort Zeke to the shed.
Nick nodded and went up to the boy. "Go." Nick ordered.
Zeke sighed before he turned around and made his way to the shed. He left behind Genevieve's bag so the group could look after her. He just hoped that Carlos wouldn't go anywhere near her. Zeke could hear Genevieve start to whine which quickly became crying. He could hear Rebecca trying to soothe the toddler, but to no avail.
"It's alright, Gen!" Zeke called out to the toddler. However, a gunshot sounded which made him stumble. A bullet nearly hit him. He turned around and glared at Nick who had almost shot him.
"Don't do that!" Nick spat. He was acting like he was the one who had almost gotten shot.
Zeke got up and approached Nick. "If you ever shoot in my direction again, I will kill you. I can deal with your bullshit, but the minute you start threatening to take my life, I will kill you, understand?" Zeke snapped.
Nick was taken back a bit by the boy's sudden rage. However, it was followed by an angry expression forming on his face. "F*** you!" Nick snapped before he brought back the rifle to strike Zeke.
Zeke readied himself for yet another beating. However, it never came. Someone was holding Nick back from striking at him. "Get the f*** off of me!" Nick snapped as he wrestled away from the person who was holding him back. It was Pete who was holding him back.
"Then calm your ass down!" Pete snapped.
"He… He was giving me shit!" Nick said.
"And whose fault is that? If you can't get a hold of yourself, then I'll take him to the shed." Pete said. "You of all people should know better than to hit some boy."
Nick growled and he said, "Whatever." He turned back to Zeke and he said, "Go inside."
Zeke obliged and went inside the shed without another word. At least, Genevieve wasn't crying anymore. Rebecca must have calmed her down. The doors to the shed were slammed shut behind him. He could hear Pete and Nick argue over something, but he couldn't make it out. Zeke huffed and allowed himself to rest on the floor. The shed had some wood inside, a workbench, a tackle box, and some shelving. He wasn't sure if there was any tools or possible weapons inside. Either way, he was going to relax. He figured that Genevieve would be safe. Plus, he was tired. Looking after a toddler, no matter how patient she was, was exhausting. He laid down on the rough ground and allowed himself to drift off to sleep. There was nothing else he could do, and this was probably the best shelter he had been in for weeks.
Clementine's POV
"What's going on out there?" Clementine asked.
"I um… I don't know." Sarah said.
Clementine quirked an eyebrow. Sarah was acting very strange. It was as if she was in another world. Finally, Clementine's questions were answered when the group walked inside.
"I'm really disappointed in you, Luke. You should have done the right thing." Carlos said.
"The right thing? Locking that boy up in that damn shed is the right thing to do now?" Luke snapped.
"We had to lock him up. It was out of the concern for the safety of our loved ones." Carlos said.
"No… That boy is not a menace, and this is wrong. This is exactly what Carver would do!" Luke said. He turned and stomped into the kitchen.
Carlos sighed before he shook his head. He turned his head to Sarah and he said, "How are you doing, sweetie?"
"Hmm…?" Sarah said as she looked up. "Oh yeah… I'm fine."
Carlos quirked an eyebrow before he said, "Alright…" He walked away from the girls and made his way upstairs.
"What's this-?" Clementine asked but she gasped when she saw the baby in her adoptive mother's arms. A big smile formed on her face and she said, "Is that a baby?"
Rebecca chuckled at her daughter's excitement and she said, "Yes she is. You want to hold her?"
"Yes please." Clementine said.
Rebecca walked over and sat down next to Clementine. She handed the toddler off to Clementine whose smile remained. The toddler looked at Clementine with wide eyes before she looked around the rest of the cabin. "She's so cute. Where did you find her?"
"That young boy had her." Rebecca said. "He said that she had never been around a woman before. Her mother died when she was born."
"Aw… that's sad." Clementine said as her smile faded into a frown.
"Yeah…" Rebecca said. She started to rub her daughter's back to help comfort her.
"What about her dad?" Clementine asked.
"The boy said that he got separated from the baby's dad." Rebecca said. "I guess it was recent since she seems to be doing okay."
"What's the boy's name?" Sarah asked.
"Zeke." Rebecca said. A small smirk formed on her lips and she said, "Now Sarah, are you starting to have a little crush on him."
"What? No! Of course not!" Sarah exclaimed with a surprised tone in her voice. She started blushing.
"I think you do." Rebecca teased.
"Do not." Sarah said as she looked away. Clementine knew it was a lie. She did see Sarah blush before she turned away. "I um… I think I'm going to go read a book or something." Sarah said before she got up and went upstairs.
Clementine turned back to her mother and she said, "I think she likes him."
"Oh, I do too… Now don't get any ideas. You're not allowed to start dating until you're in your twenties." Rebecca said.
"But that's so far away." Clementine said. "How about when I'm fifteen."
"Nope. Way too young." Rebecca teased.
Clementine rolled her eyes and she said, "You're no fun."
"Absolutely." Rebecca joked.
Hours passed by within the cabin. Clementine had spent most of the day playing with the toddler while Rebecca watched them. Alvin was outside keeping watch. Luke had joined him about an hour to go. He still seemed very upset. Nick was upstairs; he was probably sulking again or sleeping. Sarah was also upstairs. She was very quiet. It did make Clementine curious, but the child was more interested in playing with the baby. Finally, Carlos was busy making dinner for the group.
Pete was in the same room watching Clementine interact with the toddler. He walked over to Rebecca as Clementine showed Genevieve to put the blocks on top of each other.
"You better enjoy this time." Pete said as he sat down next to Rebecca. "Kids are fun, but teenagers are a pain."
"Trust me. I know. I'm not looking forward to her growing up." Rebecca said.
Clementine frowned and she said, "Why? I'd like to grow up."
"I know, but your daddy and I aren't ready. You're our first child, Clem." Rebecca said.
"I know, but once I'm grown up, I can help you guys." Clementine said.
"Don't focus on that, Clem. Just focus on being a kid. It doesn't last very long… unless you're considering my nephew." Pete said.
"He's had it rough." Rebecca said.
"We've all had it rough. He needs to grow up and stop acting like a kid." Pete said. "We got real kids in here that need us to step up. He's got to do the same."
"He'll come around. Try not to worry too much." Rebecca said.
Pete sighed and he said, "Alright… I'll try not to worry too much."
Carlos walked into the living room and he said, "Dinner's ready."
…To be continued.