Next chapter guys! I'm so so sorry for not posting a chapter for a while. I've been incredibly busy. Projects, homework, and relationships have been stressful, but I think I'm in the clear for now. I'm getting so many OC's I might not use them now, but don't worry. If I can't fit them in now, I could put them in when this thing hopefully goes to season three. Thanks for the OC's and ideas and for all your support. I appreciate it. Here goes!
A commotion from the far end of the room jolted Clementine awake. She heard the heavy steel door rumble as someone pulled it up. Troy appeared through the doorway, pushing a man forward with his gun. The man had black hair pulled back into a ponytail and bright green eyes set behind a pair of glasses. The commotion had woken everyone else up and they inspected the new arrival. The man had obviously been beaten recently. Dark bruises were starting to come up on his face and a trickle of blood leaked from his mouth. Troy hit the man on the back of the head, knocking him to his knees.
"Shouldn't have tried to steal my stuff." Troy growled.
The man didn't reply.
Troy hauled him to his feet as Carver entered the room. By now, everyone had gotten up and were making their way towards them.
"This young man will join you today." Carver said, gesturing to the battered man.
"He has tried to steal our supplies, but is new to the community, given time, we will accept him."
Troy pushed the man into the group and everyone stared at him. He glanced at them, then looked down. Carver spoke up to get everyone's attention.
"We'll split you into teams, and you will help build our community."
He pointed to Mike, the short-haired woman, and Kendall,
"You three will be hauling fertilizer up to the roof."
He looked at the woman,
"teach him how to use the winch."
She glanced over at Kendall and gave him a slight, almost imperceptible nod.
The three set off for the roof. Kendall glanced back at Clementine as he left, a worried look on his face. As Carver spoke to the rest of the group, Sarah edged up to Clementine and started talking. Clementine tried to get her to stop, but she rambled on.
"Carlos!" Carver yelled, rendering Sarah silent.
Carlos stepped forward, glancing at Sarah nervously.
"Yes?"
Carver gestured to Sarah,"Your daughter is being impolite."
Carlos hastily turned to his daughter,"Of course, Sarah, apologize to Mr. Carver."
Sarah stared at Carver with wide, fearful eyes,"I'm sorry sir."
Carver was impassive,"That is not enough, I believe she is in need of some discipline."
Carlos turned back to Carver,"What do you propose that I do?" He asked.
"A good smack should teach her." Carver replied.
Sarah stood like a deer in the headlights, and Clementine felt sorry for her, even though she didn't know her very well. Carlos desperately searched for an excuse. He raised his bandaged hand and said,
"I don't think with my hand that I-"
"Do it." Carver commanded,"Or I'll get Troy here to do it, and I think that you wouldn't want that."
Carlos knew that if Troy did it, it'd be way worse than what he was about to do. He slowly turned to his daughter and everyone else backed away.
"Daddy," Sarah begged.
Carlos shut his eyes,"It'll only hurt for a second." He said as he raised his un-injured hand. The blow echoed across the Pen and sent Sarah to the ground. She held her cheek as tears started to well in her eyes.
Carlos started to kneel,"Sarah I'm sorry,"
"No!" Carver said,"you will not coddle her any longer. Next time, she'll learn to control her tongue."
Carlos' face was filled with sadness as he stood and a guard ushered him out of the room.
Clementine saw Norman kneel down and help Sarah to her feet then take her to the back of the group.
Carver addressed Clementine,"You will help Bonnie."
"You can help me with ammo, Clem." Bonnie said, with a sad smile.
Clementine gave her a quick glare. Only people she liked called her Clem, and right now, Bonnie wasn't doing to well on the list of people she liked. Bonnie noticed and frowned a little,
"I didn't want it to be this way Clem, I-"
She stopped as Carver glanced at her. She put a hand on Clementine's back and ushered her to the armory. There were cases of ammo scattered throughout the room of all kinds of calibers. They took a seat at a table and Bonnie handed Clementine a few rifle magazines.
"Just load these." She said.
They both started to work. As they worked, Bonnie tried to break the silence.
"I'm sorry for what happened."
Clementine stopped and looked up at her.
Bonnie rubbed her eyes with one hand as she sighed,
"Bill is a great leader. He just goes a little overboard sometimes."
Clementine straightened up,
"He hurt my friends and killed Sam and Walter."
Bonnie avoided her gaze,
"It did get out of hand." She muttered.
They fell silent and continued to work.
After several minutes, Bonnie cleared her throat and reached back behind her chair,
"This might not be the best time, but I got you something."
She held her hand out to Clementine. In it was a light blue jacket. It was rather poofy, and had a rainbow on the right side. Clementine took it from her and stared at it.
"I found it at that lodge." Bonnie explained.
Clementine still wasn't too fond of Bonnie, but she figured that this was better than nothing. She slipped the jacket on.
"What do you think?" Bonnie asked.
Clementine looked down at it,"It's...cool." she said with very little enthusiasm.
Bonnie frowned,"You don't like it." She sighed.
Clementine didn't respond. An awkward silence fell between them as Clementine sat down. Bonnie's radio crackled and Carver's voice came through,
"Bonnie, bring that girl to the Pen. I have a job for her."
Bonnie picked up the radio and pressed the talk button,"Okay."
They both stood and headed for the door.
As they made their way back to the Pen, the girl Clementine had seen before stopped them.
"What's her name?" The girl demanded, jabbing a finger at Clementine.
"Becca, this is Clementine." Bonnie said.
The short-haired girl looked Clementine over. Bonnie started to usher Clementine toward the Pen,
"We need to go Bec, Carver needs her."
Clementine glanced back at Becca, and she gave a stare back. Clementine wasn't sure that she could trust her.
As they arrived at the Pen, a frizzle haired woman stopped them,
"I'm taking her up to the greenhouse." The woman said.
"Alright Tavia, she's all yours." Bonnie said as she left, glancing at Clementine as she turned down an aisle.
The woman known as Tavia gestured to a stairwell and they headed for it.
The sun shined weakly through the clouds as Clementine was escorted to the greenhouse. It was made of glass, but was so full of plants that she couldn't see inside. Tavia opened the door for Clementine and she entered the green house. Reggie stepped out from behind a cluster of plants and smiled,
"Hello Tavia!" He said brightly.
Tavia gestured to Clementine,"She'll help you for now." She said as she turned to leave the room.
"All right, thanks Tavia." Reggie said as the door swung closed.
He turned to Clementine,"Hey, your friend isn't gonna get me in trouble is she?" He asked nervously.
Clementine looked around and noticed Sarah sitting in the corner of the room. Her left cheek was bruised and tears stained her cheeks.
"I'll keep her out of trouble." Clementine promised.
Reggie looked visibly relieved. He set off to tend to a few plants while Clementine approached Sarah. The girl gingerly touched her bruised cheek,
"Daddy's never hit me before." She said distantly.
"Carver made him do it." Clementine explained.
"He forced your dad to do it," she further explained,"so technically Carver hit you, not your dad."
"Well it hurts." Sarah said as she stood.
Reggie set two small plants on two tables along with two pairs of clippers.
He picked a clipper up and said,"it's easy, all you have to do, is pick the ripe berries, and clip off the dead parts and put them in the baskets for compost."
Clementine nodded and set right to work. She glanced over at Sarah and saw her standing still, the shears idle in her hand. She set the clippers down and walked over to Sarah's table.
"Here," she said as she took the clippers from Sarah. She clipped a dead branch off and put it in the basket.
"See, it's easy." She said as she handed the clippers back to Sarah.
Clementine helped Sarah on her bush until she heard footsteps outside.
Reggie looked fearfully at Clementine's unfinished plant,
"You didn't finish your work Clem!" He said.
Carver entered the room and looked at the girls, then looked at Clementine's table.
His gaze focused on Reggie and said in calm, withheld tone.
"Clementine, Sarah, please wait outside, I'm gonna have a little talk with Reggie.
Clementine ushered Sarah out the door, while Reggie looked after them helplessly.
Sarah wandered to the edge of the building and looked down. Her shoulders tensed and Clementine became worried. She approached Sarah slowly, her hand outstretched,
"Sarah, are you-?"
She was interrupted as Reggie stumbled out the door of the green room, Carver storming after him.
"I've given you more than enough chances Reggie." Carver said with deadliness in his voice.
"No! No! Carver please!" Reggie pleaded as he backed away from the man.
Reggie backed up onto the wall of the store as Carver grew near. Carver grabbed a fistful of Reggie's shirt and shoved him off the wall. The poor man's scream was cut short as his head hit the pavement. Blood pooled around the body. Carver turned to the girls and said in an eerily calm voice,
"This community is established by people. Only the strong survive, and he was a liability. Remember that, in order to survive, a few must be sacrificed to save the many." He turned to Clementine,"Go back down to the Pen, you're done here. I need to talk to Sarah."
Clementine glanced at Sarah with a worried look, then headed for the stairwell.
She was met by Tavia, who handed her a bucket of nails.
"Take these out to the group outside." She instructed.
Clementine hefted the heavy load and headed for the door. Troy greeted her with a stare before sending her out to the outer wall. She inspected the wall as she headed for the section where the workers were. It looked sturdy enough, but she could see walkers shambling around just outside. It needed more work if it was going to stand up against a horde. A commotion up ahead startled her, and she picked up the pace. Kenny had pinned Mike against the wall they were working on.
"I ain't doing this (explicit) Kenny growled.
"Get off me!" Mike yelled, trying push the man off of him. The new guy stood and watched this, his eyes flicking from the two to Clementine and back again, but he made no move to stop them. Suddenly, a walker's hand broke through the boards, interrupting Kenny and Mike's fight.
"(Explicit)" Kenny cursed.
A small group of walkers fell through the newly made hole, eager for a meal. Kenny struck one of the shamblers with the hammer he held in his hand, while Mike hefted a board and clobbered another. One walker turned its attention to Clementine and stumbled after her. She backed up into a comic book store as the walker grew near. Having no weapon, she decided her best option was to run. She turned and ran to the very back of the store, the walker close behind. The back wall was bare, save for a piece of shelving propped against the wall. Clementine searched for a way out, but there was none. She got down on her hands and knees and crawled through the space between the heavy shelving and the wall. The walker crawled in after her. She felt a hand grab her foot and she let out a yell. Suddenly, the grip on her foot was gone. She twisted her head around and saw the walker being pulled back out of the space. She heard a series of grunts and stomps, ending with a squishing sound. A moment later, the heavy shelving was pulled away from the wall and there stood the stranger. He was breathing heavily, the walker lying dead behind him.
"You okay?" He asked.
Clementine nodded, resulting in the man giving her a slight smile.
"What the (explicit) is going on?!" Troy yelled from outside.
The two made their way toward the entrance of the store. Troy stood in the doorway, a crossbow in his hands.
"Get out here." He ordered, brandishing the crossbow in front of him.
The two exited the store and were escorted to the inner wall.
"Can't even handle a simple repair job." Troy mumbled to himself.
He pointed toward the doorway with his weapon.
"Get inside, Carver wants you."
The two headed for the door but Troy stopped the man.
"Not you, get back to work."
The man glanced at Clementine before turning back toward the unfinished wall.
As Clementine turned to go inside, she could have sworn she heard the man whisper,
"He's losing it."
As Clementine entered the Pen, she saw Kendall talking to Mike in the far corner of the room, Sarah and Violet not too far away. Once Kendall had seen her, he headed her way.
"You okay Clementine?" He asked, looking her over. "You don't look so good."
Clementine took a deep breath,"Carver killed Reggie."
Kendall's eyes widened in surprise. After a moment, he sighed,"We need to get out of here, before he kills anyone else."
The gate clattered as someone raised it, interrupting their conversation. An insanely tall man entered the Pen. He was almost eight feet tall, and had dirty blonde hair with dark green eyes. He wore a brown shirt and black combat pants and boots, a bandana tied around his neck. He had a tattoo of a skull with a dagger in its eye etched into his right arm. He regarded them with a sneer and headed toward Flame and Violet.
"I don't like this." Kendall said, hostility in his voice.
The large man grabbed Flame roughly by the arm and started to pull her toward the door. Violet grabbed the man's arm in a attempt to save her cousin, but the man simply knocked her to the ground and continued to drag Flame toward the door, a sick smile on his face. Kendall tensed up as the two passed a bench before dashing forward, heading right for them. Not losing momentum, Kendall leaped off the bench and landed squarely on the man's back, wrapping his arms around the man's throat in a choke hold. The man released Flame's hand and focused on the person that was on him. He grabbed Kendall's forearm and ripped him off of his back. Kendall landed in the dirt with a thud. The man was on him in an instant, delivering a hail of blows to Kendall's face. Kendall raised his arms and managed to block most of the incoming blows. Kendall bucked and knocked the man off balance. The man put his hands out to stop himself and Kendall took advantage of this. He grabbed the man's left arm with both hands and hooked his left leg with his foot. With a grunt, Kendall rolled until he was on top of the man. He punched the man squarely in the nose twice before jumping off of him. He stood protectively in front of Flame as the man stood.
"You little (explicit)" the man said as he wiped his bloody nose with his sleeve.
"You touch her again," Kendall growled,"and I swear by all that's holy, I will kill you."
"I'm gonna-" Gray started.
"Grey!" A voice yelled.
The man stopped and turned to the voice. Carver stepped into the Pen, regarding the scene with an indifferent expression.
"What is going on here?" He asked.
The tall man known as Grey glared at the two teens.
"That little (explicit) attacked me."
Carver's expression remained neutral.
"Troy!" He yelled.
Troy entered the room within a minute.
"Sir?"
"Bring everyone in here now."
Within two minutes the rest of the group had gathered in the Pen, alarmed expressions on their faces.
"This boy attacked Grey here. Now I don't approve of any unnecessary fights, but he has broken the rules and must be set straight. I say it's only fair to finish the fight."
Grey turned to Kendall, a wicked smile on his face.
"With pleasure." He said darkly.
"Carver please, don't do this." Carlos pleaded.
"Quiet Carlos! He has brought this on himself."
"Stay behind me." Kendall said to Flame as he backed up.
Clementine tried to get in between him and Grey, but Mike held her back.
"If you get in there, Grey'll kill you." Mike whispered.
Clementine struggled against Mike as Grey charged forward like a freight train, covering the distance between him and Kendall quickly.
All Kendall could do was push Flame out of the way before Grey crashed into him, sending both of them to the ground. The big man slammed his fists into the teen over and over, each blow resounding across the room. Everyone looked on helplessly as Grey continued to pummel Kendall. After a minute Grey let up his onslaught. Kendall was bleeding from gashes all over his face and his chin was split open. Grey grinned and drew a gleaming knife from his belt. Flame ran forward in an attempt to save the teen. Grey saw her coming and lashed out with the knife, the blade making a cut on her hand. She cried out in pain and clutched her bleeding hand. Everyone gasped as Grey lifted the knife up and brought it down on Kendall. But their terror was stopped short when Kendall brought his hands up and grabbed Grey's wrists, the blade mere inches from his throat. The two struggled, the other trying to gain the upper hand. Clementine struggled against Mike and he was hard pressed in holding her back. Flame watched in sheer terror as the knife grew closer to Kendall's throat. With a roar of wild anger, Kendall pushed Grey's knife to the right, planting it into the ground next to his head. He grabbed Grey's collar and head butted him right between the eyes. The blow stunned the man, and he fell back on his knees. Kendall grasped the knife and swung at the man with ferocity. The blade hissed through the air and cut deeply into the man's throat. Grey's eyes went wide as he coughed and gagged on his own blood. He fell back on his back and clutched his throat, trying vainly to stop the bleeding. Carlos shielded Sarah from the horrendous sight, while a few others watched with shock and horror. Grey's movements grew dimmer and dimmer until he stopped moving entirely, his body covered in bright red blood. Kendall struggled to his feet and looked down on the man, his own face bloody and beaten. He looked up at the group, his gaze going from each person until he settled on Clementine. She saw sorrow in his eyes. He hadn't wanted to kill anyone and it had obviously affected him. Clementine looked at Carver to see what he would do. Carver remained expressionless, while Troy was visibly frightened. His gun was lifted slightly and his gun shook lightly. Kendall stepped up to Grey's body and stabbed him through the eye, making sure he'd never turn. He stood and tossed the knife at Carver's feet and stared at him with defiance in his eyes. Carver raised an eyebrow and chuckled,
"Well done. You are strong."
He turned and addressed the group,"This right here is a true survivor. Someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to survive. You can learn something from him."
He stared at the group,"You are all done for today. Get some sleep. Today was only the first day, and tomorrow's gonna be longer. I'd like to let you know that a large herd of dead are coming in, larger than anything we have faced before, so be careful when you're out there tomorrow."
With that, Carver turned and walked out of the Pen and Troy followed, snatching up the knife as he left.
The group was silent for a moment, staring at Kendall. He looked at them, then turned and walked toward the bunks.
"Great," Rebecca muttered,"that kid's gonna kill us all."
"What are you talking about?" Kenny asked a bit angered.
"He just attacked a man." Rebecca answered.
"He was doing it to protect me." Flame said quietly, still clutching her bleeding hand.
Rebecca turned her attack to Flame, "So what if he did. He-"
She stopped short and clutched her stomach.
"Oh (explicit)" she gasped.
"Here sit down." Carlos said, easing Rebecca down onto a chair.
"I'm okay...I'm okay?" Rebecca breathed.
"Let me take a look at that hand." Carlos said to Flame.
Clementine turned her attention back to Kendall. He was sitting on a bed, facing away from the fire. She approached him slowly,
"Kendall?" She said quietly.
He didn't turn to her and continued to stare out at a walker that was wandering outside the wall. Clementine sat down next to him.
"Please talk to me." She said quietly.
Kendall straightened up a bit, but still didn't look at her. Clementine sighed sadly and stood to go.
"Has someone ever made you do something you didn't want to do?" Kendall asked softly. "Something you regretted doing, but they still wanted you to do?"
Clementine looked at him and saw a single tear trickling down his cheek. It touched a cut on his cheek and mingled with the blood.
"Yes," she answered. "My friend Lee, he had asked me to shoot him when he was about to turn. I didn't want to, but I did it."
Kendall nodded slightly and finally looked at her, the warm glow go the fire partially illuminating his face,"I need to tell you something."
Left ya hanging didn't I :) don't worry. The next chapter will be Kendall telling his side of the story, what he's gone through up until when he met Clementine. I just felt like I hadn't explained him fully and I want to give you guys a good understanding of who he is. I think you'll like it. There is the possibility of him having a run-in with characters from the tv show. Possibility, not a definite :) Please review and tell me what you think. I love the reviews, see ya in the next chapter!
~Cap'n Morgan222