A/N: Okay… I've been noticing a theme amongst the reviews… and I guess I do need to give an explanation. So… here it is. Clem and Keith are mature because of the world they live in. You guys have got to keep in mind that the world has made them more mature than what they normally would be. Remember Clementine from Season 2? She didn't act like a typical eleven year old… she acted much older. She acted like she was fifteen or sixteen. So… I decided to throw in a nice twelve year old boy into the mix… Anyway… hopefully that clears up some confusion.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. All rights reserved to their respective owners.
I do not own Madeline Carver or Talyne Summers. They belong to FanFic Productions.
Keith groaned when he felt a kick to his abdomen. He looked up to see Troy glaring at him. "What do you want?" Keith asked.
Troy wore an evil smirk and he said, "Well, I'm bored, so you're going to be my entertainment for the day."
Keith frowned. He knew whenever Troy said 'entertainment' that it often meant at the expense of other people. "You can either choose to wake up your little sister or your girlfriend, and for the one you don't choose, I'll wake her up with a nice kick." Troy said.
Keith was shocked at what the guard was suggesting. It wasn't life or death, but at the same time, he wondered how each scenario would play out. Madeline wasn't a morning person in the slightest and she might be upset with him throughout the day for not choosing her, but his and Clementine's relationship was still rather new. Would she understand if he went to wake his young sister?
"Hey, hurry up." Troy hissed.
Keith made up his mind. In the end, family came first, and although he loved Clementine, she wasn't technically family. Keith got up and walked over to his sleeping younger sister, and he started to nudge her awake. "Maddie, time to wake up." Keith said.
The younger girl groaned as she woke up. She looked to Keith and said, "It's too early."
"Sorry, Maddie, you gotta get up regardless." Keith said to the small girl.
"Don't kick me." Clementine said. Keith looked over to see that Troy made good on his promise. His smirk was gone which meant that Keith made the right choice. "It's rude." Clementine said to the mean guard.
Madeline sat upright and yawned before she stood up. "What's going on?" Madeline asked.
Keith looked around for his fellow group members and he saw them at the garage door. "Looks like dad is going to give us a lecture."
"You mean Carver?" Madeline asked.
"Yeah, I guess so." Keith said with a frown. He didn't want to refer to William Carver as just Carver. He had a strong connection with his biological father when he was growing up, and he could still see some of his father left in the older man who had become a sociopath. "Let's go join the others." Keith said. He got up, and he and his sister walked over to the group. Like yesterday, she placed her hand into his. She must have been uneasy about being in Howe's and being around the hostile guards.
Keith and Madeline walked up to the garage door when Clementine ran up to join them. "Hey." Clementine said.
"Hey. Sorry about Troy. He made me choose between waking you up or waking Madeline up." Keith said.
"That's alright. I think you chose the right person." Clementine said.
"Yeah, thanks for choosing me." Madeline said.
"Thanks for understanding." Keith said to Clementine. The three children arrived at the gate while the adults talked amongst themselves.
However, the talking ceased as soon as the garage door opened. Carver and two other guards entered the yard and the leader looked to the group members. "There's been increased activity along the fence so be mindful when outside the walls." Carver said. "The herd's moved closer as of this morning, but that still doesn't necessarily mean we'll be hit. Know that we're monitoring the situation. Now… there might be some folks who are sore about what happened… at how things went. That's all in the past now. Some of you are new to our community, some of you are members that went astray. But know that you can find redemption here… forgiveness… by proving your worth through what will undoubtedly be hard work." Carver turned to Reggie and said, "Reggie, you're nearly back in. Keep following the path, and we'll welcome you back with open arms."
"Hey you okay?" Sarah asked Clementine which interrupted Carver's speech.
Keith noticed the scowl forming on his father's face, but he continued. "I'll let Reggie be an example to you all-" Carver said.
However, Carver was interrupted again as Sarah continued, "We were worried about you last night."
"I'm okay, Sarah." Clementine said. "Thank you for your concern, but we got to listen right now."
"Are you sure? We can talk about it if you want." Sarah said. "I mean I-"
"CARLOS!" Carver shouted which caught everyone's attention.
"Yes?" Carlos asked.
"Your child seems to be in need of correction." Carver said. Keith and Madeline winced as memories flowed of all of their 'corrections' provided by their biological father.
"I'm sorry, I-" Carlos said but he trailed off. He looked to Sarah and said, "Sarah a-apologized to Mr. Carver."
"Sorry." Sarah said. "I'm sorry sir."
"No, no. That ain't going to cut it." Carver said as he walked up to Carlos. "I can't have this kind of behavior on day one of your reform. You discipline her now, Carlos. Hell, I would never let Keith Blake or Madeline get away with this kind of behavior, I would beat their asses for it." Carver said as he turned to his son and daughter.
"How do you propose that I-" Carlos asked but Carver interrupted him.
"One good smack across the mouth should do it." Carver said. He sent a glare toward the frightened teen and said, "It'll make her think twice before opening it up again." He turned to Carlos and said, "Go on, we'll wait."
Everyone, except the heartless guards, looked to Carver in surprise, even Reggie was shocked to see Carver act so cold and heartless.
"Well, I'm not sure with my hand that I can-" Carlos started to say as he raised his hand with two dislocated digits.
"Well, that's why you got two hands, Carlos." Carver interrupted the doctor once again. "Come on. And not some namby pamby thing, alright? A good hard smack. Otherwise, Troy here will do it for ya." Carver indicated to the heartless guard behind him. "He can be… overzealous." Carver then turned to Troy and asked. "Is that the word?"
"If it means that I'll smack the shit out of her, then yeah." Troy said with a smirk.
"It's my fault, too." Clementine exclaimed.
"Hey! No one's fucking talking to you!" Troy snapped as he got closer to Clementine only for Carver to stop him with a hand gesture.
"Unless, you want one of what she's about to get, I'd pipe down, missy." Carver said.
"You aren't doing shit. Neither of you are. Now, back off!" Talyne said as she approached Carver.
Carver smirked and said, "Bold as ever, aren't we Talyne?" In one quick motion, Carver threw a punch at the woman, and she fell to the ground.
"Tal!" Nick exclaimed as he ran over to help her.
"Dad, just stop. We just got here and-" Keith exclaimed, but he was cut off by Carver.
"Shut your fucking mouth Keith Blake, or I will discipline you as well!" Carver bellowed. Keith looked down and stayed quiet as Carver looked back to Carlos. His eyes glared with an icy cold stare that told the doctor to do as he was asked.
Carlos looked down with a frown and obliged as he stood in front of his daughter. Sarah shook in fear of being hurt by her own father. "I'm sorry dad. I'm so sorry." Sarah said with tears starting to form in her eyes.
"Close your eyes honey." Carlos said. "It's only going to sting for a second." Sarah looked down and closed her eyes. However, Carlos was reluctant to hurt her. During the delay, Nick helped Talyne to her feet. She had a constant glare aimed at Carver, and it was noticeable that her cheek was bruised from him punching her.
"Do it." Carver commanded after several seconds of hesitation. Carlos sent an apologetic stare at Sarah which was followed up with a hard smack across her face. Sarah wept from the hard hit as Clementine, Keith, and Madeline cringed. Clementine cringed the worst since the same thing happened to her last night, with the only exception being that Kenny wasn't forced to hit her.
Sarah continued to weep to which Carlos instinctively approached her and said, "I'm sorry, Sarah."
"Stop!" Carver snapped. "You are not coddling that girl anymore. Let her sit there and think about what she's done." Carver turned to Troy and said, "Troy, get Carlos to his post. Everyone else should have their assignments. It's time to get to work."
Troy went over to Carlos and smirked as he looked over Sarah. "Damn, you really did knock the shit out of her doc."
"Shut up, Troy!" Nick snapped.
"Everyone get to work!" Carver exclaimed.
Clementine looked to Sarah with a frown as Keith said, "We're working in the armory, I'd imagine."
"That you are." Tavia said as she approached the three children. "Follow me." She turned and headed inside the warehouse with Clementine, Keith, and Madeline following behind her.
However, they stopped when they heard an exclamation, "Soil, coming up." It was followed by the churning and breaking of wood.
A couple of bags of soil landed left to them as they heard Kenny snap, "Damn this thing."
"Oh shit." The woman from last night spat.
"Clementine! Keith! Madeline!" Tavia called out their names. In response to the woman's shouting, the three ran inside the warehouse.
"Who are they?" A teenage girl asked as Keith, Madeline, and Clementine continued to walk with Tavia.
"Well, the older girl is one of the new people." A young woman explained. She looked to Keith and Madeline next and gave them a remorseful stare "The boy is Keith Carver and the younger girl is his sister, Madeline Carver." The woman continued.
"Wait, Bill's son and daughter?" The teenage girl asked.
"That's right." The woman said. "They were with Carlos and Sarah and-"
"Ugh not Sarah." The girl complained as she turned back to the woman. "I wish she'd stay gone."
"She's had a hard time, Becca." The woman said.
Clementine looked back to the two as they continued their conversation. "So have we." Becca said as she sent a glare toward Clementine. "But, we're not sitting on the ground crying like babies."
Clementine went back to following Tavia and asked, "Who are they?"
"Shel and Becca." Keith said. "Shel is nice enough, but as you could tell, Becca can be very bitter and mean."
Tavia led the three children to a metal door and said, "Go on inside. Bonnie's waiting." The three obliged and Keith opened the door to where they could see Bonnie with three lawn chairs set up around an ammo box.
Bonnie gestured them to sit with her and she said, "Hey, I guess you're starting your day with me." The three children nodded and took a seat as Bonnie grabbed a couple of empty magazines and handed one to Keith who sat closest to Bonnie. "We're loadin magazines." Clementine, Keith, and Madeline started to place bullets within the magazines as Bonnie looked to them with a smile. "That's it. You got it."
They continued to load the magazines for several seconds until Bonnie said, "I suppose that I owe you an apology… I wasn't truthful when I came across y'all at the lodge… and I was shown with kindness I never would have expected from a group of strangers. But now… folks are dead… and I can't help but feel I'm to blame. But the plan was for no one to get hurt."
"Mistakes were made on both sides. Let's just be thankful that it didn't get worse…" Keith said. He closed his eyes tightly as his mind drifted off to the horrible memory of Carver holding Clementine at gunpoint. He shook his head to refocus, and he went back to loading up a magazine.
"Keith's right. If I would have known that Kenny was outside about to shoot. I would have stopped him." Clementine said. "It's not your fault."
"That's big of you, but I know what I did. And I ain't proud of it." Bonnie said as she continued to load the magazine as did the three children. "The plan was if I was the one that found everyone, I would control it. Keep everyone safe… but that ain't how it went."
"You should know by now that my dad will always control the situation, especially when you let him." Keith said.
"I know and I'm so sorry." Bonnie said in a pleading tone. "I know that it doesn't account for much, but it's all I can offer right now."
"How can we ever trust you again after all of that? Everything was working out okay, and you ruined it!" Madeline snapped. Keith could understand where Madeline was coming from. Howe's brought back difficult memories for her just as much as for him. Madeline looked back down with a frown and sighed before she continued to load the magazine.
"Maddie…" Clementine said. Meanwhile Bonnie appeared to be sad as well. She already felt responsible for Walter's death, but now, Madeline was angry at her.
"Bonnie, you had good intentions, but others got in the way." Keith said. "But bringing me and Maddie back here wasn't a very good idea."
"I'm sorry. I was hoping that you weren't with the group." Bonnie said.
"It's not like Bonnie tried to hurt us. She just made a mistake. Can't you two forgive her?" Clementine said.
Keith smiled and said, "Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other, also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either." Keith phrased.
"Wh-what was that?" Bonnie asked.
"Uh yeah… that's… Is that one of Jesus's teachings?" Clementine asked.
"Yeah, it's Luke 6:29." Keith said.
"Well then, I guess I now know why you two are a couple. You almost have the same mindset." Bonnie said as she continued to load the magazine. "Listen, Maddie, I'm so sorry about all of this and I know I can't do much now, but I will help you guys in some way in the future."
Madeline looked up and said, "Okay, I just don't want to see anyone else die that I care about, but that doesn't seem possible."
"I'm going to do my best to keep folks alive, but I can't make any promises." Bonnie said as she finished loading a magazine. She placed the loaded magazine on the table and looked up to the children. "So how was your first night in the yard?"
"You mean our first night in prison." Clementine scoffed.
"It ain't a prison… think of it as a work release." Bonnie said.
"You call it what you want to call it and we'll call it as it is." Keith said. "Bonnie, that yard is a prison and you know it."
Bonnie looked down with frown and continued, "You know, I was supposed to go… when Luke, Carlos, and all of em left, I was planning on leaving too. When Luke approached me about it, I-I thought that he was crazy. I mean we got food, electricity and shelter here."
"What about Vince and the others?" Keith asked. "I know I've never met them, but what did they think of the escape?"
"Well, Vince didn't seem to mind either way. He really didn't care about looking for y'all. He tried to convince Bill that it was better to focus on the community as a whole instead worryin about a bunch of stragglers. Of course, Bill didn't listen." Bonnie explained. "Wyatt didn't care either. He just hated that there was such a mess afterwards. Russ really hated it since he had to pick up more hours. Becca was angry. She doesn't like traitor all that well. And Shel was more worried about Rebecca's health and the health of her baby, but she didn't say anything else. As for me, I justified my reason of not going by saying that it was easier to fix something broken than to start all over. Take this situation with the herd… that's the type of thing that rips a community apart. He keeps things in line… he has a lot of stuff figured out."
"Nobody is safe here with Carver around." Madeline said.
"You're safe as long as you stay on his good side." Bonnie said.
"I would if I knew where it was." Madeline mumbled. "He's not like what my real dad was like."
"I mean it ain't easy keeping a group this big fed and protected. I don't envy that position. Figured that'd make anyone stressed. I'm not defending what he did back at the lodge or what happened to Erin and Derrick. That was…" Bonnie said. "…I'm alive because of him and that's just a fact."
"It sounds like you really respect him." Clementine said.
"It's not that… I just have sympathy for the man…" Bonnie said as Keith dropped his magazine.
"Sympathy is not exactly the right word." Keith said with an angry tone in his voice. It was his turn to become angry, just like his younger sister. "He killed our mom, our step-dad, Sophia, and Walter. Plus he had hand in Pete's death. The way I see it, he has brought all of the pressure of running this community upon himself."
"That's rather cold, Keith." Bonnie criticized.
"He should have known better." Keith said. "Look at what he's done. Do you really think that he's justified for all of the killing that he's committed?"
"He's still your dad-" Bonnie said.
"You don't think I know that!" Keith snapped. "Everything he does, everyone he kills! That's all on me just as much as it's on him!" Keith sighed as he tried to calm down. "And just like I said back at the ski lodge, I still love him because he is my dad. I'm sad that he has become this sociopath, and I'm disappointed that he has killed so many people just for his own means."
Bonnie looked to Keith with a frown and she said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to suggest…" She stopped herself and looked back to Clementine. "Luke had ideas about how things should go, but they didn't line up with what Bill was thinking… then Rebecca started showing signs, and that only made things worse." Bonnie sighed as she considered everything that was said and continued, "Maybe Luke was right about him… I wish he was around, but… I just hope he's safe."
Suddenly, Bonnie's hand-held radio came on and Tavia's voice came over it. "Hey Bonnie, are those kids still down there with you. I need to come get them."
Bonnie picked up the radio and pressed the button. "Yeah, they're here." Bonnie said.
"Okay, I'll come right over." Tavia said.
Clementine looked to be distressed by the fact that Tavia mentioned her, Keith, and Madeline by request. "I'm sure it's fine." Bonnie said. She leaned forward and grabbed the magazines from Madeline and Clementine. "Oh, I almost forgot. I grabbed this for ya." Bonnie said as she placed the magazines on the table. She got up and retrieved a light blue winter coat and handed it to Clementine.
She looked back with a grin as Clementine placed the coat on and asked, "Huh? What do you think? I found it at the ski lodge that y'all were at."
Clementine zipped the coat up and smiled. "It's cool. I like it." Clementine replied.
"Well I'm glad. I thought it looked cute, but I didn't know what you'd think." Bonnie said.
"You look cool, Clem." Keith said.
"Thanks Keith." Clementine said.
"Oh there you are." Tavia said as she entered the room. "What's with the ugly jacket?"
"Tavia…" Bonnie groaned.
"What?" Tavia said.
"Never mind, I'll see y'all later." Bonnie said to the three children.
"Come on." Tavia said. Clementine, Keith, and Madeline followed Tavia, but the brother and sister noticed that Clementine was looking at her jacket with a questioning stare.
"Ignore Tavia." Keith whispered. "You look awesome in that jacket."
"Yeah, she's not really nice." Madeline said.
"Thanks." Clementine said. Keith smiled back before he looked ahead to see that Tavia was escorting them to the roof of Howe's Hardware.
Keith, Madeline, and Clementine followed Tavia to the roof. She opened the door to the roof and she barked, "Follow me. Come on."
The three children followed her with all three looking at each other with questioning stares. However, they soon knew where they were going. There was a greenhouse which was located on top of the building. Tavia opened the door for the three children and gestured them to enter. "Stay in here for a minute; I'm going to radio down and find out what you two are doing. Don't touch anything." Tavia said as the three children entered. She then slammed the door shut.
"Well, she's just delightful." Clementine said.
"Yeah, she's quite the grouch, isn't she?" Keith asked.
"She's never been really nice." Madeline said. "I don't know why she's sent out to look for new people."
However, their conversation came to an end when the three could hear whimpering in the corner of the greenhouse. They turned around to see Sarah in the corner. "Hey…" Clementine said as she approached Sarah. "…You want a hug?"
Sarah didn't respond. All she did was sit in the same position, hugging her knees and looking down. "Well okay." Clementine said. "I owe you one for later then. You might not know when it's coming though… but I could sneak up on you when you're least expecting it."
Keith chuckled at Clementine's cuteness and he crouched down in front of Sarah and said, "I know it's hard to move on from something like that, but look at the bright side, your dad was at least sympathetic for hitting you. Mine hasn't been sympathetic for almost three years now."
"My dad has never hit me before." Sarah said. "Even when I was really bad… he never hit me."
"We know, Sarah. Our dad used to be the same way, but then, the walkers came… and it changed him." Madeline said.
"He didn't want to hit you, Sarah." Clementine said. "Carver's the bad guy in all of this, not your dad. So in a weird way, Carver is the one who hit you, not your dad."
"Yeah… well Carver hit me super hard, because it still hurts like crazy." Sarah said as she caressed her sore cheek.
"Yeah, it looked like it." Madeline said.
Sarah looked up to Clementine and asked, "Are you okay from last night?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, Sarah. It just shocked me that Kenny would hurt me." Clementine said.
"I think someone else needs a hug other than Sarah." Keith said.
Clementine looked to Keith with a pondering look. She was unsure of accepting his offer or not until Sarah said, "Thanks… for trying to help… I just don't understand why people have to be so mean… Even when I'm really mad, I still don't want to hurt anyone."
Keith got up and the two stared at Sarah with sympathetic eyes. He and Clementine looked to each other. They knew that she wasn't made for this world and she would constantly need to rely on someone; otherwise, she wouldn't survive. Suddenly, the door opened up with Reggie entering the greenhouse. "Don't mess this up!" Tavia said to Reggie.
"Yeah, I get it." Reggie replied.
Clementine, Keith, and Madeline walked over to the two adults as Tavia turned to them. "Reggie is in charge here, okay? Listen to him carefully." Tavia said.
Sarah got up and joined Clementine, Keith, and Madeline as Reggie said, "Yup, no problem, Tavia." Tavia then closed the door and left.
"Okay, we got to do a good job, guys." Reggie explained. "The camp is counting on us. Come on, I'll show you what to do." Clementine, Keith, and Madeline followed Reggie with Sarah lagging behind. They approached a table and Reggie continued, "It's super easy. Pick up those shears." Clementine, Keith, and Madeline did as Reggie instructed, but Sarah was still in shock from being hit and was only half listening. She eventually followed their lead and picked up her shear.
"Okay so we're picking these berries, right?" Reggie continued. "Just pick them and put them in the basket. Simple." Clementine looked over to Sarah with a worried stare as Reggie explained, "While you're at it if you see any dead branches, take those shears and cut them off and stack them neatly for compost. Got it?"
Keith and Clementine nodded and they walked over to one of the tables. Madeline followed their lead, but Sarah was still distant. Clementine looked over one of the plants ready to start until Reggie walked over and asked, "Hey, so… is she going to be alright?" Reggie asked as he gestured to Sarah.
Clementine, Keith, and Madeline looked over to Sarah who only looked down to her shear. "I don't know. I'm a bit worried about her." Clementine said.
Keith sighed and he said, "My dad is just stupid. She wouldn't be this way, if he hadn't made Carlos hit her."
"Yeah, for once I agree." Reggie said. "That was fucked up down there. I just don't want her freaking out and getting me in trouble."
"I'll take care of her… you don't have to worry." Clementine said.
"Good… Good, because I'm awful at that stuff." Reggie said. "Look, Bill has had it out for me ever since I helped those guys escape, so I gotta concentrate on my work." Reggie smiled to the young girl and proceeded to pat her on top of the head. She sent a glare towards him which Reggie replied with backing away from the three children. "That was awkward. I won't do that again. I'm going back to work." He then left the three children and went to work on one of the plants.
Keith chuckled and he said, "Sorry about Reggie. He's a good guy, but he's terrible with kids."
Clementine nodded and she looked over to Sarah who was still unsure of what to do. "I need to go help her."
"Okay." Keith said. "Maddie and I will stay over here."
Clementine walked over and said, "Hey…" Sarah looked up to Clementine and Clementine proceeded to cut off a dead branch, while Keith went through cutting off any dead branches on the first plant. He was working as fast as he could. It wasn't too long until he was working on the second plant, while Clementine continued to show Sarah how to cut off the branches.
"That's it." Clementine said as Sarah cut off a dead branch. "You got it."
"I know." Sarah said. "I'm just afraid that I'll make a mistake."
"It won't be the end of the world if you do." Clementine said.
Keith grabbed the next plant but in his haste he took off a healthy branch. "Shoot!" Keith exclaimed.
"What? What's wrong?" Madeline asked.
"I accidentally cut off a good branch." Keith explained.
Suddenly, the door to the warehouse opened from outside which caught everyone's attention. They looked over to see Carver walking towards the greenhouse. "Oh shit!" Reggie muttered.
"Oh no." Sarah and Clementine said simultaneously.
Reggie looked around the greenhouse, and he looked over to Keith and Madeline with horror in his eyes. "You didn't do any of your work, Keith!" Reggie exclaimed.
"Wait, isn't that my work?" Clementine asked.
"No, I did your work first." Keith replied.
Suddenly, the door opened and Carver entered the greenhouse. Sarah gasped upon seeing him. "Just checking in… wanted to see how the new recruits are working out." Carver said as he looked over the greenhouse. At first, he seemed pleased, but it didn't take long for him to build up a scowl "Reggie." Carver hissed.
"Yeah, Bill, what's up?" Reggie asked with a shaky voice.
"What the fuck happened in here?" Carver inquired.
"Look, Bill, they're new and me with my arm, it's just not as eas-I just hav-I have one arm so-" Reggie stuttered. He was trying to explain the situation, but it didn't appear to be working.
"Shut up, shut up." Carver snapped. "Shut the fuck up." Reggie looked down with a scared look on his face as the older man continued, "You better have a good explanation for this. And I mean now."
"Bill please just-" Reggie said.
"Sounds like you were about to give me an excuse when I asked for an explanation." Carver said.
"It's my fault, dad." Keith said. "It was my work and I didn't complete it. So it's me who should be blamed for this."
Carver shook his head and said, "Oh no. This ain't your fault." He kept his stare on Reggie and he said, "We talked about this Reggie. Didn't we? But you don't get it, do you?
"Get what? I…I…" Reggie said, but he trailed off.
"Girls, Keith Blake, why don't you go outside. Reggie and I need to have a little talk." Carver said
Keith, Clementine, Madeline, and Sarah did as they were told and they headed outside. "Thanks for the help, kids." Reggie said.
Keith and Clementine walked from the greenhouse and looked at each other as Carver could be heard yelling at Reggie in the greenhouse. They noticed Sarah walking towards the edge of the roof. "What's wrong, Sarah?" Clementine asked. Sarah didn't respond and looked to the horizon. Clementine then approached Sarah and asked, "Are you okay?"
The argument in the greenhouse seemed to escalate, and Keith and Madeline turned around upon hearing their father's booming, angry voice. "Guys?" Keith said.
Suddenly the door slammed open with Reggie stumbling out as Carver stomped toward him. Sarah and Clementine watched on in horror as Carver approached Reggie and he yelled, "I gave you plenty of chances!"
"NO! NO! NO!" Reggie pleaded with Carver as he backed Reggie to the edge of the roof. "Bill, please no!" Suddenly, Carver grabbed Reggie by his shirt collar and an evil grin formed on his lips. "NO! NO! PLEASE!" Reggie exclaimed.
"DAD, NO!" Keith exclaimed as he tried to stop him, but Keith was too late. Carver pushed Reggie over the edge. Reggie screamed in horror until he landed on the ground. Keith looked down to see that Reggie's skull was cracked open. Keith backed away from the edge while the three girls accompanying him looked to Carver in horror.
"Weakness… incompetence… it puts us all at risk, and it won't be tolerated." Carver explained to the four children. "You think about that, the next time that you are asked to do something." Carver then looked to Sarah as she huffed in horror of the murder that she just witnessed. Clementine, Keith, and Madeline looked to her with worry as Carver hissed, "Get downstairs… Bonnie will have things for you to do. Madeline, I want you to go back to the yard. Make sure you keep an eye on Rebecca." However, the three children hesitated to which Carver bellowed, "Go!"
Clementine and Madeline headed for the stairs, but Keith remained where he stood and he asked, "Are you going to hurt Sarah as soon as I leave?" Keith even shot a glare at his dad.
The man glared back and stared him down. "You have your assignment, Keith Blake." Carver growled.
"Answer my question." Keith said. Despite his father's stronger figure, Keith remained persistent and didn't move.
Carver was surprised by the boy's assertiveness and smirked. "You surprise me." Carver said. "The old Keith Blake would lower his head and do what he was told, but you're different."
"I'm not that scared little boy that you used to beat on at the beginning of all of this." Keith said.
His father's smirk grew and he said, "If only you could focus on more important things than the safety of that broken girl over there, you would make a good leader. You see Keith Blake, you and I are very much the same. We are strong and people like her are weak. It's up to people like us to guide the weak to safety."
"I'm not like you." Keith said.
Carver looked to Keith with a frown and he said, "Disappointingly, you're not. But in time, you will become like me."
Keith shook his head and he asked, "Are you going to hurt Sarah?"
"No." Carver replied. "I still have some use for her. Now go and talk to Bonnie." Carver looked up to the frightened teenager and left Keith to talk to her.
Keith looked to the door to the warehouse where Clementine and Madeline waited for him. He walked over and joined the two girls. "What's going on?" Clementine asked.
"It's nothing. Let's go talk to Bonnie." Keith said. "We need to tell her what happened to Reggie." He turned to his younger sister and he said, "And you need to go to the yard."
Madeline shook her head and said, "I don't really like it out there."
"Don't worry. I think Rebecca will be there to look after you." Keith said. Madeline released a sigh before she obliged with a nod.
Keith and Clementine spotted Bonnie as she loaded some nails and screws in a couple of buckets. They walked up to her with horrified expressions and she said, "Oh hey. So they want you two to run some supplies out to the guys working on the expansion." She approached the two with the buckets of supplies and continued, "Real simple. Just take this over to em."
Clementine looked down with a frown. "That jacket looks real nice. I don't know what Tavia's talking about…" Clementine looked back up to Bonnie with fear in her eyes. Bonnie's eyes widened and she turned her gaze to Keith who was also acting afraid. "What's wrong? Clem? Keith? You alright? You both look like you've seen a ghost."
"Bonnie." Keith said. Bonnie looked to Keith and he sighed. "My dad killed Reggie."
"What…" Bonnie asked. "Maybe… maybe it was just an accident."
"No, we both saw it." Clementine said.
"Bonnie, I swear, I would never lie about something like this." Keith said. Both children were tense and somewhat frightened.
Bonnie looked around and then squatted down in front of them. "Listen to me. Take this stuff out to those guys and come straight back. Just be safe. Now ain't the time to be callin attention to yourselves."
"Too late for that." Keith said.
Bonnie raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why?"
"Dad and I had a little conversation before I got here." Keith explained. "It was the only thing I could think of to keep him from hurting Sarah."
"Dammit!" Bonnie said and she looked off to the distance and thought of a plan. "Okay, just go ahead and take that stuff out there. I'm going to go find out what happened." The two children nodded and Bonnie got back up. She went to the emergency exit door which acted as the door to the expansion.
Bonnie opened the door for Clementine and Keith and yelled, "Hey Troy. Clem and Keith are going to take some nails to those boys."
"Alright!" Troy hissed.
"Go on." Bonnie said and she closed the door. Both children looked to each other briefly before they turned to Reggie's body.
…To be continued.