I had a lack of motivation starting out with this chapter, but as I continued on a new idea for the next chapter hit me and I became more engrossed in this. So sorry if some things lack in detail; I don't know, something felt off. :P You guys let me know what you think.
"Shit," Luke said as he stared at the contents inside the kitchen cabinet. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
"What's wrong Luke?" Clem asked from the living room. She walked over to stand next to him.
"We've got a problem." He told her. "We're lower on supplies than I thought we'd be." He rubbed the back of his neck in thought. "Course, I didn't count on havin' two extra people livin' with us at the time."
Clem looked to the cabinet before them and furrowed her eyebrows in thought. Luke's voice pulled her back. "I know we've got those spears now for fishing, but...if that stream freezes over, we ain't got much of an option. I'd like to have more stocked up in case this winter is brutal. It's a lot harder to hunt now than it was back at the cabin."
Clem turned to face him. She didn't exactly like the idea she was about to pitch, but they didn't have much of a choice. "Well, why don't we go out today? Bring back whatever we can find. That last town we hit could still have something left over, plus whatever we find on our way back."
Luke raised a brow at her idea. "You sure you're up for a trip like that?"
She gave him a look that said, do you know who you're talking to? "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"
"Just making sure you're alright." Then his expression turned to a slight frown. "I heard you scream last night, everything okay?"
"Oh." Clem felt her face flush as she avoided eye contact. She cleared her throat. "Y-yeah, I'm okay. Just another stupid nightmare." It was a bigger deal than that, but she wasn't about to tell Luke that.
Luke sighed. "Alright. If you guys are up for it we can see what we can scavenge."
Clem smiled. "I'll go tell Violet and Louis."
She walked up the stairs and followed the sound of the piano keys to the spare room, now called the "music room" thanks to Louis, at the end of the hallway. She opened the door to find Louis coaching AJ in playing a simple rhythm on the piano as the younger boy sat next to him and curiously watched his fingers glide across the keys. "See, it's easy!" Louis told him. "Now it's your turn."
She watched AJ hesitantly press the assortment of keys as Louis pointed to each one, a smile on his face every time he succeeded in playing the melody right. She looked and saw Violet standing off to the side. Arms folded as she watched.
She walked up to stand next to the blonde, who smiled at her as she approached. The two didn't say anything till the noise from the piano stopped. AJ looked up at his supposedly older sister and smiled. "Clem, I can play the piano now!"
She smiled. "Not bad kiddo."
Violet chuckled. "You already sound better than Louis."
"Hey!" Louis sent her a glare as AJ giggled at the teasing the two did.
"I'm gonna go tell Luke!" AJ beamed as he ran past the girls.
"Anyway," Clem started. "I've got a question to ask you guys." She told them, uncrossing her arms and leaving a hand on her hip.
"Shoot." Said Violet. Their attention now directed towards Clem.
"How'd you feel about going on a trip?" She asked them.
Violet raised a brow. "What kind of trip?"
"Luke doesn't like how low our supplies have gotten. He's worried if the stream freezes over we won't have enough to get us through the winter. I am too. It's better if we start saving up now than be fucked when it's December and there's a foot of snow on the ground." She explained.
"Sure count me in!" Stated Louis cheerfully.
"Yeah, whatever you need," Violet told her. She smiled at the brunette, receiving one back.
The teens made there way back downstairs to where Luke and AJ stood in the living room. Clem walked to the front door and grabbed her backpack, hoisting it onto her shoulder. "We're ready when you are." She told the man in the orange shirt.
AJ frowned at this, Luke already telling him the plan. Whenever he and Clem went on supply runs he always got left to watch the house. It was fun the first couple of times, but now it sucked. "Can't I go with you?" He asked the girl in the baseball cap.
Clem bit her lip in worry. She hated leaving AJ alone, but someone had to stay and guard the cabin. Not to mention it was safer than risking it out there. That's when Luke spoke up. "Why don't you take AJ with you. I'll stay behind and keep watch." He told her.
Clem was a bit surprised at his offer. "Uh...Are, you sure?"
Luke nodded. "I think you both could use some time out of the house."
Clem sighed. She was worried about AJ's well being, but she was also glad that he was coming. It made her feel better knowing that he was with her. "Okay, but stay close. Alright?"
AJ smiled excitedly. "I will."
Clem nodded in approval, then turned to the other two. "Ready to go?"
"Just let me grab Chairels and then we can leave," Louis told her as he walked away to grab his weapon of choice.
Violet took the moment to pull Clem aside, away from the others. "Hey, you okay?" She asked the younger girl.
"Yeah, of course," Clem told her.
Violet bit her lip in hesitation. "You sure? It's just...last night you seemed really...upset. I just want to make sure your okay."
Clem brushed her off. "I'll be fine Vi. Really, I'm okay."
Violet sighed. "Alright." She paused before adding, "You better not disappear on me, okay?"
Clem gripped Violet's shoulders and leaned in placing a kiss to her girlfriend's lips. "I promise." She said, a smile on her face as she pulled away.
A chuckle grabbed their attention. "What are you doing?" AJ asked from the sidelines, amused at whatever they were doing.
"Go...look in another direction," Clem told him as she turned away, her cheeks slightly flushed at being caught by AJ.
Violet couldn't help but smile at her girlfriend's slight embarrassment as they waited for AJ to walk away. "I thought you said you liked being open with your girlfriend." She teased her.
Clem turned a darker shade of red. "Shut up. He's like five years old."
Violet chuckled at Clem's expense. "Yeah, okay."
Just then Louis came back into the picture. "Alrighty, let's move out."
"Ugh, nothing." Clem gave an annoyed groan, closing the pantry door.
They'd already been gone for about three to four hours with barely any progress. The town Luke and Clem had previously visited had some supplies left over, but not enough to make the two-hour walk to get here worth it. Looks like she and Luke had stripped the town of its resources a lot more than she had previously thought. That, and the fact that other people could have also passed through in the time they had left it.
Violet put a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder. "Don't worry Clem, will find something...eventually."
Louis turned around to face them after looking through a beat-up box that had some serious water damage. "Well, there's always another option. I mean if you're okay with it Vi." He said as he hoisted himself up to sit on the kitchen counter of the abandoned house they were in.
She gave him a look, puzzled at what he was hinting at. "What do you mean?"
Louis seemed hesitant to answer, almost like a war was going on in his head, debating if he should share his thoughts with the group. "We...could...always go back. You know too..."
"No, no fucking way!" Violet snapped at him, cutting him off. "Louis, we can't risk that! You saw what they did to them, what they did to Marlon, Brody, what they did to the twins!"
"Look, I don't like it either," Louis said raising his hands in defense from Violet's rath. "But it's the one place we know of that actually has food and supplies."
"We don't know that!" Violet spat back at him. "For all we know, they came back and took everything."
"Wait, are we talking about the school?" The brunette asked, trying to piece together Louis's plan.
Louis nodded. "It's not that far from here. We could be there in a half hour if we hurry." He explained. "There has to be something left. Plus we can check the traps on the way in."
"That...actually doesn't sound like a bad idea." Clem agreed with him.
"This is not a good idea Louis. They could still be there, or worse it's overrun with walkers." Violet crossed her arms and turned away from him, angered at him even considering going back.
"Vi, you know as well as I do that there has to be something left. We weren't exactly at the bottom of the barrel, plus we had all that food from the train station." Louis reminded her.
Clem walked in front of Violet, so she could look her in the eye. "Vi, if there's even a chance of us getting some more supplies we have to take it."
Violet sighed and gave her girlfriend a saddened look. "Clem you weren't there! You didn't see what they..."
Clem placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know. But we need this. Please, Vi. For me?"
Violet gave an annoyed sigh. "Fine." Only for you, she thought.
Clem breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thank you."
Louis cheered in victory. "Alright! Let's do this!"
"Look there's another one!" AJ shouted as he pointed at another rabbit that was caught in one of the homemade traps.
"Nice job." Violet praised him as they approached the trap. The rabbit twitched as they neared closer, struggling against the rope that restrained it's foot, preventing it from escaping as it hung upside down in the air.
Clem always hated this part. It was great that they were finding food, but she felt her stomach twist every time they had to kill an innocent creature. She took the rabbit in her hands, feeling it's rampant heartbeat against her hand, scared for its life. She winced as she grabbed hold of its head and snapped the neck, killing it. She felt terrible since she loved animals, but it was either the rabbit or them. She untied the rabbit's foot from the trap and handed the small furry creature to Louis before more guilt consumed her.
"Awesome, that makes three!" Louis cheered, obviously used to this kind of thing.
"It's not much, but it's something," Violet said unfolding her arms. "C'mon, we're not that far from the gate now."
Clem and AJ followed Violet and Louis towards a short bridge that led up to a brick wall covered in barbed wire at the top and a metal gate as an entrance to what looked like a courtyard to the school. Clem couldn't see behind the wall, but she studied its form. It looked pretty defendable and the school was placed in the middle of the woods, miles away from any other civilization. It's no wonder these kids had survived for so long. No one probably even knew this place was here.
A call from Violet brought her back. "Shit," Violet whispered. "Hold up." She said as she crouched lower to the ground.
"What's up?" Clem asked coming up next to her.
"We got walkers surrounding the front." She pointed out towards the length of the wall. There were about three walkers surrounding the main gate, nonmoving as if they were admiring the scenery and two farther down the length of the wall, while three more wondered aimlessly around the surrounding area, snarling in their own walker language.
"What do you wanna do?" Louis asked the blonde, kneeling beside the two.
"We're gonna have to take them out," Violet told him, surveying the area. "We can't risk it."
"Got it," Louis said placing the rabbits down and securing Chairels in his grip, ready to smash open some walker heads.
Clem pulled out her knife and turned to AJ. "You got your gun?" She asked.
AJ responded by pulling out the pistol and showing it to her. "Good. Stay here and watch our supplies. Call out if you see anything." She told him, standing to join Violet and Louis.
AJ nodded. "Okay."
Clem gripped her knife in her hand, making sure her hold on her weapon wouldn't falter when she went to thrust it into a walker's skull. She approached the first of the dead, cautious of her surroundings, making sure none of them snuck up on her. When the walker finally noticed her descent towards it, it started to limp towards her, arms outstretched in attempts to grab onto anything that was alive and pull it close to its jaws.
Once it was in reach Clem kicked the walker's left knee sending it down into a kneeling position. It growled in protest but was silenced seconds after as her blade was plunged into its soft skull.
Clem heard someone call out to her. "Nice one Clementine! Could use a little more finesse though! Watch and learn!" She turned to see Louis next to a tree. A walker a few feet away. "Hey! Over here!" He called out to the deadhead. The walker didn't have to be told twice as it followed the sound of his calls and stumbled closer. Once it was in the range of the tree Louis pulled out a knife and cut a rope attached to the tree. This sent a huge boulder to come crashing down upon the undead, crushing it instantly.
"And that's how you school a walker!" Louis told her. "There's a whole bunch of traps laying around waiting for these asshats. Give it a try!"
Clem chuckled at him. "You kill walkers your way, I'll kill them my way." She said as another one of the dead approached her. She gripped her knife again and thrust it into the side of the walkers head. She pulled it out as blood dripped from the wound she had inflicted upon the creature.
Violet watched from a few yards away as she removed her clever from the head of her latest victim. Sometimes it was hard to believe Clem was the same person that had cried her eyes out in her arms. It was like her personality had done a complete one-eighty. She was so confident, so brave, fearless in the face of danger. She killed walkers like it was a daily routine, all part of her normality. Which she guessed was true now of days, but Clem did it without flaw. A simple rhythm of kick the knee and strike while her opponent was down. It was actually really smart and kind of badass if you asked Violet.
It kind of amazed her how great Clem was at this. Violet had been worried that this would have been too much for Clem after that episode she had last night. Clem had been utterly terrified that she was going to lose Violet, too scared to let go of the older girl. Now it was like none of that had ever happened. You never would have guessed that the girl would break down in tears. Clem held her own in a fight, not afraid to stare her enemy in the eye. Violet loved that about her girlfriend.
Violet plunged her blade into one last walker before turning and regrouping with Clem and Louis who had just finished off the last of their walkers. "Still got it!" Louis boasted, approving the work he had done.
Violet rolled her eyes. "Let's just get in before more show up."
Clem nodded in approval. "I'll get AJ and our things," Clem told her.
Violet nodded and she and Louis walked over and opened the gate. The rusted hinges causing it to squeak as it was opened. They walked inside and took in the image of there old home. The picnic tables that were still usable were still flipped over on their sides from when they had been used as protection against the Raiders all except one. Some walker heads still remained on spikes that were laid out across the courtyard, now rotting on top of their posts. Most of the grass was gone now too. Nothing left except the scorch mark across the ground where the flames engulfed the dry grass from that night, leaving the ground black and barren.
Violet looked to Louis who wore the same saddened expression that she had. This had been there home and those raiders had no fucking right to come in and capture their people and destroy the place they had once loved. It wasn't perfect, but it had been their home for years.
Violet flinched as she heard a noise, the sound of a door closing shut. She pulled out her clever and gripped it in her hand tight, ready for whatever or whoever was about to come out. She turned to face the building that held the dorm rooms, but what she saw caused her to drop her weapon as a little boy stared back at her and Louis. "T-Tenn?"
She watched as his eyes began to tear up and he ran towards her and forcibly wrapped his arms around her in a hug. He cried into her shirt as she hugged him back. "God, I-I can't believe your here," Violet said, a few tears forming in her eyes as well. She couldn't believe he was still alive, let alone here this whole time.
She released him from the hug only for Louis to give one of his own right after. "Glad to have you back buddy." He told the younger boy.
"I missed you guys," Tenn told them, a small smile on his face. But his smile soon turned into fear as he saw someone approach. He went and hid behind Violet at the sound of a new voice.
"What's going on over here?" Clem asked, her and AJ catching up to Violet and Louis. Then she took notice of the shy little boy somewhat hiding behind Violet, a scar across the side of his head, most likely a burn from a fire. "Who's this?"
Violet cleared her throat and stood out of the way so she could introduce the two. "Clem, this is Tenn. He lived here with us before everyone else was taken." Then she turned to Tenn and kneeled down to his height showing him that these new people weren't a threat. "Tenn this is AJ and Clementine...My girlfriend."
Sorry there wasn't much of Tenn in this chapter, but it was mostly used to introduce him. But don't worry he's not going anywhere. ;)
I have to say, the part about the rabbits was hard for me to write. I have a pet rabbit named Woody, so it was hard for me to kill them off. Guess that's where Clem gets it from. I always find that I put so much of myself in these stories and never realize I'm doing it. :P
I'm excited for the next chapter. We're going to change Violet's story a little bit and learn a little more about her past. Hope you guys will like it. So no promises, but I feel the next chapter will be out relatively soon.
Secret Life of Writing Out! :)