Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. All rights reserved to their respective owners.
After helping Sarah with gun training and practice for twenty minutes, Zeke said, "I think that's good for now." It was getting dark out and it certainly was getting colder. He wanted to spend the rest of the night by the fire with his girlfriend.
"Good." Sarah said as she lowered the gun. "My arms are getting tired, and it's freezing out here." She and Zeke went back toward the ski lodge, but Zeke stopped. He could have sworn he saw something.
"Hang on." Zeke said. He squinted his eyes and looked to the side of the building. He started to go toward it to get a better look, but he still couldn't see anything.
"What's wrong?" Sarah asked.
"I… I think I saw something." Zeke said. He continued to walk over to the side of the building. He had his bow out and was ready to pull back the arrow.
"We should get the adults." Sarah said as she ran over to join him.
Zeke shook his head. "We need to figure out what it is first." Zeke said. "Don't worry. We can handle it, if it's a walker and if it's a person, we have element of surprise. Just let me take the shot."
They walked around the corner to see a woman peering through the glass window of the ski lodge. She didn't appear to be armed. She had red hair and gaunt features. She wore a leather vest with a thick long sleeve shirt underneath, a pair of tight jeans, and a pair of boots.
"Bonnie?" Sarah said. Zeke groaned. She just blew his and her cover.
The woman looked over to the two teenagers, and her eyes widened. "Sarah?" The woman said.
"What are you doing out here?" Sarah asked. "Are you on the run from Carver, like us?"
"I… yes. Sweetie, I need your help. Vince is hurt really bad. I came up here hoping to find someone in the ski lodge and hoping that person was a doctor." Bonnie said.
"What happened?" Sarah asked.
"He… He got impaled. He fell on a rod… It went straight through. Wy and I were able to yank him off of it, but now he's bleeding out… He needs a doctor." Bonnie said.
"I… Bonnie… I can't. My dad hasn't taught me all that much." Sarah said.
"Sarah, please, anyone who has experience could help. I know that you know almost as much as your dad. You've watched him stitch wounds before. That's all we need." Bonnie said.
Zeke wasn't sure what to say or do. He didn't want to let someone die who was a friend to Sarah, but he also knew that Carver and his people were out looking for him. There was one big question on his mind. "You were with Carver, but you said that you had ran away just like Sarah and her group?"
Bonnie nodded her head. "That's right. Please, we need to hurry." Bonnie said.
Something didn't feel right to Zeke. She appeared to be anxious which could be interpreted in two ways. She was either telling the truth and wanted to get back to Vince with someone who had some idea how to stitch a wound, or she was lying and was still with Carver. But wouldn't it make more sense to get Carlos who was a qualified doctor with years of experience over Sarah who was still an apprentice? It would only take four minutes to go inside and get help.
"Vince can die, Sarah. Please, you're the best we got." Bonnie said.
"I… I'm sorry, Bonnie, but I'm not. Let me go get my dad. He knows everything about this." Sarah said. She turned to run to the entrance of the ski lodge.
Zeke turned back to see Bonnie pull out a handgun. He didn't even know she was armed. She had it concealed somewhere. "Sarah, stop." Bonnie said.
Sarah turned back and her eyes widened. "B-Bonnie, wh-what are you doing?"
Bonnie shook her head and she said, "I'm sorry, sweetie. The last thing I wanted to do was to get you mixed up in all of this… but now, I don't have a choice. You're coming with me…"
Sarah huffed before she shakily raised her handgun and aimed it at Bonnie. Zeke's eyes widened. He ran over and grabbed the gun from her. "What are you doing?" Sarah said with a shocked look on her face.
"Killing a person is different from killing a walker." Zeke said. "You'll never be the same once you take someone's life, even if that person has always done you wrong." He thought about the first person he ever killed which was his estranged father who would have killed his little brother if he hadn't stepped in. He may have deserved it, but Zeke hasn't been the same person since that day. Sarah looked down with a frown; she knew he was right.
"Weapons on the ground." Bonnie said.
Zeke placed his bow and quiver full of arrows on the ground with Sarah's gun. He then drew out his knife and stabbed it into the ground. He hoped that the others would know what happened by the knife sticking up out of the ground. "Come on." Bonnie ordered. She gestured to the woods. Zeke huffed before he went to the woods. Sarah joined alongside him and held his hand. "I'm so sorry." Bonnie said. "I never wanted it to be this way." She did sound remorseful, but that didn't matter. She was taking them to their inevitable death.
It didn't take a genius to realize that Carver didn't care about Zeke, Sarah, or Genevieve. He didn't know if he was going to survive this encounter.
Zeke could see a small campfire up ahead. No doubt it was Carver and his people. It didn't take long until they reached the clearing and were greeted by Carver and two other men.
"What the f*** is this?" One of the men snapped.
Bonnie ignored him and looked to Carver. "I'm sorry, Bill. I got caught. I had no choice but to bring them here."
"Good job, Bonnie. You can't even do a f****** recon mission right. The f*** we brought you out here for anyway?" The man snapped.
"Easy Troy. We'll figure something out, right Bill?" The other man said.
Carver went over to Zeke and Sarah. He looked at them for a couple of seconds before a smile formed on his face. He turned to Bonnie and he said, "We can make this work. You did good." Carver said.
Bonnie and the other man were surprised while Troy seemed annoyed. "How are we going to make this work?" Troy inquired. "They're just a couple of snot-nosed brats."
"True… but they're valuable to their people, and we can use that." Carver said.
"Bill, hold on. You're… You're not going to hurt them, right?" Bonnie said with the look of horror in her eyes.
"That'll depend on the actions of their people." Carver said. He turned to Troy and he said, "Tie them up." He then turned back to Bonnie. "You found them at the ski lodge?" Bonnie was hesitant but she nodded in response. "Good… Lead the way."
Zeke looked to Sarah. They were both frightened by the current situation. For all they knew, this could be their last night.
Clementine's POV
Luke went over to Clementine and her family. Rebecca was in the process of getting Genevieve to sleep by giving the toddler a bottle. Meanwhile, Alvin had an arm around Clementine. "Hey… I need to talk to you." Luke whispered to Clementine.
Clementine nodded and walked away from where her mom, dad, and baby sister were. They walked over to one of the tables and Luke said, "Listen… I understand that Kenny was a friend at one point or another, but… you're still with us, right? We're all worried that you'll go with him since well… Rebecca and Alvin haven't been paying much attention to you up to recent… and I haven't been there for you either. I've spent most of my time with Zeke."
"Luke, I'm happy where I'm at. I'll always be that annoying little sister that keeps on bugging you. It's my job. Besides, I'm happy with Rebecca and Alvin as my parents. I love them. And I love Genevieve; she's like the baby sister I've always wanted. I've been babied and coddled since the day I was born. I enjoy it, but I need some room to breathe every once in a while." Clementine said. "Seriously, you guys need to stop worrying about me. My mind's made up. You're stuck with me."
Luke smiled and he said, "Wouldn't have it any other way, kiddo. I promise, we'll spend some more time together as soon as we get Carver off our backs."
"Sounds good." Clementine said as she returned the smile.
"Anyway… um… have you seen Zeke or Sarah lately? They went outside for gun training, but I haven't seen them since." Luke said.
Clementine's smile faded and she shook her head.
"Damn… that can't be good." Luke said. "Carlos is starting to get worried. I went out there to look around, but I couldn't find them. I figured they were in here somewhere."
"Kissing?" Clementine said with a disgusted look on her face.
"Let's hope so." Luke said. "Otherwise they're missing."
Clementine shook her head. "That's gross." Clementine said.
Luke scoffed and he said, "Wait until you're Sarah's age, then you might be singing a different tune."
"I won't. Daddy said I'm not allowed to date until I'm eighteen." Clementine said.
"Alvin's already laying down the law, huh? Good man." Luke said. "Anyway, go ahead and try to find them."
"Okay." Clementine said. She and Luke went separate ways and tried to search for the two teenagers within the ski lodge.
After searching for a few minutes, Clementine went into one of the rooms and saw Nick with a bottle of whisky in his hand. He was surrounded by other bottles. "What do you want, kid?" Nick muttered. His speech was slurred and his breath was foul. He was drunk.
"I'm looking for Zeke and Sarah." Clementine said. "Have you seen them?"
"Nope." Nick muttered before he took another swig of the whisky.
"You're drunk again, aren't you?" Clementine said.
"Why don't you just leave me alone? You know I don't like you…" Nick muttered.
"Because… I was in same spot as you at some point." Clementine said. "I lost everyone… no family, no friends, nothing…"
"We're nothing alike." Nick muttered.
Clementine nodded her head and she said, "You're right… but you and Zeke are alike…"
Nick groaned and he said, "He hates me… Can't say I blame him though…"
"No, he doesn't… Nick… Zeke was in a terrible place. His mom abandoned him, his dad was mean to him just like your dad was mean to you, and he lost the only person that he ever loved. But he didn't give up on life and he didn't completely give up on humanity… He may have lost a couple of friends along the way, but look where he's at now. He's dating my best friend, and he's got us as friends. It's not easy to get back up when you've lost everything, but if you don't give up, you might find some happiness in this life." Clementine explained.
Nick wanted to argue with the girl but he knew she was right. He sent a small smile toward Clementine and he said, "Thanks Clem." He got back up and made his way over to the door. "I guess you're right… If you and Zeke can be happy in this shithole world… I guess I can to."
Clementine smiled and nodded her head. "Help me and Luke find Sarah and Zeke. We're not sure where they're at."
"Alright." Nick said. He walked away from the girl while wobbling back and forth. She heard a scoff from behind once Nick reached the stairs and started to climb down them. She turned back to see Kenny. "Honestly, these are the people that are looking after you?" Kenny muttered. "What a bunch of morons."
"They're good people, Kenny. I wouldn't be alive without their help." Clementine said. "You just need to get to know them."
"Darling, I don't want to get to know them. I'm here to give you an alternative. I've been thinking about tying the knot with Sarita, and if we do that, we're…well… we've been thinking about having a child… maybe you?" Kenny said.
Clementine's eyes widened and she said, "I'm sorry, Kenny, but no… I'm happy with Alvin and Rebecca as my parents. Thank you."
"Darling… Can you at least think about it? You know that I just want what's best for you." Kenny said as he squatted down to be at eye-level with Clementine.
"I know you do, Kenny. That's what made you a great dad for Duck." Clementine said.
Kenny looked down with a frown upon hearing his son's name. "I miss him, Clem…" Kenny said with tears in his eyes.
"I know you do. I miss him too, but replacing him with me won't work. I'm different from Duck." Clementine said. She also had tears in her eyes.
"I… I'm not trying to replace him with you, Clem… I… I want you as my child." Kenny said.
"Why me, Kenny? Why do you just want me? Zeke's an orphan, and Genevieve was most likely an orphan when we arrived. Why don't you want either of them?" Clementine asked.
Kenny pondered on the girl's question. He couldn't answer it. "You want to adopt me because I remind you of Duck, and that isn't fair for either of us. I know it's hard, but you have to think about what you really want."
Kenny looked up to Clementine and smiled. "Thanks Clem…" He stood back up.
Clementine nodded back and she said, "We need some help finding Sarah and Zeke. Luke can't find them."
"Alright." Kenny said as he wiped the tears. "I'll search around."
"Kenny." Sarita said.
Kenny turned around to see his girlfriend. She had a huge smile on her face. "Hey hon. What's up? I haven't seen you this happy since we found those Christmas decorations." Kenny said as he walked up and hugged her.
Sarita returned the hug and separated from the man. "I'm pregnant." Sarita said.
Kenny's eyes widened while Clementine's smile turned into a huge grin. "You're… You're going to have a baby?" Clementine exclaimed.
Sarita chuckled and she said, "Yes… Kenny and I are going to have a baby."
"How… How long have you known about this?" Kenny said. He was still shocked.
"Just now." Sarita said. "Congratulations. You're going to be a dad."
Kenny smiled before he hugged his girlfriend again. Clementine smiled at the scene in front of her. She knew this would help Kenny. He didn't need her. He needed another chance of being a father and husband, and now… he had that chance.
…To be continued.