Chapter 25 - Life
It's been a couple hours since Clem and Jane left to go look for Luke, Nick, and Sarah. While things have quieted down, I wouldn't say it's been better. Kenny took Sarita into a tent about half an hour after Clem and Jane left, and he hasn't come back out ever since. Who knows how either of them are doing?
Rebecca's baby is coming soon, so she says, and it's really been a flurry of emotions. Despite all this, there remains one question that no one can seem to answer. What does this mean for the rest of the group? My thoughts? It might be a liability to the group, but it's not like we can't care for a baby. I just don't think this is an ideal world for a child. But, we can't just abandon it.
I've taken some time to reflect on what happened yesterday, when Carver shot Mia. It was my fault. It's my fault she's dead. I was lost in the moment and got selfish when I saw an opportunity to hit Carver after the beatdown he put on Kenny. I wish I hadn't. I wish my baby sister was alive. If she had to go sometime, I just wish I could've said goodbye, told her I loved her, tell her to tell Mom, Dad, and Mick I love them, too. I'd give anything to tell her that now. Or even tell her I'm sorry. I'm sorry for getting her killed.
But it's too late.
It's too late for that.
She's gone.
And I have nobody to blame for that but myself.
I attacked Carver. I caused him to shoot her.
There's no shittier feeling than losing someone you love. I lost Mom, Dad, and Mick 2 years ago. Nothing I could've done there. But Mia, she wasn't supposed to go like this. Then again, is anyone? But the fact that her death is essentially my fault, it makes the pain her death has caused me hurt that much more.
But Carver's dead. That makes up for part of it. Blood for blood. An eye for an eye. Life for life.
It won't bring Mia back, but maybe I did the world a favor if there's one less Bill Carver in it.
"Son of a bitch" Mike mutters, looking out towards the woods. It's them. They're back. Jane, Clem, Luke, and Sarah. Wait. No Nick. So he's gone. Damn.
"You made it!" Carley jumps up and hugs Luke.
"Yeah, somehow. I'm pretty amazed myself." Luke grins, clutching his ribs. Carver laid a beating on him back at Howe's. Probably bruised, maybe cracked. 'If it weren't for Clem and Jane, I don't know what would've happened."
"Wait," Rebecca interjects, "Where's Nick."
Luke shakes his head. "Gone. I don't know what happened but he's dead. I saw that he'd turned but someone took care of it."
"Oh God." Rebecca breaks into tears as Luke walks over to hug and console her. We're dropping like flies. We're down to ten, nine if Sarita is already gone, but Rebecca's baby will make ten again. Who knows who'll be next?
Bonnie taps my shoulder and pulls me, Carley, and Clem to the side. "I ain't gonna sugarcoat this, but that baby's coming sooner than Rebecca's letting on. I was hoping if Luke might know something about babies, or if anyone else would?"
"I don't know about Luke, but I know Kenny had a family. I'd say he's our best shot if we can get to him." I tell her, looking off towards the tent he's residing in.
"Well we need someone to reach him, then. Y'all knew him longest, so I was hoping one of you could, you know, talk some sense into him."
I shake my head. "I think I'll sit this one out. We all saw how that went last time."
"So that leaves me and-"
"I'll do it." Clem volunteers.
"That might be best." Bonnie nods as Clem walks to Kenny's tent, opening a flap and disappearing inside.
Minutes later, Rebecca cries out, loudly, and a wet spot forms at her crotch. Either she pissed herself or… oh shit.
"Is that what I think it means?" Luke asks frantically. "What are we supposed to do?"
"What's going on?" Clem asks, with Kenny right behind her.
"Rebecca's water broke. The baby's on the way." Bonnie explains to her. "Kenny? What do we do?"
"Clean water. And blankets. And we need a place to hunker down too. We can't travel very far with a woman in labor.
"Map shows a couple of places nearby. Bonnie, wanna check out the museum?"
"Sure Mike."
"I saw a tall building just down the way that might work, I'll give it a look. Clem can come and help me." Jane offers.
"Sounds good, Jane." Luke tells her. "Kenny, I'm gonna check out the perimeter for any walkers. Ian and Carley, stick here with Rebecca and Kenny, make sure the area stays safe, and keep an eye on Sarah, too. She's a little shaken up after, you know." He frowns, alluding to Carlos's death.
"You got it man."
"Alright people, clean water and blankets. Let's find that stuff and get back here fast. Be careful." he says as the separate teams go their separate ways, leaving me, Carley, Kenny, Rebecca, and Sarah, to defend the area should we come across any walkers or people. Well, Sarah's way too young to fight and Rebecca is in no condition to fight. I wouldn't let Carley get dragged into that either. The last thing I want to see is her shot or bitten, so that leaves me and Kenny to defend the area.
Speaking of Sarah, my wife crouches down next to her, trying to say something to cheer her up. Ever since she got back, she hasn't said a word and has just sat down in a corner. God knows what that kid is going through.
"Hey Sarah." My wife says to her. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Y-Y-Yeah. I'm ok. I just need to see my dad again. Do you think he'll be back soon?"
My wife shoots me a concerned look, with no clue what to say. How does one tell a little girl her father was mauled to death by zombies after getting shot in the throat? Especially one that's been sheltered the last two years?
"I don't know. We'll have to wait and see, Sarah. I can't promise anything." is what comes out of my mouth.
She frowns. "Oh. Ok."
"Yeah," my wife adds. "But you can talk to us if you need to, ok?"
"Ok!" She says with a little more cheer and a slight smile.
Rebecca shrieks out in pain again. This fucking baby. It'll be the death of us of we're not careful.
"Fuck! You ok, Rebecca?" I call out to her.
"I'm fine! I'm fine! I'm just nervous. And it hurts. I-I wish Alvin was here."
I put a hand on her shoulder. "Just remember, what he did, he did for you and the baby. Don't forget that. And what you and him did for Mia, I can't thank you enough times for that. I just wish she was here for this."
She smiles, despite the pain. "Your sister was an angel. She didn't deserve what Carver did to her. No one does, but especially your sister."
"I know. But I just can't help feeling it's my fault. I punched Carver. I caused him to shoot her."
"Stop that." she glares at me. "Stop that shit right now. Carver was a crazy son of a bitch. You cannot blame yourself for what he did to your sister. I would've done the same thing to him if I had the opportunity."
I nod, wiping a tear from my eye as I think about my sister. "Thanks Rebecca." I tell her quietly.
"Clementine! You're back! What'd you find?" I hear Kenny say with excitement. I look up to see her walking towards us.
"The building around back, it has an observation deck. Jane's trying to get the gift shop opened up, but it'll be a good place for Rebecca to have her baby." She explains to us.
"Sounds good. Once Mike and Bonnie get back, we'll go there." Kenny says with a smile. I smile, too. It seems like Kenny just might be coming back to his old self again. Maybe this baby is a better thing that I thought.
"We might not have to wait that long, then." Carley remarks as she points out to the treeline. Bonnie and Mike both walking towards us. Mike holds two big jugs of water and Bonnie holds what looks like blankets or something.
"Good fuckin' shit, guys." I say to them as they get closer.
"Yeah right? Can't believe there was this much water just lying around. And we found some old coats we can use for blankets. The museum was a home run." Mike grins.
Rebecca lets out another scream from the pain.
"How's she doing?" Bonnie asks.
"About as good as she can be. Clem and Jane found a place, so we should get moving soon."
"How about now? Like right now?" Carley points towards, what else, a group of walkers stumbling towards us.
"Never a break with these guys, is there?" I mutter as I pull out my knife. Maybe the AK-47 is better for something like this, but if I can avoid drawing more of them over, that's probably a good idea.
"How did these guys get so close without anybody seeing them. What the hell Luke?" Mike yells out as he grabs a hammer. Kenny walks out towards them, crowbar in hand.
"Clem, get them to the building. Mike, get the waters and follow her. Bonnie, help Rebecca and go to the building. Everyone else, get there. Kenny and I will hold 'em off." I start yelling off the orders as Kenny gets a head start on the walkers, bashing one in with his crowbar.
I stab one in the head right next to him, my blade puncturing its brain as it drops dead. "Try not to die this time, old-timer." I grin as I kill one more.
"Worry about yourself, kid. I'll be fine." He tells me as he kills one more and knocks another.
I stab one, more, quickly turning around to see that they're almost out of view. "C'mon Ken. We gotta go." I turn and run off after them, with Kenny right behind me. I take one last look out there at the horde. Oh shit. There's dozens, maybe hundreds of them. Jesus. They just keep coming from the treeline.
We approach another clearing, with walkers still in hot pursuit, drawn to us by Rebecca's screams. Maybe 100 yards ahead of us, the rest of them going up a flight of stairs to the building Clementine described to us. Kenny and I follow, and soon enough, we're up there with them, gift shop opened and everything. As we reach the top, I see Clem looking inside wide-eyed. I take a look and see- Oh my god.
"What the fuck?" Kenny yells out to the sight of Luke buckling his belt and Jane buttoning her shirt. They were having sex. Jesus fucking Christ.
"Are you guys serious right now?" I hiss to them. "We got a metric fuckload of walkers here and you guys are up here screwing around? You've gotta be fucking kidding me."
"Guys. Those walkers are right behind us. We gotta hold them off." Clem tells us.
"There's still the stairs" Jane mentions as Rebecca lets out her loudest scream yet.
"Set her down Bonnie. Kenny, do whatever you need to with Rebecca. The rest of us, do what you can to hold them off. Go loud if you need to." Mike tells us as he pulls out a handgun. I do the same and close the door from the top of the stair to the deck.
"Keep those fuckin' walkers off us!" Kenny yells amid the comotion. The first walker reaches the top and I down it with a pop from my glock. But there's too many of them, and as they clump up, pushing on the door, and slowly but surely, forcing it open.
"We need something to block the door!" Mike yells as he pushes against the oncoming onslaught of walkers with several others. The only thing on the deck, an old Civil War cannon, will have to do.
"Luke! Help me push it!" I call to him as I run behind it. He joins me and we start pushing. It slowly creaks along the withered wood as we push it towards the gate, as I hear a snap below me, and the cannon drops a bit.
"Oh shit." I say as there's more creaking, and part of the deck drops down below me, taking out the gate and dropping the walkers below. But with that, so is the support to this side of the deck, and I feel myself drop down onto the ground in the debris.
My head hits the damp wood and I lie there, dazed and dizzy, looking around at the sight before me. Walkers scattered around the massive debris pile left by roughly half the deck collapsing under the weight of the cannon.
A scream from in front of me. Oh shit.
Sarah.
She's pinned under some debris, and the walkers are coming close to her. Her bloodcurdling screams of terror snap me back to my senses. I pick up my sidearm, lying mere inches to me left, and pop walkers as they get closer.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
CLICK! CLICK! For fuck's sake...
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me!" I curse at my empty weapon. I fiddle my pocket for a fresh magazine, nothing. I must've dropped them during the fall, but no time to look around. I run towards Sarah, still crying out in pain and fear. I grab a board from the bottom and pull up, freeing her legs.
"Sarah! You gotta move! Now!" I tell her.
"I CAN'T" She cries. "SOMEBODY! HELP ME!"
"I'm trying." I assure her. "But you need to stay calm."
Pain shoots up and down my neck as a stray piece of wood falls and strikes the back of my head. I fall backwards, looking up at the horrific sight in front of me. Walkers pounce on Sarah, just as they did her father, and start tearing away. My stomach knots as her dying screams come with spraying blood from her shoulder, neck, and face. But soon enough, the screams stop and it's just the sounds of walkers enjoying a new meal. I take the opportunity to climb up the debris pile back to the rest of the group. I catch my breath at the top, noticing Clementine's horrified expression.
"Holy fuck…" I exhale with my face in my hands.
"She's… gone…" she says, tears in her eyes.
"I know Clem. I'm sorry. I tried my best." I tell her.
"Thank you for trying to help her." She tells me as she hugs me, which I return.
"Of course."
Rebecca lets out another scream as her baby continues to come out, but what Jane tells us terrifies me more.
"They're getting up. They're climbing up the debris." She's right. They're climbing.
"This shit don't fucking end, does it?" Luke mutters.
"Drop the fucking deck." I say to them.
"Are you crazy? How the fuck are we supposed to do that?" Mike says to me.
I point to a plate bolted down to the side of the building, connecting a cable to the deck as support. If we could destroy that….
"There. The plate. Clem, get your hatchet and get on my shoulders. I'll boost you, but you need to knock the bolts out. The rest of the deck will come down."
"Ok." She pulls out her hatchet and gets on my shoulders, and with a couple hits, the plate gives way, the deck falls down with a big crash, and we have some space from the walkers for now.
Carley pulls me into a hug. "If you ever do something like that again I swear to God I'll kill you." she whispers in my ear before kissing me. I chuckle at her threat, returning the kiss.
"You can't kill me. I'm a survivor." I whisper back to her with a grin as we join the others.
From there, a solemn silence, with the exception of the walkers below us, but no noise from us. No screams from Rebecca, anything. No baby crying, either. I hold my breath at the sight before me: Kenny, hands bloodied, holding an unresponsive infant. The grimace on his face tells me all I need to know. It's dead. Her baby's dead.
But a cough from the infant tells me otherwise. And another. And some crying. Thank God. It's alive. I'd never been so relieved to hear a baby crying.
"It's a boy!" Kenny announces to us. "A healthy and beautiful baby boy!" Jubilation amongst us, I whisper to Carley. "This'll be us soon enough." She smiles and kisses me, whispering back to me.
"Can't wait, handsome."
Neither can I, Carley. Neither can I.
NIGHTTIME
Rebecca's baby has been alive for roughly 4 or so hours, and everything is finally calm again. She and her baby get some well-deserved rest, but something keeps me up. I don't know what. But I can't sleep. Something biting at me. I walk out onto what's left of the balcony, to see Bonnie in the faint moonlight, smoking a cigarette. I lean on the small bit of railing next to her, sighing.
"I forgive you."
"Hmmm?"
"I forgive you for backstabbing us. I forgive you for helping Carver capture us. I even forgive you for being part of the reason my sister's dead. I forgive you for all of it, and I trust you now."
"I appreciate that, Ian. I liked your sister. She kept things positive and light. She was just a pleasant person to be around."
I smile and sniff once. "Yeah. That sounds like Mia. She and my brother Mick were great. I miss the hell outta both of them, but maybe it's a good thing they're gone. They're both in a better place. They don't have to fight this anymore."
"I had a sister, too. Her name was Emma. She and I, we didn't get along a whole lot, but I still loved her and she loved me. When this mess started, she was bitten. I put her down that night and it made me think. I underappreciated her. It's something I really regret."
I frown and nod at Bonnie's story. I can't say I can relate, but I at least understand what she's saying. I wish I could have one last goodbye from the family. Mom, Dad, Mick, and Mia. I never had a chance. That's something I regret. With a final sigh, I walk back to the room where everyone else is sleeping. Well, mostly everyone. I see Rebecca holding the baby, slowly rocking him to lull him.
"Can I hold him?" I whisper to her.
"Sure." She slowly hands him to me as I sit down against the wall. He quietly coos as I hold him, and I can't help but smile.
"You're gonna be big like your daddy. I'll have to teach you how to play football. Maybe you'll throw the ball a mile like Matt, or maybe you'll pound the rock like Knowshon? Yeah. You might be a runningback. I can see it in your eyes." I whisper quietly to him, talking about a few of my college teammates who were drafted into the NFL. Carley cuddles up next to me with a giggle.
"You're looking like a dad already."
"Yeah, but let's keep him out of football for a bit, at least until he's 9 or 10." Rebecca adds quietly. "I don't wanna see my cute little man get hurt."
"Sure thing, Rebecca. But I'll be scouting him." I joke to her. "As for you, Mrs. Sullivan, I think we're ready for a kid soon. Rebecca just had her baby, why not us?"
"Why not us, indeed." She giggles. "Sure. Let's start a family when we get the chance." We passionately kiss for a moment before Kenny takes the baby.
"You guys need your sleep, especially you, mom. Here." He hands her a blanket, which she graciously accepts.
"When's the last time you slept, Kenny?"
"About 2 years ago. I'll be fine. Don't you worry." He walks over and sits down with the baby as the rest of us drift off into peaceful slumber.
A few hours later, dawn comes, and I feel Kenny's hand tap me on the shoulder. That's our wake-up call, I assume. While we were asleep, some of the group members got into an argument about what to do next, and ultimately, they decided to leave and find a more permanent place to settle. Fine by me, but shouldn't we let Rebecca rest? It can't be a good idea to let a pregnant woman travel so much just after having a baby. But, Kenny has his mind set on this Wellington place and I'm not about to fight him on it.
A light dusting of snow cakes the ground, trees, and the rest of the scenery around us. It's the first time I've seen snow in person since that trip to Boston so long ago. Although this time, I'm wearing only a light jacket and some faded jeans, it makes me wish we were in Florida instead of Northern Tennessee. That cruise to the Bahamas Carley mentioned a couple years ago doesn't sound bad, either. Just anything to get out of the cold.
We trudge through an open field of snow, the freezing wind whipping right towards us as we fight against it. But Rebecca, easily the weakest out of all of us right now, is looking the worst. Her skin is pale, almost to that of me and Carley's, and with her tripping over herself every now and then, maybe it was a mistake to leave so soon.
Of course, there's been a new power struggle forming. This time, it's between Kenny and Luke. Kenny, of course, argues it was the right decision to get moving. Luke, like most of us, disagrees, and hasn't been afraid to make his point known and heard. But despite Kenny's determination to get moving, Rebecca fully collapsing is enough for him to have us stop. Bonnie helps her up and Mike escorts her to an old tire sitting next to a tree for her to sit down.
"Maybe this was a bad idea, Ken. Look at her. She's almost as pale as me."
"Don't be stupid, kid. She just needs to get warm. We gotta get to that town Clem pointed out. Once we're there we can find someplace warm. We can't be too far now."
"If she even makes it there, man. I'm serious. She looks like hammered shit."
"Ian. Trust me. We'll make it. She's a tough one."
"Hello!" A voice calls from behind us. I turn around. A tall, scrawny kid, off in the distance. He says something else to us, but I can't understand. Was he even speaking English?
"Arvo?" Clementine quietly asks? I turn my head to her.
"Clem? You know this guy?"
"Yeah… Jane and I ran into him back at the building."
"Well what does he want?"
"I don't know, but he says he has a sick sister. I don't think I trust him."
"Everyone keep your eyes open." Luke warns us as he walks towards Arvo. Kenny draws his gun as we move closer, keeping it down by his side. I keep my AK ready, but down.
"Hello! You are Clementine, yes?" He says with a thick, eastern European accent. Maybe Russian? I want to say Russian.
"Hi Arvo…." She says quietly, avoiding eye contact.
"So what's your deal, kid? You got people out here?" Kenny asks him. Before Arvo can respond, a tall blonde woman walks out, pointing a handgun at us. Some rustling from the trees and two men walk out, each holding AK-47s as well.
"These are my friends. We stay hidden for safety. But you we know. You're Clementine." He says in broken English before speaking to the woman and his friends in another language. The two men behind us chuckle and one of them says something back to him.
"What's so funny there, Arvo?" I ask him, slowly bringing my rifle up. I don't like this. Not one bit.
"I told them Clementine is the one who robbed me, and they think it's funny that she is just a little girl. And Buricko says you should put your guns down so we can take your things."
I shake my head. "That's not gonna happen, chief. I don't care what Clementine did or didn't do but we're not giving you our shit."
The Russians converse for a minute or so before drawing their weapons on us. To which we do the same. My rifle is pointed right at this kid's head. Just give me a reason. There's 6 of us, and only 4 of them. If we all shot first, we can take them out right here. Wait a minute, where's Jane?
"All of you. Please just put your guns down. It will be fine."
"Tell your friends to stay cool, buddy. We've got a baby with us. We don't wanna see that little guy get hurt now, do we?" I keep the gun pointed at him.
"You have a baby?" he asks as he looks over to Rebecca and the baby. I look over too and- oh no.
She's dead. AND she's turned. Amid the commotion, we never realized that she died.
"Rebecca's dead!" I yell out as Kenny shoots her zombified corpse in the head.
All hell breaks loose.
Damn. Can't believe Season 2 is already almost done. Hopefully you guys have been enjoying. Season 2 is already finished and will be fully released in a few weeks. See you guys next week :]