Chapter 25- The Helper For Strangers
Everything turned cold, Nick's fingers stiffened as he lost touch of Stephanie's wrist. He was stroking her pale flesh but he couldn't feel anything, in her or himself. For a moment he sat crouched perfectly still, you could mistake him for a statue even if you looked closely. And that's what Nick felt like. His steady breaths stopped completely, his heartbeat lost its rhythm. Nick honestly thought he was the one dying…
But who was to say he wasn't. Stephanie was dead and a part of Nick died too. He chewed on the inside of his cheek, staring down at Stephanie's beaten and bruised face. For once, Nick didn't feel the wrath seeping through his veins straight away. He felt the sadness; he felt the weight of responsibility for everything that had happened… Nick didn't feel useless; he didn't feel like a burden. He felt lost, lost and broken.
"Nick?" a small but cracked voice spoke from above him.
Nick acknowledged the voice. He knew it was Clementine…
"I got um, them out of the ropes…" Clementine said afterwards, her voice trembling, as she just had to deal with untying a naked woman and a partially naked man. She watched Nick closely, ignoring the harsh whip marks on his back as they only made her feel squeamish. Nick seemed quieter now. A moment ago he was thanking Clementine for everything she had done, hugging her and showing clear signs of gratitude through his eyes of ocean. Now, from what Clementine could see, he was frozen in time.
"Can't you see? Can't you see what I'm dealing with right now?!" Nick spat the last words, not looking towards Clementine as he kept his eyes fixed on Stephanie, anger now boiling inside of him.
Clementine knew what Nick was talking about. She darted her eyes reluctantly towards the black haired woman. She had seen her before but Clementine didn't know how Nick was related to her… Sister? Girlfriend?
"I loved her." Nick muttered almost as if he read Clementine's mind. Still, it didn't answer Clementine's question. Bravely, she asked the distressed man.
"Wa-was she your sister?" Clementine asked as politely as possible. Her voice was barely audible, only the slightest bit louder than a whisper but Nick heard nevertheless.
"Girlfriend." Nick replied solemnly. The word 'girlfriend' felt so foreign on his tongue. He had a girlfriend, a girl he actually cared about and truly loved. But was this love? Was this love when you come across a woman you would never think exists, dies right there and then? Stephanie was dead and there was no going back. Carver took away his last family member, ruined his best friend, took away more people he cared about and took away his last piece of hope. The woman he loved, the woman who helped him no matter how many times she denied it.
Stephanie was well and truly dead.
"I'm sorry Nick." The young girl spoke from behind him. Her voice was sympathetic but also a little impatient, but Nick didn't mind. He couldn't be angry any more. Clementine saved him and helped him so far even though Stephanie and most of his group were dead. No wonder Clementine was impatient; Nick was forgetting his best friend. Leaving him to lie exhausted and broken on the ground while he wept by Stephanie's body selfishly.
"Without you, I wouldn't have been able to say my last words… hear her last words… thank you Clementine." Nick explains, his attitude obviously differentiating as he painfully turned around to face a teary-eyed Clementine. He tried to bring out a reassuring smile but he couldn't. Because of Stephanie, because of all the shit that had happened, it was hard to smile. But it wasn't like Nick was any good with strangers anyway…
Clementine could see every part of Nick's pain. She wanted to help him. Christa had warned her about strangers, but this felt different. Besides, Christa was dead and Clementine officially had nobody. She had to try because she knew Lee would want her too.
"You're welcome." Clementine finally replied, reaching her hands out to grasp Nick's in order to pull him back onto his feet.
Nick clutched onto Clementine's hands, they were warm and so small. It had been so long since Nick held a child's hands, how they felt so fragile scared Nick. Any moment he felt as he could break the young girl's hands. Or maybe he was scared for himself. His back was beaten beyond belief and the moment Nick pulled himself up he hissed, biting his lip in agony. Hold yourself together, Nick!
But in the end, it wasn't him who suffered the worse…
"Are you okay?" Clementine asked the much taller black haired man as he swayed slightly, his back arched as he stumbled over to where Luke and Shel lay.
"Yeah, yeah I'm good." Nick replied soon after, however he grimaced in pain, not only from his pain and the ache in his heart, but the sight of Luke and Stephanie's friend. They were truly in no shape to move, but he had to get out of here. But where were they to go? They were days away from the cabin…
"Luke?" Nick hoarsely called towards the brunette as he slumped down beside him.
A faint groan escaped Luke's lips but luckily it wasn't the groan of a walker version of Luke.
"Ni- Nick?" Luke asked soon after, his voice broken and delicate like glass that was only seconds away from cracking.
"It hurts." he added quietly in which Nick shed a single tear. Never had he imagined Luke in this state before.
Luke was always the strong one. He would always conceal his pain whether it was physical or mental pain, he would always conceal it.
"I know Luke but it's okay, I'm here now…" Nick whispered as he moved closer to brush Luke's messy hair out of his sweat-coated face.
Luke was lying on the ground, his face tilted to the side, eyes closed and face covered in nothing but cuts and bruises much like Stephanie's. His orange sweater had been ripped and torn and was lying beside him. His jeans and boxers were still in tact but were bundled up around his ankles leaving him exposed, however blood and bruises were enough to coat Luke's skin. His brunette locks were also a tangled mess along with his burnt wrists and ankles due to the tight, harsh rope bindings.
"Luke, this girl here, helped us… her name is Clementine. She's young but very brave and hopefully she will help us because I'm a mess Luke." Nick explained, indicating for Clementine to come forward, not paying attention to how the young girl must feel extremely awkward and overall terrified to the bitter torture that surrounded her.
Clementine took a few steps forwards and bravely kneeled down on the ground in front of Luke.
Luke forced himself to open his eyes in which Nick breathed a sigh of relief, as his best friend still seemed to have that glimmer of hope shining within his brown orbs.
"Hey… Clementine." Luke mumbled, but he managed to force out a small smile, as he knew that this was a young girl looking at him. Most probably a young, innocent girl who shouldn't even be witnessing this sort of brutality.
"I will help you." Clementine replied, now feeling determined despite how afraid she was. She had to be strong. She knew Lee would want to help people in this sort of situation, so she would.
"Thank you." Luke croaked and Nick nodded his head in agreement, still unable to properly smile due to the burning ache in his heart.
Clementine smiled before standing up.
"I'll find some medicine." She said, and with that she went off to look amongst the towering shelves, ignoring the bodies that surrounded her.
"Thanks Clementine." Nick said for the umpteenth time today before going back to stroking Luke's hair. He then looked upon Stephanie's friend, Shel. Her body was limp and in the same condition as Luke's and Stephanie's. Just thinking about it made Nick sick. Not only was she in the same condition as Luke and Stef, but as well as Rebecca, Sarah, Shel's sister… Nick was surrounded by a nightmare.
"Hey Luke, just gonna check on her…" Nick said, scooting along the concrete ground so that he sat above Shel's body. Luke knew Nick was talking about Shel, so he let out a weak reply of 'okay' before going back to resting uncomfortably, longing for the return of Clementine and the medicine.
Nick coughed, clearing his throat and crossing his fingers in hope that the shorthaired woman was okay.
Before Nick could say anything, the sound of another weak, female voice spoke first.
"Stef? Is that you?" Shel questioned. Her voice was just as Nick expected, broken and drained from the happiness it once contained.
The mention of Stephanie made Nick's heart skip a beat, but not in a good way. What was worse was that Nick would have to break the news…
Nick coughed one more time before replying, forcing himself to stop shedding any more tears. His vision was blurry enough as it is.
"Hey, um Shel… I'm Nick and I came here with Stef. I…I loved her, god I truly did. Bu-but Carver and Troy took her away from me, from us…" Nick explained roughly as he couldn't contain his tears. He mentally slapped himself for his choice of words and also mentally cursed at the mention of Carver and Troy's names. Those names would forever haunt him, forever torment the last pieces of sanity left in him.
Suddenly, Shel stirred. Nick wasn't expecting her to move at all but she slowly sat herself up, straining her hurt body as she did so.
"Hey, hey… you'll hurt yourself." Nick said quickly, bringing his hands up and placing them on Shel's shoulders gently. The shorthaired woman flinched as Nick touched her, but she soon relaxed despite how shattered she felt. She was still nude but couldn't care right now. The pain felt worse than she looked.
"I'm already hurt." Shel said softly, her eyes watering slightly as she looked up at Nick and taking in his features and everything about him. She then looked pass Nick and over to Stephanie who lie still in one of the mattresses. But Stephanie wasn't lying still; she was twitching, her back rising up and down slowly.
"Ni-Nick…" Shel tried to say but the words were inaudible even to her.
Nick glanced over Shel's frightened and tensed face before a small yelp brought him back to his senses.
Clementine was holding two bags full of different kinds of medicine and was walking back over to Nick before the movement of Stephanie startled her completely. Without hesitation, Clementine dropped both bags and ran over to where Nick left the gun on the concrete ground. She swiftly picked it up, taking quick strides over to Stephanie. She defiantly wasn't alive… she was turning.
"NO!" Nick shouted, pouncing up and making his way over to Stephanie despite the immense cries coming from the lashes on his back.
"I have too, Nick! She will turn!" Clementine cried as Nick started to weep. He knew it was true but he couldn't kill Stephanie. He couldn't thank Clementine enough for basically offering to do the deed.
"Jesus, fuck…" Nick cursed under his breath as he watched as Stephanie's body started to move a little more aggressively.
"Nick, do you want to do it?" Clementine asked quickly.
Nick thought for a moment. He had too but he couldn't…
A moment turned into far too long and Clementine had already taken a few more steps forward before firing a single bullet straight through the side of Stephanie's head. Blood splattered everywhere and Nick choked back a sob, falling onto his knees and going back to the sobbing mess he was not too long ago.
"I'm sorry Nick…" Clementine apologised, blinking back a few tears and dropping the gun to the ground. Nick didn't reply, he just sobbed into his hands.
Stephanie was gone. She was really gone.
Shel also watched the scene take place. Her vision was fuzzy but she still let out a few tears. Her best friend was gone, really gone.
Moments later, a young girl was at her side. Clementine…
"Are you okay?" Clementine asked timidly.
"Yes…" Shel lied. She tried to flash a small reassuring smile to the young girl, but she couldn't. It was simply impossible.
"Here, I'll get you something." Clementine said, standing up and walking over to a shelf that had a bundle of different items, one of them being a large blue fleece blanket. It was slightly dirty and worn but it was something for Shel to cover herself. Or at least be slightly more decent, especially for Clementine's eyes.
Clementine also spotted the same fleece blanket amongst the other items. It was most probably the same blanket cut into two. She picked this up as well so that she could give it to Luke.
Nick was still whimpering quietly so Clementine made herself useful by tending Luke and Shel.
She firstly draped a blanket over Luke's shivering form in which the brunette muttered a 'thank you', sniffling slightly as he was well aware that somebody that Nick loved was killed moments ago. Luke was also aware that the other cabin members were most likely dead. Sometimes, he didn't want to open his eyes…
Clementine then draped a blanket over Shel's form in which Shel curled up like a small child, satisfied by the kind treatment she was receiving from the young girl. Shel was already looking through one of the medicine bags, her fingers delicate as they shakily pulled out different containers full of pills.
Clementine helped with pulling out all the different medicines however she didn't know exactly what ones to give Shel. Luckily the shorthaired woman seemed to know what she was doing and was already swallowing a few pills, breathing a sigh of relief as one that she took was already kicking in.
"Thank you Clementine." Shel said relieved, surprised as her voice sounded the slightest bit more livelier.
"No problem. I'll get some water…" Clementine explained, standing up once again to fetch some water that she saw stored on one of the shelves.
Shel nodded in gratitude before slowly sliding over to Luke, blanket still draped over her body. She would occasionally grimace as her body moved, as it had been a while since she last moved herself.
"Luke…" Shel croaked, as her voice was dry from the lack of water.
Luke opened his eyes slowly, glancing up to the shorthaired woman, relieved to see her moving and looking a little freer from pain.
"Here, take some of these…" she spoke quietly, pulling Luke up gently and placing some pills in his palm. Luke slouched and leaned heavily so Shel used herself to support the brunette up until Clementine came back with her lucky finds.
Not too long later, Clementine was back. Nick was also up and walking around but in a similar fashion to a walker. He had covered Stephanie's body fully with the dustsheet and muttered a few words before going off to check on the other bodies.
"Stef, you were great ya know…We were more alike than we thought and too be honest, I'm fucking glad I fell in love with you. I miss you already, so goddamn much but I know you would want me to keep going… If you never told me those things you said, I would've probably killed myself by now. Seriously, I would've. Maybe we'll see each other again. But for now, I hope you find peace wherever you are… Sounds cheesy, I know. But you do not know how much you meant to me…" And with that, Nick shed his last tear over Stephanie's covered body.
He had to be strong now. He wasn't going to fail Stephanie even though he felt the urge to place the gun to his temple and pull the trigger. He had Luke to care for. He also had Stephanie's best friend Shel to look out for as well. And lastly, Clementine…
Already, she had done so much and Nick could only repay her by looking out for her. Offering her a place back at the cabin if they were ever to get back there…
Like Nick had said when he saved Stephanie from the incident back on the river, he did not want to be screw up. Saving a life had never felt so good…
Even in a fucked up world, with or without the pain of Carver and Troy, doing good for other people could still benefit you as much as them. For once in his life, Nick wanted to do well. He was hot tempered by nature, but he could control that… he had too.
Clementine had found some bottles of water. They probably weren't the most fresh of all water, but any water was good. Besides, it wasn't as bad as the filthy water back at the stream…
She knelt back down beside Luke and Shel, handing a bottle to each of the adults.
"God, thank you Clementine…" Shel said once again, taking the water gratefully and already chugging it down greedily. The medicine, water and blanket had done sudden miracles that Shel temporarily forgot all the bad that had happened the day she first step foot in this sick place. She had lost her sister and best friend, but she couldn't mourn. She was too numb to mourn properly. All Shel could do was watch and accept.
Luke was the same; too numb to really think over what had happened. Everything hurt mentally and physically. He wanted revenge but luckily he didn't have to do it. Carver and Troy were dead, but that didn't mean he didn't lose anyone. He lost the entire cabin group minus Nick. He was grateful for his best friend. Grateful that he came back even though his letter was a bunch of lies in the first place. Nick was probably going to ask him about the letter at some point but for now, Luke continue to sip at his water. Enjoying every taste that bounced around in his mouth, but he couldn't get one thought off his mind…
It was his own problem and not anyone else's, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. It seemed a little too unreal.
He had been raped. Not just beaten and battered, but raped. And it was far worse than he ever imagined it to be…