Returning to the yard and collecting her meal, Clementine drank nearly half her soup in one gulp. Cookie's soup was already wonderful, and being the first thing she had eaten since eating it at lunch yesterday made it even more heavenly.
Sadly, Clem's appetite gave her little chance to savor the meal, downing all of it shortly after collecting it. Looking at Sarah's bowl, Clem found the older girl had already finished her meal too. And looking at her face, Clem could see Sarah was still hungry, just like her.
Carlos tried to offer his daughter some comfort, as did Christa for Clem, but it did little for either girl. Clem however did feel a little better knowing they would be leaving this place before long, but Sarah didn't, as she didn't know that.
Seeing the fearful look in her eyes, Clementine felt tempted to tell the older girl. Looking at her father, Clem could see Carlos likely shared this temptation with her. Yet neither said anything. A light rain began not long after lunch started, and the sound of the water hitting the top of the tent made conversation difficult.
As such, everyone merely waited quietly for lunch to end, Clem sharing a look of quiet anticipation with Christa, Carlos and Nick as they did. After Maude called an end to the meal, Hector approached the table, telling Mick and Matt they were to come with him while Clem and Sarah were to go with Harry to the greenhouse to be instructed by the resident gardener, Lauren.
Looking at Harry, Clem thought he looked a little like Matthew, but more muscular. He also didn't smile like Matthew did either, simply leading Clem and Sarah away with a quick tilt of his head. Moving through the rain, Clem found herself wishing she had an umbrella or rain coat. At least her hat stopped some of the water while Sarah had taken to using her jacket to shield herself from the weather.
"So, what's Lauren like?" Harry said nothing in response to Clem's question. "How come we never see her at lunch?" Again, no response. Looking at Harry, Clementine noticed he was wearing some kind of protective sports gear on his forearms. "What are those things on your arms?" Still no answer. "Um… can you hear me?"
"Yep," answered Harry.
"You just don't talk much?"
"Nope." Clem sighed. Looking ahead she saw another arrangement of cargo containers, forming a smaller wall near the corner of the main wall. Towering over the shorter wall were a pair of metal poles holding up what looked like some kind of clear plastic over the entire area. Harry opened the door to a container that served as a tunnel and led the girls through. Upon opening the container's other door, Clementine found herself standing in awe at the massive arrangement of plants spread out across dozens of tables.
"Wow." Moving inside Clem realized they were standing under a giant tent made out of a see-through material. The walls surrounding the tent were made of the same material, allowing Clem to see the rainwater flow off the tent and into a series of large metal tubs surrounding the exterior. Taking a breath, she discovered even the air smelled sweeter. But there was no sign of Lauren. "So where's—" Clem watched Harry disappear back into the tunnel as he closed the doors.
Looking around, Clem found herself stunned at just how beautiful all the plants were. There were several rows of strawberry bushes in different states of bloom lined up against one side, over half of which were bearing plump bright red fruit. There was a table full of a wide assortment of colorful flowers arranged to form a rainbow of different floras. Planters brimmed with large leafy vegetables while tall green stalks grew from carrot tops sitting in a tray of water. Across from that were rows of planters with wire cage constructions that had whole cucumbers hanging off them, just waiting to be picked. They looked so delicious that Clem couldn't resist reaching for one.
"Do! Not! Touch! Anything!" Clem and Sarah looked over to see a middle-aged woman in thick glasses with dark hair staring angrily at them, her piercing dark blue eyes paralyzing the girls where they stand. Her waistband was lined with pouches containing a large assortment of gardening tools and she wore a large gas mask that covered the front of her face. The woman marched forward, pulling her mask off so that it hung from her neck. "I'm assuming you're the first batch of children Eugene is forcing on me?"
"I'm Clementine."
"And I'm Sarah. Are you Lauren?"
"I, am Dr. Bostwick. You may refer to me as that, or simply ma'am, which I prefer. And I'll tell you right now, I don't care who either of you are." Clem frowned, realizing she probably wasn't going to enjoy her time with this woman.
"I'm sorry," said Sarah.
"You're sorry what?" asked Bostwick.
"Um… I'm sorry ma'am?"
"Yes, you are." Clem scowled, realizing she was actually going to hate her time with this woman.
"I didn't mean to sound rude, I was just wondering if you grew all these plants by yourself… ma'am."
"Do you think any one person could ever possibly grow and maintain this wide variety of flora with only the most remedial of equipment in the worst of circumstances through the dead of winter by themselves?" asked Bostwick in a dubious tone.
"I guess—"
"The answer is yes," announced Bostwick. "I am that one person. And why? Because I'm not a pitiable gardener or lowly horticulturist. I have a PhD in botany and a masters in chemistry from Cornell, and despite this, I've been assigned to the demeaning task of growing food for a cabal of violent Neanderthals whose only talent is clumsily dragging back every useless trinket they can for the benefit of an inept dictator whose short-sighted idiocy will likely doom the human race's greatest chance of survival." Clem and Sarah just stared at Bostwick, unsure what to say to her.
"Um, well, I think your garden is really amazing, ma'am," complimented a meek Sarah.
"Amazing?" scoffed an insulted Bostwick. "I've built a veritable Eden from scavenged trash under this flimsy plastic circus tent they laughably believed would pass for a functional greenhouse. I've personally nurtured, protected, and hand pollinated every single thing you see in here. I've worked miracles, and what thanks do I get?"
"Um—"
"I get a bunch of ungrateful imbeciles complaining that I alone haven't already built them a never-ending food supply before reaching our first growing season! Oh, how hard could it be? You just put seeds in the ground," mocked Bostwick in an odd accent.
"No, hunting and gathering are easy you fucking idiots! We stopped doing it because every moron eventually figured it out and left the rest of us with nothing to eat! A lesson obviously lost on the inbred hicks who still value a savage's abilities to carry things over the key scientific innovation that served as the foundation for all human civilization since before recorded history!" Clem and Sarah just stared at the fuming woman, baffled at how to respond to her.
"Do you want us to leave?" asked Clementine, hoping she'd say yes.
"Yes." Clem breathed a sigh of relief. "But Eugene is adamant on me ferrying troublesome children through my facility every afternoon for the next three days, so you're not to touch anything unless I specifically tell you to."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Bostwick marched away and out of sight behind some of the taller plants sitting on tables. She returned shortly pushing a large cart lined with buckets and tools. "You two, can push this, behind me, while I work." Bostwick wheeled the cart right before Clem and Sarah.
"That's it?" asked Clem.
"Yes, that covers every single thing I'm loosely confident either one you are capable of." Clem sighed as she and Sarah took hold of the cart's handles. "Wherever I am, I want that cart half a meter to the right of me."
"Meter?" whispered Clem.
"Three feet," answered Sarah. "So half that is a foot and a half."
"And I don't want to hear either of you talking to each other," scolded Bostwick. "Bad enough Eugene is forcing you on me as it is, the last thing I want to listen to is the bickering of children." Bostwick moved over to one of the many strawberry plants while Clem and Sarah moved the cart next to her.
"Um… your strawberries are really good," complimented Clem, hoping she could soften the woman's harsh attitude a little.
"Of course they are. I grew them," snapped the ornery doctor. "I'm so overqualified for this task it's sickening. These people would ask Rosalind Franklin to brew them moonshine." Clem grimaced as she realized flattery would be of no use.
"Gertrude said you stayed with her on her farm?" asked Sarah.
"Ugh, the pious hayseed and her horrid offspring," Bostwick mumbled to herself.
"So, you're not friends?" asked Sarah.
"I'm not here to entertain you with my life story," hissed Bostwick. "I'm here to work."
"Then why do we have to be here if you're not going to teach us anything?" Bostwick groaned loudly in response to Clementine's question.
"You want to learn? Fine," retorted Bostwick. "I'll answer any questions you have relating to my fields of expertise. And only questions relating to those topics. Otherwise, remain quiet." Clem and Sarah watched as Bostwick removed a pair of clippers from her belt and moved them towards a strawberry plant.
"Um, what are you doing now?" asked a curious Sarah.
"Currently, I'm identifying the stolons on this specimen and determining if this is an ideal time to excise them." Bostwick turned to Sarah. "Any other questions?" Sarah turned away.
"Why are there cut up carrots in a tray of water over there?" asked Clem, less curious to the answer and more interested in forcing Bostwick to talk to her.
"So the stems will continue to grow, allowing me to repeatedly harvest them," answered Bostwick without looking up.
"Why?" asked Clem.
"To eat them, why do you think?" asked an annoyed Bostwick.
"Why would we eat carrot stems?" asked Clementine.
"Why would…" Bostwick put her clippers away and turned around. "Well I do apologize if carrot greens doesn't appease your discriminating palate, but between the strawberries, radishes, cucumbers, and lettuce I'm currently being expected to produce on a regular basis and the sapling and seedlings I'm growing in preparation for spring, I had a rather limited amount of remaining resources and time at my disposal to satisfy the nutritional needs of over two dozen people and decided that greens from scallions, garlic and yes, even carrots, might be a cost effective way to supplement our diets!"
"I… I was just wondering… why not grow the whole carrot?" clarified a nervous Clem.
"Do you have any idea how long it takes for a carrot to reach maturity?" asked Bostwick.
"Um—"
"Currently I'm averaging about two months from germination. And once they're harvested they're gone. Those carrot greens can be harvested repeatedly, and contain potassium, vitamins, and even some protein and calcium! All things we need to live!" Clem flinched as Bostwick yelled at her. "Any other questions?" Clem shook her head and Bostwick returned to her work.
Clementine remained quiet after that, afraid to incur the doctor's wrath again with her ignorance. Instead, she merely pushed the cart as instructed as Bostwick worked quietly. The woman stopped at every plant they crossed and studied them intensely. Occasionally she'd clip leaves, or take a bit of the soil, but never harvested anything from her plants.
Sarah occasionally would ask a simple question, and sometimes would get a clear answer. Just listening, Clem did pick up a few things from the ornery doctor. Apparently the greens she lectured Clem about are put in the stew they eat at lunch. Radishes grow easily, and in about a month. You can harvest lettuce a few leaves at a time and more will grow back for a time. Ashes from the residents' fireplaces were used as fertilizer.
Probably the most interesting thing Clem discovered were the odd contraptions kept under the tables that looked like miniature tents. Bostwick occasionally removed them from under the tables and placed them over certain plants. When asked about them, she told Sarah they're cold frames, and they help to keep in heat. When Sarah asked if the tent already did that, Bostwick told her she didn't trust it. Clem found it was warmer under the tent than outside, but not much.
Mostly Clem found herself bored being forced to occasionally push around a cart for someone who made it abundantly clear she wanted nothing to do with her. She was also still shaken from the walker attack earlier that day. Between it and the one she tried to kill outside the lodge, Clem was beginning to think she was simply incapable of killing walkers without a gun. Despite being eager to leave tonight, Clem was also finding herself anxious at the thought of dealing with walkers again.
"What's this?" Bostwick jumped to one of the lettuce plants. "Something's been chewing on you," growled Bostwick through clenched teeth.
"We haven't—"
"Not you, an insect has been here. Those idiots must have brought it in with the last bucket of dirt they brought me," announced Bostwick as she approached the cart. "If you two want to be useful, you can help me find it and kill it."
"Right now?" asked Clem.
"Yes right now!" Bostwick handed a pair of fly swatters to Clem and Sarah. "Before the horrid thing lays eggs and destroys weeks of hard work."
"Okay, so—"
"Split up and search for any signs of the damn thing," ordered Bostwick as she put her mask back on and took a swatter and an aerosol can out from the cart. "A caterpillar would have probably eaten more, so the most likely culprit is a darkling beetle. Check under the tables, between pots and planters and if you find a caterpillar or a beetle, kill it. Then bring me what's left of it. If you find one that's already dead, bring me that then." Bostwick hovered over her lettuce plants, looking for any signs of the intruder.
"So, how do we find—"
"Use your eyes! How else!" ordered Bostwick.
"Where should we start?" asked Sarah.
"Anywhere, preferably away from me." Clem and Sarah started moving away from the obsessed botanist. "Wait." Clem and Sarah stopped. "If you find a bee, don't kill it. Bees pollinate plants."
"Okay," said Clementine as she turned away.
"And don't kill any ladybugs either. Their young eat aphids. Little bastards."
"We won't," assured Sarah.
"And above all else, if you find a spider, do not disturb it," ordered Bostwick.
"Because it might bite us?" asked Sarah.
"Because spiders eat pests and I don't want either of you scaring one away," instructed Bostwick. "In fact, if a spider tries to bite you, let it. Better it than you." Clem scowled and hurried away from the coarse woman, Sarah following behind her. Clem casually examined under a few of the tables and around some of the strawberry plants, then sighed.
"This is stupid," said Clem as she sat down. "We're not going to find it."
"Come on Clem," urged Sarah. "We shouldn't give up."
"Why not?" asked Clem. "Even if we find it, we just have to go back to pushing a cart while she does everything and talks about how much she hates us."
"Yeah, she's not very nice." Sarah sat down next to Clem. "Why did Gene make us come here if she didn't want to teach us anything?"
"Probably just to give us something to do," shrugged Clementine.
"Maybe he just wanted us to see the greenhouse." Sarah looked around at the foliage. "I had no idea there was somewhere like this the whole time I lived here. It's really beautiful."
"Too bad the person who stays here doesn't want anybody seeing it," said Clem.
"Well, maybe she's just worried about someone messing it up," reasoned Sarah. "I mean, she had to work really hard to grow all these plants. I don't think I could ever do that." Clementine looked out at the massive rows of fruits and vegetables, then sighed.
"Yeah, me neither," she realized. "I can't do anything."
"Don't say that," said Sarah.
"I couldn't even kill that walker this morning. I would have died if you didn't grab me or Adam didn't kill it."
"You're just nine years old."
"And I'm going to be nine for another half a year," lamented Clementine. "Then I'll be ten for a year. And eleven for a year."
"Clementine…" Sarah looked at the younger girl, slumped over with a depressed look on her face.
"It hasn't even been a whole year yet since people started turning into walkers," realized a dispirited Clem.
"Maybe things will get better at some point," suggested Sarah. "We may not be very good at fighting lurkers, but most of the people here seem like they are. Maybe one day they'll get rid of all of them, or most of them."
"Then we'd still be here," reminded Clem.
"Well, maybe this place will get better too?" suggested a hopeful Sarah.
"I don't think it will." Clem eyed the strawberries across from her. "I'm so hungry."
"Yeah, me too." Clementine found she couldn't look away from the bright plump fruits dangling across from her. It was as if they were beckoning to her. Clem stood up and scanned the area. Dr. Bostwick was under a table on the other side of the tent, probably still hunting for some lone beetle.
"Let's just eat something right now," suggested Clem.
"We can't do that," said Sarah.
"Why not? They should have fed us last night, and this morning."
"We got to eat lunch."
"And we're still hungry, because they took away our meals."
"I'm sorry I messed up. It's not fair they won't let you eat because of what I did."
"No it's not. If it's my fault for not remembering you had the screwdriver, then isn't it Ed's fault too? He was the one who gave it to you," reasoned Clem. "I bet he got dinner, and breakfast." Clementine moved towards the strawberries. She looked over to make sure Dr. Bostwick was still preoccupied, then headed to the nearest plant. "Maybe it's her fault for not watching us."
"Clementine, don't," said Sarah.
"Why not?" asked Clem as she reached for a strawberry.
"We'll get in trouble, and they'll feed us even less."
"That won't matter tomorrow." Clem gripped the strawberry.
"What? Of course it would. I'm already hungry, and if they don't feed us tomorrow…" Clem wanted to tell Sarah they wouldn't be here tomorrow, reasoning it wouldn't be long before the older girl knew anyway. But then she remembered what Carlos said about keeping their heads down and realized if they got in trouble today it might mess things up. Clementine let go of the strawberry and backed away.
"I'll just be glad when it's dinner," sighed Clem as she moved back towards Sarah.
"Yeah, me too."
Looking past Sarah, Clem spotted something. "Sarah," she whispered. "Look." Clem pointed at the table behind Sarah. Turning around the older girl found a black beetle sitting near a couple of potted flowers.
"Get it." At Clementine's urging, Sarah slowly crept forward and raised her swatter. "Wait." Clem crept around to the other side of the table. "If it runs this way, I'll get it."
Sarah nodded and took a step closer, which sent the beetle running. Clem swung at the bug and hit the table, sending it skittering back towards Sarah, who swung right at it. She hit the bug dead on, and the pot sitting behind it. Both girls watched in terror as the pot tipped onto its side, rolled off the table, and shattered.
"What was that!" Clementine and Sarah watched as Dr. Bostwick hurried towards them. "Oh God… no…" Clem watched in disbelief as Bostwick dropped to her knees, tears running down her face as she examined the damage. But the despair in eyes was immediately replaced with rage as she looked up at Clem and Sarah.
"Which one of you did this?" Clem and Sarah just stood motionless before the woman, stunned by the unbridled anger in her voice. "Well, speak up!" Clem flinched as Bostwick shrieked at them. "Well if you're not going to say anything, then I'll just assume it was both of you. So—"
"It was my fault," confessed a tearful Sarah. "Clementine didn't do anything. It was all my fault. It was an accident and I'm so so sorry. I—"
"You're sorry!" shouted an infuriated Bostwick. "You clumsy ox! Just look at what you did!" Bostwick gestured to the flower lying amongst the broken pot. "You think any amount of saying you're sorry will fix that!"
"I… I…"
"It was an accident," said Clem. "She was trying to kill the bug."
"Did I say kill one of my flowers as well? No!" Bostwick marched off towards her cart. "I told Eugene that this was a terrible idea, but would he listen? Of course not!" Bostwick hastily dug through the cart, tossing things aside. "Where's that bloody thing?" Bostwick pulled a radio from the cart. "Hello? Somebody?" She started fiddling with the knob. "Which channel was it? Hello?"
"Lauren? Is that you?" asked a surprised Hector.
"It's Dr. Bostwick to you! And I want you to send one of the armed knuckle draggers responsible for policing this hell hole to take these loathsome children away from my facility!"
"All right, I'll have someone pick them up."
"And get that William dolt on the telephone." Sarah trembled as Bostwick stared right at her. "There's a problem he needs to address, immediately."
"Bill's actually busy right now. So—"
"Well he just got busier, because if he wants me to keep feeding his gang of troglodytes, then he'd best give me his fullest attention, right now!"
