5:02 PM
Dot [Ellie]
She felt like she was suffocating. The burlap bag over her head had all but blinded her, leaving her at the mercy of the two shitfucks hauling them around. At one point, they'd gone outside, if only briefly, the freezing cold clinging to her even minutes after returning indoors. She could hear Clementine struggling nearby, but it all seemed fruitless.
She was shoved against a wall, held there by Henry's hand as the sound of a door creaking open filled the air. Once the noise stopped, she was hauled inside. She clenched her eyes shut as the burlap sack was removed from her head, the fluorescent lights of whatever room they were in blinding her momentarily. Henry pushed her towards a table in the middle of the room, where-
A bloodied and beaten Lee looked back at them.
Her breath hitched, but the assholes holding them didn't give her a moment to let it sink in. Henry forced her to sit in a chair across from Lee, placing her hands behind the back of the chair, where her bindings kept her in place, then the other guy put Clementine into another chair in between them, ripping her bag off too.
The sound of screeching metal forced her eyes away from Lee and to where Henry was dragging a chair to sit in the empty spot around the table. He leaned forward, smiling.
"It's real fuckin' nice to see a reunion. See? I told you we had him." He stood up suddenly, leaning over the table. "Now that I've got you all here, we can finally get to the bottom of this, since Lee over here wasn't being too… cooperative ... before. We'll make it a game. I'll ask one of you a question, and if you answer it truthfully… we move on to the next. If you lie to me… one of you's getting hurt. Understood?"
Ellie glared at him, her hands shaking as she tried to remain calm. She wanted to tell him to fuck off, but found her voice had died completely. Based on how… bad Lee looked, he might actually go through with whatever he threatened them with…
Ledge [Lee Everett]
His head pounded in dreary repetition, throbbing away as the pain he was feeling had time to creep up on him after the adrenaline from the torture had worn off. If Lee wasn't upstairs in the damn cage watching that sick fuck hack away at human body parts, he was down here with Henry…
The tortured man was holding strong so far in not giving him the answers he sought, yet Henry was slowly beginning to peel away at his own deceiving facade, revealing what he truly was. The dark levels of depravity this disturbed man was capable of was beyond anything reasonable. When it came to Lee's anxiety in regards to trusting new survivors, people like Henry were a culmination of everything Lee wanted Clementine to avoid, everything he strived to stay away from, that was why they were always constantly on the move. Yet here he was, captured and beaten… waiting to see whatever horrible torture technique this butcher would concopt up for him next.
Lee's left eye was completely swollen shut, shades of purple and blue coating it, accompanied by a bloody nose and puffed up lips that were beginning to chip and crack from dehydration. The malnourished and brutalized man forced himself to slowly lift his head up as two figures were seated down on the same table as him. His one eye widened as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, a small raspy whimper escaped him due to the fact that he recognized their clothing and size. His chest began to stir in panic and unease, a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach as everything he'd fought for was about to come crashing down on him. This was a nightmare… This wasn't real, there was simply no way they'd managed to get themselves…
That was when both of the burlap sacks were removed from their heads. There they were… Clementine and Ellie's dirtied and scraped faces that he'd be ecstatic to see if it were under different circumstances. Alive, but captured... Lee's breathing increasingly became erratic, audible to everyone present as he violently tugged against his binds in frustration. He squeezed his eye shut as he tilted his head down.
" No... no, no, no, no, no. " The man mumbled to himself, his mind threatening to spiral out of control at the thought of them having to endure what he'd been enduring for the past week. Why were they here?! How could they let themselves get captured?! Where was Joel? Had he not made it out either? The mere mention of a game… it was enough to get Lee to immediately respond.
"Wait..!" Lee gasped, his voice raspy and panicked. They were his responsibility, even if he wasn't in a position to act… he could still talk. "I swear… I'll- tell you… everythingyou want to know. Just- please, you… you don't have to hurt them." The broken man begged.
Dot [Henry Simmons]
Simmons's wicked smile returned in an instant, his gaze falling on the man he'd so desperately tried to beat the information out of for the past day. He let out a sardonic laugh. "Is that really all it fucking takes, Lee? How pathetic are you?" He pulled out his knife then, circling around the table, as if choosing a victim to put on the chopping block first. He stopped near Clementine, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. Y'know what, yeah. Let's start with you.
"I'll get back to you in a minute, asshole," he directed the comment towards Lee, turning his attention to the other girl sitting at the table before gesturing for James to come over and untie Clementine. "Hold her down for me." He told the man, placing her left hand on the table as James held her face against the metal surface. Simmons held the knife over her ring finger, itching to just cut it off right then and there.
"Alright, girl." He turned back towards the redhead, smiling. "I'm just going to call you Shitstick, since you won't tell me your name. Anyway , we'll start with you." He placed the knife against Clem's shaking hands. "Your friend here's been holding out on the reason why you four were snooping around an old Firefly base. Care to elaborate?"
Dot [Ellie]
Ellie's eyes widened as the man held a knife to Clementine's fingers, struggling against her seat to stand up and stop that asshole from hurting her best friend. She couldn't break free, though, effectively helpless to stop him. When he asked his question, she met it with a silent glare.
"We were looking for suppl-"
Dot [Henry Simmons]
"Tsk tsk, wrong answer, shitstick." Simmons shook his head, disappointed. He had a feeling the two were close friends, which only made what was going to follow all that more satisfying. He almost admired her for sticking with her bullshit story, less so in her willingness to sacrifice her friend to keep the secret. He glanced towards Lee, smiling. "You folks are really fucking cagey, y'know that?"
Art [Clementine]
Seeing Lee again, knowing he was actually alive, it was hardly a cause for celebration, and she couldn't have possibly fathomed that that'd ever be the case. It spoke beyond any words to how terrified she felt, looking over him and the torture those people had subjected him to with raw horror. She had a dozen things trying to escape her gnawing teeth. Most of them boiled down to the same thing, all coming out through the weak words the girl muttered. "I'm really sorry, Lee." Clementine couldn't even tell to what she was apologizing for. Whether it was for leaving him behind, or getting herself and Ellie captured, she meant it with all her heart.
It wasn't long before the ropes tied to her wrists fell on the floor, and Henry's partner dragged her toward the table. Clem could barely hear him - the rules to his stupid, sick game - over the beating of her own heart ringing in her ears. Her face met the metal with no shortage of cruelty, like the guy, James, was doing his best to hurt her as much as he could.
To a point, she couldn't really blame him.
With her arm held and laid out against her will, Clementine felt a sharp-edged object run through her fingers, and the picture was painted clearly long before she finally made eye-contact with the knife Henry held over her hand. Fear loomed over her, keeping her hands from sitting still and enough air from entering her body. It was a miracle that any did, with how hectic her breathing was. They kept talking, and again, she couldn't hear it. She couldn't hear anything. Clem struggled to breathe in and out, shutting her eyes, trying to fight back while James shoved her head against the table.
Ledge [Lee Everett]
Lee continued to frantically beg the man as he circled the table with the knife, he was ready to come clean about the Fireflies, about everything. He didn't care anymore… Henry refused to listen, and to Lee's absolute dismay. He targeted Clementine… The questioning began again, and Lee struggled against his binds. Trying to squirm his wrists out of the bindings without success as he started to question Ellie, who was refusing to give the information.
"I said I'll tell you anything! Just- fucking talk to me. Not them!"
Henry simply smiled as he hovered the knife over Clementine's finger, the fear on her face directly mirroring Lee's as he watched in horror. This wasn't about to happen, surely he had some smidget of pity… he wouldn't dare do this to a kid. Lee didn't want to believe it… all he could do now was plead mercy.
"Listen to me." Lee locked eyes with the knife-wielding maniac, trying to focus his attention elsewhere, his throat cracking as he fought through the strain of raising his voice, trying to calm himself through heavy breaths as he spoke. "I am begging you. Please don't-"
Art [Clementine]
The knife ripped through her skin before the girl could even finish exhaling, blood trickling down the open wound in her ring finger as the sharp blade was slowly and violently driven into it, robbing a pained gasp from Clementine, her face closed in a grimace. Henry rammed the knife further through numerous stabs, hacking away at her finger, each cut digging deeper than the last, tearing through her flesh like it was nothing. When the knife sunk in deep enough, reaching her bone, Clem screamed like she never had before, tears bursting out of her eyes nearly as frantically as the gush of red running down her left hand.
Her knees felt weak, her head numb from the pain, eyes running dry from crying. Clem's screams were torment put into air, raw, desperate, until they turned into ragged sobs. Clementine couldn't take it; the sight of her finger detaching from her hand, or the agony of having a knife slice through its cartilage.
Eventually, the fourteen-year-old's mind shut itself down so that she wouldn't have to.
Dot [Henry Simmons]
With the work done, he pushed the severed finger away with his knife, letting James hold her her down while he opened a medkit nearby, wrapping bandages around the wound.
"Now don't fucking bleed out on me on some shit like that," Simmons muttered, though the girl had already passed out.
Ledge [Lee Everett]
Before he could even finish, the knife sliced down into Clementine's finger. Her pained cries accompanied by the sound of flesh being torn echoing through the desolate room. Her blood pooled a portion of the table. The distorted and cruel fucker was smiling as he did it… he was hurting her… he was- he was going to kill her!
"Stop hurting her! STOP IT GODDAMMIT!" Lee bellowed, screaming from across the table as the man continued to cut away at her, his voice cracking as tears threatened to dampen his cheeks. He wasn't stopping… he wasn't. She was going to die if he didn't do anything. It was already too much to bear. Lee felt something horrid begin to emerge, a contorted influx of rage, fear and panic all bubbling to the surface at the same time. She was in pain, and all he knew was that he needed to help her. To make it stop.
That was when he finally snapped.
Lee wrenched himself upwards while they were still cutting away. There was red… nothing but red mixed into a frenzy that overtook him. The beaten man charged forward towards Henry, carrying the weight of the chair behind him, envisioning his hands wrapping around his throat like a vice grip, squeezing the life out of him until he was no more.
Lee didn't know how, but he was going to make him suffer... then kill him.
Not before he was quickly swept off his feet from a third man that had been guarding him, the hard kick causing his knees to buckle mid-charge, sending the already weak man barreling down to the floor on his side before he could reach him. His vision was blurred for a moment, but still red. A shockwave of pain shot through his body, the bruises he already sustained from his many prior beatings making themselves known. Henry approached him with the knife, seemingly amused.
"UNTIE ME! UNTIE ME RIGHT NOW YOU SICK FUCK! " Lee continued to hurl profanity at the man in a blind rage, his eye widened and crazed, getting to the point where the constant yelling was making it hard to breath. Pure adrenaline was the only thing pumping through his veins as he laid there on his side, the chair still attached to him. " I'LL FUCKING RIP YOU APART! YOU'RE DEAD! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"
Dot [Ellie]
"No, no no no, please…!" Ellie could only watch in paralyzing horror as Henry buried his knife into Clementine's finger, struggling against her bindings with every ounce of strength she could muster. They were hurting her…! Oh fuck, they were cutting her finger off! And it was all her fault. Her mouth was left agape, her breath exhaled all at once and refused to refill her lungs as she watched Clementine slump against the table, unconscious.
Dot [Henry Simmons]
Simmons's laugh echoed through the room as Lee attempted to attack him, only to be foiled by the guard he'd stationed in the room to watch over the dickhead. He struggled uselessly on the ground, and Simmons gestured for James and Gregory to pick him back up and sit him at the table.
He leaned over the table once more, keeping his face away from Lee as the man practically seethed. A part of him was enjoying this, seeing that asshole finally brought to the brink, but he couldn't let it go… unpunished.
The redhead was saying something as Henry gestured for the other two to pull back Lee's chair, giving him ample room to stand over the man. Lee fought against his bindings, to no avail. The sound of his struggle filled the room while Simmons bent his knees, lowering himself to his level.
"Y'know I'm starting to think this wasn't worth it," Simmons stated coldly, glancing back towards the table. The redhead was on the verge of tears, the other girl had passed out, and Lee rewarded his close proximity with a speckle of spit against Simmons's face. He wiped the saliva away, his smile in a grimace that practically advertised how much he wanted to rip the man's throat out right then.
But still, he held back.
"I gotta hand it to you, Lee. You impress me." He stared into the man's beaten face, clutching the knife he'd just used on Clem's hand, a part of him already envisioning himself stabbing it through the man's neck. He stood up, then, face contorting. "Actually, no. You don't." With those words uttered, her sent his boot directly into the man's chest, sending him colliding with the concrete floor. It took only another second to send a harsh kick into his face, knocking him out.
He bent his knees, looking over his battered face with what could only be described as satisfaction. The redhead was blubbering something now, but he didn't care to listen. She wasn't going to say anything that'd get him to stop what he would do this asshole. You reap what you sow.
"I'm gonna make it nice… and slow," Simmons purred, pushing himself to his feet as he gestured for James and the other guard to untie Lee and pick him up. His smile grew wider. "And that's gonna be the fun part."
With those words uttered, he watched the man be dragged from the room, his feet scraping against the floor. His eyes then turned towards the girls.
Dot [Ellie]
"Please…!" She begged for him to stop, promising that she'd tell him what he wanted to know, but he just wasn't fucking listening to her. Her cries were met with the sickening sound of leather meeting a human body, and every ounce of resistance she had left was gone in an instant. She could only watch in horror as he spouted more and more threats, looking towards her with a gleeful smile as Lee was dragged out of the room.
She thought she knew how bad the world was, but it only took a few minutes in this room to realize she didn't know shit. She didn't know anything about the horrors of humanity, and what they were capable of. She wanted to crawl up into a ball, return to that dingy room in Boston, and never come out. She wanted it more than anything.
The door closed with a deafening slam , causing Ellie to jump in fright. She couldn't lift her gaze, then, keeping it focused on the bloody metal table in front of her. She could feel the man's presence as he drew closer, standing over her.
"Have I made myself clear, Shitstick?"
She answered his question with every ounce of hate she felt for him, a silence that filled the air. He only laughed in return, dropping the knife to the table.
"Alright, playtime's over." He gestured towards the final guard. "Get her back in the cell. I'll make sure the other doesn't bleed out."
The man obliged with a nod, lifting Ellie up and unwrapping her binds from the chair. She didn't resist, letting him haul her off without a word. She had only one chance to look back, just in time to see him turn Clementine's head slowly, a frown etched across his face.
Then the burlap sack was over her face once more, and the march back towards the butcher shop began.
6:03 PM
Dot [Ellie]
Every ounce of her being was focused on only one thing in that moment, and that was figuring out how to escape from that cell. For a while, she paced around like a caged animal, gripping the metal fence and attempting to rip it apart with her bare hands, to no avail. Without a weapon, she wasn't getting out of here.
It had been a while since she was hauled back here, alone, and the only company she kept in that spanse of time had been the carcass lying across the butcher's table outside. She refused to look at it, eventually falling to the ground and clutching her knees against her chest.
Thoughts of escape soon dissipated, replaced by those far too heavy for her heart to bear. Thoughts of Clementine and if she was alright. Thoughts of what a psychopath like Henry might do to her when alone. Thoughts of what might become of Lee after his outburst earlier. She was left feeling empty, realizing then that she'd failed them all. Joel… Lee… Clementine…
She should've put an arrow in Henry's head before he could've said anything.
That thought lingered in her head as the sound of metal scraping against concrete filled the air, a faint shaft of light filtering in from the other room before quickly disappearing. She dropped her eyes, intent on burying them into her knees as the sound of footsteps filled the room before eventually stopping at the fence.
Dot [Henry Simmons]
The girl was broken. That much was obvious the instant Henry walked into the room. Couldn't even look up at him, like a scared child. Where was that fighter he'd seen before? The one that was all too eager to point bows and rifles in his direction without an ounce of hesitation?
It was… disappointing.
"Before you ask," he began, his voice quiet as he bent to her level, examining her with a curious eye. "Your friend's alright. The boys should be bringing her back here any minute now."
Dot [Ellie]
Her mouth contorted as she dug her face further into her jeans, her fingers clenching around her ankles in an attempt to keep her from practically screaming. When she finally managed to lift her head, she hesitantly met his gaze, who stared back with a look of concern. One that she was sure was faker than anything else he'd said to her before.
"We told you…" She began, her voice barely a croak. "We said we'd tell you…"
Dot [Henry Simmons]
"Yes… you did." Henry replied evenly, eyes falling to the floor as he scratched at his beard. He took in a deep breath, clearing his mind. This wasn't the time to get sentimental. No time to humanize. Whatever information they had about the Fireflies, it was going to be worth all this effort. He just knew it.
"Y'see…" He began, clearing his throat as he pulled up a chair from nearby, planting himself in it. "I believe… that every action needs a consequence. Eye for an eye, or… something like that." He shifted in the chair, shrugging. "Hammurabi. He had an eye for cruelty, but lacked in common sense. Life these days makes it so much easier, though."
He leaned forward in his seat, clasping his hands together as he met her stare. "I gave you a choice, and you chose. Whatever happened after, that's on you ."
Dot [Ellie]
She couldn't listen to this bullshit anymore. Anger swelled in her gut, nauseating her, and she pushed herself to her feet, closing the distance between her and the gate. She clenched her fingers around the metal, her voice cracking.
"You're a monster. You deserve to die. Every single fucking one of you."
Dot [Henry Simmons]
He couldn't help the smile that stretched across his face, standing up to tower over her. "There she is," he stated, leaning towards her, though keeping himself an arm's length away. "The girl with spirit . I honestly admire that about you, kid. You may be down for the count, but you're not out of the war."
He took the risk to get closer, grabbing onto the metal fence himself. She stared up at him with fearful eyes. Fearful, yet defiant.
"When I first saw you two… honestly, I was surprised you've made it this far. Strong, capable… but gullible." He shook his head, conveying his disapproval. "You had me thinkin' for a minute… 'bout how maybe you'd be able to come around. See things our way. Couple fighters like you, and Baseball Cap…"
"... it makes a man wonder. What you're truly capable of." There was a brief period of silence, the girl's harsh stare being more than enough to bore into him. He chose to ignore it. " Maybe … there's still a chance for you. For your friends." His eyes began to trail over her face, biting his lip as he considered what he'd say next.
Her eyebrows had drifted downward, a look of defiance that caused him to scowl. He pushed away, then, settling himself back into the seat near the table, elbows propped against his knees. "Y'think I wanted to be like this?" He asked suddenly, lips twitching bitterly. He shifted in the seat, sitting back, crossing his arms over his chest. "I thought I had my whole fuckin' life figured out, then the world turns to shit. People start eating each other, and suddenly it's me and my goddamned brother against the world."
Dot [Ellie]
His voice was starting to fill up the room, venom laced in his tone. Ellie had tried to keep her mouth shut through it, holding back retorts she wanted to make, rethinking her strategy. Her body threatened to shake at the thought of what Henry might do if she kept egging him on, things that he could do to her, or to Clem, or to Lee. She couldn't let him hurt her again. Never again.
So, instead, she latched onto those final words spewing out of his mouth, a curiosity that already existed at the back of her brain pushing its way to the forefront. She shifted in her spot, running her teeth along her lip to hold back harsher words.
"What happened to him? Your brother?"
She'd say anything to get him to calm down. To give her a chance to figure out a plan.
Dot [Henry Simmons]
A sigh escaped him, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I went through hell to keep that asshole alive. For years." He pushed himself to his feet, hands planted onto the metal table in front of him as he averted his gaze towards it. "He'd always been weak. Since the start. Dragged his ass across half the country before…" He clenched his eyes shut, images of that stormy night in Arizona interrupting the darkness. Even now, that spineless fuck continued to haunt his mind. Like a pest pricking away at his skin, only for Simmons to slap it, crushing it. "And in the end, we both knew it was either him or me. There weren't any other choice there. Nothing that I could fucking do. What happened to him- I - It wasn't my fault!"
That pent-up rage inside of him exploded in an instant, his fist colliding with the metal table with a resounding crack. Pain shot through his arm, and he clenched his fist tighter, practically seething.
When the rage finally dissipated, the girl's voice acted as another mosquito, burrowing its way into him and forcing him to turn back towards her.
Dot [Ellie]
Ellie stood frozen to the spot, fingers clenched around the metal bars as if letting go would direct Henry's wrath towards her. His shout made her ears pop, so loud that she could've imagined him losing his voice in a matter of seconds.
One wrong move, and she could already feel his fingers wrapped around her throat, squeezing the life out of her. She had to be careful… figure something out. Simmons clung onto sanity like it's a rope tied to the back of a car, threatening to give out in an instant. She didn't want to be in his crosshairs when that happened.
Her entire body shook with an uncontrollable sense of fear, squeezing her fingers harder around the bars to quell it. She took in a shaky breath, struggling to keep her voice steady.
All she could do was lie. What other choice did she have?
"It sounds like… whatever you had to do… you didn't want him to suffer."
Dot [Henry Simmons]
"Yeah…" The word slurred out of Henry's mouth in a low rumble, unclenching his fists before looking at the damage, at the red splotches beneath the skin, threatening to burst out. He lowered his hand soon after, looking towards the girl with a piercing gaze, examining her.
Perhaps she understood. Finally. But, maybe she didn't. That part didn't concern him that much. Words were meaningless, useless things that signified nothing. He knew what she truly felt, that rebellious side she'd so readily adopted before settling back into that fear.
He turned away then, back to the metal table, now dirtied with tiny specks of his own blood. "I thought I could protect him. Teach 'im. But he was was a dreamer. An optimist. Always hoping that the government had some plan to make it all right." He shook his head, already remembering those arguments from long ago. Ones that nearly tore the apart a dozen times. "He wasn't made for this. Not like I was. Or you ." He emphasized the word, looking in her direction out of the corner of her eye.
"If he saw me now, I don't think… he'd be able to look at me." His voice grew quieter, sombre. "He'd be like so many others. Afraid. Unwilling. Lambs to a slaughter, whether by the dead or those willing to do whatever they can to stay alive."
He pushed away from the table, drawing closer to her cell. She looked away, towards her shoes.
He'd been in this position so before… they always looked the same. Lost, doe-eyed… his brother had been the same, once. Too afraid to speak out, to do anything. Because he thought Henry was a monster, and was ashamed to be with him. This was somehow different, though. Like she knew that he was right , but too afraid to admit it.
He took another step forward, reaching out to cup his hand around her own, clasping the metal bars with his left. A fire burned beneath his eyes, but his tone was sombre, absolute.
"I won't let what happened to him happen to you. You're strong. You have heart. And… you're special ."
Dot [Ellie]
It didn't take long for her to figure it out, just what he was after. Her entire body shivered, every ounce of willpower she had left being devoted to only one thing: getting back at this asshole. She could see the keys on his belt, had been eying them with a twitch of her eyes.
So, when he leaned closer, grabbing her hand, she didn't resist. She'd give him what he wanted if it meant getting a chance at those keys. Whatever horrific thing she was about to experience, it'd be bearable… if it meant plunging those keys directly through his eyeball.
She leaned in at the last moment, their lips brushing together as she opened hers. Until Ellie chomped down on his bottom lip with feral ferocity, causing its flesh to squirt a rancid red. The sudden action left Simmons surprised, his eyes widening in her face as she attempted to grab for the keys blindly, crushing her teeth together to not let go. He backed up, pulling her with him as he attempted to get free. Eventually, he did, knocking her against the bars hard enough to knock the wind out of her, but not before a sickening noise reached Ellie's ears, and the resistance Ellie felt from him had ceased immediately. When she opened her eyes, part of his lip was still in her mouth. The taste of iron invaded her senses, and she spit the piece of tissue out, spitting in an attempt to rid herself of the blood.
His screams nearly deafened her. He stepped away, hand covering his face as his enraged voice echoed off the walls. "YOU LITTLE -ITCH!" The last word came out garbled, barely a word without a lip to emphasize with.
Despite it all, Ellie managed to smile, wiping the blood away from her mouth. She almost had her chance to get away, but that monster got what he deserved. As he struggled to hold a paper towel over his bleeding face, she gave him a crimson-toothed smile, finally giving him what he wanted.
"Ellie."
He cupped what was left of his lip with the paper towel, turning back towards her with a fiery stare. His voice was low, a growl that mimicked the sound of a wolf preparing itself to pounce on its prey.
"What?"
She pushed herself from off the ground and onto her knees, clutching at the metal fence. "Tell your friends that Ellie's the little girl that RIPPED YOUR FUCKING LIP OFF!"
She could see the spark in his eyes, that desire to tear her apart. The same look he had when he took Clem's finger. She refused to look away, though she wouldn't have to. Before either of them could say anything more, the sound of scraping metal once more filled the air, and two more assholes entered through the meatlocker, carrying Clem in between them by her arms. At the sight of Simmons, they stopped in their tracks.
"What th-?"
"Just get her in the th-ucking cell," Simmons roared, and the two bandits instantly moved to do as they're told. The asshole on the left let go of Clementine, holding up his pistol and indicating for her to step to the back of the cell. Ellie did as she was told, staring them down as they unlocked the door, tossing Clementine to the ground, before locking it again.
They didn't even wait for Simmons to dismiss them.
A quiet chuckle reached her ears as Simmons laid down the bloody paper towel, looking towards her with disdain. His face looked… grotesque, a whole chunk missing near the middle of his bottom lip, where blood continued to ooze out in thick clumps. His teeth were stained red, matching her own. "I'll be back for you two later. It's about th- ucking time I pay your daddy a visit. -ake sure to keep your ears open."
She didn't breathe until he left the room.
She dropped to Clementine's side, cradling her head in her lap as she looked her over, desperately searching for any sign of… anything . She seemed okay, though. As okay as she could be without one of her fingers… Ellie gulped at the thought. The girl was barely conscious, her eyes opening and closing in slow movements.
She wanted to say something, to apologize or… do something to make this shit situation better. Whatever they were planning to do to Lee, though, dominated her mind, and as Clementine's eyes opened again, a baritone scream reverberated off the walls, intermixed with the sound of metal scraping bone, eventually fading into silence.
Her heart felt as if it stopped beating at that same moment.