Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the help.
As they got into the cabin Carlos told Molly to place the barely conscious little girl on the couch.
Molly did so and Carlos went off to retrieve his medical supplies.
"You okay, Clem?" Molly asked the girl.
"M-Molly?" Clementine called in a weak voice.
"Yeah, kiddo?" Molly replied.
"…Is Sam okay?" The child's question made Molly sigh.
Still, Molly responded, "He's fine. You're my main concern right now."
"My arm… it hurts…" Clementine mumbled.
"I know… The doctor's going to fix you up…" Molly reassured.
"Okay…" Clementine mumbled, eyes falling shut.
Molly glanced over to Sam who was sniffing around the room, taking in his surroundings. She didn't know why Clementine was so concerned about that stupid mutt, especially after he bit her.
"I can't remember the last time I've seen a dog. This is crazy…" Luke said.
"We were just as surprised as you to see this mutt." Molly said with a huff.
"I bet…" Alvin said. "He's not always aggressive, is he?"
"Well, we haven't been around him too long…" Molly said. "He seemed okay at first. She had some food, and he wanted it, that's why he attacked her."
"Which is exactly why it's not safe to keep him here. For all we know he could turn on one of us…" Rebecca said.
"I doubt he will." Molly said.
"And what do you know?" Nick asked.
"Most animals can get aggressive if you take food from them, it doesn't usually happen unless they're really hungry." Molly said.
"So you're saying it's okay that the dog attacked your girl?" Rebecca inquired.
"No. It's not okay. Just like it's not okay for you people to attack my girl." Molly replied. "I'm saying animals get defensive the same way people do."
Rebecca just huffed, crossing her arms in response.
A few moments passed before Carlos came downstairs with a bag of medical supplies.
"Alright… I'm going to need you to hold her steady." Carlos said
"Okay…" Molly agreed.
Carlos placed his medical bag down and approached the dazed child. He opened up a bottle of peroxide and soaked a cloth in it. He then took hold of the young girl's arm, feeling her tense up a bit.
He started cleaning the girl's wound, not even reacting to her pained whimpers and gasp.
Once he had finished he placed the cloth down and picked up a needle and thread.
"Hold on, aren't you going to numb her first?" Molly asked, furrowing her brows.
"We're low on supplies as it is. I'm doing what I can." Carlos simply replied.
"Carlos, you can't be serious. The kid's already in pain." Luke said.
"She'll have to deal with it… A little more won't kill her." Carlos replied.
"This is ridiculous." Molly said.
"He's doing you a favor. He doesn't have to help her at all." Nick grumbled.
"Yeah, and I appreciate that, but it's more like half a favor right now." Molly stated.
"Regardless of your complaints, my mind isn't going to be changed. We have limited supplies. I have to save what we do have for our group members." Carlos said.
"She's a little kid, Carlos. She won't need that much medicine." Luke argued.
"Every little bit counts." Carlos replied to Luke.
Luke frowned and started to protest again. "But-"
Rebecca cut him off. "Luke, enough. Carlos knows what he's doing, just let him do his job."
Molly frowned, she couldn't believe how selfish this group was. "The girl who came outside earlier, that was your daughter, right?"
"…Correct." Carlos said as he threaded the needle.
"I'm sure you wouldn't treat her without numbing her wound first." Molly said in a bitter tone. "You're being ridiculous."
"My daughter has nothing to do with this. That's completely different." Carlos said.
"How so?" Molly demanded.
"It just is. I'd appreciate if you didn't speak about my child. You know nothing about her." Carlos said.
"Fine…" Molly huffed.
"Hold her still. I don't want her moving and messing up the stitching." Carlos said to Molly.
"Well, if you numbed her, she wouldn't feel it much…" Molly pointed out.
Carlos ignored her statement and said, "Just keep her in place."
Molly gave a small nod. Despite still feeling frustrated, she held the child in place.
Clementine's eyes opened up, and she gave Molly a confused look. "W-What's going on?"
"It's alright… The doctor's going to fix your arm, Clem."
"Oh…. Is it…. It is going to hurt?" Clementine asked.
Molly didn't want to lie to the child, but she didn't want to scare her either. She opted not to answer the question, instead saying to the young girl, "It will be okay."
"Okay…" The young girl said.
"Just close your eyes and try to relax…" Molly said.
The child gave a tiny nod, letting her eyes once again flutter shut.
Only a moment later Clementine felt the needle poke into her skin. Her eyes shot open and she tried to pull away, but she was held still.
Carlos started stitching the child's wound and within only seconds the girl was screaming and crying.
Molly held Clementine still, trying to resist the urge to yell at the doctor for hurting her girl. She felt like he refused to numb the girl for another reason, other than being low on supplies.
After several excruciating minutes, though to Clementine it felt like an eternity, Carlos had finished stitching the girl's arm.
The teary-eyed child looked to Molly and muttered. "I… I thought it would be okay…"
"It is okay… The worst part is over now, Clem…" Molly said.
"It hurt…" Clementine whimpered. "I didn't like it…"
"I know… but it's okay, now…" Molly said.
Carlos wrapped a piece of gauze around the girl's arm which Molly held in place while he started to bandage her arm. "She'll probably be sore for a few days, but she should be okay. Redness or swelling could be sign of infection, so be sure to keep an eye on that."
Molly nodded in response. "Alright…"
Carlos finished wrapping the bandages, and offered Clementine a pain reliever.
"Is the hurting done?" Clementine asked in a tired voice.
"It's done. Your arm's probably going to ache for a while, but this should help you with pain." Carlos said.
Clementine took the pill with a shaking hand. She put it into her mouth and swallowed it.
"You should rest for now." Carlos said.
"Okay…" Clementine said, laying back on the couch.
"As for you," Carlos turned to Molly. "We have a few questions, if you're willing to answer."
"Okay, then…" Molly said.
"We'll meet in the kitchen. I'm going to go wash my hands." Carlos said.
The others made their way to the kitchen, Molly followed after them.
Carlos grabbed his medical supplies and headed upstairs to put it away and wash his hands.
Molly tried to ignore the cold stares she got from Nick and Rebecca as she stood by the kitchen door, waiting for Carlos to come into the room.
It was silent as they waited, Nick pacing back and forth.
"So… what if the kid turns…?" Nick suddenly asked.
"What?" Molly asked back, raising a brow.
"It was a dog that bit her, Nick. She's not going to turn, boy." Pete said.
"Maybe she wasn't bit by a lurker, but that wound looked pretty bad." Nick said. "She lost a lot of blood, what if she turns?"
"That's not gonna happen." Molly said.
"You don't know that." Nick said. "For all we know her arm could already be infected. It doesn't take long for a person to turn once they die."
"Well, she's not going to die, so you won't have to worry about that." Molly said. "Clementine is tough."
"She didn't seem very tough when Carlos was treating her…" Rebecca scoffed.
"She was in pain. Even if she's tough, she's still a child." Molly reminded.
"Which is why things could easily take a turn for the worse. If she lost enough blood, who's to say she's gonna make it?" Nick said.
"That kid's been through a lot, she'll pull through." Molly said. "Look, I understand that you guys are worried-"
"You don't understand shit." Nick hissed. "We're putting ourselves at risk by helping some brat we don't even know."
"First of all, Clementine's far from a brat. I don't know what your problem is, but I'm not going to let you trash talk that kid."
"Look, Molly. Don't mind them… Our group's just on edge right now…" Luke said.
"I can tell." Molly replied.
Before long Carlos entered the kitchen.
"What exactly did you want to ask me?" Molly asked him.
"I have several things I'd like to discuss…" Carlos said.
"Okay, like what?" Molly asked.
"Where are you coming from?" Carlos questioned.
"The better question is, who are you working for?" Rebecca inquired.
"For the last time, I'm not working for anybody." Molly said. "It just Clementine and I."
"Bullshit. You expect us to believe you two survived on your own?" Nick grumbled.
"Believe it or don't believe it, that's what happened. It been just us for a while." Molly replied. "We've been traveling all around, just trying to find a safe place. I met Clementine in Savannah, almost two years ago, she was with a group then, but when things fell apart… she ended up alone. I took her in."
"What happened to her parents?" Luke asked. "I mean she's so young…"
"I never met them, but apparently she saw them in Savannah… They were geeks…" Molly explained.
"Geez… that must've been rough on the kid to see her folks as lurkers… Poor girl." Luke muttered.
"Oh please…" Rebecca scoffed. "I'm not falling for this sob story."
"It's not a sob story. It's what actually happened." Molly said. "Anyway, we're not looking for pity. Once Clementine wakes up we'll be out of your hair."
"I don't think that's a good idea." Carlos said.
"And why not?" Molly asked.
"The girl needs time to recover. Her arm may have been treated, but there's still risk of infection… She could also pull her stitches if she's not careful." Carlos said. "She's going to need to take it easy for at least a few days."
"You can't be serious, Carlos." Rebecca said. "We have enough to worry about as it is. We don't need more mouths to feed."
"Rebecca, you can't really want to throw a child out. It's horrible out there." Luke said.
"Just because its hard out there doesn't mean we need to make every survivor our problem. Things aren't a walk in the park for us either, Luke." Rebecca said.
"I know, but-"
Rebecca stopped him. "But nothing. We can't let them stay."
"I know you're paranoid, but show some humanity." Luke said. "What kind of people are we if we just throw them out."
"We're people who care about our families! Our group comes first!" Rebecca said. "What would we do when we find out they're actually with Carver?"
"Who is this Carver guy, and why are you so convinced that I'm with him?" Molly asked.
"Wha-What?" Rebecca stammered.
"Who's Carver?" Molly questioned again.
"I… D-Don't act like you don't know." Rebecca said.
"I don't. If I knew who he was I sure as hell wouldn't be asking." Molly said. "So who is he?"
Everyone was silent, not offering her an answer to her question.
"Well?" Molly said in an impatient tone.
After another moment of silence, Pete spoke. "Carver's the leader of a camp that we used to be at…"
"Pete!" Nick said.
"No point in hiding it. Especially if she's staying for a while." Pete said.
"Who says she's staying?" Rebecca huffed.
"I'm not willing to throw a woman and an injured child out. And you people shouldn't be so willing to do so either." Pete said before turning back to Molly. "We were at his camp for a while, but he left us no choice but to leave."
"Why's that?" Molly asked.
"Because William Carver is a dangerous man. As Pete said, he's the leader of a camp, not far from her. He's very smart… we were lucky… to escape…" Carlos spoke up.
"Escape? What do you mean escape?" Molly asked. "He was holding you all hostage?"
"You might as well say that." Alvin muttered.
"And he's searching for you?" Molly asked.
"I'm sure…" Carlos said. "Carver is a ruthless person. And he's not exactly one to forgive or forget."
"So… what do you guys plan to do? You can't just sit around here waiting for him to show up." Molly said.
"There's not much we can do." Luke said. "We just got to keep avoiding him."
"You can't run away forever. Sooner or later, you're going to have to face him." Molly replied.
"Maybe, but for now, running and hiding is our best option." Pete said. "We have a lot going on already… And trying to fight against Carver is too big of a risk."
"This guy must be really bad…" Molly said.
"Believe me, he's awful." Alvin said.
"Do you guys at least have a plan for if he shows up?" Molly asked.
"If he shows up here, I'll be the one to make him regret it." Alvin said.
"Alvin…" Rebecca sighed.
"I'm serious, Bec. I'm not going to tolerate that asshole fucking with my family." Alvin said.
"If he shows up, we'll have no choice but to leave the cabin. We were fortunate to find this place, but we can't take the chance of getting caught." Carlos said. "We have to do what's right for our families…"
"So I'm going to ask you one more time…" Rebecca started, "Are you working for him? You're sure asking a lot of questions, I don't want you to bring him to us."
"I have never in my life met this person." Molly said. "Clementine and I tend to travel with just us two. Most groups haven't worked out for us."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Luke said.
"Yeah… well, it's been fine with just the two of us." Molly said. "We watch each other's backs."
"Well, you're welcome to stay with us… At least until the kid heals up." Pete said, cause Rebecca to roll her eyes and Nick to groan.
"Thanks… I appreciate it." Molly said.
"This is fucking stupid…" Nick huffed.
"Whatever, I just hope you don't stay long." Rebecca said to Molly.
"Don't worry. Once Clem's healed up, we're gone." Molly said.
"Good." Rebecca said. "So… Are we done here? I'd like to go wash up."
"Yes…. Meeting adjourned." Carlos said.
With that, Rebecca practically stormed from the room.
Carlos went to go check in on Sarah while Alvin and Nick also exited the kitchen.
Molly let out a sigh.
"Don't mind her. She's just got a lot on her mind with the baby and all." Pete said.
"Yeah… I'm sure." Molly said.
"Try to make yourself comfortable." Luke said. "I'll make you and the kid something to eat."
"Thank you both… We don't mean to be any trouble. I'm just trying to look out for Clem." Molly said.
"It's no trouble at all." Pete said. "Don't worry about them. Rebecca's just stressing about the pregnancy and my nephew… he's going through hard times too. He recently lost his mother... my sister…"
"I'm sorry to hear that…" Molly said.
"Yeah… We're getting through it, the best we can anyway." Pete said. "It was a mistake on our part… We had taken in someone who had been bit… We thought things would be alright, but things got out of hand quickly…"
Molly frowned at that, "I'm sorry, Pete."
"No need to apologize. Nothing you could've done about it." Pete shrugged. "Anyway, I'm going to go take watch. Why don't you go check on your girl?"
"Alright." Molly said.
The woman headed into the living room where Clementine was resting on the couch.
Sam was still sniffing around the room, but he approached her when he noticed her enter.
"What do you want?" Molly asked the dog.
The dog sat by her feet and let out a whine.
"What?" Molly asked again before motioning to Clementine. "Look what you did to my girl."
The dog continued whining.
"You want food or something? Cause I don't have anything for you." Molly said.
Sam only continued to whine. Molly ignored the dog and walked over to Clementine. She noticed a blanket that had been placed over the young girl and wondered who had done it.
A few minutes passed before Luke entered the room.
"Hey, I made some oatmeal." Luke said.
"Thanks." Molly said.
"And I figured the dog might be hungry too, so I made him something." Luke added.
Molly noticed the bowl of beans that Luke set down for Sam and said, "That's exactly what he attacked Clementine for."
"What?" Luke asked.
"A can of beans." Molly said.
"Really…?" Luke was surprised to hear that. "So… uh, how's the kid doing?"
"She's still asleep, but she seems fine." Molly answered.
"That's good." Luke said. "I'll be sure to save her some food."
Molly sat at the table and started eating the bowl of oatmeal Luke had prepared for her.
"We have running water if you're interested in taking a shower, by the way. I can keep an eye on Clem for you." Luke offered.
Molly figured she could trust him to watch Clementine for a while. She could definitely use a shower. "Sounds good. Where's the bathroom?"
"Up the stairs. Second door on your left." Luke said. "Towels and wash-rags are in the closet."
Luke continued to make small talk with her. Molly didn't mind light conversation, it was much better than the interrogation she had received earlier.
After finishing her meal Molly headed upstairs to take a shower.
It was nice to finally get cleaned up after so long. And much to her surprise, the water was actually warm. It was relaxing.
Once Molly finished showering she headed back downstairs to check in on Clementine.
The child was no longer on the couch and Sam was no longer in the living room.
Molly figured the two were in the kitchen. She walked to the kitchen to find Clementine talking to Luke while eating a bowl of food.
Molly was glad that she could at least trust Luke and Pete when it came to having someone watch over Clementine.
"Molly!" Clementine beamed upon spotting her.
"Hey, kid. How are you feeling?" Molly asked. "You have a nice sleep."
"Yeah. I'm okay, I guess." Clementine said.
"How's the arm?" Molly asked.
"It still hurts, but I'm fine." Clementine said.
"It will probably be sore for a while, but on the bright side there's no infection." Molly said.
"Yeah. That's good." Clementine said. "And Sam's okay."
Molly rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Sam's fine."
"Are we staying here?" Clementine suddenly asked.
"Only for a few days, Clem."
"But Luke said we could stay as long as we want."
Molly sent him a look. "Not all of your group would be too happy about that."
Luke shrugged. "Yeah, well… they'll just have to deal with it."
