Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the help.
Muffled screams filled the truck. Molly forced herself to keep cutting, despite Pete's pained yells. The faster this was over with, the better.
Pete bit down on his jacket, trying to force himself to quiet down.
The yells continued with each movement of the saw, until eventually Pete could take no more and passed out.
Molly noticed that he had lost consciousness but continued cutting. She could feel her heart pounding as she hoped he stayed alive. Last thing she needed was to be trapped in a truck with a geek.
When Molly finally finished amputating the leg, she used her own jacket to wrap it up. It wasn't the cleanest, but it would have to do for now.
She was sure Pete's group was having a fit right now, but unfortunately, there was nothing they could do.
There were too many geeks outside, thanks to Pete's yelling, and Pete was in no condition to move. If she could somehow get out of the truck, she could find a way to lure the geeks elsewhere.
She let out a sigh as she felt Pete's forehead. He already felt hot. She hoped they amputated fast enough, and that he didn't have some kind of infection.
Molly sat back, she was tired, but she decided to keep awake. It was too risky to sleep right now.
She'd have to keep an eye on him for the night and hope the group found them before it was too late. Hopefully Clementine and Nick had got back to the cabin and alerted the others to come find them.
Hopefully…
Clementine found herself startled awake by a loud crash. She flinched and looked around. She noticed that it was now dark. The child slowly got to her feet and cautiously made her way over to the source of the noise.
She spotted Nick, throwing glass jars.
"Nick, stop." Clementine ordered.
Nick's response was to throw another bottle.
The child huffed crossing her arms, ready to scold him as he reached for another jar.
Nick seemed have a change of heart, as he didn't throw it. "I had to kill my mom…" He suddenly spoke in a small voice. "That sounds weird when I say that out loud, huh?"
Clementine frowned at that. "I…I'm sorry."
"Luke always used to push me." Nick changed the subject. "I never wanted to go into business with him… I remember when he sold me on it. His big plan. Some fuckin' plan. A case of beer and he just said, "Nick, we're burning daylight." And that was that."
Clementine took a seat, part of her wondered why he was telling her all this, but she listened to him talk without a word of her own.
"After six months, we were flat broke. But I didn't care. We were havin' fun." Nick continued. "I wish I was like him. I wish I could just… keep moving all the time. But I'm just not… built like that…. Everyone I grew up with, it all…happened to them. And now, it's gonna happen to us. We're all so fucked. This whole world is fucked."
"We'll make it." Clementine said.
"Bullshit. I mean, what's the point. We'll just march to some new place and somebody else will die. It's never gonna stop, and eventually it'll be our turn."
Clementine sighed at that. "You're just drunk…"
Nick shook his head. "You know I'm right."
"Stop being so negative." Clementine replied.
Nick sighed. "I can't believe we've been here a day. A day! It's been a day, right?"
Silence fell for a moment.
"Hey kid,"
Clementine raised a brow when Nick motioned for her to take the jar he'd been drinking from.
"Have a drink with me. It's gonna be your first, and your last." Nick chuckled.
Clementine furrowed her brows, then declined the offer. "No thanks."
Nick shrugged and took another swig of the alcohol. "Listen, they're not comin' for us. You should go. Run for it."
"Wh-What are you gonna do?" Clementine asked.
"Stay here. I'm tired. Go find Luke and the rest. They're good people, they'll take care of you." Nick said.
"You should come with me." Clementine replied.
Nick snorted. "Are you kidding? And leave all this?"
"You can't just sit here and die." Clementine sighed.
"Why not? What does it matter?" Nick responded.
"You still have Luke and everyone else. They're your family." Clementine said. "Nick, I need your help, please."
Nick sat quietly for a couple seconds before standing. "You're right… If we get separated, cabin's only half a mile from here, you can't miss it."
Clementine nodded her understanding.
"You ready?" Nick asked.
The child gave another nod.
The moved the crate that was in front of the door and pulled the doors open. The two stepped outside, despite being weaponless.
Nick used one of the glass jars to hit a nearby walker before taunting. "Ha, fuck you, motherfucker."
The two looked around, and with dread they realized they were surrounded and the dead were closing in.
Much to Clementine's surprise Nick started to distract the undead, while telling the child to make a break for it. As much as she wanted to stay and help Nick, she knew there wasn't much she could do.
She needed to find Luke and they others, they could help.
The child broke into a run. As she got further and further away, she hoped that Nick would be alright.
Throughout the night, Pete would drift in and out of consciousness, each time he would wake up, Molly would worry that he had turned, only to be relieved when he drifted back off again.
She stood to check his temperature again, he was still hot.
And she noticed his leg was bleeding through her jacket.
She was faced with a dilemma, either get Pete out of there soon, or he was going to die. She knew he wouldn't be able to walk, and she couldn't exactly carry him. She was going to have to find the others and bring them back to Pete.
As much as she didn't want to leave the older man, she didn't have a choice. This was the safest place for Pete. At least in here he'd be protected from the geeks.
She gently nudged him awake, causing him to groan.
"Wh-Where are we?" Pete choked out.
"Still in the truck." Molly answered. "Listen, I'm going to go find the others."
"With t-the lurkers out there…?" Pete asked.
"I know how to handle geeks, don't worry about me." Molly said. "You just try to rest. I'll be as quick as I can."
Pete gave a weak nod, eyes fluttering shut once more.
Molly sighed. "Don't die on me, old man…" She muttered as she made her way to the door.
The woman opened the door and managed to take out a couple of still lingering geeks. The woman sighed, she debated on if she should bring Pete or not, but she knew it would be a bad idea if they got caught up with geeks. Pete couldn't walk, let alone run.
Molly started to run, avoiding geeks the best she could, and kill the ones within her reach. Many thoughts ran through her head. She hoped Pete could make it through this. She hoped Clementine was okay. She hoped Nick didn't get Clementine stuck in anymore trouble. She trusted that Clementine could handle herself, but Nick was reckless, who knew what would happen.
Those thoughts propelled her forward, making her run faster than before.
It was early morning when the cabin came into view. Clementine stopped a moment to catch her breath. She made her way to the door and pushed it open, seeing Carlos and Rebecca sitting in the kitchen.
Carlos stood upon spotting her. "Clementine! Are you alright?"
Clementine didn't get the chance to respond before the doctor furrowed a brow and Rebecca got to her feet.
"Luke's not with you?!" Carlos asked.
"Where's Alvin?" Rebecca inquired.
Clementine lowered her gaze, which they seemed to notice.
"What happened?" Carlos asked.
The two adults made their way before the child to question her.
"It's been hours!" Carlos exclaimed. "Where are they?!"
"Clem?!" Rebecca called impatient, wanting the child to respond.
"We got attacked." Clementine said quietly.
"By who?!" Rebecca asked.
"Geeks." Clementine answered. "We all got separated. Pete got bit. Molly's was with him, but I don't know what happened. I was with Nick, but…."
"Where were you? Where were you exactly?!" Rebecca questioned.
"Down by the stream." Clementine replied.
Rebecca turned to Carlos. "We gotta go."
"Just hold on a minute." Carlos said.
"My husband is still out there! GET. THE. GUNS." Rebecca snapped.
Carlos paused before running to do so.
"Luke and Alvin went out looking for you. I told them not to go." Rebecca said. "Damn it, Luke."
Carlos soon returned and handed Rebecca a gun, while keeping one for himself.
Clementine wanted to stop them, to tell them it was a bad idea, but she knew they wouldn't listen. "You should bring medical supplies, in case someone got hurt…" The child suggested.
Carlos nodded and went to gather a first aid kit. When he returned he looked to Clementine, "Clementine, can you… Can you please watch Sarah? She's upstairs. Just distract her, and don't tell her anything! She gets… nervous."
"I'll look after her, you can trust me." Clementine said.
"Thank you." Carlos sighed in relief. "You'll be safe inside, just don't open the doors for anything. We'll be back soon."
Clementine nodded, and Carlos and Rebecca took off.
The child decided to see what Sarah was up to, but halfway up the stairs, she heard the door. The girl flinched slightly.
"Clementine!"
She beamed at the voice.
"Molly!" The child rushed down the stairs to hug her guardian. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. How about you?" Molly asked.
"I'm still not bitten." Clementine said, breaking the hug.
"Good. That makes two of us." Molly said.
"Where's Pete…?" Clementine asked.
"He… He got bit Clem." Molly broke the news to the child.
"I know… I saw…" Clementine said.
"I… I had to cut it off… His leg, I mean." Molly informed the girl.
Clementine gasped at that. "But why? That wouldn't work."
"We had to try it. It's the only thing I could think of to save his life." Molly said. "But he's bleeding, and he needs proper medical attention. Where's Carlos?"
"He just left." Clementine told her guardian.
"What?"
"With Rebecca." Clementine said.
Molly huffed. "Damn it… What about everyone else."
"Only me and Sarah are here right now." Clementine answered.
"Fuck…" Molly huffed. "I guess I'll have to do this myself. Where does Carlos keep his medical supplies."
"I'm not sure, but I think Sarah knows." Clementine said. "Carlos said not to tell her anything though…"
Molly rolled her eyes and headed upstairs with Clementine following. Clementine opened Sarah's door only to be startled by a flash as the teen took her picture.
"Say cheese!" Sarah giggled. "I found this under the house there was all kinds of old stuff. It's so cool. Take one of me."
Molly nudged Clementine into the room. "Actually, Sarah, now's not a good time. I need your help."
"With what?" Sarah asked.
"Can you tell me where you dad keeps his medical supplies?" Molly asked back.
"Why? Is someone hurt…?" A worried looked crossed Sarah's face.
Clementine frowned, keeping quiet.
"Pete is." Molly answered.
"W-What? What happened to him?" Sarah gasped.
"He got bit…" Molly replied.
Sarah's eyes widened. "By a monster?"
"Yeah… But he's okay, I just need the medical supplies." Molly said.
"In the bathroom closet… We don't have many bandages though. Luke and Pete said they would get more during their next run…" Sarah answered.
"I don't think Pete can run anymore…." Clementine muttered.
"Look, I'll get the supplies, you two stay here." Molly said.
The two girls nodded.
"Umm… C-Clem, where's my dad?" Sarah asked.
Clementine paused before sighing, "You should know what's going on…"
"He told you not to tell me… Didn't he?" Sarah realized with a frown.
"He is in trouble." Clementine said.
The teen gasped again. "Oh my gosh… What happened? Clem?"
"Everyone's gone… It's bad…" Clementine replied.
Sarah turned away and started taking quick breaths. "S-Sorry, I just need to-" She took a seat to gather herself.
Clementine sat beside the teen. "Still want your picture taken?"
"S-Sure…" Sarah stood, and handed the younger girl the camera. "Get me in a good pose, okay."
Clementine nodded.
"I'm ready."
The child snapped the photo and Sarah smiled. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Clementine said.
"So… Wanna see what I found?" Sarah asked.
"Sure." Clementine said.
Sarah reached under the bed and retrieved a gun. "Will you show me how to use it? I couldn't find any bullets. If something's wrong, I should know. What if I have to use one."
"Okay…" Clementine agreed. "But it's not a toy."
"I know."
"First remember it's just a thing." Clementine said, helping adjust the teens grip on the gun.
"What does that mean?" Sarah asked.
"Um… I don't know…" Clementine said.
"I thought it'd be heavier." Sarah muttered. "Okay, what do I do?"
"The most important thing is, always aim for the head." Clementine said.
"Okay."
"Unless it's a person trying to hurt you." The child added.
"Then what do I do?" Sarah asked.
"Just keep shooting." Clementine replied.
"What should I shoot?" Sarah aimed, aiming the gun towards Clementine.
"Don't do that!" The child exclaimed, ducking down.
"S-Sorry…" Sarah walked over to the window. "Maybe I could practice outside. There's that tree… Hey, Luke's back!"
Clementine didn't get to reply before the teen had darted out the room.
Clementine followed, she could hear Molly upstairs gathering supplies. She made her way downstairs and over to Sarah.
The child felt her heart skip a beat when the older girl said in a shaky voice, "That's not Luke."
