Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the help.
Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing!
"Oh fuck… oh fuck…" Tripp knew he had to do something, and fast. As the vehicles approached the town, he quickly realized who these people were. He needed everyone to be ready to fight back.
"We got a big problem! Everyone get ready to fight." He called into his walkie talkie.
"What the hell's going on?" Vince who had been patrolling called to him.
"We got people at the gate. We need as many folks as we can get ready to fight." Tripp said.
"Fuck…" Vince muttered. "Alright."
The vehicles reached the gates of Prescott and Badger spoke up, "Knock, knock!"
"What the hell do you want?!" Tripp called to him.
"We're not here to cause trouble… We're looking for a few folks." Badger said. "A little girl, named Clementine, word is she might be staying here. And a man, named Kenny. I think the two of them know each other."
"What the hell do you want with a kid?" Tripp asked.
"That ain't none of your concern. If you don't want us to start shooting, I suggest you bring the kid to us." Badger said.
"I wish we hadn't had to come all the way out here, but things can be simple if you just hand the kid over." Another New Frontier member said.
"I can't do that." Tripp said.
"Why not?" Badger asked.
"Because…. She's not here." Tripp lied.
"Bull. Shit!" Badger said. "I don't believe a damn thing you say, plus you were with those thieves from the junkyard, and Molly! You asshole shot at us!"
"After you attack us." Tripp retorted.
"Oh, please! We were just defending ourselves!" Badger said. "How many of my friends died because of you, huh?"
Max furrowed his brows, "Sounds like a bunch of he-said, she-said shit to me."
"Well, what the fuck do you want? An apology?" Tripp inquired.
"What I really want is for my dead buddies to be alive again. But I don't think that's too likely, is it?" Badger replied.
"We've told you what we're here for. Now give us the girl or-"
Tripp cut the man off, "Or how about you go fuck yourselves. You're not getting shit from us."
"That gate ain't bulletproof. Don't make me prove it." Badger said.
"Fact of the matter is, your people stole from us...you killed some of us." Max said.
"Fact of the matter is, if you don't get the fuck out of here, you're gonna regret it!" Tripp said.
"Alright then. I gave you a chance. Ram the fucking gate!" Badger ordered.
"Jesus Christ!" Tripp exclaimed.
One of the trucks drives through the gates; it falls on its side, and walkers that have been in the back of the truck escape. The New Frontier throws tear gas bombs into Prescott and before long gunfire fills the air.
The sound of gunshots alerted the whole town, waking everyone who had been sleeping.
Clementine quickly dart upright from the noise. She went to her guardian in asked nervously, "What's going on?"
"We're being attack. We need to get the hell out of here." Molly said.
Clementine nodded in response.
Grabbing their weapons and any belongings they may need they rushed outside. The sight outside was even more horrific than they could imagine.
Gunshots echoed through streets as the screams of men, women, and children pierced the night. Clouds of tear gas hung in the air. Fires burned against buildings. Geeks were attacking citizens and bodies lay bloodied on the ground.
"Holy crap…" Clementine muttered, coughing a bit from the tear gas.
The smell of the tear gas burned their eyes and lungs.
"What in the fuck is going on?" Kenny's voice met their ears along with AJ's frantic cries.
"This has to be them…" Molly managed to get out.
"Who?" Sarita asked.
"The New Frontier." Molly said.
"What the fuck?" Kenny huffed. "We need to get the hell out of here!"
"Watch out!" Clementine called to them as someone began firing in their direction.
Molly returned fire, killing their attacker. "Let's find the others and move!"
Kenny and Sarita nodded and the group began running through the town.
"That went worse than I imagined…" David muttered.
"I told you they were a paranoid group." Ava said.
"So what do we do now?" David asked.
"Well… I'm hoping Molly will be able to talk to them. Or more specifically, Clementine. They might take better to a kid." Ava said.
David rose a brow, "Do you really think they'd be willing to do that?"
"I'm sure they'll at least be willing to consider it." Ava said.
"I guess that's better than nothing." David said.
"I'm sure Molly's not gonna be too happy to see me." David said.
"Probably not."
"Clementine won't be happy either." David added.
"I doubt she will." Ava agreed.
"But my brother was with Clem, so if my family is with her... I will be glad to see them again." David said.
"I'm sure they'll be happy to see you too." Ava said. "It's been a long time right?"
"Too long. I hope their all okay..." David sighed. "How much further is this town?"
"Not too far. Follow me." Ava said.
David nodded.
As they continued walking, they caught sight of a town in the distance.
"It's right up ahead…" Ava trailed off realizing something wasn't right. She could see smoke coming for the town. "What the hell...?"
As they got closer they caught sight of The New Frontier trucks. David's face fell, "Holy fuck..."
People were rushing to and fro, doing their best to shuffle their families and themselves to safety.
They were all disturbed by what was going on. And as much as they wanted to help these people, they couldn't help everyone.
"Let her go! I'm begging you!" A voice called out.
"That's Conrad!" Clementine said.
"Not happening! Tell us where the girl is!" Badger's voice reached their ears.
"I don't know- I—"
"Time's ticking." Another New Frontier member said.
One of the New Frontier soldiers held a pair of shears to one of Francine's fingers.
"Stop!" Conrad ordered. "If- If you hurt her, I'll kill you!"
"Big talk! Let's see if you keep your word!" Badger replied.
A scream filled the air as Francine's finger is cut off.
Conrad felt sick. "Francine! Oh, my god! Oh, my god, please!"
"Just- just give them what they want." Francine stammered.
"You should listen to her." Badger said. "There's no reason this has to get any uglier. But we ain't leaving without what we came for..."
"Okay! Okay, she's… she's with Molly!" Conrad said.
"That's not specific enough. She's with Molly where? And the other guy, Kenny, is he here?" Badger asked.
"I- I don't know! Somewhere!" Conrad stammered.
Before anyone could get another word in, one of the men is suddenly shot at by Molly.
Badger is shocked by this. "The fuck?!"
More gunshot echo and Conrad and Francine managed to run while Badger takes cover.
As Francine and Conrad tried to run, Badger aimed his weapon, and managed to shoot Francine in the head.
"FRANCINE!" Conrad cried in horror.
"RUN CONRAD!" Molly ordered.
Conrad obliged, fighting back tears "Those fucking animals…"
The group rushes over to where Tripp is, fortunately many of the other group members are with him as well.
"Christa and Shel and Eleanor got the kids into a van already; we need to get the fuck out of here." Tripp said.
"They killed Francine…" Conrad said.
"Wh-What?" Tripp stammered.
"Guys!" Javier called, helping a limping Kate along. "Kate's hurt!"
"I'm okay, Javi…" Kate said.
Javier shook his head. "They shot you, you're not okay…"
"I can take a look." Eleanor said.
"Can it wait, we're not exactly safe here." Tripp said. "Or doing it in the van."
"I'm scared… Are we gonna die?" Mariana asked.
"We're gonna be okay, Mari…" Javier reassured her. "What the hell is this? An ambush?"
"Those freaks who brand themselves. They're attacking us!" Tripp answered.
"Shit, I thought so… Why are they doing this?" Javier asked.
"Because they're crazy." Conrad snapped.
Javier frowned at this, "But my brother-"
"Look, we don't have time to talk! We need to get the hell out of here!" Tripp said.
"W-Where's Gill and his parents? We need to find them and make sure they're okay!" Clementine said. "We need to find him!"
"We gotta get these people the hell out of here!" Tripp said.
"I'll go try to find them, make sure they're okay." Molly said.
"I'm going too." Clementine spoke.
Molly shook her head. "No, Clem. Stay here."
"But you can't go alone." Clementine said.
"She doesn't have to, stay with Sarita, I'll go." Kenny said, handing AJ over to Sarita.
"I-I should go too…" Clementine said. "He's my friend."
"No, Clem. Stay here…" Molly said. "It'll be okay, I promise."
The child frowned but nodded.
"Let's go find them." Kenny said.
David and Ava made their way through the chaos filled town; gunfire ring out all over. They're eyes were burning from the teargas and they were sick knowing that their people were responsible for this.
"We need to find Molly and Clem." Ava said.
David coughed a bit from the teargas. "How the hell are we supposed to do that?"
"We just have to look around." Ava replied, the teargas also causing her to cough. "Come on."
The two continued through town trying to find Molly.
Ava led David to Molly's home, but it was a complete wreck. Dread hit her as they continued their search, she noticed many of the buildings were destroyed including Conrad's bar. Things were really bad...
"Please don't hurt us. Just let us go. Let our boy go..." Patricia pleaded.
"Not until you folks spill the beans on the girl. Someone in this town knows where that kid is." One of New Frontier member snapped.
"You don't have to do this." Randy said. "Just let us go."
"Not happening." A second man said.
As Molly and Kenny heard the voices, they rushed over immediately shooting at the people and killing them.
They noticed Randy appeared injured and Gill was terrified.
"We gotta get out of here! Let's go!" Molly said.
"Wh-Where's Clem?" Gill asked, looking worried.
"She's safe. But we gotta move!" Molly said.
Kenny helped Randy to his feet, and they started running.
Gunshots followed them and they were forced to take cover.
"What do we do?" Patricia asked fearfully, keeping her son close to her.
"At the back gate some others are gathered and ready to go. We just gotta get to them." Molly said.
"Fuck... this is so crazy." Kenny mumbled.
Randy nodded in agreement.
The men continued trying to shoot them down as they hid behind cover.
"I'm gonna try to return fire." Molly huffed after a moment.
"You can't!" Patricia grabbed her arm to stop her.
Molly looked to her. "Well we can't just sit here. We have to-"
Suddenly more gunshots were heard however their attackers fell to the ground leaving them shocked.
Molly was surprised when she noticed Ava and David.
"We need to move." Ava said.
Molly didn't question them. She knew they needed to get out of there first. The group began running to the back of the rest of the group.
When they made it to the others they were inside the vans. Tripp and Conrad were keeping watch. When they spot David and Ava, they immediately aimed their weapons at them.
"Guys don't!" Molly said.
"They're fucking New Frontier! She probably led them to us!" Conrad snapped.
"I wouldn't do that!" Ava said.
"Guys, please. We need to get out of here." Molly said.
"Give me one good reason not to pull the trigger!" Conrad snapped, keeping the gun aimed at them.
"We don't have time for this! Unless you have a death wish yourself, we need to get the hell out of here!" Molly said.
Tripp huffed at this knowing she was right. "Fuck... Just get in the vans. Eleanor will treat any injuries when we're safe."
"We can't just let them come with us!" Conrad said. "They're part of that group!"
"We're not! Look we'll explain everything, but we have to go." Ava said.
"Put the gun down, Conrad?" Tripp said.
Conrad shot him a glare. "What?"
"Put the gun down." Tripp repeated.
"Who fucking side are you on?" Conrad snapped at him.
"I'm on your side, but Molly's right, we need to get out of here… So please just listen to me." Tripp said.
Conrad huffed but reluctantly lowered the gun.
"Good… Let's get the fuck out of here." Tripp said.
They obliged with his words and got into the vans, despite Conrad feeling hesitant.
It wasn't long before the three vans began to drive off, leaving their destroyed town. They were all horrified, knowing that the place they called home, the people they cared about all we gone destroyed and massacred by walkers and New Frontier soldiers.
They drove for a while in silence. Javier driving one of the van, Vince driving another, and Tripp driving the third vehicle. Everyone was shaken up.
Eleanor glance behind them feeling worried. "Are they following us?"
Javier looked through the rearview mirror then replied. "Just the other vans. Looks like we're okay."
"For now…" Molly muttered.
They eventually pulled over and everyone got out.
Upon seeing David, Gabe and Mariana immediately rushed over to hug him.
"Dad! It's really you!" Gabe exclaimed.
"Gabe, Mariana." David smiled at the two, in awe to see them, alive and safe.
"Daddy!" Mariana rushed over and hugged him.
Gabe quickly did the same.
"Eleanor, are you okay?" Tripp asked the woman as he broke the hug.
"I am... That was awful...we lost so many people..." Eleanor said.
"They were looking for specific people!" Conrad snapped. "They were looking for Kenny's ass and Clementine!"
"They were really looking for me?" Kenny asked.
"Yeah... that Lilly person must know you're alive." Shel said.
"Francine didn't have to die! We should've just given them what they wanted!" Conrad said.
"Really Conrad?" Molly huffed.
"Yes, really!" Conrad snapped.
"Fuck you! I'm not being anyone's prisoner!" Kenny retorted.
"Fuck you! Francine's dead because of your ass!" Conrad angrily replied.
"It's no one's fault but The New Frontier." Shel said.
"Yet they have members of that group here!" Conrad said, motioning to Ava and David. "We should have just handed Clementine's ass over!"
She's a child, Conrad!" Tripp said.
"Child or not! Francine is dead thanks to her!"
"It's not her fault! She didn't kill Francine!" Vince cut in.
"She might as well have! If not for her Francine would still be alive!" Conrad said. "We should've just handed her over!"
Clementine frowned at that.
"We're not handing anyone over, knock it off." Vince said.
Conrad looked to Ava. "Did you asshole know about this?! Did you set us up?"
"What?" Ava asked.
"With the attack! Did you two know about it? Did you bring those people to us?!" Conrad hissed.
"Of course not!" Ava said.
"Why didn't you warn us that that were targeting Prescott?" Molly asked.
"Woah, slow down." Ava said.
"No. Just answer the damn question, why didn't you warn us?" Tripp said.
"We had no idea that was gonna happen." Ava said. "They never spoke about Prescott being a target."
"Bullshit!" Conrad said.
"It's not. Look, I know it's hard to believe, but we really had no clue." Ava said.
"How did you not know?" Tripp asked.
"I didn't know about a lot before Lilly joined…" David spoke up. "They sweep things under the rug, plus… Lilly kicked us out."
"She what?" Molly asked.
"She kicked us out of the group." David repeated.
"Why would she do that?" Molly questioned.
"Because of him." David motioned to Javier. "She thought we'd betray her…"
"Would you have?" Kate asked.
"I'd do what I have to for my family." David said.
"I'm not buying this shit! I know you asshole knew about this!" Conrad snapped, aiming his gun at them.
"Conrad, stop it!" Tripp said.
Conrad didn't listen.
"J-Just put it down…" Ava said. "You don't have to do this."
"I should kill both of you!" Conrad snapped.
"Conrad, stop. That's my brother—"
"I don't give a damn who he is!" Conrad said.
Gabe huffed, grabbing Javier's gun and quickly pointing the pistol at Conrad. "Back the fuck off. Now. Just back away."
Conrad looked to him and froze. "Take it easy, son."
"Gabe, you know guns are a last resort." Javier said.
"What else am I supposed to do? He's threatening my dad!" Gabe replied.
Conrad huffed, lowering his own gun. "Just do it already! I don't even care anymore."
"Gabe…" Clementine spoke. "Just put it down, Gabe."
Gabe hesitated.
"Come on, kid." Tripp said. "You don't want to do this…"
"He's unarmed. Just put it down, Gabe." Javier said.
"…Don't you ever aim a gun at my father again." Gabe finally put the gun away and turned to run off.
"Fuck me…" Tripp muttered.
Javier called to his nephew. "Gabe!"
"Let him go. He just needs to cool off." Molly said.
Conrad sits down against the truck and cries. "We have to go back. We have to bury her."
Tripp sighed at that. "I wish we could. But Prescott's overrun. We can't go back. I'm sorry…"
"Well, we're not safe here, either." Eleanor said.
"All I want is to find the motherfuckers who did this. They took my home... They took my...goddamn it..." Conrad trailed off.
Tripp tried to comfort him.
"I need to be alone…" Conrad muttered and walked away.
"So… when did this happen? When did they kick you out?" Molly asked Ava.
"A few days ago." Ava replied.
"And it took you that long to come talk to us?" Molly asked.
"We were dealing with other matters." Ava said.
"Like what?" Vince asked.
"We… went to Richmond." Ava said.
"Richmond?" Molly rose a brow.
"Yeah. David and I tried to talk to the people at Richmond, but they didn't budge. I was… hoping maybe you and Clem would be able to talk to them." Ava said.
"Why Clem?" Christa inquired. "She's just a child."
"That's exactly why. We figured maybe they would be more open if they're approached by a child." Ava said.
The others exchanged looks at the thought.
"Don't do it, Molly." Christa said. "We can't trust them. Their group is after your girl."
"We wouldn't cross you, Molly. We want to help… But we can't do this alone. They plan to attack Richmond any day now. We need them to be on our side." Ava said.
"We have limited options we have to do something…" David said.
"Please… At least just think on it…" Ava said.
Molly sighed but nodded. "I will… I'll think on it."
"Good…." Ava sighed. "I'm so sorry to all of you for what happened. And… I wish I could fix it, but I can't… We need to pull together and put a stop to this."
No one responded to her, they all seemed suspicious.
"It's late… We'll talk about it in the morning." Ava sighed.
"Yeah. That's probably for the best." Molly said. "We should all try to get some rest for the night…"
"That's easier said than done…" Vince muttered.
"I know…" Molly said.
"…I'm going to go check on Gabe…" Clementine told Molly. "He seemed really upset."
Molly gave a nod. "Alright, kiddo."
Gill stayed by his parents watching as his friend went over to speak with Gabe.
Eleanor looked over and hummed, "Huh. Maybe they'll hit it off."
"She doesn't need to hit anything off." Kenny said.
"You never know…" Eleanor said. "I remember being that age. You need someone else to talk to that understands what you're going through." Eleanor said.
Gill overheard this and couldn't help but frown a bit.
Clementine made her way over to Gabe; she could feel the anger and tension coming from him as she approached. "Hey, Gabe."
Gabe quickly whipped around to face her. "Oh. Hey."
"Are… you okay?"
Gabe sighed but nodded. "Yeah. I will be…"
"You know, that was really impressive back there. What you did..."
Gabe rose a brow and asked, "You think so?"
Clementine gave a playful smirk, "I didn't know anyone could point a gun at someone and still look like a huge dork."
Gabe chuckled at that. "Oh, come on."
"No, it was really scary. I thought you might shoot your own foot off." Clementine said.
"Clem."
"I'm just messing with you… I was worried about you, you know." Clementine said, becoming serious again.
"Worried why?" Gabe asked.
"Well… I know a lots going on. A lot of not so… great things…"
"Yeah…" Gabe said. "But those people… They're looking for you. Aren't you scared?"
"A little, but I know things are gonna be okay." Clementine replied.
"How do you know that?" Gabe asked.
"Because Molly always makes sure things are okay…" Clementine said.
"Oh…"
"I just wanted you to know that if you, need to talk, I'm here." Clementine said.
Gabe gave a small smile. "Thanks, Clem…"
"Of course…" She knew she couldn't fix everything but whatever she could do to help, she would.
Once everything had settled down, Eleanor treated anyone's injuries from the attack. And after doing so, some of the group members gathered around to try to talk.
"What are you gonna do? I really don't think you should take Clem with you." Christa said.
"You know how Clem is. She's gonna want to go." Molly replied.
"Well maybe you should put your foot down and tell her she's not allowed to." Christa said.
"I think I should let Clem decide what she wants to do. But I am gonna try to talk to the people in Richmond." Molly said.
"After Clem got kidnapped, I thought that'd be the end of this." Christa said. "Clem's just a little child."
"But she's a capable child." Molly replied.
Christa sighed, shaking her head. "Fine...do what you want."
"Don't do this tonight please... We've been through a lot..." Shel said.
"And you promised no more fighting." Vince said. "Both of you did."
"We're not fighting Vince… I'm just… saying how I feel…" Christa said.
"Clementine's gonna be fine. She's a tough kid, and I won't let anything happen to her." Molly said.
"Alright..." Christa muttered.
"Do you really think the people at Richmond will listen?" Randy asked.
"I don't know. I really hope so. We could use some more allies." Molly said.
"Yeah. We really could." Vince said.
"Do what you want, but I hope you know I can't give you a vehicle." Tripp said.
Molly sent him a look. "Why not."
"We need them. We have more people here than are going to Richmond. We can't just hand a vehicle over." Tripp said.
"So you'll make us walk?" Molly huffed.
"Let me get one thing straight, I'm not making you do anything. I'm not making you go." Tripp said.
"We have to do this. If we don't put an end the things, Lilly won't ever stop." Molly replied.
"I get that. But those vans stay here. Where the rest of us can access them if something bad happens." Tripp said.
Molly groaned at that but stopped arguing. "...Fine Tripp, Fine.
"Maybe you shouldn't go..." Eleanor said.
"Not only could these people help us deal with the New Frontier, they might be able to give us a place to stay too. I have to do this." Molly said.
The others sighed but understood.
They just hoped that the people at Richmond would be open minded.
Clementine sat near Molly while the other kids seemed to be heading to bed. A while had passed before Ava hesitantly approached them.
"Can we talk for a bit?" Ava asked.
"Okay. What's up?" Molly asked back, urging her to talk.
"I... I'm sure you two probably don't want to talk to me right now… But I want you to know what I said was true. I really had no idea about the attack." Ava said.
"No idea at all?" Clementine asked, curiously.
"None, whatsoever kid." Ava said.
"I..." Clementine paused, "I don't know if I believe you..."
"I wouldn't have helped you all this time just to turn against you..." Ava said.
Clementine didn't know what to think.
"Did you know they were looking for Clem and Kenny?" Molly asked.
"I know Lilly wanted to find Clem. We tried to talk her out of it. And she ended up kicking us out." Ava said.
"Why didn't you come warn us?" Clementine asked.
"We planned to warn you when we showed up, but the place was already under attack." Ava said. "We were just as shocked as you to see that."
"Really?" Clementine asked with some disbelief.
"Really." Ava said. "Look... I know that you might feel skeptical, but I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. Lilly's the enemy here. Not me."
"What took you so long to show up?" Molly asked. "We really could have used a warning."
"I told you, we went to Richmond and tried to talk to them." Ava said. "And when we left The New Frontier, they still had no idea about Prescott as far as I know."
"Damn…" Molly sighed. "What was the response from the people at Richmond?"
"They told us to leave or they would kill us." Ava said. "I know you don't trust me, but I really hope you two will try to talk to them for me."
"We'll talk it over, Ava." Molly said.
"Okay, fair enough." Ava said. "I'll let you two get some rest. We can talk in the morning."
Molly nodded.
"Goodnight." Ava said.
"Night." Molly said.
Once Ava walked away, Molly looked to Clementine and asked the girl, "Are you okay, kiddo?"
"Yeah... I just... I'm thinking..." Clementine said. "What should we do?"
"That's up to you, Clem… What do you want to do?" Molly asked back.
"How are you two holding up?" David asked his children as they sat together. "I'm sure things have been tough."
"Things are scary lately..." Mariana said.
"I bet." David frowned. "But you're safe now."
"I almost got shot." Mariana said.
David's eyes widened in horror. "Y-You what?"
"She almost got shot by those people at the junkyard." Gabe said.
"Hold on, slow down. What Junkyard?" David asked.
"The same people who attacked Prescott, they attacked us before. A few times. We were at a Junkyard looking for gas and they just... they took Javi. Molly and Clem got him back to us, but we were attacked again. Mari was almost shot but Molly saved her." Gabe explained.
"Did she now?" David asked. "Well… I'm grateful to her."
"Uh-huh. She took the bullet instead of me..." Mariana said. "I'm glad she's okay. That was so scary."
"I'm sure it was sweetie. But things are okay now." David said.
"She protected me when we were separated too. She's really nice." Mariana said. "Clem's lucky to have her.".
"Yeah... I guess she is..." David muttered, recalling how he tried to separate the two when he was forcing Molly out. He regretted his actions. He regretted not believing Molly's warnings. He should have listened to them.
"I was worried for so many days. I thought we never see you again. We drove around so much and never found you... I knew you were alive. I knew you were tough... I kept telling myself, "he has to be alive" but some nights I had my doubts..." Gabe said.
"I'm sorry guys. I really wished we reunited sooner than this. But I'm here now, and that's not gonna change." David said.
"So you don't plan on going back to your old group right?" Gabe asked.
"Not at all." David said.
"Promise you're not gonna leave again, Daddy?" Mariana asked.
"Of course, sweetie. I'm not leaving you ever again." David said.
"That's good." Mariana smiled.
"How has Javi been treating you?" David asked.
"He's really nice. I like having him around." Mariana said.
"Him and Kate do a lot for us... Especially Javi... we wouldn't have made it far without him." Gabe said.
"I'm glad he was there for you. I'll have to thank him." David said. He would have to thank Molly too.
Mariana suddenly hugged him again. "I missed you… I'm glad you're here."
"I missed you too, Mari." David said. "I missed both of you."
Gabe smiled, "Missed you too, dad."
"You two should try to get some rest. I'm sure you're tried." David said.
"Exhausted…" Gabe mumbled.
"I'm not going anywhere, both of you get some sleep." David told them.
The two children agreed. A while passed and the two kids had fallen asleep.
Before long David was approached by Javier.
"Hey," David greeted.
"Hey…" Javier greeted back.
"Is Kate doing alright?" David asked.
"I think so. Why wouldn't she be?" Javier questioned.
"I don't know… She just hasn't talked to me much…" David said. "I don't know if she's upset with me or not…"
"I think she's just shaken up by what happened to Prescott… It was bad…" Javier replied.
"Yeah… I guess that would shake anyone up…" David said. "…I wanted to try to catch up with you before. Find out what happened when we got separated."
"Yeah… I've been wondering that too." Javier said.
"Well… Mama and I got routed out of the city on the way to the hospital. It wasn't long before she..."
Javier felt sick as he mumbled. "Poor Mama…"
"Yeah…" David sighed. "I couldn't get back into Baltimore, so I hooked up with my old unit. We thought we could build a safe zone outside DC... After what happened to Mama, and everyone else...I thought you were all dead. But you were taking care of them, weren't you? Somehow you found a way. I'm not gonna lie, I never thought you had it in you."
"We took care of each other. We all had each other's backs." Javier said.
"You've changed, brother. It took the end of the world, but you finally grew up." David gave Javier a light pat on the shoulder.
"I'll take that as a thank you." Javier chuckled. "Are you too proud to give me a real one?"
David fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Thank you, for looking after them Javi. I owe you my life…"
"David, They're family. And… I'd do anything to keep them safe…" Javier said.
"I can tell… I appreciate it." David said.
"Of course." Javier replied.
"What do you want to do kiddo?" Molly asked Clementine as the girl seemed torn on what to do.
"I don't know... I think I should go. I want to help." Clementine said. "I'm just nervous…"
"You don't have to do this, Clem." Molly said.
"I know. I want to help." Clementine said.
"Alright, Clem." Molly agreed.
"Do you...think they knew?" Clementine suddenly asked.
"Knew what?"
"About the attack. Do you think they knew?" Clementine asked.
"I don't think so. Why would they be helping us if they knew?" Molly asked.
"Maybe so they can trick us. Or at least try to trick us." Clementine shrugged.
"That's not gonna happen." Molly said.
"I hope not... I just don't know how much I trust them right now. Especially David. I don't trust him at all." Clementine said.
"I understand, kid. And I'm not going to tell you that you have to trust them." Molly replied.
"Do you trust them?" Clementine asked her.
"I trust Ava." Molly said.
"But not David?"
Molly shrugged. "I don't know yet... after what he did it's hard to say…"
"Exactly. How can we trust him if he didn't trust us?" Clementine huffed.
"We just have to keep our guard up." Molly said. "He can't kick us out again. That's over and done with."
"But he can betray us." Clementine said.
"We won't give him that chance and neither will the others." Molly said. "Everyone's on guard, and I don't think that's gonna change anytime soon. So David should know better than to try anything."
"Yeah. You're right." Clementine agreed.
"Let's try to get some rest kiddo. It's been a long night." Molly said.
"A long and sad night." Clementine said.
"Yeah... It has." Molly agreed with a frown. "...Try to get some rest, Clem."
"Okay..." Clementine laid down and hesitantly spoke again. "Molly,"
"Yeah Clem?"
"Are we gonna be okay?" Clementine asked.
"You know we will be." Molly said.
The child nodded. "Yeah... I just wanted to hear you say it... to make sure."
"Everything's gonna be okay kiddo. We're all gonna be okay." Molly said.
Clementine nodded and slowly allowed her eyes to fall shut. "I'm glad you're with me.
"I'm glad you're with me too, Clem." Molly smiled.
When morning came the group gather around to talk with the exception of Ava and David who gave them space to discuss the next source of action.
"I just don't know about this..." Christa sighed.
"We'll be fine." Molly said.
"But what if it's a trap?" Eleanor asked.
"It's not a trap." Molly said.
"You don't know that. For all we know the New Frontier could've already taken over Richmond and they're trying to lure your girl there. You know they're after her." Tripp said.
Clementine looked concerned at the idea. "Molly."
"It's okay, Clem. That's not true." Molly said to the child then looked to the others. "Enough of that. You're scaring my girl."
"Maybe she should be scared." Eleanor said.
Molly shook her head. "Look, we'll just check this place out, try to talk to these people."
"And if it's a trap?" Tripp asked.
"We'll turn back around." Molly replied.
"By then it could be too late." Christa said.
"Let's stop being so negative. I'm sure things will be okay." Patricia said.
"Yeah. Besides, Clem and I can handle ourselves. You all should know that by now." Molly said.
"We do. We're just worried. We don't want either of you getting hurt... or worse. We just lost so many people." Shel said. "Are you sure you don't want Vince and I to tag along?"
"I'm sure… We'll be alright. Just trust me on this." Molly said.
The others sighed but the protests died down.
"Alright. I'm gonna let David and Ava know our decision." Molly said before motioning the two to come over.
They noticed and approached her.
"Have you made up your mind?" Ava asked
"We have. We're gonna go with you to Richmond." Molly said.
"We're, as in you and Clem?" Ava asked.
"Yeah, we talked it through, and she wants to help." Molly replied.
David sighed in relief. "Great. This might actually work… We should leave soon; we'll be able to make it before nightfall."
"I wanna go too." Gabe spoke up.
Javier frowned at that. "Gabe?"
Gabe ignored him and looked to his father. "Please… I can help, dad. Let me come."
"I don't think it's a good idea, bud." Javier said.
"Why not?" Gabe asked.
"Well for one it's dangerous…" Javier replied.
"If Clem's coming then I'm coming too." Gabe said.
"Kid, you should listen to your uncle. This could be dangerous…" Ava said.
"But you're letting her come." Gabe motioned to Clementine.
"We need her help." Ava replied.
"I want to help too. Let me help," Gabe stubbornly said.
"You should stay here, Gabe. Stay here with us." Kate said.
Gabe shook his head. "I don't want to. Dad let me help. Please."
David paused for a moment but nodded. "…Alright."
"David what are you doing?" Kate asked.
"He wants to help so I'm gonna let him help." David said.
"Are you sure about this, buddy?" Javier asked.
"I'm sure Javi. I want to be with my dad. I want to help. I'm tired of being treated like a little kid…" Gabe said.
"Gabe, you don't have to do this to prove anything." Javier said.
"I'm not trying to prove anything." Gabe said. "But I want to help. I'm not a little kid anyone. I'm sorry. I love you, Uncle Javi, but this is something I have to do.
"Gabe, no…" Kate said. "It's… It's not safe…"
"Kate..." Javier sighed.
"Please, Gabe. Please. I never thought I could be a mom... I never thought I wanted to be a mom, until I met you and your sister. I'm begging you. Don't do this." Kate said.
"It's my dad, Kate. I have to go with him, to make sure he's okay... I can't lose him again." Gabe said.
"And I can't lose you." Kate said. "Look at me, Gabe. Please."
Gabe however looked away.
"He wants to come. And I said it's fine." David said.
"We just don't want him to be in danger…" Javier said.
"He won't be… He's my son, and I'm fine with it." David said. "I won't let anything bad happen to him."
Javier sighed at this.
"He'll be okay," Molly spoke up. "You don't have to worry."
"Thank you, Molly." Kate said.
"Why are you thanking her? You don't trust me to protect my own kid?" David asked.
"No one trusts you at all…" Clementine spoke up.
"Clem stop…" Molly sighed.
"It's true…" Clementine said.
David looked to Javier and Kate. "Is it?"
"David…" Kate frowned.
"Is it true?" David asked.
"I want to trust you." Kate said.
"But you don't… This is ridiculous…" David grumbled.
"I trust you, dad. And so does Mari." Gabe said.
Mariana nodded a confirmation to her brother's words.
"Let's just… get moving." David huffed.
"Wait, can I go?" Mariana asked.
"No honey. You stay here." David said.
"But Gabe's going." Mariana pointed out.
"Gabe's older than you, and he can handle this." David said.
"So can I…" Mariana replied.
"I'm sure you can, but I want you to stay here." David said.
Mariana pouted. "That's not fair…"
"It's okay, Mari. Why don't you listen to your music?" Javier suggested.
"…Okay…" Mariana agreed.
David looked to Molly and Ava, "You two ready?"
"Ready when you are." Molly said.
"Then let's get a move on." David said.
They nodded and before long they started their trip to Richmond.
"I'm nervous, Javi, do you think he'll be okay?" Kate asked as David and the others took off.
"I'm sure he will be, Kate. Gabe's tougher than we give him credit for." Javier said.
"I guess… I just…It's dangerous. And after that attack… I was so scared that we wouldn't make it." Kate said.
"But we did… We're okay." Javier said.
"For now." Kate muttered. "I can't believe him. Who does David think he is to just show up and try to take over like this…?"
"It's his father, Kate. It's...what he wants. And we… can't intervene with that." Javier said.
"Like hell we can't. We took care of those kids for years… It's… I can't just pretend we didn't raise them and protect them." Kate said.
"You don't have to pretend, but we can't forget that they're David's kids." Javier said.
"I guess… We got so close in the last few years... I... I really saw Gabe and Mari as my kids." Kate said.
"They're still David's kids, not ours. No matter how long we've been taking care of them..." Javier said.
Kate frowned, "You don't really think that. You can't."
Javier sighed, "It's the truth…"
"The biological truth but… those kids are practically ours…." Kate said. "I'm sure you feel the same way I feel. I know you agree with me…"
"…Yeah… I do…" Javier admitted.
"And it's not right for David to show up and rip that away from us. He can't just act what we did, what we went through was all for nothing." Kate said. "It's just not right."
"I know, Kate…"
"We should say something, once he gets back here, we should say something." Kate said.
"I don't want to start a fight, Kate." Javier said.
"I'm not trying to start a fight, but I can't just bite my tongue either… If you don't say something, I will." Kate said.
Javier sighed at this. He knew there was drama ahead, just waiting to unfold.
"So how have you been, bud?" David asked his son as they began walking.
"I've been fine… But sometimes, Javi and Kate just irritate me…" Gabe admitted.
"Irritate you how?" David asked.
"They treat me like a little kid. They won't let me help with anything. They're constantly shutting me down. It's annoying." Gabe said.
"Well, I'm here now. And you don't have to worry about that with me." David said.
"I don't?" Gabe asked.
"I have no plans of treating you like a little kid." David told him.
"Thank God. I'm tired of being treated like one." Gabe said.
"So when we get to Richmond, what's our plan?" Molly spoke up.
"We try to talk to these folks like Ava and I did before... Hopefully they're be a bit more amicable seeing that we got kids with us." David said.
"Hopefully..." Molly said.
"How was their reaction last time you showed up?" Gabe asked.
"The second they saw us they had guns aimed at us ready to shoot. They wouldn't hear us out. And threatened us if we come back." Ava said.
"Well great..." Molly groaned. "Let just hope they don't shoot us on sight."
"They won't do that. If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that the people in Richmond still have morals, despite how territorial they are. They didn't have to let us go, but they did. That says something." Ava said.
"I guess..." Molly said.
"Hopefully everything goes well." Clementine said.
"That's the hope. But keep your guards up incase things go south." Molly said.
The others nodded.
"Are you okay, Kenny?" Sarita asked, noticing the man seemed to be in a glum mood.
"I am right now... I'm just thinking about Lilly. If she's after me...I need to be ready to fight back. And I need you and AJ to be ready for anything." Kenny said.
"Don't say that, Kenny. Nothing bad is going to happen." Sarita argued.
"We don't know that. And I want you to be prepared in case it does." Kenny replied.
Sarita frowned, shaking her head. "I can't lose you Kenny..."
"I don't want to lose you either hon. Which is why no matter what, I'll do whatever it takes to protect you and AJ." Kenny said.
Sarita frowned at that. "You and I can protect each other."
"I want you to focus on AJ... whatever happens... I want him to be well taken care of." Kenny said.
"Of course he will be." Sarita said.
"Good. That's the most important thing." Kenny said. "I love you, hon."
Sarita fought back tears as she managed to reply, "I love you too, Kenny."
After a long walk with few breaks to rest their legs, the group, now feeling exhausted, finally caught sight of Richmond.
"Is that it?" Gabe asked.
"Yeah, bud stay close to me." David said.
Gabe nodded in response.
"Same goes for you, Clem. Still close." Molly said.
"I will." Clementine said.
"Alright… Everybody ready?" Ava asked.
The others nodded.
"Let's do this." Ava said.
The group started to approached the gates and immediately found themselves at gun point.
"Don't take another step!" A guard snapped. "We warned you folks not to come back here!"
"Please, we just want to talk!" Ava said. "Clem?"
"J-Just listen to us! Please?"
"Holy fuck, is that a kid? You have kids with you." The guard seemed to lower his gun a bit at that.
"Yeah. We do. Please... just hear us out..." David said.
There was silence for a while before the man sighed. "Open the gates!" He called.
The gates soon opened, and the group was met at gunpoint. They were told to drop their weapons and checked for any bites.
They were then led inside and too some kind of hospital where they were checked again for bites. Whilst in Richmond's hospital they were questioned by one of the town's leaders. "So... what brings you people here?
"Maybe we should've sent someone else with them…" Shel said.
"I'm sure they're fine." Tripp said.
"We can't be sure." Christa said. "Maybe if someone gave them a vehicle…"
"Hey, I wasn't letting them take one of the vans and leave the rest of us stranded." Tripp argued.
"They have kids… And now they have to walk for who knows how long." Vince said.
"I'm sure they'll manage fine. It's not like I forced them to go." Tripp said.
"No. But you didn't really help them either." Christa said.
"Well, helping them would put us at risk. I had to make a hard decision." Tripp said.
"I just hope they get back soon." Shel said.
"They'll be back. I'm sure of it." Patricia said.
The others exchanged looks all having mixed feelings about this trip.
"I'm sure by now you people have heard of The New Frontier." Molly said.
The leader nodded. "Of course. Who hasn't heard of those monsters,"
"I'm sure everyone knows about them..." Clementine spoke "Those bad people attacked our communities today. It was really awful and scary." Clementine said. "They killed a lot of people and left a lot of us without a home..."
"So you came here hoping for a place to stay?" The leader asked.
Clementine shook her head. "We came here with a warning..."
"What kind of warning?" The leader questioned.
"They're got their eyes set on this place... they plan to attack it next... We want to stop them. But we can't do it alone. We need your help. Please help us fight against them." Clementine said.
"How do you know that plan to attack this place?" The leader asked.
"We have our sources..." David said.
"Well no matter what, if they show up, we're gonna fight to defend ourselves." The leader replied.
"That's not enough though. We can't give them a chance to show up. We need to put a stop to what they're doing now..." Molly said.
"And put our people at risk? We can't do that." The leader replied.
"It's for a good cause. We'll be saving lives, including our own. Please... just help us." Clementine said.
"You're pretty convincing, kid. I can see why they brought you. But how do we know you people aren't just spies or something?" The leader asked.
"We're not." Clementine said. "I swear."
"And we're supposed to just take your word?" The leader rose a brow.
"We didn't come here looking to cause trouble." Clementine said.
The leader soon sighed. "…I don't know... maybe we can help out."
"Really?" Clementine felt hopefully upon hearing that.
"We can at least think about it and—"
Suddenly one of the guards whispered in his ear, motioning to David.
"…What the hell… You're one of them!" He looked to David and noticed the brand on his neck.
"Wait hold on!" David said.
"What the fuck?! I should have known something was up!" The leader snapped.
"Wait, you- you don't understand?" David said.
"You're with them! You fucking spies." The leader snapped. "Get them out of here. And deal with them by the gates!"
They found themselves being grabbed by guards.
"Wait! Please just listen!" Clementine pleaded.
"I'm done listening, kid." The leader said. "Get them out of here."
The guards did so.
They group found themselves dragged to the town's entry gate and once again held at gunpoint.
"Please, don't do this!" Gabe pleaded.
"You didn't leave us a choice." One of the guards said.
"Woah, woah what is going on?" A familiar voice reached their ears as a man rushed over.
"They're spies, for the New Frontier. They have the brand marks." A guard said.
The man shook his head, "Two of them are kids. I can't—"
"Jesus?" Molly spoke up, recognizing him.
"Molly, holy shit. Wasn't expecting to see you here." Jesus said.
"I could say the same to you." Molly said.
"Let them go." Jesus ordered to the guards.
"Are you sure?" One of the guards asked.
"I am." Jesus said.
"You know these guys?" Another guard asked.
"Some of them. These are the folks I've been telling you about." Jesus said. "Let them go."
The guards obliged.
"So… what brings you guys here?" Jesus asked.
The group was taken to a more private area to talk, the guards still seemed on edge.
"Are you sure we can trust them? …They have the brand." Jesus motioned to David and Ava.
"We're not with them anymore." Ava said.
Jesus rose a brow. "You sure about that? Because people can say one thing and-"
"They're not. Ava's been helping us out for a while and David here is Javi's brother." Molly said.
"Oh? Well, I'll take your word for it, Molly." Jesus said. "Nice to meet you guys. Even though it's not under the best circumstances. Sorry you guys nearly got shot. The people here can be pretty defensive."
"Understatement of the century." Molly said.
"I've been convincing the folks here to help out. And we've been trying to come up with a plan. I wasn't expecting to see you here, Molly." Jesus said.
"Yeah well, The New Frontier attacked Prescott." Molly said.
"What?" Jesus' eyes widened at that.
"They attacked Prescott. Killed a bunch of people. And if we don't do something soon, we're all fucked. This place is their next target." Molly said.
Clementine furrowed her brows at the woman's words.
"Shit... We need to do something. Were there any survivors? Are your people safe?" Jesus asked.
"There were some survivors… They're safe for now. They lost their homes though…" Molly said.
"Maybe we should go get them and come up with plan once we get back here." Jesus suggested.
"You sure you don't mind?" Molly asked.
"Not at all. We can't just leave good people out there." Jesus said.
"Thank you." Molly said.
"Alright, I'll pack up some gear and then we can get moving." Jesus told her.
Molly nodded.
"Molly," Clementine tugged at her sleeve.
Molly looked to the girl. "What's up kid?
"You said a swear." Clementine said.
"Huh?"
"A swear. You said the f-word. You told me not to say it." Clementine said.
Molly recalled that she had told the child to think of that word like she did when she was younger. "You're right kiddo. I'll try not to say it anymore." At least not around her.
"Okay. Good." Clementine gave a satisfied nod with her reply.
Molly couldn't help but smile a bit. She knew Clementine had a long way to go. But every little thing counted. She was making progress little by little.
"They're not back yet." Christa huffed, looking worried.
"Christa please calm down." Omid said. "I'm sure they're fine."
"Calm down? How can I? They should be back by now." Christa said.
"I'm worried too... what if...what if it was a trap?" Eleanor frowned.
"Why would Ava do something like that. She's been helping us." Shel said.
"Maybe she wanted to trick us the whole time." Randy said.
"I just don't think—"
"Shh, shh..." Vince cut the group off as a rustling sound caught his attention along with some whispers. "Do you hear that?""
"What?" Shel asked.
"I heard voices, from behind the trees. Someone's watching us." Vince said.
"Are you sure?" Tripp asked.
"Positive." Vince stood, aiming his gun. "Whoever's there come out now!"
There was silence. No response.
"Look we're all on edge. Maybe we're all being paranoid." Omid said.
Vince however didn't budge. "I won't say it again. Come out or I'll shoot."
Quiet footsteps were heard, and two figures moved from behind the trees to reveal themselves.
The group had been easily convinced by Jesus to let them use a vehicle to pick up the rest of the group members. Molly noticed these people had a lot of respect for Jesus. She was glad he was a good man.
The ride back was calm. It mostly consisted of small talk between the group members while Jesus drove.
"Hey Gabe. I got something for you." David spoke grabbing his son's attention.
Gabe turned to him. "Really? Is it a knife? Or a gun, or-"
David dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out a box of playing cards.
Gabe's face fell, "Cards?"
"Something to do when there's nothing to do. Don't take your free time for granted, son. It doesn't last forever." David said.
Gabe nodded. "Yeah. You're right. Thanks."
"You're welcome." David said.
Gabe looked to Clementine and called to her, "Hey Clem, wanna play a game?"
"What kind of game?" Clementine asked.
"A card game. It's called Euchre." Gabe said.
Clementine giggled at the name. "That's not a real thing."
"It is. Here. I'll show you how to play." Gabe began to deal out cards and started explaining the rules.
Molly listened in with a small smile from the front seat. She was glad that her girl could have fun for at least a little while. David was right about not taking time for granted because they never knew what was ahead.
The drive was much shorter than the walk and before long they arrived back with the group.
As they got out of the vehicle Molly was immediately approached by Tripp. "How'd it go?"
"Better than I expected it to." Molly said.
"Jesus? Welcome back, I guess." Tripp greeted as he noticed the other man.
Thanks. I guess." Jesus half joked.
"Sorry, if you can tell things aren't going that great for us at the moment." Tripp said.
"Yeah… I've heard some of what happened… Regardless, it's a pleasure to see you folks again. Alive, and mostly well." Jesus said.
"Yeah. Likewise." Tripp nodded then looked back to Molly. "Look, Molly... We got some people you might want to see."
"Really?" Molly asked.
Tripp nodded. "Really, spies for the New Frontier. We caught them snooping around."
"Where are they?" Molly asked.
"We tied them up and put them in one of the vans. We didn't want them out here with the rest of us." Tripp said.
"I'll go check it out." Molly sighed.
"I can come too—"
"Stay here, Clem." Molly said.
"But—"
"Stay here." Molly repeated.
The child pouted but didn't protest.
Molly approached that van and opened the door. As she looked inside the vehicle, she was shocked by who she saw, "Mike and Bonnie...?"
