Walking Dead: Secrets of the Past
First chapter of a new Walking Dead story, the first in a series, I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Walking Dead or its characters.
Season 1: Episode 1
There were a few shouts and cheers from the other students at Ericsons School's baseball diamond but one student was quiet, focused as she stepped up to the plate, ready to bat. Said girl was rather short, only five foot one but had an athletic build with still some slight curves and smooth caramel skin with medium length curly dark brown hair tied back in two small twin tails, golden brown eyes framed with long dark lashes. The girl's name was Clementine Hutchison, the school's star baseball player and the most popular girl in school, well liked by many save those jealous of her and certainly one who drew the eye of many boys. Clad in her baseball uniform, in the school's colours of red and white, with the sole exception of her own preferred baseball cap, blue and white with a large D symbol on it, a gift from her dad, Clem was aware of the eyes on her and smiled lightly.
'Well, time to begin, hmmm...So, Alice is pitching. This could be interesting.' Clementine reflected. 'Especially with all these eyes on me.'
While by no means arrogant, Clementine knew she'd be lying if she claimed to not like the attention, especially the longing stares from the boys. But right now she had to focus as Alice was a brilliant pitcher and thus, Clementine would need to be on top of her game to get a good swing here. So she focused, eyes narrowing and that was when it happened. As always, whenever Clem focused, it was like everything changed. Her vision seemed to sharpen, everything seemed to slow down and as such, when Alice pitched, she was no doubt giving it her best throw, but to Clem, it was slow and she was able to deliver a powerful hit that sent the ball flying, giving her ample time to run the bases, Clem grinned as she once again gave a good showing.
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Also on the outside of the school, also taking advantage of the gym class being the last class of the day, the various school teams were getting in extra practice. Of note was first the school tennis team, of which one particular girl stood out. Another popular girl at the school and a notable friend of Clementine's, Brody Burress smiled before taking a swig from her water bottle, smoothing down her red mid-thigh tennis skirt, paired with white ankle socks and sneakers and a white sleeveless top. Brody was taller than Clem and quite beautiful with long tied back auburn hair and light blue eyes, fair skin and rather generous curves, the skirt also gave a wonderful view of her long longs, if anything she was the only girl at school the boys drooled over more than Clementine. Much like Clementine was the school's star baseball player, Brody was the star tennis player for the school although she had some stiff competition with a particular girl being a rival, as well as having a strong dislike of Brody and Clementine too in fact. The girl was roughly Brody's height with dark skin, short black dreadlocked hair and brown eyes, she had a medium build with full lips and was glaring at Brody.
'Stuck up bitch thinks she's so good, look at her, toying with her skirt like that. I look better in this uniform than she does, my legs are way sexier.' Michelle Brown thought to herself darkly. 'Someday, someday I'll show her, and that bitch Hutchison too.'
Even with those thoughts in mind she took up her place in the doubles practice, in the opposite pair to Brody.
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Another team getting in practice was the Cheerleaders, again two girls especially stood out, if anything one was standing out as her cheerleading uniform was perhaps a little more revealing than it should be. The uniform consisted of a mid-thigh length pleated red skirt with a white stripe around the hem and a red vest with white on the shoulders, finished off with white ankle socks and sneakers. The girl in question had a notably shorter skirt and her vest exposed her mid-riff. Said girl had a spoiled rich girl vibe to her and was tall with blonde hair in a ponytail, pale skin with some freckles and blue eyes, it was the cheer captain and another rival to Clem and her popular friends, Rondi Pels. Rondi was popular too but unlike Clementine and her friends, Rondi was more a stereotypical popular girl. The other girl was another of Clementine's friends. This girl was of medium height with a petite figure and shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes and thick eyebrows, lightly tanned skin and right now was sneering at Rondi's posturing as she gave instructions.
Becca Jones fought not to laugh. 'Typical Rondi, trying to make herself seem more important than she actually is.'
She remained outwardly calm however, as always dealing with Rondi's almost blatant attempts at bullying the team, her especially, with malicious compliance.
"So, pyramid." Rondi said at last, eyes narrowed at Becca. "Think you can handle that?"
Becca just gave a saccharine smile. "Oh but of course, I know I can."
Rondi glowered but couldn't say anything to that and just grunted and gave orders to begin.
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The remaining team that would be of note to the girls for containing one of their own was actually indoors, in the school's pool building as both the boys and girls swim teams were practising too, the boys in their red Speedos, the girls in red one-piece swimsuits with white stripes on either side. The girl who was part of the same friend group of the others was approaching the edge of the pool ready to being her training. She was slightly taller than Clementine, being five foot two with pale skin, short blonde hair with heavy bangs, tinged slightly green from the chlorine, green eyes and a skinny build with strong facial features. She had long legs and was the least curvy of her friends. Pulling on her swimming cap and goggles, Violet Adlon stepped up along with the other girls, the coach nodded to her before giving the instructions to them. Violet was easily the best swimmer amongst the girls team and some dared say the best in school. Violet was in a similar boat to her friends in that she was popular and pretty and certainly got a lot of attention. Unlike her friends however, Violet was openly disgusted by the boys, especially the ones on the boys swim team who were currently ogling her ass as she stood, ready to dive into the pool.
'Urgh, fucking pigs...as if they'd even have a chance anyway.' She thought to herself. 'It's not like I'd ever be interested in them, no matter what.'
Composing herself she let those thoughts melt away and reacted to the coach's whistle, diving into the pool and swimming right away across the pool as the coach timed her and the rest of the girls currently swimming. For Violet it was like the rest of the world faded away, this was when she was in her element and where she derived the most joy.
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With school over and the teams still training, the last member of the group of friends, who was not the sporting type, was currently in the school library, simply reading a book. Said girl was round the same height as Becca, with shoulder length thick black hair, brown eyes behind red framed glasses and olive skin, she had a skinny build and was dressed rather casually in a dark red mid-thigh skirt, a white tank-top and red flats. Pushing her glasses up her nose and turning the pages of the book, Sarah Chaikin smiled, glancing at her watch.
'Won't be much longer now until the girls are done with practise...I suppose I better get ready to meet them…' She reflected.
Picking up her bag and slinging the strap onto her shoulder she took the book and slid it back onto its place on the shelf. As she did so she paused when she saw a boy looking along the shelves at the back of the library. She didn't see his face but the orange beanie was distinctive enough. She turned and carefully but quickly left the library, hoping he didn't see her, after all she'd heard about him the last thing she wanted was to have any kind of interaction with Gabriel Garcia.
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Sarah's concerns were dissolved as she walked and laughed along with the other four girls, all chatting as they headed home, the other four now changed into their usual casual clothes. Clementine notably was in a rather interesting style which had her wearing a blue schoolgirl skirt, low on her hips and around mid-thigh in length; a white untucked blouse under a matching grey edged sweater vest; a blue tie finished off with white knee socks and black Mary-Janes, along with still wearing her cap. Her clothing style could best be described, apart from the cap, as preppy grunge, at least that's what Clementine herself called it. In comparison Brody was in a denim mini skirt with a red blouse with elbow length sleeves, a pair of white socks and Blue sneakers finished her look. Becca was in denim shorts with a black tank-top, black socks up to just above her knees and dark grey sneakers. Finally Violet wore casual jeans with fashionable rips, a white tank-top under an unzipped grey hoodie and white scuffed sneakers.
"So, you manage to find any good books, Sarah?" Becca asked casually as they walked away from the school.
Sarah smiled lightly. "Yeah, I was reading a good one, but...well, I had to get out of there quickly. There was someone else there-"
"Maybe they just wanted to find a book like you." Brody suggested.
Sarah shook her head. "Nobody else really has the same excuse to be in the library after hours like me. Beside, they wouldn't have anyone to wait for...it was Gabriel Garcia."
Both Becca and Brody tensed at that and Becca made a face.
"Urgh, no wonder you got out quick then." She remarked. "What do you make of this Clem?"
Clem did not reply right away and Violet, whom Brody noted was watching Clem rather intently, asked worriedly.
"Clem, what's wrong?"
That drew all their attention to Clementine who was staring down the street, a look of confusion on her face. She blinked and quickly turned to them and smiled.
"Sorry, I was miles away there." She said, wiping her hands on her skirt.
The girls were confused but said nothing as they resumed their journey, soon parting ways as they went to their respective homes.
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Arriving home first, Sarah closed the door behind her and went to hang up her bag.
"Sarah?"
She smiled and made her way through to the kitchen. "Hi Dad."
Dr. Carlos Chaikin smiled from where he was cooking dinner.
"Welcome home." He greeted her. "How was school?"
"Pretty good." Sarah answered.
Carlos checked the food on the stove before turning to join her at the kitchen table.
He thought for a moment before asking. "So, as I recall, you had a test today?"
"Yeah, I did pretty good...although I won't get the results until tomorrow I'm positive I did well." Sarah replied.
Carlos smiled lightly. "Alright well, I better see to dinner."
"Alright, I'll be down soon." Sarah replied.
With that she went to get freshened up, changed and maybe get a start done on her homework. It was always rather nice and pleasant at home for Sarah, but there had been an undercurrent of her father being perhaps a little overprotective at times, ever since her mother's death. It was what made her sure she'd be better off not mentioning seeing Gabriel in the library at the same time as her, his reputation was well known throughout the whole town after all.
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Entering her own home Brody fought the urge to roll her eyes, stifling a laugh as she heard the two young male voices from the living room. She walked over and stepped inside.
"Hey Daniel, Max."
Her older brothers, Daniel in college, Max also in high school like her, but in his final year, he had no after school activities and so had come straight home.
"Well, hello there little sister." Max replied with a laugh.
She shook her head as she observed the two boys playing video games together.
"Come to see me kick this little runt's butt?" Daniel teased good naturedly as he ruffled Max's hair.
Max laughed. "Give me a break, I'm already beating you."
"Boys, that'll do now." Came the soft gentle voice of Leanne Burress, their mother.
The boys both bit their lips, chastised as Brody giggled.
"Hi mom, they're still competitive as ever." She remarked.
Leanne laughed. "Yes dear, they are."
Brody just smiled, already happy to be home, her father wasn't back from work yet but she knew he would be soon and then it would be dinner time. So she headed upstairs to get ready, looking forward to another enjoyable evening with her family, chaotic but fun, that was always the best way to describe it.
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Becca's return home was met with the sounds of casual but delighted conversation from the living room. Just hearing it brought a smile to her face as she knew right away what it meant. She instantly hurried into the living room.
"Shel!"
Her older sister, 20 year old Shel Jones, a tall lanky woman with short brown hair, brown eyes and lightly tanned skin, grinned as she stood up.
"Hello to you too, Becca."
The sisters hugged and then parted, Becca bit her lip and looked over at their parents, David and Sandra, who were watching them amused. She had been so excited seeing her sister home from college she hadn't greeted them.
"Hi mom, dad…"
They just laughed and David spoke up. "Looks like you were right Shel, she really was so excited to see you."
"I was expecting her to be." Sandra added. "Just maybe not that much."
Becca groaned. "Okay, okay, sorry."
They all just laughed and soon Shel and Becca were talking about their respective days while their parents went to get started on dinner.
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Reaching the small but clean and thankfully safe apartment she lived at with her mother, Violet entered and took a moment to smile and take a deep breath.
"Violet?"
"Hi mom." She replied gently and her mother emerged from the living room.
Amy Adlon smiled at her daughter, she was a slight woman, only a little taller than Violet and it was from her that Violet inherited her blonde hair although Amy's eyes were blue, she was fair skinned and had clearly just returned from job as a waitress at the nearby local diner, still in her work uniform.
"How are you, did you have a good day at school?" Amy asked cheerfully, relieved.
Violet nodded as she followed her mother into the living room. "Yeah, it was good, swimming was great too, I beat my previous best time."
Amy smiled widely and hugged her. "That's wonderful sweetheart."
Violet smiled, pleased at her mother's display of affection. For a long time it had been hard for Violet, due to her father Graham, a violent alcoholic. She never imagined that she'd ever be happy, but then her mother revealed the truth depths of her care for Violet and had ensured that Graham was arrested and they were able to get to a new home, their current apartment.
"So...everything was fine?" Amy asked suddenly.
Violet started at that. "M-mom?"
Amy sighed. "You looked troubled Violet, is there something bothering you?"
"Oh um, it's nothing, really I'm fine. I was just distracted." Violet said quickly, a little too quickly.
Amy looked after her worried as Violet headed to her room. She was biting her lip, trying to control herself, she couldn't let her mother know the truth, not yet, she wasn't ready. Wasn't ready to admit that she had a crush on Clementine.
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Entering her home after getting there, Clementine bit her lip, looking anxious, she checked over her shoulder as if worried before closing the door.
"Clem, honey?"
She turned to see her parents standing there, looking at her in concern. Ed and Diana Hutchison were a very happy loving couple, Ed had a strong build with close-cropped dark brown hair and brown eyes. Diana was of medium height and height, compared to her husband being tall, with curly dark brown hair very similar to her daughter's and hazel eyes.
"What's wrong?" Ed asked, seeing her expression.
Clem bit her lip. "I just...I've got this strange feeling that I'm being followed."
Both of them tensed at that and Diana's hand surreptitiously reached for her phone before she stopped herself.
"Are, are you sure?" She asked worriedly.
Clem shook her head. "No, I'm not. It's just this feeling I can't shake."
Ed considered for a moment. "Hmm, maybe, we should...stay home tonight, if you-"
"No, no, really." Clementine said quickly. "You two have planned this dinner out for ages. It's just one night, right?"
Ed still looked concerned, but Diana was thinking.
"Well, how about this." She looked from her husband to her daughter and back. "We'll go out tonight as arranged, Clem can stay in as we agreed. But just to ease any worries. How about we call Lee next door to keep an eye on things?"
Both Ed and Clementine smiled, clearly liking that suggestion. Lee was Lee Everett, also known as Mr. Everett while in school where he was the History Professor. He was also a close friend of Ed and Diana and was Clementine's godfather. The idea of having him at least being available if there was trouble eased their minds.
So it was, later that evening, that Clementine entered the living room coming from upstairs. Her homework was done and she'd showered and such and was just trying to pass some time. She had changed into just casual shorts and a tank-top which revealed another interesting aspect of Clem, namely that on her left arm, from wrist to elbow, was the dark blue coloured spiral flame design of her tattoo. Said tattoo was always a matter of shock from those who never saw it before and for her parents it had been an issue, at least until she explained why she got it. Which surprisingly led them to accepting it. With a soft smile as she examined her tattoo again, Clem sat down on the sofa and picked up the remote, turning on the TV and such. But what she didn't realize was there was a figure in black at the window, watching her carefully. Before she could even begin to feel eyes on her, her phone rang and she picked it up. Her eyes widened at the unknown number on her phone, biting her lip and being on edge, she answered the call.
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Exiting her house the next day for school, Clementine smiled widely, looking forward to another day. She was dressed up in her strange style again, this time in a red and gold plaid schoolgirl miniskirt with black waistband, low on the hips; a white tab-collared blouse; white knee socks and black Mary-Janes. Pulling her baseball cap on her head again and fixing her bag she stopped, eyes narrowing as her smile disappeared. She walked over the grass to the living room window and looked down, eyes widening in horror.
'What the hell?' She thought with a gasp.
For right there, below her window, were a set of footprints, someone had been watching her last night.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.
