The girl's head seemed to hurt even more as she felt her body move, her whole body hurt, but it was bearable.
The worst was the sharp pain in her leg, and the throbbing in her head.
Clementine wondered why she felt her body move, but her eyes were too heavy to open.
An involuntary groan of pain escaped her lips, and she could hear some muffled noises, similar to a voice, or voices, it was hard to distinguish.
After a while, she felt the hard surface touch her back and the muffled noises increased as they became more audible.
- What the fuck do you think you are doing?
A female voice, apparently angry, was the first thing Clementine heard distinctly, confused that she suddenly had a few more people around her.
Something like an argument broke out around her, and her head throbbed harder as the voices grew louder.
- Where is your humanity? I wouldn't leave a wounded little girl to die in the forest!
A male voice, the most tired of all the voices, penetrated Clementine's ears, and she slowly began to open her eyes.
The first thing she saw was a man in a light brown shirt, brown hair and a small scruffy beard, he had a slightly annoyed, or perhaps tired look on his face, what caught the girl's attention was the machete in his back.
- Have any of you thought that she might be with Carver?
The female voice echoed again, now louder than before, and Clementine began to get irritated with whoever owned that voice.
"Just shut the hell up for once."
She thought, feeling her head throbbing.
Clementine let out a painful sigh and tried to stand up, at least sit up, attracting the attention of the people around her.
- Are you all right, girl?
An old, balding man with a small beard stooped down beside the girl, looking at her worried and curious.
"Really?"
She thought incredulously, getting annoyed at the man's stupid question, but sighed, she didn't want to be rude to a complete stranger, she didn't know what he was capable of.
Clementine- No.
She said simply, placing her hand on her hat, satisfied in knowing that it was still on her head.
- It's wrong man, it's too risky.
Another male voice was present, but the girl simply ignored it.
- Come on Nick, the girl is messed up.
- Who cares?
This "Nick," judging by his voice, replied with a certain ignorance. Clementine would remember those words.
- It would be wrong to leave a wounded little girl in the woods when we have a fucking doctor who can take a look at her. What the fuck is wrong with you people?!
Clementine couldn't care less about the discussion going on around her, her head seemed to explode and her back was burning.
She was really fucked up.
- Don't give us that, Luke, don't act like we're the irrational ones because we don't fucking take it anymore.
The woman yelled again, and the girl almost yelled at her to shut up.
Nick - No way man, a girl would show up in the forest "alone", no way.
- Let me take a look at her.
Another voice, this time a little deeper than the others, interrupted the discussion, and a few heavy steps approached Clementine.
The girl looked up, observing the approaching man. He was tall, with a small beard and expression lines all over his face.
Clementine was hesitant at his approach, trying to back away slightly.
- Don't worry, he's a doctor.
She looked away, watching the man, "Luke," try to comfort her.
He crouched down to her height, looking at the wound on Clementine's temple and then dropping his eyes to the girl's injured leg.
-How did this happen?
he asked, pointing to Clementine's temple.
Clementine-I was shot.
She answered quickly, seeing the hesitant faces of the people around, she assumed they were thinking she might be bitten.
The doctor gently took the girl's chin and turned her head a little to the side, getting a better view of the wound.
- It just grazed you, you' re lucky. What about your leg?
He dropped his chin and put his hands around the girl's wound, turning her leg a bit to get a better look at it.
Clementine- I fell down a cliff.
- Oh, that's bullshit!
The woman shouted again, crossing her arms and looking irritated at Clementine, who resisted the urge to give her the middle finger.
Luke- Rebecca, not now.
Luke said, not looking at the woman, ignoring the death stare she threw in his direction.
- Is she going to be okay, Carlos?
The older man asked, standing up and looking at "Carlos.
Carlos- She's pretty injured, I suppose there are other parts of her body that need treatment since she fell off a cliff, but yeah, she'll be fine.
He replied, standing up and crossing his arms in front of his chest.
Carlos- Why were you shot?
His brown eyes stared into Clementine's golden ones.
Clementine- Some people showed up at our camp, took my group hostage, I tried to escape but they chased me, until some asshole shot me.
She answered, telling the truth but hiding some facts, they didn't need to know.
The girl became suspicious when she saw the looks of fear that formed around her. But she didn't show it, she pretended to be oblivious to those looks.
Luke-... Did they say what they wanted?
He asked awkwardly, making the girl even more suspicious.
"The stares, that fear, that bad mood, were they attacked too? Or they could be part of that group."
Clementine-... I don't know, I was hiding, I ran away as soon as I had the chance.
They looked a little relieved, but those expressions didn't leave their faces.
Luke- So... what do we do with her?
He asked after a few moments of silence, turning to the rest of the group.
Rebecca - I say we leave her in the forest, we have enough problems to worry about.
She crossed her arms again.
Nick- We don't know if what she said is true, I agree with Rebecca.
- We have enough supplies to treat her, we can...
A tall, big, dark-skinned man said in a gentle tone, receiving a reproachful look from Rebecca.
Rebecca- Alvin!
He looked at her, as if realizing that he had said too much.
Alvin- But of course, we... we can't do anything.
" You can speak for yourself."
Clementine thought, rolling her eyes internally, even thinking that the man was a good person, but weak-minded.
Luke- No, Alvin, we can, and I agree with this plan, let's at least help the girl, she stays with us for a while until she recovers, and then she can leave if she wants to.
The older man next to Luke nodded his head in agreement.
Carlos looked at Clementine for a moment, then turned his gaze to the closed cabin door behind him.
After a while, he sighed.
Carlos- Take her to the shed, I'll get some supplies and take care of her injuries, then we'll discuss what to do.
He said, and the discussion came to an end. Carlos walked towards the cabin shortly after, ignoring Rebecca's incredulous look and Nick's angry one.
Rebecca- This is stupid.
She complained again, turning and walking towards the cabin, followed by Alvin.
Luke turned to her, trying to give a comforting smile to the girl, whose face remained unchanged.
She could just turn around and walk away, but the way she was, she was taking a lot more risks, she couldn't go very far, not without food and no place to stay.
But she also had her doubts about whether it was advantageous to stay with them, but on the bright side, she would get treatment, and be free to leave soon after.
At least, she hoped so.
Luke - What's your name, girl? We haven't introduced ourselves yet.
She looked at him for a moment.
Clementine- Carley.
She answered, cursing herself internally for choosing the name of the person she didn't like.
Luke - Well, nice to meet you, Carley, I'm Luke, this here is Pete.
He pointed to the older man, who nodded at her.
Luke - This is Nick, and, well, you've heard the names of the others. Don't worry about them, it's... they're just a little... tired lately.
He said in a friendly tone.
"Everyone is tired."
She thought, but kept quiet.
Nick- Let's go.
He started walking, sighing irritated. The girl rolled her eyes and brought her hands to her back, widening her eyes at not feeling the handle of her machete.
Clementine- My machete, where is it?
She asked seriously, looking at Luke, ignoring Nick's grumbling.
Pete- Here, we had to take it out to make you a little more comfortable. But you won't need that for now, will you? I'll give it back to you when...
He tried to say, but the girl interrupted him, restless, agitated, in a way almost hysterical.
Clementine - Yes, I do!
She approached Pete with a serious expression on her face, exchanging a few glances with Luke.
Luke- Look, Carley, I understand that you want your weapon back, okay? I really do, but you also have to understand that we can't risk it, even though we're helping you, we don't know you.
Luke explained, trying to say it in the friendliest tone he could as he noticed the girl's change.
Clementine didn't look at him, her eyes focused on the blade in Pete's hands.
She had never let go of that machete in years, she carried it everywhere, always kept it close by.
She didn't want to leave something so important in the hands of complete strangers.
But, she was more rational than emotional, and she knew that they were also at risk if she carried a gun around.
She knew what she herself was capable of, and it was no small thing.
Clementine-... Don't let anyone touch it, it's... important.
She said defeated, walking towards the shed, ignoring Luke and Pete's stares.
Pete- Don't worry, you can come and get it back in the morning.
He said with a small smile on his face, turning and walking towards the hut, not noticing Clementine's intense gaze on the blade.
