Clementine watched with her eyes as Kenny sat down in a chair not far from her. She then looked around, observing the circle of people that had formed around the fire.
Her golden eyes fell on the woman furthest away.
She hadn't talked to Jane so far, although they exchanged a few glances now and then.
Kenny looked back one last time, making sure there were no guards around to hear their conversation.
Kenny- Okay, did Luke talk to anyone else?
He asked, looking at the people around.
Rebecca- Is he here?
Kenny- Yes, he found us when Troy wasn't looking.
Clementine- How did he get in?
Kenny- Amazingly enough, he said he got in by jumping over the fence outside. Well, it's small enough for someone to jump over it, I was just surprised that Troy, or that woman, Tavia, didn't see him come in.
The girl looked up. Troy and Tavia were standing guard on the roof, with a few other people at different times, it was a surprise no one had seen Luke come in, even more so since from the roof you could see the entire length of the parking lot outside, and even movement in the forest.
" No way, he must have gotten in some other way... or asked for someone's help..." - She wondered thoughtfully, suspicious of Luke's half-baked excuse.
Sarita- So, what else did he say?
Mike- He said he would do his best to help, and that it would be good if we could get one of the radios for him. You know, to monitor the movement of the guards and all that.
Nick- That would be great, but there are so many guards all over the place, how are we going to get out with so many eyes watching us?
Clementine- There is a horde passing by, isn't there?
They looked at her, surprised and confused.
Rebecca- Yes... and?
Clementine- We can use this. Carver mentioned that the horde was huge, we can bring them here.
They were thoughtful, some clearly hesitant about the idea, others agreed.
Kenny- It's not a bad idea, especially with those speakers outside. It's going to be chaos in here, and no one will be paying attention to us.
Mike-... You're not serious.
Mike, as well as Rebecca and Nick, didn't seem too convinced by the idea, and even Clementine had to admit that it was risky... but in the situation they were in, anything they decided to do would be risky.
"Everything we will ever do is dangerous."
Rebecca- You want to kill us with walkers before Bill does. Great," she said ironically, bowing her head in disapproval.
Carlos - And how do you plan to get the walkers' attention?
Clementine- Noise, really loud. The P.A. system that Carver always uses. And there are some speakers outside, aimed at the parking lot. The controls are in Carver's office.
Rebecca- She's right...
Kenny- This is great! We just have to find a way into Carver's office.
He lowered his head, bent over and propped his elbows on his knees.
Rebecca - Look, to me, this plan is pretty stupid. Too dangerous, I'd rather give the radio to Luke and wait for an opening, it's more reasonable that way.
Clementine - Everything is dangerous, Rebecca. If Luke is caught with the radio, if Carver finds out, we are all screwed anyway. I'd rather face a predictable horde than a man like Carver. There's no telling what he'll do.
She leaned her back against the chair, relaxed her body a little more and lifted her head, looking up at the few visible stars.
Kenny- She's right. Whatever we decide, we'll be taking a risk.
Duck-... If we succeed in attracting the horde... what will we do?
Clementine/Kenny- We cover ourselves with their guts.
They both exchanged a complicit look, smiling amusedly at each other, momentarily ignoring the incredulous looks around.
Jane-... Huh, this might work.
The woman said, approaching the group quietly.
Mike-... Those are the first words I've ever heard you say, and it's something stupid.
Kenny- Actually Mike, it can work, I've done it before, just keep calm and you'll walk side by side with them.
Despite his words, Mike didn't seem very convinced.
Clementine didn't blame him, it was something that even she took a while to get used to.
Duck- Okay, so we take the radios, hand them over to Luke. Then we turn on those microphones and attract the horde...how are we going to get out of here? I mean, only Troy and Bonnie have the keys to open the gate lock.
Clementine- I can take care of that. I work with Bonnie, I can try to work something out.
Duck looked at her and nodded.
Clementine glanced quickly at the two women who had said nothing all night. Crista looked more dead than the walkers outside, gloomy, silent, she didn't even seem to hear the conversation going on right in front of her.
It even seemed as if she didn't want to live anymore.
She just woke up, heard what she had to hear, did what she had to do, and went back to sleep, dead inside.
She and the walkers were no longer so different, both were empty and no longer had a destiny, no longer had a purpose.
In her case, she chose to have no purpose, and that was what irritated Clementine. She understood why Crista felt that way, but if it was so hard to stay alive, the woman could talk to her.
Clementine would have no problem stabbing the woman in the head, or putting a bullet in her skull, if it was her wish.
As for Carley, the woman was not sad, or consumed by her own feelings like Crista, she was just serious, quiet, and bitter. She had apparently listened carefully to the whole conversation, but chose not to say anything.
The girl just shook her head, sighing and looking away from the women.
Kenny- Okay, the radios are in the storage room, right? How do we get them?
He asked, and Clementine looked up at the half broken staircase.
Clementine- Maybe we can get in through the roof?
She said, remembering the skylights she had seen earlier, in particular, one that led directly into Carver's office. She had noticed when she had talked to him earlier that day.
Jane-exactly what I was thinking. Come on, girl.
She nodded, walking toward the corner of the yard, looking at the rope.
Jane- We just need to use the winch, she can just climb up she comes down through one of those skylights above the warehouse, there's some shelves and some stuff for her to land on then... she'll be fine... probably.
"Great" - She thought wryly.
(I've changed practically nothing in that part, so I'll just skip to another one)
Clementine glanced at Kenny, who was putting the radio inside his jacket and zipping it up soon after, hiding the object.
Kenny- Okay, I'll give the radio to Luke, Clementine will try to find a way to get the keys, if all goes well, tonight we can get out of here.
The gate opened, and Troy, next to Tavia, approached the group.
Troy- Okay princesses, let's get to work!
He said in his typical annoying tone, and everyone started to leave the yard, going to their respective works.
Tavia- Come on girl.
Clementine followed the woman, mentally preparing herself for her performance. She could consider herself lucky, even though she had been hard on Bonnie the day before, the woman was emotionally shaken, guilty, which made her easily manipulable.
Tavia opened the door to the armory and Clementine entered, looking at Bonnie with an embarrassed expression, bowing her head a little.
"Well, here we go."
Clementine approached Bonnie hesitantly, putting both arms behind her back and looking down at the floor, occasionally raising her gaze to the woman, who looked at her in confusion.
Clementine- Hey... Bonnie... I'm... I'm sorry for the way I acted yesterday.
She started to act right after she heard the door close behind her, looking at the woman's surprised expression.
Bonnie- What? Oh no honey, you don't have to apologize...
Clementine- Yes, I do!
She interrupted her, putting her arms in front of her body and grabbing her wrist, turning her face to the side, the same way Sarah did.
Clementine - I was angry, you know?Two of my friends died, I was kidnapped by a scary man and taken to an unknown place. I was really upset, but that's no excuse for me to have acted that way with you. I'm sorry.
She said in an "innocent" tone, getting a guilty expression on her face and making her voice a little shaky, turning that simple act into a real apology, in the woman's eyes.
Bonnie placed the magazine on the table, looking at the girl warmly and kindly.
Bonnie- Don't worry about it honey, I understand. I don't blame you for acting that way, what I did was... horrible, to say the least. I'm the one who should apologize.
Clementine gave the woman a small smile, a shy and grateful smile, though she smiled broadly on the inside when she saw that the woman had believed in her lies.
Clementine-... I know you work at night, I saw you walking around here yesterday. I can help, you know? It's okay if I go to bed a little later, I can't sleep too well out in the... yard anyway.
She sat down across from the woman, picking up one of the magazines on the table.
Bonnie- Oh sweetie, you don't have to, I could never ask you for something like that.
Clementine- It's okay, I want it. I was really rude with you yesterday...and it would be nice to get to know each other a little more...you know?
She gave a bright smile to the woman, who smiled back, relieved and even a little happy with the girl.
Bonnie- Are you sure you want to? You don't have to do that.
Clementine- Yes, I'm sure.
They smiled at each other and began their "friendly" conversation.
Bonnie really thought that the girl was being sincere, and that she could have a good relationship with her.
Clementine, on the other hand, was smiling broadly inside at the ease with which she was fooling Bonnie. It was going so smoothly, it was funny.
And she mentally thanked the day she had seen Lee do the same thing.
