Clementine looked at Carlos and Sarah from the deck, her legs dangling slightly between the railing bars, mentally cursing that she was right. Carlos was very hesitant about teaching Sarah, and the girl was learning nothing except to waste the ammo they didn't have.
And what's worse, they had been at it for hours, it took too long for Carlos to actually convince the girl (or convince himself) that she had to be of some help to the group, or maybe he was just winding her up. Clementine didn't know which was worse, that overprotectiveness of Carlos, or the childishness of the girl, it was a bit of a hard choice, honestly.
"Would all parents be like that?" - She thought in disbelief, looking at the girl, who missed another shot. They probably wouldn't be, since Kenny had so far not scolded Duck for using a gun, or pointing it at someone's head.
Not to mention that it was Lee who taught her how to kill, although she well remembers him not wanting her to learn anything of the sort, it wasn't too hard to convince him to teach her.
She watched Carlos' expressions, and every time Sarah missed the glass bottle, his eyes seemed to be content, which made Clementine somewhat irritated.
"So you want her to miss her shots and die, Carlos?! Son of a bitch" - She thought again, already thinking of going down there and teaching the girl herself, maybe then Sarah would learn something useful.
Her golden eyes focused on Duck, who looked just as annoyed as she was and started walking towards the two of them. However, she was a little confused when she saw that the boy picked up his rifle and started to run with a somewhat worried expression on his face.
The girl stepped away from the bars and stood up, looking toward the forest.
She caught a glimpse of two men walking back into the woods. She hadn't seen much, didn't know if they were armed (which they certainly were), what they looked like, or really how many there were.
She cursed softly and reached for her pistol at her waist, until her mind remembered the radios they had taken from Carver, which she had completely forgotten about.
She walked towards Rebecca with some haste, stooping down and looking for the radio in the things scattered on the floor. She found it in a corner, near the wall opposite Rebecca.
- Hello ... is anyone listening to this shit? - she asked, ducking behind the small counter in the room and momentarily ignoring Rebecca's gaze.
- Clem? What's wrong? I kind of forgot that we had these radios now. - Luke said on the other line, and she could hear some voices in the background, talking about something she couldn't quite hear.
- I saw two men go into the forest, apparently, Duck too. - She said quickly, walking up to the deck and looking at the forest again, not finding the men, but aware, they were still around, that was for sure.
- Two men? Clem, it will take us a while to get back there, we are already in town. - He said, his voice getting a little muffled by the loud background noise, the others were either too loud, or they were shouting for help. And Clementine, for some reason, believed more in the first option.
- Okay, so far I've only seen two, if there are more I'll let you know. And if it gets too dangerous, we'll have no choice but to leave. - The girl said, a little suspicious because of the loud background noise, now a little more audible, as if someone were slapping someone? And why was Luke's voice so breathy? Were they fighting with someone?
Luke didn't answer, which made the girl a little more suspicious.
- What's going on? - Rebecca's tired voice brought her out of her thoughts. Clementine looked at her and sighed, putting the radio around her waist and looking strangely at the woman.
- I saw two men in the forest. Get ready to leave this place if necessary. - She said, walking towards the deck and down the stairs, ignoring a somewhat worried look from the woman behind her.
Clementine walked toward the trio ahead, looking at Duck, who pointed his rifle in the direction the men were standing.
- Any sign of them? - she asked, stepping closer to the boy and looking in the same direction that he was pointing his rifle.
- You saw them too? As soon as I took the rifle and ran, they went back into the forest. If they have a big group, we're screwed. - Duck said, lowering the rifle slowly, but without taking his eyes off the forest.
Clementine sighed, the surrounding trees were hiding anything that could get close to them. They would be surrounded in a matter of moments, if a large group decided to ambush them.
- Maybe we can go to one of the buildings nearby. We can find Carley and Crista. - The girl suggested, but soon after, she herself dismissed the idea.
The men were still nearby, and since the forest hid them very well, they could follow them without even noticing. The best option would be to have the whole group together, then they would discuss what to do.
- They can observe us very easily through this forest. We just have to hope that our group comes back before they decide to do something. - Duck said after a moment, causing Clementine to sigh slightly.
Her golden eyes then focused on Charles, and then on Sarah.
- You know what? Carlos, I'll teach her. Go check on Rebecca, you're a doctor, not a teacher. - The girl said, walking towards them both and taking the pistol from Sarah, who was looking at her with a mixture of surprise, fear and doubt.
Carlos looked at her hesitantly, closing his eyes for a few moments, thinking about what to do. It was obvious that he wasn't enjoying this at all, but Clementine didn't care. This was the way it was going to be, and Carlos didn't have to like shit. Sarah was old enough to make her own decisions, the problem was that she had been so spoiled by her father, had been under his wing for so long, that she had become dependent on him.
Clementine's next step was to get the two of them as far apart as possible, and for as long as she could.
- Just... take it easy... - He said after a few moments, looking strangely at the girl.
- Taking it easy didn't help Carlos, you are wasting the ammo we don't have. You've got to stop spoiling Sarah, you've got to let her take care of herself, for God's sake. - Clementine replied a little irritated, standing next to Sarah and pushing a little further forward, narrowing the distance between her and the glass bottle.
- That's true, Carlos. Sarah is 14 years old, older than me. She should at least know how to deal with walkers by now. - Duck said, turning to the man for a moment, and looking back at the forest a moment later, starting to walk back and forth.
Carlos didn't answer, he crossed his arms and sighed defeated, walking towards the stairs shortly after, looking back with some hesitation before climbing the steps.
- Okay Sarah. First thing, this is the safety lock, it will stay locked the whole time, unless you want to kill someone, or some walker. - Clementine began, from the time she had been watching Carlos, he didn't seem to have taught her about this, which was pretty much the basics.
Sarah looked a little startled to hear the girl say "kill someone", but remained quiet, trying to concentrate on her explanation.
- Aim the gun. - She said, and Sarah did. Clementine pulled her arms back a little more.
- Don't lock your elbows. Before you shoot, hold your breath, it will stabilize your aim more.
She explained, looking in the direction in which Sarah had her gun pointed, making sure she would hit her target.
- Control your breathing, be calm. Focus your eyes only on your target.
- A little to the right... hold... shoot. - She said, and another shot echoed through the forest, followed by the sound of shattering glass.
Duck looked with some interest at the broken glass, and then at the few approaching walkers. It had taken them a while to find the source of the noise.
- I did it! - the girl exclaimed happily, causing Clementine to look at her somewhat curiously.
"It's about time - she thought, rolling her eyes internally.
- Always aim for the head. Moving targets are different from stationary targets, much harder to hit. You're in a group, so if you have to, there's no need to get desperate and waste what little ammo you have, just stay calm, take aim, hold your breath, and then shoot. You'll get used to it after a while.
Clementine explained, walking towards a walker and killing it with her machete. The ease with which she did this sometimes impressed Sarah.
Clementine dealt with the dead as if they were nothing more than an inconvenience.
It was almost impossible not to admire, at least a little, Clementine and Duck, who despite being younger and, in Clementine's case, shorter than her, were as strong as adults themselves.
- For humans, you don't necessarily have to aim for the head, shoot them in the chest, abdomen and they die, simple. - She said, cleaning her machete and putting it back in its sheath, watching the girl's somewhat hesitant look.
-people? I don't want to kill people. - She said in a low tone, lowering the gun and looking at the ground, making Clementine sigh and roll her eyes, again.
- I don't give a fuck. Nobody in this world gives a fuck what you want! You either do what you have to do, or you die, simple! You just have to accept it! - She said, slightly annoyed with the girl, who looked as if she still hadn't opened her eyes, even after everything that had happened.
She ignored the girl's sad and hurt look, and focused on the approaching walkers. They were few enough for her and Duck to handle, but the number could increase at any moment.
Clementine looked at Duck and nodded, and soon, the two of them ran towards the walkers, going to different sides and separating the dead from the group that had formed.
Sarah stood back there, just staring at the small slaughter that was unfolding in front of her. She wanted to go to them and help kill the walkers, but she couldn't, she was afraid, her hands were shaking at the thought of it.
So when they finished killing them, and walked towards her covered in blood, she couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by their appearance.
Clementine walked to the river and washed the blade of her machete, taking the opportunity to splash some water on her dirty face. She stood there on the bank, crouching down as she watched the water take its course. It was strangely relaxing to watch nature. Most of the time, it did not reflect the chaos that dominated the world, and hid these horrible things with glimmering landscapes.
Clementine knew that this was something false, despite the beauty of the river, the trees, they only served to hide the rot that spread over the land.
But still, it was relaxing, just to stop for a moment, and observe nature.
- You really have made a small massacre here. - A female voice, very different from the ones she was used to, came from behind the girl.
Clementine turned quickly, grabbing the pistol at her waist and pointing it at the woman ahead of her. She was blonde, short in stature, and had hard expression lines on her face, hidden by a "gentle" smile. She looked at Duck, and alternated her gaze to Sarah and Clementine, occasionally, as if analyzing them.
The strangest thing, was that she was not holding a gun in her hands.
"She's with those men...maybe?" - She thought, standing a few feet away next to Duck, aiming her pistol at the woman's head.
The woman focused her caramel eyes on Clementine, staring at her for some time, with a strange glint in her eye.
- Are you lost, miss? - Duck asked, pointing his rifle at the woman's head, who was not intimidated and looked at him with a smile.
Two men approached right behind the woman, the same men Duck had seen earlier. Both were bald, and one was a big man with tattoos on his head.
- We usually stay hidden for safety. But, you see, there has been an... "incident" with one of our friends. And you are the only people around, so... just put your guns down and let's have a... "conversation". - The woman said, taking out a revolver and aiming it at Duck.
Clementine looked at her friend, who was staring back at her.
"Three against three, and we have Carlos upstairs...I think we can get out of this...if Sarah cooperates." - Clementine thought and looked at the girl.
Sarah was trembling, her eyes were wide with fear, restless as she looked at the guns pointed in her direction. She was breathing heavily and was terrified.
" Fucking hell!"- Clementine thought angrily, she couldn't count on Sarah on that one, and she couldn't just shoot, only if Duck pulled the trigger and didn't let go until he ran out of ammo, since he was carrying a rifle.
The problem, was that both men were with shotguns, and at that distance, even if they were hit by Duck, they would still be able to shoot the boy.
With no choices, Clementine sighs and shakes her head, slowly raising her arms as she throws her pistol to the ground.
