- What the fuck was that?!
Kenny asked, shouting loudly as he killed one of the zombies around him, stabbing his knife into the man's rotten skull. If he could even call that "thing" a man.
The group's situation didn't look too good. One moment they were walking calmly towards the top of a hill, following the smoke from a large fire up ahead, hopeful that they had found what they were looking for after walking for so long.
And in another moment, in the blink of an eye, they were surrounded by zombies after a big explosion had happened, which was probably the reason for the intense smoke.
- Guys, we can't stay here!
Mike shouted, shooting a zombie in the head after losing his knife, jumping back after almost being grabbed by some cold hands.
- Me, Luke and Duck will clear the way!
Kenny shouted, grabbing his rifle from his back and joining the other two, starting to shoot the zombies ahead as they walked, opening a small passage.
Clementine was shooting walkers from the side, killing all those who came too close to her.
Jane was shooting at her side, killing a few zombies with the ice pick she kept in her pocket whenever she could.
Right next to Jane was Crista. The woman was protecting AJ with one arm and shooting at the zombies with the other, occasionally kicking them backwards, stunning those around her.
Clementine glanced to the side, focusing her eyes, just for a few moments, on Sarah.
The girl had one of Carlos' arms over her torso, she was literally under his "wing".
Clementine rolled her eyes and sighed angrily, returning her focus to the approaching zombies.
After a while, they finally made it up the hill, and her eyes widened as she saw the widespread chaos ahead.
Trucks were parked in front of walls, now collapsed and on fire. People were desperately running out of what had once been a community, and apparently a very large one.
Clementine sharpened her gaze as she noticed some people shooting at each other, especially a line of men and women who were shooting at the survivors as they moved further and further into the community.
Or what was left of it.
The girl raised her pistol, preparing herself. It was pretty obvious the situation ahead, these people were not friendly at all, and even if they were, she wasn't going to stand there to find out.
- What the fuck?!
Luke shouted, pushing one of the zombies down while he focused his eyes on the massacre that was happening up ahead.
- It looks like... oh shit!
Jane was about to say something, but screamed when she saw some people pointing guns in her direction.
Clementine shot first, killing one of the women there and forcing the others to run for cover.
- We have to go!
Kenny shouted, also firing in their direction as he ran to the side, away from the zombies that tried to grab him, and the bullets that flew in his direction.
The whole group started to run, trying to dodge the flurry of bullets that were launched at them.
Kenny managed to reach a tree, where he took cover and leaned on it, firing at the people ahead.
- Let's go! I'm almost out of ammo!
he shouted, reloading his rifle with his last magazine.
Duck ran and slid into the tree next to Kenny, also shooting in the same direction. The boy cursed softly as he ran out of bullets in his rifle, and was forced to use his pistol.
Clementine heard a groan behind her. She turned quickly and saw Crista with a pained expression on her face, holding AJ tightly against her body with her left arm, while her right was bleeding from the gunshot wound.
- Give him to me!
Clementine shouted, shooting three times at people as she ran towards Crista.
The woman looked reluctant at first, but sighed in defeat and handed the baby to Clementine, who took it in a hurry, not caring much whether she was holding it the right way or not.
The girl's golden eyes widened as two zombies approached from behind Crista. One of them grabbed her by the hair, and pulled her back hard, while the other tried to bite the woman's neck.
Clementine ran to the side, getting into a better position to shoot. She aimed forward and pulled the trigger, using her last bullets to free Crista from the grip of the zombies.
The woman groaned slightly and looked at Clementine, somewhat surprised and relieved.
Another scream was heard, and the two looked at Sarah, who was on the ground, having her leg pulled by a zombie.
The same people who were shooting at them were also shooting the dead, which was great, as it bought them a little time.
Clementine shook her head as she looked at the girl's desperation, she would even help if she hadn't run out of ammo.
"Fuck Sarah! You have a fucking pistol! Just shoot it!"
Clementine thought, getting annoyed at the girl's waste of time, she wasn't in such a difficult situation to get so desperate, she could just turn around, grab her pistol, and shoot.
Simple.
But she didn't, too frightened to think about the possibility.
Carlos acted faster, he pulled his pistol and shot the zombie that was holding Sarah, and held her by the shoulders, helping her up.
That small and simple movement, unfortunately, cost him his life.
He stood in front of Sarah as he stood up, and because of this, he was hit in the neck by a bullet, which would have hit the girl in the head if he had not been in front.
Carlos' eyes widened and he put his hands on his neck, quickly drowning in his own blood.
- NO!
Sarah screamed in despair as she saw her father being shot, widening her eyes and putting her arms against her body as she stared in horror at the blood pouring out of Carlos' neck.
Clementine grumbled slightly, an important member of the group had been shot in the neck because of a useless member, no matter how many ways she saw it, it had not been a fair trade.
Carlos knelt down, still with his hands around his neck.
His desperate gaze stopped on Clementine, and a silent plea flashed through the man's eyes.
Clementine sighed, she knew what she had to do at that moment, although it was risky, at least it would be a way to pay her respects, as well as a mercy killing.
The girl ran towards Carlos and picked up his gun from the ground. In one swift movement, she aimed the pistol at his head and pulled the trigger, without hesitation, without blinking.
Sarah watched the whole thing in slow motion, her chest tightening as she watched Clemetine aim the gun at her father's head. And she almost screamed at the top of her lungs when she saw the girl blow Carlos' brains out.
She just didn't scream, because she couldn't, her voice was stuck in her throat, the air was missing in her lungs.
A wave of sadness invaded her chest, then only pain, a sharp, excruciating pain. The urge to cry almost completely overwhelmed her.
But soon, after all those feelings of anguish, something she had almost never felt before, overwhelmed her chest.
Clementine called out for Sarah a few times, trying to get her to come to her senses and start walking again, Carlos would have died in vain if she was killed there too.
But she stopped herself when she looked into Sarah's eyes.
The girl was looking at her with anger, with hatred. A fiery gleam now inhabited the once calm and gentle eyes of the girl in front of her.
She could not help but be surprised; the girl had never shown any strong feelings except fear.
But despite all the anger in the girl's eyes, Clementine was not intimidated, in fact, she cared little about it at that moment.
She was concerned with something else.
- All right! If you want to die here, so be it!
She shouted after a while, shooting at the people again as she turned and ran towards the group, who were waiting for them in the forest.
- We can't leave her there!
Crista shouted as she ran past Clementine, heading towards Sarah.
Clementine grumbled angrily and turned around, only to see Crista being shot in the stomach, a bullet that should hit, again, the girl's head.
"How many people have to die before she decides to get out of there?!"- Clementine thought, feeling her blood boil as she saw Crista still trying to push Sarah forward, and it was only after that, that the girl seemed to "wake up" to the situation they were in.
It was only after that that she started running towards the forest, with heavy tears streaming down her face as she looked deadly at Clementine, who was tempted to put a bullet in her head for giving her that look.
Sarah seemed to care little about the sacrifice that two people made for her, finding it more important to look deadly at Clementine, than to be grateful for the two people who died.
Clementine ignored Sarah and looked at Crista, who was shot again, this time in the chest.
She sighed heavily and raised her gun, shooting the woman in the head, running back to the group a short time later.
-I think... we're far away enough.
Mike said, leaning against a tree while panting heavily, putting his hands on his knees and bowing his head.
- But... but what the fuck... was that?
Luke asked, putting his hands on his waist as he looked around, also panting.
-... Fuck... we lost two people.
Carley said after a few moments, with a sad tone in her voice. The woman sighed and put her hands over her face, shaking her head as she mourned the death of those who were gone.
-... Carlos was shot in the neck. Crista was shot too.
Duck said, sitting down beside Carley as he looked down, leaning his back on the tree behind him.
- We saw it. We all saw it.
Jane said, looking strangely at Clementine, who arched an eyebrow.
-What? Is that my fault, by any chance?
she asked, becoming slightly annoyed by the look on Jane's face.
She had nothing to do with those deaths, she only put people out of their misery, nothing more. Better they had been killed with a bullet in the head than left there to be devoured alive by zombies, and in the end come back as one of them.
- No, that's not what I'm saying, it's just that...
Jane began, but stopped herself when she saw Sarah pointing her pistol in the girl's direction.
Clementine looked at Sarah with arched eyebrows, surprised at her attitude, and especially annoyed.
If someone pointed a gun at her, whoever it was had better make sure she was dead.
Otherwise, she would kill the person without hesitation.
-... You killed my father...
Sarah said in a low voice, amidst sobs that came involuntarily out of her throat as she cried.
Her hands were trembling, and her eyes were narrowed, unable to see properly due to the heavy tears that insisted on running down her face.
- Whoa, easy there Sarah, that wasn't Clem's fault.
Luke said, raising his arms and walking slowly towards the girl, trying to calm her down.
- THAT'S A LIE! SHE KILLED HIM!
The girl shouted, swinging the gun toward Clementine, who just stared at her intensely, coldly.
- She didn't kill Carlos, Sarah. He was shot in the neck, he was going to die, she did what was necessary.
Duck said, also trying to calm the girl down, and like Luke, slowly approaching her with his arms up.
Clementine just sighed and took a few slow steps to the side, she knew that Sarah wouldn't have the courage to shoot her, and even if she did, she had a great chance of missing. She was trembling and with tears blocking her vision.
But still, she walked cautiously to the side and handed AJ to Carley.
Not so as not to put the baby at risk, but rather, because she could move easier that way.
- Shoot, let's see if you have the guts.
Clementine said, in a calm, and dangerously cold tone.
She didn't raise her hands, she didn't feel uncomfortable, she just looked steadily at Sarah.
- Whoa, Clem, come on.
Kenny said, looking slightly incredulous at the girl, who just ignored him.
Sarah trembled some more, and she began to sob harder.
Clementine sighed angrily and advanced towards the girl, taking the gun from her hands, holding the pistol by the barrel and giving Sarah a strong blow to the head, sending her to the ground.
Blood dripped from the girl's wounded forehead.
- Clem! Take it easy!
Luke said, somewhat loudly, scolding the girl for her sudden action, but she just ignored him.
- You can't shoot me, you're too weak for that. Useless!
Clementine said with disdain, looking scornfully at the girl below her, who stared at her in surprise.
- I didn't kill your father, Sarah. You did! You killed him, because of your incompetence.
She practically spat out those words, looking deep into the girl's surprised and broken eyes.
- You could have done something to get rid of it. I taught you to fucking shoot! Is this fucking gun just a toy to you?!
Clementine said angrily, removing the magazine from the girl's pistol, which, by the way, was still full, and putting it in her pocket. If Sarah wouldn't use it, she would.
- Fuck! I guess i should have shot you, maybe then Crista would still be alive. She was certainly more important to the group than you are! At least we could trust her to do something to help.
She finished saying, throwing the pistol without a magazine at the feet of Sarah, who was now crying loudly as she curled up, hugging her own body.
- Okay Clementine, she gets it, okay? That was enough!
Luke said, and Clementine felt like telling him to shut up.
There was so much she wanted to say, so much that she wanted to spit in her face, but she decided to keep quiet.
Besides, Sarah was in no condition to hear another single word coming from her, so even if she decided to keep going, she would probably just be talking into the wind.
"At least the wind is still more useful than her" - She thought, rolling her eyes in irritation.
- Oh, does she really understand, Luke? Two people died so that she could live, because of her! And then she tries to put the blame on me. And she pointed the fucking gun at my fucking head! She better have understood, because the next time she points a gun at me, i'll kill her.
She said, turning and walking in some random direction, sitting a little further away from the group, looking at the ground as she sighed tiredly.
She could kill Sarah at that moment, the girl was more trouble than help, and that had already killed two people.
But Clementine would not do it, precisely because two people had sacrificed themselves so that the girl would stay alive. Killing her now would make their death in vain.
She had always known that Sarah's way would end up killing someone, and she had always made this clear to the people around her, as well as saying it to the girl's face.
But it didn't do any good, it seemed as if she had said all that to a wall.
She caught a glimpse of Kenny walking toward her.
She laughed humorlessly as he leaned in beside her.
- Did you come here to scold me?
She asked, nothing could convince her that she was wrong, and deep down she knew that the others knew it too.
-... Not exactly. The girl needs to grow up, that's true, but you could have taken it a little easier, you know? She just lost her father.
He said in a soft tone, making Clementine calm down a little more.
- I could have taken it a little easier, yes, but I didn't want to. I told the truth, and the truth hurts. She has to learn, Kenny, she has to get better, and fast. We lost two members because of her. I'm not just saying this for the group, but for her sake too.
Clementine said, crossing her arms and looking at Sarah, who was crying on Luke's shoulder.
Kenny sighed, bowing his head and crossing his arms.
- Yeah... I know. The world is no longer for children. And I admit that Carlos spoiled her a lot... She's going to hate you now.
He said, sitting down next to Clementine, looking somewhat kindly at Sarah.
- If it will make her stop being a spoiled brat and stop putting others at risk, so be it. It's a good thing. Anger is a great motivation.
She replied, not caring that she would be hated. She never needed Sarah for anything, and she wouldn't need her anytime soon.
She had gained nothing when she had a friendly relationship with the girl, and she certainly would gain nothing if she hated her.
Clementine thought that Sarah would be smart enough not to try something against her.
-... Well, yeah. Hm, Lee told me something similar, a while back.
He said, somewhat nostalgically, making Clementine look at him, curious.
- It was when we were talking, shortly after he woke up. He told me that anger always overcomes fear. And I had never stopped to think about it that way.
Kenny explained, looking gently at Clementine, while supporting his arm on his knee.
- Because of the anger, she can start killing the zombies, without letting the fear overwhelm her. Because of the anger she feels toward you, she can strive to get better and better. Anger is a great motivator, as you said. Same thing with Lee.
He finished saying, leaning his head against the trunk of the tree and closing his eyes, tired.
- How's that?
The girl asked, taking the mag she had put in her pocket and reloading her pistol.
-... We were talking about the day he stormed that building. One man, against a whole community, and in the end, he succeeded. I asked him if he wasn't scared by all that, you know? The zombies, all those people with guns. The chances of him being killed were extremely high.
He replied, looking again at Clementine, who had a certain glint in her glance. Happiness, pride, surprise, too many things to identify.
- He told me he was terrified. He said he had never felt so afraid in his whole life. So, I asked him, "how did you get over it?"
He paused for a moment, scratching his beard as he remembered Lee's words.
- And he answered, "Anger. Every time I thought about Clementine, i became angry with the man who kidnapped her. I wanted to kill him, to make him suffer, and to do that, I had to do the most insane thing of my life. I was so angry that my fear became almost irrelevant."
He finished saying, bowing his head and looking down at the ground with a certain amount of regret.
Clementine continued to stare at him for some time, just thinking about his words. It was amazing how she could change at the mere mention of Lee's name.
- But still. Lee managed to control his anger to the point where he could use it to his advantage... hell, you saw what he did to that place. Let's just hope that Sarah is able to stay rational, and not do something stupid because of anger.
Kenny said after a few moments, getting up and walking towards the center of the group, where he and the others began to discuss what they would do from then on.
Clementine just kept quiet, glancing at Sarah, who had stopped crying and was just staring at the floor, while hugging her own knees.
She doubted that Sarah would try anything, even if she got angry.
"... Even if she tries, she better make sure I'm dead... otherwise..." - Clementine thought, shaking her head slightly and getting up, going to join in the small discussion that had formed.
