- What the fuck are we going to do now?
Sarah asked beside her, as agitated as Clementine.
The girl just ignored her, her mind working fast, thinking somewhere, any chance of where they might have been taken.
But it was useless, she didn't know where they were, not exactly. She didn't know her surroundings, she had no place in mind.
"Shit" - Clementine thought angrily, starting to pace around, thoughtfully.
A snap echoed in her mind, she looked around one more time before running back into the forest, heading towards the place where they were approached earlier.
She ignored Sarah's call, focusing only on finding the body of the woman she had killed.
Upon reaching the spot, Clementine picks up the rifle from the ground and places it on her back, right next to her machete. She then walks towards the woman's body and begins to analyze it, making Sarah look very curious.
- What the fuck are you doing?
the girl asked, getting slightly irritated to see that Clementine just ignored her again.
Sarah stood beside her, and her eyes narrowed when she saw the mark on the woman's skin, just above her wrist.
- She is one of them... which means that we know where they were taken. We just have to figure out how to get there.
Clementine said, taking her machete and stabbing it into the woman's head, preventing her from turning back.
The girl stood up and sighed tiredly, she should be surprised that they had gone this long without anything bad happening.
Her concern turned to AJ. She knew that Kenny wouldn't let anything happen to the boy, but his hands would be tied if the community was as large as she heard.
And from the countless encounters they had with those people in the past, the community was huge.
She took a few deep breaths, calming herself down and thinking more rationally.
- Okay, let's go towards the gunshots, maybe they didn't take the others.
She said after she calmed down, running in the same direction as Lonnie.
She was a little worried about Duck and Luke, even though she knew they were both strong men, in Duck's case, teenagers.
She just hoped they hadn't been shot, despite their somewhat troubled relationship, they were part of the few things Clementine was still attached to.
It didn't take long before they arrived in an area with two bodies lying on the ground. Fresh bodies, with blood still oozing from their wounds.
Sarah went to check the bodies while Clementine looked around, rifle in hand. There was no sign of the two friends, despite the clear sign of gunfire.
- They were taken.
Clementine said loudly, walking back towards Sarah, who was removing her knife from the skull of one of the men lying on the ground.
- Ah shit! Should I be pissed that they were kidnapped, and possibly killed? Or happy that they will be around the others in the prison?
Sarah asked wryly, more to herself than to Clementine.
The girl stood up and put away her knife, putting her hands on her waist soon after as she looked up at the treetops, sighing heavily.
Clementine looked at the road ahead. It wasn't exactly a trail, but it was the only way they had to go.
- They won't be thrown in the same cell.
She said, taking a quick look at the bodies, before starting to walk towards the road.
- What? How do you know?
Sarah asked, walking beside Clementine.
- Luke and Duck killed two of them. They will receive another kind of punishment...my deduction, is that they will be thrown somewhere that is related to that "arena" Lonnie mentioned. Which doesn't sound too good.
Clementine said, causing Sarah to look at her puzzled, and even a little annoyed. The girl had always been clever, and in some ways made Sarah a little jealous, although she refused to admit it.
- So, the plan is to walk down this deserted road, not knowing where exactly they went, and hope for a miracle?
Sarah complained, saying it ironically, with a slight mocking tone in her voice. This was already getting on Clementine's nerves, and she closed her eyes and controlled herself to keep from punching Sarah in the face.
- Do you have another plan, by any chance?
Clementine asked "gently," taking a deep breath.
Sarah looked at her for a moment, looking mildly amused at Clementine's irritation.
- If I had one, I'm sure it would be better than yours.
she teased again, causing Clementine to clench her fists tightly.
- But since you don't have it, shut the fuck up!
She said, looking at Sarah with an irritated expression, and with a slight threatening tone escaping her mouth.
- That's it, keep it up! Solve everything with violence!
Sarah said, a little louder than Clementine wanted.
- There's no talking to you! All you do is try to annoy me, so since you're not doing anything productive, shut the fuck up before I make you shut up!
Clementine exclaimed, more annoyed with the girl. Everything for Sarah had to become an argument, whether it was an idea for a supply search, a warning, a random act, or a banal conversation.
The girl was even surprised at herself for not beating Sarah to the core at that point.
Sarah was not intimidated by the threat, and in response just pointed her middle finger at Clementine, who rolled her eyes.
- God, why her?
Clem asked in a loud tone, making sure Sarah heard, and this was Sarah's turn to roll her eyes.
The girls had been walking for hours and hours, not really knowing where they were going. Not that it was anything new to them, since they had been walking to random places for years.
The hot sun, mixed with the long time they had been walking, made the girls pant slightly, with sweat dripping from their foreheads.
Neither of them started an argument during that time of walking, they did not have the disposition, nor the energy to do such a thing.
After some more walking, they spotted, further ahead, high walls of what appeared to be a commune.
The two entered the forest again, walking in crouched positions towards the community, where Clementine arched an eyebrow when she saw someone riding a horse with some other people.
- Could this be the place we're looking for?
Sarah asked beside her, and Clementine doubted it. The place was too close for them to need trucks, they wouldn't waste gas if they had horses. Plus the community seemed too small to hold hundreds of people.
- Maybe not the main camp, but an affiliation. We can't know without seeing if they are marked.
She answered after a while, looking to the side and walking between the trees, looking intensely at the people ahead.
There were five people walking outside the walls, one of them being mounted on a horse, a woman, apparently middle-aged.
There were more people walking through the open gate, they didn't look like they were looking for supplies but rather on a morning walk, as most of them kept slight smiles on their faces and chatted in a friendly manner.
- It doesn't look like them, I didn't see the mark anywhere. Not even on those cars parked there.
Sarah said, and Clementine nodded slightly, remembering all the marked vehicles she had encountered before.
However, it was never too much to be cautious.
- If they aren't, they might be kind enough to help us, or rude enough to throw us out, and that's at best. Either way, we need information, they might know how to get to the "new frontier," or whatever the fuck their name is.
Clementine said, crouching down just behind a bush after changing position to get a better view of the inside of the camp, which seemed to be quite large, by the way.
- I'll go over there, if they're nice, you come right over, if they're not, get out of here. There's no reason to put both of us at risk.
Clementine explained, standing up slightly as she looked at Sarah, who had a strange expression on her face.
- This is kind of risky...
- I know, but everything is risky these days. And like I said, we need information, and the only people we've found all this time are those crazy people marked.
Clementine came out from behind the bush and walked towards the camp, sighing softly before leaving the forest.
She walked calmly towards the five people, slowly raising her arms when she saw some weapons being pointed in her direction, but kept walking.
- You can stop there, girl.
The woman on the horse said, looking at Clementine with a neutral expression as she scanned her surroundings with her eyes, probably looking for the girl's group.
- Where is your group?
the woman asked a short while later.
- That's exactly why I'm here, I need help to find them. Just some information.
Clementine explained, glancing at a few men talking among themselves, and one of them walking into the compound.
-... I probably don't need to say this, but I'll say it anyway, as a matter of cordiality, don't say I didn't warn you. Don't try anything, if you do, you'll get a bullet in the middle of your head.
The woman warned, watching with arched eyebrows for Clementine, who was not intimidated. Being threatened to end up with a bullet in the head had practically become routine for her.
Three women walked toward her with guns pointed in her direction. They took the guns from her and threw them on the ground, while one of them seemed to analyze her body.
- She doesn't have the mark.
The woman shouted, and the three women turned away from Clementine, who arched an eyebrow.
"So they know them too..." - The girl thought, watching a blond man, quite large, walk towards the woman.
- What's the matter now, Francine?
the man asked, looking at Clementine with a very stern and curious gaze.
- She said she wants some information to find her group. She doesn't have the mark.
This "Francine" explained, and the man moved a few steps closer to Clementine, taking the lead.
-What happened to your group?
he asked after a while, putting his hands on his waist.
- They were kidnapped, by the same marked assholes you mentioned.
She answered, lowering her hands slowly. There was nothing she could do, anyway. She was in the sights of several guns and unarmed.
The man looked at her with a strange glint in his eye, still suspicious.
-Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Those assholes killed some of our people not long ago... What do you want to know?
he asked, taking his hands off his waist and crossing his arms.
- Where were they taken? Where is the camp?
She asked, looking at some people who were watching her curiously.
- I'm sorry, I have no idea either. We only know them because, as I said, they killed some of our people.
He answered, looking with a raised eyebrow at Clementine, who sighed at his answer. Her little hope for a location had been dashed. Apparently, she would have to wait for another attack from these guys and force one of them to talk.
That was going to be a lot of work.
- Well, thank you, anyway. That's all I wanted. If you don't mind, I'll leave now.
She said, slightly tempted to ask to stay in the compound.
They had no food, no water, much less a direction in which to go.
The man watched her pick up her weapons with great curiosity, raising an eyebrow at Francine beside him, who was just as confused as he was.
- Wait a minute, girl.
He called out, and Clementine looked at him curiously as she put the machete back on her back.
- Do you have a place to go? Any plans?
he asked, causing Clementine to arch an eyebrow.
- Not at the moment. My plan was, and still is, to find the rest of my group. Which is rather difficult without information.
She replied, looking back slightly at where Sarah was hiding.
- Well, you can stay with us for a while. You seem like a very capable girl, I don't doubt that, but I wouldn't feel right about letting a girl as young as you are, out on her own while those assholes hang around the area.
He said, and Clementine was slightly surprised by the invitation. She had expected a little more "rudeness," to be quite honest. She was used to being treated rudely.
- Well, thank you... but who says I'm alone?
Clementine looked back and nodded, ignoring the man's confused look at her.
After a while, Sarah came out of the forest, somewhat hesitantly, and walked towards Clementine, feeling slightly intimidated at the sight of so many guns pointed in her direction.
- Hah, should I be worried that there might be more people hiding?
the man asked, causing Clementine to look at him slightly amused.
- No. I'm sorry if this gave the wrong impression, but in case you weren't "friendly," she was the last hope of finding my group. There was no need to put both of us at risk.
Clementine explained, watching the man look strangely at Francine, who had a surprised smile on her face.
- Cautious girl, I like her.
The woman said, turning on her horse and heading towards the gates of the community.
- Well, the offer is also for your friend now. You may enter. Leave your weapons at the gate. My name is Tripp, by the way.
He said, turning and walking back to the compound.
Clementine and Sarah looked at each other, slightly uncertain that they had to get rid of their weapons, but if these people wanted to do them any harm, they would have done it already.
With slightly hesitant steps, they walk right behind Tripp.
