- Are you sure about this?
Tripp asked again, putting his hands on his waist as he watched the two girls pick up their weapons again and place them on their bodies.
- Yes, we have to take our chances.
Sarah said, putting her knife in her boot, before turning to Tripp and giving him a sympathetic look, not expecting such kindness from a complete stranger.
- We appreciate the help.
Clementine said, pleased to finally have her machete back, looking at the man with a slight expression. He had shown himself to be a decent guy, deserving of at least some form of gratitude.
- No need to thank me. If you change your mind, you can come back to Prescott. And, although I don't agree with this idea, good luck finding your group.
He said, scratching the back of his head as he looked at them somewhat uncertainly.
The girls nodded to him and turned, starting to walk down the road, heading the way they came.
Clementine sighed slightly as she stared at the empty road, already missing the bed she had been in for a few hours.
She hadn't been able to sleep very well, not with the worry in her chest, the anxiety of not knowing exactly what had happened to her friends.
And, from the dark circles under her eyes, the girl next to her hadn't been able to sleep very well either.
- How far to the dump?
The older girl asked after a while of walking, looking at the surrounding forest, focusing her eyes on the few silhouettes she saw among the trees.
- I don't know. A few hours of walking.
Clementine replied, looking at a body lying in the road with a broken car behind it, the window on the driver's side had a huge hole with a few bloodstains around it.
The body of what used to be a man had its lower part turned away from its upper part, plus several cuts across its already rotting face.
He probably died after being in a car accident.
"Unlucky" - Clementine thought, walking over to the car and looking inside. She opened the passenger door and checked the trunk, looking with some curiosity at a black eye patch she found.
After a while, she sighed at not having found anything useful and closed the car door. She had even tried to start the vehicle again with the keys she had found still in the ignition, but the car would not start.
They walked back down the deserted road, standing for hours in complete silence, thoughtful.
" Ok, Richmond is already a goal...now, we need to find out more about this arena." - Clementine thought, hearing the noise of a truck in the distance.
The two girls stopped walking and looked at each other, and quickly, they hid behind some trees just off the side of the road.
Further ahead, they saw a truck approaching, not very fast. After a few moments, the truck started bouncing on the road, and both girls saw the driver fight with the man sitting in the passenger seat.
The vehicle hit some trees a few meters from where the girls were standing, and it rolled over onto its side. They looked at each other again and took their weapons, walking towards the truck.
They heard a gunshot noise, and the passenger door, which had been turned upside down, opened, and a bound man stepped out of the vehicle with a pistol in his hand, his forehead bleeding slightly and a pained expression on his face.
Clementine watched the man climb down, apparently he hadn't seen the two girls yet. She sneaked up to him, pointing her rifle at his head.
- Drop the gun.
She said, and the man startled slightly. Sarah appeared next to him, pointing her pistol at the man, who sighed softly and mumbled a few things.
- Look, I'm the victim here.
The man said, right after he dropped the gun on the ground. Clementine approached him and checked his neck, followed by his arms, not finding the mark.
- The truck and that dead guy are marked. He was probably being taken hostage, or to that prison they mentioned.
Sarah said, watching the truck and picking up the pistol lying at the man's feet as she slowly lowered the gun.
- Well, this sucks. We lost a vehicle.
Clementine said, still pointing her rifle in the man's direction.
- You... you're just kids...
He said in a surprised tone, and the girls just ignored him.
- Sadly. And I'm not a child... I don't even know how old I am.
Sarah said, looking at the man.
Clementine didn't like to admit it, but she recognized that Sarah had become "more of a woman", so to speak. The girl might not be that much older than Clementine, but those years certainly made a big difference.
To Clementine, Sarah was closer to being an adult than she was.
- Why were you kidnapped?
Clementine asked, watching the man turn to her cautiously, looking at her, somewhat confused.
- We found some stuff, we didn't think it belonged to anyone. Look, if you're not with them, then I don't want any trouble, okay? Let me go, they're with my family!
The man said in a hurried tone, looking uneasily and with a certain desperation at Clementine, who arched an eyebrow.
- Your family? Where?
Sarah asked, checking the amount of ammo in the pistol, placing it in her waistband next to her own gun.
- In a dump a few miles from here! We went to look for gasoline for our van, as I said, we found some things, they thought we were stealing. And that's what happened. Please, just untie me!
He explained quickly, alternating his gaze between Clementine and Sarah.
The two girls looked at each other with arched eyebrows; it seemed that luck was in their favor.
- We help you save your family, in return you give us that van.
Clementine said, lowering her rifle and looking at the man with a certain twinkle in her eye.
He looked thoughtful for a moment, but sighed soon after, bowing his head in defeat.
-Okay... okay, deal.
He said, and the two girls nodded to each other.
They turned and began to walk again along the empty road, Sarah taking the lead and Clementine following close behind the man, her rifle still in hand. Just in case.
- By the way, I am Javier. But you can call me Javi
The man introduced himself, looking over his shoulder at Clementine for a few moments.
- Sarah.
The girl further ahead also introduced herself, without looking at Javi.
- Clementine.
She said after a while, looking around for a moment.
- Nice to meet you. So, how about taking these restraints off me? You know, there are two of you, you are armed, and I would be a little crazy to try anything.
Javi tried to argue, and Clementine just looked at him with an arched eyebrow, realizing what he was trying to do there.
- You may not be one of those marked assholes, but that doesn't make you an ally. We're just business partners. Business. I hope you understand.
Sarah said, looking over her shoulder at Javi as she said it.
Javi sighed slightly, shaking his head.
- Yeah, I understand. I don't blame you.
He said after a while, lifting his head again.
- Is it just the two of you out here?
He asked after a while of walking in silence, moving his body slightly to the side as he glanced at Clementine.
- At this moment, yes.
Clementine replied, looking at him neutrally.
- You must have been quite young when all this happened. Is there anyone left? I mean, do you still have family?
he asked awkwardly, alternating his gaze between the two girls.
- Not anymore.
Clementine answered simply, focusing her eyes on the floor as she felt her mind flooded with memories.
- Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I mean, what happened to them is probably what happened to everyone else.
He said softly, looking straight ahead again while keeping his body slightly bent.
- In my case, this "little girl" who is walking behind you with a rifle in her hand, put a bullet in my father's head.
Sarah said, and Clementine rolled her eyes as she cursed softly, noticing Sarah's clear attempt to try to annoy her. She was even surprised that it had taken so long for something like this to happen.
- Ahm... excuse me?
Javi asked, looking at Clementine with a raised eyebrow and a slightly worried expression on his face.
- I stopped your father from suffering to death and coming back as a zombie and you know it, Sarah!
Clementine said slightly irritated, staring intensely at the girl's back further ahead, who just rolled her eyes.
- Whatever, it doesn't change the fact that you put a bullet in his head.
Javi was a little uncomfortable being between the two of them, but remained quiet.
That "light" conversation was just a way, an attempt to distract his mind from thinking the worst and inhibit that growing worry in his chest.
Although Javi's back was turned to her, Clementine could tell his concern by his body language, and his somewhat hurried walk.
After a while of walking, they heard a sharp cry echo through the trees.
- Kate!
Javi exclaimed, starting to run towards the scream, but stopped after a few steps, turning and looking at the girls with a worried look on his face.
- Please! Get those restraints off! Quickly!
he exclaimed in haste. The two girls looked at each other, and Clementine sighed slightly as she saw Sarah approaching Javi with her knife in hand.
- Don't make us regret this.
The girl said, running after Javi, who ran off in the direction of the scream.
As they approached the scene, the two girls saw a woman being forcibly placed in a marked car.
- Kate!
Javi shouted again, trying to run towards the car. But a girl's scream caught his attention, and he turned in the other direction.
A man was grabbing a girl by the arms and pulling her forcefully toward the vehicle.
- Here!
Sarah exclaimed, handing the pistol to Javi, just before she fired at the man, hitting him with an accurate shot to the forehead.
The other men were surprised by the sudden appearance. Two of them got into the car with the woman, "Kate," who shouted Javi's name, and the car sped off down the road.
Javi let out another scream as he shot at one of the remaining men, taking cover just behind one of the nearby trees.
Clementine shot at two men, hitting one in the side of his torso. She watched as a boy ran toward the girl and pulled for cover behind one of the car bodies.
- We've got your back, Javi!
Clementine said, stepping out from behind the tree taking cover and shooting toward the men. Javi ran toward the entrance of the dump, positioning himself slightly to the left of the gate, shooting one of the men in the head.
The two girls soon ran beside him, and Clementine took the lead, squeezing the trigger of her rifle and unloading most of her ammo into the man hiding behind one of the abandoned cars.
Seven bullets pierced his body, and he fell to the ground.
The two girls looked around as Javi ran toward the boy and the girl.
- Gabe, Mari, are you all right?!
Clementine heard him say, whimpering softly as she saw that some shots had hit the only van in the place. But, hopefully, the bullets would not have damaged the vehicle too badly.
- I'm fine, but Mari was shot in the shoulder!
They heard the boy say desperately, and saw Javi tear off part of his shirt and press it over the wound, staining the white fabric with the girl's blood, who moaned slightly in pain.
- Don't worry Mari, you'll be fine!
He said, checking the wound and cursing softly when he saw that there was no exit wound in the girl's shoulder. In other words, the bullet was still inside her.
- They took Kate away.
The boy said with a distant look, just before focusing his eyes on the two girls in the back, who were watching the scene.
- Who are they?
he asked, looking at Javi, who looked back at the boy.
- They helped me get here! They're friendly.
He answered, pressing even harder on the girl, and getting more and more worried to see how much blood was pouring out.
Sarah looked at Clementine with a suggestive arched eyebrow.
- Well, if the van still works, that's fine with me.
Clementine said with a sigh, nodding to Sarah, who looked at Javi again.
- There is a community a few hours walk from here. They are not the best people in the world, but the leader and a few others are decent people, they have a doctor. We can take you there, they will help.
Sarah explained, alternating her gaze between the boy and Javi, who looked at her somewhat gratefully.
He took the girl on his lap and stood up, alternating his gaze between Clementine and Sarah.
- Thank you. Thank you so much.
He said gratefully, walking toward the van, followed by the boy, who looked at Clementine for a moment.
The two girls looked at each other, and Clementine sighed again, heading toward the van.
