Always the Quiet Ones: No Going Back
Chapter 2: Split in Twos
Nick kept walking, he was behind everyone else, Luke and Clem kept looking back to check up on him. He hasn't acted this way since he lost his Uncle Pete. Sarah meant a great deal to the both of them, but they both knew they had to keep moving.
"I can't believe this. I knew ever since she fell with that deck, she wasn't goin' to make it. It makes me feel much worse that way, y'know?" Luke frowned.
"Sarah was my friend. I'm going to miss her." Clementine said.
"Me too, Clem. Me too." Luke replied. The whole group couldn't stop moving. The plan was to get to the place that Arvo was talking about. If that was even possible, anyways. It could be a trap to a bunch of more russians that would kill them on sight. Luke didn't think this was the best idea, but the kid seemed harmless. The kid had lost his sister, Luke thought it was partly his own fault - but he wasn't the one taking orders. There was the bald Russian who kept ordering the kid. He didn't even seem to want to get wrapped up in it.
Vince groaned and fell to the ground.
"Wait! We need to stop!" Bonnie called to Kenny. Kenny turned around to see Vince holding onto his leg.
"Alright, wait there." Kenny nodded to the small log that was on the ground where Mike could help Vince rest. Kenny then pushed Arvo forward, falling to the ground.
"When I tell you to stop, you fuckin' listen, you UNDERSTAND!?" Kenny growled.
"Kenny, c'mon! There's no need for that!" Mike objected after helping Vince sit down.
"That's enough! Leave him alone!" Clementine yelled.
"Just fucking stay put." Kenny ordered. Arvo then helped himself up, sitting against a rock. Kenny sat down on the ground. The rest of the group rested for the time being.
"I'm gonna have a word with Kenny. Kid's been through enough, you alright here?" Mike asked. Bonnie nodded, holding the baby in her hands.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Bonnie nodded. Bonnie knelt down to Vince and so did Clementine.
"What is it with you guys?" Bonnie asked.
"What do you mean?" Vince asked.
"Every man I've known is always tryin' to let each other know how tough they are - put 'em in their place. Bunch of dominant alpha-male horseshit." Bonnie scoffed.
"Holy shit." Mike gasped at the sight of a huge amount of walkers stumbling over.
"All that gunfire must have drawed them to us!" Russell said.
"Fucking fuck. We gotta get moving." Eddie said, grabbing his backpack, he turned back to Vince who was struggling to walk.
"We gotta head north, everyone! It's our only chance. We could get them away from us by crossing on that ice!" Kenny announced.
"Head North!? You see what happened heading over here!? Rebecca fucking died!" Vince argued.
"If you don't wanna go - just fuckin' say so. We aren't goin' to cry if you leave." Kenny replied.
"Not the time for this, we need to fucking move!" Mike broke up the argument.
"C'mon, Becca - Grab your things." Shel said. Becca nodded and grabbed her small backpack and everyone got loaded up as the walkers came closer. The group then ran off, Nick not going as slow as slow can be anymore. Kenny spotted an unfinished house, the one that Arvo was talking about.
"That piece of shit!? It's half built!" Kenny growled.
"If we're going to cross the lake, we have to do it now. Those walkers are going to get on the ice and take us down with them." Luke said.
"We should just go around!" Bonnie suggested.
"Let's just hide and wait them out!" Becca said.
"Yeah, let's do this." Russell agreed.
"Don't be stupid. Where are you gonna hide!?" Wyatt asked.
"It's a better plan then walking on ice." Shel said.
"You guys go your own way. I'm goin' across the lake. Let's go!" Kenny yelled, the walkers were not far behind - but they had maybe enough time to get across the lake and to the house.
"Let's just go, guys!" Becca said.
"I'm not going across that lake. I'm not going to fucking freeze to death." Wyatt shook his head.
"Make up your mind!" Kenny growled. He then grabbed Arvo's shoulder, pushing him forward. Wyatt, Becca, Shel, Russell, Eddie, Vince decided to not go across the lake.
"We'll try to go around, alright?" Eddie told Nick and Luke. Nick thought Eddie was a nice guy. Going across this lake made him realize the possibility that he could die here - and he would not see Eddie again, maybe because they would go their own way. Kenny and Arvo walked first, the population of the group had gone down to eight. The six other members decided to try and find a path around or they would go their own way. Mike carried the baby and followed behind Kenny. Clementine and Nick were spread apart but behind Mike. Bonnie was shaking in fear and following behind Nick. Luke was behind everyone else, still holding the assault rifle he had acquired from Carver back when the group had escaped Howe's.
"Slow down, you little shit!" Kenny yelled, the Russian began to walk a bit faster. Kenny looked back to see the walkers spotting the group and heading towards them, walking on the ice.
"We got walkers behind us." Bonnie said.
"I see that." Kenny noticed. Arvo then began to take off.
"Hey! You fucking...!" Kenny chased after him, Arvo then slipped and cracked the ice beneath him, his legs sinking in the ice cold water. Kenny then grabbed him by the shoulder pulling him up.
"I should drown your ass!" Kenny threatened. He then pulled him up, he then reached the end of the ice lake and threw him against the ground. Mike reached the ground as well, giving Kenny an angry look as he held the baby in his hands, then looked back to see the progress of everyone else.
"You doin' alright, Clem?" Nick asked. The two of them were slowly going across the lake, as steady as they could.
"I'm fine. Are you okay?" Clem asked.
"Don't worry, Clem. I'm fine. Just keep movin'." Nick said. Then they heard the sounds of crackling, Nick and Clem turned around - fortunately it wasn't them who was on thin ice but it was Luke. The ice all around him had cracked. Bonnie was ahead of him, gasping. Bonnie began to tread forward, but Luke shot his eye at her.
"Don't come over here!" Luke ordered.
Nick, Clem and Bonnie exchanged looks.
"I can make it! It's fine." Luke said, standing still.
"You sure?" Bonnie asked.
"Yeah." Luke replied. He then looked behind him to see the walkers getting closer to them, but some had fallen through the ice.
"You got walkers on the way - let me help you!" Bonnie said.
"It's too thin for both of us. I just gotta be-" Luke said, slowly moving his right foot forward, but he then tripped breaking a piece of the ice, his leg falling through.
Nick then began to run forward, along with Clem and Bonnie.
"Stop, stop, stop!" Luke ordered. The three of them stopped.
"I'm fine. I'm fine!" Luke yelled.
"No, you aren't. C'mon, Luke - Get out of there!" Nick yelled.
"I'm working on it, Nick! I just have to pull myself out..." Luke replied.
"You need to help!" Bonnie said to Clementine.
"No...you're gonna fall through!" Luke warned her.
"No, Clem! Don't." Nick told her.
"You're light! You can do it!" Bonnie said.
"Stop tellin' her that! Look, pull out your gun - and shoot those damn walkers, alright? Just give me a lil' time..." Luke said. Clem nodded, pulling out her pistol.
"Thanks. Thanks. I'll be out in a sec - just keep shooting." Luke nodded, panicking at the thought of him falling into the ice cold water. His leg was practically frozen solid.
"Luke, you got this man! You fucking got this." Nick said, aiding the two girls and he began shooting his gun as well.
"You're not gonna make it! Let me help you, Luke!" Bonnie said.
"I...My... My leg! It's just - I just... need to rest a sec. Hold on, I've got you!" Bonnie took matter in her own hands, slowly treading towards Luke.
"Bonnie, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?" Nick yelled.
"No! Go back! Now!" Luke ordered. Bonnie then held out her hand, but the ice was too thin. The two of them fell through the ice
"NO!" Nick yelled. Clem and Nick then ran towards the broken ice, looking around the ice to see if they were somewhere. Nick then heard banging on the ice. Nick ran over to the noise, noticing Luke trying to punch the ice. Nick then grabbed his pistol, smashing the ice with it, trying to break the ice.
"Nick, stop it! You'll fall through, too!" Mike yelled. Nick ignored him. He wasn't going to lose Luke AND Sarah on the same goddamn day. If he dies, this would be Bonnie's fault. He then broke the ice, and he nearly fell into the ice.
"Clem, grab my leg!" Nick yelled. Clem then grabbed his leg, pulling him back a bit so he wouldn't fall through the ice. Nick stuck his hand into the ice cold water, and then he grabbed a hand, he pulled the hand up and it was Luke. His mouth was open, his eyes were shut. He was pale. Nick pulled him out of the water.
"Nick...he's gone..." Clem said. Nick slapped Luke's dead body with his hand.
"No...c'mon, Luke. Don't do this... don't fuckin' do this..." Nick cried.
"We have to go!" Clem said. Nick grabbed his pistol and fired a bullet into Luke's head, so he wouldn't come back as a walker. He then dropped the corpse of Luke into the lake. Clem shed a tear for the guy who had saved her life from that walker after she was bitten by the dog. Him and Pete.
"Fuck." Nick sighed, running forward with Clementine. The group went inside the unfinished house.
"Jesus Christ...!" Mike shuddered.
"How the fuck did that happen!?" Kenny growled. Arvo gave Clementine a threatening look, Clementine looked back to the Russian teenager with a look of sorrow. She felt bad for the kid - but all she felt was sorrow. She was also sad about Luke and Bonnie's death.
"They're gone. Luke and Bonnie are fuckin' gone..."
"We should've gone around like others were saying..." Mike said.
"Goddamn it..." Kenny growled.
"We should've just fucking gone AROUND!" Mike sighed.
"It's my fault - I should have stayed with him..." Clem cried.
"Clem, it wasn't your fault. Don't you worry." Nick put his arm around her.
"Nick's right. Once that ice started to go - there wasn't any of us could do." Mike nodded, looking at an empty small box that could hold the baby. He settled the baby down in the small box. Kenny then snapped, pointing his finger towards Arvo.
"You son of a bitch! This is your goddamn fault!" Kenny growled.
"KENNY! Don't, man!" Mike yelled.
"Don't WHAT!?" Kenny questioned.
"It's nobody's fault!" Mike argued.
"The hell it ain't!" Kenny growled.
"Kenny has a point." Clementine said, coldly. She was angry - she wanted someone to blame. Mike looked over to her, clearly angry about Luke and Bonnie's death. Nick was just sad - he wasn't angry. Just sad.
"This is crazy!" Mike faced Kenny again.
"Why!? Because your friend here turned out to be a shitbag after all!?" Kenny growled.
"He's just a scared kid. This ain't on him!" Mike argued. Kenny then ignored Mike, observing the sculpture of the unfinished house.
"Look at this place. Just a stack of fuckin' toothpicks. Bet those magical supplies were bullshit too. What!? No speaka de English!?" Kenny pushed him.
"Fuck you." Arvo fired back.
"You fuckin' commie piece of shit!" Kenny growled, raising his fist and striking Arvo in the face. Arvo then fell back onto the ground, Kenny then reached down to hit him again.
"Fuck you..." Arvo spit out after the second punch. Kenny then punched him a third time, and then finally Mike stepped in, grabbing his arms and pulling him back.
"Get off me!" Kenny growled. Kenny then stopped, looking down to what he had done to the young kid.
"What? Lose your taste for this sorta thing?" Kenny questioned, referencing to how Clementine watched Kenny beat in Carver's face.
"Let me check out if there's anything in there." Nick said, walking to the hallway to find the supposed supplies.
"Here they are. He wasn't lyin'." Nick said, dropping the bag of supplies. He also dropped a small can of chili peppers.
"You wanna tell me how a can of fuckin' chili is gonna help us!?" Kenny questioned.
"How is beating a kid to death going to help anyone, asshole!?" Nick fired back. After a few seconds of silence, Kenny finally said "I'm tyin' him up." Kenny grabbed Arvo by the hands, pulling him up. He then stopped at the stairs, tying his hands around the staircase.
"Mike, help me get a fire started." Nick said. Mike nodded, crouching down to the fireplace. Mike noticed Kenny sitting down near the fireplace. Clementine then laid on the ground and wanted to forget everything that happened today. Jane, Sarah, Luke and Bonnie had died today. The group number was now five. She didn't even consider the fact of the rest of the group returning.
Clementine woke up and heard Mike crouching down to an injured Arvo.
"You okay?" Mike asked.
"He coulda killed you. The fuck is wrong with him!?" Mike sighed.
"Hey, you're up." Nick smiled. Clementine stood up, sitting next to him.
"Kenny's out back, trying to get some stupid truck working." Nick told her. Nick then handed Clementine the can of chili peppers.
"Thank you." Arvo said. Mike had fed him some food.
"I can't believe he's gone, Clem. If it wasn't for Bonnie - he could have made it. Crawled out of there." Nick sighed.
"She-She just wanted to help him." Clementine said. Nick laughed.
"Help him!? She got both of them killed - that fucking stupid bitch." Nick growled. Clementine was shocked at how angry he was. Nick was more angry then Clem was about Luke's death. She understood that, but at first Nick didn't react much. He fired a bullet into Luke's head without any hesitation.
"I'm sorry, Clem. I - I've known Luke for twenty years. Twenty fucking years. Then he's gone." Nick shut his eyes before he could spill any tears. Clementine hadn't seem him like this since Pete's death, but this was much worse.
"You think all of 'em are - happily together somewhere? Luke with Rebecca, Carlos, Sarah, Alvin, Pete and Jane?" Nick asked.
"Yeah. I know they are." Clem said.
"Y'know, I never believed in that sort of stuff. When all this started - with my mom and Pete... all we did was pray. Every damn day. None of us even believed in God at first. Then there was no reply. Either God's a fucking asshole - or he ain't there." Nick replied.
"You wanna know where they all are!? Fuckin' nowhere. They're nothing. That's what they are. People cease to exist when they die. They simply are just... gone. Like I said, Clem. There'll be a day, where it'll be our turn." Nick said. He then grabbed the bottle of whiskey that was on the ground floor.
"Where did you get that?" Clementine asked.
"Found it. What's it matter to you?" Nick retorted.
"You shouldn't drink that stuff." Clementine replied.
"Who says you got any say in what I do? Huh?" Nick growled, taking a drink of the whiskey.
"Nick...please. The last time you drank you almost got yourself killed...please." Clementine said, putting her hand on his shoulder. Nick slapped Clem's hand off his shoulder.
"Almost got myself killed, huh? Is that right!? Why'd you even come with me that day. Why didn't you save my Uncle!? Huh, Clementine!? Because he was fucking bit!?" Nick began to yell, his voice raising as Mike turned his attention towards Nick.
"You should have left me and went after Pete. He would be here, and I wouldn't. He wouldn't be a fucking mess." Nick sighed, taking another drink of whiskey.
"But I didn't." Clementine said.
"You fucking should have! But - it doesn't matter. You're a pretty little girl - nobody will give you hell about your decision. Must be real nice, Clem. Real fucking nice." Nick growled. Clementine frowned.
"Clem...goddamn it. I'm sorry - just...I'm such a fucking mess." Nick sighed, dropping the bottle of whiskey.
"Why don't you head to sleep? Didn't mean to wake you up..." Nick said, picking up the bottle of whiskey again walking off. Hearing Nick talk like that reminded her of when Kenny lost Sarita. Nick was going to come back - he had to.
Clementine woke when she heard cluttering against the roof. Clementine looked around, the room where she was sleeping was empty. That noise bothered her, so she got up and went to check it out. She went outside and saw a small rope cluttering against the roof. She then spotted two figures trying to get into the truck that Kenny had tried to start. One of the figures had a big bag in their hands. Clementine slowly walked forward, pulling out her gun to the two figures.
"Who are you..?" Clementine asked. One of the figures turned around, holding a rifle in his hands. It was Arvo. The other figure was Mike.
"Mike...?" Clementine gasped.
"Easy. Easy now." Mike treaded forward.
"Step back." Clementine threatened. Mike stopped.
"Clem. Shit." Mike sighed.
"What are you doing?" Clementine questioned.
"We're just leaving." Mike told her.
"Now keep it down, alright? Nobody else has to get involved." Mike added.
"That's everything we have." Clem gasped, looking at the big bag of supplies Mike was carrying.
"Listen, we just gotta get away from that guy, Clem. Okay?" Mike said.
"Who, Kenny?" Clementine asked. Arvo spit at the ground when he heard Kenny's name.
"Dammit, Clem. We don't have time for this." Mike sighed. Mike looked behind to Arvo, nodding to him to not do anything. Mike then dropped the bag of supplies.
"Alright, Clem." Mike slowly walked forward to Clem.
"Now, I'm gonna walk up to you nice and slow - and you're going to give me the gun, okay?" Mike said.
"Why are you doing this?" Clementine questioned.
"He didn't give us any choice." Mike replied. Mike kept walking towards her, slowly.
"There we go...there we go..." Mike calmly said.
"You treacherous son of a bitch." A voice said behind Clementine, Mike gasped as a bullet pierced his chest. Clementine gasped and looked behind to see Nick holding the gun. Mike gasped for breath, blood spilling out his mouth. Mike then fell back onto the ground, dead. Arvo then fired at Clementine. Clementine then was hit in the shoulder.
"No!" Nick yelled. Arvo then ran off. Nick ran to Clementine's side. Clementine was breathing heavily laying against the ground.
"Oh my god, Clem! What the fuck did you do!?" Kenny yelled.
"I didn't do it! It was Mike and Arvo! Mike's dead." Nick told him.
"Fucking fuck! Get her in the truck! We gotta get moving!" Kenny ordered.