Chapter 13: Welcome 'Home'
Anne's POV
We all sat in silence as the truck drove down the trail. It hit a bump in the road every once in a while, making us bounce slightly.
"If we get out of this prison again, the first thing I'm gonna do is kill that piece of shit I called a father, I swear to God." Chris said harshly.
"Honey, please don't." I pleaded.
"I've made my decision." He said.
"But…" I started until:
"End of discussion." He sternly said. I looked away, trying not to cry. I sniffled and he realized his mistake. "I'm sorry, baby. I don't know what got into me." He said, and I felt better.
After that, the vehicle jerked to a halt. Then the door opened a few moments later, blinding us all.
"I hate being in the spotlight, thank you." Chris snapped.
"Shut your trap, boy." Troy said.
"Don't think just because my hands are bound that I can't kick your little stupid ass, Troy." Chris shot back. He never was afraid of Troy.
"Enough! Those who gotta piss better go and do it now." Carver said as Clementine, Sarah, and I climbed out of the truck. I glared at Troy as Sarah headed into the woods.
"Hey, you mind givin' us girls some privacy?" I asked, glaring at him. He just glared right back at me and used his rifle to shove me into the woods.
"Just get going. We ain't got all day, girlies." He replied. Talk about rude!
I stood next to Clementine, who was looking at a tree. I could see she was staring at a butterfly. I remained silent as I watched her. "Man, I haven't seen anything like that in a while…" I thought to myself.
Clementine reached out to touch it, but it flew away. I decided to speak up.
"So, you don't have to go?"
She shook her head. "No. You?"
I smirked slightly. "No. I was just getting tired of sitting in there." I replied.
She smiled slightly. My smirk then turned to a frown as I remembered my boyfriend's stern words. I was starting to fight back tears. Clementine noticed this.
"Is he known to do things like that?" She asked me.
I shook my head. "No. Normally, it takes a lot to set him off. But recently…" I said, trailing off and sniffling.
"I'm sure he didn't mean to talk to you like that, Anne." Sarah said to me, making me smile. "Thanks, Sarah."
"No problem. And thank you guys for coming with me. It's scary out here." She thanked us. "I know they made you come with me but… I thought they were actually gonna make Dad come with me. Thanks." She said.
Clementine smiled at her and said "Yeah. We're friends. Friends always stick together."
I smiled at that. Then of course, Troy just HAD to ruin the moment.
"You about done over there?!"
I turned to glare at him. "Yeah, we are. Just give us a fucking minute." I snapped.
The three of us then walked back to the truck.
"Everything come out alright, girls?" Troy asked us.
I glared at him for that. "Oh, you did NOT just ask that." I thought, still glaring at Troy.
I stomped on his foot. "Pervert!" I mumbled. Bonnie and Troy then started tying our wrists back up. Carver then pulled out a radio and pushed a button.
"Well, we're on our way, probably about thirty minutes out. Make sure everyone's prepped. Emotions might be running high. Carver out." He said as Troy roughly grabbed my wrists and started binding them. "If I find out you've been wasting fuel to keep that fucking heater going, I'll make you walk back." Carver said to Troy.
"Nope. Froze my ass off. Just like you told me to." Troy said.
Carver noticed Clementine staring at him and frowned. "It ain't polite to listen to other folks' conversations. Didn't anyone ever tell you that? Where are your manners?"
"I used to have a walkie talkie like that." Clementine brought up.
"Oh, really? What happened to it? Cause you can't have this one."
"None of your business."
Carver walked over to her and slapped her across the face.
"Leave her alone!" I said.
"You don't wanna test me, girl. I'll pass every time."
"Stop!" Sarah said. Carver glared at her, and she hung her head.
"Get the girls in back with the rest of them. We've got a bit of a drive ahead of us." Carver said.
Troy opened the door and pointed a gun at us.
"In."
Reluctantly, we climbed back in with the others.
"Are you guys OK?" Sarita asked as we sat down. I sat between my boyfriend and Tess as Clementine sat next to Carlos and Sarah.
Kenny noticed the sad expression Clementine had. "The hell did he do to you?" He asked with concern. "Hey! Did he hurt you?!"
He then turned to Troy. "Hey! HEY!"
Troy slammed the door shut, leaving us in darkness once again.
My eye had readjusted to the darkness as the truck started moving again. We all remained silent as we exchanged glances at each other every once in a while. I rested my head on my boyfriend's shoulder and he rested his head on me. I then closed my eye in sadness, remembering what happened to Walter. Tess was looking down at her feet, probably thinking about what happened back at the lodge.
Finally, Kenny decided to speak. "Alright, we gotta do something. Anyone got anything sharp? Anything?"
We all remained silent. Kenny turned to us. "What about you two? You have those salad tongs, right?"
Chris sighed with annoyance. "They're Sais, and we don't have them on us." He explained. "They took our weapons, remember?" I reminded him.
"We need to get these bindings off! Hey! Clem, help me find something to get these off. Anything sharp that could cut these..." Kenny requested.
"And what good is that gonna do?" Bec asked.
"I'm with her on this one." Emily agreed.
Kenny's gaze snapped to the two of them. "What the hell's wrong with you people? We gotta get outta here!"
"Why bother?" Clementine asked.
"What?!" He exclaimed.
"I just don't see how it's gonna help."
"We're in a fuckin' precarious position here! We gotta do something about it!"
"Settle down, Kenny. They took everything. We have to keep a level head." Carlos calmly said.
"He's right. You don't know Bill like we do." Bec agreed.
"Bill? This whole time it's Carver, Carver, Carver, now he's fucking Bill?" Kenny asked. Bec closed her eyes.
"Oh, I see what this is. Y'all are just getting a ride home, aren't ya? That's what this is." Kenny snapped.
"Don't ever call it that again." Chris barked, making Kenny look at him in anger.
"I'd stay out of this, boy." Kenny warned.
"Newsflash: I ain't a boy." Chris snarled.
Kenny rolled his eyes. "Oh right… YOU'RE a man."
Tess looked up. "Both of you knock it off! Arguing isn't gonna help any!" She snapped.
"You don't understand. He's different… he's worse." Bec said.
"The fuck are you talkin' about?" Kenny asked.
"He wants to punish us."
Clementine chimed in. "What d'you mean worse?"
Kenny nodded. "He's a fucking psychopath now!" He agreed. Carlos glared at him. "You have NO IDEA what you're dealing with!" He snapped.
"Oh, he gave us a pretty good goddamn idea back at the lodge." Chase spoke up. "I don't intend to sit around and let that happen to the rest of us!" Kenny agreed. "I'm tryin' to help!"
"I'm sure Walter really appreciated your help." Carlos retorted. Kenny looked down sadly at the mention of his dead friend's name. What happened next surprised me. Chris let an animal-like growl escape him.
"That's not fair! You're blaming him for the actions of a madman!" Sarita defended. Chris stomped his foot to gain everyone's attention. "Sarita's right, Carlos. Kenny sure as hell ain't the one to blame, okay? That snarling piece of shit I called 'Dad' is to blame, clear?" He said.
"I am pointing out, that regardless of intent, there are consequences to rash actions. Something that he seems to be misreading as capitulation." Carlos pointed out.
"Bull-fucking-shit, Carlos! He did what he judged to be right! Need I remind you what almost happened to Anne?!" Chris furiously snarled, earning a glare from the Hispanic man.
"We've got to do something!" Kenny insisted.
"Kenny…" Sarita said.
"You can't reason with him." Bec sighed.
Tess scoffed. "Who can these days?" She snapped.
"Thank you, Tess." Chris praised. Clearly she voiced his thoughts.
Kenny's eyes wandered over to something. "Oh shit. Jackpot!" He exclaimed.
I looked to my right and saw that he was looking at a sharp, jagged part of a broken pipe next to Clementine. He stood up, walked over to it, and started using it to cut the bindings.
"Sit down! You're going to get us all killed!" Carlos warned but Kenny ignored him. "Y'all don't know what you're talking about. We get cooped up in some kennel like a buncha fuckin' dogs, it's over."
"You don't know that." Bec said
"Oh yeah?" Kenny asked. "well, I've been in this situation before. You ever been a prisoner?"
"We've all been prisoners! Why do you think we've left?" Carlos asked.
"Stop fighting! Please…" Clementine piped up.
Kenny then cut the ropes off. He smiled. "Alright, now we're talkin'!"
He stood up. Carlos frowned and said "Carver will be on the other side of that door with ten people."
"Both of you shut up, okay? You're scaring Sarah." Chris pointed out as Sarah started whimpering.
"There, there, baby… it's okay. Everything's gonna be fine." Bec soothingly said.
"It'll be okay, don't worry." I told Sarah.
Carlos then sighed. "At this point, maybe Luke is the only hope we have."
"If he was gonna do something, he would have done it by now." Kenny argued.
"Who knows what he's dealing with. Anything can happen out there." Bec pointed out.
"I'll tell you what happened: he abandoned us."
"Like hell. Okay, I've known Luke for a long time, and I know he ain't that kind of person." Chris snapped. "Well, I know he ain't here." Kenny shot back.
"Luke is not that type of guy!" Tess defended. "That guy is a flake. I could tell the second I set eyes on him." Kenny growled.
"You don't fucking know Luke like we do!" Chris snarled as he stood up.
"Boys, please calm down. Please…" Sarita calmly told them.
Chris sighed and sat back down and I rested my head on his shoulder again.
"Luke would never abandon us!" I exclaimed.
"Luke will help us." Clementine said as she looked up at Kenny. The bearded man frowned. "Oh yeah? When? After that crazy fuck's killed us all?!"
Clementine looked slightly surprised. Kenny had an apologetic look. "Hey look, Clem…" He gently began, but was cut off when the truck suddenly jerked. Carlos and I looked up at the ceiling.
"We're close." Carlos said.
"Okay. Let's do this."
Tess sighed. "Kenny, they have guns." She pointed out.
"She's right. What exactly do you expect to do?" I asked.
"I'm gonna punch the first sonuvabitch I see. Then I'm gonna take his gun and use it to shoot the NEXT sonuvabitch I see." He stated.
Chris scoffed. "Great plan. Just rush in and try shooting your way out. Fucking brilliant plan, Kenny." He said.
"Well, I don't see you comin' up with any bright ideas, Vampire." Kenny snapped, and Tess and Emily went wide eyed when Chris jumped to his feet.
"If you know what's good for you, you damn well won't call me that again." Chris snarled and I knew he was gonna attack, so I decided to intervene.
"Baby, don't do it. Please, for me?" I pleaded as he started to calm down. Eventually, he completely simmered down and sat back down again. I kissed him on the cheek for that.
"Just sit down." Carlos barked.
"Shut up, Doc! This ain't your call!" Kenny barked back.
"Both of you shut up!" Emily snapped.
"She's right. Kenny, your plan's stupid." I said.
"Well, what's your plan Cyclops?" He asked.
I then stood up on my feet. "Call me that again… I DARE YOU!" I said with a growl when I felt Chris pull me back to my knees.
"Annie, don't, okay? He's not worth it." He said. As I sat down on my knees again, I rested my head on my boyfriend's shoulder again.
Kenny then looked down at Clementine. "Hey, if something happens… just help out, okay? Don't, you know, get yourself hurt or nothin', but any help would be good." He paused for a moment before he gently said "Hey, Clem. Look at me. You trust me, right?"
"Kenny! Please, just… Just, listen to them. They know him… what he's capable of." Sarita told him.
Chris looked at her. "Thank you, Sarita."
Clementine nodded. "I'm scared."
"All right, honey." He assured her. He then turned around and faced the door as I heard the truck start backing up. "Alright. Everybody re-"
He suddenly was cut off when the truck jerks to a halt, causing him to slam into the door facefirst before falling down on his back.
Chris and I cringed as he landed on his back. "Ooh… Timber…" Chris said halfheartedly, earning a slight giggle from me.
"KENNY!" Sarita exclaimed as she rushed to his side. "Kenny, are you okay?"
"Is he okay?" Bec asked.
"I think so…" Sarita replied. "Oh… what hit me?" Kenny groaned. I looked at Tess to see she was biting her lip, clearly trying not to snicker. Carlos looked away. "Probably for the best." He muttered, earning a snicker from my boyfriend.
I heard Troy grumbling outside. "Goddamn breaks ain't working for shit!" He growled as he opened the door, blinding us with the sudden light. I squinted, seeing him, Bonnie, and Tavia, another guard, standing there with assault rifles.
"Alright, up and at 'em." Tavia ordered, scowling at my boyfriend.
"Nice to see you again, too, Tavia." He said sarcastically while glaring at her. "Just move your ass." She ordered. We all reluctantly stood up and walked out the door. Troy saw Kenny's unbound wrists and frowned. "The fuck?! How'd you get your restraints off?! C'mere."
We were led away from the truck. I then heard Carver's voice come on the PA system as he started to make a speech.
"We've got some familiar faces back with us tonight. Now, I understand that some of you are confused as to why we'd bring these people back when they left us as they did."
Tavia scoffed. "I think I've got an idea."
I heard Chris let an animal-like snarl escape his mouth while I glared at her snide comment.
"Now, it might not come all out at once… but time will heal these wounds… so be patient with them until it does… and take solace in knowing that they're here to make our home better place."
I inwardly scoffed. This 'home' feels more like a prison.
We entered a hall that with shelves filled with food. There were some guards on top of them glaring down at us.
Nothing's changed since my boyfriend and I left… nothing's changed at all…
I looked up, seeing Carver's office. I see him at the microphone looking at us as he spoke. Chris glared at him with an intense amount of hatred.
"All these feelings you have of anger… betrayal… hate… they're all valid. No one needs to forget what they did… but we do have to find it in our hearts to forgive them."
Clementine's eyes wandered over to the over to the shelves stocked with food. "Look at how much food they have…"
"Oh, I hope you're not saying what I think you're saying…" Kenny muttered.
"As many of you already know, a large herd of lurkers gathers just south of us…"
"Come on, we need you for something." Troy said to Carlos. "Can't it wait until morning?" Carlos requested. "We're all exhausted."
"Just come the fuck on." Troy ordered. Reluctantly, Carlos followed him. Sarah's eyes widened. "I need him. I need my dad." She said as she stopped walking. Chris and I stopped as well. "I-I can't… he's… he looks after me."
Troy walked up to us and forced us to keep moving.
"He'll be back." Chris told her.
"When?" She asked.
"We don't know, but he will come back, Sarah." I agreed.
"Thanks, guys…" She said gratefully.
"Why don't you stay by our side until he returns?" Chris offered, and she nodded her head.
We ended up in 'The Yard', where anyone who needs to earn the camp's trust back are put. "Wow. Welcome to hell." I muttered, earning a snicker from Chris.
"… And with the added manpower joining us this evening, I have no doubt that we will continue to…"
Bonnie knelt down and unlocked the door leading to the yard. "Make sure y'all stay away from the fence. Bill can see if you're messing around with it." She told us gently. She cast a sad glance at me and Chris, who now felt guilty for his cold treatment towards her.
"… it's no longer just to survive… it is our obligation to make this community a beacon of hope…"
I pretended to gag, earning a chuckle from Chris, and a giggle from Sarah.
Bonnie then opened the door up. We all stepped through it and into the yard. Chris cast her an apologetic look, and she grinned.
"To provide a light… a bright light. Bright enough to shine in all this darkness. So that is what we'll do."
Troy, Tavia, and Bonnie started taking our restraints off.
"Y'all best get some rest, cause there ain't gonna be much for you tomorrow. You're gonna be working hard." Troy said with a smirk.
"God, I wanna punch this little prick square in the mouth." I thought to myself.
"That's for you…" Bonnie said to Bec as she pointed to over to a cot.
"Yeah, it would be. Fuckin' Bill. Keeps me out in the cold, but at least I'll be comfortable." Bec said sarcastically as she crossed her arms.
We all then heard a cheerful voice. "Hey, guys."
I looked away from the door and gasped. A man with one arm wearing a white fishing vest over a blue shirt was smiling at us. My eye widened. It's…
"REGGIE?!" Tess, Emily, Chris, Bec, and I exclaimed. The five of us hugged him.
"I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry… What did they do to you?" Bec asked as we pulled away.
"This could have been worse, trust me. I'm lucky to be alive." Reggie said. He then turned to Chris and me with a smile.
"How's it going, Raggedy Anne?" He asked me. I crossed my arms, but smiled anyway. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"
"Too many to count. How about you, Chris Kyle?" He asked my boyfriend.
He matched my movements. "Not bad. Anne and I are together now." He replied, and Reggie smirked.
"About damn time." He said, chuckling. The two of us joined him. Damn, I missed this guy!
"It's my fault…" Nick said, referring to Reggie's arm,
"No, it's really not. I would tell you if this was. This happened well after you guys left." Reggie said.
Tess, Chris, and Emily nodded their heads. "He got bit on the arm, but they chopped it off." Tess explained.
"… They got me working outside. Lurker snuck up on me when I was hammering something. Luckily, they took the arm off quick. Saved my life." Reggie explained. "Yeah, I'm the one who took the arm off." Chris said.
"That's awful… I'm so sorry…" Bec said.
"Look, it was my choice to help you guys." Reggie said.
Just then, Tavia stepped through the door. "Alvin, Carver wants you in his office."
"What? Why?" Alvin inquired. Tavia frowned. "Don't make this difficult. It's too late for that."
"No, please-"
"It's OK, Bec." Alvin told Bec as he gave her a reassuring smile. "Just get some rest. If he wanted to do somethin' to me, he'd had done it already. I'll be fine."
With that, he turned to Tavia. "Let's see what he wants."
Troy then stepped up to Reggie. "Hey! Reggie!" He said.
"Oh… hey, Troy." Reggie said.
"Don't go fucking up now. Bill's real close to letting you outta here. You make sure things stay nice and quiet out here, and I'll be sure to let Bill know just how helpful you were."
Reggie nodded. "Yeah, you can count on me. Thanks, Troy."
"Don't mention it." Troy replied with a frown as he and Bonnie left and pulled the door closed. We were all silent as we turned back to Reggie.
"Oh, right. Let me introduce you. We were with them when we got caught." Bec said.
"That's Sarita…"
Sarita smiled. "Hello."
"And that's Kenny…"
Kenny uncrossed his arms. "Heya."
"And that's Chase and his brother Dylan."
"What's up?" Chase greeted.
"And Jennifer and Rebecca."
"Howdy." Jennifer greeted.
"We call her Bec now to keep from getting confused." I said, referring to Bec.
Reggie then turned to Clementine and smiled. "Hello! Who are you?"
Clementine was silent for a moment. "This freaks you out." Reggie said, referring to his missing arm. "It's OK. Freaks me out too, sometimes. I'm used to it."
"My name's Clementine." Clementine said.
Reggie smiled. "It's very nice to meet you, Clementine." He grinned as he held his hand out for her to shake, which she did. "Hey, where's Carlos?"
"Carver's got him lookin' at some folks right now." I explained.
"Oh… OK. Good. What about Pete and Marie?"
We all stayed silent. Reggie's smile faded and he quickly caught on.
"Can you guys save for the morning?" I heard someone ask. We turned to see an African American with a chunk of his ear missing wearing a grey hoodie with blue jeans sitting up and glaring at us.
"Some of us gotta be up early." He grumbled.
"Who's that?" Clementine asked.
"I don't know." Sarah replied.
"I don't recognize the voice." Bec added.
"No problem! Sorry about that." Reggie also apologized. The man groaned, laid back down, and put his pillow over his head.
Reggie turned back to us. "OK, that's Mike. He's kind of a dick when he's tired."
Tess smirked. "Sounds like someone me and my siblings know." She said, turning to me.
I frowned and lightly punched her arm. "Shut up…"
"But… like I said, he and Chris Kyle here saved my life, so… I put up with that shit. Bill put him to work outside the wall with me." Reggie said.
"I'm so sorry…" Bec said.
"Stop with all the sorry. It was my choice. Besides, he said once you were all caught, he'd let me rejoin the group… so, I'm you're here." He said before he smiled. "I'm just joking."
Bec smiled. "I know…"
"I mean, he did say that, but I'm not happy about it." Reggie admitted.
"Who's she?" I heard Clementine ask.
"Who?" Chris and I asked. I followed her gaze and found a girl sitting at a picnic table not too far from our position looking at us. She looked to be in late teens to early twenties. She had short, cropped brown hair. She wore a brown jacket over a green shirt with blue jeans. Okay, I definitely didn't recognize her.
The girl saw all of us looking at her and stood up. "Oh, yeah. Okay, so she's fuckin' weird. They found her sneaking around outside of the camp covered in guts and just, like, the grossest shit." Reggie explained as the girl walked over to a spot near the 'bunk beds' and laid down. "It's probably best not to stare." Bec told Clementine.
As Reggie kept talking, my gaze wandered over to a corner of the yard. I saw a woman in her early thirties sitting there. She had brown hair and bistre eyes. She wore a dark purple zipped up jacket with blue jeans and brown boots. I could see her looking at us, causing me to raise an eyebrow.
Who is she? I've never seen her around here before...
"What abot her? Who's she?" Clementine questioned, gaining the others' attention. We all saw the woman in the corner and she blinked when she noticed us.
"Hm?" Reggie asked, but as soon as he saw the woman, he blinked. "Ah, her. That's Evonne. They found her outside the fence and brought her in here a few weeks ago. She told us she was looking for someone, but wouldn't say who..." He explained with a shrug.
The woman, Evonne, then walked up to us. "Hello..." She greeted.
"Hey..." Chris muttered.
"Are these the people you told me about, Reggie?" She asked. Reggie nodded.
"Yeah, but some of them are new." Reggie explained. "Everyone, this is Evonne. Evonne, this is Chris and his half-sisters Tess and Emily..."
Chris crossed his arms and nodded. "Hey..."
"The girl next it him is his girlfriend, Anne."
"Hi." I nodded.
"Luke, Sarah, Nick, and Rebecca..." He continued. The four nodded or waved hello.
"Chase and his brother Dylan..."
Chase nodded. "What's up?"
"Jennifer and Rebecca..."
"Howdy." Jennifer said. "We're calling the other Rebecca 'Bec' so we don't get confused." I explained to Evonne.
"Kenny and Sarita..."
Sarita smiled. "Hello."
"And Clementine." Reggie finished as he gestured to Clementine with his remaining arm. Evonne nodded.
"It's very nice to meet you all." She said.
"So, Carver brought you here?" I asked.
She nodded. "Yes... I was outside the wall, and this loud guy, Troy started yelling at me and held me at gunpoint. After talking to this man, Bill, I think... Troy just shoved me in here, telling me that I'll have to work, and I've been here for a while, now..."
Chris frowned. "Troy... That asshole..."
"Reggie mentioned that you were looking for someone..." I said.
Evonne flinched. "Yes... I've been looking for her for a while now... But I can't find her..."
She shook her head. "I need to go sit down..." She muttered before she headed over to the picnic tables that the short haired woman was once at.
As Reggie continued talking to us, I could see Evonne staring at us...
Wait, is she staring at me?
Evonne noticed that I caught her and quickly looks away. I blinked.
That was weird...
"I know how it must look, but it's really not that bad here." Reggie said.
"Reggie…" Tess sighed.
"No, I'm serious. Where else are you gonna food like we have? We've got the canned stuff and now with the greenhouses coming along, we've got fresh food. The building's getting more and more secure all the time…" Reggie paused as he took a step away from us, then turned back around. "… mostly through forced labor, but that's only temporary. They've even got the solar panels working. When was the last time you guys had electricity, huh?"
"Well, we just came from a lodge with a wind turbine and-" Sarah started.
"It's not a competition." Reggie cut her off. "I'm just saying, it's not as bad as you think. We're building something great here, guys. A real community. Bill is making it happen. Look, I've made mistakes, and he's forgiven me."
"That doesn't make up for what he's done, Reggie! Look at what he did to Coleen!" Chris spoke up as Tess and Emily came to us.
"Carver killed my friend Walter." Clementine said. Chase frowned. "Yeah, he took him and shot him straight in the head!" He said. I closed my eye sadly. Walter was such a good guy…
Reggie was clearly surprised by this news. "Okay, I-I don't know what happened, but maybe he had his reasons-"
"His reason is that he's a fucking monster!" Tess snapped.
"He's a crazy piece of shit!" Kenny agreed.
Reggie sighed. "Listen, I'm really close to being let back in the group. Once that happens, I can do a lot more to help you guys be more comfortable."
"Comfortable? What do you think this is?!" Kenny asked as he crossed his arms.
"Reggie, this place will never bring comfort to me as long as that fucktard I called a father is alive!" Chris agreed.
"I just don't want you to mess things up for me. I've worked really hard to get to this point. Will you please just try not cause any trouble? At least until they release me?" Reggie requested. "Then once I'm out, I could help you more. Maybe even help get you out."
"We won't get you in trouble." Clementine said.
Reggie smiled gratefully. "They're expecting me to keep things in line out here."
"Well, if Carver's such a 'great guy', I'm sure you've got nothin' to worry about." Kenny piped up. Chris glared at the bearded-man, who glared right back.
"We can talk about it more in the morning. Just have a quiet night and chat again tomorrow." Reggie suggested.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" I thought to myself.
"I can't believe what I'm hearing…" Bec muttered, voicing my thoughts.
"Look, the fact is, Bill had every right to kill me when I helped you guys out, but he didn't. Obviously, I don't know what happened while you guys were gone, but he's given me a second chance and I know he'd do the same for you."
"He didn't give Coleen a second chance! He didn't give her a chance at all!" Chris growled.
"Reggie, I don't want a second chance. I want to leave with my family. That's it." Bec said firmly.
"Your family is safer here…"
"It's not safe as long as Carver's around!" I snapped. "Yeah, he almost put a bullet in my girlfriend's head several hours ago!" Chris agreed.
Bec suddenly gasped and placed a hand on her stomach. The baby had to be kicking hard…
"I need to sit down…"
Sarita stepped up to her. "Yeah, come on. Sarah? Can you go see if there's something for her to drink?" Sarita requested.
"OK." Sarah nodded. "Yeah, there's water over by the benches." Reggie pointed out as we all started heading in different directions. As Chris, his sisters, Nick and I left, I heard Reggie say "That didn't go as planned… should have actually made a plan…"
The five of us walked over to the bunk beds as Tess and Nick got into one of them together, as did Chris and I.
I then noticed Clementine checking out the bunk beds. "Guess it's better than the ground."
"It's not." Chris said. Clementine then walked over to us.
"Hey Clem." Nick greeted as he sat up. Chris, Tess, and I also sat up. "Just thinkin' about Luke. Just… there's no way he's gone. I've known him for damn near twenty years now and I can't buy it. Course I can't say the thought never crossed my mind. Things change. The whole damn world changed."
"Nick…" Tess sighed.
"I think you're right. He'd never abandon you guys." Clementine said.
"You mean us guys." Chris corrected, smiling at her. "Yeah, you're one of us, now." I agreed. Clementine smiled. "Yeah."
Emily smiled and patted her on the head. "I'm glad you're with us, Clem."
Nick yawned and laid back down. "Guess I oughta try and get some sleep. You guys should, too." He said. "Damn right, they're gonna ride our asses for sure tomorrow." Chris added.
"Okay."
"Night."
Clementine walked away as Chris pulled me closer to him. "You OK, baby?" He asked me.
I sighed. "My guitar… it was back at the lodge…"
"I know…"
I laid my head on his chest. "I paid over eighty five bucks for that thing! Eighty five!"
He chuckled slightly. "It's okay, Anne… we can find you another one…"
I smiled slightly at his attempt to comfort me. "Thanks, sweetie…"
Just then, I heard the door open. I looked over my shoulder and saw Carlos step in. His broke fingers were now in a cast. Sarah smiled and jumped to her feet.
"Dad!" She exclaimed happily as she jumped forward and hugged him tightly. Troy scowled. "Alright, go the fuck to sleep! I'm shootin' the first one of y'all I see wanderin' around before sun-up!" He snapped as he stepped back to the door. "Troy, where's Alvin?!" Bec asked.
"Everybody get to bed!" Troy growled as he slammed the door back down and left.
Chris growled a little as he left. "Man, I hate that prick…"
"Ditto…" I muttered. Everyone started heading toward places to sleep. Kenny and Sarita got in one beside Chris and me. Dylan and Rebecca got in one above us while Chase and Jennifer got in one below us.
"Baby?" I said to him.
"Hmm?" He hummed.
"When we were being brought back, were you trying to hide your claustrophobia?" I asked, and knew he stiffened.
"Y-Yeah." He replied.
"Okay. I just needed to know. Night."
"Night, Annie."
I laid my head against Chris's chest and closed my eye. I then let sleep get the best of me and drifted off to sleep.
That's chapter thirteen. I apologize it took me so long to get this out. I've been busy with schoolwork and other stories, it ain't even funny. Review and I'll post more chapters.