Chapter 14: Revelation and Correction
Chris's POV
I awoke with a gasp. My hand subconsciously went to my right arm and stopped at the shoulder. I glanced around, seeing that I was back in the yard. I groaned.
Damn nightmares...
"Can't sleep?" I heard a voice ask. I looked up to see Evonne sitting by the fire. I nodded, left my bed, and walked over to the woman. I took a seat next to her.
"So, how'd you end up here?" I asked. Evonne sighed sadly. "I've been traveling the country looking for my daughter... 14 years now... One day, I ended up here and Troy pointed a gun at my head. Carver then put me in the yard and I've been here ever since..." She explained.
"What... happened to your daughter?" I asked.
Evonne sighed sadly again. "When she was only five weeks old... someone broke into my house... And took her away from me... Just before he escaped out the window with my daughter in his arms... I saw his face..."
She clenched her fist. "I called the police as soon as he escaped... They immediately began a search party... But found no trace of my baby girl..."
I clenched my fists. "She was kidnapped?!"
Evonne sniffled. "Y-yes... She was taken away from me... Just like that... I've been searching for 14 years, now... Now, I can only hope that she's somewhere out there..."
I gave her a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry, Evonne... What does your daughter look like?"
She pulled out a picture and handed it to me. It was a picture of a baby girl. "She's pretty..." I commented.
Evonne smiled. "Thanks. I'm proud of my work..."
I chuckled lightly, but my smile fell as I examined the picture. Something seems familiar about her...
I looked back at Anne, who was asleep, before looking back at the picture. The baby girl had brown hair... just like Anne's... and the baby's eyes were the same color as hers... One red, one green...
There were a few similarities between them... Hmm...
"Excuse me for a second." I told Evonne before I walked back to the bunks. I nudged Anne lightly, who groaned in response. "What...?" she asked sleepily.
"I need to talk to you about something, baby." I told her. She yawned and got up. "What's it about?" she asked.
"Come on..." I led her back over to Evonne and explained why Evonne was here.
"... so you've been lookin' for your daughter?" Anne questioned. Evonne nodded. "Can I... see the picture of the baby?" Anne asked.
I nodded in response and handed her the photo. As she examined it, I couldn't shake my hunch off. So I did something very unexpected.
"Can I take your bandana off, sweetie?" I asked her. She blinked in surprise. "W-why? You know how I feel about taking it off..." She muttered.
"Please? I just need to check something..."
After a moment, she sighed and reluctantly nodded. I then carefully took the bandana off and she pushed her bangs out of her face, revealing her red eye.
Evonne eyes widened slightly as she saw Anne's eyes. "M-my daughter had the same eye color as you..." She stammered.
I blinked. What...?
I looked down at the photo, then back at Anne. The baby in the picture had the same eyes as Anne, same nose, same hair...
Evonne drew in a shaky breath. "Anne... Who are your parents?"
Wait, why is she...?
"James and Eileen Marshall..." Anne replied.
As soon as those words left her mouth, Evonne paled. She gasped and held a hand up to her mouth in shock. Then, she slowly lowered it, tearing up. "Annie...?"
She started stroking her hair. "My Annie...?"
My eyes widened behind my sunglasses. What?!
Evonne suddenly let out a sob and hugged a confused Anne tightly. "Annie, I'm so sorry! I-I looked EVERYWHERE for you!" She sobbed.
Oh my god... Is she...?!
Anne, though confused, gently returned the hug. "Evonne, why are you crying?" She asked. Evonne pulled away from her and sniffled. "Y-you're my daughter, Anne!"
My eyes widened. HOLY SHIT!
Anne gasped. "WHAT?! No way! My parents are James and Eileen Marshall!" She protested. Evonne shook her head and grabbed Anne by the shoulders. "They're not your parents, they're your kidnappers!"
WHAT?!
Anne gasped again. "WHAT?! But-" She began, but Evonne cut her off. "They took you away from me when you were only five weeks old! They took you from your real family! From me! Anne... Your name isn't Anne Marshall... It's Anne Martinez..."
Both of Anne's eyes widened. "W-what?!" She gasped. "It's true, Annie... They're not your parents... Anne... Look me in the eyes..." Evonne instructed, and Anne did. "Anne... I am your mother... Your REAL mother! The ones who took you aren't your parents! You're my daughter! YOU'RE MY DAUGHTER, ANNE!"
I stood there shell-shocked. Holy shit... Evonne is Anne's mother?!
Anne stared at Evonne for a moment before she gasped. "M...M-Mom...?" She asked cautiously.
Evonne smiled, nodding as tears came out of her eyes. "Y-yes... I'm your mom, Anne!"
Anne gasped and her hand flew up to her mouth in shock as tears started to pour out of her eyes.
"MOM!" She cried as she leaped forward and hugged Evonne tightly. Evonne sobbed and hugged Anne back.
"M-MOMMY!" Anne sobbed.
"ANNIE! MY ANNIE!" Evonne cried. "I've l-looked for you for so long! And I've finally found you! Oh, sweetheart, I missed you so much!"
I stood there as I watched the mother and daughter duo embrace each other. Behind my sunglasses, a tear slipped from my eye, remembering Coleen, but I wiped it away and watched my girlfriend and her mother. I smiled slightly.
"Baby... I'm so happy for you..." I thought to myself.
Tess and Emily came over to us at that point.
"What the fuck is going on that couldn't wait until morning?" Tess grumbled.
"Anne just found her mother." I replied before explaining everything to them.
After that, we all went back to our bunk beds and fell asleep.
/The Next Morning\
So… dark…
I couldn't see or hear very well.
"Mm… what's going on?" I thought to myself.
"They… sleep… won't… wake them… now…"
I couldn't tell whose voice I was hearing. I was still shocked from the events from last night to think straight.
I sank deeper into our pillow.
Suddenly, I felt a foot go against my ribcage followed by "WAKE THE FUCK UP!"
My eyes flew open and I looked to see Troy looking down at us.
"Don't fuckin' kick me, asshole." I growled as Anne woke up.
"Just get up, Bill's gonna have a word." Troy said, then walked away.
"Remind me to kick that prick's ass when we get out of here, baby." I said.
"Will do." She said.
We then got up and then walked over to where the others were just as Carver, Tavia, and a few other guards stepped into the yard and faced us.
Carver was silent for a moment as he looked at us, then he spoke. "There's been increased walker activity along the fence, so be mindful when outside the walls. The herd's moved a little closer as of this morning, but that still doesn't necessarily mean we'll be hit."
I looked at Anne to see her rolling her eye, making me stifle a snicker.
"Know that we're monitoring the situation. Now, there are some folks that might be sore about what happened… and how things went…"
Tess, Bec and I glared at him hatefully when those words left his mouth.
"Well, that's all in the past now. Some of you are new to our community. Some of you are members who went astray. But know that you can find redemption here… forgiveness… by proving your worth through what will undoubtedly be hard work."
I snarled under my breath. Like you're one to talk about forgiveness and redemption.
"Reggie, you're nearly back in. Keep following the path and we'll welcome you back with open arms." He told Reggie. "Let Reggie be an example to you all. Salvation is available, but it must be earned… Chris, Tess, and Emily, my children, since they ran away also, will have to EARN back my trust, just like you all… Anne, you have also gone astray, but you can find forgiveness from me through the work that we will have you do. If you want salvation back, you will have to earn it…"
I scoffed quietly. "We will find no salvation from this hellhole." I thought to myself.
I drown out the sound of his voice by remembering the revelation from last night. I then stopped thinking about it when I saw Sarah talking with Clementine. A feeling of fear began to grow in me.
"I was so tired…" I heard Sarah say.
"Pay attention."
"OK, yeah. Sounds good. I just thought it was nice to finally-"
"Carlos!" Carver snapped. We all froze.
"Yes?"
"You're child seems to be in need of some correction."
I wasn't happy with the tone that carried when he said that last word, so I decided to be ready to intervene.
Carlos sighed as I walked to Sarah. "I'm sorry… Sarah, a-apologize to Mr. Carver." He told his daughter. She looked down at her feet. "I… I'm sorry, sir…" She said meekly, but I knew Carver wasn't satisfied.
I looked to see him frowning. "No, no… that ain't gonna cut it. I can't have this kind of behavior on your first day of reform. You discipline her now, Carlos." He ordered.
"H-How do you propose that I-"
"One good smack across the mouth should do it. It'll make her think twice before opening it again." He replied while crossing his arms. "Go on, we'll wait."
I looked at Tess to see her nod her head. We both then walked to Sarah, and placed our arms in front of her.
"Guess what, you little shit: You do anything to make him hurt her, you'll have me to be afraid of." I said, making Carver glare at me.
"Get out of the way." He barked.
"Over my dead body." I barked back.
"I… I'm not sure that with my hand I could-" Carlos started before Carver cut him off.
"Well, that's why you've got two hands, Carlos. Come on, and not some 'namby-pamby' thing. A good, hard smack! Otherwise, Troy will do it for ya. I don't think you want that. He can be… overzealous. Is that the word?" He asked Troy. The latter nodded. "If it means that I'll slap the shit out of her, then yeah." Troy confirmed.
I snarled. "It's like I said back at the lodge: You take joy in torture, you snarling bastard." I said.
"It was my fault!" Clementine said, helping me and my sister defend Sarah. Troy scowled. "Hey! No one's fuckin' talking to you." He growled, but Carver held his hand up, silencing him.
"Unless you want what she's about to get, I'd pipe down, missy." I hissed at him for that.
"I'll take the punishment." I said, making everyone look at me in surprise.
"No, you won't. Now, you and your half-sister better get out of the way."
"Like I'm gonna listen to the man who was never my father."
Anne and Nick came to the two of us. We reluctantly walked with them and stood next to Evonne. Carlos closed his eyes sadly before turning to Sarah.
"I-I'm sorry, Dad. I'm sorry…"
"Close your eyes, honey. It's only going to sting for a second." Carlos gently said. Sarah obliged and shut her eyes tightly as we all looked on in horror.
"DO IT!" Carver ordered.
Carlos reluctantly slapped Sarah across the face, resulting in her hurtling towards the ground.
"Jesus Christ…" I whispered as I knelt beside her. Anne covered her mouth in shock. Chase growled and clenched his fists. Sarah sat there, holding her cheek and whimpering. Carlos was horrified by what he had done. He stepped up to her. "I'm sorry, Sarah-"
"Stop!" Carver snapped. "You're not coddling that girl anymore! Let her sit there and think about what she's done."
He frowned at my attempts to comfort Sarah. I, in turn, gave him my icy cold glare.
"That's the problem with you, boy. Always-"
"YOU SHUT UP RIGHT NOW!" I furiously cut him off. He simply frowned as he looked to Troy.
"Troy, get Carlos to his post. Everyone else should have their assignments. It's time to get to work."
Troy looked down at Sarah. "God damn, you really knocked the shit out of her, Doc!" I simply glared at him as I wrapped my arms around Sarah.
Carver looked over his shoulder. "Everyone get to work!"
I stood up after Sarah didn't want me to help her up. I looked at Anne and saw she had a look of sympathy for the poor girl.
We reached out to her, but Tavia stepped up to us and Clem. "You three are working in the armory. Follow me." She ordered.
She turned around and walked out of the yard. I looked at Anne to see her frown at her back as we followed her.
"Soil coming up!"
HELLO!
Two large bags of soil suddenly fell and landed just inches away from the three of us. Anne yelped in surprise and jumped back slightly. We looked up, seeing the woman from last night on the roof looking down at us.
"Oh shit…" She muttered.
"Goddamn this thing!" We heard a man growl.
"Chris! Clementine! Anne!" Tavia called. The three of us quickly ran to her and followed her down the hall.
As we walked, Anne and I saw a girl with short brown hair wearing a brown long sleeved shirt looking at us.
Great...
"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." She said. Anne and I stopped walking and glared at her.
"Nice to see you, too, Becca." Anne greeted sarcastically.
Becca was one of the few people in the camp who was a teenager like Sarah, Anne, and me.
"I heard you two and those others were brought back." Becca said.
I frowned at her, while still glaring at her. "Yep..."
"And Sarah's back, too... I wish she'd stayed gone." She muttered.
I then had enough and picked her up and slammed her against a nearby shelf.
"Say that again..." I snarled.
"She's a baby... I'm simply stating the truth."
I growled at her. "She's had it rough, okay?! My asshole of a father just forced her father to slap her!" I exclaimed.
Becca's eyes widened at this news.
Anne then placed a hand on my shoulder to try and calm me down. "Baby, stop." She calmly said to me, making me release her.
"Wow! You two are together?! I didn't expect that." She said.
After that, Anne and I walked back to Clementine. "What was that all about?" She asked.
"Nothing, Clem. Just that Becca can be a pain in the ass sometimes." I replied.
As we kept walking down the hall, I spotted a girl with braided light black hair, a grey denim jacket, a grey T-shirt, black skinny jeans, and white boots smiling at me.
I smirked. Now there's a face I haven't seen in a long time.
"Hey, Chris." She said to me.
"Hey, Verity." I greeted.
Verity was one of the few kids that didn't pick on me. She helped my half-sisters keep the bullies away from me. She's also the one who called the paramedics when she found me bleeding to death that night.
Anne looked at me and rose an eyebrow.
"Oh right. Anne, this is Verity Clinton, the girl who ended up saving my life. Verity, this is my girlfriend, Anne." I introduced, resulting in the girls shaking hands. Verity then turned her attention back to me.
"I heard you, your half-sisters, Carlos and the others were brought back." She said.
I nodded. "Yeah…"
Verity noticed Anne and I had sad looks on our faces.
"What happened?" She asked.
"My dick of a father forced Carlos to slap his daughter, Sarah, not too long ago." I replied. She went wide eyed. "Really?" She asked, and my girlfriend nodded.
After that, the three of us kept following Tavia. We reached our destination and Tavia opened the door leading into the armory.
"Go on inside. Bonnie's waiting inside. Along with another prisoner."
The three of us stepped inside and Tavia closed the door. I looked to see a with walnut brown hair, a white track jacket, a black T-shirt, grey jeans, grey running shoes, and black fingerless gloves sitting in one of five chairs.
Oh… it's HIM…
"Well, look who's come back." He said, earning a glare from me.
"Nice to see you, too, Patrick." I greeted sarcastically.
Bonnie gestured for the three of us to sit down. "Someone's gonna have to sit between me and him, cause if I sit next to him, a fight will break out."
Anne sat in between me and Patrick.
"Hey… I guess you three are starting your day with me. We're loading magazines." Bonnie said. I leaned towards Anne's ear. "I'll try to not unload one into that prick's chest." I whispered, causing her to look at Patrick, who cleared his throat on purpose.
"Right. Clementine and Anne, That's Patrick Hartnell. Patrick, the girl on your right in Clementine and the girl between us is my girlfriend, Anne." I reluctantly introduced. Patrick suddenly smiled.
"Yes, you can have Verity, Patrick." I answered his unspoken question. The three females looked at me with raised eyebrows. I sighed with annoyance. "Verity had a crush on me, Patrick has a crush on her." I explained.
"I… suppose I owe you an apology." Bonnie said.
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
"I wasn't truthful when I came across y'all back at the lodge… and I was shown a kindness I never would've expected from a group of strangers. But… now folks are dead… and I can't help but feel that I'm to blame… but the plan was for no one to get hurt. I truly believe that was the intent. At least it was mine going in…"
"Don't blame yourself." I said.
"He's right. It was just a bad situation… that got worse. A lot of people are to blame." Clem agreed.
"That's big of you both, but… I know what I done… but I wanted you to know that I regret my part in all of this."
I saw the sincerity in her eyes, and knew she meant what she said.
"I apologize… which don't account for much, but it's all I can offer right now."
"Bonnie… you really mean that?" Anne asked. She nodded. "Yes, Anne, I truly mean it. I swear, I regret my part in this…"
She was silent for a moment. "So, how was your first night in the yard? I know it ain't so comfortable, but it's safe… which is more than I can say about a lot of places out there…"
I looked at Anne to see her in thought.
"You mean my first night in prison…" Clementine muttered.
"Don't think of it that way… think of it as more of a work release." Bonnie suggested.
Clem rose an eyebrow. "Didn't they do those in prisons?"
Bonnie and I chuckled. "I don't really know. I've never been to prison." She admitted before looking at the three of us. "Don't tell no one. Tryin' to keep a tough reputation."
Anne smiled a little while I quietly chuckle. She's not that bad…
"I was supposed to go… when Luke and Carlos and all them left. I was planning on leavin' too."
"Really?" Anne asked as I rose an eyebrow. "Yeah… when Luke approached me about it, I thought he was crazy. I mean, we're safe here. We got power. We got food. And Bill… he wasn't always like this…"
"Well, why didn't you leave if you were gonna?" I asked.
She sighed. "If I'm being honest… I guess I chickened out. I justified not goin' and change something that's broken than start all over. Take this situation with the herd… that's the type of thing that rips a community apart. Bill keeps things in line… he's got a lot of this stuff figured out. I don't know… I guess I just wanted to be somewhere safe for a while."
Anne frowned. "Nobody's safe here with Carver around. Look at what happened to Coleen." She said. I sniffled as I remembered the day he left her to die. Anne started rubbing my back soothingly.
"You're safe if you stay on his good side." Bonnie said.
"I don't think he has one anymore. He never helped me when I was…" I cut myself off as I looked away, trying to hide my tears. Anne pulled me toward her and I cried into her chest a little bit.
"I would if I knew where it was." Clem said.
"I mean, it ain't easy keeping a group this big fed and protected. I don't envy that position. Figure that'd make someone stressed." Bonnie said. "I'm not defending what he did. That was…" She paused before she sighed. "I'm alive because of him. That's just a fact. And Chris, I am so sorry about Coleen. I really am."
I looked up to her, while still keeping my head on my girlfriend's chest and nodded, accepting her apology.
"Sounds like you really respect Carver." Clem inquired.
"It's not that. I just have sympathy for the man… even though sometimes it's hard for him to do the same."
I finally stopped crying and pulled away from Anne as Bonnie grabbed another magazine and started loading it. "Luke had ideas about how things should go, but they didn't line up with what Bill was thinking… they butted heads, then Bec started showing, and that only made things worse. Maybe Luke was right about him. I wish he was around, but… I just hope that he's safe."
I nodded in agreement. "So do I…"
Just then, Bonnie's radio came on.
"Hey Bonnie, is Chris, Anne, and the girl still down there? I need to come and get them."Tavia said. I sneered. God, I hate that bitch…
Bonnie picked up the radio and pressed the button. "Yeah, they're here." She confirmed.
"OK, I'll be right there."
Tavia then hung up. Bonnie then stood up. "Oh, I almost forgot! I grabbed these for you three." She said as she walked over to a box and pulled out three jackets. One was a sky blue jacket with a rainbow on the front and the other two were leather jackets. One red, one black.
I smiled. "No. Fucking. Way!" I said as I slipped the red jacket on me. Anne took the black jacket. Clementine put on the rainbow jacket and zipped it up. Bonnie smiled and put a hand on her hip. "Huh? What do you think? I found those at the lodge y'all were at." She explained.
"It's cool. I like it." Clem said with a smile.
Bonnie smiled as well. "Well, I'm glad. Thought it was pretty cute."
"Hey Clem, do I look cool in this or what?" Anne asked with a grin as she gestured to her jacket. Clementine smiled lightly. "Yeah." She said with a nod.
"I agree. You look stylish, sweetie." I agreed with a smile.
"Just give me a pair of sunglasses and I'm ready to go!" Anne joked. She, Bonnie, and Clem laughed until they saw a frown on my face.
Anne eventually smirked as she admired my jacket. "I love the color. It matches your eyes, baby." She said. I smiled too. "Nice save, baby." I said. I then went back to admiring my jacket. At one point, I looked at Patrick to see him smirk.
"He has eyes? I thought he was blind." He joked, and I was trying my hardest not to strangle him, until I came up with an idea.
"Okay, if you don't want me to help you get a date with Verity, be that way." I retorted. He went wide eyed.
"My bad, dude." He apologized, and I smirked.
"That's what I thought. But seriously, if you want me to help you win Verity's love, let me know."
He quickly nodded his head. "Okay, you don't want help from a guy to win her heart. You'll need a girl to help with that." Anne said.
"Okay, then. Good luck, baby." I challenged, holding my hand out. She smirked and shook it.
"Oh, Anne, I also grabbed this for ya." Bonnie told her as she walked to another table. Anne watched her and rose an eyebrow as she pulled something out from behind a table and walked back over to us with it. Her eye widened at the item she carried. It was…
"MY GUITAR!" She gasped as Bonnie handed it to her. Bonnie smiled. "Yep. I knew how much you liked this thing, so I grabbed it when no one was looking before we left the lodge." She explained.
Anne smiled as she slung her guitar over her shoulder. "Thank you, Bonnie. You don't know how much this means to me…"
"Don't mention it. By the way, Chris, I picked up a little something for you, too." Bonnie said to me. I rose an eyebrow as she walked to another table. She picked something up and then walked back to us. I stood awestruck by what I saw in her hands. It was…
"MY SAIS!" I said as she handed them to me. "Yeah. I knew how much you loved these bad boys, so I snatched them after I grabbed Anne's guitar. I stashed into my jacket." Bonnie explained.
I spun the Sais around for a bit before I placed them in the pockets in my new jacket. "Thanks, Bonnie. You have no idea how much this means to me…"
"No problem." She said to me before turning her attention to Clementine. "You better watch yourself. I think some folks might be jealous of that cool jacket of yours."
Then, of course, Tavia just HAD to ruin the moment.
"Oh, there you are. What's with the ugly jacket?"
You're one to talk, bitch…
"Tavia!" Bonnie sighed.
"What?"
Bonnie shook her head. "Nevermind. I'll see you three later."
"Okay. See ya, Bonnie." I said as Clem, Anne, and I followed Tavia out of the armory.
We then walked through a door that led to the roof.
"Follow me. Come on." Tavia ordered. We followed her to what I presumed was one of the greenhouses Reggie was talking about last night. I looked at Anne to see her looking over the edge, seeing how high we were.
Remembering she hates heights, I walked over to her.
"We'll be fine, honey." I assured her as I wrapped my arms around her to calm her down.
She nodded and we walked away from the edge. Tavia opened the door to the greenhouse and we step inside with Clem.
"Stay in here for a minute. I'm gonna radio down and find out what you're doing. Don't touch anything." Tavia said before shutting the door.
I took a look around the greenhouse and I was amazed by the very sight. There were fresh plants everywhere! Some even with edible food!
I heard whimpering and recognize the voice.
Sarah…
I looked to my left and saw her huddled in a corner, whimpering as she rocked back and forth. Anne, Clem and I walked over to her and knelt by her side.
"Hey, Sarah…" Anne greeted softly. We all could see a red hand imprint on her chest.
I opened my arms for her and she slowly leaned into them and wrapped her arms around me.
"My Dad's never hit me before…" Sarah spoke as she pulled away from me and gingerly placed a hand on her cheek. "Even when I was really bad… he never hit me."
"It wasn't your father, honey. It was the man I used to call 'Dad'." I said, looking to the two other girls for support.
"Yeah. Carlos didn't want to, Sarah. Carver made him." Anne agreed.
"He's the bad guy, not your dad." Clem added. "So, in a weird way, Carver's the one who hit you… not your dad."
Sarah thought about that for a minute. "I guess so… well, then Carver hit me super hard… cause it still hurts like crazy."
She then looked at us. "Thanks… for trying to help."
"Of course, Sarah." I said.
Clem and Anne smiled for a brief moment. "I don't know why people have to be so mean. Even when I'm really mad, I still don't wanna hurt anyone…"
Just then, Tavia stepped in with Reggie and Verity. "Don't mess this up." Tavia told Reggie.
"Yeah, I get it." Reggie said.
"Reggie's in charge here, okay? Listen to him carefully."
"Yep. No problem, Tavia."
Tavia then shut the door. Verity scowled. "God, I hate that bitch…" She muttered. I smirked. Nice one, Ver…
Suddenly, the door opened back up and Tavia looked at us. "Someone say something?"
"No." All of us said at once in surprise. She bought it and closed the door.
Reggie then turned to Clem, Sarah, Verity, Anne, and I. "Okay, we gotta do a good job, guys. The camp is counting on us. Come on, I'll show you what to do. It's super easy." He said as he led us to over to a table. "Pick up a pair of these shears."
We obliged, but Sarah hesitated before picking hers up.
"OK, so we're picking these berries, right? Just pick them, put them in the basket. It's pretty simple. While you're at it, if you see any dead branches, take those shears, cut them off, and stack them neatly for composting. You got it?"
"So… we're basically gardening?" Verity asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah." Reggie nodded. "Something like that."
"My step-mom and I used to tend to our garden." I piped up.
We all then walked away from Sarah's table. Reggie looked at Sarah before looking at Anne and Clem. "Hey, so… is she gonna be okay? Cause what happened was down there… that was straight fucked up. I don't want her freaking out getting me in trouble."
"We talked to her, Reggie. I think she's okay." Anne told him.
He nodded. "Good… good. Cause I'm awful at that kind of stuff. Look, Bill's had it out for me ever since I helped those guys escape, so I gotta concentrate on my work."
He was silent for a moment before he suddenly patted Clementine on the head. I snickered as I saw the unamused look on her face.
Reggie took a step back. "That was awkward… I won't do that again. I'm gonna go work now." Reggie said before he patted Anne on the head. "See ya, Raggedy Anne."
I sighed with sadness when he passed by me. "What's wrong, Chris Kyle?" He asked me.
"I was just remembering what I dealt with as a kid." I replied, fighting tears already.
Reggie rose an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
I stiffened. "I don't wanna talk about it."
Reggie placed his hand on my shoulder. "Come on, buddy. You know you can-" He started before I cut him off.
"I SAID I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT!" I snapped.
Reggie looked surprised and stepped back a little. "I'm sorry I asked." He said.
"No, Reggie. I'm the one who should be sorry. It's just that when I was a kid, I… I was constantly being bullied." I confessed.
He went wide eyed. I nodded my head. "It may seem hard to believe, but it's true. Ask Tess or even Verity here. They know better than anyone."
"It's true." Verity said.
My hand subconsciously went to my arm.
Reggie was about to roll up the sleeve when I jerked back. "No, please don't." I pleaded, drawing the attention of the other girls. I sighed.
"What is it, baby?" Anne asked me.
"Why don't you wanna roll up your sleeve?" Clem asked.
I sighed. "Because of…" I started as I reluctantly took off my jacket and rolled up my sleeve, stopping at the shoulder, revealing a scar going from my wrist all the way to my shoulder. "… this."
Everyone looked at me with looks of shock, Anne's mixed with anger. "Who did that to you, sweetie?" She calmly asked.
"Amanda Harris. She and my ex-girlfriend, Kate Walker, grabbed me by my arms and legs and dragged me down into an alley. I ended up on my back as Amanda used her legs to keep mine still, while Kate held my arms down. Amanda snatched my right arm, rolled the sleeve up to my shoulder, pulled out her switch blade, and dragged the knife down my arm, stopping at the wrist. Verity heard me screaming and ran to help me. That's when I ended up in the hospital." I explained.
We all then got back to work after that. A while later, Verity, Anne, and I finished our work. "Finally." Verity groaned. I chuckled at her. "What's so funny?" She asked.
"Well, I enjoyed doing this. It reminded me of when my step-mom and I tended to our garden." I replied.
We all turned to Sarah's table to see that she finished her work too.
"Good job, Sarah." I praised.
"Yeah. This isn't that hard." Clem said.
"I know, I'm just afraid that I'll make a mistake…"
I placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's not the end of the world if you do." I assured her. "Just keep going."
Just then, Carver came in. Like I needed to see his face right now.
Reggie turned to Clem's table and went wide eyed. "You didn't do any of your work, Clem!" He said.
We all then went wide eyed when we saw he was right.
Carver came in. "Just checking in… seeing how the new girls and my disappointing son are working out."
I inwardly scoffed. Like you're one to talk about disappointment when it comes to family.
He noticed Clem's unfinished work and frowned. "Reggie…" He began, dangerously calm. "Yeah, Bill?" Reggie nervously asked. "What the fuck happened here?" Carver asked.
"Look, Bill, they're new, and me and my arm, it's not easy- I have one arm-"
"Shut up, shut up, shut the fuck up." Carver demanded. "You better have an explanation for this. And I mean now."
My eyes widened behind my sunglasses as Reggie tried to come up with something to say. Carver then cut him off. "Sounds like you're about to give me an excuse when I asked for an explanation."
"Dammit, Dad, give the man a break. Put yourself in his position. If you had one arm, don't you think it'd be hard to get the work done?" I asked. He just glared at me. "I don't think I was talkin' to you."
"We'll get it done. Just give us some time-"
"It's my fault. I helped Sarah do her work." Clementine piped up. Carver just shook his head. "Nah, this ain't your fault…"
I tensed as Carver frowned. "We talked about this, Reggie, didn't we? But, you just don't get it, do you?"
"Get what? I… I…"
Carver crossed his arms. "Why don't you go wait outside? Reggie and I have a few things to talk about."
"Reggie-" Anne started, but he cut her off. "Anne, go. I'll be okay…" Reggie told her.
"Come on, honey." I said as I wrapped my arms around her and we stepped out of the greenhouse with Clementine, Verity, and Sarah. I noticed Sarah walking to the edge of the roof, rubbing her arms. I let go of Anne and walked to the raven haired girl. I wrapped my arms around her.
"It's okay, honey." I said as the others took notice.
"Sarah…?" Anne asked slowly as they approached the two of us. Clem reached out to her. "Are you okay?" She asked.
Suddenly, the greenhouse door slammed open. Reggie stumbled out as Carver stormed towards him, backing him to the edge of the roof.
"I gave you plenty of chances!" Carver snapped.
"NO, NO, NO, NO" PLEASE, BILL! NO! NO! PLEASE!" Reggie pleaded before Carver grabbed the front of his shirt.
I knew what Carver was gonna do, I grabbed his arm, but he pushed me to the ground.
"NO!" Clem, Anne, Verity, and I exclaimed as we tried to get to our friend, but it was too late.
"REGGIE!" I shouted as Carver threw Reggie off the edge of the building. We all heard a sickening splat, which meant only thing. We looked over the edge to see Reggie's body with a pool of blood forming around it.
"Jesus Christ…" Verity groaned at the sight. Anne covered her mouth in horror.
"Weakness… incompetence… it puts us all at risk." Carver said as he crossed his arms. "And it won't be tolerated. You think about that the next time you're asked to do something."
I felt my anger intensify as I clenched my fists. Anne looked at Sarah, who was staring at her feet in shock.
"You four get downstairs. Bonnie is down there. Go!" He ordered. I turned my icy cold glare to him as we headed to the door that went back inside. I looked back to see Carver talking to Sarah. As the door closed and we took a few steps away from it, I felt my rage building inside of me. I ground my teeth as I looked back at the door. After a second, I finally let my rage out with the four simple words-
"DAMN YOU TO HELL!"
That's chapter fourteen. I would like to thank I heart Lyoko for letting me use Patrick Hartnell and Verity Clinton. Review and I'll post more chapters.