Chapter 22: Trust Issues
Anne's POV
We kept walking towards the meeting place. Jane, Luke, Nick, and Tess were in the front. Clair, my boyfriend, and I were in the middle, and Clementine and Sarah brought up the rear. Chris and I were holding hands as we walked.
I looked at Clair to see her smirking. "Wait a minute. When did this happen?"
I blushed. "Not that long ago." I replied.
She smirked still. "I'm happy for you guys."
I smiled. "Thanks, Clair."
"No problem." She said when I heard a horse's snort. We all looked and saw it was Windrun, Clair's horse. He clopped to Clair, who smiled and patted his neck.
"Who's this?" Jane asked.
"My horse, Windrun." Clair replied.
We kept moving after that.
Luke groaned a couple of times. "Okay… Look, I hate to ask this, but… are we there yet?" He asked.
Jane chuckled once. "We're not far."
"Better not be. I'm gettin' sick of all this fuckin' walking." Tess said.
"I'm with Tess on that." Nick said.
I looked at Clair to see how she'd react. Clair never was big on cussing. All Clair did, though was frown at Tess. I shrugged it off and looked at Clementine and Sarah.
"Look, Sarah. You can get through this. We both will. I promise." Clementine assured Sarah.
"But… I'm not okay…" Sarah said.
"Just try. Can you do that?"
"She just needs a little time, Clem. Leave her be for a bit." Jane said.
I saw a frown on my boyfriend's face. "This coming from the one who wanted to leave her behind?" Chris scoffed. Clementine walked to Luke and Jane as Tess and I tried to calm Chris down.
"I don't know about this." Jane said. "The way she is… She's gonna cause problems."
"The hell she is." Tess snapped at Jane.
Jane simply remained silent for a few seconds.
"What happened in there?" Clementine asked Jane, who looked at the girl. "When we went in there you were ready to help, but then… something changed."
"Look, I'd just… I'd seen that kind of thing before. I just didn't want to stick around to the bitter end." Jane replied.
"That still didn't give you the right to try and convince me and Clem to just up and abandon Sarah, Jane." Chris said.
"Sorry. I don't mean to sound harsh. It's just the way things are."
"Does that mean you'd turn on me? If I was hurt or something?" Clementine inquired.
"No… I mean… Clem… I wouldn't have to." Jane replied. "And just because you and Chris got her out of the today, doesn't mean you saved her. Trust me."
I frowned. Does she know something we don't…?
"I tried to save Jaime too. But she… gave up." Jane added.
Luke frowned and walked up to them.
"I just… I can't believe it…" He muttered.
"What's wrong, Luke?" Clair asked.
"Soon as you guys said 'go,' I was the first one up on the roof. Like I had already made up my mind." He replied.
"Luke, you can't let it eat away at you." Jane said.
Luke frowned and walked to Jane's side. "Well, I can't forget it." He told her.
"I dragged my sister across four states. And every morning, she'd say she wasn't getting up. So I'd convince her. Or push her. Or goddamn carry her, if I had to. Until this time… Walkers cornered us. Forced us up to the roof. And when they kept coming… I… I couldn't make her jump. Couldn't throw her. So I tried something else. I told her she could have what she wanted. And I left her there. Jumped to the next building over by myself." Jane said.
"Jesus." Nick said.
"You left your sister?" Luke asked.
"How could you leave your sister?" Clementine demanded.
"Yeah, I'm with Clem on this one, Jane. If me and Tess were in the same position as you and your sister were, neither one of us would leave each other." Chris said.
"Damn right. I would never leave him or Emily." Tess agreed.
"I don't… I don't know…" Jane said. "It killed me for a long time. But I finally realized that I'd put her on a forced march through hell, when all she really wanted was for me to let her go. Sarah was that way too…"
"Jane…" Luke said.
"Sarah and Jaime aren't the same person. We don't know she'll end up like that." Clementine said.
"People don't change." Jane said simply. "I mean, look at how Amanda was when she found us."
"Jane." Chris snarled. "You are treading on VERY thin ice right now."
Jane sighed. "Come on. Let's get back to your friends." She said.
I rubbed Chris's back to get him to calm down. He started taking in deep breaths and soon calmed down, making me smile.
We then made it back to the meeting place then Mike spotted us. "Son of a bitch. You found 'em!" He said.
"Yeah, I'm a little amazed myself, to tell you the truth." Luke said.
"AND we found an old friend." Chris said, nodding to Clair. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise when they saw Clair and Windrun walking up to us.
"Clair?!" Bec exclaimed.
"That's me." Clair said, smirking.
"If it weren't for Clem, Anne, Clair, Chris, and Jane, well… I don't know what would've happened." Luke said.
Emily smiled and ran to Tess and hugged her and Chris, who both hugged her back.
"I was so worried." Emily said to them.
I smiled as the three of them were brought back together again. My mom came up to me and hugged me, and I hugged her back.
"Thank God you're okay, Annie." She said.
"I'm more than okay, Mom." I assured her.
Bec looked at Sarah. "Sarah. How you doing, hon?" She asked as Sarah walked up to her. She tried to reach out to Sarah, but Sarah pulled away. Bec pulled her hand back. "That's okay, sweetie. Whenever you're ready. I'm just glad you're here."
Sarah then walked off as Becca walked up to us. "See, they weren't dead, Becca." I said.
Surprisingly, Becca smirked. "That's good."
Tess frowned at Becca. "You thought we were dead?"
"Yeah. She and I ended up shouting at each other." Chris said.
"Damn." Nick said.
Becca then looked at Clair. "When'd you guys meet up with Clair?" She asked.
"Just shortly before we found Luke, Sarah, Nick, and Tess." Clair replied.
I looked at Emily. "Amanda show up yet?"
She shook her head. "Not yet, no. I'm sure she will soon, though."
"If she does…" Chris started then drew his Sais. "I'll be ready to take my revenge."
"You ran into Amanda?" Tess asked.
I nodded. "Yeah. Me, Chris, Jane, Clem, and Bec. She aimed her gun at me, but Chris grabbed her arm before she pulled the trigger. After she kicked him to the ground, Jane tackled her. Then he grabbed Amanda again and knocked her ass out." I explained.
"Damn." Tess said.
I nodded then saw Clementine walk into a tent nearby. I saw Kenny was in the tent as well. I sat in front of the statue and Chris sat next to me. Just then, I looked out to the tree line Chris, Clementine, Jane, Bec, and I first got here from and saw Amanda storming up to us.
Chris growled. "Time for round two." He said, standing up. Tess stood between them, but Chris kept walking. "Stay out of this, Tess. Like Dad said, I have to stand up for myself."
Tess sighed and sat next to me as everyone but Clementine and Kenny saw Amanda try to punch Chris, but he grabbed her fist with one hand then punched her in the stomach with his other hand, making her double over and fall to her hands and knees, but it only made Amanda even more furious, so she kicked his legs out from under him.
He fell to the ground on his back then Amanda got on top of him and punched him in the jaw. I wanted to help, but Chris said this was his fight, so I stayed where I was. Chris caught her next punch then punched her square in the mouth when I looked over at Sarah to see she had a scared look on her face so I walked over to her.
"It's gonna be okay, Sarah." I assured her, then saw Chris raise his knee to Amanda's stomach, causing her to gasp and roll off of him. He got to his feet then kicked her with his foot in the stomach then brought his knee to her face, sending her to her back. He then pressed his knee into her stomach to keep her down.
"Had enough?" He asked her.
"You kidding, Freak? I'm just getting started." Amanda said then smacked him across the mouth with the back of her hand, sending him off of her. When she got to her feet, Chris slammed her into the archway.
Just then, Bec groaned, causing us all to look at her, including Chris and Amanda.
"What happened?" I asked.
"My water broke." She replied, making us all look at her shocked. Even Chris and Amanda stopped fighting.
"Oh, shit! Does that mean what I think it does?" Luke asked.
I looked at Chris, who snarled at Amanda. "We'll finish this later." He said after letting her go.
"I'll be waiting." Amanda said, then walked to the other side, away from us.
Damn, that bitch has problems…
I looked to see Clementine and Kenny coming out of the tent.
Looks like Clem got through to him. At least I hope she did…
"Are you okay? How does it feel?" Mike asked.
"It feels wet, that's how it feels!" Bec snapped
"What's going on?" Clementine asked.
"Bec's water broke!" Bonnie replied then Bec doubled over, but Bonnie helped her.
"Oh, Christ." Jane said.
"We should… I don't know what we should do." Bonnie said.
"Aw, fuck!" Luke said.
"That means the baby's coming, right?" Clementine inquired.
"Kenny. Thank God. I think the baby's coming. What do we do?" Bonnie asked Kenny.
"All right. All right… Gimme a sec." Kenny said.
"Are you serious, man?" Chase asked.
"No way can Bec travel like this." Luke said.
"Damn right." Dylan said.
"He's right." Jane said. "She's gonna make a lotta noise. They'll be able to smell her, too."
"This place doesn't seem safe for a baby being born." Clementine observed.
"She's right." Rebecca T. said.
"That map shows a couple of buildings nearby. Maybe one of them could do the trick?" Mike said.
"Good thinking, Mike." Shel said.
Bonnie looked at the museum sign. "The museum seems like it could be a good start. I'll go."
"Good idea. Mike, think you can go with her?" Luke asked.
"Sure thing." Mike replied.
"I'll check the building by the river." Jane said.
"I'll go with you, Jane." Chris said. They then walked off.
"Okay, then. Kenny, you, uh, you and the others stick with Bec. And I will check the perimeter for walkers." Luke said. "Sarah? Sarah. You just stay here with the others, okay?"
"Clem and Anne…" Bonnie called and we walked to her.
"What's up?" I asked.
Bonnie looked at Clem first. "I know it must've been hard, but thank you for talking to Kenny. I'd love for y'all to give me and Mike a hand looking at the museum, but I was thinking… How do we know Jane ain't just gonna take take off? Maybe you two should go with her and Chris. Make sure she comes back." Bonnie said. "If she takes off, I doubt Chris can stop her all by himself."
"What do you mean by that?" Luke asked Bonnie.
"You know, she doesn't like being around people much. And she volunteered to head off awful fast. I guess it could be nothing. I get why Chris volunteered to go with her, though."
"I trust Jane." Clementine said.
"Yeah. I mean, I would've never made it back without her." Luke agreed.
"Just something to think about." Bonnie said.
"Okay. We're looking for warm blankets, clean water, and disinfectant…" Luke told the group.
"Maybe Anne and I should go with Chris and Jane." Clementine said.
"I'm good with that." I said.
"Better hurry and catch up then, you two." Luke told us. "All right everyone, you know what to do. Let's be fast, and let's be careful."
We all then split up. Clementine and I caught up with Jane, but my boyfriend was not in sight, which made me worried, so I ran to Jane.
"Jane, where's Chris?" I asked.
"Up here!" He called out from the deck. I sighed with relief then ran up to him while Clementine and Jane followed. I stayed by Chris's side, given that I don't like heights. He wrapped his arms around me. "We're okay, baby." He assured me.
"I know, but I hate heights." I reminded him.
"I hate tight spaces." He admitted.
"You're claustrophobic?" Jane asked him.
"Extremely. One time, when I was 12, I embarrassed Tess, which resulted in her putting me in a closet. It wasn't until an hour past that she, Carver, Coleen, and Emily found out I'm claustrophobic." He explained. "After that incident, I slept with my door cracked open a little bit."
I frowned. Note to self, kick Tess's ass later…
"Anyway, I hope this place is what we're looking for." Jane said.
"Me too." I said.
"God knows we could use a break." Chris said.
"Check this out." Jane said. Chris, Clementine and I walked over to her to see a lock on the gift shop door. "This gate's still locked, which means that hopefully no one's gotten to whatever was locked in there in the first place."
"That sounds logical." Chris said.
"Do you think you can pick the lock?" Clementine asked Jane.
"I should be able to figure something out…" Jane said.
"That nail file you found. Think that would work?" I asked.
"Maybe."
"The nail file…" Clementine started.
"Versatility is not overrated." Jane replied, smirking. She then started working on picking the lock. "You know, uh, it wouldn't hurt to try a heavier hand with this thing. See if you guys can find something bigger. We might need to bust the mechanism."
"We're on it." Chris said. Clementine walked over to a poster from the Civil War.
Chris chuckled while he looked at it.
"What, baby?" I asked.
"Always hated history, but when we learned about the Civil War, I paid VERY CLOSE attention." He replied.
Clementine looked in a trach can.
"Find anything?" Jane asked.
"No. Not even trash." Clementine replied.
"Shit…" I hissed.
Chris walked over to the cannon. "You think this old cannon still works?" He asked.
"Heh! Check the muzzle, Napoleon." Jane joked and Chris did. "Oh." He said.
"They fill 'em with cement so they're safe." Jane replied.
I took a look at the info graphic behind him. "Ow! Shit." Jane hissed, making us look at her.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Yeah… I think I almost had it. Keep looking." She said.
Clementine walked over to a telescope, tried to look through it, then pulled back. "I guess it's broken." She muttered.
"Try the other one." I suggested. She did and didn't pull away, which meant this one worked just fine.
"There's some building across the river. I think I can see a church…" Clementine said.
"The nearest river crossing is miles up. Bec wouldn't make it in her condition." Jane said.
"Fuck!" Chris hissed.
"What?" I asked.
"We've got company." He replied.
"Shit shit shit. He's coming this way." Jane said. "And who knows if he has friends nearby?"
"Should we run for it?" Clementine asked.
"Normally I would. But it's too much of a risk. We can't lead him to the others…"
"What should we do, then?" I asked.
"We should scope him out and see what he's up to. I don't like having some stranger sneaking around so close to the others. We've got enough on our plates with the baby coming…"
"Maybe I can try talking to him?" Clementine suggested.
"Good call. Chris, you come with me. Hide. Now."
Chris and Jane hid on the steps while Clem and I hid behind the cannon. When we heard his footsteps, we moved to the opposite side of the cannon and saw the guy was trying to throw his bag in the trash can. We slowly came out from behind the cannon.
"Hey." Clementine said. The guy pulled a revolver on us.
I raised my hands a little. "Easy. We ain't gonna hurt ya. My name's Anne. This is Clementine."
"Who are you?" Clementine asked.
"I am Arvo." The guy, Arvo, replied. "I'm going to go. I don't want to shoot."
Jane and Chris snuck up behind him as Arvo said he didn't want to shoot me and Clem.
"You don't have to shoot anyone." Clementine said.
"She's right. Just put the gun down." I said.
Jane snatched his gun as Chris pulled out his own.
"Back up." Jane said.
"Nice and easy, Russkie." Chris said.
I looked at him. "What's makes you think he's Russian, babe?" I asked.
"His accent." Chris replied.
"Put the bag down." Jane ordered, and Arvo did so.
"Clem, make sure he doesn't have any other weapons in there." Jane said to Clem, who unzipped the bag, opened it and went wide eyed.
In the bag were no weapons, but meds.
HOLY SHIT!
"No, I have no more guns, I swear!" Arvo said.
"We just need to make sure that you're not a threat, man." Chris said.
Clementine picked up a bottle of the medicine.
"Anything?" Jane asked then she and Chris looked in the bag.
"Whoa!" Jane said.
"Holy shit!" Chris said. "That's a serious stash of meds."
"No no no no no. Take whatever you want but, don't take that medicine." Arvo pleaded.
"Why not?" I asked.
"It's for my sister. "My older sister. She is sick."
"If that medicine's for your sister, why are you hiding it in the garbage?" Clementine questioned.
"I need to keep it… I need to keep it safe."
"Sister or not, we could really use some of that stuff." Jane said.
"No! You are not nice people. You have already left me defenseless and now you take my sister's medicine?"
"Hey! We've got people who are suffering. Who need this medicine." Chris said.
"Luke's still a wreck after Carver's, Kenny's a mess, Bec's in pain…" I told Clementine.
"Look at all of it. Clementine, we need that stuff." Jane said.
"My people are suffering just as much as yours. You are not special!" Arvo said.
"Maybe not, but we still need this stuff, pal!" Chris said.
"'Clementine,' yes? You must believe me." Arvo said.
"I'm sorry, Arvo. We need these." Clementine said.
"You will wish you hadn't this." Arvo said, frowning.
Chris pushed Arvo into a corner of the deck, holding his gun to Arvo, growling.
"Babe, don't do it." I said to him.
Chris snarled at Arvo. "Don't you EVER come around here again. I don't give a shit if you do have some sick sister. The next time I see you…" Chris started then let Arvo go. "…You won't just be walking away. Go. NOW."
Arvo then left. Jane dropped Arvo's gun. "I can't believe I've gotten into this mess. Taking some stupid kid's stuff… Like a bandit."
"We should go get everyone else." Clementine calmly said.
"Yeah…" Jane said. "Go bring those meds to the others and bring everybody back here. I'm gonna get this place open then we need to move everyone here ASAP."
"Come on, girls." Chris said. I took his hand as we walked downstairs. Luke came by as we reached the bottom. Me, Chris, and Clem walked over to him.
"Clem, Chris, Anne! Guys, hey! Any luck with that observation deck?" He asked. "I was just checking on the others and they said they haven't heard from y'all in a while."
"The deck might be a safe place we can stay tonight, where Bec could have the baby. At least, if we can't find something better." Clementine said.
"I guess that's something. I should check it out. Is Jane still up there now?"
"Yeah. She's trying to get the gift shop opened." I replied.
"You know, I can't figure her out."
"What do you mean, Luke?" Chris asked.
"I mean, she really lays it on the line, but… at the same time, she doesn't show you anything that counts." Luke replied.
"I like her. She's honest and she knows what she's doing." Clementine said.
"Yup. That's more than I can say for some." Luke said.
"Jane seems like the kind of person who gets tempered by hardship. You know, guys?" Chris asked. "But, when I look at Kenny now, he just… he seems broken, and broken people get reckless."
"Yeah. He always tries to do the right thing. But… he's not the same anymore." Clementine agreed.
"Well, we're glad you see it too." Luke said.
"We need to tell the others about the deck." Clementine told Luke.
"Yeah. Good. I will, uh… I'll see y'all back there." Luke said, then headed for the deck, while me, Chris, and Clem headed back to the others.
That's chapter twenty-two. Y'all know what to do.