For Those You Love
Chapter 8
A/N- Okay, so another time jump, I know. But, I had something I really wanted to happen in this episode. I am going to tell you that this chapter IS going to have a rape scene, so if you don't want to read it, that's fine. Just thought I'd warn you. On with the chapter!
Lee would never forget the bloodstains on the bathroom walls. Nor would he forget the sight of his friend, Mark, lying legless on the floor. His voice was so fragile and broken.
"Lee, did ya fall in?! Dinner's on the table an everyone's havin' at!"
He had never moved so fast in his entire life. He sprinted down the stairs, thinking of his unsuspecting wife and daughter, unknowingly being turned into cannibals. He skidded to a halt just in time.
"Don't eat that!" He bellowed, seeing Clementine raise her fork to her mouth. Carley looked at him confusedly, tilting her head. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw the little girl drop her food immediately.
"Lee, Jesus, man! Did you find something?" Kenny asked, cocking one eyebrow and putting his own cutlery down.
"You're eating HUMAN meat!" He replied, deciding to just come out with it. I mean, wouldn't everyone rather know the truth?
"Ah, sit your ass down, Lee. This lady has made you a meal!" Evidently, the truth wasn't what they wanted. Carley, however, pulled Clementine's plate away from her. As did Katjaa from Duck.
"Mark is upstairs with his fucking legs cut off! You're EATING him." He bellowed, trying to get at least some reaction. A murmur ran through the group and they all stared at him in shock. "They're picking us off to trade as meat!" He added as further evidence.
"You're out of your skull!" Larry growled. Obviously the old bastard would have something to say. After all, he hated the other man's guts.
"MARK is UPSTAIRS right now with NO LEGS!" He shouted. Didn't they get it?! They were all going to die of they didn't get out of there fast! Desperately, he turned to the matriarch of the family and practically pleaded with her. "Brenda, tell me he's NOT being eaten right now."
A look of sad acceptance came over her face before she spoke, her voice soft and guilty… filled with regret.
"It's true."
"Everything coulda turned out okay for you folks." Danny muttered, somehow still eating his own meal. Brenda intervened before it could turn ugly.
"Settle down, honey." She turned to the rest of the group and sighed. "Growing up in rural Georgia, you're taught not to waste. It's how I was raised and how I raised my boys. Now you got monsters roamin' around that do nothin' but eat people. And for what? To continue to rot 'til they eat some more!"
"Ugh I'm gonna puke…" Lilly muttered, pushing her plate away with a disgusted look on her face.
"You're all sick… sick in the head." Lee stated, his voice high pitched.
"Andy is right; we go after folks who were gonna die anyways, one way or another." Brenda continued, almost as if she hadn't heard a thing that had been said. Danny looked up from his meal and smirked.
"Like y'all."
Anger flared through Lee like never before.
"Kenny! Get your gun!" He growled to the older man. Shrieks came from Katjaa, telling him to ignore Lee, but he stood (as any best friend would) and obeyed.
Then, Andy and Danny held their individual guns up, pointing them at the terrified guests. Carley was holding a petrified Clementine's hand, trying to reassure her in some way.
"We got lots of use for ya'll right here." Danny muttered, his face dark.
Then, bedlam broke loose. Everyone started talking at once. Duck chirping to his mother and Larry swearing angrily. Lee decided to take the calm, reassuring approach he was known for.
"Everyone! Everything will be okay!"
"Dad! Dad…!" He heard. He looked over to see Clementine hyperventilating with her eyes darting back and forth between her parents. Andy seized the back of her head and dragged her to her feet.
Lee saw red.
"I'll kill you!" He bellowed, making a grab across the table, only to be stopped when Danny held 'Charlotte' up to his neck. He looked to his left and saw that his wife was on her feet; her normally warm, sparkly emeralds had turned into a steely, reptile green. She had never looked so angry in the thirteen (nearly fourteen) years that they had been married.
A tumbling sound from the hallway. Gasps of shock and horror.
Mark slithered along the wooden floor, leaving a trail of blood behind him. Lee looked around to check on everyone when he saw it. Clem was staggering, swaying… falling.
"Clementi-!" He managed to shout, before 'Charlotte' gave him a right-hook to the face.
Some Time Later
Sounds of banging, vomiting and shouting awoke Lee from his slumber. A gentle tugging motion his shoulder and a shrill voice made him open his eyes.
"Daddy? Please wake up…" Clementine sat by his side, tears falling down her face. He blinked, trying to figure out where he was, when he noticed the lack of his wife's presence.
"Are you okay, Clem? Where's mom?" He asked gruffly, still confused. Even more tears fell down her cheeks.
"I'm fine. They took mom, though."
"To do what, sweetheart?" He asked, fear taking over him. Clementine shrugged her shoulders and looked as if she were straining to remember.
"They said they had big plans for her…" She said slowly. Lee's heart dropped, knowing what that meant.
With Carley
She didn't really know what was going on. She felt like a truck had run over her head. Her eyes shot open as she remembered exactly what had happened earlier.
"Ah, at last you're awake…" She heard, assuming it was one of the St. John brothers. She felt a strong hand wrap around her bicep and tug her up, onto the bed.
"Where's my daughter? Where's my husband?" She groaned, feeling rope snake around her wrist and Andy's breath on her neck. "What are you doing?"
"Y'know, it's such a shame." He mumbled, almost as if he hadn't heard her. "Such a pretty face… it'd be a waste to trade you off…"
He stood up from his sitting position and unzipped his zipper, all the while remaining silent. Carley trashed, trying to free herself from her restraints. Scared beyond words, she knew what was going to happen. The worst thing was that no-one could hear her… come to her rescue.
"Don't worry, gorgeous." Andy muttered, standing before her in just his boxers with a small smirk playing on his lips. "I'll try not to hurt you…"
Then, he was on her, roughly forcing her jeans and blouse off her thin frame. She retreated inside herself, thinking of her defenceless family.
"They won't hurt you. I won't let them." She felt him getting closer… and closer…
She tried to wrestle from his grip, making him become still. He moved his hand and brought it snapping across her right cheek, opening up her old scar. She felt the liquid trickle down her face and knew it was a lost cause.
"Don't fucking try that again… or you'll be getting worse than that punch. Do you hear me?"
She averted her eyes, biting her bottom lip and (for the first time in years) prayed to anyone who would listen.
It was safe to say that it was the worst experience of her life, feeling someone other than Lee touching her in that way. It was worse than losing her virginity… worse than giving birth, hell, worse than any pain she'd felt in her life.
Eventually, he came to a sudden halt and pulled away, picking up his discarded clothes and slicing the ropes that bound her to the bed. Instead of fighting, she just brought her knees up to her chest and sobbed.
He left her there, wallowing in her own grief, disgust and fear, all the while chuckling.
With Lee
Thankfully, they had found a way out of the meat locker, sending Clementine through a ventilation shaft to unlock it from the outside. Unfortunately, Larry hadn't made it; he turned after a heart attack and tried to bite Lilly. Kenny dropped a salt lick on his head before he could do any damage.
They were in the room connecting to the meat locker:
A human slaughterhouse.
"So what's the plan?" He hurriedly whispered to Kenny. The older man looked back at him with fear evident in his eyes.
"That dumbass is so caught up in his own rant that we could probably sneak right up on him." He said lowly. Lee was sure that, if they weren't in such a serious situation, he would be laughing his ass off. Then his face became determined. "Just stick behind me, in case anything goes down. When we get to the front, grab his gun."
"Sounds good." He assured, nodding his head and following his friend, who was already halfway to the exit. They heard Danny ranting to himself.
".. Gah! What's taking Momma and Andy so long? What are they finishing their damn dinner first? Coulda brought me out a plate at least!
"Fuck it's dull out here…"
"Dan, what are you doin' out here?" They heard, indicating Andy's presence. A seemingly satisfied grin on his face made Lee uneasy as he raced to the barn-stall behind Kenny.
"Just guarding the place, like you said." Danny answered, his voice muffled slightly.
They waited for a while, only to be greeted by silence. Lee peeked his head out of their cover, only to be greeted with a gun held to his face. Quick as a flash, he moved it and tackled the man holding it. Danny squirmed, making one of his flailing fists connect with Lee's ear, momentarily making him dizzy.
Kenny leapt out of the stall, attacking Danny with a bloody sickle and drawing a lot of blood. The man fell backwards, feeling a bear trap clench around his ankle.
Lee growled and stood over him, a menacing look on his face.
"Where's my family, asshole?!" Kenny bellowed, throwing his weapon aside and glowering.
"You can't have 'em! We need the vet!" He shouted back, in obvious pain.
"Where's my wife?" Lee growled, red starting to obscure his vision. By the way Danny's face contorted, he knew he was just as confused as he was.
"I thought she was in there with you." He admitted, his eyes genuine. A scream alerted them.
"KAT!" Kenny bellowed, racing out of the barn towards the source of the noise, leaving just Lee and Danny.
He felt little, warm fingers slip into his and looked down to see Clementine.
"You okay, sweet-pea?" He asked, genuinely concerned. After all, she did just walk through a damned human slaughterhouse!
"I'm fine, dad." She whispered. She wasn't fine. He knew that much, but he had to leave her with Lilly. He had to get to Carley.
"Look, sweetheart. I'm going to find mommy. Stay here and look after Lilly?"
"Okay."
And he was off, after assurance from Lilly that she would protect his daughter. He bolted over to the house, not bothering if he was making noise. His wife was the only thing on his mind. He threw himself through the front door, up the stairs and into the room on his right. His heart stopped.
Carley sat on the floor, cradling her head in her hands with her knees tucked into her chest. She didn't seem to notice his presence as she sobbed, for once in her life allowing her emotions to flow freely. He approached slowly, as to not startle her and heard the floorboard beneath his feet creak loudly.
Her head shot up, looking at him (for the first time) in fear. She scrabbled away from him, not really knowing who it was. Could it be Andy back for more? Could it be Danny to take his turn?
He knelt down to her level, holding his hands out in front of him, trying to show her somehow that he meant no harm. She still backed away, her chest heaving.
"Car… it's me. Your husband, Lee." He whispered, just loud enough for her to understand. Familiarity flashed across her face before she threw herself into his arms, tears sliding down her face. "What did they do to you?"
"He… Andy… Oh God…" She sobbed, clutching his jacket ferociously.
"It's okay. You don't have to talk about it." He soothed, smoothing her hair lovingly. Somehow, she felt safe in his arms… like nothing could harm her. "But we have to get out of here. The St. Johns should have heard me come up here."
Carley nodded, making sure her puffy vest was thoroughly zipped up before standing and walking tentatively towards the door. Once in the light, he saw the full extent of her injuries. Her scar had opened, leaving a stream of blood trailing down her cheek. Her lip was busted and her eye was slowly turning dark around the outside, showing that a black eye was on its way.
They made their way downstairs, passing Brenda's corpse and ran outside.
Katjaa was knelt over Kenny's form, sobbing and trying to stop blood flowing from a gunshot wound. Duck was crying out to his father, being held back by Andy. Carley tensed and ran over to her daughter, who was clinging on to Lilly's leg. As soon as she saw her mother, she sprinted towards her and clung to her tightly.
"Andy…" Lee called, taking it upon himself to help the little boy. He approached him and kept his hand in a surrender.
"Who the fuck do you people think you are? Look at what you've done!"
"Shut the fuck up!" He called back, glaring at the man. He had fucking raped his wife!
"You think I'm playin' here, boy?! All we wanted was gas. We came to you peacefully!" He argued back, keeping his gun focused on Duck's head.
A gunshot rang out and Andy reeled backwards, dropping the gun and clutching the side of his head in agony. Lee quickly grabbed for it and raised it. He glanced over his shoulder to see Carley with her gun raised and an unreadable expression on her face.
He walked over to the rest of the group. They were about to leave when…
"Y'know, Lee. You've got a fireball there!" Andy spat, kneeling up to glare at them. "Great in bed. At least that's what I thought."
He spun on the spot, raised his gun and pulled the trigger. Before he knew what was happening, Andy was on the floor, a bullet hole in his forehead.
"Lets go." He said to the rest of the group, not daring to look at anyone and walking away from the dairy.
A/N- Okay, this was painful to write. I love Carley's character, so it actually hurt for this to happen… but, it's an essential plot point to extend her emotions and feelings. I hope no one was offended by this, because I know rape is a touchy subject, but I felt that people needed to understand that zombies aren't the only danger out there. Humans can be just as dangerous. R&R? Thanks for reading! HPTwin OUT!