As soon as Carlos was no long in sight, she jumped down from the cot. She grabbed her shoulder as she slowly snuck to the exit of the tent. She peeked around the corner, seeing all six members of the group. Luke, Carlos, and Ethan, as well as two others, a man and a woman, standing together closely. The two were similar in appearance, both darker skinned with brown hair and brown eyes, the woman was slightly slimmer than the man and wore a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. The man who completed the couple was only just taller than the woman next to him and wore a pale gray jacket over a buttoned-up shirt and a pair of slacks.
There were also two other men standing next to each other, one looked around the same age as Luke, wearing a navy blue hoodie and a pair of jeans, as well as a crimson red truckers cap on top of a head of shoulder-length hair all slicked back.
The other man looked much older than anyone else in the camp, with short white hair and a face of thick black stubble. He was wearing a green waterproof jacket and a pair of matching pants.
"Alright, what's wrong?" Carlos asked.
"We know who that dude was…" Luke sighed.
"The girl's father," Ethan said.
"What?!" Carlos gasped.
"The man who took our medical supplies…it makes sense. We go into his place to get the supplies back, we hear him yelling at someone to run and Ethan comes across an injured girl in the middle of the forest." The old man said.
"Pete's right…the girl was in too good of a condition to be out there with no medical supplies…" Carlos said.
"Jesus, this is so fucking screwed, this isn't what we're here for!" The man in the cap mumbled, pacing back and forth.
"Nick, settle down," Luke said.
"If that's true then…oh my god…we need to get the girl back to him." The woman said.
"What do we say, Rebecca? We just rock up to his house and say 'Hey, look I know we took your daughter but…uh…here.'…" Ethan said, sarcastically.
"Don't get like that with me. I'm just trying to do the right thing." The woman said.
"She's right, though. We practically kidnapped the girl." Carlos said.
"So, how do we get her back?" The man with Rebecca said.
"Well, maybe we should get someone the guy didn't see to give her back and say they found her in the woods," Luke suggested.
"Nah, what if the girl says something," Rebecca said. "Alvin, any ideas, baby?"
"Guys…" Ethan mumbled.
"Not that I can think of…maybe if we…no…" The man said.
"Guys," Ethan said.
"How about if we-
"Guys!" Ethan yelled. "Stop, just…just fucking stop…"
"What do you mean 'stop'?" The man in the cap questioned. "What the fuck are we going to do?!"
"We've got this, Nick, stop stressing. We'll think of something." Luke said.
"No…no, we don't 'got this'. He's fucking d-." Clementine's shoulder instantly started aching, making a sharp, almost blinding pain. She completely collapsed onto the ground, rolling on the floor in pain as tears fell from her face.
"Clementine, are you okay?" Carlos asked, running into the tent.
"Jesus, is she alright?" Luke asked.
"Here, help me get her onto her bed." Carlos said.
"Sure," Luke said, lifting Clementine gently into his arms, before carrying her onto the cot.
"The painkillers must have worn off. I think I have some more around here, I'll-
"What the fuck?!" Rebecca yelled.
"Hey! Hey! Easy!" A voice said from outside. The voice was familiar to Clem, yet not belonging to anyone in the group.
"What was that?" Luke questioned.
"Get out there, I'll be right with you." Carlos ordered, before Luke sprinted outside of the tent.
"Keep your hands where I can see them!" Pete commanded.
"What he said. Who are you?" Ethan interrogated.
Carlos repeatedly looked to the exit of the tent and back at Clem before grunting, grabbing his gun and joined the rest of the group outside.
Clementine looked up to the exit of the tent. She dried her eyes as she jumped off the cot, thankfully the pain of the gunshot was starting to fade.
"That's not important. I'm not staying for long. I was wondering if you've seen anyone come by here." The stranger asked. Clementine took a deep breath as she hesitantly and slowly approached the tent exit, still clutching her aching shoulder.
"Nope. Nobody. Now answer his question. Who are you?" Nick said.
"Look, that's all I needed. I'll be on my way." The man said.
"Wait…wait. Guys, we're getting caught up in our own problem here. Remember what we're out here for. Sir, my name's Ethan North." He said.
"Ethan, one issue at a time," Pete said.
"Look, I don't care about names, okay? I'm wondering if you've seen my friends." The man said. Clem slowly peeked around the corner of the tent and finally got a glimpse of the man.
"Look, let me explain, I-
"Mason!" Clementine gasped, interrupting Ethan as she ran over to Mason. The boy crouched down with open arms. Clementine leaped into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Oh, my god…Jesus Christ, I thought I'd never find you. Sweetheart, listen to me, where is everyone?" He asked.
"I…I don't know," Clem said.
"You know the girl?" Alvin asked.
"Yeah, I know her…how'd she end up here?" Mason asked.
"That's a…uh…that's a long story," Ethan said, with a subtle laugh. "I'd love to explain it to you. Please, stay for dinner."
"I don't know…" Mason sighed.
"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice. The girl needs some time to heal." Carlos said.
"Heal? What?" Mason questioned. "What happened?"
"That's…uh…that's part of the long story…" Ethan said.
Thanks for reading guys! Sorry if that ending part seemed a bit rushed or awkward, I couldn't think of another way to finish it.
Hope you enjoyed! See you in the next chapter!