A/N: Okay, so I'll begin my discussions!
obsessed naruhina fangirl- Thanks as always for your lengthy reviews and I'm glad I'm keeping you hooked so far, and as for discussions I have got a key point I want to discuss... do you feel that the lack of romance or sex in the game is what makes it better? An odd point but one I agree with, although we've had a few occurrences of romance or sex (e.g Molly's deal, the girl in the woods daughter were it's suggested she was raped and Jane in general and a hint of Carlee) however other than this I liked the game so much because it could form such a strong friendships, or paternal relationships, which was a stark contrast to so many games and movies today that are fixated on romance and sex in particular. I was first drew to the game because of how well it functioned without these themes. Do you agree?
XXXWOLFLOVERXXX- Thanks, I'm glad you're becoming a regular reviewer and have strong opinions on the characters and events. I look forward to your thoughts with each passing chapter!
Night-Chan-DragonEyes- Yeah I'm still enjoying your reviews and I'm glad the story is keeping you reading and guessing, I enjoyed writing about the Nick and Sarah I-Spy game it was a nice difference to the usual gloomy tone I set for this story. I might try to incorporate more humour in time (I always grow on characters that make me laugh, so I want to do the same here) either way expect glum things ahead and Carver's deal is gonna be bad...
AvengedVeralin- Your first review and the one that made my day! Seriously, your praise has just fuelled and motivated me to write on. I loved how you commented on the decisions having bad consequences no matter which way they went. I tried to make the decisions Clementine had to make in the "grey" zone, with no clear right or wrong to them. Even the decision with whether Clementine should or shouldn't have accepted Carver's deal (I've noticed) has divided opinion among the reviewers. With XXXWOLFLOVERXXX agreeing with Clementine whereas others such as yourself and Apathy wouldn't have made that decision.
and finally Rebloxic and AquaDestinysEmbrace thanks for you're continued reviews!
Clementine re-entered the pen with her gut in knots as Luke was thrown to the floor next to her as heads turned.
"Luke!" Rebecca yelled in concern from her bed as his battered form slammed against the floor, yet he didn't react as he was obviously too far gone to regain conscious from that, Clementine stared down at concern at her friend as she tried to lift him from the floor...
His lips were bleeding, both of his closed eyes were blue and puffy his nose was slowly dribbling blood as it seemed bent at angle and no doubt that under his jumpsuit lay more wounds. He really was a mess, yet despite his reddened face and messy hair, his heavy brows rested lazily above his eyes, in this state he looked peaceful... not troubled...
No doubt because he was the only one in the pen who hadn't made a deal with the devil.
She struggled to lift Luke's heavy form, before two forms were beside her, "Hey Kid we got him for you" Mike told her gently as he draped one of Luke's well built arms around his neck, Jane was silently already propping Luke's other arm around her neck as the pair lifted him and dragged him towards his bed, as they lay him there. Clementine looked on nervously as Sarita (medic of the group now for some reason) gazed over his form.
"Is he going to be okay?" she asked of the Indian woman as she prodded his arms and legs, she sighed.
"Well it feels like there are bruises on the arms and legs, I'm no doctor Clementine but I know his in bad shape. He won't die but he may be out for some time" Sarita told her as she nodded, Sarita sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she took her seat around the fire next to an alert Kenny, Clementine also took her seat next to Stephanie. From behind her she swore she heard Jane mutter "Well... he looks cuter like this"
"What?" Mike inquired.
"Nothing" Jane said quickly as she took her seat by the fire, Clementine rolled her eyes at what she overheard from Jane, she hoped that her and Luke wouldn't get it on again and the wrong time. Yet despite her quick confession Jane's cold demeanour returned as she glared at the group through bronze silts as the shadows of the flame danced across her youthful face as she awaited for the discussion to continue.
"I can't believe that out of all you only Luke decline a deal with that madman" Rebecca spat at them from her bed, no doubt she was up to date with events as she knew all of this information, as Kenny stroked his cap before yelling back to Rebecca.
"You weren't there! The fucker had stuff that meant a lot to us! I wasn't gonna let him burn them!" Kenny spat.
"I would have let him burn everything I owned rather than be in his debt" Rebecca growled as she inhaled and continued "But maybe that's because all I ever want is something Bill won't burn" she sighed as she no doubt thought about her son.
"It's okay Rebecca, Alvin is in good shape his being looked after" Sarita reassured her as Rebecca shook her head violently.
"But Bill's called him fucking Billy, Billy!" she exclaimed outraged as she slammed a fist on the soft mattress as she shook in anger "I don't care if Bill is that child's biological father, Alvin is his real father" she muttered still in a seething rage.
"That... makes no sense" Jane commented dryly.
"You're an angry loner that doesn't care anyone other than herself, so I wouldn't expect you to understand anything about what's it like to be a mum" Rebecca snapped at Jane, whose thin brows furrowed in anger as Jane's next words were filled with an furious passion "You think I don't have people I cared about! I made that damn deal today to treasure some of the only things I had left..." she began.
"From who?" Rebecca asked sceptically.
"My little sister" Jane's words were like Ice, that froze Rebecca's next insult on her tongue as she suddenly saw a flash of the grieving young woman she was, rather than the strong survivalist that she portrayed as her eyes widened in sympathy at Jane, but before she could utter an apology Kenny spoke up moving the conversation forward.
"Regardless, we all made that damn deal other than Rebecca and Luke, so whatever Carver wants us to do, we have to do" Kenny explained to the group.
"Well duh Captain obvious" Wyatt muttered.
"Look guys I don't like this, we just should think of rebelling against this maniac ASAP" Vince muttered at the group, even now his eyes were flying towards the shutter in a nervous jitter, fearing that somebody was listening in.
"And how would do that?" Sarita quizzed of him.
"I dunno... we'd grab guns,saws, knives, all sorts of stuff... most of the people here would rebel against Carver, heck after today they can see what sort of maniac he is" Vince planned as Rebecca shook her head "That whole plan is based on assumptions, considering you even grabbed weapons what if people didn't side with you? Then what?" Rebecca asked of him as the Asian man stared blankly at the floor at a loss for words.
"Guys, Carver's playing a clever game, we just have to outsmart him" Stephanie chipped in.
"Outsmart Bill? The guys crazy, but I think we can all admit he is one smart motherfucker" Mike said what everyone else already knew.
"When I made the deal with Bill, he said if we disagreed with him, then Clementine's earlier deal would be invalid with whoever disagreed with him" Bonnie told them worriedly it was only then Clementine realised her wide, fearful, blue eyes were trained on Luke's prone body...
"Wait... so Carver can kill Luke now?" Clementine asked her stomach sinking as she looked at him, suddenly not wanting to leave him alone for more than two seconds.
"It would seem so darlin'" Bonnie told her in a low miserable tone.
"If so, why didn't he just shoot Luke on the spot and then told us to agree or else we'd end up like him?" Vince asked of the group, earning an answer from Rebecca.
"I know Bill best, Luke's beating was a warning. He must have known he went to far today so his keeping the illusion of these deals by not killing Luke is his way of keeping some sort of control. Think about it, if he killed Luke then he would just get more people riled up to rebel, by just beating him he still agrees with Clementine's deal and causes less of a commotion, but it was still enough to scare the rest of you into the deal" Rebecca finished her explanation to find a lot of people gawking at her astonished.
"You... really know him too well" Kenny stuttered.
She laughed slightly "I know... it's the thing I hate myself most for" she told them smiling but without any humour.
"Either way, he really wanted us to agree with this deal whatever the hell it is" Stephanie informed the group as she gazed at an old photo she had withdrawn from her pocket. Gazing at her long lost relatives and friends she continued "Whatever Bill wants us to do. I know I'll do it, if it means keeping the group safe"
There were a few murmurs of agreement at this as Kenny sighed once again "The question is, would y'all be able to live with yourself with whatever Carver makes us do?" he asked of the group as Sarita shook her head sadly from next to him.
"I know everyone would do it too protect this group... but I don't know if I would be able too" she too (like Stephanie) was gazing at a photo of relatives that were long gone. Kenny placed an comforting arm around her shoulders as she began to tear up slightly at the sight of people long gone, Kenny looked at the photo briefly before resting his gaze on her.
"Sarita... I don't like it either, but I had to make decisions in the past that I've spent nights regretting... but as long as I've known that I made the right decision and protected those I cared about... Well it's what kept me goin'..." Sarita looked up at him with wider eyes and Clementine knew why. Sarita had told her that Kenny hardly ever spoken about his past to her and she wanted to know... after Sarita's death beforehand Kenny had begun to lose it. Clementine hoped that this time Kenny could form a much deeper emotional attachment with Sarita by opening up to her more about his past, it would be good for both of them.
Kenny shared a pained glance with Clementine, the words "Meat Locker" no doubt running through both of their minds.
Sarita wiped away a small tear and pulled Kenny closer to her before muttering "Thank you Kenny, but it will still be hard"
"Everything is these days" he muttered back to her, before the couple regained themselves as they readdressed the group in a more business like manner "So... anyone actually know what terrible deed Carver will have us do?" he dared to ask.
"Make us decorate the barricade with unicorns" Eddie responded randomly.
"That would keep me up for nights on end" Wyatt added dryly.
The group chuckled among themselves, relaxing slightly and needing something to laugh about in the face of the dreaded deal, however the weight of the heavy air around them soon rested on their shoulders, as Mike finally sighed and suggested a darker option.
"Well if you think about it, It's true what Rebecca's saying, these deals are simply an illusion. Carver's sending us out to work on the barricade in the hopes in walkers will do his dirty work. Using that, no one can directly blame him for our deaths, then we'll be out of the way and he doesn't have to worry about a rebellion" Mike summarised as he inhaled and continued "So... I think Carver's simply going to exile us all like he did with Nick and Sarah"
"That won't happen, he wants us to suffer, his toying with us" Rebecca piped up as Wyatt muttered once again "Okay, again we have a lot of captain obvious' in in this pen..."
"You know... I think it's kinda odd that out of all of us Luke's the only one who disagreed with Carver" Kenny began suspicion flaring in his now blackish eyes as he gazed at the man in his bunk.
"What are you suggesting?" Rebecca began in a defensive manner.
"Has anybody noticed how Luke seems to disagree with us on almost everything? Did you also notice how quickly he turned on Nick a while back? I mean fuck... Bonnie told me Nick and Luke have been friends for 20 years, what sort of man ditches a friend like that in a heartbeat? And he'd rather have his personal belongings burnt than make a deal with Carver? Look, this guy, whether his with or us not, clearly doesn't give a flying crap about any of us..."
Before he even finished the sentence there was a wail of protests tumbling from people's mouths as Bonnie shouted "Don't y'all accuse him of that! Luke... look... Luke always puts other people before himself. The way I see it he cares more about his friends then he does objects that mean a great deal to him. It's not suspicious, it's honourable and brave! Hell, I wish I could be like him..." Bonnie trailed off sadly.
"You may think that Bonnie, but Luke here and his friends left a little girl to sew up her own arm" Kenny snarled suddenly turning to Clementine and muttering "It's true isn't it?" he asked as Clementine caught Vince's guilty face behind Kenny.
"Hey sorry kid! I didn't think he'd get this angry over it" Vince quickly spluttered out in his defence for his gossiping to Kenny.
"I got bit by a dog, then I found these guys in a cabin and they thought I was bitten, so they locked me in a shed..."
"WHAT!?" Kenny exploded as they were gasps all around, as he angrily turned on Rebecca.
"We thought she was bitten, Nick lost his mum the last time we let a bite victim in the cabin, we couldn't take that risk again" She explained herself calmly in Kenny's growing fury.
"Oh doo-bloody dah, Nick lost his mummy! It still doesn't change the fact you-left-a-little-girl-to-die-in-a-shed!" He spat each word at her in a growing fury...
"Clementine... explain to him please! Luke here... he can't defend himself, but know that he spoke of you so highly, like you were his little sister..." Rebecca quickly ushered to Clementine who nodded and before Kenny could open his mouth further she muttered darkly "Drop it Kenny"
"Clem! These people did this to you! And you fucking expect me to just stand to the side and let them get away with this unpunished!" He roared.
"At least they didn't drop a salt lick on my head" Clementine found herself uttering before she could stop herself, guilt tore through her body seeing the hurt look on Kenny's face as everyone gazed at him in new found horror as he muttered weakly "Clem..."
"What does she mean Kenny!?" Sarita demanded of him, but he couldn't respond his mouth stood agape as he remained silent. Clementine met his gaze back before sighing.
"What I'm trying to say" she said to the group at large "Is that we've all done stupid stuff, stuff we all regret, but we can't turn on each other and blame each other now" she felt like she was lecturing the group as Kenny slumped back into his seat. Clementine had enough drama to deal with, regardless of all his business with Carver, she couldn't deal with petty squabbling among her allies. For now it seemed she could finally relax...
"Oh God here comes trouble" Wyatt muttered as he looked out of the shutter to see Carver approaching. Clementine sighed sadly once again, so much for relaxing...
He opened the shutter flanked by Tavia and Troy as he smiled at them all "Evening folks, I believe we all made a deal, so can everyone other than Luke and Rebecca follow me to the roof" he instructed with a cool smile. Clementine's mind flashed onto the greenhouse and Reggie, and Becca, she shivered as she followed the swarm of jumpsuits towards the roof. Not liking leaving Rebecca and a still knocked out Luke behind... but right now she could only hope and pray that whatever Carver had in mind wasn't soul destroying.
She didn't have a lot of hope.
Reaching the roof in the pitch black of the night Carver muttered to Troy and Tavia "Go get one" to which they walked off leaving Carver with his small pistol trained on the group as everyone remained still.
"So what the hell is this all about?" Kenny inquired his tone cautious as Carver merely smiled at him in silence. Never a good sign.
Sure enough it wasn't good news, Tavia and Troy returned a mere minute later, with a struggling man in their grip, His hands and legs were bound together, his mouth was muffled as he cried out in panic, and his head was covered by a empty sand bag, as the group stared in horror at the man Carver began to explain...
"After my speech this morning, there was something of a rebellion, we caught Peter here and 10 others trying to sneak up to my office to finish me off. Well... you'll be glad to know they were apprehended" he poisonous smile was directed at the pen dwellers, there was no doubt he was trying to draw some sort of angry response to give himself satisfaction. When nobody responded he continued on.
"So here they are... prisoners, their punishment for rebelling against me is death. They could have torn the community apart, but If I kill any more people, then others might get more upset at me. I think it's high time somebody else did the job" and with this Clementine's world seemed to fail... surely he wasn't asking...
"NO!" Bonnie screamed at him confirming Clementine's worst fear "BILL! NO! WE ARE NOT EXECUTING THESE PEOPLE!" She screamed at him firmly as he merely kept on smiling.
"I thought you'd said that and you can refuse. But if you don't not only will I shot your friend Luke who didn't agree with me, but I'll shoot Rebecca too! And if you do decide not to execute a prisoner then I'll let them run free, at the cost of your own life! he muttered grimly as Clementine's world seemed to go dizzy.
These deals, they meant nothing, Carver did truly have the power and he was using it now to torture them.
Like Rebecca said he was toying with them and playing a game.
She thought about it so if they killed a prisoner they (along with Luke and Rebecca) would live but (with no doubt) be despised by the rest of the community. As the pen dwellers were no doubt the one's that rebelled against Carver and made him miss son's birth. If anyone saw any ringleaders of the rebellion it lay within the pen dwellers, but Carver had seen that too. And was now turning them away from the rest of the community. That was option one, they could all live but lose a heck a lot of support.
Or option two was, they could all die and become martyrs. With the community no doubt honouring them and they would lead a rebellion and although Clementine and the pen dwellers would die it would be small comfort to know that they had done the honourable thing and taken Carver down with them.
Die a noble death, or live as dictators? The decision was clear, either they looked out for each other. Becoming a lone fringe group that would save themselves but didn't give a fuck about anyone else. Or side with the community and die saving rebels.
There was no easy choice.
But if Clementine wanted the group too live, she knew what she had to do.
Carver was splitting the blame, why have one dictator to take the brunt of all the hate?
When there could have been eleven?