A/N: Right, thanks for all the continued support, by chapter 30 I'm closing the poll, so if you haven't voted, feel free to do so. As I have a plan in mind on how this will affect the story.
obsessed naruhina fangirl- I'm glad you like what I'm doing with Sarah, I'm also glad you brought up Chuck's wise words of advice (if only Clem had spoken to him more) because although Lee protected Clementine it was Chuck who really saved her by giving Lee advice. I do have another topic to discuss and again it's a bit random (I'm running out of ideas) but... which shipping's on this site do you support? I'm open to any suggestions (other than Cluke, as I hate that pairing)
AquaDestinysEmbrace- Yep, I'm enjoying your story so far and thanks for the review! I thought it was high time for Sarah to finally kill a moving walker, as this was the next stage in her character development, she learnt about walkers, adapted slowly to the world and now she has to start taking action. A slow but steady process.
Rebloxic- Thanks for the review and I'm chuffed Sarah's getting a lot of love in this story. And as for the Wellington question... I could imagine them stumbling into Wellington like Joel and Ellie stumbled upon that intact community at the end of The Last Of Us, but another half of me tells me Wellington's a fantasy or has already been overrun. I can't be sure at the moment...
apathy- thanks! I agree with you on Nick and Sarah.
Night-Chan-DragonEyes- I'm glad I'm turning Eddie into the moral support, everyone in that pen needs a laugh and as for the new bandits... well you'll get the gist of who they are soon.
Mizukikitty123- I'll try, a lot of different story lines can be confusing but can also keep the story interesting and action packed (Game of Thrones does this masterfully) anyway thanks for reviewing!
FunFX2012- I'm glad you noticed that, maybe and maybe not...
XXXWOLFLOVERXXX- You're bandits r us comment made me laugh... still thanks for the reviews! And yeah I could PM you with the ideas I have planned (however they'll be a ton of spoilers involved so be warned)
It wasn't a good day.
Clementine was lugged from one work station to the next and what was worse is that she had Troy and Tavia breathing down her neck the whole time, whether she was filling magazines or working on the expansion, she had the misfortune of having those two tailing her around all day. She only got to work with a silent Vince for a short while on the expansion but that was it. Other than that she was alone... the 12 walkers hanging from the roof were a sight she had to grow accustomed to as she passed them back and forth.
Trying hard not to look at the man (Jackson) that she had killed.
Other than a mute Vince, she didn't catch a glance of her other friends, this... (being surrounded by the hostile faces of many in the community who whispered harsh words when she passed) made it a miserable day. Never had she been more pleased to when "Supper" was announced that evening and she walked calmly back to the pen (tempted to run) never had the closing clank of the shutter been more welcoming.
Her friends were finishing off the last scarps of stale bread and beans that Carver had supplied them with, she approached to see that Mike had saved her a can of beans as he handed it too her "Here Kid, rough day huh?" he asked of her as she seated herself in the garden seat.
"It was crappy" she replied plopping the beans into her mouth she savoured the taste, forgetting the last time she had eaten. All she knew was that she felt better in here, she was being fed, there was water, there was a toilet (a basic pot in the corner which stank, but then again so did everything these days) they had running water... and most importantly they had each other.
Kenny was leading today's discussion as always, "What's going on today?" she asked of Mike.
"Vince says there's still a guy in the community he knows who can help us" Mike replied as he leaned in too listen, looking around Clementine noticed that Sarita was sound asleep in her bunk. No doubt still disturbed over what had happened today and Luke was no where to be seen...
"Boo!" Came a gasp behind Clementine's ear that made her jump, surprised she turned to find Luke himself crouched by her chair and grinning at her. For a moment she gazed upon his battered face, yet despite this he was still smiling...
"You scared me!" she told him matter of factly, however that didn't stop her from getting up from her chair and hugging him, as he returned it "Why didn't you make the deal Luke..." she moaned to him as they broke apart and she found herself drawn to his face once again.
"Don't worry about me, I didn't lose much" by the way his eyes averted to the floor and the frown that spread across his face, Clementine knew that it was a blatant lie.
"Did you know what Carver had planned?" she inquired.
"No... but... I just couldn't agree to it. From what Rebecca told me I'm glad I'm didn't... I can't kill innocent people" He told her, his eyes wide as he gazed downwards once again. There was a sadness behind Luke's words that he covered well with his thin smile, but by this point Clementine could see past that façade.
"I feel bad as we all made the deal... it was brave of you not too" she praised him as he shrugged her off.
"It was nothing, what's done is done" he informed her as they both turned back to the main discussion.
"... he will help us. I know Russell's a good guy" Vince was trying to hammer this fact into Kenny's thick skull. But the hot headed man would have none of it.
"If he wanted to help us, he would have done something by now and we can't put all our hope into one little punk" Kenny argued back to him.
"So what do you suggest we do?" Vince snapped.
"We grab weapons... and we start a full on revolution and shoot those assholes and take this place for our own!" Kenny theorized as he faced a wall of opposition.
"The problem with that plan is, we don't have the support of anybody. So even if we took over, the others in the community would kill us too" Rebecca snapped.
"Well I'm tryin' to think of something! All y'all doing is complaining, so unless you have a better idea you can shut up!" Kenny raged.
"I do have a plan we stuck with Russell, we try to get the community back on our side and then we take over! It's simple!" Rebecca stressed.
"The community are hissing at us like rattlesnakes, I don't think there going to forgive us, we might have to take them down too" Kenny suggested darkly as he once again met a wall of opposing opinions.
"The community can't stay mad at us forever, I mean Sarita broke down and Luke's refused to do it. They must know were not doing this for shits and giggles" Vince added as a few others nodded at his words.
"If y'all just want to sit around and wait, Carver will place another spanner in the damn works! We have to act NOW!" Kenny bellowed.
"No, we trust Russell and we work to get the community back on our side" Luke argued back as Kenny's eyes narrowed to silts.
"Look here mother Teresa just because you didn't kill those people, doesn't mean you made the right choice" Kenny snarled, never in her life had Clementine seen somebody go from ordinary shade of peach to a beet red shade of anger in a quicker time than Luke did in those few seconds. He shook in rage and muttered the next words in fury...
"You... think I made the wrong choice?" He gave a forced laugh at this point which sent the hairs on Clementine's neck on end "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT CARVER BURNED! THE SACRIFICE I MADE JUST SO SOME PEOPLE WOULD SEE ME AS GOOD GUY!? IF YOU THINK I MADE THE WRONG CHOICE THEN I'M FUCKING DONE WITH ALL THIS SHIT!" Luke exploded, his voice so loud and raw that Clementine felt like her ears were bleeding, as Luke stood up and angrily stomped towards the bunks.
"Luke, where are you going?" Bonnie asked cautiously.
"BED!" Luke bellowed back, the group watched as he punched the wall in rage, he breathed deeply for a few seconds, before he silently lay himself on his bunk curling up slightly in a defensive position.
Bonnie turned on Kenny.
"What on earth did you go and say that for!?" She demanded of him as Kenny shrugged his shoulders.
"It's the truth, Luke needs to learn that sometimes... killing people is what is needed for the greater good. He can't go on being a saint, it will get himself or us killed!" Kenny exclaimed to a disgusted Bonnie.
"He just has morales! Unlike so many others! Why is that a bad thing!?" Bonnie raged, her face turning as red as her hair.
"Because... let's say if someone needs shooting who deserves it... but Luke can't do it because of his morales, that's when there's a problem" Kenny explained.
"Everyone seems so stingy tonight" Wyatt commented from his corner, looking at him Clementine also saw Eddie proudly wearing her cap, their gazes met as Eddie's face fell, Clementine smiled and gestured at him to hand over the cap.
As Eddie stood up (and with a look of regret) handed Clementine her cap back Kenny answered Wyatt's comment "How can you not be stingy! After what that fucker made us do! After the state Sarita was in..." Kenny explained before trailing off and glancing softly at her sleeping form, he regained himself as Rebecca told the group "Well she was in a state..."
"We all need to try and stay calm and trust this Russell guy, we can't do anything drastic" Clementine spoke out as Rebecca nodded "Thank you Clem, you see Kenny that's the plan we stick too" she told the Floridian matter of factly.
"Maybe we should figure out how to escape" Jane tossed in, her zombie guts idea no doubt in everyone's mind.
"Even if we wanted too, that's near impossible now" Shel stated sadly her head drooping.
"Okay Y'all get off to bed! Jane! You're up front again! And Stephanie, Stan wants you near the expansion!" Troy was grinning at his own use of sexual innuendo as the words "expansion" left his lips, he opened the shutter as a silent Jane followed him out of it, however before a silent Stephanie could stand Shel gripped her shoulder.
"You don't have to keep this doing Stephanie, especially not tonight" she informed her, the rest of the group were listening in with great interest.
"No... I... have too, I'll see you later Shel" and with that Stephanie was led out of the door, as Troy eyed the pair of them with great interest, with the shutter closing behind them Clementine and the rest of the group could only sit there, rather confused.
"That's the second time that Jane girl's been called out and now Stephanie? What the hell's going on?" Kenny asked, as Rebecca's eyes suddenly snapped wide open as it dawned on her, she turned to Shel and asked "It's not still happening is it?"
"It happens all the time now" She responded sadly.
"What happens all the time now? Surely not..." Kenny began as he clocked two and two together as why two young women were being escorted away from the pen for "jobs" by male guards.
"Yep" Shel responded "How else do you think that we have a fire, toilet and running water?" she asked as understanding dawned on Kenny's face, as Clementine also tried to put two and two together "So... Stephanie and Jane are making deals with those guys so we can have a fire and water and all that?" she asked of Shel who nodded, glad not to explain "the birds and the bees" to an eleven year old.
Upon learning this news Kenny shot a protective, lingering look at Sarita as he muttered to Shel "Does... every woman in this camp..." he began.
"Well, most. Not all of us agree to it though. Trust me I was offered" Shel said as she clenched her fists together.
"I was too" Bonnie added "I had to decline, the girls that do it... they either do it too gain more privileges themselves, or help their friends gain more privileges" she said as she sadly stared after Stephanie. Jane could look after herself, but Clementine knew that Bonnie was concerned about Stephanie and whatever deal she was doing right now was certainly not helping her.
"I bet this is part of Bill's plan for the next generation" Rebecca growled, as she seemed to softly mutter "He started with me you know? When Luke and Bill started clashing, I... I made the deal too to get him too lay off us... and look how that turned out" she said as Kenny stared at her in a new light.
"You didn't actually... like him at one point did you?" he inquired.
Rebecca didn't seem to answer that, as Mike of all people seemed to understand she needed rest and privacy and muttered "C'mon guys, let's just get some sleep were all cranky as hell" following his words the group slowly but surely made their ways back to their bunks. After such an emotionally exhausted day they all needed sleep to help clear their heads, Clementine saw Bonnie hunched over Luke trying to mutter some comforting words to him, she walked off with a worried look on her face.
Rather than lay down in her bunk, she quickly walked over to Luke's bunk and stood over the sniffing man.
"Hey" she said to his back.
"Hey Clem" he replied, not turning to face her as he remained in a still position.
"I just wanted to see if you're alright, I... really think it was brave of you for not making a deal with Carver" she said softly as he seemed to sniff once again. His happy go lucky tone to his voice had faded from his voice entirely, leaving a sad grumble of a tone in it's place, so when he said "I appreciate you checking up on me, but I'm fine Clementine" she knew this was a lie.
But, she realised that when it came to his well-being, Luke was always "Fine", as she walked back to her own bunk she knew that he bottled up his problems and this caused more harm than good. He may have thought he was being selfless, but Kenny had made a point that Luke seemed determined to prove himself a "saint" to the others. She only wished he would open up more, he didn't have to keep to himself, there was a lot about Luke she still needed to know.
As she lay down she realised there was a lot she needed to know about the others. Stephanie making that deal... for them.
How well did she really know and trust her allies?
If that was the case, how well could she trust this Russell guy?
The day had passed in silence for Nick and Sarah, trapped in the old trailer. Sarah nitpicked through the place, finding only a hairbrush, a pair of scissors and the skeletons of the two former residents of the trailer who were huddled together in a small closet, a revolver next to their baggy clothes, as Sarah clenched her nose at the damp rotting smell from next to them.
"Well that explains the barricade, but looks like they got bit anyway" Nick observed sadly as he picked up the revolver in one of the skeletons fingers, he gazed inside the magazine to find zero bullets inside. "Empty" he told Sarah glumly as he put the thing in his bag anyhow. He never knew what sort of ammo he may have found.
They remained quiet as the bandits were still lurking outside, talking and shouting and shooting... eventually as evening fell he could hear there loud banter drift across the trailer park. Their words crude, but Nick never listened to more than a sentence or learned any more of their names, other than who appeared to be the leader "Steve" Nick did not want to introduce himself to these people. They were threats without a shadow of a doubt.
Eventually evening fell, as the silent pair grew tired Nick found himself in an awkward position, they had a single double bed between the pair of them. He was 21 year old man with a 15 year old girl and they had to share a bed... to anyone else this would sound wrong to every extent. But Nick was no paedophile, yet the thought of sharing a bed with Sarah still made him uncomfortable, he eventually brought up the problem to Sarah who simply smiled.
"We'll just sleep back to back, I don't know why you find it weird, my dad slept by me" she told him merrily.
Sarah didn't really grasp the implications of a grown man sleeping next to a teenage girl, or Nick was just being stupid, as Sarah was coming up with all the suggestions today. He finally agreed on this idea as the lay on the top of the covers trying to make himself comfortable.
"Night" Sarah said.
"Night" he grumbled back as he hugged his pillow and drifted into an uneasy sleep...
Sarah however was wide awake... and fairly bored. She leapt off her bed when she found that she couldn't sleep anymore and glanced around her. But there was nothing else to find and Nick was fast asleep. She sighed wishing she could have some fun... but also...
"He taught me how to keep my hair short"
Sarah's smile lit the room as she reached into her bag and pulled out the pair of silver scissors she found earlier, with this the walkers wouldn't be able to grab her messy and knotty hair. Smiling, she proceeded towards the bathroom and began to (slowly but surely) hack of the longest strands of her greasy black hair. She kept on cutting as she looked up in the bathroom mirror and recoiled.
Okay... she had cut her hair to chin length and it looked like someone had hacked at it with a knife. She sighed, feeling weird and ugly with this new hairstyle, but yet it would make it harder for walkers to grab at her now. As she inspected her ugly hairdo she remembered that Nick had a giant puff of a mullet that was simply waiting to be grabbed by a walker.
A mischievous smile crept on her face, "Why should I be the only one with an ugly haircut" she thought as she approached a sleeping Nick and lowered herself next to him. Training the silver scissors on his mullet "I hope he doesn't get too mad, I'm just helping" she mused to herself and out loud as she nervously cut off the first strands of his jet black mane.
The hair fell to the floor and Nick slept on. Silently but carefully, Sarah began to dispose of the mullet that ran down his neck as she did however Nick's ever present cap on his head also fell to the floor., his hair on top seemed fairly wavy and reminded her of Luke's hairstyle. She smiled and decided to pick up his cap once again, however through her blurry vision she caught sight of something in his cap.
"What's this?" she thought as she peered through the darkness and picked up the stack of 5 photos that Nick had cleverly stored in his cap. Well it made sense to Sarah now... he never took his cap off and it held these photos in place.
The first two photos showed two beautiful nude women, Sarah blinked twice to make sure what she seeing was actually real... it was and not just her poor eyesight playing tricks on her. She couldn't put her finger on it but these photos made her uncomfortable and made her wonder why the hell Nick had these pictures. Confused she pretended to never see them as she dropped them back into his cap.
The next three photos made more sense, one was of Nick's mother. Sarah remembered her briefly from seeing her at the cabin and back in the community. She was upstairs when she heard Nick's mom scream... despite the fact she barely knew Nick's mother. Her sudden absence from the group as Carlos gently told her "She's gone to a better place sweetie" still unnerved Sarah back then.
Sighing she flipped around to next photo which showed a younger Nick who was her age or slightly younger. Holding a rifle with younger Pete who still had strands of black hair. The backdrop was of a pine forest as they both were beaming through the photo, forever more smiling into nothingness.
"He really does like his father" Sarah thought sadly, She had known Pete a lot better and Clementine's blunt statement on his death had caused her misery for weeks. She liked the old man, he seemed funny and wanted her more involved in the group... too bad he never got the chance to do that.
Sighing, Sarah dropped these two photos back into the cap and gazed at the final one, which showed Nick and Luke (in their early 20's or late teens) smiling together at some sort of party. These two seemed like good friends and Sarah would have to ask Nick more about their friendship in the upcoming days.
She dropped the final of the five photos back into the cap and quickly placed it back onto his head, pretending as if she hadn't seen the photos he had cleverly kept in store there. Cutting of the final short strands of Nick's once bushy mullet, she smiled at her work and then innocently got back into bed next to him.
Wondering what would wake her first. Nick's horrified reaction to his own haircut, or her's.
She smiled never the less. Glad to be of some help.