Episode 1: The Fallen Rise- Change of Plans
The sun was still shining when she arrived at The Wall: the tall thick fencing which separated hell from home. With the shipping container being their only exit, they were a handful of guards standing by it; ready to open the closed gates. On ground-level, the twelve year old easily spotted Dusty speaking with an older man.
This must be that Xavier character she had heard Vaughn mention. Adorning a black pea coat with brown pants, he wore distinct leather gloves, and his black greasy hair was slicked back and matched his scruffy goatee of dark whiskers. "...now I'm going out on a limb with this, but do you think you can handle this pickup? Because if you and kid can't do it, a couple of my boys will."
Dusty assured him with a vote of confidence. "You won't have to worry about that sir; we'll be back before suppertime for sure."
"I'll hold you to that." Then Xavier spotted the girl walking towards them. "Oh, you're early little one, good to see someone taking the initiative around here. My name's Xavier honey. And from what your friend Kenny tells me, you can really get the job done, nice to officially meet you."
"Hi Xavier, nice to meet you too." She wanted to be polite because this guy was second to Vaughn in the simplest of terms in Wellington. But somehow something about him seemed a bit... off. She couldn't place her finger on it. "Kenny talks about me?"
"You're all he ever talks about. You and that baby." Xavier then turned back to Dusty with a smile. "Look at that, manners can still go a long way in my opinion. You've been strong in that department as well dear Dustin." Seemingly satisfied he followed this for confirmation. "You two ready to go?"
"Yeah." Dusty crossed his arms and nodded. "What do we get?"
"A rifle, a pistol, and each of you get a knife. That's it." Xavier told them both as he signaled a guard towards them and bestow the equipment onto them. Dusty got the rifle and a combat knife, and Clem also got the same knife and the pistol. "Use our ammo wisely, you should know the drill, do I make myself clear?"
"Wait a second, what are we doing?" Clementine questioned the greasy man in front of her. "Where do we go?"
"Your partner will bring you up to speed on the way. Now get going, the both of you make haste." Xavier ordered as he turned his back on them and towards the main camp. Clem thought he appreciated manners, where were his?
"Don't worry, he's always weird like that..." Dusty checked his rifle and put the leftover bullets in his pocket. "Come on Clementine, now it's like he said. I gotta talk to you anyway."
"Okay..."
Moments later, the container gates opened and the two survivors made their way out of Wellington and out into the Walker-infested landscape. The whole area really did look a lot more different without all the snow covering it. Clementine remembered back when she, Kenny, and AJ were accepted, it was a lot like this, springtime. So the two of them headed up and down the familiar hill and into a nearby glade of trees. As soon as they were out of sight of the outer perimeter guards, Dusty began their walk and talk. "So... how you doing?"
Did he really have to say it like that? "Good."
"That's good. That's good. ...Cool. So how was target practice? You get along with Michael and Helga?"
"Sort of. ...Wayne showed up too."
"Aw damn, what happened?" Dusty inquired.
"...Nothing happened, nothing serious. I learned that Helga was Wayne's sister and that Michael seemed... okay."
(?) Dusty will remember that.
"Nothing huh? Well alright kid, if you're sure about that." He accepted her answer, but Dustin knew that Clem learned some sort of lesson that Helga and Wayne were people that you did not want to get on their bad side with, at least within reason. "By the way, did you talk to Maree today, Vaughn's daughter? I need to ask you a favor."
"Yeah, I did. Why?" Clementine looked at him with curious eyes, wondering what the favor could be.
"I just want an extra pair of eyes to keep watch over her, that's all." Dusty's voice took a different tone, one that seemed more gentle and all that. "She's real important because she's uh... well, she's one of the few people with medical experience... you know what I mean? And she also takes care of your little brother."
"Yeah, I'll do what I can Dusty." He smiled at her answer, and he was glad she was with him.
(?) Dusty will remember that.
"Thanks, I appreciate it." Then another question entered the man's mind. "...How old are you again by the way? I know it's stupid, but I keep having to do a double take with your height, hard to believe you're just a kid."
"I'm twelve... I think." Clem could barely keep track of the days but she knew that her birthday was around... what? Late summer, something like that?
"Damn... how you made it this far, it's just... you know."
"No, what?" She turned to Dusty for an answer until she gave him the cynical remark that she always gave when an adult asked her this. "...I just stayed with good people and tried not to do anything stupid. But everyone's luck runs out eventually... People die, and I've had to do really hard things."
"Yeah, I know what that's like. ...I never really was supple with good fortune ever since I dropped outta school. And I suppose things shouldn't be different for me since all this happened."
He gave a loud sigh as Clementine finally found an opening to actually learn what they were doing out here for Xavier. After a few minutes weaving between trees, they found themselves on the other side of the glade and out on a side street of the next town. There was a small lonely grocery market across the way. "What are we supposed to do out here anyway? Dusty?"
Dusty informed her. "One of Xavier's boys radioed in saying he made a drop for us. A duffel bag is waiting to be picked up outside the loading bay in the back of that grocery store."
"What's in the bag?" Clem questioned, maybe it was food? Or medicine? What could be so important to go through all this trouble instead of just taking the bag straight to the settlement?
"Hell if I know. We just need to cut through the store, maybe check for some supplies, and then go out the back. Easy. ...Aw shit, get down."
They crouched down behind a small bush as Clementine followed his eyes and she found what he had spotted: two walkers were standing by the front entrance of the store. Moaning and groaning near the broken glass doors, it was a sore sight to see that the walkers thawed out enough in this increasing temperate weather. The lurkers in question however looked like your typical dead, two male walking corpses. "Walkers." Clem noted.
"Yeah... you ready?" Dusty asked. "We'll go on my signal."
"I'm ready." She assured him.
"Good." Dusty then stood up from where he was and he whistled loudly. *whistle* "Lunchtime!"
Clementine and Dustin strolled forward with confidence in their skills and the lurkers heeded their call and hobbled towards them. The two survivors however quickly hustled up to them by the store entrance.
"I got this one." Clem claimed as she charged at the walker that was groaning and limping its way towards her until she used her foot and knocked its knee out from under it.
The lurker fell forward in a heap and the little girl didn't waste any time stabbing it in the back of its skull and effectively killing it. Dustin jabbed his walker through the eye and it fell dead as well. He turned and approached her with an amazed expression as Clem pocketed her knife again. "Well you're just a little walker killing machine, ain't ya? Where'd you learn that smart move? The knee thing?"
"I met a woman a long time ago; she gave me some really good tips on how to survive." Clem answered him referring to Jane, and then the anguish of that day washed over her. "...But she died..."
"That's too bad, I'm sorry hear that. How did a smart girl like that die, if you don't mind me asking?" Dusty inquired.
"I let her die..." Clementine darkly stated. She remembered fondly of Jane, how she wanted to look out for her and even shared her past about her sister and such. Clem clenched her fists, and she shook the cold memory away, trying to move on.
"I'm sorry about your friend, but y'know the best thing you can do for her is to use the knowledge she gave you and survive knowing that you knew this person who wanted to help you. So, don't let it go to waste." He sighed. "...People like that are important, friends to watch your back."
"What if you're all by yourself, and all your friends are gone?" Clementine morbidly asked Dusty.
"...Then you find new people, people you can trust and work together with. Because in my book, no one should ever be on their own out here, especially when we're already outnumbered, 'cause if you ask me, the only thing worse than being scared... is being sacred alone."
"Yeah, that makes sense." Clementine agreed.
"Now because of you and because of your friend," Dusty smirked. "I got a new trick to add to my arsenal." He nudged the dead walker's knee with his boot. "Everyday's a school day."
"Yeah..." Clem glazed over a small smile to assure him that she supported their teamwork.
"Come on; let's look for that bag." Dusty affirmed them both as they walked into the front doors of the grocery market with a dingy white sign above it named Paula's Market.
A/N- What could this mysterious duffel bag contain? What are your thoughts on the episode so far? More to come soon so stay tuned!
Question I'd like an opinion on. - Would you guys prefer shorter checkpoint chapters (1,500-2,500 words) or much longer chapters (3,000-4,500 words)? Just wondering for the future.