Episode 3: Means To An End- Mother Katherine
A/N- Thanks for all the votes guys! It was barely a contest though with Dusty as the winner. This version was very Pro-Dusty but Wayne isn't as 'off' as you may think, as you'll soon find out... And guess what? We got another decision to vote for at the end of this chapter as well! Read and Enjoy :)
Clementine sighed. "Why's it always got to be me?" Could she vote for herself? Wouldn't really matter now would it?
"Come on Clem you're the swing vote, let's get this over with..."
[Vote For Dusty]
[Vote For Wayne]
"I vote for... Dusty." She felt like he was the better choice, more level-headed and better at being the leader.
(?) They will all remember that.
"What a fucking shocker!" Helga hissed at the outcome. "Still see nothing has changed here in our little group..." She especially seethed her glare towards Clementine while shaking her head at her.
Wayne sighed along with an internal curse, but it was his idea to vote in the first place. "Fine. Fair is fair, dust mite." He leered his gaze towards the firm Dusty who had his arms crossed, seemingly satisfied that he had won the vote. "What do we do first then?" He challenged him.
"Alright!" Dusty had the floor now, addressing everyone. "This is our first order of business. Me and Clem are going to search that boat that's beached right out there. You all just chill here for now, and then we'll rest and head out tomorrow."
Maree nodded while shushing AJ still. "That seems reasonable."
"Whatever..." Wayne huffed as he beckoned his sister to converse over in the waiting area themselves.
"Michael, hang back a second. I need to talk to you." Hazen called over the surprised fourteen year old back towards the ballroom entrance.
The teen glanced back at Clementine who merely shrugged her shoulders at Hazen's request. "Yeah sure man. Be right over."
Clementine nodded at that with a faint smile on her face. Hazen and Michael weren't exactly good friends, but they still seemed to get along better with each other than with Helga. Yet, usually they never saw eye to eye, and they were both partial to Clementine's company, she wondered about that. So maybe they were going to talk out their differences. "We'll be right back Michael."
"Come on Clem." Dusty stated as he stepped over the broken glass of the front doors and was waiting for her outside. "Sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get back to the others."
Clem hurried her way to the man in uniform and soon they were both outside the resort. The rainbow had faded, and the sky was overcast with opaque clouds. About sixty yards away from them was the beach, where the broken-looking fishing boat lay in the sand abandoned. As they were walking towards it, Dusty began their conversation. "Hey, sorry I haven't been able to talk to ya in a while. These past few days have been hard, but we got through it, right?"
"It's okay. I know you were busy with Maree and the group." Clem assured him. "And I still trust you, that's why I voted for you."
"So that mean you don't trust Wayne?" Dusty joked and shook his head at that. "Nah, he and I we just think differently. But shit, he can be a real asshole sometimes..."
"He can be nice when he wants to be. He said he was glad he came with us." Clementine confided in him.
(?) Dusty will remember that.
"Huh... well I know he's not all bad, we just got to keep an eye on him and his sis. I don't know how things would've turned out if they won out the vote." He retorted but then his tone softened. "But say I gotta ask, how are you doing with everyone else?"
Clem lightened up a little with the change of the subject. "Michael and I, we look out for each other." She shifted uncomfortably. "But... we haven't talk much since..."
"I know, I know." Dusty stopped her before she could reach the sore subject of Kenny again. "...It's alright. When we were searching the the upper floors he told me that he still really cares about you."
"Really?" Clem asked.
"Really." Dusty assured as they were close to the fisherman's boat, particularly the anchor in the sand. "Hazen seems like a nice guy too, he ever tell you that-! AHH!" Suddenly, an arm sprang up from the sand and tightly grabbed hold of Dusty's leg! When it pulled its head up, it was revealed to be a walker, trying to take a bite out of Dusty's calve. "Clem! Kill it!"
Clementine didn't need to be told twice as she quickly took out her screwdriver and effectively stabbed the half-buried lurker in the back of the head. It was dead, and Dusty pulled away from its now limp grip. Clem let out a sigh of relief. "That was a close one..."
"Man... you're telling me." Dusty clutched his chest in an attempt to get his heart rate back to normal. "Fuck... maybe if I started saving your life, it'd be a nice change of pace, huh? Thanks, I owe you even more now."
"Don't worry about it." Clem smiled when she noticed that upon further inspection, the walker was quite decayed. Also, it had rope tied around itself and the anchor of the boat. "Look..."
"What?" He then noticed it too. "Oh geez... looks like this guy was tied to the anchor and thrown overboard. Then the whole thing washed ashore..."
"He was killed by someone else?" Clem assumed.
"That or he killed himself." Dusty added as the two of them made it to the back of the boat. "Let's search this thing real quick and get back to everyone else."
Clem nodded again as the two of them climbed onto the stern of the boat. Clem got sorely reminded of Kenny again as he always spoke about boats and that he was a commercial fisherman. She bet he would've liked this one, or at least tell her all about it and how everything worked. She kept this to herself, however when Dusty brought her back to reality...
"We should stick together here and watch each other's backs. Cover me, okay?"
"I got it." Clem stated as she pulled out a pistol while Dusty raised his rifle, also ready to use the butt of the gun as a club if he can avoid the noise. "Go ahead."
"Alright, let's make our way to the front. Come on..."
Guns at the ready, the two of them cautiously made their way towards the bow of the boat. The ripples that served as baby waves which rhythmically repeated their beat from the lake were the only sounds they could hear until they made it to the open cabin of the boat, where the driving controls were located.
"Everything's busted..." Dusty mumbled under his breathe. "No way any of this is gonna work."
"HEY!" Dusty and Clem whipped around to find that familiar voice was none other than Michael who was right outside. They doubled back to the stern and they were both surprised to see that the fourteen-year-old along with Hazen was holding a sniveling middle-aged man at gunpoint. "Don't move!"
The unknown man was frozen in place as he fell to his knees and began to break down in tears weirdly enough. He wore blue jeans and a blood-stained brown t-shirt. It was also very odd to find that he was barefoot. The man had black hair and a thin mustache as he covered his face with his hands to hide tears to be seen. "Please... please... no."
"What the hell is going on?!" Dusty demanded to know from the two boys.
"Who is this guy?" Clem added as Hazen stepped up on the boat to approach the crying man. Michael was still keeping his gun up as Hazen warily patted down and searched the man.
"This guy has nothing. Not even a pair of shoes..." Hazen got up and stepped back so that everyone had a clear shot. "He was hiding in the catch box then he tried to sneak out. We were here to stop him though."
"Y-y-you can't do this!" The man sobbed. "You have to let me go! You have to let me go before she finds me! God, please, I won't hurt you, I just need to go!"
Dusty tried to calm the man down. "It's okay. Just take a deep breathe and tell us your name. What's your name?"
It took a moment for a question to register but then he responded, looking back and forth all around him. "...I am Sven, please tell your people to put your guns down. I am not armed."
"It's true. I checked." Hazen confirmed indefinitely.
"What were you talking about earlier?" Michael demanded as he didn't yield his gun away from Sven. "Who's 'she'? Who's looking for you?"
Sven's eyes suddenly widened at the thought as he clutched his chest with his left hand and his head with his right one. "AHHH! She's going to find me! I need to get away! She's going to kill me!" Sven suddenly made a break for it until Hazen blocked him and tackled him back. He then slammed him down onto the deck of the boat.
"You're not going anywhere!" The young man yelled as he expertly pinned Sven down onto his back. "We need rope or something to tie him up!"
"NO! You don't understand! She's right behind me, I know it!" Sven begged in a panic. "Please!"
Michael muttered as he put his gun away. "The hell is wrong with him?"
Clem put in her input. "He's just scared, maybe we should let him go."
(?) They all noted that.
"I'm not too sure Clem." Dusty intervened as he pulled out some rope and gave it to Hazen to tie up their new captive. "I'd like to know a little bit more about what happened to this guy first. It might be important for us."
"Let me go! Let me go!" Sven pleaded as he began to scream. "GAHHHhh-! Ooff..." Hazen had clocked him across the head, rendering the man unconsciousness. Everyone was surprised at that, how he just knocked him out. It looked like Hazen knew how to fight.
"Damn... you're stronger than you look kid." Dusty praised Hazen for keeping the crying man quiet. They didn't need any walkers hearing them.
"Yeah... I get that a lot." He responded kindly as he picked Sven off the ground and motioned for Dusty's assistance to help carry him. "Let's get him inside."
"Let me gag him in case he wakes up." The man in uniform stated as he followed through on his words, helping Hazen take their captive back to the resort to decide what to do with him next. Clementine had watched on nervously as the three of them walked back. She then hopped off the boat as well when Michael approached her.
The fourteen year old sighed. "At this rate we'll never get to the outpost... that guy will just slow us down." He shook his head as he placed his hands on his hips. "We have to be getting close to the Ohio boarder..."
She responded out of curiosity, noting that Michael seemed flustered or even, impatient. "Are you okay Michael?"
He took a moment to reply. "You know... my great aunt and uncle were from Ohio." Michael told Clementine out of the blue. "They were from my dad's side." He explained.
"What about your mom?" She asked, remembering all the stuff she learned about his mother back in the RV.
"She was from England. You know, where they talk all proper~" He stated, putting on his best British accent. Clementine chuckled at his imitation, covering her mouth.
"But yeah, she moved to America with my grandparents when she was a teenager. I think work required them to move abroad or something." He went on with his family history.
"Did she lose her accent?" Clementine inquired. Internally she remembered long ago that Kenny's wife, Katjaa, and even his later girlfriend Sarita had foreign accents that she wondered where they came from. And then the heavy Spanish and Russian accents Carlos and Arvo had.
"A little. But it was still there, you could hear it in her voice, so that meant she was just starting to develop an American one too." Michael shrugged. "My grandparents started a flower business before I was born. The money they got from that was what they used to support me and my mom. She couldn't get a job, see, and my dad wasn't around, so..." He paused. "My mom struggled a lot, to keep us going. Sometimes I wish my dad had been there but... Then I remember all the good times we had together. Just me and my mom. And I wouldn't have it any other way, as cheesy as that may sound..."
"I don't think it's cheesy, I think it's sweet." The tiny waves continued to lap on the coarse narrow beach beneath their feet.
He smiled at that but then it devolved into a grimace when reality registered to them again. "Hey look, I'm worried Clem..." Michael foreboded. "I'm afraid we might get into something we shouldn't."
"Like what?" Clem questioned shrugging her shoulders. The only time she could think of something like this was when the Cabin group was so scared and secretive about Carver. If Sven really was running away from another crazy person then maybe they should-!
Her thoughts were dashed by Michael's response. "Something bad... something we should never get involved with. I don't like this at all, so listen I know you and me voted for Dusty to be the leader but I need you to convince him to get rid of that guy. He's too nice for this Clem, and he'll listen to you... hell, everyone listens to you."
Clem nodded and agreed. "I'll do what I can."
(?) Michael will remember that.
"Okay, good." Michael sounded relived and glad that she was really on his side with this. The two kids made their way back to the resort when he decided to talk to her again. "You want to know what Hazen wanted to talk to me about earlier?"
"Sure." What could two boys be talking about that really interested her anyway...?
"We were talking about... the people we lost." Micheal admitted to the contents of their conversation. "He told me the things he had to do to survive, and so did I. Our families and what they sacrificed to get us this far. He said he wanted us to work together, to be allies, and keep the 'good' people safe."
What did that mean? The 'good' people? "That's good... so are you two friends now?"
Michael simply shrugged his shoulders. "I guess so. But you know-! Oh shit! Get down!" Michael made himself and Clem duck under the ledge that separated the beach from the parking lot of the resort. "There's people." He whispered.
"What?" Clem was alarmed but restrained. "Who? How many?"
Michael and Clementine cautiously peeked up to see four armed people striding across the parking lot to the still smashed up glass doors. "Two guys, two girls, armed to the fucking teeth! Shit! What are we suppose to do?"
"Maybe we can sneak up on them, catch them by surprise?" Clem suggested looking around for another way in, and that was when she spotted a metal ladder propped up on the far side of the outside wall, leading to a second floor window. "There!"
"Good eye, Clem." Michael nodded as the two of them quickly made their way to the ladder. By the time they both reached it, the four new visitors had already gone inside. "We gotta hurry. I'll hold it steady, then get their attention up front. You'll be coming back down from the back stairs, got it?"
"Just follow me up, Michael." Clem retorted.
"No, I know what I'm doing, so go." He held the ladder as he motioned her to climb up. "Go! And hurry!"
The twelve year old reluctantly complied as they began heading up the tall ladder to the window on the second floor. As soon as he put a hand on that window sill, Michael bolted from the bottom of the ladder and made his way around to the front doors to confront everyone. Clem's heartbeat had risen as she hurdled herself inside to find that she was in one of the guest rooms. She found her way to the exit and went outside into a long hallway, noticing that the room she came out of was room 207. Clementine tip-toed her way towards the stairs and when she got close enough she could already here them arguing below, she got her gun out...
"...What do we have here?" It was a woman's voice she heard. One that sounded regal and well-mannered with a hint of wickedness. "Has the dog found a new kennel?"
"Hey guys! What's going in here?" That's was Michael's voice! He must be trying to get their attention, acting innocent. "I just went off to look at the boat and-! Whoa... you invited company?"
"Everyone just calm down... we can talk this out." Dusty joined in as Clementine inched her way down the stairs, she had about ten steps down before she could get a shot. "Who're are you people?"
"You'd best get the wee laddy back to the flock, before someone gets hurt..." A new voice spoke up, one with a gruff tone, and a hint of Scottish in it. "Wouldn't want ta put a damper on your day..."
The second woman of their group followed. "Angus ain't one for patience, so might be best if you'd join the others kid."
"The bonny is right, none of us have to get anxious around here. Especially under these shite circumstances." Angus threatened. "Now get along with the others boy before I make ye wish you were never born."
"You must forgive my associates child, they can be a bit... overzealous. I give you my personal word that you will not be harmed by Angus here." The regal female voice spoke, must be their leader.
"Really? We're going to get fuckin' fundamental with these guys?" The remaining male voice of this group exclaimed. "Why don't we just kill these folks and take all their stuf-!"
Clem's foot must have stepped on a weak spot in the wood on the third to the last stair, because her foot fell through, and she inadvertently let out a yelp of surprise as she tripped forward. Her belly and chest lay on the last two steps as she dropped her gun on the floor in front of her, in full view of everyone. In a state of panic she reached for her gun, but before she could touch it, a black boot slammed down on her hand violently, nearly breaking it. "GAHhh!"
"Tsk tsk tsk..." She looked up to see an older lady with short blonde graying hair wearing black pants and a black robe of some sort. "What do we have here?" She kept her foot firmly on the little girl's hand still reeling from her fall. "A fly on the wall perhaps?" She then spotted Clem's gun and picked it up. "One with a stinger..." She sneered as she pocketed it.
Clem exclaimed. "That's mine! Give it back!" However she remained silent at her demand.
(?) She might remember that.
Before she even knew it, Angus, stomped towards her and he roughly picked her up. Angus was probably the biggest man Clem had ever seen. He was a giant Scot wearing a red kilt of all things, plus a green shirt with a flannel sash. "Upsy-daisy, little lassy." This man could definitely knock Larry flat on his ass...
Her entire group was silent as they watched Angus throw Clem into their circle and Michael joined in as well, helping her get back up. They were all hovering over a still unconscious Sven as the four intruders lined up to address these people. The regal leader stepped forth. "I am Mother Katherine, to my left is Angus and Brooke and to my right is Nathaniel. You all have something that belongs to us..."
Brooke had red hair and a blue jacket along with jeans and black boots. She had a very obvious scar on her cheek that cut all the way from the corner of her mouth to nearly her ear. She seemed mousy for the most part, but almost pointing her rifle at them said otherwise. This Nathaniel however had a blue cap and a jean jacket along with a grey hoodie underneath. His old blue jeans, scruffy brown hair, and facial expression made him have the appearance of being at home and actually enjoying himself. "Don't mind mommy Kathy here, it's just Nate."
Mother Katherine? Brooke, Angus, and Nate. What was her deal with that? It was Maree who responded though. "W-what do you want from us?"
"...That sniveling pile of filth you're all standing around." Katherine answered with distaste.
"Fuck, if that's all then you can have him." Wayne interjected, slightly stepping aside.
"Who's the leader of this little group of younglings? Quite bizarre that none of you have the appearance of a much more mature age..."
"It's me. I lead this group." Dusty declared.
"Oh? Do you now, young man?" Katherine seemed amused. "Then from one Shepard to another, give me the wolf that has killed my sheep."
"What the hell is she talking about?" Helga whispered to his older brother, she wasn't the best with metaphors.
"What did Sven do to you?" Clementine inquired, wanting to know why they went through all this trouble for this one man.
But then Katherine said it so bluntly and cold. "He killed my son."
For some reason, everyone was taken aback at this, and the fact they might be protecting a murderer in their midst. But that was when Sven finally woken up from his 'nap' and found himself as the pig on inspection. The gag prevented outright screaming, but he did make his consciousnesses known. "MMMPH! MMphhf... no!"
"Let's hear what he has to say." Nate smirked as he kept his pistol on the bound man.
It was Dusty who reluctantly took the gag out of his mouth so that he could stand up and almost freely speak in his defense. "Please Mother, it was an accident!"
"Accident, schmaccident..." Nate immediately shot him down before he could continue. "Angus and I saw you push the gun into his chest and pull the trigger. Do we need to swear him in on a bible or somethin'?"
"No, I got a better idea..." Angus revealed that he was carrying a sledgehammer on the left side of his kilt in a holster. Big hammer for a big man. "Think I could give Betsy a little spin?"
Did he just seriously name the sledgehammer Betsy? But Katherine responded. "You mustn't be too crude too quick until exactly the necessary moment Angus. Let Sven speak."
Fear erupted in the man's being as all eyes fell to him again. He mumbled something but no one really heard him. "...I..I... I'm sorry, I thought he was going to kill me. You have to believe me! I never wanted any of this, please!"
"He said he was sorry!" Dusty supported.
Katherine shot both of them down as she spoke coldly. "Sorry will not bring my boy back, and sorry will not save your life. You must be punished."
"No! No! Mother Katherine, have mercy... have mercy..." Sven bawled as he began to loose hope and fell on his knees.
Clementine finally spoke up, remembering Lee's advice. "I know that loosing your son made you sad, and that you must be really angry right now, but you owe it to the people you care about to just keep being your old self. Do the right thing, and forgive him!"
(?) They will all remember that.
"Young lady," Katherine hissed and glared at the twelve year old. "Look me in the eye, and tell me, would you forgive the murderer of your child?"
"That sure as shit ain't gonna happen." Nate added as he pulled out his pistol and aimed it threateningly at the group. "Hand him over."
"They'll kill me! Please! Please, don't let them take me!" Sven begged with all of his soul. "They will kill me!"
"Dusty! Just hand him over already!" Wayne ordered to which he shook his head at.
"I... I don't think I can." Their leader was unsure, the morality of the situation was conflicting.
Michael addressed Clementine with another worried look. "Clem..."
[Give up Sven]
[Deny Katherine]
A/N- What would you do? Would you deny another person's revenge or would you defend a killer? Did Sven really do the deed with intent? This is another decision to be voted on so, vote via review and tell us why. Stay tuned for the next one! :) Things are about to heat up!