Episode 3: Means To An End- Into The Fire

A/N- To oli young 56: I do not want to spoil anything for you, so perhaps you should stick around for all five episodes. We still got a long way to go, but you shouldn't be disappointed.

On a different note: Wow... this vote was actually very close, straight down the middle nearly 50/50, but won out on one vote which is amazing! On with the story!

[Give Up Sven]

[Deny Katherine]

Whether if it was the right thing to do or not, they had to put their safety and the safety of the baby first. Comply. Comply and get these armed and dangerous people out of their sight. Clem felt really sorry for Sven but... this was how it had to be. And if they refused, there was no telling what might have happened. "Hand him over..." Clem muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What?! Clem!" Dusty protested at her input and did not rightly agree with her in the immediate moment.

(?) Dusty will remember that.

"Clementine..." Michael seemed stoic at the twelve year old's decision, not really revealing whether he was against it or not. And before anyone else could respond, Wayne quickly came up from behind and pushed Sven towards Angus, to which the Scottish giant easily caught and turned towards Katherine, much to Dusty's dismay.

"We... we don't have to do it here!" Brooke interjected while glancing at everyone. "We can take Sven back to the church and-!"

"Enough!" Her Superior silenced her with stern authority as she gave the order to Angus. "Now... let's say a prayer."

Suddenly, Sven was then violently thrown to the floor, landing on his stomach, still bound. Then Angus's huge left foot stomped down on the captive's back, keeping him pinned. "Aye, it's time to pay the price..."

"No! No, you can't do this! I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry!" Sven wailed and sobbed to no end as he awaited his fate. "PLEASE! H-h-have mercy! Mercy!"

Clem and her group could only watch in shock as the punishment was carried out in front of them, and Mother Katherine stepped in front of Sven and Angus who was already about to raise and swing his hammer. The old woman interlocked her fingers together. "Our Father who art in heaven, hollowed be thy name..."

Sven cowered as he closed his eyes. "Please... please... no. I don't want to die!"

Nate smirked. "No turning back now, huh?"

Katherine continued with her prayer. "...thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..."

Clem then noticed that the other woman known as Brooke closed her eyes and looked away from the scene, however Nate and Angus kept their attention on their leader. She went on. "...Blessed are we, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for we are truly their keeper and the finder of lost children. ...But we will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious rage those who would attempt to poison or destroy our family. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee!"

It was then that Dusty began to object to this execution. "It doesn't have to be this wa-!" But he was quickly silenced by Wayne who had placed his hand on his shoulder. Everyone else had nothing else to say as the old woman completed her farewell to Sven.

"In Nomine Patris, Et Filii, Et Spiritus Sancti. Amen."

Angus swung his hammer up high with all off his might and-!

[WATCH]

[LOOK AWAY]

"AHHHH-!"

The large Scot slammed the sledgehammer down into the back of Sven's head mid-scream... The metal mallet caved in his skull with little to no difficulty upon impact. The horrible sounds of squelching brain matter and bone filled the ears of those around them and soon a pool of dark scarlet blood already began to form around Sven's lifeless body...

"You... you..." Maree was at a loss for words witnessing the scene before them, almost threatening to vomit. Had they made the wrong decision? Should they have... defended Sven or done something different?

Clem however spoke up. "You didn't have to kill him like that! You could have just shot him or at least..." Her voice trailed off as her gaze resumed back to Sven's corpse.

(?) They will remember that.

Mother Katherine nodded at the group as she stepped away from the blood, not wanting to get her boots all bloody. "Perhaps not child... but answer me this, what difference would it make if he were destined to die anyway?"

"Jesus Christ..." Dusty's breathe hitched as he attempted to draw his attention back to the perpetrators. "Okay... alright. You got your man, now just go, get outta here." He pointed towards the exit, having enough of their presence.

"Looks like we overstayed our welcome..." Angus grumbled as he stepped off of the dead Sven and holstered the sledgehammer in his waist. "Sorry about the little mess, we can tidy it up if-!"

"Just leave!" Wayne interrupted him as he mirrored Dusty and pointed towards the exit as well. "Get the fuck outta here and leave us alone!"

"You sure?" Nate piped up as he waved his pistol around casually. "Because if you ask me, I think we can..." He smiled creepily. "...make some agreements, if ya catch my meaning..." His gaze was directly aimed at Helga.

Wayne stepped in front of his sister protectively and aggressively. "Back off asshole!"

She huffed at her subordinate. "The flesh is weak Nathaniel, do not let it be your downfall..." Katherine warned the man.

Nate let out a comical whine. "Aw come on Mama Kathy, a man gets hungry sometimes, really hungry..."

"We should just go, and not bother these folks no more." Brooke retorted as she began to leave, and Angus eventually agreed to follow her towards the exit.

Mother Katherine shrugged her shoulders and decided that it was indeed time to return to their base. She and Nate were about to join the other two and depart from this scared group of younglings and their resort when...

*Cry* *weeeahh* *hic* cry* Baby AJ had woken up from all of the commotion, now of all times to wake up.

Maree tried her best to hush him in her arms, but Katherine had already stopped in her tracks, turned, and addressed the group again. "Is that... a baby?"

"Of course it's a baby, what else could it be?" Helga rudely responded.

"Let me hold him." She simply requested as she held out her arms and stepped forward towards Maree, who tentatively held back from compiling. "I can't remember the last time I held such an innocent creature..."

[Get In between them]

[Threaten her]

With no gun to threaten with, Clementine immediately ran to Maree and AJ getting in between them and Katherine who looked surprised by the small obstacle in her way, with her arms out wide to block her. She remembered Kenny's final promise, to protect AJ, no matter what... "You're not touching him!"

(?) Katherine will remember that.

But the older lady only arched an eyebrow at her. "Is that a fact child?" Clem stood firmly against her, keeping her nerve, but that must have made her frustrated because then Katherine turned her head and gave a curt nod towards Nate. "Do it."

"It's about time." Nate grinned as he lunged forward towards the group, whose attention was focused on Katherine, and he grabbed Hazen from behind. The young man tried to struggle against him, but Nate already put him in a headlock and put his pistol up to his temple. "No squirmin' boy, or else it'll be lights out!"

"Hazen!" Dusty and Clem exclaimed as Wayne, Helga, and Michael drew out their weapons. Brooke and Angus raised their rifles in response and aimed them at the group as well. Clem desperately added. "Just let him go, and we could maybe make a deal!"

(?) Nate doesn't care about that.

"Ain't gonna happen kiddies..." Nate ignored their words and kept his position holding Hazen. "I'm having way too much fun here to let this slip by."

Brooke gasped at their actions. "Oh my god. Nate! Katherine! Just leave them be, please just leave them alone." She then looked to her remaining companion. "Angus, tell them!"

But the large Scot simply shook his head. "It's best we just leave them be... we can't be stopping them at this point now anyway." They're on the hunt...

"Give me the baby..." Katherine stated her ultimatum. "Or your friend dies..."

It looked like they had a stand-off... everyone was on edge with their guns pointed at each other. However, Nate merely pressed the barrel of his gun harder into the side of Hazen's head, threatening to kill him. "You want more brain to paint this lobby with?"

"Somebody do something!" Hazen cried out as Nate held him steady. He didn't dare try anything himself, lest a bullet would be fired into his skull. He believed he would.

Clementine turned to address the young man, and she was about to say 'don't worry' when suddenly Clem felt a splitting white-hot stinging pain erupt from her left cheek. She fell to the ground as a result of Katherine's brutal slap, and Michael had a burst of anger spring forth. "You bitch!"

Michael charged at the woman, intent on hurting her for hurting Clementine, but then he was stopped cold in his tracks when Angus spent a quarter of his rifle's clip on the floor in front of him as well as the other members of the group, dissuading them from any further heroics. "That'll be enough of that. No use in any if ya dying..." 'yet'...

And nobody did anything, even Michael, stunned by the fear from losing their lives right at that moment. Katherine seethed. "Cowards, the lot of you..." She sighed and pulled out her pistol, and she raised her voice for all of them to hear. "Drop all your weapons on the floor or your friend, Hazen was it dear? He dies. If any of you attempts to do anything stupid, he dies. And if any of you defy my word, he dies! Do you understand?! My word is law!"

"Goddammit..." Hazen cursed his own predicament while Nate dragged the young man back towards Angus and Brooke. "Guys don't worry about me please just-! ACK!"

Nate tightened his grip around his neck. "Pipe down, watch, this'll be the best part coming up." He snickered.

Clementine finally recovered from that hard whack given to her moments earlier, and she peered up just as Mother Katherine reached over her and forcefully grabbed Maree's arm. "No! What are you doing?!" She protested.

Dusty exclaimed trying to reach and grab her back, but she was already pulled away from them. "NO! Not her too!"

AJ gave another fearful wail as Katherine pulled Maree and AJ in and turned them into her hostages. "Angus, Brooke, please escort the rest of our friends into that ballroom over there. As much as I hate to say this, hmmm... I'm afraid we can't take any more of you... that boy, this pretty young lady, and the baby will do more than suffice."

Wayne yelled at these people while Helga gave them the middle finger. "Fuck you! We are all walking outta here!"

Dusty even growled, with his frustration beginning to make his blood boil. "Give us our people back! Now!" He then melted and gave a very worried expression directed at his group members, especially for Maree and the crying baby. "We can talk about this!"

"Oh, there's nothing to talk about here." Nate smirked at their advantage. "And if you ask me, you're lucky she's the one in charge and not me."

The Haitian girl sniffed, trying to stay strong in this situation while holding Alvin Junior. "Dusty... Clem..."

Clem snarled at them. "Why are you doing this?!" Why were they taking Maree, Hazen, and AJ?

"That's none of your business, child!" Mother Katherine curtly replied. "Now, Angus take them to the auditorium or shoot them, their choice..."

"Aye, you heard the boss lady." He raised his AK-47 at them. "Your choice, move it then!"

Everyone wanted to rebel, they wanted to pick up their weapons and attempt to kill all of these people in one fell swoop. But it was just too damn risky. People would die on both sides, and also they were outgunned, along with AJ being in the direct line of fire. They just had no choice but to move along and file into the auditorium with Angus and Brooke at their backs.

One by one, they all walked into the ballroom, sullen and defeated. Weakened by the fear of losing their own, they had not yet realized the lethal intentions behind Katherine's plans for their fate. Michael was the last one to trudge into the auditorium when Angus slammed the doors shut behind them, and they quickly heard something metal clanging against the door handle on the other side. The last thing Clem could hear from the kidnappers were AJ's cries for help...

He needed his big sister...

"Son of a fucking bitch!" Wayne loudly cursed as he balled his hands into fists, and he ran back to the large entrance and tackled the doors in anger. But they did not yield, not at all. His eyes widened at the realization. "Those fuckers locked us in! SHIT!"

"Alright everyone settle down, we just have to keep calm and think for a second." Dusty pressed at he examined the whole area around them. "They probably locked us in here so that we wouldn't follow them."

Clementine was the next to exclaim. "They have AJ! And Maree and Hazen! We have to get out of here Dusty."

"I know Clem, I know." He turned to her in response. "Did Hazen say he find anything in here? Anything at all?"

Michael butted in however to answer. "There's that supply closet over there. Maybe we could find something?" The fourteen year old quickly ran over to the small door and began fiddling with the lock.

"Lemme help kid." Wayne volunteered in a hurried tone. It was true, Wayne seemed to have a knack for locks, like when he tried to open the safe at the front desk earlier. "Helga! Give me one of your bobby pins."

His sister scoffed as she reached into her mangy hair and weirdly enough, pulled out said booby pin for her brother to pick with. "Make it fast bro!" She tossed it to him which he caught and then she looked back at Dusty and Clementine. "Well Mr. Leader," She mocked. "What now?"

Dusty scanned the area around them. There were no back exits, no other way out. But fortunately for them, the sun had peeked through the clouds, and the rays of sunshine reached through the high windows and lit up the floor they were standing on. He followed the light back to the windows with an idea. "You and me could boost Clem up there. She's the lightest, and she could see if those people are gone and if that window could open up." He pointed upward.

Helga looked back at Michael and Wayne who were still working on the closet door with determination. She didn't exactly like it, but she agreed with their elected leader. "Fine, I'll get on your shoulders, and then the squirt will get on mine."

"Use the wall for support." Dusty nodded. "Clementine, you ready for this?"

AJ was gone, he was in danger, being held hostage with dangerous people. She knew she had to get him back, she had to get him back as soon as possible. "Of course I'm ready." She declared. "What are we waiting for?"

(?) They will remember that.

"Good." Dusty smirked at her spirit. "Let's get to it."

A few minutes had passed with both of their efforts proving futile. Wayne and Michael's work on the closet door became fruitless when the bobby pin snapped in the lock and they were just banging on the door at this point. Also, Dusty was having some problems balancing both girls on his shoulders as Clem adjusted her feet on top of Helga's shoulders. The blonde teen grunted. "You're heavier than you look... come on, can you reach? Can you see anything?"

Clem made sure that she had a firm grip on the window sill as she peered out, noticing she was looking out the same side as where the front doors of the resort was. "I think I see them! They all just went over the hill, they're gone!"

"Fuck!" Dusty hissed at the bad news. "See if you can open the window Clem!"

Back on the opposite side of the ballroom, it was faint but it was real... Crackling, they heard crackling... Michael and Wayne, to their horror, raised their heads up to address the still locked doors which began to steam grey and black smoke from all of the crevices around it! It began to gather in the ceiling near it, and they came to the realization. Michael though was the one to shout over at the other three. "They set the resort on fire!"

"Shit! Shit!" Wayne cursed some more as he looked around to find something they could use to bust out of the ballroom. "We'll be fuckin' roasted alive!"

Clementine felt a rise in panic as she quickly turned her attention back towards the window in front of her. She could feel that Helga was beginning to get wobbly so she had to make haste. She saw that the window did not slide open, only noticing the four screws on the four corners to keep the pane in place. She still had her screwdriver, thank god!

(o) Unscrew window

Clem carefully placed her tool in one of the Philips heads and began to twist it to the left, loosening it, and eventually it came out. She repeated this action three more times with barks of impatience from Helga below her all the while.

However the smoke coming from the lobby and through the locked doors began to gather as Wayne and Michael tried to bust open the exit to no avail. "Hurry the fuck up!" Helga exclaimed. "My shoulders are killing me!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Clem spat back at her as she firmly grasped the edges of the pane.

"Anytime Clem!" Dusty shouted from beneath Helga, trying his best to keep his knees locked and putting all the weight against the wall. "See if you can climb through!"

Clementine successfully removed the windowpane and a rush of fresh air bathed her face with a welcoming chilled wind. She tossed the pane inside and used her relatively small size to cautiously step off of Helga and onto the windowless sill, peeking her head outside now.

When she looked back she saw Dusty placing Helga back on the ground, and Wayne and Michael approached the rest of them. "Clem!" The fourteen year old called up to her. "It's not that far of a drop, just run around front through the broken glass doors and get us outta here!"

Clem nodded to all of them. "Got it!" She gave a glance at the fall she had to endure, but she saw that there were at least some bushes to cushion her landing. "I'll be right back!"

The twelve year hopped out from the inside and fell for about a second or two until she landed safely in said bushes. She quickly got up and composed herself as she looked around to get her bearings. "Front doors..." She muttered as she made her way into the parking lot.

Unfortunately for her however, she was horrified to see that the resort was well under its way to being engulfed in flames. The second floor windows were smoking, and she could already see orange flames leaking out of some the first floor windows as well. "Gotta move!"

Clementine firstly broke off into a sprint when suddenly, a walker revealed itself from around an abandoned car. But it's decayed face wasn't drawn to the little girl, in fact it was more drawn towards the fire in the resort growing stronger and stronger with every second...

Were walkers attracted to fire? They must be, the element made sound, just like running water. Little did Clementine know, Lee figured that out when he was in the sewers below the streets of Savannah.

Clem decided to use this to her advantage and strategically got behind the walker as it still hobbled over towards the burning building. "Rah!" The little girl did her ole trick and kicked the lurker's knee out from under it, and it fell to the ground. Clem immediately followed that up with a stab in its head.

'No time to lose' Clem thought as she picked up her speed and quickly found herself by the broken glass doors of the lobby to find herself shocked...

She was looking at nearly the whole place swallowed in flames! It was so hot she was already sweating beneath her leather jacket. This must have been where they started the fire, but she could see from where she was standing: the doors to the ballroom had a metal pipe stuck between the door handles. "Hold on guys!"

She had to make this fast, luckily for her only the walls and ceiling were burning, the floor was safe to traverse for the most part, at least for now. Nearly blinded by smoke at first, the twelve year old stepped inside. Coughing slightly, she ran to the ballroom doors and yanked the very warm metal pipe out of the handles.

The large doors suddenly flew open and a cloud of collected smoke added to the shitty situation as the other members of her group came out, practically coughing uncontrollably. They were out, but not outside...

Dusty nearly chocked as he spoke. " *cough* *cough* Everyone! Outside now!" He pointed towards the exposed exit. "Kids go first!"

Helga, Michael, and Clem led the pack as the five of them rushed to get out of this flaming deathtrap. Only Helga and Michael were out the door when suddenly-!

*CRACK*

The support beam above the front doors gave way, and Clementine was right under it!

"Clementine!"

Michael was the first one to try and save her, but Helga grabbed his shirt and pulled him back, out of harm's way. Yet, Clem found another savior as Dusty came up from behind her, and he threw her back towards Wayne as the burning support beam fell on top of him! "GAAAHHH!"

The collapse had completely blocked the front entrance as any means of escape. Dusty was still screaming in mortal agony, pinned under the debris that was on fire with small burning pieces of it landing on his face as well. "Dusty!" Clem exclaimed worryingly as she went back to him only to be pushed out of the way by Wayne who had the metal pipe used to lock the doors from earlier. "What are you doing?!"

"Pull him out when I say so!" He commanded as he wedged the piped between two pieces of the flaming wooden beam next to his body. "1...2..." He began to use all of his weight to push down and create a small gap from Dusty to escape. "...3!"

Fuck, it was really hot in here when Clem took Dusty's shoulders and used all of her strength, along with some of his own, to pull and pull until his entire body cleared the wreckage. "ahhh... God! I can't..."

Dusty's arm and face were almost literally steaming. To their horror, Clem and Wayne saw that Dusty's left sleeve had burned right through and his skin was dangerously exposed to the heat, hopefully his burns wouldn't be too bad... then again that may be wishful thinking. "I got ya dust mite..." Wayne picked him up, and he gently put his good arm around his shoulder as Dustin winced and hissed harshly at his wounds. "Shit! We're trapped, there another way outta here? Kid?!"

And that was when Clementine remembered, because she thought back at how she entered the resort to sneak up on Katherine. Room 207... the ladder... "I know a place!" She responded. "Follow me!"

"Lead the way Clem!" Wayne coughed, the remaining three of them headed to the back staircase to climb to the second floor.

The smoke by now was nearly unbearable as they anxiously made their way up the stairs. Dusty and Wayne were having a lot of difficulty since Dusty was struggling with nearly each step, but before they knew it, they reached the top of the second floor. However, it was still flooded with thick smoke, so it was Wayne who hollered up to her while he let out another nasty cough. "Crawl kid! Crawl below the smoke!"

Her eyes were stinging and it hurt so much to breath, so she decided to try her best and hold her breathe as long as she could. Clem fell to her hands and knees and began to crawl, finding it slightly less harsh down lower.

She used her memory from when she came the opposite direction, and after about half a minute of hazy smoky vision and violent coughs, she was rewarded when she found the room that would be their exit. She was surprisingly pushed in by Wayne, who was right behind her and still carrying Dusty. He closed the door behind them, momentarily being able to get their bearings.

" *hack* *Cough!* window..." Dusty pointed as he began to nod off on the both of them, slowly shutting his eyes.

"Dammit! Fuck!" Wayne was the one to carry Dusty over to the window that was their very definition of escape and survival. So when he was meet by the ladder outside, Michael popped his head into view waiting and ready to help them.

"Come on!" He motioned them all over. "We gotta get outta here!"

Clem couldn't stop coughing though... she must have inhaled too much smoke earlier, and her little lungs couldn't take as much abuse. Her vision began to fade, and soon it all went black when her body it the floor...

"Clem!"

...

A/N- Who will live and who will die? I told you things would be 'heating up' next chapter. Anyway, of what remains, what should the group do next? Where should they go? Stay tuned for what happens next. :)

(I have to give credit to Pulp Fiction for most of Katherine's prayer, great movie btw.)