AN: Just so you know, this chapter's going to be rated M for a reason. It turns very dark at one point, so… yeah. You've been warned. But maybe it'll bring you guys at least a little bit of peace of mind by the end, we'll see. Hope you enjoy this anyways!
Lilly's POV
"Oh no… oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Kelly rambles on, biting her fingernails at the oncoming slaughter fest that's about to take place if we don't take the upper hand while we still have it. Those few patrol guards seemed to have just been the front of the pack, as there are literally at least two dozen men and women parading about up there. "We're so dead if we stay up here… Lilly, we've gotta do something quickly! Any ideas?!"
Ok, I'll be honest – I'm freaking out right now. I'd be fucking stupid if I wasn't at least a little bit afraid of these people, unless of course I didn't give two shits about my life any longer. However, that's far from the case, so instantly I look down at the various bodies scattered about the floor.
Maybe Elliot had it right the whole time.
Getting the other two women to help, as a team we drag two of the Rangers and drop them onto the floor of the fire truck, and basically chuck the third one from the second level out the back window. For a fire department, this place is a pretty shitty hazard, as most of the walls haven't been properly furbished and consist of dry, volatile wood. If the fire department can't keep its own building from burning down, then what would that have said about the rest of the town?
Pushing that thought aside, I try to sneakily keep one eye out the window facing the Rangers while also trying to remain completely hidden. Not such an easy task, but Racheal seems to be getting the hang of it.
Kelly, on the other hand...
"Psst! Elliot, you moron! Get up here!" she whispers as she tries to get the guy's attention, but he's so caught up in what he's doing that he doesn't even notice. We're caught between a rock and a hard place on this one – we can't yell out for him without drawing attention from the Rangers, and yet we can't even get Elliot to turn around without yelling.
"I'm telling you, I heard something down there!" one of them insist as the rest of the group simply laughs at him. Little does he know that he's hit the nail right on the head. "Sure, laugh it up! But my next meal says that there's something fishy going down there, and you jack asses are heading down there with me!"
"Fine, if it'll shut your fucking mouth about it, then let's go check out this place. Be prepared to be terribly disappointed!"
Oh. Shit.
"Kelly, you need to get him up here now!" I hiss, now really wishing that we had been able to shut the garage door downstairs. "Or just… I don't know, get him away from here! Anything, just get Elliot to move!"
"You don't think I'm trying here?!"
"Well try harder! If he attracts their attention, we're all dead!" Racheal whispers, putting a finger to her lips as the first man gets halfway down the hill along with eight others. Thankfully, it seems that the majority of them have gone back after their apparent false alarm. "Hey… we might be able to take them from here…"
Judging the situation myself, I instantly shake my head but ready my pistol just in case. Nothing would please me more than to gun down every one of these wastes of oxygen for all the pain and suffering that Tracy and Joshua have caused, but then I remember that not all of them were likely here because they want to be. Assuming David was telling the truth, I'd suspect that most of them either have nowhere else to go or would feel threatened by their new group members if they were to leave this place.
"Can't risk it," I muse as she gives me an icy glare. "We'll just wait it out – let them come to us. We've got the element of sur-"
BAM!
"Agh! God damn it!" Elliot backs up, having just shot the undead man in the face after realizing that he had come back to life. The transformation had taken a lot longer than it usually does, but that's not the problem.
The real cause for concern is that they probably could hear that gunshot coming from a mile away.
Rushing straight over to Kelly and putting a hand over her mouth as I try to tear her away from the window, she struggles to get away from me and somehow magically save her friend from harm. But it's no use this time – Elliot's dug himself an early grave as he turns around to the faces of nine different Rangers, all with their guns pointed directly at him.
With tears stinging her eyes, Kelly stays limp in my arms as Racheal tries not to let this get to her. The only possible way we could save him is by firing our guns when their backs are turned, but not only do they have him completely surrounded, but any gunfire from us will just increase the shooting from them.
"I'm sorry…" I whisper, whether to Elliot or to Kelly and Racheal I'm not too sure.
Wanting to prolong his life for a little bit longer, Elliot practically trips over the dead carcass as he holds his hands up in surrender. "Why?" he questions them simply, seeming to realize that this could very well be the end of his days. "That's all I want to know – why would you murder these men like this? What did they ever do to you to deserve this? Just tell me… I want to know."
Getting two bullets straight to the leg as he crumbles to the ground, one of the Rangers walks over towards Elliot before kicking him roughly in the ribs a couple of times. Crimson blood hangs loosely out the side of his mouth as he lays on his side in the dirt, hanging on by a thread as the man whispers something in his ear.
Thrashing about at whatever answer he was given, Elliot struggles through gritted teeth to crawl away to safety, but the same Ranger shoots both of his hands and stops him in his tracks.
"What do you say we give this kid a proper send-off?" he asks as Kelly breaks free from my grasp and clutches onto her pistol; desperate to save him as she shoots the first guy right in the back. Figuring that our cover is truly fucked now, I audibly groan as a barrage of gunfire smashes through the back window and out through the wooden walls of the fire department.
Sawdust kicks up in the air as wood chips are sent flying towards us, but somehow Racheal and Kelly manage to kill three of the Rangers as I send two more to an early grave. The other two have disappeared from my sight as the shooting suddenly stops and Elliot is left unmoving outside.
"Where'd they go?!" I ask as Racheal prepares to reload her weapon, not knowing what could've possibly happened as Kelly looks on, completely heartbroken as Elliot gasps for air.
Suddenly hearing footsteps charging in on the lower level of the fire department, I quickly get set up near the stair case in anticipation for whatever's coming. The remaining guys have gotta be downstairs, but with my gun held out in front of me and my trigger finger primed and ready to rain death, there's no way that they're coming out of this alive.
An idea comes to my head as I notice just what we have up here at our disposal – namely what's sitting in a red box protected by a plastic case that's sealing it for emergencies only.
"Get me that fire axe…" I whisper to Racheal as she glances behind with confusion.
"What the hell are you gonna do with that?"
"Just give it here."
Consenting even though she's still unsure of what I plan on using the thing for, she uses the little cracking device attached to the box in order to break through and clutch the axe within her hands. Quickly tossing it over to me, I tiptoe my way into a position that's right above the staircase – that way neither of our enemies down below will be able to spot me lunging at them until it's far too late.
Racheal goes back to covering the windows as I raise the weapon above my head. This thing's heavy as shit, but it'd be a lot more practical than trying to maneuver that ladder off the wall and whack the bad guys in the head with that. Why waste a bullet when you can get the jump on them from right here?
Thump…thump…
The floorboards creak under their weight as somebody slowly climbs up the stairs, so I adjust my body to be in a more suitable position. As soon as I see the back of a man's head turning in every which direction except for mine, I bring the axe down with a mighty crack as it lodges itself into his skull. The effect is almost immediate.
Bits of the guy's brain can be seen inside of the head wound as I nearly crack the guy's head in two; having to drop the weapon as the guy falls dead on the wooden stairs.
Kelly nearly snipes David's men as they scurry inside after seemingly disappearing, but no apologies are made as she sprints past them and heads out the back to her extremely injured friend. The disgruntled hunters manage to find the last remaining Ranger who is begging for his life as he gets on his hands and knees, but they can find no mercy in their hearts, not after finding the two they were searching for murdered so brutally.
I turn my head as Damien pulls a knife out and slits his throat; sending a line of blood to get sprayed against the wall as the man gargles over his last breaths. Justice or not, that isn't how we should be doing things – a bullet to the head would've been a lot more acceptable in this instance. We're not murderers, not anymore.
There's nothing left for me to do in the fire station, since it seems that our two allies are busy cleaning up the mess that we left behind, so I follow Racheal out the back as the both of us come face to face with the grizzly scene. At the bottom of the muddy hill outside lays a sprawled out Elliot, whose blood is quickly leaking to the ground in a small puddle as his face starts to turn a deathly white colour and his eyes become less focused as the seconds go by. Kelly doesn't want to believe that this is happening, and even the stone-cold Racheal looks broken up over this, but deep down we all know what's coming.
"..L-L-Lil…" the boy croaks out; his mouth stained crimson as blood starts to collect and fall to the side of his face. "You… you have to k…kill them all… They're not even human anymore… They're… fucking… animals…"
Knowing that Kelly won't be able to do it, and not wanting Racheal to have to go through this sort of trauma right now, I nod mournfully towards Elliot as he leans his head back and prepares for the bitter end.
"I'm so sorry…" I apologize in advance, taking one last look at our armory tenant before clutching my pistol and pulling the trigger.
James' POV
Sitting at the head of the board room table, hands folded and resting underneath my chin, I study Scott's distraught face as he rubs his eyes furiously. The guy's clearly broken up over the whole affair, and no amount of our questioning is really going to grant us any further results at the moment.
After all, it's not as if there were any other witnesses to call upon – they both got killed this evening.
"I think that's enough for now, Scott. You can go," I inform him while trying to be at least a little bit respectful and sympathetic. This is a delicate situation that needs to be handled with the utmost amount of care.
Glancing back up at me with bloodshot eyes, Scott seems confused as he sniffles and wipes his nose with the back of his sleeve. "R-really?" he asks me in puzzlement. "But… but have you come to a consensus? Do you trust me now at least?"
"I think we should all get a good night's rest for right now," I purposely dodge the question as Bo helps the boy to his feet. "How's about we sleep on everything and figure out how to proceed in the morning, alright? Go on, we'll talk more tomorrow."
"But you didn't answer my – "
"Good night, Scott."
Sensing that I'm not in the mood to discuss things further with him at the moment, Scott sorrowfully trudges out of the board room with his shoulders slumped and his face bearing a solemn expression. This whole entire thing tonight has been one miserable disaster after another, with none of it being a pretty sight to behold. If society was still intact, Scott over there would probably be facing a number of charges for the deed as well as facing a long time behind bars.
But times have changed – methods of doing things have, too.
"So what do you think? Was he telling the truth?" Bo asks me once the door is closed and Scott has walked down the long, dark hallway.
Feeling torn on whether or not to believe the guy or to trust anything that comes spewing out of his mouth at this point, I reluctantly nod as I sigh and rub my hands tiredly over my face. What a long night it's been…
"…Luna was a drunken psychopath," I admit, having realized this in full once dinner rolled around. "Doesn't change the fact that he murdered her on our grounds."
"He calls it justice."
"And I call it an entire pistol clip in the face. He could've stopped at one, Bo – when he killed her, it was out of passion. He wanted her dead," I explain, digging through our notes that we had collected after going over the crime scene with a fine-tooth comb. Jake had turned on the concrete down below where he fell, but the guy's body had been crushed so badly that Bo barely even had to move out of the way. One pistol round to the forehead, and he could finally rest in peace.
Luna, on the other hand…
She didn't turn. There was absolutely no chance that she was coming back to life, whether it be through us trying to save her or her reanimating into a walker. Either way, the girl was gone for good, but the result was disturbing to look at. Luna didn't even have a face left after Scott was through with shooting her, as it looked more like a bloody pile of carnage and gore. The weird thing is that even after having taken such a vicious assault, she was still sitting upright against the edge of the roof – almost as if it was one final "fuck you" and that no matter what Scott had done, in the end she was still going to relax and live to her life's content.
But what the hell are we gonna do now? Aside from the obvious tragedy of losing two of our own in such a needless struggle, we now have no mechanic and no helicopter pilot. Sure, we may have plenty of armed women and men (assuming that they actually get back here at some point), but having those two was really a stroke of luck. It doesn't get much more fortunate than being able to have working vehicles and people with the knowhow to operate them.
Now those opportunities have been totally erased, and we've basically been grounded. What the hell are we going to do with a downed helicopter?
"And what about you?"
Suspicion raised and face scrunched up in confusion, I stop reading through our notes and glance over at Bo; standing there with a slightly accusing tone in his voice. "What about me?" I moodily respond back to him.
Using his only remaining hand to pull out a chair and sit himself down, Bo looks pointedly over at me as if I should know exactly what he's insinuating. "Scott told us that she had gotten so drunk that Luna could barely tell left from right, let alone control her rage," he reminds me as I stubbornly frown. "You knew she had a drinking problem, James. You knew, and yet you let her get overly intoxicated anyways. That shit's on you just as much as anyone."
"And what of you, Bo?!" I lash out, not keen on taking all of the blame upon myself for a crime I didn't commit. "Where were you when we were all supposed to be having a nice, sit-down dinner for once in our fucking lives?! Off gallivanting and eavesdropping on our conversation? If you had just opened the damn door and sat all three of your asses down, then maybe her friends could've stopped her, and maybe two of them would still be alive!"
Noticing that I've unintentionally stood up and loomed over the desk like a vulture waiting for its prey, I try to shake these frustrations off and let out some steam by slowly walking around the board room. God damn it… I thought I was past this kind of thing! I thought that the emotional tirades were long behind me and that there wouldn't be any more outbursts like this! I can't be losing my touch already! Bo and I are friends… we can't turn on each other now. Not when there's still so much work to be done…
Stopping in front of an old photo of the space centre that must've been taken some twenty-odd years ago, I breathe out through my nose and try to remember the good old days. That's the ultimate goal, you know – just to get an opportunity to start all over with what we've got left. It's what we have to strive towards in order to keep positive about all of the shit we've been dealt over the years. Too many friends have been lost; too many loved ones ripped right from our grasps.
"…either way, no matter what our inactions may have been," Bo starts up again after about a minute or so of looming silence, "Scott's the one who pulled the trigger."
Wiping a thumb to remove the dust off of my darling Heather's face in the portrait, I nod my head without even turning around to face him just yet. "Indeed he did."
"So what do we do about it?"
This is going to be the tricky part of the equation. Under normal circumstances, I'd probably say that we simply do the usual thing and strap him to the chair before knocking him out with a blunt object; leaving him in a vegetable-like state when we poke around inside his brain.
But how well do you think that would go over with everyone else? What if they were to arrive in the morning and find out that Jake, Luna and Scott have all died while they were away? It'd look mighty suspicious, that's for sure, not to mention that we'd probably end up having to make an excuse that very few people would buy.
And if word ever got out from Clementine, it might be game over for us. Why she hasn't mentioned anything still shocks me deeply, but not once since she was twelve years old have we had to step in and keep the girl in check.
Making my decision, feeling conflicted because of my positive and negative feelings about Scott, I close my eyes and take a step back from the wall.
"…we wait."
"Seriously?"
"Yes," I confirm, turning back towards my friend with a lack of confidence. "We're going to have to let the group decide on Scott's fate – it can't just be up to the two of us anymore. When everyone gets back, we'll set up a meeting and tally the votes to see what the verdict should be."
Playing with a loose string hanging off of his jacket while contemplating the decision, Bo shrugs as he yanks the piece clean off. "The best case scenario I can see for the guy is that he gets to pack his bags and leave with his head still on his shoulders. You do realize that the group won't take this sort of thing lightly, don't you?"
Nodding as I realize that he's probably correct, the little counselling session is dismissed as the both of us retire for the night; with me taking one last look inside before shutting the door closed and locking it with the key.
I've got a lot of thinking to do.
Clem's POV
That… son of a… bitch…
How DARE he try and pull this shit on us! That weird old man had been keeping his eye on my girl the entire time that we were at this shitty excuse of a camp, and it was only a matter of time before he'd try to sneak her away from me! Well not today, David! If I have my way, then you aren't going to have a head to breathe out of soon enough!
If that creep harms her in any way, shape or form… he'd better watch out, because all hell's breaking loose tonight.
Just hold on, Ellie – I'm coming for ya.
For a self-proclaimed hunter, David really isn't that difficult to track down with all the racket he's making up ahead. His rushed footsteps echo down the hallway and bounce off of the various pipes that line the walls; steam still trapped in many of them as their whistles make this place sound more like an old train station. Without a whole lot of light to guide me through the long, dark tunnels, I have to resort to using my ears and hoping that I don't accidentally run into a wall or something.
Time to go full-on Batman, I guess. Hopefully those comics I had tried to read beforehand have taught me a thing or two.
"Oww! You're hurting my wrist!"Ellie whimpers somewhere up ahead as I force myself to move more quickly. My pistol's locked in between my hands, but unless I have a clear, exact opening on him, there's no way that I'm going to risk shooting David – not with Ellie still in his possession. "Stop it! Where are we going?! Where are you taking me?!"
"To start a new life… somewhere that you'll be safe,"David responds, and deep down I know that it's him, but right now all I can think of is the time where I was in a similar situation as the one she is in right now.
In one single moment of naivety and stupidity, I was lead like a dog on a leash over to one of the most sickening, disgusting human beings that I've ever met in my entire life.
Quiet please, sweetie!
You're a monster… and I'm gonna hurt you so bad…
You're gonna like Clementine a lot though! She's not Lizzie but she's sweet – she wouldn't hurt a fly.
"No… not again…" I shake my head in complete anger as I bitterly wipe away tears from my eyes. I can see the stranger's face painted on the walls as I run further away; trying to drown out his emotionless voice by keeping my gaze straight ahead and fighting back against my inner demons. "You're not real… you can't control me…"
"What makes you so sure about that, Clementine?" he mocks me with a sinister laugh as I can practically feel his imaginary hot breath creeping down my neck. "You know that we haven't left – none of us. I'm your father now, Clementine… and deep down you know it's true. I protected you more than anyone else out there. I would've always been there for you… I'm the one who kept you safe."
Smacking myself in the side of the head a number of times and screeching for him to leave me alone as I shoot out at one of the pipes, the stranger cackles like a maniac as the hiss of steam makes him appear even more ghostly and pale. Frightened sweat starts to form on my forehead as I dart about left and right; trying to find out where David could've possibly taken my little friend.
Oh god… what if they're gone?! What if he's already taken her?!
"Leave me alone! CLEM! CLEMENTINE, HELP M-"
"Shut up, you little runt! We're leaving that bitch behind, now keep moving!"
Hitting the jackpot as I pinpoint the direction they're heading towards, I bank a left down the tunnel as I head into this old sewage treatment plant and try to look around at all the open space. There's drainage water still dripping in like a waterfall as the overfilled sewage tunnels remain as dirty as the water was when it came down in the first place, and the roar of it all drowns out the other sounds from reaching my eardrums.
"ELLIE?!" I call out into the darkness as I raise my weapon in front of me; eyes scanning the area for a struggle as my breathing grows raspier. "Where are you?! David, I won't kill you if you just hand her over nice and slow! There doesn't have to be any violence between us! You can just…"
Getting cut off as a sharp, bruising pain erupts in my shin, I fall to the floor and try crawling away to safety. However, David is much too fast for me as he kicks me hard in the ribs and flips me over to my front.
Too bad for him that he didn't notice the gun in my hands.
Firing off a round that hits him right in the thigh, David gets severely winded as he too darts to the ground in pain. Kicks and punches are thrown between the two of us violently as we try to pin each other down, and just as I'm about to get another shot off on the crazed lunatic, he bats the gun out of my hand with a rusted metal pole that he used to hit me with in the first place; accidentally letting it go as it rolls away out of his reach.
"Couldn't just leave well enough alone, could ya?!" David snaps as he lands a punch right near my cheek bone and cracks his fists down on me again and again. I knee him in the groin as he grunts in pain, but David has me seeing stars as he smacks me roughly across the face like a bat out of hell. "You think you know me, Clementine?! Huh?!"
I try to claw at his eyes so that I can actually get some sort of opening on the man, but the fact of the matter is that even with near starvation, David's got almost double my weight going for him as well as physical strength. My attempts to get him off are negligible as his hands grasp around my neck in a vice grip.
His eyes are hungrily looking me up and down as he gets a wicked glint that's freaking me out. With all of my senses going off like crazy as I struggle to breathe and my heartbeat goes into overdrive, I try to fight back as much as I can whilst still keeping myself together.
A slight bulge in his jeans causes me to go into a complete snit.
"You have no idea what I'm capable of…" he taunts as his sick, pleasurable fantasy starts to come to fruition; using one hand to try and choke me out while the other reaches down below. Whimpering as flashes of despair cloud my vision, I try begging him to stop, but my voice is caught in my throat as the air disappears within me. "But you, my little Clementine… you're definitely about to find out…"
Licking his lips, David slowly starts to unzip my leather jacket as my eyes start becoming heavier and heavier. I'm not entirely sure what he's planning on doing with me right now, but I can get a pretty clear sense that it's not going to be good. It fucking terrifies me, if I'm being honest – if he wanted me dead so badly, then why wouldn't he just pick up my damn gun and end it?! Why does he have to torture his victims like this?!
"You have no idea how long it's been…" David murmurs darkly as my jacket is completely undone and his cold, dirty hands brush up against my collarbone. "I know that you want this just as much as I do… I'll fuck you bloody and take off with the kid so that I can start a new family. How would you like that… sweet pea?"
Just hang on, Clementine! Lee urgently yells in my ear as I start to lose consciousness. Fight him! You have to fight back! Don't let him take advantage!
When all hope seems lost, and David appears to have subdued me without a shadow of a doubt, that's when my little angel comes to the rescue. Getting an immediate reaction, Ellie swings the pole that had fallen away right at David's face; incapacitating him as he clutches onto his forehead while she swings at him again and again.
"ARGH! WHY YOU LITTLE SHIT!"
Although just a kid, Ellie's got enough of a motive and the intensity to keep smashing the pole at David until he finally collapses nearby. I gasp for air as the life returns to me after all of my lights had gone out, but I can't force myself to move just yet.
Clutching onto my throat, I watch in horror as I watch Ellie start to just absolutely destroy this vile waste of space, and my heart suddenly drops to my stomach. As much as I hate the guy for what he was trying to do, I care much more about Ellie's wellbeing.
And how is viciously beating a man to death going to help her already-shattering mental state? I don't… I don't want this to become another…
I only need a minute…
You won't see anything…
Go on… you don't need to see this…
Yeah, go on! Let the sheep out of the pen! We'll see how long that lasts!
Fucking big man now, huh?!
I know what you are, Clementine! I can see it! ANYONE can see it!
"Ellie…!" I croak out as her hits become slower and more on his arms than anything else. Crawling my way towards her, I put a hand on her ankle in an effort to try and stop the assault. "ELLIE! STOP IT!"
Sobbing uncontrollably as I wrap my arms around her waist and rock her back and forth, Ellie apologizes over and over again as David lays on the floor with massive welts, bruises and beatings scattered about his body. I won't let anger and violence consume this kid like it has to so many others before her.
That's not who Ellie is. That's not what I or anyone else would want her to turn into.
"I'm sorry…" she mumbles into my shirt as I trace my fingers through her fiery-red hair. Soon after I notice that Jane has finally managed to track us down and slowly walk towards us, but I'm too busy comforting Ellie to pay her much mind right now. "B-but he… he tried to…"
"Oh baby girl…" I whisper, finding myself calling her that to not be as weird and awkward as it sounded in my head. If I haven't become a big sister to her at this point, then the next closest thing would probably be within the realms of a guardian – sort of like what Lee was to me. "It's okay… it's okay… We're gonna get you out of here… and gather everyone else up, alright?"
Once she has finally settled down a little bit and is able to stand to full height, I turn towards Jane with an emotionally and physically exhausted look. There's just been too much shit going wrong today, and I don't know where to begin with how mortified I feel right now. David wanted to… I can't even say the word right now. It's too disgusting to even think about.
What kind of repugnant person would try to do something like this?
"Just give the word…" Jane remarks, holding my gun at her side as she stands right in front of David's unmoving body. Somehow he's still breathing after the vicious beat-down that Ellie had just given him, but who knows what kind of internal damage may have been inflicted within him. David might die in a month, a year, or maybe even a week. Maybe he'll even live without any repercussions, and as much as I'd like to pick the gun up myself and just finish the job… at the end of the day it's not my decision.
It's the people that he really screwed over who should have the say – the ones who've been living here at Hunter's Retreat without any notion of the squalor that they were forced to live in. They're the people who should be the judges, not us.
However, when we all hear the shuffling of about twenty or so of the inhabitants piling in from behind us, all of them just wanting this nightmare to finally be over, I get the feeling that they've all made their decision. Pointing their thumbs down and glaring at the man who at one point they considered their hero of all things, I turn towards Jane and nod.
Pulling the trigger, Jane executes David without even giving it a second thought, while unbeknownst to us, in the distance a fire has started to rage over at Ranger's Grove.
Although, it's not the kind of fire that any of us are about to expect.
AN: So… that happened. Sorry about killing off some of the OCs, but hey – it's not exactly the Walking Dead without some deaths thrown in for good measure, right? And these have already started to impact the story, so hopefully you guys aren't too angry :3
Just know that nobody in this story is truly safe! Have an awesome day!