Clem's POV
"Are you fit enough to travel by yourself?" I ask pointedly to Kazuki, who's spent the past two days of the return trip home mostly just keeping to herself. I haven't heard a peep from her aside from politely asking if she could go to the bathroom (meaning a bush on the side of the road), and even then I've had to tell her to speak up so that I could hear her properly. I was starting to worry that she may have become a mute on the way back here.
Tiredly looking into my eyes, the girl nods as I take a moment to assess her for myself. I'm not exactly stable all the time personally, but the girl had taken that amount of uncontrollability to a whole other level. She didn't just want him to die – she wanted him to suffer, and she knew exactly what it is that she was doing to him. We can't allow ourselves to delve down to that level of thinking and acting, otherwise we'll end up losing a significant part of ourselves that we'll never be able to get back – that which makes us human.
However, seeing that she appears to be at least somewhat back to her old self now that the danger has passed, I make the decision to set her free. "Alright then," I acknowledge with a curt nod, telling her to turn around so that I can get at her bindings. We had tied a thick piece of tent rope around her wrists to prevent her from lashing out – you know, just in case something were to happen. I was kind of afraid that if I had tied her hands up in front of her, that there may have been the possibility of her trying to strangle Lilly with her own bindings, but Kaz didn't even try to break free at all.
"You get why we kept you tied up like this, don't you?" I question as she rubs her scabbed wrists tenderly. Placing one hand on the roof of the truck, I lean over as I try to explain myself. "We weren't sure what could've happened… you could've still posed a threat to us. Yourself, even more so," I mention, watching as her face falters for just a moment. I guess she's had plenty of time to contemplate the killing of Joshua while being forced to stay in the back seat with the rest of us. Jane wasn't too keen on the idea of her staying in the confines of the truck, but as usual it seems, Lilly was quick to argue that none of the newcomers would take too kindly to her being stuffed in the back with the rest of them.
"…I'm sorry…" she tells me sincerely, her voice weak and rough after days without use. I had almost forgotten what her voice actually sounded like after a certain point.
The gesture is small, and it may not be enough to justify what she did to that man, but the result is going to pay off big time. This may be one small step towards the road of forgiveness. My own actions may mirror hers, so I can understand that feeling of desperation and revenge, but the rest of the camp? Will they really be so willing to accept that one of their own was willing to burn a person alive? Probably not. That may take a lot more than a simple apology to fix up that open wound.
But at least it's a start.
"C'mon," I encourage, offering a hand as I help her out of the door. "Let's head on inside. Bo, James and everyone else are probably still waiting for us. Wait until you see the looks on their faces when they see how many new people we brought back with us, huh?"
Pulling off a half smile, Kazuki does as I've suggested and walks towards the large building set in front of us. The truck is parked only a little ways away from the main entrance, with the giant hole from Bo's walker-blasting still leaving a trench in front of the base even years afterwards. I've only ever ventured down there once in the last few years after Riley had died, and I had to force myself not to look at the corpse even then. Thank god Ellie hadn't decided to tag along with me that day. It would've broken her already fragile, little heart.
I make sure that Kaz is walking ahead of me a little bit just out of pure instinct, and not because I don't trust her word anymore. Deep down, I know that she was scared and confused, and the fact that that asshole would show up again probably only succeeded to spark even more of her hatred towards him. It was almost as if the predator was finally getting his karma for all the wrong he had done. Really though, I'm glad to see that so far, this hasn't taken over her. Hopefully she can bounce back from this sort of thing.
"Home, sweet home," I mutter, feeling a little worried as I see Bo glaring at me from the top of the steps.
Before I can even ask him what's wrong, however, in an instant he scuffles back into the space centre.
"You've gotta be kidding me right now."
"I wish we were," James says to Emily with a sigh, placing his hands in his lab coat that I always see him with. Does he ever take the damn thing off? "It all happened so suddenly… Neither of us were expecting it – just came out of the blue, and before we could even blink, we realized that there were some steps that needed to be taken."
"Fucking hell…" Racheal groans, turning to face the window as she places her hands on her hips and watches as the new people start getting accustomed to their new surroundings. "We just came back from bullshit, and now you're telling us that there's even more? How did neither of you see this coming?"
Stepping in to defend his friend, Bo frowns at Racheal and tries to keep things from getting any more heated. "How the hell was I supposed to know this would happen? And don't blame James for it, either! We've been dealing with this for days now, just waiting for all of you to come back so that we could tell you… We thought it would be better for you all to hear it in person rather than over the radio…"
Feeling saddened, slightly distraught and confused all at the same time, I try to process what they've told us as the rest of our group try to wrap their heads around it.
Turning to Bo, who still seems pissed at me for some reason, I try to keep a level head as I frown sadly. "So… this really happened, then?" I question, wanting to make sure for certain that what they've told us is indeed true. "Scott… he killed Luna?"
Nodding his head, the worry lines upon James' forehead grow deeper as I watch him incessantly tap his foot lightly on the tile floor. I don't think I've ever seen him get this worked up about something since Debbie had been killed, but something feels strange here. The scientist has (or had, given the circumstances) almost no connection to either Jake, Luna or Scott, with him in fact almost acting annoyed whenever they were around. I eavesdropped on a conversation between him and Luna once when they thought nobody else was around, and even then he sounded like he was in a hurry to be somewhere else.
So why the sudden change of heart, here? It doesn't make much sense to me.
"Luna may have killed Jake in a drunken stupor, but that doesn't change the fact that Scott decimated her with bullet shells. Two wrongs don't make a right," James cringes, pointing to the boy's door as we all turn around; half expecting Scott to be there listening in on us. "We weren't exactly sure on what the right response would be, so we've been keeping him locked up tight. And now that we're all here… it's time to decide."
"Decide? What, are you suggesting we kill him?! That would be three wrongs! We can't seriously be considering this!" Kelly states, stupefied as none of us really step up in agreement. "I thought this place was supposed to be about keeping ourselves in check! What the hell happened to democracy here? To a fair justice system, for god's sakes?!"
"…Scott made it pretty clear that he was taking the law into his own hands," Bo voices his opinion, although looking as though he wants to agree with Kelly all the same.
Seeming to realize that none of this is going to be settled unanimously, Lilly steps up to the plate as she makes her own suggestion. "We should put it to a vote," she volunteers. "We can hear from both sides if we need to, but in the end… we need to decide this as a group. This is a kid's life we're talking about here, so if we do this, we do it together."
Agreeing with that sentiment, I take off my hat to reveal my shortened hair; still flowing back into two pig-tails at the ends, but I'm not doing this to show everyone my luscious locks. With Jane quickly returning from her room with a pen and paper, after seeing what I'm trying to accomplish here, she begins to rip the sheet into tiny scraps.
"A check for life, an 'x' for death," I gulp, using my hat in order to collect the papers when the time comes. Katie has already come to a decision right off the bat as she folds the paper in two, and I slightly roll my eyes as I can already understand what she must've put down. No doubt she's just itching to get at that helicopter on top of the roof… although, that's not necessarily a bad idea for her to try out. With Luna apparently deceased, we'll need a decent pilot for long-distance runs. Going out on foot or even in a land vehicle can prove to be pretty time-consuming, as we've seen.
I'm fairly certain of what I'm going to put down as well, but I'm going to wait until most of the group has started tallying their results. There are twelve of us voting, including myself, Jane, Lilly, James, Bo, Alden, Emily, Racheal, Katie, Kelly, Kazuki and Marcus. Ellie's off somewhere with some of the younger kids that had come with us, and I doubt that she'd really want to go through something like this anyways. It might be a little much to sink in.
"Can I just say something?" Emily speaks up, raising her hand as if she's in class. Getting the nod for a go-ahead from the rest of us, she clears her throat before continuing. "…from what I can tell, Scott's a good kid. A bit misguided at times, sure, but… this was something in the heat of the moment. Don't forget, Luna had killed first. Seeing your friend get pushed off a roof like that… I'd think that if I were in his position, I'd probably do the same thing."
"Sure, but he killed one of our own people – are we really just supposed to let something like that slide? Kid or not, he should be facing the consequences. If we let this go, what message does that send to the rest of the camp?" Racheal asks, with me not failing to notice the icy, cold look that Bo sends my way for a split-second. What the hell is his problem today? Seriously, you'd think that he'd be happy we returned relatively safely!
Raising an eyebrow over at him, Bo quickly averts his gaze upon seeing Jane looking in the same direction that I am. I wonder if she suspects something's up, too…
Alden speaks up next, as Marcus silently bites on the end of his fingernail; looking as if he's torn on which vote he's going to cast. "If there's one thing that I've learned from living in Tracy's camp, it's that we can't start killing ourselves. Otherwise we're going to end up with nobody left to protect," he explains. "That being said," he clarifies, holding up a finger like some sort of professor, "I think Scott deserves a chance to have another go. Like Emily said, Luna struck first. What was he supposed to do? Try to arrest her or something?"
"He could've at least gone to grab James and I. We might not even have been having this discussion if it came to that," Bo remarks, and with nobody else looking as though they have anything to say, we all look down at our scraps of paper and begin jotting down their own individual answers.
Walking around the circle as I hold my hand out, almost looking like I'm begging for spare change, I notice the anxious expressions of people's faces. None of them (save for a few) look as though they're really sold on which decision is the right one, but like Lilly had said, it's important for us to start making these tough calls. We need to establish rules again; a system that we can all follow by and start looking up to in order to keep each other safe and secure. Otherwise, we'd probably end up with people sneaking over to each other's rooms in the middle of the night, stealing each other's belongings and slitting each other's throats. We can't have the kind of barbaric tendencies that have been ruining our world for almost a decade now.
Quickly putting a check mark on my paper, knowing firsthand that I'd feel like a major hypocrite if I didn't, I fold up my paper and place it into my D-inscribed hat. Shuffling up the papers for dramatic purposes as well as to keep the results anonymous, I head off to a work table by myself to tally up the scores.
I get slightly startled when the first four papers in a row are all marked with a big, blue 'x', and over the next minute or so I start to feel a woozy feeling in the pit of my stomach. This is gonna be too close for comfort! I had thought for sure that almost everyone would vote to let him live as I have done, but apparently not everyone thinks the same way as I do.
…wake up, Clem! Of course none of them do – you hear voices in your own head, for crying out loud!
"You finished yet?" Marcus asks me as I slowly nod, feeling pretty alarmed at the decision that has been reached. Collecting the scraps back up and placing them in my hat, I walk back over to the group as they all await with bated breath.
"Well? What's the verdict here?" Katie hurries me as I shrug my shoulders.
"It's a tie," I tell them, not expecting it to come to something like this. "Six to six – but what do we do now?"
With the only two people in the entire group to have actually examined the gory scene for themselves, it mainly falls to them in order to determine what the next steps have to be. So, with a heavy heart, James speaks up for the both of them as he pulls a set of keys out of his pocket.
"We'll let him speak for himself, and then try this again later today. No need to rush to any conclusions," he advises, placing his key into the lock and twisting it open.
Ellie's POV
"My turn! It's my turn!" Willis squeals in delight, giving me a bit of a headache as I keep the camera up high above his head. At least I'm taller than somebody!
Giggling as he throws a bit of a tantrum, I jump up on my tippy toes as I try to make him even angrier. His mommy showed us how to use this old video camera that Clemmy found for us today, and it's the best thing in the whole, wide world! I can press a button and see the other kids' faces on the screen!
How fucking cool is that?!
"Haha, nope! You get to pose for the camera, instead! Dance, monkey, dance!" I tell him, finding it super funny when he makes monkey noises and jumps around like a chimp. Seeing us having so much fun over here, Sophie and Liam both run over and join in on the dancing.
Looking proud that he got us to laugh, the three year old Willis sticks out his chest like a superhero and pretends to fly away; a blanket flying behind him in the wind after his mom tied it around his neck. I tape the whole thing as Liam and Sophie, both four years old, sprint after him and pretend to be the bad guys.
"Ugh… they're doing it wrong…" I complain to myself, lowering the camera for a little bit as Willis falls flat on his face; crying as Liam jumps on his back. The super hero isn't supposed to cry! "Stupid idiots…"
"That's not a very nice thing to say about your new friends, Ellie."
Turning around with my eyes as wide as dinner plates, I bite my lip as Clementine stands right behind me. I can't tell if she's really mad at me or not, because her face kinda looks like she's REALLY tired right now, but I feel bad anyways. Maybe she needs a nice, long nap – that's what I used to do whenever I got cranky.
…but I don't do that stuff anymore, because naps are for babies!
"W-well… they're being dumb! We're supposed to be playing super heroes, but Willis is…" I say, pointing with my thumb as the kid is helped up by the only parent he's got. He's lucky… at least there's somebody there with him. I don't even remember what my parents look like anymore.
Well, my Daddy anyways. I never met him, and Mommy never said what happened to him. I miss her the most out of anyone, the same way that I miss Riley. I hope they're somewhere warm and safe from all the monsters.
Chuckling a little bit and smiling warmly, Clemmy bends down in front of me and gives me a big hug. I don't know why she's doing this, but feeling her rubbing circles on my back and her hat nestled up against my cheek makes me feel all warm inside. I think I like it when she does this kind of thing – it makes me feel… like she's a big sister or something.
"Clementine?" I whisper, rubbing my hands on her leather jacket as I start becoming worried. "Are… are you okay?"
Nodding against me, she backs up before swiping a strand of hair out of my face and taking my tiny hands into her giant ones. "Never been better. Just happy to see you enjoying yourself," she tells me softly as I smile a little bit. I like it when she's happy about something – Clemmy always looks like she's so sad. "In fact, I was just about to come get you for something – something really, really fun that's happening tonight."
Feeling a hint of excitement as I hear that, I ask her what it is as she shrugs her shoulders.
"Actually, now that I think about it," she teases me, "I'm not so sure it'd be your kind of thing. I don't think that you'd be able to handle this kind of – "
"Tell me, tell me, tell me!" I bounce up and down, clutching onto her jacket sleeve as she laughs and sighs.
"Alright," she says as I shout in victory. "We're all having a big, fancy dinner tonight. Wild turkey, if you can believe it. Apparently James was saving it for a special occasion," Clem explains as I can almost feel my mouth watering. "Then afterwards, some of us are going into the rec room to watch a movie on the projector. We finally got it to work! I think the movie's called… Shrek, or something…"
"A… movie? What's that?" I ask, looking confused as I've never really heard of something like that before. When Clementine's face turns a lot more sad than before, I try to say that I'm sorry as much as I can. Did I say something bad?
After a second or too though, after seeing me frown, she shakes her head and places a hand on my shoulder. Teenagers are weird!
"You'll find out tonight," she tells me before standing up to her full height. "It'll be extra special for you, then. I think you're gonna love it, Ellie. Afterwards, we might even be able to watch the movie that you've been making yourself on that camera."
Whoa… this old thing can make movies?! This has to be a magic box or something! How the heck can it even do something like that? That's crazy!
Looking at the thing as she says that, I point it towards her and push the button that Willis' mom had told me; laughing as Clementine makes silly faces at me. She sticks out her tongue, gives herself bunny ears with her fingers, pulls her lips apart and makes weird but funny noises, and ends up scooping me from behind as I shout in surprise. All of a sudden, I'm flying in the air as she places me up on her shoulders, giving me a piggy-back ride as I keep the camera out in front of me.
"Are you gonna come watch it with me?" I ask as she starts jogging like a race horse.
Nodding her head, I can't help but smile and wave as we pass by some of the new people who are still checking things out around here. I need to go over there some day and show them all that Clem's the big boss around here!
"You bet, Ellie," she smirks, twirling in a circle as I start to feel a little dizzy. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
Lilly's POV
Still picking at my teeth after the feast that we had all just enjoyed, I can't help but yawn as I wander alone down the hallway. The tryptophan in the turkey has certainly been working its magic, and I can't help but laugh at how I'm actually able to do this right now. It's not even Thanksgiving as far as I'm aware, and yet even amongst the end of the world, somehow we've found a way to have a dinner like this. Really makes you think, doesn't it?
I've never really been one for big social gatherings like this, though, so I had left about halfway through. Jane looked a little disappointed, as did Clementine, but in all honesty I just am not feeling that up to it right now. It doesn't feel right, having something like this while the rest of the planet is collapsing. It feels… fake, actually. Like we're all living in some kind of fantasy world and that we're not accepting the fragility of what we have.
At least none of them plan on making this is a regular thing. Starting tomorrow, it'll probably be straight back to work. I suppose they can consider it a nice, relaxing time, but I think of it more as a distraction than anything else.
But of course, Jane seems to disagree with me. Nothing new there, except I had really figured that she'd be one to shy away from these big events as well. Jane always struck me as more of the loner type. Hmm… maybe she's trying to change her ways.
Whatever the case may be, I'm not exactly sure that I'm fully on board with all of the changes she's been going through lately. Especially when they have something to do with the two of us.
Deciding that a nightly stroll might be enough to clear my head, at least for the time being anyways, I find myself having wandered all the way over to the launch pad room. Apparently this is where a lot of the magic used to happen, what with all of the scientific advances and research going on in terms of space exploration and other mysterious things, but for me this place is more of a stark reminder of our dark past. This is where I was almost certain that my life was going to end, back when Lorna betrayed our trust (big surprise there) and tried to kill the rest of us. Derek had died in that corner near the far wall, and the last thing I remember before blacking out was hearing Lorna's taunting voice in my ears.
Jane still refuses to talk about how she died that day. I'd imagine it wasn't pretty.
"Wow…" I quietly mutter, still awestruck by the big-ass rocket located in the middle of the launch pad. Despite my own reservations about venturing into this place, I still can appreciate the craftsmanship. This really is a part of our history, and it wouldn't feel right to leave it for ruin.
Descending the staircase at a snail's pace, I try to take everything in as I notice some of the various monitors and whatchamacallits spread throughout the lab. I don't know what half of these machines are actually used for, but James seems to think that some of them still work somehow, so I'd say we should just let him tinker around with his toys. It keeps him busy, and apparently a lot of the time these actually turn out to be quite useful. The radio over there was the same one that he used to contact us when we were out in Missouri.
I shake my head in wonder as I gaze upon more of these devices, many of which look as though they belong in some kind of science fiction movie. Laser cutters, high-powered microscopes, small, little observatories, space suits for the rocket… all they'd need is a teleportation device and a time machine, and this place would be a perfect set piece for Doctor Who!
…ha. I can almost feel the Whovians clawing at my eyes for making such a terrible reference, even though the majority of that show's fan base is probably dead by now.
Curiously enough, something seemingly insignificant catches my attention as I spot a small folder out of the corner of my eye. Located on a steel table over by the rocket control panel, I wander over towards it and gaze at the print on top of it. Plastered in bold, red letters is this message: CONFIDENTIAL – DR. JAMES LEXINGTON
I know deep down that he really wouldn't appreciate me going through his things, but the curious side of me is taking over, and he did just leave it out… Surely he would've expected for somebody to come stumbling along, right?
As soon as I open the folder up, I am puzzled to find a small, black remote sitting inside of it. There are no labels on it at all to indicate if it's some kind of TV controller or not, but the small, red button near the top of the plastic device just beckons for me to press it. After all, the red button is always the one that's the most entertaining.
Pressing down on it, I jump back with a start as the screen in front of me comes to life. A man's face appears on the monitor as he adjusts whatever it is he's using to record himself with. Looks like this guy's been through a lot of sleepless nights, but I can't help but wonder why he'd be wearing a space suit… unless…
"James, if you're still there man, know that this message speaks directly to you…" he begins as I flip open the folder, determined to find out exactly what is going on here.
Nobody is expecting me to come bursting through the door like this, as I startle some of the children and even some of the adults. But I don't give a flying fuck about that right now. I want some answers here! No more of this bullshit! I won't put up with this charade anymore!
"Lilly, what are you – " Jane starts, but I cut her off as I walk right up to James and slam the folder down hard right on the dining room table. Scott, whose life has been spared thanks to a touching plead about his thought process that night with Luna, flinches as I almost accidentally hit him in the face.
Folding my arms together crossly as I dangerously glare at the man, I watch as James glances up at me in annoyance. "Is there some reason that you need to be snooping around my personal belongings, Lilly? You probably could've just asked, you know. I would've turned you down, obviously, but manners never hurt anyone."
Feeling irked that he'd act so calm about something like this, I place my hands on the table in front of him and loom overhead.
"I've seen the files, James. All of them. The journal entries, too," I mention, watching as his eyes widen a tiny fraction. "Care to explain why over half of them say you fucked up seven years ago, and about all the regrets that your team had? Oh, and while we're at it, why don't you answer me this – what is all of that nonsense about working with people around the world on a social vaccine? What are you trying to hide here?!"
Confronted in front of the entire group, not just the select few from beforehand, James sighs before lowering his head a little bit, with Jane silently asking me where the hell I've been this whole time. I'd tell her all about the crazed man on the space station that I had seen, but she'd probably just think I'm crazy or something.
"…alright," he admits, looking obligated to do so under so many curious stares. Even Bo looks a little intrigued, and here I thought that those two clowns told each other everything. "I suppose there's really no point in hiding it from you all any longer. I… well, scientist teams around the world had kept this info a hidden secret for a very, very long time…"
"Just fucking get on with it!"
Rolling his eyes at the random outburst, James captures everyone's attention as we all listen carefully. Looks like it's story time with Dr. Lexington. "One of the main reasons that I wanted to find a cure for the walker disease… and to have spared the lives of millions across the globe… is because we had inadvertently released the infection to the public," he reveals, dropping a bomb on us as I slowly find myself slumping back into my chair. Did he just say what I think he said?
Continuing with his grand tale, James folds his hands together and leans his elbows on the table. "Governments had formed a coalition with each other trying to figure out new methods of biological warfare, along with pathogens that would be enough to cripple entire societies. The first tests were done on insects, then animals… until…" he trails off, with everyone except the kids, who aren't really old enough to understand, knowing what it is he's referring to: humans.
Jane has her face buried in her hands, rubbing her eyes tenderly as she tries to get the stress away. Ellie's looking back and forth between people trying to figure out what's going on, but Clem… she's almost expressionless. I can't really tell what it is she's thinking over in her seat.
I know for a fact that the rug has been lifted out from underneath my feet, metaphorically speaking. This has literally blown me away, and has brought a big chunk of my world-view into question. Nobody really thought about how this all started – most of us just tried to find ways to weather it out.
But it seems that he couldn't keep the truth from leaking out forever.
"If word had gotten out soon enough, there would've been mass chaos, riots, protests, revolutions… you name it. None of them would've mattered, though," he reveals, as if there was anything else that could possibly surprise me even further. "Countries were prepared to go into World War Three and start conscripting citizens over this – the major powers were on the verge of a nuclear war, so they needed a lethal counterattack and back-up plan just in case. Humanity was fucked either way… sometimes I wonder if this was the lesser of two evils…"
With Emily wrapping her arms around Alden to support him as he quietly breaks down, along with several others who have just listened to what the cause was for the single most devastating blow in all of human history, the Fireflies right now are nothing but a bunch of distressed survivors; all of whom are so lost and troubled that none of us can even think straight. This guy's damn lucky that nobody's tried to jump him yet, if only because Bo is sitting beside him with a loaded pistol in his hands.
"No more secrets," he promises, sporting a determined look even though his friend is practically begging him not to say anything. "Bo… they deserve to know about it. What more do we have to lose at this point?"
"…I've got lung cancer…" he breaks the tension, stunning the room into silence as none of us truly know what to say.
With many of the group huddling around as James prepares to lead them into his laboratory, promising to reveal to them a significant amount of info on what he's been trying to do for a cure, I spot Clementine nearly flipping her shit as she hurriedly mentions for Ellie to go back to her room. Doing as she's been obliged to, the little girl takes one look at me before scurrying away down the dark hallway.
Bo, most likely already pissed off and angry at the world for his potential death sentence, holds Clementine back from the rest of the crowd as he ushers the two of them to head on outside through the front door. The irony definitely hasn't been lost on him – out of all the ways that he probably could've gone, this is a disease that's been plaguing humankind and baffling doctors for generations. Feeling a little miffed about him man-handling my dear friend like that, I decide to follow them stealthily and wait until something really happens.
Hiding behind a pillar near the top of the stairs, I listen in as Bo starts laying a verbal assault on her.
"Just stop it. Right fucking now, Clementine. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Bo hisses as he leads them both out into the nighttime air. "This is the way it has to be. We don't have an option anymore other than this one right here. You're their leader, and you have to do whatever it takes to keep them safe and alive. You get that?"
"So why the hell does it sound like you've been the one pulling the strings this entire time?!"
Huh? Pulling the strings? What's she talking about? I thought the whole point of the Fireflies was so that we could try and restore things back to the way they used to be; not plotting behind closed doors and pulling crap like this!
"That's not true, and you know it," Bo persists; his voice shaking as I can hear all the doubt in his tone. "And don't act like you haven't been a culprit in all of this mess either, Clementine. I know what you did… I know about Zayne…"
…what does that kid have to do with any of this?
Playing it off like a pro, Clementine laughs in disbelief as Bo tries to call her bluff. "You came to me to lad this group. Me – you said it yourself that I was the best person for the job," she remarks, but something about the way she's talking makes me think that there's still more to the fifteen year old than what she's been letting on. Perhaps she has some other deep, dark secrets that she doesn't want anyone to find out about. "And now you're accusing me of murder?! Are you sure you want to go down that route, Bo? Because if I actually am a killer, then you might not like what comes next…"
"I've said my fill – you've heard me. Do me a favour and drop the act, would you? This whole compulsive lying thing is starting to get a little old," he sighs, glaring daggers at the teen and leaning up against the broken-down car behind him. I still can't believe that Clem actually has this much brass to pull a threat like that off. "If I had known what you'd be like… what you'd become… then maybe I would've kicked you to the curb that day like you were going to do anyways," he barks, causing me to clench my fists tightly. That son of a bitch… even after all the shit we've been through, what with the both of us coming close together and becoming friends back when we had been kidnapped, now I'm possibly starting to see his true colours.
I'm impressed by how much Clementine is standing her ground, but even then I can tell that she's wavering a little bit under Bo's intimidating form.
"I don't know why you did what you did, or what possible reasons you may have had for it, but I can tell you this much," he warns, standing back up to full height as I consciously take out a pistol and aim my gun at him from around the corner, "you are not the same person that I once knew, and if you put our people in danger in any way under my watch, or jeopardize all that we've worked so hard for to get around here, I can promise that I'll be here to stop you. And you won't just be walking away from that."
The strangest and most foreign expression comes across in Clementine's eyes afterwards: distrust and hatred. Not once in all the time that I've known her have I seen her act this way, and it scares me beyond belief. That glimmering, childlike playfulness that she used to have way back when is no longer present; replaced instead with a cold indifference.
"Keep your thoughts to yourself so you don't get hurt," she mentions with a terrorizing presence of her own. "We've both got deep, dark secrets, Bo. You and James aren't the only players in this game anymore."
Lowering my pistol so that it brushes against my thigh, I maintain my hiding spot as Bo re-enters the space station; leaving only Clementine as she simply stares out at the moon with her hands in her pockets. Unaffected by the crisp air, she doesn't falter even after Bo leaves, showing me that something has definitely changed within her that I must not have noticed. She may have the tools necessary to be an effective leader… but damn does it make her seem ruthless.
Come to think of it, Jane and I might just be the exact same way.
James' POV
Great. The guy's fifteen minutes late, as usual. Christ, you'd think with his condition along with the possibility of him getting cured that he'd be right out the door at first light, but noooo he just has to be a slowpoke about it!
I glance down to check my watch, but quickly shake that idea off as I realize how pointless that would be. Old habits are hard to get rid of, I suppose. There were several mornings in the beginning where I'd get up and actually be convinced that I needed to cut the grass outside – that died off pretty quickly, though. Walkers nearly had me surrounded the second that I opened the garage door.
I can't show any doubt or reservations about this trip – not with so much at stake. There's gotta be something we can do to save his life, or at least keep him from dying for just a little bit longer. Bo deserves the best treatment that I can afford to him.
After all the long years that he's struggled with me, he's the only true friend that remains by my side. Bo… he's like a brother to me.
Speaking of whom, I sigh heavily when he finally does come prancing out of the space centre; only half-dressed as struggles to put a t-shirt on with only one arm.
"You're late," I point out, helping the man as I study his face. Poor guy must've not gotten a lot of sleep last night. I wonder what kept him awake. "Bo, I need you to take this seriously. We could be gone for a very, VERY long time here, and I need you to be focused in order for the both of us not to be killed."
"No need to worry about me…" he drones, causing me to worry regardless as he brushes past and walks straight over to the truck. Lilly had given us the keys to it early this morning after finding out where we were headed, but she didn't seem like herself. It's almost as if she was… nervous about something.
"…okay," I acknowledge, watching as he closes the passenger door as I walk around to the other side. Climbing into the driver's seat, I strap my seatbelt on as the two of us sit there for a minute; collecting our thoughts. "So… you ready for this?"
Staying quiet for a moment, as if he's thinking about something that he's leaving behind back home, Bo nods before lightly smirking ahead. "Yeah," he tells me, "let's go on an adventure."
Flicking the ignition on, I stare back at the space centre and wonder if I'm leaving the place in good hands, especially after dropping that tidbit from last night. Were Bo's life not potentially on the line, I would probably stay here and try to assemble and mold a team of researchers together so that I can continue to work on finding a cure.
"To St. Mary's Hospital we go, then," I smile back, pressing my foot on the gas pedal. "Salt Lake City or bust."
Jane's POV
I've been taking Clementine's words to heart, and have been thinking about what she had told me over the past several days. I just want the both of you to be happy – that's all that I care about. Tch… if only it were that simple, Clem.
But the more that I replay that message over and over again in my head, the more wisdom that I see behind her words. Happiness… if that's really all that matters, and neither of us are truly feeling as happy or satisfied with how we are right now… then I need to do something about it. Time to step up and be the bigger person – I don't want to stay in a relationship if Lilly isn't feeling it like she used to.
Wherever this may lead us, I just hope that we don't end up killing each other as a result.
Spotting the brown-haired beauty sitting on the floor off by herself down the hallway, just near where our room is located, I swallow my pride and slowly start to walk over towards her.
"…hey," I murmur softly, slightly concerned as she doesn't budge an inch. "Mind if I sit down?"
"Knock yourself out."
Well, this is certainly off to a great start so far.
Sitting a few inches away from her as I stare at the opposite wall, I lightly clap my hands together once as I awkwardly try to figure out the right words to say.
"So…" I begin, but Lilly's already beaten me to the punch.
"I think that Clementine may have killed somebody."
Alarmed at the outburst, and feeling slightly exhausted as Lilly once again tries to be the bearer of bad news, I rub my forehead tiredly as she looks over at me.
"…you don't believe me, do you?" she infers, not entirely wrong as I shake my head. "God damn it, Jane! Do you really think that I would make something like this up? I love that kid… but last night, I overheard her and Bo getting into a huge argument… And it sounded as though Zayne wasn't exactly killed by legitimate means…"
"You really wanna know what I think?" I question, feeling the temper flare up as she glances over and scornfully nods her head. "I think you're being paranoid, Lilly. Again. Clementine's already going through enough shit, and we promised that we'd be there for her no matter what. We, as in the both of us. So you telling me this crap about her isn't exactly winning you any favours!"
Blowing hot air out of her nose, Lilly's breathing comes out like a steam whistle as she tries to keep from imploding. See? This is what I'm talking about! Every single conversation that we ever have anymore always ends with the two of us bickering with each other over something! That may have been the case beforehand, but do I really want to have to go through this while also being with her twenty four-seven?
"I can't believe that you're not even going to listen to me about something this huge – I would never start saying something like this if I wasn't certain that it was true!"
"Lilly, you don't have any fucking proof of this other than the fact that Bo was accusing her of something! That's just slander! You can't create something out of nothing!"
"Why can't you just fucking believe me for just one god damn time?! I've followed you into the depths of hell, Jane, and yet you STILL treat me like my opinion doesn't even fucking matter!"
"THAT'S BECAUSE I CAN'T TRUST YOU ANYMORE!"
Silence. Nothing but terrible, awful serenity in the hallway as both of our voices clash together. We've both crashed and burned at this point, and there's really no going back from it this time. This is our boiling point, and we both know it.
The truth has been exposed – the feeling that's been physically strangling me for so long has finally been released. Lilly and I weren't made for each other. Why did I ever think we could be in the first place?
Watching as she slowly stands up, without speaking, and starts to walk away in the opposite direction of our room, I widen my eyes and gape at what I've just done. "Lilly… we need to – "
"Save it," she shakes her head, taking a tear-filled look over her shoulder back at me. "We both know it, Jane. For now at least, I think you and I need some time alone. We need a break from each other…"
My mind is unable to process this as she turns the corner and heads up the steps, no doubt heading to her position up top as our rooftop sniper. My body has become numb with a mixture of feelings that I don't even know what to do with.
Not once in my entire life did I think that I'd ever feel miserable and cry over the loss of a person – be it a girl or a boy.
But then again, Lilly isn't just some woman.
AN: And that's another chapter down – don't be alarmed, but the next chapter is going to jump ahead five years so that Clementine is now twenty years old. Meaning, she'll be the same age as she is at the beginning of this story.
Yep, Alexandria's coming soon enough :) And with that brings a whole new set of problems. Truths and secrets will be revealed, and I think you guys are really gonna enjoy what's coming.
…well, I hope so anyways XD
I hope you guys weren't too skeptic and all about the way I explained the outbreak. I know that we never really find out in detail how it happened, with the exception being during season one of the TV show with Jenner and all that, but I thought it'd be kind of cool for James to have known about this all along. It's sort of like him trying to live up to their mistakes.
Ok, so to respond to the guest review, I don't think that the family is determinant necessarily. Just because you can have the option to turn them away doesn't mean they'll die outright – it just limits their chances of survival significantly. With no food, and Gil to still take care of, they're going to have their hands full. But we really won't know about their fates until season 3.
In all honesty, I'm not too sure about Edith, since as it turns out, all of the endings that I have now are with Jane XD
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed that, and as always, thanks for reading! Please leave a review about the stuff you enjoyed or didn't like – I'll welcome constructive criticism if you have any concerns!
Stay classy, folks!
Leafs Nation
PS: Yes, for now, Jilly is over in this fic. I'm trying to focus more on the trinity aspect – Clem, Jane and Lilly – that was featured more in the first book of this trilogy, so please don't be pissed at me. I see now that this story can probably still do without that romance involved, and it'll hopefully help to develop Jane and Lilly's character a bit more.