Emily's POV
"Hey, Em, sorry to bother you and all," Miles, one of the newer people stops me as I'm walking down the hall with a lot on my mind. I don't really feel like talking that much tonight, but the guy's harmless – he doesn't deserve the cold shoulder. "But Kazuki was looking for you downstairs earlier. Said it was pretty urgent."
That's odd… usually Kaz has no trouble trying to track me down and come talk to me herself. She's usually tinkering away with something downstairs in the training room and only comes out on pretty specific occasions, usually either to talk to me or Alden. For her to basically send a courier pigeon instead strikes me as a little puzzling.
"Oh?" I reply, trying not to sound disinterested as I tiredly glance over at the bespectacled man. "Lemme guess – she was acting too paranoid to tell you what the problem was in detail?"
"Bingo," Miles laughs quietly, his demeanor always striking me as more of a passive, quiet man who really just wants to get along with everybody he meets. I still have no idea how he's still alive after carrying himself like that, as bad as it may sound. "She might just need a hand with one of her "toys", but I didn't dare try and refuse her. She… well, to be frank, Kaz can be sort of… you know…"
"Yeah," I acknowledge, patting Miles on the shoulder and thanking him for the heads up. I'll be able to take it from here, even though every bone in my body right now is just screaming at me to turn back around and head to bed. Ugh… and it's just right around the corner, too…
I am seriously getting too old and tired for this shit… even though I'm only about thirty-five years old. Or is it thirty-six? Thirty-seven? Bah, whatever it is at this point, these days I feel as though I've added fifty years on top of that. Every morning is just a struggle to pull myself out of bed and do the same damn routine, day in and day out. Oh, I may act all chipper and hopeful when my friends and other people are around, but upon closer inspection, I'm probably just as cynical and bitter as Racheal is. I may see things in a different lens than her, but after Bo just… I don't know what to think anymore.
I mean, what is there to think, really? Spending a solid five minutes trying to defend Clem, Jane and Lilly, only for all of that to get shat upon moments later. How was I supposed to add anything after listening to him say those things? The whole room was electrified in an instant, and it hurt to see so many of my friends suddenly start to turn on the very people who may as well have saved our lives.
But Zayne… did Clementine really…?
"Hey," Scott suddenly waves towards me, making me jump a little as I had assumed I was alone going down the stairs. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you… I, uh, probably should've… you know, said something before…"
The kid's so awkward that it's actually kind of adorable – god, I almost want to just go up to him and pinch his cheeks like some kind of aunt or grandmother… See? Fifty years, just like I said! Fucking hell…
Standing there like an idiot for about the fifth time tonight, just stuck in my own la-la-land, I snap myself out of it and nod; preparing to continue on my way to meet Kazuki before I pass out from exhaustion. I wonder if Scott happened to bring along a pull-out mattress tucked away in his pocket somewhere? Teehee…
"Right…" I trail off, smiling sweetly at him before heading towards the stairwell.
"Umm…" he interrupts, "m-mind if I come with you? I can walk you to where you wanna go, if you'd like."
Chuckling lightly and rolling my eyes (thankfully Scott can't see my face right now), I arch an eyebrow and turn around to face him. "Scott Madsen – ever the romantic gentleman, I see!" I joke at his expense, finding it even funnier as I watch his face burn as red as a cherry tomato. "You know, there are always easier ways to get a woman to sleep with you, Scotty. Go ask Marcus sometime, I'm sure he's got some tips up his sleeve."
"Oh my god…" he groans in embarrassment, burying his face in his hands as he desperately tries to convince me of his true intentions. God, this kid's so much fun to mess with! "I… I swear, Emily, that's… that's not what I meant! Well, I had thought about it before, but… wait, wait, no… No! I just… it was late, and I saw you walking downstairs… It's been a pretty messed up day, that's all. I wondered if you wanted some company…"
"Relax, man. I'm just yanking your chain," I brush off, not entirely sure if I got the cool lingo right or not as I chuckle and nudge him in the ribs. Scott seems to relax a little bit after that, and I almost feel kinda bad about pulling this on him knowing how timid he's become over the years. Almost. "And… yeah. Sure, it'd probably be nice to have someone to chat with after today. It'd probably help to take the mind off of things…"
Nodding his head solemnly, Scott props the door open with a wooden wedge we had installed as we head down the stairwell; our footsteps echoing off the cement walls as we pass by a fellow late-night stroller on her way back from the bathroom. Said bathroom is really just a glorified garbage can which one of us has the unfortunate luxury of taking out every now and then, but indoor plumbing is something we haven't been able to recreate.
Sighing quietly, I long for some form of temporary comfort to help me forget about all of this horseshit for once. Thinking that Scott, being a young man in his prime, would be all on board with this sort of thing, I open my mouth without thinking and say the first thing that comes to my head.
"We could all definitely use a break… but what I wouldn't give for a nice, cold bottle of wine – "
"No – please, just… no booze, no alcohol," Scott cringes, shuddering as he marches on ahead with a regretful frown. "Never again… it's… it's brought us nothing but problems…"
Nearly smacking myself in the forehead for being so careless, I quickly try to mumble an apology for reminding him about Luna and all the shit that went on with her and Jake. "Err… yeah. I'm uh… let's just go see what Kaz is up to…"
Way to make friends here, Emily. Way to make some fucking friends…
Kelly's POV
Sometimes, I really want to clock some of these "patients" right in the nose. I mean, how fucking difficult is it for them to sit on the bench, hold still and not bitch the entire time? Every five seconds it's, "Kelly, you're doing it wrong!" and "My god, could you be any slower at this?". However, my personal favourite has to be "Why can't you just be like James? Didn't he teach you anything at all?!"
They make their point loud and clear with that last insult. No further explanation necessary.
But what's a medical intern to do? I'm the only one left in the entire place that actually knows how to set on a medical brace (kinda), check for physical exams, prescribe any sort of medicine that we might have available, and a whole host of other care measures which would leave the majority of these people scratching their heads in confusion. As far as I'm concerned, even an unseasoned, briefly-taught understudy like myself should be worth more than ten times the amount of weapons and ammunition that they can find out in the state. I mean, somebody's gotta be there to patch up the bullet holes after you get hit, am I right?
But lately… I haven't been feeling that same satisfaction that I had when I first signed on to practice under James' supervision. That thrill and sense of fulfillment of knowing that I'd be able to save and maintain lives by keeping people healthy just isn't there anymore. My work has become nothing short of an expectation… the novelty has worn thin, and the men and women are taking this sort of stuff for granted far too often.
The kids? Nah, I don't really have that problem, which is strange. I had thought for sure that the kids wouldn't fully understand the gravity of our situation, nor would they be able to fully grasp just how important these monthly checkups would really be to foster good health and wellbeing in our own home. But, even without the usual orange-flavoured lollipops that children used to get back when they were in stock, they seem to wrap their heads around the idea even better than their own parents. In fact, I've had to shoo some of the kids away on some occasions and tell them that they didn't in fact have smallpox or some sort of recreation of the Black Plague… I actually got a pretty good laugh out of that, but I'm starting to question just what we're really putting into some of their heads.
The last thing we need is to frighten everybody into thinking that we're all going to die some horrible death. We can't spend our days and nights hugging the walls, walking around scared of our own shadows.
Granted, if what's been said is true and that we've actually been killing our own group members around here, then maybe it is the right time to get worried.
Deciding to call it quits for the night, seeing as how most of the residents are either asleep or just quietly lounging in their rooms, I start to clean up the office space a little bit. I've been called a bit of a neat freak in the past, but usually that's been coming from people who couldn't keep their room tidy for even one second before turning it into a tornado of clothes and electronics. Plus, with the added urgency of keeping our medical supplies on hand and ready to go at all times, it's just that much more important to me now.
Let's see now… where did I put those aspirin packages…
Organizing the various cupboards with medicine bottles in alphabetical order had proved to be a bit of a challenge, along with a big chunk of one particularly boring afternoon, but the payoff has been worth it ever since. Looking through the prescriptions has become easier than ever, and in my opinion is much more efficient and presentable than that clusterfuck of a mess that James was running with beforehand. The guy has come back to visit a few times now, and from what Bo had told us, he should be coming within the next couple of days. I'm looking forward to being able to show off just how far I've come here, but I'm also a little bit nervous. What if it still isn't up to standard? What if he decides to stay here permanently and overthrow everything I've been trying to achieve?
My heavily clouded mind is swayed when, as I'm digging through in some of the dustier and unused cabinets, I smack my fingers into a small, metal briefcase sitting untouched in the corner. Curious as to what could be inside, I grasp my hand around the cold, silver-coloured handle and carefully set the case on the counter; discouraged to notice that the damn thing needs a padlock in order to open properly. Not wanting to shoot the damn thing and risk alarming a whole bunch of people, I snap my fingers and grin in triumph when, sure enough, a small, faded piece of paper falls onto the floor – revealing the combination as I try to turn the little nudges on the side. This thing is so old-fashioned that it's gotta belong to James. He always seemed to be into that sort of late fifties/early sixties detective vibe, so this would be right up his alley.
"Four… six… five…" I count aloud, prepared to move the last number into place as I trace my fingers delicately over the lock. "…Three."
Hearing a clicking sound, I open the briefcase gently and have a peek inside, only to be left feeling slightly confused. Inside sits an entire pack – no, even more than that – of unopened syringes and sterilized needles, along with some tiny bottle lodged firmly on the other side of them. The label on it has mainly worn off, but I can faintly make out what it was trying to say.
"C…Cyan…" I trail off, widening my eyes when I can scarcely make out the small skull and crossbones on the bottom of the label. Instantly realizing what the contents are, I lightly gasp as I notice that the seal has been broken and that the bottle was actually partially opened at some point. "Cyanide…"
Why the hell would James be keeping a bottle of poison locked away like this? What possible reason could there have been to –
"Kelly? You in here?"
Not wanting anyone at all to notice my discovery until I can get some more information and process this further, I quickly slam the briefcases shut and practically toss it back into the cupboard – cleanliness be damned. I shut the door to the cupboard closed once again before spinning around; trying to act all casual and shit as Racheal pops inside.
"You shitting bricks over here?" she jokes in her own customary way, giving a wry smile as I sheepishly shrug my shoulders. "'Cause to me it looks like you've just seen some sort of ghost. Everything cool?"
Vigorously nodding my head, I clear my throat and try to come up with something plausible that she'd be able to believe. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just…" I trail off, breathing shakily for dramatic effect, "…just still trying to come to terms with this. Today's been especially hard on all of us."
Knowing that she and only a specific handful of others would be able to understand that, I examine her body language as her shoulders start to slump slightly and her head nods in a solemn agreement. I don't like to be the buzzkill or anything, but if it gets her off my ass about this cyanide capsule, then that's the chance I'm going to take.
Racheal just kind of stands there awkwardly for a little bit; eyes hoisted up high at the ceiling and looking around at anything besides me as I try to piece together why she would've come to me this evening. I mean, the two of us haven't exactly ever been best buds in the past, so unless she wants something from me specifically, then her intentions remain a mystery.
Wanting to find out for myself, I clear my throat to try and grab her attention. When that doesn't work, and she simply heads over towards some of the fake plants along with the old, busted water cooler instead, I lean against one of the countertops and try to get an answer from her.
"So… did you need some medication or something? Because I was just about to head off to bed, and I – "
"Huh?" she remarks dumbly, as if only realizing now that I've actually been in the room with her the entire time. God, she seems so out of it today. Maybe her brain got abducted by aliens when I wasn't looking.
Feeling as though she's just trying to deliberately waste my time, I frown in annoyance as I call her out on it. "Racheal, what do you want? I'm closing the office for the night, and I want to get out of here as soon as I can," I tell her, hoping that that will at least speed things up a little bit. Seeing her shake her head slightly and become more alert makes me a little less crude about it. "You're not hurt or anything, right? No severed limbs that I need to worry about or anything like that?"
Not even cracking a smirk at that, Racheal maintains her serious, nearly-robotic stare as she takes a few steps closer towards me. "No, I'd never let it get that far, anyways," she tells me, showing me her own brand of humour that really makes me more depressed than anything. "I just… it's not that kind of pain I'm worried about, you know? It's… more of a head trauma."
"What, did you get kicked by a horse?"
"Sometimes it feels like it while talking to you," she mumbles under her breath, causing me to sharpen my frown as she backtracks her statement. "Sorry, sorry… But no, it's… well, it's…"
"Spit it out, Rach."
"It's a mental thing, alright? I'm… I'm having some mental issues," she finally admits as I look on in surprise. Wow… Racheal actually admitting that she needs some help with something? Damn, the world really must've ended after all. "I know you're not a fucking shrink or anything, but I'm having trouble sleeping at night with this, and you're the closest thing around that could possibly help me."
Huh. Nice to know that I'm a "thing" instead of an actual living, breathing human being. Really appreciate the sentiment here.
Still though, it's clear that she needs my assistance, and that it's taken quite a bit of willpower on her end to come to me with this. The least I can do is to try and address this, even though I'm still really zapped of energy and have almost no desire to want to stay awake right now. It must be pretty sad though, feeling that she really had nowhere to go with her problems. Despite her somewhat callous and insensitive attitude, whether she knows it or not, Racheal actually still does have people around that care about her. Including me.
"I'll be perfectly honest with you here," I tell her, making Racheal sit on one of cushioned chairs in our makeshift waiting room, "out of anyone in this entire community, you were the last person I'd ever expect to come walking through my door."
"Yeah, well that makes two of us," she mutters, crossing one leg over the other as she stares at the tile floor. "Look, I'm not here for a full-on mental evaluation with you picking apart my brain or anything!"
"Then why are you here?"
Looking dazed and fed up at the same time, as if the woman's been bottling up all of her inner thoughts and emotions for far too long, Racheal's body twitches a couple of times; almost as if she can't even fully contain what's going on inside of her right now. "I need… guidance! Some kind of reassurance that I'm doing the right thing…" she confides, running her hands through her wavy, frivolled hair as I see a side of Racheal that doesn't usually peep out – vulnerability. She's clearly at her wit's end.
"Well," I huff out, rolling my eyes as I sit in the chair directly opposite of her, "what do you want me to say here, huh? Do you want the truth, or do you just want me to sugar-coat it for ya? Because right now, that's exactly what it's sounding like!"
"I was planning on leaving this fucking place behind, alright?!" she yells at me, cutting my next sentence off completely as she confirms what most of us had been thinking beforehand. "And… and I was trying to see if… maybe people could try talking me out of it…"
"Racheal… why? Why now when there's so much stuff to get done?"
Slightly rubbing her hand back and forth along the arm rest in a rhythmic fashion, she pauses before venturing forth. "I'm just so sick and tired of watching people making the same mistakes over and over and over again… always leading to the same result," she replies, making me scrunch up my face slightly in disbelief. There's more to this than she's letting on, I can tell. "I put my faith and trust into this place, these Fireflies. And look where it's gotten me? Nothing but grief, heartache and loads of disappointment."
Okay, it's official. I've heard this entire speech before – several times over, now that I think about it. Don't get me wrong, as it's not only Racheal here that's been talking like this in the past, as several others over the years have made similar "claims" that they'll up and leave when the moment is right. Usually, they're just empty threats to get what they want done around here, and usually the whole idea blows over within a manner of hours.
But what I don't understand is why she'd want to venture out alone like this. Surely she's gotta know that, despite its flaws, the Houston Space Centre is likely our best shot at surviving… well, pretty much anywhere. I can't think of any other real solid communities that have stood the test of time like ours has. Food and relatively clean water is one thing, but having a shelter from the outside world and being protected by people whom you can actually count on? Not many other communities could boast the same sort of protection.
"Is this about Zayne?" I question, getting my answer when she slowly shuts her eyes and lowers her head. "Racheal… you've gotta know that that wasn't your fault. There wasn't anything that we could've done for the guy – nobody could've anticipated Clementine killing him that night, even though it's still so hard to believe…"
"I'm not saying that we could've prevented it from happening," she remarks quietly. "I'm angry that it took us this long for anything to be done about it. Eight god damn years."
It's really difficult to argue with that logic, no doubt. All this time we had just assumed that it had been a freak accident; a stray walker getting the best of Zayne and causing him to turn right within our own quarters. Nobody had suspected a thing when Clementine had killed him sometime in the middle of the night, and even though we'll never know if it's true or not until we can get a full testimony and a confession, it's hard to ignore some of the proof. This evidence is really starting to add up against her, as Bo's explanation was pretty fucking convincing.
But what possible motive would she have to do something like this? At the time, it looked as though the two of them were well on their way to becoming great friends!
Unable to know for sure until we can find out more about that night, I decide to drop the conversation entirely – partly because I want to focus on keeping Racheal around, but also because of the ruckus going on up on the roof.
"Marcus must've spotted some trouble," I comment dryly, listening to the grumbling blasts of his sniper rifle as he fires off two more rounds. When it finally stops, I turn back to Racheal and give her my best attempt at getting her to stay. "You want my opinion here? To me at least, I think the best thing you can do to honour Zayne's memory is to stay and help us find out the truth. Then, help us take the appropriate action we need. You can be a real leader here, Rach… set an example for everyone here. A proper one," I add in, hoping that that might spark some courage and determination inside of her that might be enough to convince her on staying.
Grappling with the idea in her head as I toss out my trump card, Racheal bites down hard on her lip. I know she can see it, too – this place needs a little bit of guidance just as much as she does. And with the added pressure of not being able to look to Jane, Lilly and Clementine for support, this is all the more prudent.
What she says next however slightly disappoints me, yet even a hollow victory is better than none at all. Turning to me with a forlorn expression, Racheal sighs as she stands up to leave. "I'll stay until we can get this trial out of the way," she explains briefly, having made up her mind from the way she's telling me this. "After that, I'm leaving… but the offer to come with me is still there. For you and a handful of others."
I don't even get to voice my surprise at this abrupt invitation before Racheal is out the door; footsteps echoing down the hallway for about thirty seconds or so before disappearing once again.
Marcus' POV
Oh hot mama, do I love this new scope on the sniper rifle! A clearer lens, a more pinpoint crosshair for precision aiming… granted, it'd be nice to have some of the ones from the police academy with thermal and night vision attached to it, but the dead just had to choose to come back just as I was about to get into my career, so no dice on that one.
Still, with a firm grip and a sharp eye, I can't really go wrong with this gun either. These poor undead bastards don't stand a chance.
"Aim for the one by that gas station over there," Alden points out, using a pair of binoculars as he points toward a pair of stray lurkers just chilling over by their local BP fueling station… standing right near the pumps.
Turning towards him as if the boy's lost his mind, I raise an eyebrow at his giddy expression.
"Are you fucking kidding me right now?"
"Come on! It's far away, and there's a massive crater still over there acting like some sort of walker moat. There's no chance they'll get over here!" Alden proclaims, seeming to forget the fact that this would be incredibly loud and dangerous. "Or at least let me have a go at that thing – I've never been able to fire a rifle before… Or at least, not like that bad boy."
Turning towards him in the lawn chair as we sit up on the roof, keeping watch for the evening until somebody else decides to come along and relieve us, I lightly smack him upside the head as he asks me what I did that for. "Listen bub, I ain't doing this shit just so you can watch some big-ass explosion."
"Get real! Those tanks have probably been empty for over a decade now! There's nothing left!"
Rolling my eyes and turning back to the walkers at hand, who likely won't be sitting around there for very much longer if we wait too long, I begrudgingly decide to indulge him for the time being. I don't think there'd be anyone else around, and knowing Alden, he'll probably just bitch and complain to me the entire time if I don't shoot these bastards square in the head.
Taking a breath out through my mouth, I close one eye and line the walker up with my scope; raising it a bit higher to adjust for the distance. Pulling the trigger, it takes less than two seconds for the first guy to go down; nearly giving me a panic attack as I hear the bullet ding off of a rusted car still placed out nearby.
"What'd I tell you?" Alden asks cockily, motioning with his head once again as I groan in annoyance. "Now get the other one! We can't have his buddy roaming about and looking for food…"
"You just told me that it wouldn't be a problem from this moat thing over here!"
"True… but what if somebody else stumbles across it?"
"Oh for fuck's sakes…" I grumble, wanting this conversation to be over as I quickly pop the slot of the gun open and reach down into a small box of bullet shells down near my feet. It almost took a miracle to find these things, and up until tonight I had been using them sparingly. This whole thing is supposed to last us for quite some time, and generally they advise us to only use it in emergencies.
But Lilly ain't exactly here, so I don't have the added pressure of having her watching over me like a hawk every twenty-four hours. Thank god… that woman, although I'd say she'd be a catch for someone like me, would likely end up trying to shoot me in the face if given enough time alone.
Deciding that three bullets inside the chamber would be satisfactory for right now, I snap the gun shut once again and glance over at Alden for a brief second; looking as though he's about to win the lottery or something. That shit-eating grin is really starting to edge me the wrong way, but it's more than likely just his massive sugar rush after eating three packs of Kazuki's Skittles earlier tonight. She's gonna be pissed when she finds out about it…
"After this, you stop hasslin' me. Got it?" I remark, blankly staring over at the kid as he pounds a fist against his chest twice and tries to act all cool – doing the exact opposite in his sugar-high state of mind.
"Word up, my brother from another mother," he tells me, giving me two rock n' roll symbols with his hands as I stare at him with disbelief.
Did he seriously just…?
"You have to be the whitest kid I know, Alden. No joke."
"Naw man, I'm straight, dog! I just wanna see you blast away these mofo's!"
Nearly deciding to take him by the collar and toss his bony ass down the stairwell, I instead ignore the slightly racist remarks and line up the second shot. Pulling the trigger once again hits the target, but a much different result occurs as the bullet pierces right through its brain and lands directly into the fueling station behind it. It's difficult to see in the dark, and the fact that we're so far away, but even at this distance I can tell that something started squirting out of that contraption after the bullet pierced into its metal hide.
"Oh shit…" I whisper, watching as some of the excess gasoline on the ground starts to ignite; lighting the walker's body in flame as Alden gazes on in wonder. "Dude, this shit ain't good! Why are you smiling, man? This is serious! We might have a real problem on our hands!"
"Well, we can't exactly call the fire department now, can we?" he grins over at me, nudging me on the shoulder as he chuckles. "Lighten up, Marcus! You're always grilling me about how I'm supposed to take life less seriously and enjoy it!"
"Yeah, but I know how far to take things and where to draw the line!" I excuse myself, snatching his binoculars for a moment and taking another look. "Damn, that guy's cooking down there… What's gonna happen if it – "
Interrupted by an annoyed yet slightly amused grunt, the two of us turn around to find Katie standing right behind us; an annoyed expression on her face as I face forward once again. Feeling her hot breath on my neck as she plants her hands on my shoulders, I can practically feel my face burning up as she prepares to lecture us.
"So this is what you call guard duty, huh?" she mocks, patting my lightly on the cheek as she stands back up and wanders in between Alden and I; watching the impending spectacle for herself. "You two knuckleheads are waking up the whole fucking building. Mind telling me what the bromance up here is for? Or is this just another one of those brotherly bonding moments that you guys are having?"
"For your information," Alden indicates smugly, "Marcus and I were actually walker-hunting… Well, he was, anyways. I was supervising."
Oh this guy's just a barrel of laughs over here, ain't he?
"Supervising? I don't think I'd quite describe it like that, Ald. More like pestering."
Grinning peacefully, seeing as how none of this bickering is really made in malicious taste, Alden keeps to himself as Katie pulls up the spare lawn chair that we have sitting on the ground behind us. We don't normally use it anymore since there's a hole in the seat portion, and somebody had dented the metal frame of the chair a while back. Something about the kids messing around with bb guns and shooting the damn thing, I don't know. Just a little harmless fun really, but unfortunately Katie's going to have to keep herself from wobbling back and forth in that thing.
"Hell of a day, huh?" she states, bringing our minds back to earlier this afternoon when all of that crybaby bullshit was getting spewed around like wildfire. I hadn't really paid it much thought, to be honest. "Too much is happening too quickly. I couldn't sleep a wink tonight knowing that there was a killer on the loose…"
"Katie…"
"What? You know it's true," she points out to Alden, who once again is trying to play the role of peacekeeper even though it's gotten him into trouble on many an occasion. Katie will probably go on a tangent about how he needs to pick a side for a change, which she does as I try to tune out some of their conversation for a while, but you know what I say?
Sometimes it's better to just not get involved in it at all. All of this finger pointing and blame… who gives a fuck? The kid's been dead for eight years! My granny got her face chewed off by one of those creepy-crawlies on the day that this all started, and you don't see me crying about it!
As some of the flames over yonder start to turn a cool blue, I hear Katie trying to call for my support. How can she not know by now that I won't give it out?
"I'm a mercenary, Katie. My loyalty goes to the highest bidder," I remind them, slapping them right in the face with the truth as I shrug my shoulders. "Can't really be any clearer than that, guys. So Clementine killed somebody… so what? Don't tell me that neither of you haven't done the exact same thing."
"…there's a difference here," Katie shakes her head, with Alden actually seeming like he concurs a little bit with that statement. "I haven't killed one of my own friends before – not for anything. Who's to say that it won't be one of us next? Turn around at the wrong moment and she might pop you right in the back of the head!"
"Y-you don't really think she'd do that, right?" Alden asks pensively, clearly not wanting to believe it as I keep staying out of the conversation. They don't see things the same way as I do, mainly because they're probably a lot more tight-knit with the rest of these chums than I can ever be. Like I always say – keep one hand on your gun, and one foot out the door. You never know when you might need to dash out.
And if they're seriously thinking of doing what I think they're doing tomorrow when (or if) they come back, then I might just need to be ready to jet. It just isn't profitable to stick around when your boss is in chains.
"Who knows? But I wouldn't want to risk it," Katie continues, always (at least to me) seeming to have an ulterior motive at play whenever these kinds of big events occur. She's an opportunist, this one. All along, we all knew that she wanted to have a crack at Luna's helicopter whenever the moment presented itself, and she's been in charge of operating it ever since. And I've spotted her and Racheal on occasion talking to each other all hush-hush over on the side when nobody else thought they were looking, and have heard snippets of their conversations.
"We've gotta take 'em out" has been tossed around a few times, including talks of rearranging the security measures and always having the vehicles stocked up and ready to go just in case. She's also talked about how they should just raid some of the surrounding towns and communities for supplies and whatnot, but I'm pretty sure that that was just some off-handed joke she was trying to convey. The point being, I'm pretty sure that Katie's been feeding some of these ideas into Racheal's brain for quite some time, with nobody really being the wiser.
"Well, none of it's really gonna matter after tomorrow morning. We'll be back in control soon enough," she says with a sigh, causing me to look over in curiosity. "What, you guys don't know?" she asks, looking puzzled as to why neither of us have been informed of this apparently top-secret phenomenon. "Geez, guys! It's all anyone around here's been talking about all day long! Word got out about the whole Zayne thing, and everyone's pissed. They all want Clem out of the picture, and that's exactly what's gonna happen tomorrow."
Alden, concerned with what this could mean, shudders as he lowers his gaze to the ground. "You don't mean…"
"Pretty soon, we're gonna be in charge of this place – not just a select few," Katie comments as I notice some type of vehicle heading towards the space centre. What's more worrisome is how close the person is to the flaming gas station, which could potentially blast at any moment. "Maybe it's time we should start getting our arrangements in order. This place'll be a mad house for the first little – "
"Hold up – who the heck is coming towards us?" I ponder, looking through the scope of my sniper rifle as Alden once again picks up the binoculars. "Can you get a read on 'em? I can only see one guy in the car…"
The vehicle is little more than a station wagon by the looks of things, but the figure driving it is nothing more than a shadow from way up here. I can't make heads or tails of any physical characteristics, which is really concerning since we're not going to have a clue who it really is. Driving around the crater in the middle of the parking lot with almost no hesitation, the driver disappears around the back and heads toward the garage; leading me to think that it's somebody who knows their way around.
Firing off a warning shot as the man skids to a halt, I yell at him in an attempt to dissuade any potential threats. "That's close enough!" I holler, hearing Alden and Katie each pull out a pistol to back me up in case things go sideways. "Good – now open the door, slowly! No sudden moves, or I'll be forced to pop your ass! Hands in the air!"
Doing as I've instructed, the man steps out of the car after turning off the ignition, but I'm confused as he starts laughing out of all things. Adjusting the scope a little bit to get a better read on him, I widen my eyes and start chuckling myself. "God damn it, man… I thought you weren't supposed to be here for a couple of days!"
"So much for the warm welcome, guys!" James yells up at us with a charismatic attitude. "Now or you gonna let me in or what? Bo should be rolling out the welcome mat by now!"
"I'll take care of it," Katie mentions, getting an appreciative nod from me as I lower the weapon to my side. Alden seems happy that the doctor's back for now, but I'm starting to wonder just how long he and Bo are going to stick around here for. They were at St. Mary's for a long, long time.
I'm about to crack a joke about how his fashion sense still reminds me of a B-movie Dr. Frankenstein, but I'm cut off as the inevitable happens behind us.
A massive fireball erupts from the gas station as Alden and I spin around; fear etched into our heads as more than half a dozen walkers are thrown into a fiery grave. The fueling pumps are riddled with flame as they whip around ferociously, and the two of us can hear the metal groan and buckle before the entire roof of the gas station comes tumbling down. You can smell the ash and smoke from way over here as dozens of people are awoken by the resulting blast.
The building will continue to burn into the early morning, and even well after that.
"…so much for the warm welcome, indeed…" Alden cracks dryly, leading me to vow never to follow his instructions ever again. Smacking him in the back of the head once again, the guy doesn't object in the slightest.
Clem's POV
We've been walking for ages now, it's felt like. Nothing but long stretches of open road, with little to no protection from the sun as it's beaten down onto our skin. My neck is drenched in sweat, and it only stings even worse as I can feel the sun burn agitate my body with no remorse. The sports equipment may have been enough to save us from the walkers, but the natural elements? Nope, somehow, nature finds a way to fuck with you. Funny how that works out.
I still can't believe that we had gotten through them, though. We must've been outnumbered nearly ten to one, and yet we didn't even need to fire a single bullet after we had gotten all decked out in protective equipment. We were absolutely exhausted after the whole affair, naturally, but while it was all going down, I felt like I could do it all day long. Nothing was going to slow me down, and my three companions looked as though they were feeling the same way.
Once the adrenaline had worn off though, we were straight-up bagged beyond belief. The hockey sticks and golf clubs had been worn to bits, reduced to nothing but thin pieces of wood and iron with guts and blood strewn all over them.
Jane was mentioning to Lilly earlier how these would actually make do for pretty decent weapons in a pinch, especially against bandits and such with the walker guts still attached. One cut at the leg or the arm, and they'd be down within a few hours at least.
It seemed a little gruesome to me at first, but it'd make sense. When all else fails, you have to rely on whatever it is you can find. We learned that today.
With the sun rising high in the east, sparkling the land in light as I squint my eyes, the four of us inch closer and closer to our destination. Hopefully this will have given them all enough time to blow things over and try to ease their anger, but I'm still going to try and avoid certain people in order to give them their space. First thing that I'm going to do when I get there, however, is try to go over our defenses and look for any areas where we might need some improvement. Maybe that'll be enough to satisfy some of the nay-sayers around here about whether or not we can continue to maintain a sustainable community.
"You've gotta keep up there, Ellie," I turn around, noticing how much trudging she's been doing over the past hour or so. "Just hang in there, kiddo. We should be coming close to the space centre within a matter of minutes, right Jane?"
Hearing no response whatsoever, not even an acknowledgement that she even heard me, I face forward once again and stare at the back of her head. Jane's got her hands buried deep in her pockets, and judging by the sour look pulling at the corners of her lips, I've got no doubt that she's clenching her fists, too.
"…Jane? Did you hear me?"
"Yeah."
"Well then?"
Pausing once again, Jane continues to walk forward and follow Lilly, who's traipsing up ahead and taking the lead as she too keeps to herself. Sigh… I should've figured that I'd be getting the silent treatment on the way back home, but I didn't think that it would actually hurt as much as it does. If Jane and Lilly won't talk to me, then who the hell will?
"Jane," I bug her again, "would you just… talk? Please? This isn't getting us anywhere – blocking each other out. If this is about… that thing… then… I'm sorry, alright?"
"…I don't think I'm ready for talking right now, Clementine," she states bitterly and coldly. Full names now, huh? Guess she means business.
With two of my best friends stone-walling me for reasons that I definitely understand, I simply choose to accept it and give them some time to themselves. Lilly and Jane already seemed to be a little on edge with each other before I had admitted Ellie's condition, so maybe it'd be best if I didn't try to fan the flames right now. Better to give them some room to breathe.
Hearing Ellie jog up beside me, I nod at her with a small smile before turning it back into a frown as we approach our destination. The space centre still stands, proud and tall for the whole world to see. There's a lone figure up on the roof, so at least we've got somebody on watch… but the crowd gathering near the back entrance is a little bit confusing for me.
"This can't be good…" I mutter so that only Ellie can hear, watching as Lilly tries to ask what's going on, but is simply shoved inside without any explanation as Jane tries to protest.
Racheal looks like she wants to tear my face off, as do a number of other people, but I don't really see why. Is this about what happened yesterday?
"Umm… what's going on, guys?" I ask as Ellie clutches onto the back of my jacket instinctually. So many angry and disappointed faces are pinned on me, but I really don't understand why. They all knew what Willis would become, didn't they? "What's with the hold-up, here? Is there something on my face that you guys aren't telling me? 'Cause I haven't eaten anything messy today, I can promise you that!"
No laughs. No chuckles of any kind. No grins across anyone's faces, and not even a ghost of a smirk. Emily and Alden look almost devastated, and Kelly looks pretty distraught herself as she is forced to stand in my way, along with Kazuki of all people.
Glancing at each of their faces individually, I don't like what I see. Whispering for Ellie to head back down the stairs, I turn around only to get blocked by yet another circle of people as they start to close in on us. "…what the fuck are you guys doing right now?" I lowly remark, finding the whole situation to be escalating much quicker than normal as Ellie is snatched from my grasp. "Hey, HEY! Don't you touch her, understand?! I don't know what the hell you guys are doing, but the joke's over! Now let me through!"
"Clementine Marsh," Katie states as she crosses her arms, watching as I'm forced to put my hands behind my back, "you are under arrest for the murder of Zayne, and for the criminal negligence of safeguarding this community; costing dozens of lives in the process. You have the right to remain silent, and – "
"The hell are you talking about?!" I interrupt loudly, feeling a pair of strong arms (one human, one metallic) come up behind me and zip-tie my hands behind my back. "…it was you…" I accuse darkly, glaring a hole into Bo's face as he glares right back at me. "You son of a bitch! You came back just to lie to everyone about me! You've wanted me gone this whole time!"
"You told me so yourself," he points out, motioning with his head over to Lilly, who's having to be held back by four people at once. "She remembers – I saw her listening in on our conversation that night. You confessed it in front of the both of us."
Shaking violently in an attempt to break free, and fearing for my life as well as their own personal safety, my face goes red in anger as I'm practically dragged back inside. "Gah! Let me GO! THIS IS A FARCE! I HAVEN'T DONE A DAMN THING!"
With nobody really coming to my aid (not that they'd really be able to, given the cicumstances), I am thrust forward into the space centre as I see James of all people holding the door open to our interrogation room; dark and dank from years of abandonment.
"James… you've gotta believe me…" I beg, deep down knowing how screwed I might be if this falls through. "Please… they… they're gonna kill me… and take my family away…"
For one second – one brief, dangerously hopeful second – I see his gaze grow soft. For one fucking moment, I see James almost wanting to take me under hi wing and spring me to safety. I'm so close to having him on my side, and yet the moment passes almost as soon as it appears.
"I.. I can't, Clem… I'm sorry," he tells me, opening the door more fully as I'm shoved inside; hearing the door lock behind me as my knees scrape against the floor.
Fear rocks my very core as I stand up and view my surroundings, immediately trying to search for an exit or some kind of loose brick that I can push out to escape from. But this building has been renovated and fortified so many times, especially around the back part here, that freedom seems nearly impossible.
Circumventing the perimeter regardless, as I have no intention of being cooped up in here like a caged bird, I pat down on some of the cement walls and try digging my fingers in some of the cracks to see if any of them will budge. Nothing – not even a smidge of difference.
I'm officially trapped inside of my own home.
"Wh-what?! Holy… holy shit!" I hear amongst the rumblings of the dispersing crowd outside. My stomach twists into knots as I tiredly turn my gaze towards the door. "It's… it's Ellie! She's… she's bitten! She's got bites all over her, come look!"
"Oh my god, it's true! Look at them, they're everywhere!"
"Why hasn't she turned yet? They don't look fresh to me!"
"Has she been cutting herself?"
"Jesus, Katie! Show a little compassion, would ya?!"
"ENOUGH!" booms a loud voice, cutting through the rest as I recognize it as being Bo's amongst them. "Here, just… let James take a look. He'll know what to do."
"NO! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! PLEASE DON'T! NOOOOO!" I belt to the heavens, banging on the door with such fury that my knuckles start to bleed as the splinters enter my skin. "Oh god, please, no… Don't… don't do this… not to her…"
"…we need to get her to the lab immediately," James ushers, telling everyone else to go about their business and to leave them in peace. "Bo, we're going to need to run some tests here. Quickly – this might be just the break we've been looking for!"
"No, please…" I sob, sliding down the wooden construct as my tears cascade like warm rivers down my cheeks. This can't be over… I didn't spend all that time hiding this secret only for it to just blow up in my face like this… "Please…" I beg, but to no avail. "Please don't do this… Oh my god, no… Ellie… I'm so sorry…"