A/N: Hey guys... sorry it's been a while. I had the next chapter of Independent ready to go, but when I read through it… it just didn't sound right. So, it took some time to correct it. Also, SoTR will be published soon and I'm very excited about that.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. All rights reserved to their respective owners.
Clementine continued to look around the hardware store. She noticed that the hardware store turned survivor's shelter appeared to be thriving. There was so much food on the shelf. She hadn't seen anything like it after the walkers came.
"Come on. We need you for something." Johnny said to Carlos. Clementine looked over to the two men.
"Can't it wait until morning? We're all exhausted." Carlos said.
"Sorry, Bill's orders. Vera just needs to talk to you about some of the changes made in infirmary." Johnny said. Carlos sighed and he followed Johnny. Clementine was relieved that the doctor was away from her for the time being, but she still had to deal with Troy and Luke.
The group finally reached a garage door with the guard, Bonnie, unlocking it. "Make sure y'all stay off the fences. Bill will know that you're messin with them." She then opened the garage door. Luke, Rebecca, and Troy went outside with Clementine following close behind. The girl looked around the area and noticed that there were a couple of tables set up along with a fire pit and plywood beds. Clementine also noticed that it was completely fenced in; it almost felt like a prison.
"Best if y'all get some rest." Bonnie said as she began to cut the groups' bindings. "You ain't going to get much tomorrow."
"This is f****** stupid. I didn't do anything wrong, and I get thrown in with these assholes." Troy snapped.
"Troy, do us all a favor and shut up." Johnny said.
"No. How about I shove that rifle up your ass?" Troy hissed.
"Yeah… go ahead. Keep up that attitude. Won't be long until Bill gives you shit for it." Johnny said.
"F*** you." Troy hissed as Bonnie sliced through his bindings. He turned and went over to the other side of the yard to sulk.
Bonnie went to Clementine last and she cut her bindings. She knew that Bonnie didn't like her so she wanted to get away from the woman as soon as possible. As soon as she was freed from her bindings, Clementine walked away from Bonnie and noticed a man with only one arm approaching the group. She was curious as to why he lost his other arm.
"Hey guys." The man said with a smile.
Rebecca looked to the man and exclaimed, "Reggie!" She gasped upon seeing him and went up to the man. "I'm so sorry!" Rebecca said as she hugged him. "I'm so sorry." They separated from the hug and Rebecca saw that he had lost his left arm. "What happened to you?"
"This could have been worse. Trust me." Reggie said to Rebecca. "I'm lucky to be alive. So where's everyone else at?"
"Ask her." Luke said as he gestured to Clementine.
"Luke?" Reggie said.
"It's nothing." Rebecca said. "We've all changed a little while we were out there."
"Rebecca, she killed Pete and Nick and who knows what happened to Sarah and Alvin." Luke said.
Clementine sighed and she said, "I didn't do anything to Pete, and as for Nick, it's his fault that he died. He shouldn't have pointed that gun at me."
"Still, Nick didn't deserve that." Luke said. "He was a good man and he died in a horrible way. It just wasn't right."
"Well, that's how a lot of people die nowadays. I lost my parents and my guardian on the same day. All three of them were good people and I'd do anything to have them back." Clementine said. "But that's not how the world works… All I can do is accept their sacrifice in keeping me alive."
"Sacrifice or murder?" Luke hissed. "I bet you got them killed."
Clementine looked away from Luke. She felt tears forming in her eyes. Luke's last sentence kept echoing in her mind. She may have had nothing to do with her parents dying, but Lee… he would still be alive if it wasn't for her. She kept getting flashes of him in her mind… of his last few seconds with her… before she had to leave him. She didn't even have the strength to put him out of his misery.
"So, it's true. You got them killed." Luke said with sneering tone in his voice.
"Luke… What… What are you doing?" Reggie asked. There was fear in his voice which indicated that he was afraid of the man.
"Hey, she deserves this." Luke said.
Clementine heard footsteps behind her and she turned to see the African-American woman. "Sorry to interrupt, but I need her to come see Bill."
"Good. Hopefully she'll get what's coming to her." Luke said.
"Go ahead. Reggie and I have some catching up to do." Rebecca said.
"Good." The woman said. "Come on." She led the way to head inside the hardware store.
The African-American woman led Clementine down the aisles and to the check-out stations. Clementine looked up and could see Carver watching her with a smirk. He was in an office of some kind.
The woman led her up the stairs and into the office. "Thank you, Tavia. We'll need a few minutes to talk." Carver said to the woman.
Tavia nodded and she walked out of the office. Carver took a seat in the chair behind the desk before he gestured for Clementine to sit down in the other chair. Clementine obliged and she sat down in the chair. "Well… you really are something you know that." Carver said. "I already mentioned that you outsmarted me by using your surroundings, but there's something else about you. Hmm… I guess I'll find out soon. You know, I always hated Luke. His damn preaching about taking the high road and being a better person. I mean it's the f****** end of the world. Who cares how we do this? What matters is if something keeps you alive, you do it… despite the ramifications. Wouldn't you agree?"
Clementine stared down and she shook her head. "It's alright if you believe that, but… I won't let anymore good people die. I've already killed too many good people as is."
Carver hummed and he said, "I can see the logic behind that. However, what if you were to have a group? What if you couldn't save all of them? Would you be willing to die for them and leave them leaderless which is a death sentence nowadays?"
"Yes." Clementine said as she looked up. "Too many good people have died because of me already. I won't let anyone else die for me."
"And what about that boy, Gil? What happened there?" Carver asked.
Clementine sighed and she said, "Luke was able to grab some of the guns from downstairs. He and his group couldn't keep them since Nick threatened to kill me a few hours earlier. They tried to hold us hostage, but I wasn't going to let that happen. I tried bluffing that I would shoot Rebecca's unborn child but Luke said that he would shoot the baby that was with us. I surrendered after that, but he tried to kill Genevieve anyway. Gil was able to save her by taking the bullet."
Carver showed immense surprise and he said, "Well now… I can't believe that Luke lost himself like that. Like I said, he used to preach about being the better person, but now, in an ironic twist, he's become the very person that he warned me about. Anyway, when I first saw that you were keeping me and that bumbling idiot, Troy, pinned down… it gave me hope. I saw the future generation walking through that door. A smart, strong, and strategic child. Something that my child will become. What we're trying to do here is bring humanity back from the brink by any means necessary, and to do that, the next generation has to be stronger than the last."
"I don't really want anyone to go through what I've went through." Clementine said. "No one deserves that."
"True. No one should, but what about the generation after yours. Your children… wouldn't you want them to grow up without knowing what a walker is or never seeing one?"
"Absolutely. I don't want them to go through what I've been through." Clementine said.
Carver smirked and he said, "Then there you go. This is why your generation will have to become stronger. It's so that we can protect the generation after yours. If we do things that seem a bit… drastic but better the lives of the following generation, then we have to do it. The ends justify the means."
"I understand." Clementine said.
"Good." Carver said with a smirk. "Go ahead and go back out to the yard. It's been a long day."
Clementine nodded and she got out of her seat. She headed down the stairs and toward the yard with most of the guards walking around. They didn't seem to pay much attention to her. Once she reached the garage door that led out to the yard, the guard standing next to it opened the door. Clementine walked out into the yard and noticed that most of the group that was outside was already asleep.
Part of her still felt on edge, but she knew that her body needed rest for tomorrow. She walked over and laid down on one of the plywood beds. She hoped that Luke, Carlos, and Troy wouldn't bother her, but she knew better than to just hope. Thankfully, she had become a light sleeper over the past couple of years to avoid getting eaten by walkers. So the three hostile members in the yard would have to acquire a decent amount of stealth to get the jump on her. Clementine closed her eyes and fell asleep despite feeling a bit antsy.
Morning finally arrived and the girl opened her eyes. She sat upright to see Luke and Carlos talking to one another. They were probably talking about an escape plan.
Clementine got up and she looked around the yard. She didn't notice it yesterday, but there were two other people out in the yard. One was a woman with short brown hair and the other was a lean African-American man. She didn't know why, but the man reminded her a little bit of Lee. After all, Lee was also very lean. She heard the garage door open and turned to see one of the guards at the door.
"Alright everyone, get up. Bill's coming out here soon and the last thing that needs to happen is for him to have to wait on you." The guard said.
Despite their many differences with each other, Luke, Carlos, Rebecca, Clementine, Reggie, the lean man, and the woman gathered around the door. However, Troy stayed back and sent a glare to everyone around the door.
"Come on, Troy… the harder you work, the sooner you get out of this yard." The guard said.
"F*** that. I ain't working with these assholes." Troy hissed.
"You don't got a choice. Bill ain't going to give you one." The guard said.
"You know what?" Troy snapped. "Bill can kiss my ass for all I care."
"Come on dude. Don't do this." The guard said.
The group soon heard footsteps approaching them from inside the hardware store. It was Carver. He had a smug look on his face with Tavia and George following him. "Hmm… well done, Tyler. Almost everyone is here." Carver turned his head to see Troy sending a dirty look his way. "Come on… you got a lot of work to do today."
"I ain't doing shit!" Troy snapped as he got up and went over to Carver.
"Think about this Troy." George said as he raised his rifle and aimed it at Troy.
"Shut up!" Troy hissed and he continued his approach toward Carver. "I ain't working with these assholes, and I do believe that you owe me an apology for what happened yesterday."
Carver glared at Troy and he said, "I don't have time for this bullshit." He pulled out his revolver, and in a flash, he aimed it at Troy's head and fired. Troy's body fell to the ground with a thud while the group members in the yard shuttered from the sudden murder of the former guard.
Carver looked back to the group members and he said, "That's one way of getting out of this yard. You have to remember that I didn't put you all here. This was all your fault, but I am a decent man. Some of you are new to our community, others are people who went astray but know that you can find redemption here through what will be undoubtedly hard work and proving your worth." Carver directed his attention to Reggie and he said, "Reggie, you're nearly back with us. Keep following the path and we'll welcome you back with open arms."
"What about the other members of my group?" Luke asked. "Sarah and Alvin are still out there."
Carver shrugged and he said, "It ain't worth sending people out there to look for them. They're on their own."
"But that's my daughter out there!" Carlos exclaimed.
"Then start over if it bothers you so much… it's time for us to move on in this world. We can't sit around and mope on the past, we need to move forward." Carver said. "I ain't sending people out there to find some big guy who will only get in my way and a scared little girl who is absolutely useless."
Carlos gritted his teeth and glared at Carver. However, the leader ignored Carlos and he continued, "I'll let Reggie be an example for the rest of you. Tavia, George, and Tyler have your assignments for the day. Now… get to work." Carver turned and he headed back into the hardware store.
Tavia approached Clementine and she said, "Follow me. You'll be working in the armory with Bonnie."
Clementine nodded in response. She wasn't excited in working with Bonnie since the woman showed quite a bit of anger and malice towards her yesterday, but it wasn't anything new with Clementine. Besides, she didn't want to question Carver's authority after what happened to Troy.
Tavia turned and headed inside Howe's with Clementine following behind her. The two walked further and further into Howe's until Clementine's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. She was staring at a young woman and a fifteen year old girl. The fifteen year old girl was her former friend Becca and the woman was Shel. Becca looked over for a brief second, but her eyes widened and she looked back to Clementine. "Clementine, come on." Tavia said with an impatient tone in her voice.
Shel followed her sister's line of vision and her jaw dropped as well. "Clementine." Shel said with a surprised tone in her voice.
However, Becca's shocked stare turned into one of anger. She gritted her teeth and ran toward Clementine. The younger girl knew what awaited her. She flinched a bit and closed her eyes. She felt Becca's knuckle collide with her face which sent her to the ground. Clementine groaned in pain as she opened her eyes. Becca could still hit hard… even harder than what she remembered. Clementine looked up with a sore cheek and Becca seething in anger.
"Becca!" Shel exclaimed.
"You bitch! You left me!" Becca hissed at Clementine. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
…To be continued.
A/N: Ahh… yes… It's nice to do another cliffhanger. I'm going through cliffhanger withdrawal.