Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. All rights reserved to their respective owners.
"Becca stop!" Shel exclaimed.
"Why should I?" Becca hissed. "She leaves without saying shit! I went out to look for her and nearly got killed!"
"That's enough!" Tavia snapped. "Becca, we've talked about this, but it seems you don't learn." Tavia looked over to Clementine and back to Becca who crossed her arms over her chest and had a glare aimed at Clementine. "Come on, you two are going to talk to Bill."
"No wait… I'll come with them." Shel said. "I know them."
"That might be a problem." Tavia said.
Shel crossed her arms over her chest and she sent a glare toward Tavia while Clementine got up from the ground. She was somewhat glad to see that Shel was starting to stand up for herself. She had no idea what happened to everyone else from the gas station. She didn't care about Clive and Joyce all that much, but she did care for the two sisters, Roman, Boyd, and Stephanie.
"Alright… fine…" Tavia said with a groan. "But I warned you. Bill is not going to take this lightly. Come on." Tavia led the three forward with Clementine following behind her. She knew that Becca was sending a death glare towards her. She knew that Becca was angry with her, but Clementine was glad that she was still alive.
Clementine and Becca sat in the chairs in front of Carver's desk as the older man looked to them with a disappointed frown. He had listened to the whole story of what happened between Becca and Clementine from Tavia. He turned to the guard and he said, "Wait outside for a couple of minutes. I'd like to talk to them."
Tavia nodded before she turned and walked out of Carver's office. It was quiet as the leader watched the guard leave. He kept looking over to the door to make sure that Tavia left the room. Shel stood behind Becca while Clementine soothed her sore cheek. She was thankful that Becca didn't knock any of her teeth out.
"Now… I do believe that there needs to be some explaining going on." Carver said to Becca. "I can't have you going around and beating up the new people."
"I don't care about the rest of them. It's just that… SHE left us." Becca said as she sent a glare toward Clementine.
"I did it for your own protection." Clementine said. "I HAD to leave."
"What are you talking about?" Becca asked with a confused stare; however, her anger was still present.
"I… I'm a death magnet. People die around me… I didn't want it happening to you too." Clementine said.
"Oh… sweetie… You're not a death magnet. People die almost all the time now. It's not just you." Shel said.
"Enough." Carver said. Shel, Becca, and Clementine looked over to him and he continued, "Bottom line, someone's going to have to face the consequences of what happened. We can't be soft in this community. Soft will only get us killed." Carver looked over to Becca and he said, "Becca, you'll be out in the yard for a month."
"But that's not fair!" Becca exclaimed.
"Want to make it two?" Carver asked. "I've warned you to back off a little, but it seems that I can't get my point across. So, until you learn, you're going to go through some consequences."
"Bill, please, this doesn't seem fair. She's just a kid… and she got excited." Shel said.
"That's no excuse for what happened. I told you that you need to get her to calm down and that she had only one more chance to clean up her act. So now, she's getting what she deserves." Carver said.
"This is so stupid! I went looking for her and nearly got killed for it, and somehow, she's in the right?" Becca exclaimed.
Carver leaned back in his chair unfazed and he said, "Who cares? I don't dwell on the past, and I don't suggest you do the same. Now, I believe you and Clementine have some work to do. Tavia will take you over to the green house while I talk to Shel."
Carver retrieved the radio on his desk and he said, "Alright, come back in and take Clementine and Becca to the green house. We'll start there."
"Yes sir." Tavia's voice was heard from the radio. A few minutes passed by until Clementine heard footsteps from behind. She didn't have to turn around to know that it was Tavia. Carver nodded to her and Becca in a gesture to leave. The two complied and they left the office with Tavia leading the way.
Neither talked to the other while Tavia led them to the roof. Clementine would caress her sore cheek every so often, while Becca would grumble to herself. Tavia pushed the door open and led the two to a small green house. "Alright. We're here." Tavia said. "Try not to get yourselves into any more trouble, got it?"
"Whatever." Becca muttered.
Tavia rolled her eyes before she opened the door to the green house. "Now don't touch anything. I'll be back." After the two girls entered, she slammed the door shut and her footsteps signaled her departure.
Becca leaned against one of the walls in the greenhouse and looked down with a glare. "I almost died because of you. I went out looking for you when we couldn't find you at the gas station. A walker nearly bit my face off."
"You would have died if I stayed and so would everyone else." Clementine said.
"Yeah, yeah… you're a death magnet… whatever." Becca said. "I don't think that you leaving really did matter…" Becca released a sigh and she let her arms droop to her side. Plus her hostility was replaced with remorse and sadness. "We lost Boyd a few months after you left." Clementine's eyes widened and she looked down with a frown. Boyd was the nicest person she was with at the gas station, and in many ways, he reminded her of Lee. "It wasn't… we were stupid. We let some piece of shit go, and he came back with a group. A couple of us were injured… but Boyd was… dead. A few weeks after, Roman… got really strict and shit… He… He caught Stephanie stealing some shit… I was pissed at the time… I wanted her to die for what she did, but… it's only now that I realized that she was only scared… I have to admit that looking back… I was scared too."
"We're all scared." Clementine said.
"I was scared. That doesn't mean I'm scared now." Becca snapped. "I'm not scared of anything now that Roman is dead."
"You're scared of losing your sister. You're scared of being alone." Clementine said.
Becca jumped upon hearing what Clementine said. She seemed like she wanted to argue, but all she did was grumble to herself. She looked to Clementine and she said, "What's with all that shit?"
"What? The clothes or-?" Clementine asked.
"No, I'm taking about the magical gnome behind you. Of course I'm talking about your clothes. Since when did you start wearing girly shit?" Becca said.
Clementine shrugged and she said, "A friend gave me these clothes. Besides, I'm more of a girly-girl than a tomboy."
"Could have fooled me." Becca said with a smirk. "You wrestled like a tomboy back at the gas station."
"Only because you dragged me into it." Clementine said with a bit of a smirk. "If I had it my way, I would read a book all day."
"Ugh… you remind me too much of Sarah. All she did all day was read f****** books and cry…" Becca whined.
"She could be stronger if her dad would let her grow up a bit." Clementine said.
Becca shrugged. She didn't care either way about Sarah. The door to the green house opened, and Reggie could be heard. "Okay, I get it." Reggie said.
"Don't make me regret this." Tavia said to the man. She turned to Clementine and Becca and she said, "Listen to Reggie. He's in charge."
"Yup, no problem, Tavia." Reggie said. Tavia closed the door to the green house.
"Okay, we got to do a good job, guys." Reggie explained. "The camp is counting on us. Come on, I'll show you what to do." Clementine and Becca followed Reggie with the older girl grumbling to herself. They approached a table and Reggie continued, "It's super easy. Pick up those shears." Clementine did as Reggie instructed but Becca just crossed her arms over her chest.
"Just get to the point and tell us what to do." Becca said in an irritated tone of voice.
"Okay, okay." Reggie said. "So we're picking these berries, right? Just pick them and put them in the basket. Simple. While you're at it if you see any dead branches, take those shears and cut them off and stack them neatly for compost."
"Finally… that's all we needed to know. Damn…" Becca said and she picked up her shear. She walked over to some of the plants while Reggie looked to her with a questioning stare.
"What's wrong with her?" Reggie asked.
Clementine shrugged and she said, "That's just how she is." She picked up her shear and she went over to some of the plants as well. She spent the next half hour picking berries and cutting off dead branches.
Clementine placed her shear on the table upon taking off the last dead branch on the plant. She heard a door close shut outside and she looked out. It was Carver. He was walking toward the green house.
"Oh shit." Reggie said. He looked around until his eyes stopped at Becca. "Hurry up! Bill's coming."
"I don't care." Becca said.
The door to the green house opened and Carver walked in. "Just checking in… wanted to see how the new recruits are working out." Carver said. He looked around the green house. He had a pleased smirk until he saw that there were two plants that were left unattended. "Reggie." Carver hissed.
"Yeah, Bill, what's up?" Reggie asked with a frightened tone in his voice.
"What the f*** happened in here?" Carver inquired.
"Look, Bill, one of them is new and me with my arm, it's just not as eas-I just hav-I have one arm so-" Reggie stuttered as he tried to explain the situation.
"Shut up, shut up." Carver snapped. "Shut the f*** up." Reggie looked down with a frown as the older man continued, "You better have a good explanation for this. And I mean now."
"Bill please just-" Reggie said.
"Sounds like you were about to give me an excuse when I asked for an explanation." Carver said.
Clementine and Becca stayed quiet while Reggie continued to stutter. It's not like they had a valid explanation. "Bill please, I… I just need a little more time."
No…" Carver said as he shook his head. "You're out of time." Carver looked to Becca and Clementine and he said, "Girls why don't you step outside. Reggie and I need to have a chat."
Clementine turned and walked to the door while Becca made sure to get to the door first and get out of the green house. "Thanks for the help girls." Reggie said. The door to the green house closed and the sound Carver's angered yells could be heard.
"About damn time we got out of there. F***** Reggie. The guy is a weak worm. He's completely spineless… and he expects that Bill will let him back in? Seriously?" Becca said.
Clementine looked back to the green house as the yelling intensified and then back to Becca. "What's Carver like?" Clementine asked.
Becca sighed and she said, "He's alright… once you get to know him. You just got to be careful when you're around him. He's always looking for a way to get around your defenses. He can also be scary sometimes." She sounded almost frightened by the older man.
"Are you scared of him?" Clementine asked.
"F*** no! I ain't falling for that shit." Becca said.
"Easy, it's just an honest question." Clementine said.
Becca eased in her stance and she sighed. "Sometimes… I am scared of him, but he protects us. All things considered, we're lucky to have him."
Suddenly, the door to the green house opened with Reggie stumbling out and Carver stomping after him. "I gave you plenty of chances!" Carver exclaimed.
"NO! NO! NO!" Reggie pleaded with Carver as the older man backed Reggie to the edge of the roof. "Bill, please no!" Carver grabbed Reggie by his shirt collar and sent a glare. He appeared furious. "NO! NO! PLEASE!" Reggie exclaimed. However, it didn't stop him. Carver pushed Reggie over the edge. Reggie screamed in horror until he landed on the ground below.
Clementine looked down to Reggie's body and saw an opportunity. She knew that the longer she stayed, the more likely Carver and his people would die. She didn't have much time to act on her plan. "Weakness, incompetence…" Carver said, but he stopped when Clementine jumped over the ledge. "Hey!" Carver exclaimed.
"Clem!" Becca said in a frustrated and irritated tone of voice.
Clementine descended down on top of Reggie's body. Her feet hit his stomach which acted as an airbag for her landing. If she landed anywhere else, she would have broken her legs and the walkers would have eaten her. Clementine rolled forward and weaved away from the walkers. It was time for her to leave. She would miss Gil, but she could take heart in knowing that he was safe.
"I need some guards outside the perimeter, now!" Carver's voice was heard.
Clementine had nothing to kill the walkers with so all she could do was weave around them and kick them to make them lose their balance. She was thankful that Christa had given her boots and not flats. Clementine smiled upon seeing that there was an opening ahead. All she had to do was slip underneath a walker and she could escape. However, she could hear gunshots from behind her. She turned and saw that Carver and his guards were trying to get to her. They killed any walkers that stood in their way. Clementine turned back around and she slid underneath the walker. While on the ground, she kicked the walker in the back of its legs so that it would lose its balance and fall to the ground.
Clementine got back up and darted for the forest while gunshots were heard behind her. She looked back to the Carver and his group. They were too preoccupied by the walkers to chase her, but there weren't many walkers left. She didn't have much time. Clementine looked forward again; however, she ended up colliding with a stray walker. She fell to the ground with a groan as the walker fell on top of her. She tried to push the walker away, but she wasn't nearly as strong in her arms as she was in her legs. She struggled to keep the walker away. Its gnashing teeth got closer and closer to her until finally it growled and was kicked off of her. She huffed as she watched Carver shoot the walker a couple of times in the head.
Carver huffed before he started to laugh. "You know… you're making this a lot of fun. The battle of wits… who knew I would be challenged by a child, but I guess anything is normal these days." Carver looked back to the guards that accompanied him outside.
"Sir?" Johnny asked.
Carver shook his head and he said, "I'll need a word with Clementine in my office, but nothing else needs to be done. Head back to your posts."
"Yes sir." Johnny said. The guards headed back toward Howe's while Carver offered his hand to help the girl up.
"Come on. We have a couple of things to discuss." Carver said.
"Okay." Clementine said. She accepted the help up and she headed back toward Howe's Hardware with Carver next to her. Her first attempt of escape has failed.
…To be continued.