Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the help.
Shawn, Carley, Mark, and Ben followed the two brothers, Andy and Danny toward the dairy men claimed to own.
It seemed fair enough, a trade of gas for a trade of food.
The group only hoped that the brothers were as kind as they were acting.
"So... This dairy... you guys really have food?" Mark asked.
"Sure do." Andy answered with a smile. "Well... We lost most of the cattle, but we still have lots of milk, butter, and cheese stocked up."
"And with the vegetables we grow, we've got plenty of food." Danny added.
"Well, that's great to hear." Shawn said. "I think I speak for everyone when I say we're pretty hungry."
"You won't have to worry about that. A deal's a deal. You were kind enough to give us some gas, and now we got to keep up our end of the bargain." Andy said.
The group exchanged looks continuing to the dairy.
"Honestly, it's nice to get away from that motel for a while. This Lilly/Kenny thing is starting to get ridiculous." Carley said.
"Tell me about it." Shawn said.
"I... I'm worried about Clem." Carley said. "I don't know... she's been acting different."
"In what way?" Shawn questioned.
"She seems more depressed." Carley stated.
"Well, who isn't depressed." Shawn replied.
"She's still a kid. Don't forget that." Carley said. "Can't imagine what's going on in her mind..."
"You think it's my fault?" Shawn questioned.
"What?" Carley asked.
"For rejecting her... I don't know..." Shawn said
"No... It has to be more than that." Carley said.
"Maybe you should talk to her." Shawn suggested.
"Me?" Carley asked. "Why me?"
"I don't think Clem really wants to speak with me right now, she's still upset." Shawn said. "Besides, you two are pretty close."
"She'll get over it..." Carley said. "Kids always get silly crushes. They don't last."
"I know." Shawn said. "I just... feel bad."
"Don't. I'll talk to her when we get back." Carley said.
"Okay..." Shawn said.
"Y'all seem pretty settled in at that motor inn. Who's running things over there?" Andy suddenly inquired.
"We all work together." Shawn said. "Everyone looking out for each other."
"I hear that! There's so many dumbasses out there fighting each other these days." Andy said. "It's just stupid."
"How many people you got over there anyway?" Danny asked.
"We uh, we have a big group." Shawn said, keeping his answer vague.
"I see." Andy said. "Well, we'd love to get you all out to the dairy. Like I said, we've got plenty of food, and quite frankly, we could always use an extra helping hand."
"In the summers, I used to help out on a goat farm." Ben informed.
"That's great. Everything helps." Danny said.
Andy let out a hum. "Momma's been running the dairy for as long as I can remember but now it's getting-"
Andy was interrupted by an angry voice snapping, "You think you're gonna cut me out of this?"
"Shit!" Andy swore, "Get down!"
The group quickly did as he said, crouching low, as not to be seen. From their hidden position, they could see two men arguing.
"Fucking bandits..." Danny whispered.
"Those look like the people who raided my camp." Ben informed the others.
"Who are they?" Shawn asked.
"Shh..." Andy whispered. "Fucking assholes is who they are."
"There's only two of them." Carley stated.
"Oh no. There's a lot more." Danny said.
"Don't worry. Danny and I got ya covered if something happens, but let's just wait this out." Andy said. "Hope they move on."
"You guys don't think it's…. I don't know… kind of weird that those people came out of nowhere asking us for gas?" Clementine questioned the other group members.
"Why do you say that?" Lilly asked the girl.
"I just got a strange feeling about them… How do we know we can trust them?" Clementine said.
"We don't." Lilly said. "We don't trust anyone. Don't forget that."
"So why send our group members to the dairy?" Clementine asked.
"Sometimes you got to take a risk." Lilly said. "If they have food, we need it."
"And what if it's a trap?" Clementine worried.
"Why would they want to trap anyone?" Larry questioned.
"I don't know…." Clementine said. "It just seems weird. Like maybe they've been watching us or something."
Lilly furrowed her brows.
Kenny let out a sigh, "Don't be ridiculous, Clem."
"I'm not. Think about it. Seriously, why show up now?" Clementine asked.
"Don't worry so much. Everything will be fine." Lilly said.
"I sure hope so." Clementine sighed.
"It will be." Lilly said.
"I don't understand why Ben got to go and I had to stay here." Clementine huffed. "That's completely unfair."
"Clementine, that's enough. No one is in the mood to hear you complain." Kenny said.
"Then you should've let me go. You wouldn't have to hear anything from me." Clementine grumbled.
"It's dangerous." Kenny said.
"Everything is dangerous. I'd appreciate it if you all stopped treating me like a kid…" Clementine walked off, feeling annoyed.
"Hey guys!" Carley said.
"You're back." Lilly sighed in relief. She had been worried that Clementine was right about it being a trap.
"Yeah." Carley said.
"How was it?" Lilly asked.
"Looks untouched." Carley said.
"Is it safe?" Lilly questioned.
"Appears to be." Carley said.
"They say they're going to make a big dinner for the group." Ben said.
Larry gave a smile, "Pretty nice of them."
"Yeah." Carley agreed. "And they gave us these biscuits."
Lilly looked into the basket and tsked. "The basket is more than half empty." She commented.
"About that..." Carley said. "We got a little hungry on the way here."
Lilly rolled her eyes. "We have a problem."
"What?" Carley asked.
"We can't all go to this dairy." Lilly said.
"Why not?" Ben asked.
"We can't leave the motel unattended. Who knows how long well be gone." Lilly said.
"Well, since we ate some of the biscuits, Ben and I can stay. behind. If you guys are gone too long well come looking for you." Carley said.
Lilly gave a nod. "Alright."
With that settled, Carley looked over to Clementine who was sitting alone. The teen looked lost in thought which had become usual for the girl.
Carley decided to check on the girl. "Hey Clem."
Clementine jumped as if startled. "Hey."
"How are you doing?" Carley asked the teen.
"Fine, I guess." Clementine said.
"I noticed you've been pretty active lately." Carley said.
"Yeah... Well, I want to help. As much as I can anyway." Clementine said.
"Yeah. You've been a huge help." Carley offered the girl a smile.
Clementine didn't respond.
"Clementine," Carley called.
The girl let out a sigh, "Yes?"
"I wanted to talk to you." Carley told her.
"About?" Clementine asked.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay." Carley informed.
"Of course I am. Why do you ask?" Clementine asked.
"You seem... Stressed out..." Carley said.
"And? Isn't everyone stressed out?" Clementine replied.
"That's not the right word... Depressed seems more fitting." Carley said.
"I think I have the right to feel depressed. Just as everyone else does." Clementine told.
Carley paused. "That's true but-"
Clementine cut her off, "We have to focus on surviving day in and day out…"
"Clem..."
"Sometimes I don't want to do that. I mean whats the point? We're all gonna die anyway." Clementine said.
"Don't say that." Carley said.
"It's true. You heard what Ben said. Are we even going to be able to survive this? Or are we just avoiding the inevitable?" Clementine said.
"I..." Carley was at a lost for words.
"Clem, come on. We're heading out." Lilly called.
Clementine turned to walk away. Carley watched her, feeling worried about the young girl.
"This is bad idea..." Clementine commented, making her way over to the others.
"Relax Clem. I'm sure your starving. You'll have a nice meal tonight." Kenny said.
"I'm fine." Clementine claimed.
"Yeah right." Kenny scoffed. "You're all skin and bones."
"We'll be back before you know it." Lilly said to Ben and Carley.
Carley nodded. "Be careful."
Kenny nodded. "Will do."
When they had arrived at the dairy it looked completely untouched. It had seemed so peaceful, the last thing Shawn expected was for Mark to end up with an arrow in his shoulder.
Carley and Ben had returned to the motor inn to retrieve the rest of the group. Mark had offered to help reinforce the fence. Shawn had experience with fences, he had expected the task to be an easy one, yet now both he and Mark were stuck behind the cover of nothing but a tractor, with bandits taking shots at them from the woods.
When they made it back to the gate, they ran through.
Andy caught sight of them and ran towards them. "What's wrong?"
"The electric fence came on. People started attacking us from the woods." Shawn explained.
"Holy shit. Are you okay?" Danny asked.
"Fucking bandits. They have no right being out on our property." Andy said.
"Oh my Lord!" Gasped Brenda from the doorway. She rushed over. "What happened to you, sweetheart?"
"It was those bastards in the woods, mama." Andy said.
"Yeah. I'll be alright once it's out, but damn, it hurts!" Mark said.
"Hey y'all!" Kenny called.
Shawn turned to see the other group member coming over.
"Mark! Oh my god, what happened?" Katjaa asked.
"He was shot with an arrow." Shawn explained.
"Christ. Are you gonna be okay?" Lilly asked.
"Yeah...I'm fine. I should just... pull it out..." Mark panted.
"Oh no, honey. Brenda's got you. C'mon inside. We'll have you all sorted out." Brenda said.
Brenda led Mark towards the house, Katjaa following after them.
"What kind of shit is this?" Larry demanded.
"We ran into some bandits or whatever on the way up here." Shawn explained.
"They gave us a lot of problems in the beginning. Killed a bunch of our farmhand, but we were able to get 'em to stop by making a deal." Andy said.
"You KNEW about these assholes?!" Kenny snapped.
"Food for protection. Not like we had much a choice, but they did stop hassling us." Danny said.
"God dammit! Carley said this place was locked down tight." Larry growled.
"I knew this was a bad idea..." Clementine muttered.
"Look, I'm sorry okay. They've never screwed with us like this. Listen, we may have had an agreement with those people, but we will NOT stand for this shit." Andy said.
"Ain't no way we're letting these sons 'o bitches get away with this." Danny chimed in.
"You know where these assholes are?" Kenny asked.
"They're hard to pin down, but I know where at least ONE of their camps are." Danny replied.
"That's good. We might as well scope them out." Shawn said.
Danny gave a nod. "Alright. When you're ready to head out come find me."
With that, the two brothers walked away.
Lilly scoffed. "Bandits? Are you serious? This place isn't safe. We can't stay here."
"Not safe? This place is a hell of a lot safer than that damn motor inn. I think all of us and our guns can handle a couple of punks with bows and arrows!" Kenny said. "What we need to do is find a way to get our whole group out here to stay. Take this place over if we have to."
"Whoa. Cool your jets there, Rambo. These are nice people. Let's not do anything to get us thrown out before we eat." Larry calmly replied.
"I'm going to head out with Danny to deal with these bandits in a bit. You guys can try to make friends with Andy and Brenda." Shawn said.
"Well, that's easy. I've got charm coming out of my ass." Larry responded.
Lilly rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's... real charming, dad."
"Where are Ben and Carley?" Shawn questioned.
"Since Carley and Ben ate some of the food on the way to get us, she volunteered to stay behind to watch the motor inn until we get back." Lilly explained.
"Make sense." Shawn said.
"What now?" Clementine asked.
"Might as well get comfortable." Kenny said. "You can go play with Duck…"
Clementine sighed, knowing that really meant she was on babysitting duty. "Alright… Come on, Duck. I want to see how hard I can hit you with an acorn."
"I won't even cry!" Duck said.
The two walked off and Shawn turned to the group. "Everyone keep your eyes peeled. If you find anything fishy, don't be scared to let us know."
Everyone nodded. After that the group member walked away to explore the dairy.
Shawn caught sight of Clementine and Duck. Duck was busy tossing acorns into the air.
Shawn decided to talk to Clementine for a bit. He approached with a smile. "Hey Clem."
"Hey." Clementine said.
"Wanna help me fix up that swing? It'll give Duck something to do." Shawn motioned to the broken swing that was close by.
Clementine shrugged. "Sure."
Shawn nodded and went to examine the broken swing.
"…How did it happen?" Clementine suddenly asked.
"What?" Shawn asked back.
"How did Mark get shot?" Clementine asked.
"Damn bandits in the woods." Shawn said.
"Is he going to be okay?" Clementine asked, looking worried.
"I don't know, kid." Shawn said honestly.
There was that word again... Kid. A constant reminder...
Clementine sighed. "Shawn..."
"Yes?"
"Do... Do you think things could ever be normal... Or close to normal again?" Clementine asked.
"I would hope so." Was Shawn's response. "Do you?"
"I don't know. I don't know what to think anymore." Clementine said. "I guess I wish... But wishing and thinking are two different things."
"Yeah..."
Silence fell over the two before Clementine spoke, "We uh... We need a rope... for the swing. I'll check on the porch."
Clementine headed towards the porch, searching for a rope. She soon found one. "Perfect."
"Aren't you a pretty little thing."
Clementine jumped at the sudden voice. She turned to see Danny.
The man smiled at her. "Don't worry. I don't bite. Hard."
The girl swallowed nervously.
"What's your name?" Danny asked.
"Clementine." The girl answered.
Clementine…." Danny repeated. "Fits you. I wonder if you're as sweet as your name."
"S-Sweet?" Clementine stammered.
"I bet you taste as sweet as you look." Danny said.
Clementine looked to the man, with wide eyes. "What?"
Danny said no more. He just walked into the house.
Clementine watched as the door closed. That guy gave her the creeps.
With the rope in hand, Clementine made her way off the porch and back to Shawn. "I...I found a rope."
"Great. I cut a new board for the swing." Shawn said. He then noticed the worried look on the girl's face. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah..." Clementine lied.
"You sure?" Shawn asked.
"I'm fine. Don't worry." Clementine brushed him off.
Shawn frowned. He could tell something was wrong. "Clem..."
"I really don't want to talk about it. So please... Don't make me." Clementine said.
Shawn sighed at that, but said, "Okay..."
"I'm going to tell Duck about the swing." Clementine stated.
Shawn nodded. He couldn't help but worry about Clementine.
Shawn watched as the girl went over to Duck and Kenny. He decided to go talk to Danny about finding those bandits. Shawn walked up to the patio where Danny and Andy were sitting.
"Hey." Shawn greeted.
"How ya feeling, Shawn? I'm really sorry you almost got killed out there. We should have told you how dangerous it was." Andy said
"Yeah, that probably would've helped…" Shawn said. "How's Mark doing?"
"Mama's taking a look at him. He should be fine." Andy said.
"You saw what they did to your buddy. Nobody's safe here until we start to fight back." Danny stated.
"What's your plan?" Shawn inquired.
"The two of us should go out and do some recon, then we'll all mount up for some revenge." Danny said.
"Hell yeah." Andy piped up.
"So who exactly are these people? What do they want?" Shawn asked.
"We don't know. We think some of 'em used to work at the big box up the way." Andy said.
"Save Lots." Danny added.
"Yeah. Anyway, they're nutty as Hell. And get mad when they're hungry." Andy informed.
"So, are ya ready to head out there and find their camp?" Danny asked
"Yeah. The quicker we do this, the better." Shawn said.
"I'll stay here and hold down the fort." Andy remarked
"Remember: we're just doing reconnaissance for now. No use getting ourselves killed." Danny noted
Danny grabbed his rifle and started walking towards the front. Shawn followed him.
Clementine was seated on a stump, staring at the ground while Kenny pushed Duck on the swing. She was glad Duck was having a good time, but she still couldn't feel comfortable, especially after what had just occurred with Danny.
"You want a turn Clem?" Kenny asked.
Clementine looked up to him, "No."
"Why not?" Kenny asked.
"Do I look like a kid to you?" Clementine groaned.
"Want me to answer that?" Kenny questioned back.
Clementine rolled her eyes. She stood up, noticing Shawn and Danny making their way to the front gate of the dairy.
Clementine quickly headed over to them. "Wait!"
"Clem? You okay?" Shawn asked.
"I'm going too." Clementine said.
"No, kid. You stay here." Shawn said.
"No way. You're not leaving me out again." Clementine crossed her arms.
"Clem-"
"I'm going too." Clementine said, cutting Shawn off.
"If the little lady wants to come along, I say let her." Danny said.
"Alright… Alright fine." Shawn sighed.
The three wandered through the wood, following behind Danny. They stayed on their guard, searching for the bandit camp.
"See anything?" Danny asked
"Not yet." Shawn replied.
"I know it's around here. It's gotta be close." Danny said.
Shawn looked down seeing a small soup can close to his foot.
The three kept walking.
"Here…" Shawn whispered, motioned to a camp right in front of them.
Danny raised his riffle, Clementine placed her hand on her own weapon.
"Stay close." Shawn said to the girl, who gave a nod.
The trio used the trees as cover, as the moved closer to the camp.
"You see anyone?" Danny asked
Shawn shook his head.
With the camp being clear, they left the cover of the trees.
"Watch my back, Shawn. I'm going to check out the tent." Danny said.
Danny approached the tent cautiously. The man then pulled down the flap.
"Clear." Danny muttered "This camp's too small. It can't be their main base."
"Right." Shawn agreed.
"Take a look around anyway. There's probably some shit around here they stole from us." Danny said.
Clementine and Shawn both nodded in response.
After looking through the area, they came up empty handed on supplies.
Shawn did manage to find a box from the Save-lots however.
"What's in the box?" Danny asked
"Nothing, just boxes from the Save-lots." Shawn replied.
"The first few days, they told folks to gather to the Save-lots by the interstate." Danny said.
Shawn continued to looked around, finding a couple boxes from the dairy. "Got some boxes from the dairy here."
"Probably the food we've been giving 'em. Fuckers crossed the line." Danny grumbled.
Shawn nodded.
Clementine, meanwhile, made her way towards the tent in the middle of the camp. She looked into the tent finding a picture of a young child and a woman who she presumed to be the girl's mother.
There was also a stuffed toy. Clementine picked up the rabbit, she didn't know why, but she wanted to hold onto it.
"What'd you find?" Danny asked.
Clementine looked over at the sound of Danny's voice.
"A video camera." Shawn replied.
"Lemme see that." Danny urged.
Shawn pushed the play button, and unsurprisingly nothing happened.
"Battery's dead." Shawn said.
"Oh, good." Danny remarked
Clementine furrowed her brows at that. Why was it good?
"What else they got over here? Let's see if we can find anything useful then get a move on." Danny remarked as he went to go search the table Shawn had been at before.
"There's not much." Shawn said. "This seems like a waste of a trip."
"I wouldn't say that." Danny said.
"Clem, you find anything?" Shawn asked the quiet teen.
"Not really?" Clementine said.
Shawn noticed the toy the teen was holding. "What's that?"
"I found it in the tent." Clementine explained.
"You just going to hold onto it?" Shawn asked.
"If that's okay." Clementine said.
"Sure, kid." Shawn shrugged.
Clementine continued to hold onto the stuffed toy, while Shawn went back to searching around the camp. The girl ran her fingers over the stuff animal's ears, before looking up, feeling as if someone was watching her. With a gulp, she put her hands behind her back self-consciously, when she noticed Danny staring at her. It wasn't the first time. But it didn't make her any less uncomfortable.
She could feel his eyes on her continuously during the walk through the woods, but what bothered her out the most was how he would just stare at her. He'd just stare at her and wouldn't look away, not even when she locked eyes with him.
She looked back to the man, seeing him offer her a smile that made her skin crawl. Clementine decided in that moment that the sooner they got back to the Motel, the better. She surely didn't trust the St. Johns, especially not Danny.
"Guess you are as sweet as your name." Danny suddenly chuckled.
Clementine shuddered.
Shawn frowned, raising a brow at the other man. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm just saying... She's pretty sweet, don't you think?" Danny once again smiled at the teen, who quickly looked away. "I see you handle that gun pretty well. You a hunter?" He directed to Shawn, changing the subject.
"No. Lilly keeps us all on a regular training schedule." Shawn said.
"Lilly, huh? Sounds like she's running this group of yours." Danny noted.
Shawn decided not to respond.
"Don't you fucking move!" Came a voice.
Shawn turned to see a woman aiming a crossbow at him.
"Shit!" Danny exclaimed.
"PUT YOUR GUNS DOWN." The woman said
Shawn raised his weapon.
Clementine's eyes widened, her heart pounding.
"I ain't going back. You tell 'em Jolene ain't going back!" The woman said.
"Hey! We had a deal! No shooting as long as we gave you food! What the fuck happened!" Danny demanded.
"You had a deal with THEM. I ain't THEM!" Jolene retorted.
Clementine reached for her own weapon. She wasn't going to be a defenseless little girl.
"I know you. I know what you are, I know what you do." Jolene said accusingly to Danny.
"What are you talking about?" Shawn asked.
"You don't know me." Danny replied defensively.
"Steal my shit! Steal EVERYTHING from me!" Jolene yelled
"Why are you alone up here? What happened to you?" Shawn asked
"That's a hell of a question, mister. They told me I'd be safe with them … Men who lived here. But it weren't safe. Not for me, and not for my girl. They didn't treat her nice. Not at all. They took her away, into the woods. Wouldn't tell me where. And I begged 'em. Every way I could think. They just laughed … So I killed 'em." Jolene laughed, a crazed look in her eyes. "And I'm staying here 'til she comes back to me. One way or another … she'll come back. Now maybe you didn't hear me last time … when I asked you sweet … put your DAMN GUNS DOWN!"
"Wait, we don't want any trouble." Clementine said.
The woman's eyes fell on the girl and her gaze softened for a moment. "You'll be fine, honey. You just get in the tent. I'll take care of you."
"W-What?" Clementine was confused.
"I won't let them! I won't let them hurt you anymore! I promise." Jolene said.
"They didn't hurt me…" Clementine said. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Jolene ignored the teen. "As for you two, put your damn guns down, NOW." Jolene ordered.
"You think I won't kill you? I'm gonna take this here crossbow, and put a nice sharp arrow, right through your eyeball. And into your goddamn brain." Jolene ranted "You're not men. You're monsters. All men are monsters. Take what they want and destroy it all! Take a little can of beans, take a little girl … it's all the fucking same to you!" Jolene said.
"Please, just put the crossbow down. We're not going to hurt you." Shawn said.
"Liar…" Jolene said. "You know what? I changed my mind … I'm putting this arrow right through your BALLS. Yeah! Right through. String 'em up on that tree."
"Please, just listen!" Clementine said. "We want to help you!"
"Shh… Shush now, honey. I'll be with you in a minute." Jolene said to Clementine. "I won't let these evil monsters hurt you."
"What are you talking about?" Clementine asked.
"People ain't nice. Not anymore, little girl." Jolene said. "Go on, tell them, boy! Tell them what you got in mind for-"
A shot rang out … and Jolene fell over.
Clementine screamed in horror, dropping the stuffed toy that was in her grip.
"What the fuck?" Shawn asked, shooting Danny a glare.
"Goddamn it." Danny remarked
"You just murdered that woman!" Shawn said.
"Hardly. She had a crossbow pointed at my forehead." Danny replied. "It's a clean shot through … right through the forehead. That's good shootin' right here. Still, what a waste."
Shawn sighed, making his way over to Clementine, he pulled the whimpering teen into a hug. "So what now?" Shawn asked Danny. "We going back?"
"If they ain't here, I don't know where they are. And it ain't a good idea to go tromping though the woods looking for them. So, yeah, we head back. Once they see this … they'll get the message." Danny said.
Shawn nodded, picking up the stuffed rabbit, he handed back to Clementine who accepted it, before placing a hand on Clementine's shoulder, he nudged the girl forward.
Danny made his way to the crossbow, picking up the weapon.
Shawn gave Jolene one last look before the three walked away, heading back to the dairy.