Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the help.
Clementine squeezed her eyes shut to the blinding circle of light aimed at her face.
Taken hostage by these strangers, the teen was terrified. After what happened to her at the St Johns' farm she didn't know what to expect.
The five men had taken their weapons and were holding them at gunpoint.
Clementine could feel her skin crawl from the way the bandits looked at her. She had a bad feeling that they wanted something that Clementine didn't want to give.
"She's a young one." One of the men motioned to Clementine.
Clementine looked to the ground, trying to ignore them and avoid the blinding light beams that were aimed in her direction.
"How old are you, little girl?" Another man asked.
Clementine didn't offer them a response.
"Let me take a guess, I say you're about thirteen or so, am I right?" The second man asked.
Clementine still refused to respond. She wouldn't correct the man on his wrong guess. She instead sent him a cold glare.
"Oh, she's a tough one?" The first man chuckled, stepped forward and grabbed her face. "You're quite a looker. And you got some pretty eyes."
Clementine slapped his hand away. "D-Don't touch me."
"Oh, so you can talk?" The man scoffed. "I gave you a compliment, bitch. You should be thanking me."
"Don't bother. Little brats like her are ungrateful." Another man said.
"Leave her alone!" Carley said. "She's scared."
"If she's scared now, she's gonna be terrified soon." The first man stood up, aiming his gun at Clementine's head and said in a low, threatening voice, "Strip."
When the group got back to the motel, they had hoped to see Clementine and Carley who had split from them during the escape from the farm. However, the two were nowhere to be found.
"Oh shit… We gotta find them." Shawn said.
Lilly shook her head. "No one goes anywhere."
Shawn sent her a look and asked, "What?"
"Do you want to get yourself killed? We already went through a bunch of shit. No one leaves." Lilly said. "If they don't come back by tonight, we'll look for them in the morning.
"Who knows what could happen by then, we can't just leave them out there to die." Ben said.
"For all we know they're already dead." Lilly replied.
Kenny shot her a look, "Don't say that."
"Why? It's not like you care about anyone but yourself." Lilly spat. "You saw how many walkers there were. Who's to say they're still alive."
"Carley knows how to handle herself, and Clementine isn't completely defenseless either." Shawn said.
"My dad wasn't defenseless, but look what happened to him. He's dead." Lilly huffed.
The other sighed at that, Kenny looking guilty.
"I'm not going to deal with this…" Kenny murmured.
"I don't want anyone leaving, especially not in the middle of the night. They know the way here, we just got to wait for them to get here." Lilly said.
Shawn sighed, knowing arguing would be pointless, he just hoped Clementine and Carley were okay.
When the word "strip" fell from that man's mouth Clementine felt her stomach dropped.
She had assumed these men want to do something horrible to them and now her suspicious were confirmed.
"Please... Please don't make me do this." Clementine pleaded.
"You can do it, or we'll do it for you." The leader said.
Clementine started trembling, she didn't want to go through this again.
"Leave her alone! She's just a kid!" Carley exclaimed.
"That's the best kind." One of the men said. "Strip, girlie."
Clementine let out a small whimper. She knew there was no point in fighting, they were going to do what they pleased regardless. "P-Please… Please don't make me…"
"Strip, girl. I won't say it again…" The leader said.
"You people are sick. Fucking sick." Carley called. "She's just a kid!"
"Oh, shut it, lady. It'll be your turn next." Another man snapped.
"Take your clothes off, girl." The leader ordered to Clementine.
When the teen shook her head, he slapped her hard in the face.
The girl whimpered, bringing a hand to her sore cheek.
"Hold her back, I don't want her doing anything stupid." He said to two of the men as he motioned to Carley.
Carley tried to get away, but felt two of the men grab her by the arms, keeping her in place.
Clementine's eyes flooded with fear. She felt herself being pinned down and her clothes being forced off be the remaining men. She tried to struggle away, but it was no use. She tried to scream, but one of the men placed a hand over her mouth.
Carley tried to tear her gaze away. She felt completely powerless.
"Oh no you don't." One of the men said to her, forcing her to face Clementine's direction. "Watch."
As one of the men started pulling Clementine's pants down he smirked and announced to the others. "She's not wearing any panties. What a dirty little girl…"
Clementine whimpered a bit more… She had just thrown on whatever clothes were nearby after the experience with Danny, she just wanted to get away from him. She didn't think this would be happening again. One time had been more than enough.
Before long they had completely striped away her clothes, leaving her nude and at their mercy. Clementine clenched her eyes shut, trembling as the disgusting men practically drooled over her body.
"Let her go! This is fucking sick!" Carley exclaimed.
"Shut the fuck up!" One of the men snapped at Carley.
Hearing Clementine's little cries and seeing the girl's struggles was killing Carley. She had to do something.
Clementine kept fighting as the men started to fondle her. She was embarrassed and terrified. She just wanted everything to be over.
One of them leaned down, he whispered into her ear and a calm voice. "Stop fighting, or things are going to be a lot worse for you."
Carley was repulsed. These sick fuckers were trying to get off with a child. They were like a pack of wolves gloating over a trapped baby deer. She wanted nothing more than to shoot them all.
She had a plan… She only hoped Clementine would understand what she was about to do.
With one swift movement, she stomped one of the men's foot and elbowed the other in the groin, causing both to lose their grip on her momentarily.
Carley took advantage of the quick release and made a dash for the woods.
"Hey!" The one who's foot had been stomped yell, he tried to make a grab for her, but wasn't fast enough.
The second man had his hands over his abused crotch and was groaning in pain.
The man on top of Clementine let the girl go. "You fucking idiots! Go after her!" He ordered to the men that were recovering from the blows they received.
The two quickly composed themselves and ran into the woods after her.
Clementine's eyes widened and she forced herself into sitting position, covering her body.
Carley couldn't be leaving her… There was no way…
Her concern shifted back to the three men surrounding her as the leader forced her back to the ground.
"You didn't think I was done with you, did you?" He asked, making Clementine's heart skip a beat.
"Get back here, dammit!" One of the men yelled as they chased after her.
Carley continued running forward, she could hear them getting closer and pushed her legs to go faster. It was so dark she could barely see where she was going, and she found herself tripping over rocks, and pushing branches out of her way.
Finally, she ducked behind a large tree and listened carefully.
Footsteps sounded close by her. Carley held her breath, staying hidden for a good few moments.
"Shit... Where the fuck did she go?" One of the men grumbled.
"We'll spread out, she couldn't have gotten far." The other man said.
"Alright. I'll check this area." The first man said.
Carley peeked out from behind a tree. She saw the second man turn to take off. Now both men had their backs turned to her.
She took the chance to leave her hiding spot and approach the closest man.
She grabbed his gun wielding arm.
A shot went off, hitting the second man in the back.
"What the fuck?!" The first man exclaimed.
Carley acted quick, delivering a kick to the back of his knee, causing his leg to buckle.
As he hit the ground, she took the chance to track the gun from his hand. She aimed it at his head and without hesitation pulled the trigger.
"How's it feel to know your friend ditched you?" The leader asked with a chuckle.
Clementine closed her eyes, whimpering a bit more. "She… She didn't d-ditch me…"
"But she did. I don't see her, do you?" The leader replied.
Clementine fought the urge to cry.
"They've probably caught her by now…" The leader said. "You belong to us… We're going to use you as we please, you can enjoy it…"
Clementine winced as he gave a hard thrust.
"Or not." He finished.
Suddenly, they heard a gunshot rang out, quickly followed by another one.
"…Looks like your friend is gone." He muttered. "Sorry, sweetheart. It's just you and us now…"
Tears did come now, and no matter how hard she tried Clementine couldn't stop herself from crying.
Shawn knew he wouldn't be able to stop worrying if he didn't keep occupied. When the rest of the group started to head to bed, he offered to take watch for the night. He wouldn't be able to sleep anytime soon.
Hours had gone by and Carley and Clementine still hadn't returned.
Countless thoughts flooded his mind making him anxious. He wondered what could of happened to the two. They could've ran into walkers, or bandits, or maybe even the owners of that van…
He regretted that the group took the supplies from the van… Even though it looked abandoned, they didn't know who it truly belonged to and that worried Shawn.
He debated on going out to look for Carley and Clementine. He knew going out this late was risky, but he wanted to be sure they were okay…
He glanced over to the motel rooms. He figured the group members would be asleep soon. If Carley and Clementine didn't return within an hour he was going to go looking for them.
"Do we gotta take her back? Why not just keep her to ourselves?" One of the men sighed.
"You know it's only right to share. Besides, the others will be pissed if they found out we caught a good one and hid her away." The leader said.
"I guess you're right." The other man said.
"I am… It's bad enough we already lost one." The leader said. "Come on, let's get back to the camp."
"What about the others?" The third man asked.
"They know the way back. Ain't no need to stand around waiting for them." The leader replied. "Come on, let's get a move on."
Carley checked the men's bodies for other weapons. She found a knife on one of them. She checked the gun she was holding's ammunition. She wouldn't use the gun until she needed to. She picked up the flashlight that the first man had dropped. She was grateful to have it.
She turned the light on and quickly started to navigate her way back to the area where the other men were keeping Clementine hostage.
When she got back she noticed the men were no longer there and neither was Clementine.
Carley did her best not to panic as she searched the ground for their track. Upon finding some footprint, she started to follow them.
Carley knew she wouldn't be able to just sneak attack them, she was one person and it was too much of a risk. She couldn't take the chance of getting herself caught again. She had to be smart since she was clearly outnumbered.
Carley made sure to carefully trail after them, keeping behind cover just to be safe.
She tried not to use the flashlight too much. She didn't want them to notice her.
She kept following the tracks, and hoping the Clementine would be okay.
Clementine was barely conscious as they arrived the camp. She was scared when she noticed all the men at the camp. They were eying her like a piece of meat, making her feel self-conscious.
She felt a surge of anger and hatred for them. She wanted to kill every last one of them. She wanted to make them suffer.
"Sit here." The man carrying her tossed her to the ground, causing her to hiss in pain. "Be a good little girl."
"Fuck you…" The words left her mouth before she could stop herself.
The man sent her a glare and knelt in front of her. "What was that?"
"I said… fuck you." Clementine snapped.
She received a harsh hit for her words. A red bruise blossomed on her cheek almost as soon as he dropped his hand back to his side.
"We're going to have to fix that mouth of yours, kid. It's filthy." He grumbled then turned to walk away.
Clementine shivered from the cold air on her unclothed body. She tried to cover herself the best she could. She was hurt, embarrassed, and freezing.
She jumped when she suddenly heard soft whimpering, looking to her side, she noticed a young girl wrapped in a blanket.
"Hey... Are you okay?" Clementine compassionately inquired of the whimpering child.
Oblivious of or ignoring Clementine's presence, the child didn't move or respond.
Clementine inched a bit closer, ignoring the pain that shot through her body, ignoring the blood that was dripping to the ground from her abused crotch.
She hesitantly placed a hand on the child's cover shoulders and felt the kid flinch.
"Hey..." Clementine said again. The child still didn't respond. "I'm not going to hurt you..."
"That's what they said too..." The girl finally muttered from under the blankets.
"I promise..." Clementine said. "I'm not like them..."
The little girl didn't respond.
Clementine took a gentle grip on the blanket and tried to pull it from the girl's head.
"STOP!" The little girl exclaimed.
"I... I'm sorry..." Clementine stammered, immediately retracting her hand. "I... I didn't mean to startle you."
"L-Leave me alone... please..." The girl pleaded.
Clementine sighed and obliged.
It had been too long. Far too long for them to be gone.
They should be back by now.
Shawn felt sick as he kept think of the possibilities of what could have happened.
He knew he couldn't leave the camp unattended and he didn't want to tell Lilly he was leaving. That left him to rely on Ben.
Fortunately, Ben was just as worried as he was, and although he admitted that he thought Shawn going alone was a bad idea, he agreed to take watch.
Shawn grabbed a gun and a flashlight and headed out to search for them.
He hoped he wasn't making a mistake.
It was so unfair. How could those assholes sit by the fire and eat, while she and this little child were tossed to the side to freeze.
"…Are you cold?" The girl's little voice suddenly pulled Clementine out of her thoughts.
She looked to her side to see the child's head was no longer buried under the blanket.
"Yeah… Kind of…" She was freezing, but the was no point in complaining to a child.
"I'll share…" The little girl muttered.
"Huh?" Clementine asked.
"The blanket." The little girl said. "We can share it."
The blanket was small, Clementine didn't think sharing it would work. "I'll be okay… Don't worry."
The little girl furrowed her brows. She unwrapped the blanket from around herself, revealing that she also had no clothes. The small girl placed the blanket onto both of their legs. "See… We can share it." She said again.
Clementine gave a small smile at the child's kind gesture. "Thanks…"
"You're welcome…" The little girl said.
"I'm Clementine, what's your name?" Clementine said.
"My name's Danielle." The little girl answered.
"How old are you, Danielle?" Clementine asked.
"Seven… How old are you." Danielle replied.
Clementine flinched. She was so young. She felt sick, knowing these bandits had no morals. "I'm fifteen."
"You don't look it." Danielle said.
"I know…" Clementine muttered.
The two were quiet for a few moments before Danielle asked, "Are you warm now?"
She wasn't but she appreciated Danielle's kindness. "Yeah. I'm much better. Thanks, Danielle." Clementine said. "Are you warm enough?"
"Yeah, I'm okay…" Danielle said.
"That's good." Clementine hesitantly wrapped an arm around the small girl.
Danielle tense at first before moving a bit closer. Danielle frowned as she glanced over to the bandits. "…They took me from my mom…"
"When?" Clementine asked.
"A few days ago…" Danielle said. "I miss her…"
Clementine frowned. She remembered the woman from the woods mentioning having a daughter that was taken. Danielle must have been her missing daughter. "It's okay…" Clementine said. "I'll protect you…"
"How…?" Danielle questioned.
"I… I just will. Trust me…" Clementine said.
"But… But they'll hurt you..." Danielle said.
"They already have… I'll be okay… Don't worry…" Clementine said. "Just stick close to me…"
"O-Okay…" Danielle said.
With a bit of struggle due to the darkness, Carley continued to follow the tracks until she eventually stumbled upon a camp.
She stayed back as she peered from the trees, taking a count of how many bandits she was up against. There were at least seven of them at this camp alone and she was sure they had other camp grounds.
She knew she would have to lay low and come up with a plan.
Carley kept her eyes sharp as she watched the men, trying to figure out a way to get Clementine and the young girl.
When the men finally started to turn in for the night Carley knew now was her opportunity to do something. She couldn't run out there and shoot them, she had to do something to get their attention long enough for Clementine to run.
She noticed a truck parked on the edge of the road, she could break the window and use that as a distraction.
She waited a little while longer until most of the bandits had settle down to sleep before she picked up a rock and hurled it towards the truck. It was just her luck that the rock broke a window, setting off the alarm. The shrill noise pierced the air, startling all the bandits.
She watched the men fan out to check the area. She knew it wouldn't be long before the noise brought the undead, that's exactly what she needed.
Danielle had fallen asleep surprisingly fast, she felt safe in Clementine's grip.
Clementine was glad when she noticed their captives started to head to bed as well. All except one man who stayed on guard.
Clementine glared at them. If she could get her hands on one of their guns, she would shoot them all without hesitation.
The girl thought about approach them man who was on guard and literally fighting him for that gun, but the fact that Danielle was at her side kept her from doing so.
It would be a bad move, Clementine knew that.
Suddenly she heard a crash, followed by the loud blaring of the truck alarm.
The bandits were startled awake, as was Danielle.
"What the fuck's happening?!" One of the men exclaimed.
"Turn that damn thing off!" Another yelled.
The bandits started arguing as they tried to figure what had set the alarm off.
"Wha-What's going on?" Danielle asked, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.
Clementine could only think of one person to have done this. Carley. "We're being saved."
It didn't take long for the loud noise of the truck alarm to start drawing walkers.
With the bandit's focused on the undead, Carley took the chance to rush into their camp to Clementine.
"Carley!" The teen exclaimed. "I knew you were alive."
"We gotta get moving, Clem. Come on." Carley helped the girl to her feet.
"I… We don't have any clothes." Clementine stammered, motioning to Danielle.
Carley looked to the little girl who was clinging to Clementine and huffed. She unzipped her coat and offered it to Danielle who put it on.
Clementine was able to wrap the blanket around herself, while keeping a protective grip on little Danielle.
"Let's go. Hurry." Carley said.
"Hey! They're getting away!" One of the bandit shouted, noticing them making an escape. With his attention on them, he didn't notice the walker creeping up behind him until it was too late.
"Run!" Carley ordered to the two girls.
Both injured, Clementine and Danielle found it hard to run. It didn't matter much though since the walkers soon completely had the bandit's attention.
The trio managed to get away from the bandit's camp, but now the walkers were their main concern.
Carley shot and killed as many walkers as possible, they kept moving, avoiding the walkers as they did.
Clementine continued stumbling along, feeling lightheaded from blood lost.
She didn't noticed Danielle anxiously looking around, or when the child lost grip on her hand.
"T-They're gonna get us!" Danielle cried, throwing her hands over her ears. "There's too many off them!"
"Danielle, you have to be quiet." Clementine muttered in a weak voice.
"I'm scared!" Danielle exclaimed.
Clementine's eyes widened when she noticed a walker inching closer to the seven-year old. Without hesitation, she rushed forward and punched the creature, causing it to stumble back. The blanket dropped to the ground, but Clementine was too focused on Danielle to care.
"Are you okay?" She asked Danielle.
Danielle gave a small nod.
"You gotta stay close to me." Clementine said.
"S-Sorry…." Danielle said.
"It's-" Clementine cut herself off with a gasp when she felt the same walker she had pushed back before grab hold of her arm. Before she had the chance to tug away she felt its teeth sink into her skin. Her heart pounded, her eyes wide. She had been bit.
Clementine snapped back into reality and kicked the walker back, breaking from its grip.
Carley who had been shooting approaching walkers turned and noticed Clementine struggling.
"Clementine, out of the way!" Carley called to the girl.
Carley aimed her weapon in the direction of the walker, the gun clicked over and over again before she realized that nothing was coming out. "Shit!"
Remembering the knife she had, she pulled it out her pocket and slide it to Clementine.
Clementine quickly looked to the blade and grabbed it, using it to kill the walker.
Clementine caught her breath and drifted her gaze to the spot on her arm where she had been bitten.
Bitten… She was bitten.
She wanted to cry. She knew what happened when someone got bit.
"Clementine, are you okay?" Carley asked.
"I… I'm fine…" Clementine quickly dropped her arm. She wasn't ready to die… Not yet.
Danielle watched her with an expression that Clementine couldn't read, but the child said nothing. Clementine was sure she knew about the bite, she had been right beside her when it happened.
"We… We can keep moving…" Clementine called to Carley, picking up the blanket with a shaky hand. She wrapped it around her body which was trembling uncontrollably.
They continued walking for a while.
Clementine could feel her muscles start to quiver with each step she took. Her head ached, as if she had been hit by hammer.
Within only a matter of a few minutes she was starting to feel like shit. Still, she forced herself to push forward.
She tried to convince herself that she was fine, but she knew that wasn't the case.
She was bitten… There was only one outcome for people when bitten and Clementine wasn't looking forward to it.