Disclaimer: The Walking Dead Series is NOT my work. It is owned by TellTale, all rights, commendation and acknowledgement goes to them.
However, "Derek Brooks" is my own fictional character and apparently the only thing I own in this story.
Chapter 6 – Road to Redemption
Clementine, Derek, and AJ waited by the bottom floor as Marlon and the rest of the teens went upstairs to discuss about what happened outside with Brody. The two young adults dread about the possible outcomes. The first one that came in mind was being told to leave. No questions. No fuss. They still weren't sure if they wanted to stay but if they were forced to leave, it would be a death trap. With the car gone, supplies low, and with no map or even landmarks to guide them, they'd be walking through a thick forest blind and without rest.
The second one was that they'd probably be imprisoned but they doubted it. They had their fair share of getting imprisoned and, no offense, but they hardly look the type to keep prisoners. At least, they hoped they're not. They can't be too sure about anything nowadays.
But if there's one thing they did expect, was that they're in deep trouble with most of the residents if they learned about the little… incident. Which chances are pretty high.
"Whoa is that a real gun? Are you a cop?"
Clementine and Derek shifted their gaze towards the source and were suddenly reminded that not everyone joined the meeting. The hot-headed Mitch, and a smaller, younger teen with crooked teeth named Willy, opted to stay with them. Something about, using Mitch's words, 'keeping an eye out of anymore trouble'.
Willy stared at Derek's rifle curiously as he asked that question.
Derek chuckled. "Yes, it's a real rifle. But no, I'm not a cop. I'm a soldier."
Willy was about to say something else but Mitch spoke up before he could. "Get away from him Willy." He said. "Don't want him have any ideas." He muttered darkly.
Willy frowned but followed reluctantly. He took one last look at Derek before he took a seat right next to Mitch and fiddled with his bow absentmindedly. Derek tightened his jaw at the implications. It was a misunderstanding. Is the concept that hard to wrap that thick skull of his? He glared at the teen, his fists tightly clenched.
Clementine noticed the subtle increase in tension and dragged him away. "Don't let him get to you." She said. The two walked-away, far from hearing range and sat down. They saw AJ busying himself looking at random curios around the school. They decided to leave him be for now.
Derek tried to come up with a reply, to justify this isn't fair, to tell the other teen to give him another chance but the more he thought about it, the less it made sense. Who was he to demand a second chance when he was the one who caused all of this in the first place?
"Sorry." He sighed soundly. "It's just… just… I don't know." He struggled to find the right words. He looked to the side in frustration.
Clementine formed a sad smile. She knew that look. He remembered something bad from his past. Derek only told her very few stories when he served as a soldier. He didn't share any details but she knew the implications. He didn't like remembering those and one of those things was when people feared him. It was degrading.
"Remembering bad memories?" she timidly asked. Derek pursed his lips and looked away. After a short moment, he nodded. "Hey." She spoke softly.
Derek turned his head towards her. "You're not that person anymore." She continued.
His eyes softened at her words; hidden emotions threatened to leak out but he looked away before it did. He didn't want to worry her. "I don't know Clem…" he muttered. "After what happened this morning, I-I-I feel like I'm slipping back. I pointed my gun at them like i-i-it was the most natural thing in the world. Took them in like prisoners. Interrogated them. A-a-and when they tried to fight back? All I could think about was staying alive. Didn't matter to me if I killed them or not. I just…" he took a deep breath and sighed. "I don't know Clem. It's… hard to adjust." He finally said, his eyes closed as he remembered the things about what he did in the past.
That one last sentence reminded her that Derek was… different back then. Memories from two years ago flashed into her mind, showing a younger her and Derek. He was ruthless back then, demanding and overbearing. He would always order her around and whenever something wasn't up to his standards, he would berate her. He had a 'soldier' mindset and everything had to go as 'according to plan' as he said. There were days where she thought she'd just grab AJ and leave but she couldn't. Even though his attitude was comparable to Larry and David combined, he was also fair and honest. He kept them alive at the best of his abilities and he saved AJ and her more times than she would admit. She thanked her perseverance back then. Otherwise, she wouldn't have known that the battle-hardened soldier she met back then would turn out to be a person she was willing to depend her and AJ's life with.
Also that he was a big softie in the inside. She wouldn't say that to his face though. He'd get all pouty and refused to work.
"It takes time Derek. You'll get there eventually." She flashed a small smile.
Derek looked at her and smiled. It was a small smile but it was enough. Suddenly, it shifted into a more mischievous one. "yOu'Ll gEt ThErE EvEnTuALly." He playfully mocked her.
Clementine rolled her eyes and punched his chest softly. "Hey! I'm trying to be nice here." She said, her tone half-annoyed.
He ruffled her head through her cap. "I know, I know. I'm just playing." He chuckled.
Inside her mind, she frowned. And here's another thing: Whenever she was close to figuring him out more, he always deflected the topic with humor or a distraction. Sometimes, he just changes the topic entirely. Even after two years spending together, she still knew very little of his past, only from bits and pieces he wanted to share. She respected his privacy though, if he didn't want to talk about it then that's fine. Maybe it's just not the right time to push the topic. Especially now.
The doors above opened, grabbing everyone's attention. They watched as Ruby, Aasim, and Tenn left the room and went downstairs.
Mitch stood up and addressed them. "So. What happened?"
Ruby was the first to answer. "Marlon said to head upstairs." She turned her head towards Clementine and her company. "You guys as well." She added. They moved towards the exit.
"Where you guys going?" Mitch asked.
"Aasim needs his wounds cleaned up and Tenn is going to his room to heal up his leg." She glanced at Derek's direction when she mentioned Aasim's wounds but quickly averted her eyes away. However, the latter noticed the side glance and frowned.
Mitch and Willy moved up the stairs and towards Marlon's office. Clementine tried to follow but stopped when she noticed her friend remained seated. "Come on Derek. Let's head on up." She motioned with her head.
"I think… it's better if you head on in first." He said reluctantly.
She looked at him with concern and worry. "What's wrong?"
He waved her off. "It's not like that. Nothing's wrong. It's just… I think it would be best for them if you would handle it first. Ease them up a bit. I don't exactly have a… friendly face." He added, rubbing the prominent scar on his cheek.
"Is this about what he said?" she asked, referring to what Mitch said earlier.
"Oh no, no, no." He rapidly shook his head in disagreement. "I got over that real quick. I'm just saying it would be practical and wouldn't…. you know. Mess things up?" he shrugged nonchalantly.
She looked at him confused. "Mess things up?" she shook her head in disagreement. "You're fine. Quit your worrying." She tried to reassure him but he shook his head no, he was adamant with his decision.
"AJ and I will stay right here. Just holler if you need us." He said with finality.
Clementine wanted to say something else but Mitch cut right in. "Hey! Quit wasting our time. Come on."
She took one last look towards Derek and AJ, then followed Mitch towards the office.
"Shouldn't we go with her?"
Derek turned around to see AJ's worried look. He ruffled the boy's hair. "There's no need. She can handle it."
"What happened to sticking together?" he furrowed his eyebrows.
Derek smiled a little. It's both funny and cute that AJ gets worked up if he gets separated from Clementine. Even if it's just a couple of rooms away. "She's just upstairs AJ."
"What if she needs our help?"
Derek scoffed. Clementine was a tough girl and her fighting skills was on par with his own. She could handle herself. "I highly doubt that."
AJ folded his arms and took a seat, his mouth formed a deep frown. "Well… I don't like it."
Derek sighed deeply and looked at the room above them. "Me neither kid…" he muttered.
His head snapped towards him when he heard that. "Then shouldn't we go with her?" he asked again.
Derek sighed. He grabbed AJ by the shoulder and forced him to look at him. "Listen kid, sometimes we do small sacrifices to do the greater good. We may not like it, and sure as hell we don't agree with it. But if it helps everyone it's a small price to pay."
"I don't understand." He shook his tiny head.
Derek just patted his shoulder reassuringly. "You will eventually. Now let's just hope that everything works out."
Clementine walked through the wooden doors towards Marlon's office and she was immediately greeted by a number of familiar faces. Violet, Louis, Brody, Mitch, Willy, and Marlon. There was also another person as well. Omar was it? She didn't get a chance to meet him but thankfully she knew his name.
"Where's your friend?" Violet asked. She raised a questioning eyebrow as she noticed the lack of her partner.
"He said he'll stay outside. He didn't want to make you guys uncomfortable."
Violet scoffed and muttered under her breath. "Pussy."
Unfortunately, Clementine heard that. She glared at the teen but didn't comment on it. She's here to resolve problems, not make more.
"Actually, I think that's a good idea. I was hoping we could talk to you first." Marlon said, he pointed a finger at her, following an up-and-down motion repeatedly as he tried to remember her name. "Clementine, right?" he finally said.
She nodded.
"Good." He nodded. He shuffled some papers off his desk and set them aside. "First things first, I just want to say thanks for the help in clearing out the school."
Clementine didn't like the sound of that. From her experience, whenever someone compliments her first, it's usually followed with demands or a verbal debate. She mentally braced herself for what's to come.
"Second, I hope you don't mind answering a few questions for us. Would that be alright?"
She shook her head. "I don't mind."
"Okay." Marlon took a breath. "Where did you come from?" he asked.
That was simple. "We came from Washington D.C."
The teens widened their eyes. Washington? Like from the city? What are they doing here?
"Washington?" Marlon asked, surprised. "That's a long way from here. Why would you go here?"
"We heard there were settlements still operational. They offered work, a place to rest, the usual you know? Only it wasn't what we thought it was." Her eyes darkened and she clenched her fists. She eventually relaxed. "Then we travelled for a while, went from one place to another. Eventually we had to leave as people from different factions started fighting each other. So, we moved south."
Marlon perked up at the mention of wars but didn't comment on it. The other teens murmured with one another, their voices overlapping each other.
"There are other people in the cities?"
"Wars? Even now?"
"Not even the apocalypse stopped people trying to kill each other."
Once they all quieted down, Marlon continued. "How long did you travel here? Months? A year? Bet that took a lot of walking."
She waved her hand. "We didn't walk. We had a car and-"
"You had a car?!" Louis exclaimed, his eyes almost bulging out of its sockets.
"Louis!" All the teens scolded the teen. He muttered a quiet 'sorry'.
Marlon shook his head and focused back on Clementine. "So, you used the car and ended up by the train station, right?"
She nodded.
He then narrowed his eyes and looked at her accusingly. "So, was it you guys who fired all those shots?"
"We saw the rifle your friend of yours carried." Violet added.
The teens stared at her sternly and yet despite the overwhelming odds, Clementine didn't waver from their intense look. She stared back at them and with a determined gaze she said: "The rifle isn't ours. It belonged to the people who ambushed us by the train station when we were looking for supplies. We had to fight our way out."
The teens exchanged some looks with one another until Louis spoke up. "So, did you…?" he motioned a slicing of the throat with his thumb.
Her gaze fell down ever so slightly. "We did."
The teens murmured with one another again but it was quieter and short. Clementine didn't make much sense of it.
"Did they mention anything?" Marlon asked.
Memories from this morning flashed in her mind.
Derek kept quiet as the two strangers held him at gunpoint. At the corner of his eyes, he spotted Clementine and AJ sneaking by the derailed train. She signaled him to keep quiet.
"Hurry up. We still got those kids from that school to take care of." One of the strangers said.
She shook her head as the memory ended.
She nodded. "They did and they knew about this school. From what I heard; they were planning to go here after they were done with us."
The room exploded with gasps of fear and hushed whispers. The news of possible bandits by their doorsteps sent everyone into a state of panic. The teens wildly threw out theories after theories, each one more unbelievable than the last. The room eventually went chaotic as everybody started speaking over each other.
"Shut it!" Violet shouted at the top of her lungs.
Her voice echoed throughout the room, silencing everyone. They all looked at her in response and she blushed in embarrassment and looked away, avoiding eye contact with everybody. "J-just get your shit together o-okay?" she quietly stuttered.
The teens exchanged looks with one another and realized that panicking won't do anyone good. They all turned to their leader.
"Marlon. What should we do?" Louis asked.
The teens turned to Marlon for guidance. The look of desperation, fear, and confusion all flashed on each teen respectively. However, he didn't respond right away. There was a permanent look of horror on his face as his body froze on the spot. One could even mistake him for a corpse if it wasn't for the rapid breathing he did. Louis reached out a hand and tapped him on his shoulder.
The results were instantaneous. Marlon snapped awake with a wild look in his eyes. His head darted everywhere before settling his vision on Louis. His breathing was erratic and inconsistent.
"Woah! You alright man?" he asked in worry.
He focused his gaze on Louis then to the other teens, once he realized he was safe he slowly relaxed, his breathing calm and even. He took a deep breath and nodded. "Y-Yeah. Nothing to worry about." He coughed into his fist. "W-Why don't you guys head on out? Brody and I just need to… uhh… talk about something."
There was a confused look on each teen. If there's anything to discuss they should discuss it with them, they're a part of it right? It just made no sense. Mitch was the first one to speak up. "What about the bandits? Shouldn't we- "
"I said we'll talk about it dammit!" He slammed a fist on the table. The sound reverberated throughout the room.
Everybody jumped in shock and looked at him with a mixed look of confusion, worry, and fear. Marlon immediately regretted his outburst and looked down, clenching and unclenching his fist to calm down. Without looking up, he muttered: "Just… clean-up those corpses outside first. We'll catch up with you once Brody and I settle this whole mess. Alright?" Though the tone was neutral, there was a hint of forcefulness between it.
The teens exchanged looks of uncertainty but reluctantly obeyed their leader and left one by one. Louis stayed and looked at Marlon, his eyes full of worry. "Dude. What's bothering you? You've been like this since- "
"Don't…" he cut him off. His eyes looked grim.
Louis faltered mid-rant but continued. "You can tell me man." He pleaded.
Marlon shook his head. "It's nothing. J-just go help the others." He dismissed him.
Louis waited for his best friend to talk to him. To share things with him like they used to but Marlon was stubborn and refused to speak. After a few moments of silence, he gave up. Louis sighed sadly and left the room. Clementine was torn between staying and leaving. There were still some questions left unanswered. Should they leave? Are they in trouble? A part of her was relieved that they aren't in a serious mess but another, bigger, part of her is worried and confused on what to do now.
Marlon noticed her presence and gestured her towards the door with his head. "You too Clementine."
She couldn't help but ask. "Are we in trouble?"
Marlon opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He pursed his lips tight and shook his head. "J-just give us some time to talk about it. There's just too much to consider right now."
She nodded in understanding and reluctantly stood up from her seat and headed towards the doorway. She took one last look at them before shutting the door behind her with a click leaving the two acting leaders behind.
The door clicked shut and silence filled the room. One could assume they're in deep thought, perhaps thinking for solutions to solve this problem they have but Brody knew better. Marlon was waiting until everyone was out of earshot. To make sure no one would listen in on their conversation.
Once they felt nobody else was around, Marlon was the first to move. He turned towards Brody, an angry look in his face. "Do you have any idea how fucked we are?!" he whispered-shouted.
Brody flinched at his tone and took a step backwards. She always hated this side of Marlon. The side only she knew. This… This angry, irrational, and paranoid side of him where even the slightest things would set him off. Sometimes she wondered who was the real Marlon. The cool, confident and courageous leader everyone knew? Or this?
"You better have a good fucking idea 'cause we are fucked the moment those guys get back here." He moved towards the window, his eyes landed on the courtyard where he saw the other teens moving corpses. Every single person in this school is at risk and if he didn't have a plan…
He clenched his fists hard and turned back towards Brody. "I mean why the fuck did you bring them here? They attacked you!"
"They saved Aasim!" she countered. "W-When the raiders brought him in, I-I thought we would lose another one. I begged them to help and even though they barely knew us and yet they agreed. They saved us from those raiders and walkers even though they could've just left us there to die." She looked down, clenching her fists tightly. "W-When they got us out of there, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't leave them there." She confessed. "I-I thought if we brought them to you. You'd know what to do." She shut her eyes tight and pursed her lips. "I'm sorry!"
Marlon gritted his teeth and looked down. As much as he hated to say it, he couldn't blame her. He probably would've done the same if he was in her place. He would've welcomed them with open arms and hailed them as heroes for saving Aasim but they had to tangle up with those raiders and made everything complicated. The whole situation is fucked wherever you look at it and it's all because of those raider fucks decided to come here on the wrong day and messed with the wrong people. Now, they're stuck, knee deep, in the middle of all of it with nowhere to go. He- They wanted no part of all of this. They just wanted to be left alone.
Omar, Willy, Tenn, Mitch, Ruby, Aasim, Violet, Louis even Brody. All of them depended on him. All of their lives depended on him. He cannot fail. Not again.
"We can still salvage this." He muttered. "We… we just have to let them take those guys instead." He rummaged through his desk, looking for something in particular.
Brody snapped her eyes open; she couldn't believe her ears. They were saved not too long ago, twice she might add. This… this isn't right. "Marlon. They saved us." She tried to reason.
"Doesn't matter." He said uncaringly. "If those raiders come back you think you can ask them again for help? You think you can rely on them?" he looked at her as he said those words. She muttered no reply. "That's what I thought."
Marlon continued his search on his desk, opening drawer after drawer. His efforts were finally rewarded when he took out a secret back panel on one of the drawers revealing a portable two-way radio, a solar powered charger, and a piece of paper. He flipped the radio on but frowned when it didn't turn on.
"Shit. Looks like I had to charge this." He muttered under his breath. He cursed his luck, time is of the essence and now he has to sit through this bullshit. It's gonna take a while to get the radio charged up and running.
Marlon noticed Brody was just standing around, silent. He sighed, shaking his head. "We're…. we're done here. Tell Clementine and her friend they could stay here for a few days. Just do your part, and everything will be fine. No one gets taken."
Brody looked away, ashamed she was agreeing to this. She moved towards the door; she didn't want to stay in this room any longer than she wanted to.
"Hey."
She stopped in her tracks, mostly out of reflex rather than to hear him out sincerely.
"We're doing this to protect everyone, alright?" he said.
She nodded absentmindedly. She wasn't even paying attention at this point. All she wants at this point is just leave. She opened the door and left, bringing heavy shame and guilt along with her.
The putrid smell of rotting flesh and decay wafted through the air and across the courtyard. The stench made it almost impossible to work around, so much so that it made everyone wear a cloth mask over their face as the smell was strong enough to make them sick. Louis, Mitch, Aasim, and Omar were on corpse disposal while Ruby, Violet, Tenn, and Willy were in charge of cleaning up the bloodstains, recovering the arrows, and general clean-up.
Louis groaned as he dragged a corpse towards the gate. "Ugh… If I didn't know any better, this guy did not bathe for years." He tried to wave off the smell but it didn't work.
Mitch ignored him, mostly because he was trying his best to keep his breakfast inside. "Ugh… I'm gonna be sick." He muttered. He gagged and heaved, his throat going through the motions of vomiting but nothing came up thankfully. He shuddered at the feeling.
On another side, Omar worked quietly, minding his own business. He pulled a walker's arm, trying to get it to move but was suddenly thrown off balance and landed on his bottom when the entire arm was ripped out of its socket. He glanced between the arm and the corpse and threw the arm off him, disgusted.
Violet and the others didn't fare better either. No matter how many times they tried to wipe off the blood, it was almost impossible to get rid of it. It only got worse when the blood started spreading around as they wiped.
"Motherfucker!" Violet cursed as she tried to wipe off a splotch of coagulated blood. She tried aggressively wiping it but it only got worse. "Shit!" She threw the rag away in a fit of anger. "This is hopeless!"
"I'll say." Ruby added. There was progress on her part at least but it was slow. Extremely slow. She wiped the sweat off her brow and glanced towards Willy and Tenn. The two young boys were recovering arrows from the walker corpses. Anything that was unsalvageable was thrown away.
Derek, Clementine, and AJ sat on the stairs by the main building, unsure what to do. Derek turned towards his partner-in-crime. "So, how did the meeting go?" he asked.
Clementine clicked her tongue, a look of uncertainty in her eyes. "Well… we're not in trouble at least. I think...?" she added as an afterthought.
He raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"The whole meeting was cut-short so Brody and Marlon could talk about the whole 'bandit situation'." She air quoted with her fingers.
Derek hummed in understanding, he was about to ask something else when AJ suddenly popped into view, plopping himself on top of Derek. "Are we staying?" he asked excitedly.
The two teens pursed their lips and exchanged glances with each other. The message was clear, 'Who's telling him?'
Clementine was the first to break. "We're…. still not sure AJ."
The look of immediate sadness from the boy's face broke both of their hearts.
"AJ, I- "
The doors of the main building swung wide open, grabbing their attention. Brody scanned the area before her and her eyes landed on them. "Hey." She said solemnly. "I- Uhh… G-Great news! Marlon said you guys could stay… for a while."
Something about her tone felt… off, they couldn't put a finger on it but the news of their apparent stay overshadowed their sense of reason. Derek sighed in relief, knowing they could get some proper rest and come up with a new plan before moving out again. Clementine shared the same sentiments as well. Sleeping in a cramped car was not exactly pleasant, especially with two boys who don't exactly smell like flowers. AJ was the most excited among the three of them, he grinned widely and was visibly jumping for joy and excitement.
"Yes! Yes! You heard that Clem?"
The boy was so happy that they couldn't tell him it was only temporary. The two guardians looked at each other and they both agreed on the sentiment.
'Let him be happy.' The two communicated silently.
Brody decided to take her leave but before she could, Derek stopped her.
"Brody wait."
She paused mid-step and an unexplainable fear grasped her heart. She could feel it's beat slowly increasing the longer she stayed around them. Was it the guilt? Or was it the primal fear when she faced him? She couldn't tell.
"Let's not pretend whatever happened in the cabin didn't happen." He started and slowly approached her. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself. "I… I'm sorry." He said.
Brody was caught off guard by the sudden apology. Her eyes widened in shock but was also relieved to hear him say it. She always felt there was an unapproachable vibe around him, as if her instincts were telling her to keep away from him but seeing him apologizing to her made her rethink that. He seemed like an 'okay' guy.
"I know that I already said it earlier but I wanted it to say it personally to you." He continued. "I know words aren't enough but I was hoping we could have a fresh start." He put his hand out. "As acquaintances."
Guilt clawed through her throat and it took everything within her to not break down right there and then. Here he was willing to have a fresh start with her for the misunderstanding while she was plotting to trade them off with the raiders with Marlon. But she swallowed her guilt and shook his hand, leaving a bad taste on her mouth.
'Just do your part. Just do your part. Do this for everyone.' She kept repeating to herself.
Derek grinned at her, he looked past her shoulder towards the working teens.
"W-Why don't we help you out? Looks to me you guys would need all the help you need." He gestured towards the dozens upon dozens of walker corpses and general mess in and around the school.
"T-T-That would be great." She stuttered. It wouldn't make sense to say no.
"I'll get right on it." Derek flashed her a warm smile and left, Clementine and AJ followed behind him.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Clementine smirked at him. "You're such a people pleaser." She teased.
He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Only when I get something out of it, Clementine."
"That is?"
"Don't want them feel uncomfortable while we stay here. The last thing we need is getting our throats slit as we sleep." He muttered the last part.
"Like that one settlement we decided to stay for the night?"
Derek shuddered at the memory. "All I ever said was 'the soup was a little funny' and the next thing we knew, we were almost murdered in our sleep."
"I think we can trust them to not eat us in our sleep Derek." She smiled warmly at him. He hummed in agreement.
As they reached the courtyard, the three of them divided amongst themselves. Clementine opted to help Ruby in clean-up, AJ wanted to join with Tenn and Willy, and Derek volunteered to help with corpse disposal. The three nodded at each other and got to work.