Karma

What if Howes fell before Carver returned from the ski lodge? Prompt Submitted by Worker72 on AO3

Requests On Hold

The journey to wherever Carver was taking them was had in, mostly, silence. Clementine thought she heard either Carver or the other guy gasp, before they abruptly stopped. There was some silence, before the back of the truck opened and six people scrambled to get in. The last guy, an Asian man, pulled the door shut and slumped against it.

"Jesus Christ." Swore the man, looking around, "Oh, hi."

The two groups stared at each other, before a girl a couple years older than Clementine spoke, "We should throw them to the Walkers."

"Becca!" Scolded a brunette.

"What?" Demanded Becca, "We should!"

Clementine, completely lost on what to say, just looked at Carlos, "Who're these guys?"

"Bad news." Responded Carlos, getting a frown from Clementine.

"How bad?" Asked Clementine, "Bad like Carver or bad like Negan?"

"Who the hell is Negan?" Demanded Nick, "You've mentioned that name twice now."

"He's the leader of a group, call themselves the Saviors." Said a man with part of his ear missing, "Bad news. He killed a friend of mine, smashed his skull in with a bat."

"I stabbed him." Said Clementine, after a moment.

There was a beat of silence, before the man with the damaged ear broke the silence, "Damn."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Demanded a black teen, as the man with the damaged ear walked over to Clementine, "What are you doing?!"

Clementine watched as the guy unbound her hand, before doing the same for the others, "Name's Mike."

"Mike!" Scolded the Asian man.

"What?" Demanded Mike, "We're all in the same boat! There's no point in keeping them tied up."

"What happened?" Asked Alvin, after a moment, looking around.

"A massive herd." Said Mike, "There was this woman, Jane, she was found walking amongst Walkers, couple days later, Howes is overrun."

"I…" the brunette looked around, "I heard Bill tell Bonnie to take the trucks to Parker's Run."

"The hell is that?" Demanded Kenny, glaring at them.

"Old civil war site, not too far from here." Answered Mike, looking around.

"We stopped off there when we left the first time." Said Rebecca, looking at them.

"Maybe we can leave you there." Muttered Becca, scowling.

"I don't know what your problem is," Said Clementine, already decided that she didn't like the girl, "but you don't have to keep being a bitch."

Becca flushed and glared at Clementine, just as the truck came to a stop and Bonnie opened the back of the truck.

"Who untied them?" Asked Bonnie, as Troy and Carver joined her.

"Mike did." Said the black teen, almost immediately.

"Russell." Sighed the brunette, "They're unarmed and practically harmless."

Carver frowned before jerking his head, "Vince, I want you to take the girls and teach them how to deal with Lurkers."

"Sarah's—" Carlos was cut off.

"You coddling that girl is going to get her killed." Said Carver, "Maybe we should just leave her to be eaten, is that what you want Carlos?"

Carlos's mouth snapped shut, as Carver looked at Troy, "Go with them, if anyone tries anything, kill them."

Kenny snarled at him, as Troy got in the truck and grabbed Becca and shoving her out of the truck, followed by Sarah, Clementine ducked under his arm and hopped out of the truck by herself, giving Carver a glare, the side of her face giving a throb of pain.

Carver looked at the other, "The rest of you, I want you to keep an eye on the perimeter and watch them."

Carver's group nodded, shifting as they handled their guns.

"Now," Said Carver, looking at them, "it seems things have changed."

K

"Okay," Said Vince, as the girls watched him, "one of our newer guys used this trick," he whistled, getting a Walker's attention, "as soon you get close, kick its leg," Vince struck the Walker's leg, sending it to the ground, "then, put it down." Vince drove a knife into the Walker's skull, "Now, you guys give it a try."

Sarah and Becca didn't move, making Clementine slowly approach the Walker. The creature reached out for Clementine, prompting the girl to kick its knee, sending it to the ground, where Clementine jammed a knife into its head.

"Good work." Complimented Vince, "Sarah, why don't you give it a try?"

Sarah took a hesitant step towards a Walker, only to be forcefully shoved by Becca. Landing on her front, Sarah felt the Walker grab at her hair, before a single gunshot echoed through the air and the Walker fell over, head. Sarah slowly got up, expecting to see Troy aiming his gun, only to find the Clementine had swiped a pistol from Troy's belt and was currently charging towards Becca. Dropping the knife and gun, Clementine leapt onto Becca and started punching her. Rushing over, Vince grabbed Clementine, as Becca tried to drive her arm into her face and getting a bite from the girl.

Vince hauled Clementine off Becca, looking at the girl as she tried to scramble away from Clementine. Wincing at the black eye that had started forming, Vince looked at Troy, "Let's take them back to the others."

Nodding, the two men led the girls back to Parker's Run, Troy grabbing the dropped gun and knife as he went.

K

Carver didn't bother looking at them when they got back, focusing his attention on a Russian guy that had turned up. He'd been carrying a bag full of drugs, which Carver had taken, while he'd been yelling about how the drugs were for his sister, and they were not nice people. Carver didn't blink as he started beating the guy with the butt of one of the rifles they'd taken from that Ski lodge. The guy's yells turned into screams and grunts, before Carver kicked him and ordered Russell to throw the guy off the roof of the visitor centre.

Glancing at the visitor centre, Carver looked at Bonnie, "Get those shops open and bind their wrists. I'm taking the truck."

A couple of hours later, Clementine and her group were sitting in an abandoned gift shop, with Shel, Russell, Becca and Wyatt guarding them, while the rest of the group went with Carver to salvage supplies from Howe's.

Russell had gone off somewhere, before a scuffle was heard and the teen returned with a restrained Luke. Not long after that, Carver returned with more supplies, and some more people. Three of them were restrained and we put with the other prisoners, Carver smirking when he saw Luke. He didn't say anything, but he ordered one of the new people, Tavia, to take the kids out and teach them how to fight Walkers.

One guy, Reggie, was struggling to carry the supplies, stumbled around with his singular arm, before he tripped and sent the supplies to the ground. Carver ended up calling Tavia and the kids back, before he executed Reggie with a shotgun blast to the gut. Carlos tried to move to help him, but Carver threatened to have Sarah harmed if he moved.

Reggie wheezed and groaned, before he died. Carver looked around, before his eyes settled on Clementine, "Put him down."

Clementine swallowed, shakily taking Carver's revolver. Looking down at the body, Clementine was worried that she'd see Lee. She didn't. Instead, she saw Ben. Taking a deep breath, Clementine aimed the gun at the slowly reanimating body of Reggie and pulled the trigger. Emotionlessly, Clementine held the gun out to Carver, who took it back.

"That came to you easily." Said Carver, as Clementine walked away.

"It's not the first time I've done it." Was Clementine's emotionless response.

K

Carver sent some of his people out and they came back with more weapons and supplies. Carver had decided that Clementine would 'help' Tavia teach the other kids how to fight Walkers. The man, while they were gone, decided to beat Alvin in front of everyone, leaving him at death's door.

Again, he ordered Clementine to put him down. Alvin's breathing was laboured and one of his eyes was swollen shut. Clementine was more hesitant to shoot Alvin, mainly on account of how she actually knew him.

"He could be useful." Tried Clementine, not looking at Carver's offered gun.

"While paralysed?" Asked Carver, smirking, "He can't walk."

Clementine swallowed, looking at Rebecca, before she took the gun from Carver. Shakily aiming it at Alvin's head, Clementine hesitated, then she pulled the trigger.

K

Carver had them go to Howe's a couple of weeks later, clearing out Walkers and securing the fallen community. Rebecca had given birth, a boy which she named after Alvin. Clementine had kept some distance from the Cabin group, especially since Nick and Carlos started treating her coldly, she mainly stayed near Kenny and Sarita. Carver had started watching over the Walker lessons, especially since he heard that Clementine and Becca got into routine fights.

Ducking behind a shelving unit, Clementine peeked around the side, spotting Carver with a Walker silently stumbling up behind him. She noticed that Luke, Carlos and Nick were an aisle over, given that she could hear them talking.

"Why do you keep bringing this up?" Asked Luke, sounded exasperated.

"We can leave with a decent number of supplies," Said Carlos, "they won't notice that we've gone until this place is cleared."

"How'll we get the other's in on it?" Asked Luke, "Since Carver's got people watching Sarah, Rebecca and AJ."

Clementine felt a little hurt that Luke didn't mention her name.

"He's got Bonnie watching them, you can convince her." Said Carlos, as Clementine looked back at the Walker stumbling up behind Carver.

"How'll we get Clementine away from him?" Asked Luke, getting a scoff from Nick.

"We don't." Said Nick, "She's joined him, you saw her kill Reggie and Alvin. We're cutting her loose."

"Like we cut you loose after Matthew?" Retorted Luke, a dangerous edge in his voice.

"Matthew wasn't part of our group." Argued Nick, "Clementine isn't either."

"She's dangerous." Agreed Carlos, getting a frustrated sigh from Luke.

"Yeah, and you two are the leading authority on that, aren't you?" Snapped Luke, "A guy who'd rather his daughter dead and the idiot that shouldn't be let anywhere near a gun."

"Really?" Growled Nick, "You and Uncle Pete should've left her to die."

"You should've been the one that got eaten by those Lurkers at the river!" Snarled Luke, "Or are you forgetting that Clem saved your life?!"

"If you're any louder, you're going to get the attention of the Walker creeping up on Carver!" Whisper-Yelled Clementine, getting their attention, "Or worse, get Carver's attention."

The three men stopped talking and looked through the shelves, spotting Clementine.

"How…" Nick swallowed, "How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough."

Nick tried to say something, when the Walker reached Carver, sinking its teeth into the back of his neck.

"Finally." Grumbled Clementine, rushing out and dealing with the Walker. Making sure everyone saw the bite mark on the back of Carver's neck, Clementine shot him in the back of the head. Another two gunshots were heard, with Tavia and Troy being killed by Vince and Kenny.

There was a moment of silence, before more fighting broke out, with Vince's group joining Luke's and Kenny's, they quickly killed the remainder of Carver's group, only receiving some minor wounds in the process.

"I thought we were waiting until they were asleep." Said Vince, walking up to them.

"I saw a Walker coming up behind Carver." Shrugged Clementine, before a gunshot pierced the air. Clementine let out a short grunt, before everything went black.

Luke, after recovering from the shock, grabbed Nick's gun, "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"What?" Scoffed Nick, "You heard Carlos, she's dangerous."

"That fucker better give me a good fucking reason," Snarled Kenny, storming up to them, "before I rip his guts out!"

Faced with both an angry Luke and an angry Kenny, Nick looked towards Carlos for support, only to see the man checking Clementine.

"She'll live." Called Carlos, "It went straight through her shoulder. It didn't hit anything, so she'll just need some stitches."

K

Clementine groaned, before sitting up, grabbing her shoulder with a wince. Looking around, Clementine saw that she was still in Howe's, before she swung her legs off the bed she'd been placed on. Clementine walked towards the door, before she slowly opened it and looked outside. She saw Jane and Luke doing something, frowning, Clementine snuck closer. Jane was straddling Luke's hips and was moving up and down. Clementine tilted her head, "What are you doing?"

Luke and Jane hastily detangled themselves, trying to cover themselves up. Clementine looked between them and was about to leave before she heard Kenny's voice behind her.

"What the fuck are you two doing?!" Demanded Kenny, glaring at them, "You were supposed to keep an eye on Clementine!"

"She's awake." Said Jane, gesturing to Clementine.

"Were they having sex?" Asked Clementine, looking up at Kenny.

Kenny groaned, before leading Clementine away from the couple, there were a couple of people walking around, giving Kenny and Clementine a brief wave.

"We're taking over the place." Said Kenny, as he guided Clementine through the building, "We've set up a council, going through the supplies and stuff. We're gonna get some people and work on fixing the walls those Walkers knocked down."

Clementine quietly nodded, as Kenny continued, "We've got some new people, from a trailer park not far from here, one's a teacher, so you and the other kids are gonna be getting some classes."

Clementine nodded, looking around at some people, before looking out at the carpark, she saw some RVs and some trucks. A some of the people were lifting some fences up and positioning the vehicles in front of them.

"We've got a couple of greenhouses and solar panels," Said Kenny, as they reached an office of some sort, "So we'll have some food and power."

Clementine followed Kenny into the office, spotting Rebecca, Vince, Wyatt and Carlos. Frowning, Clementine looked around, "Where's Nick?"

"He's wind proofing the yard." Said Vince, "Mike and Bonnie are with him. There are some who think he should be cut loose."

"Why?" Asked Clementine, looking at them.

"Clem," Said Rebecca, slowly, "Do you remember how you got shot?"

"One of Carver's guys got me." Said Clementine, "Didn't they?"

"Nick shot you." Said Vince, "Would've killed you if his aim hadn't been off."

Clementine stared at them, "What'll happen to him?"

The adults shared a look, before Wyatt spoke, "We don't know. Given that Luke told us that Nick shot a guy from Kenny's group, and he tried to kill you, some think everyone would be safer if he wasn't here."

"Clem," Said Rebecca, gently, "do you feel safe with Nick around?"

K

Sarita looked up from her patient towards some of the other wounded, Russell had been shot in the side, while Shel had been hit in the leg and Becca had a bullet graze her left cheek before it went through her ear.

One of the newer 'recruits' that Carver had inducted into his group, Randy, who'd been brought in with his wife, Patricia, and their adopted son, Gill. Randy had the unfortunate position next to Vince and in front of Clementine when Nick shot her. The shot had gone straight through Clementine's shoulder and into Randy's diaphragm.

The man's breathing had been laboured, getting a sigh from Sarita. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Randy was on borrowed time. Discharging the rest of the patients, Sarita walked up to the manager's office and knocked on the door, before letting herself in.

She saw they were talking to Clementine, but Sarita chose to look away from the girl, "Randy's not improving. He doesn't have much longer left."

Vince sighed, "Okay, can you take Clementine? We've got a lot to discuss."

Sarita nodded, before guiding Clementine out of the room, leaving the small council to talk.

K

Clementine watched as Nick was handed a gun and a knife, Randy had been hit by the bullet that'd gone through her. He'd died the night before, with Sarita putting him down before he could turn. The council had decided that Nick should go, they gave him a bag of supplies and a gun and a knife. The man had tried to get the others to let him stay but couldn't get them to change their mind.

Spotting Clementine, Nick gave her a dark glare and started to walk away, before abruptly turning and firing a single shot back at them. Clementine felt something hit her, sending her against a shelf unit. Almost automatically, Clementine drew her own gun and fired back at him, hitting him in the shoulder, before someone fired a shotgun into Nick's gut.

Running over, Sarita carefully examined Clementine's new bullet wound, "Carlos, this one's in her collarbone."

An hour later, they'd gotten the bullet out of Clementine's collar bone, Kenny and the other council members made sure that Nick was put down before he turned. Looking down at Clementine's sleeping form, Kenny looked at Carlos. He didn't trust the man, not since Luke told him that the doctor had been conspiring with Nick. In all reality, they didn't need him, Sarita was a nurse, and the man had tried to block any expansion and purging efforts.

Howe's was going to hold for the winter, but come the warmer months they'd make a more solid decision on if they were going to stay or go. Some of the people from the trailer park mentioned a boarding school in West Virginia, a couple with a turtle, they mentioned that their son was there. Kenny glanced at some of the newer arrivals, a banned baseball player, his sister-in-law and her two stepchildren. By all rights, they could just load themselves into their vehicles and go up to West Virginia, but given how the roads had started to freeze over, Kenny wasn't confident that they could just go and not have an accident.

Sighing, Kenny left the make-shift infirmary, they had a lot of work to do.