Kindness
What if Carver was a good guy?
No one expected the world to end. Okay, he knew that was a bit harsh, but what's the first thing you think of when you say 'apocalypse'? His group tried to look at things optimistically, but now that George was advocating for 'survival of the fittest', especially since Rebecca and Alvin were expecting a baby.
George had Troy, Tavia and at least three others in his camp, the rest were still in his camp, but he had Bonnie find a cabin not too far away, so that the two, and any who went with them, would be safe. Just as an extra precaution.
"You should've killed them when you had the chance!" Snarled George, getting a tired look from Bill.
"And why, exactly, would I do that?" Questioned Bill, frowning at George, "Killing them would be a waste of bullets, and run the risk of more of them turning."
"Then pickaxe them."
Bill sighed, looking around the rest of the community, "Perhaps it should be put to a vote, all those in favour of killing valuable members of this community?"
George and his five all raise their hands.
"I think I'll spare you the embarrassment." Muttered Bill, turning away, only stopping when he heard a gun cocking, "Are you seriously going shoot me?"
"You're weak, Bill." Sneered George, just before Bill knocked him over the head with a crowbar. Bill stepped closer to George, before driving the pointed end through George's knees.
"Take him outside, let the lurkers get him." Growled Bill, before looking at Troy and Tavia's small group, "Does anyone else have anything to say?"
There were mutters of no and hasty apologies, before Bill stalked off. He heard George screaming as the undead devoured him. He sighed through his nose, the end of the world was unexpected, but they had to soldier on. They had to.
K
Bill growled as he saw the cabin, of all the places to choose, why did it have to be here?! He caught sight of Sarah waving a gun around in a window, that was a headache waiting to happen for Carlos. He walked up to the front door and knocked, after a moment, noting that he probably scared Sarah, he opened the door and tried not to look shocked at the sight of a little girl, probably no older than twelve, with her hand out, presumably to lock the door.
"Hello." Greeted Bill, getting a frown from the girl.
The girl glared up at him, before Sarah appeared behind her, "Bill!"
"Sarah," Greeted Bill, before looking at the girl, "Who's your friend?"
"This is Clementine."
The girl, Clementine closed her eyes and groaned. Bill raised an eyebrow and frowned at her, "Where'd she come from?"
"Luke and Pete found her yesterday." Answered Sarah, getting another groan from Clementine.
"They just found her?" Asked Bill, his frown deepening, "Where?"
"In the woods, a Dog bit her."
"A… dog bit her?" Questioned Bill, "I take it your dad treated her."
"No…they put her in the shed at first, they thought it was a Lurker bite." Answered Sarah, making Clementine cover her face with her hand.
Bill looked at the girl, as far as he was concerned, she acted much older than she was.
"Where's everyone else?" Asked Bill, after a moments silence.
"Clem, Pete and Nick went down to the stream to get some fish. They were gone for a while, then Clem came back and said they got pinned down by walkers and they then went out to find them." Said Sarah, making Bill close his eyes.
"Shit, they left you here alone?" Asked Bill, looking at them.
"I can handle myself." Said Clementine, looking up at Bill.
Bill and Clementine silently stared at each other, Bill recognised the look in her eyes, it was the same look he'd developed. He didn't like to admit it, it was the look of a killer, but only out of necessity. He raised an eyebrow and gave her a small smirk, "I don't doubt it."
Clementine blinked, she tilted her head to the side slightly and narrowed her eyes up at Bill. Bill looked over towards the kitchen, "Why don't we wait for them to get back?"
Clementine didn't say anything, but didn't protest when Bill guided her and Sarah into the kitchen.
"Oh, and Sarah," Said Bill, making the girl look up at him, "I'm going to need that gun."
Sarah slowly handed the firearm to him, allowing Bill to take it and place it on the table, "Clementine was showing me how to use it."
"You know how to use one of these?" Asked Bill, looking at Clementine.
"Yeah."
"What are the basic rules of using one?"
"It's just a thing, point it away from you and don't let it out of your sight."
"Okay, that's two," Responded Bill, frowning, "There are four, or five, if you include the one Clementine added. The first one is, keep it pointed in a safe direction, the second is treat all firearms as if they are loaded, the third is keep your finger off the trigger, unless you're planning to shoot, we don't want any misfiring, and the fourth is to be sure of your target and what's beyond it. Clementine's given us a good one, always make sure you know where it is."
"Why are there so many rules?" Asked Sarah, getting a chuckle out of Bill.
"There were lots of accidents with these things before they even considered making rules to regulate them." Answered Bill, after a moment, "There were…instances of children, sometimes no older than you two, taking them into schools and attacking people with them."
"Why would they do that?" Asked Sarah, looking up at Bill.
"I don't know. Sometimes they were bullied, other times they wanted kill themselves, but didn't want to die alone. And other times… other times they just wanted to hurt people, because they could." Sighed Bill, running a hand down his face, "They weren't nice people, unfortunately, some of them thrived in this."
Bill then fixed Clementine with a look, "Now, what situation with Nick and Pete, down at the stream, what happened?"
"We found some bodies down by the stream, they weren't walkers, they were other survivors, but they had all been shot." Said Clementine, "Then, we had some walkers attack us and Pete got bit. I, I went to Nick, and we got out of there. I left Nick in a drink shack and came back here, then they all went out to find him."
Bill stared at Clementine, before looking at Sarah and back at Clementine, "How long have you been alone?"
"About three days, you haven't met anyone called Christa, have you?"
Bill frowned, "You call your mother by her first name?"
"Christa's not my mom."
Bill's frown deepened, "What happened to your parents?"
"They died."
The door opening prevented Bill from asking any further questions. Luke froze when Bill looked at him, "Bill?"
"Luke," Said Bill, standing up, "I heard there was some trouble at the stream."
K
"So, to recap," Said Bill, looking around the group, "Luke and Pete found a girl with a chunk missing from her arm, who only showed symptoms of blood loss, and you all chose to put her in the shed in case it was a lurker bite."
"It was so badly mangled…" Protested Carlos, weakly.
"You know the difference between an animal and lurker bite," Sighed Bill, looking around, "if the blood loss didn't kill her, the infection would've."
"We thought she was dangerous." Said Alvin, "There've been bodies turning up all over the place."
"I doubt a half-starved girl would've been able to take any of you out." Objected Bill, looking at him.
"She had more than enough opportunities to," Said Luke, "When she was getting the supplies to patch herself up, she could've taken anyone of us out."
Bill looked around the group, before glancing towards the door, "We've been scouting around, bringing survivors to the community, we'll be heading back tomorrow, we can find Nick and meet up with Bonnie."
Everyone quietly nodded, as Bill ran his hand down his face, "When we get back, Alvin, Rebecca, I'm going to leave Clementine in your care."
"What?" Asked Alvin, shocked.
"We can't watch her; this baby is due any day now." Protested Rebecca, getting a small nod from Bill.
"Clementine's already shown that she can handle herself," Reasoned Bill, "I'm not asking you to shelter her or make her your daughter, I want you two to get her to lower her guard and get her to be a little more open."
The pair were silent, before Bill looked at Luke, "Where'd you find her?"
"In the forest, she was soaked through," Answered Luke, looking at Bill, "as if she was swimming or something."
Bill frowned.
K
Bill frowned at the back of Nick's head, they'd found him drunk in the drink shack that Clementine had left him in. He could hear Rebecca trying to bond with Clementine, only getting one- or two-word answers, he suspected that Clementine was in a hump because her gun was taken off her. Which he could understand, for the most part, since it meant she'd have to rely on others for protection.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Asked Luke, watching Rebecca and Clementine's interaction, "They don't seem to be getting along."
"Let's leave it for a bit, before jumping to conclusions." Said Bill, frowning when Clementine stopped.
Clementine slowly made her way over to a group of trees, before poking her head through a gap. Bill and Luke walked up behind her, freezing when they saw her staring at an ice-pick.
"What's that?" Asked Luke, making Clementine jump.
"It's an ice-pick." Answered Clementine, leaning over and picking it up.
A low growl made Luke and Bill freeze, before both turned and looked at a walker that was slumped against one of the trees. The remains of a blonde-haired woman sat slumped against a tree, Clementine clearly recognised her because she froze and started gripping the ice-pick tightly. The walker reached its arms out, attempting to grab them. Bill wondered why it hadn't stood up, before noticing, what looked like, a sword keeping it pinned to the tree.
Clementine took a couple steps forward, before driving the ice-pick into the walker's temple. Luke and Bill watched Clementine.
"I'm sorry, Molly." Whispered Clementine, before turning and walking away.
"Grab the sword, it could be useful." Said Bill, going to follow Clementine.
Luke nodded and started to pull the sword from the tree. Bill followed Clementine to Alvin and Rebecca.
"Everything alright, Clem?" Asked Alvin, Bill heard Clementine swallow.
"Found a walker. It was someone I knew." Bill frowned at how cold Clementine's voice was.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Asked Alvin, Bill let a small flame of hope ignite in his chest.
"No."
And that put it out.
K
Bill adjusted the strap of the rifle he'd taken from Nick. He didn't want to spark any conflicts with other groups because of the younger man's itchy trigger finger. Luke and Clementine had gone ahead, opting to handle with any people in a cabin on the other side.
After about twenty minutes, they heard a gunshot. Almost immediately, the group was rushing to the bridge. They saw Luke grappling with a Lurker, a hooded man shooting at some other Lurkers and Clementine dangling below the bridge, shimmying away from a Lurker that was stuck in the bridges supports. Swearing, Bill aimed the rifle he'd taken from Nick and took out a couple of the Lurkers, just as Clementine managed to grab the back of the Lurker's head and pulled it free, before letting it fall. Clementine looked up and found the barrel of a rifle pointing at her.
"Grab it." Said Bill, prompting Clementine to grab the gun.
After pulling her up, Bill checked her for any bites and, after not finding any, looked at the hooded man.
"Thanks." Said Bill, looking the man over.
The man looked at the group, "Don't mention it. Name's Matthew."
Bill nodded, "I'm Bill, these are Luke, Nick, Carlos, Sarah, Alvin, Rebecca and Clementine." He pointed to each member as he listed them off.
"The rest of my group's up at the Ski Lodge." Said Matthew, "Give me a minute and I'll take you up."
K
Bill looked around at the Ski Lodge grounds, he made note of the wind turbine. If they got a wall and some gates, they could be a successful community. They'd have a slight issue with food and other supplies, but trade and some greenhouses could fix that.
"What can you tell us about your group?" Asked Luke, getting a glance from Matthew.
"There's four of us," Said Matthew, looking forwards, "Me, my partner Walter, there's Sarita and her boyfriend-"
"What the fuck?!" Said a bearded man with a Floridian accented voice, "Matthew, who the hell are these people?"
Bill noticed Clementine forcing her way towards the front of the group. The girl stopped when she spotted the rest of the Lodge group.
"Holy shit." Gasped Clementine, making the bearded man freeze and stare at her.
"Clementine?"
Clementine rushed forwards as if to tackle the man. In the blink of an eye, the man was crouching and enveloping the girl in a hug. Clementine pulled back slightly and looked around, "Is Christa here?"
The man frowned, "I'm sorry, darlin', I ain't seen hide nor hair of her since Savannah."
Clementine swallowed, before burying her face in the man's chest.
"Oh," Matthew looked at Bill, "that's Kenny."
K
Bill looked around the Ski Lodge, frowning at the windows. He'd offer some materials to help board them up to keep the dead out, after Clementine and Kenny finished catching up.
"We've heard about a group attacking various groups." Said Bill, looking at Walter, "Our community has some more rigid defences. If you'd like, we can put you up until this place is better defended."
"I'd have to take it up with Kenny." Said Walter, glancing at Kenny, "It's strange seeing someone, other than Sarita, make him smile."
Bill nodded, glancing at Luke, who seemed tense.
"What the fucking shit?!" Yelled Kenny, getting everyone everyone's attention.
"Kenny, it's not a big deal." Said Clementine, as Kenny glared at the Cabin group.
"I'm just gonna talk to them." Snarled Kenny, getting up, "Who is their right fucking mind locks a child in a shed in the middle of winter?!"
Clementine winced as Kenny stalked over to Luke.
"Hey, man," Defended Luke, "We thought she was bit-"
"How the fuck do you confuse a dog bite with a Walker bite?!"
"We weren't sure about a dog," Said Luke, as Kenny fumed at him, "We thought she was making it up."
"Pete didn't." Muttered Clementine, looking at the floor.
"We didn't know her." Said Rebecca, making Bill internally groan.
"We don't know you." Snarled Kenny, glaring at them, "Maybe we should hole y'all down in the shack."
"Kenny." Sarita put a hand on his arm, the man took a deep breath and looked back at Clementine. The girl had gone from picking at the seat to fiddling with a cigarette lighter.
"She keeps asking about someone called Christa." Said Bill, capitalising on the peace, "Anything you can tell us about her?"
"She and her boyfriend joined our original group a few days before Lee got bit." Said Kenny, glancing at Clementine, "She must've travelled with them, before Omid, Christa's boyfriend, got shot. She skipped over the rest to talk about that dog."
"I can't believe she killed that dog." Said Luke, getting a scowl from Kenny.
"Lemme guess, you're for keepin' Walkers in one piece too." Scoffed Kenny, "A dog that bites you, it can't be trusted."
"He was hungry." Said Clementine, appearing next to Sarita.
Kenny sighed, dropping his head, "That's not the point, Clem. You didn't give him food before eating."
"Yes, I did."
Kenny gave Clementine a sideways look, "Well, that clears that up."
"What?"
"Clem, you gave him food and then took it away." Explained Kenny, calming, "You said he'd been starved when you found him. You don't get between a dog and its food."
"Oh."
"But, that's besides the point," Dismissed Keny, glaring at Luke, "What the fuck were y'all thinking locking her in a fucking shed? It's winter, if blood loss and infection didn't kill her, the cold would've."
The Cabin group had the decency to look ashamed, as Luke nervously coughed.
"All that aside," Said Bill, looking around them, "My offer still stands, especially with that Negan character Troy's told me about."
"I've met Negan." Said Clementine, getting a frown from Bill.
"When?"
"A few weeks ago." Answered Clementine, "Christa was caught stealing from his group."
"And she survived?"
"I stabbed him in the side."
Bill stared at Clementine, "How old are you?"
"I dunno."
"She's prepubescent, if that helps." Supplied Carlos, getting a snort from a member of the group.
K
"Bonnie, what are you doing here?"
The woman shifted, "We were scouting, like you said."
"The meet up is a few miles north of here," Frowned Bill, "which is where I told y'all to stay."
"We've kept looking for other survivors." Defended Bonnie, shifting.
Bill frowned, Bonnie only shifted like that if something was wrong, before freezing, "What's Troy fucking done now?"
"He, er," Bonnie coughed, "he stole weapons and supplies from another group."
Bill groaned, "Right, get them and bring them here, I'm going to try and convince the group here to get in the trucks."
"Do you think it's gonna work?"
"I hope so."
/*/
It worked. Barely. All Bill had to do was mention the Saviours and Clementine was suddenly on board, which managed to get Kenny and his group on board. So, here they were, sitting in the back of a truck, with Bill glaring at a man in a camo jacket.
The group was silent, Nick uncomfortably clearing his throat as different intervals.
"Are we there yet?" Asked Clementine and Sarah together.
"No."
There was silence for a grand total of fifteen seconds, before Clementine asked again.
K
Bill sat in his chair in the manager's office at Howe's. Clementine and Sarah, after their brief rendition of an exchange from Shrek, had eventually fallen asleep, leaving them in silence for the rest of the journey.
Vince had given him a brief report on what happened while he was gone, they'd picked up a couple and their son, a boy named Gill that was roughly Clementine's age, They'd managed to seal the yard from the wind, so they just had to work on the heating, they had someone to make bullets and Becca had learned when to keep her mouth shut.
Groaning, Bill leaned forwards, he hoped that the Saviours didn't follow them. If they knew it was one of his that stole from them. Hopefully, things would pan out safely for them.
Next Story: What if the Motel Group left the Motor Inn earlier?