Chapter Text
Clementine's hazel eyes fluttered open...
She was currently laying in her bed, with a roof above her head and nicely built walls around her. She looked older. Her face looked more mature and well aged, with her hair still kept short even years later. In fact, she was twenty-five now... She was a lot older since the Van Der Linde gang had happened, and all that mess in the past. Her hands came up and rubbed at her eyes, a deep-mouth yawn coming from her mouth shortly afterwards. When her hands came up from under the nice white blankets that covered her, she pushed them off and leaned up into a sitting position. Clementine rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck, looking over at the small table that sat near the bed to her right. Atop the table was an hourglass shaped vase with pretty colored flowers coming out from the top of the vase. Her eyes glanced at it for a moment and moved down to the flat surface of the table, seeing a silver watch sitting near the table. She leaned over and took the watch into her own hands, looking at the front of it.
It was the morning... Seven in the morning to be exact. It wasn't the usual time she'd woken up most mornings. She was an hour late... She thought that to be odd. She sat there for a long moment, before sighing and pushing herself out of bed. She put her usual attire on her figure, placing her hat atop her head last. It looked old. And it had the scars to show it. But Clementine would repair it as many times as she could until the day came where she physically couldn't do it anymore. Regardless, it still made her look stylish in her opinion, and anyone who said different was... Was probably Arthur. He'd been saying for her to get a new hat for years now... She wasn't going to listen to that old man... What did he know? A lot in actuality, but he knew nothing about her hat. She could make it last... She could... Anyways, she decided to get a start on the day and made it out of the room and into the main part of the house. The living room. Another yawn escaped her lips and she stretched out her arms outwardly.
The first thing she saw in her vision was Ava. She was sitting on the far side of the table they usually used for eating, a newspaper in hands, like usual... Her eyes traced across the front and her boots were placed atop the table as she leaned back in the chair slightly. She also looked a lot older with age. Being twenty-six in age. It was only when Clementine rounded the table with haste and took her boots into her own hands, and forcefully pushed them off that she noticed her presents. Ava placed down the paper with speed and looked up at Clementine for a moment.
"I've told you already..." Clementine said, and turned around, making her way to a chair close by, pulling it out and sitting in it with a little bit of restlessness. She rubbed both her hands down her face, trying to rid herself of the tiredness from her eyes. "Stop placing your boots on the table..."
Ava rolled her eyes and continued to lean back in the chair, still looking at Clementine. "I know, I know... You swear I was committing a sin, or something..." She muttered under her breath and Clementine's eyes shot over at her and she stiffened.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
Clementine stared at her for a moment, before humming to herself and taking her eyes off the woman. Again, she looked down at her watch, seeing the time being ahead of what she was used to seeing in the morning. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
Ava shrugged at that and took the paper into her hands again. "I thought you could use an extra hour of sleep since yesterday. I don't know... You seemed pretty exhausted from the day before..."
Clementine huffed to herself slightly, but then thought about the day before... "Yeah... I was." She admitted and she felt Ava release a breath of relief at that. She probably thought she might've been mad at that, but Clementine was somewhat thankful at that. It was then that they both heard clicking coming up through the hall and closer. It wasn't until the clicking sound on the hardwood floor had appeared out from the corner that she saw what it was. A dog came around and trotted over to Ava, climbing up to the reporter to receive pets, and Clementine slightly stiffened at the sight. She outwardly groaned to herself and slid the chair away from the dog, getting the attention of Ava.
"D, the dog is harmless..." She said and Clementine shook her head slightly.
"I know, just... It's hard to get over it." Clementine explained and unconsciously rubbed at her right arm, her fingers brushing against the scar across her forearm. Ava frowned slightly at that. Clementine sighed to herself and looked over at the dog, slowly reaching over and petting the top of its head. Still, she was hesitant, but she was trying. That's what counted right? However, they all jumped when the front door was slammed open, even the dog jumped, causing Clementine to draw her hand back quickly. Both Ava and Clementine's head whirled around to the front door and saw Abigail and Uncle walking through, a scowl on their faces.
"I'll be grateful when you get off your behind!" Abigail yelled at the old man as she walked through the door, Uncle looking at her as if she was totally out of line. Clementine, knowing the old man... She already imagined he was in the wrong.
"I'll tell you what, woman! Was a damn sight more peaceful 'round here, before you came back!" Uncle retorted as Abigail walked across the house and grabbed a broom, coming back into the main room.
"You're just lucky I'm a soft touch... I should sling you out by your ear!" Abigail pointed at him with her finger, and Ava and Clementine glanced at each other with slightly widened eyes at the argument.
uncle groaned at her and waved the woman away. "You always was a cold-hearted lizard of a woman!"
Abigail's hand tightened around the broomstick. "And you always was someone who lived off the efforts of others... It's walk or work, old man!" Her voice echoed out throughout the house as the door opened again, revealing John Marston.
"I've got lumbago!" Uncle pointed at himself and Abigail seemed to lose herself for a moment, swinging the broom in her hands at Uncle, making the man step back quickly. It was then that John was in between the two, before things got too serious.
"You'll have more than that in a minute!" She yelled out from beside John's arms as he held her back.
"John, tell her about my health." Uncle pointed at Abigail while looking at John.
"You don't have lumbago, Uncle..." Clementine said, making the man turn with the edge of his lips turned downwards at her. He'd been using that lie for years. And it was just as effective as it was back then... Useless.
"Clem's right. You don't have lumbago. You've never had lumbago... Now, do what the lady says." John ordered Uncle and he waved both of them away, turning around and away from everyone, placing his hands on his hips.
"I worked my finger to the bone in building this place... Abigail Roberts!" Uncle yelled at the woman with a whirl and a hand out, pointing at the woman. She gritted her teeth and threw down the broom.
"Marston! Abigail Marston!" Abigail yelled to the man, making Ava purse her lips at the commotion happening ahead of them. She would never admit it, but Ava was constantly engaged by these arguments. Abigail turned around and went for the door. "Miss Marston to you..."
"Miss Marston to you..." Uncle mocked her and Clementine stood up, going after Abigail as she left, following close behind John as he did the same thing. As Clementine passed, she flicked the side of Uncle's head. "Ow!"
Once outside, Abigail and John stood side-by-side, looking at each other. It was a moment later that Clementine showed up by their sides. She looked over at the both of them. "Why do you two let him stay?"
John placed his hands on his hips as well and looked over at Clementine. "He's been pretty useful... In a pretty useless sorta way." John explained and Clementine shifted in place for a moment.
"He did help us with the house. He didn't lift anything, but he told us what to do. And he was the reason we even got the house in the first place..." Clementine backed up the old man, even though she wasn't the biggest fan of the man.
Abigail crossed her arms and looked forward, her mad face dropping a moment after when she pointed to something in the distance. "Who's that?" She asked and Clementine turned her head with John, seeing a wagon coming down the street towards their homestead.
"I don't know..." Clementine placed a hand atop her revolver.
Abigail shifted. "Friend or foe?"
"We're about the find out..." John said.
AJ's eyes shot open...
And he sat up straight from his sleeping cot from on the floor, his curious and careful eyes for once widened with fear. He then remembered where he was and the kid clenched and unclenched his fists, slowly taking deep breaths. It was something Clementine had taught him how to do when having a bad dream, seeing as she always had bad dreams when they were in the car. Except... Was this even a bad dream? Really, it was one of the most confusing dreams he'd ever had in his life. It wasn't much of a nightmare, but he awoke as if it was... AJ had dreams a lot, but his dream usually revolved around something else, but this one was... Odd. It was about the future... An older Clementine. And an older Ava. He really didn't know anything about the girl, besides that Clementine trusted her. But she was also there and the two of them seemed pretty close with each other. Good friends if he had to guess... But then there was Abigail and the older guy arguing. And then John. He knew barely any of them, and only knew of Abigail because she watched over him from time to time when Clementine was out. She was nice, and the older guy wasn't... Neither was the guy John.
But the thing that really made him confused was when he usually had a dream, he was in the dream. Whether it's him by himself or with Clementine, he was always in the dream. But this time he was more like a... Pair of floating eyes. than anything. Like a ghost, watching as everything unfolded in front of him. It was an odd set of predicaments set for him to deal with, but he realized it after a moment and watched as everything happened. He also couldn't help but think about the house that they were in. It was clean and wooden, with a dog inside of it. He knew Clementine hated dogs ever since she was bitten by one years ago. She never quite explained how that happened, or what happened after that, but all he knew was that she did not like dogs. In fact, he remembered eating a dog once after Clementine had shot it. He thought it was okay when it came to taste, but she said it was like a cross between beef and chicken. He didn't know much what either of those tasted like then...
Regardless, he wiped his own eyes and sat up from the bed on the floor. Like usual... Clementine was gone and nowhere to be seen. He looked over at the horses near the exit of camp and noticed how hers and Ava's were gone. Along with Arthur's, too. They must've gone somewhere before he woke up... Well, there was nothing he could do about that now. AJ breathed out a breath of sadness at that... She was gone so much all the time and only got back near the end of the day. Sometimes she wouldn't even get back then. It was hard to sleep without her, but he managed to do so after a while. He trusted pretty much everyone in camp to an extent. There was a couple he didn't trust like... Uncle. Something about him made AJ... Keep his distance. Not that he did anything bad to him really, but just that he sometimes smelled bad and acted funny... So he kept his distance away from him. But everyone else was fine enough.
AJ looked up into the sky and saw the sun was still pretty low, so it must've been morning. That's what he guessed then. Not that he had to be anywhere for any time at all, but it was nice to know about what time it was. So, with a step, he left off into camp and got himself a bowl of stew from the pot, eating it up quite quickly. While he ate, there was something that had been on his mind for a long time... Ever since they got off the mountain and out of the snow. Where did all this food come from? And why wasn't there any monsters? it wasn't like he missed them much, but Clementine never explained the sudden change in... Everything. Even the people and places looked differently. Every time he tried to talk to Clementine about it, she said it was complicated and she would have to explain it to him later. AJ wasn't stupid... She didn't know about the sudden change as well, and knowing that made AJ... Fine with it. As long as she wasn't keeping anything secret he didn't care much. AJ was fine with the new change of things. He had food in his stomach everyday and didn't have to worry about monsters in the night.
Life was... Better .
After he was done eating, he put the metal plate and spoon with the other dirty plates and spoons and waved to Mary-Beth as he passed. Mary-Beth was nice and even taught him how to read more when Clementine wasn't there to teach him herself. He was actually getting pretty good at reading, but there were still a lot of words that threw him off. it was sometimes irritating... Regardless, he would get better at it eventually. Making his way around camp, he found Micah once again, standing in front of a table near his sleeping quarters. He looked down at something, with his hands near his face. AJ had nothing better to do, so he went over and rounded around the side of the man, seeing his face. What he saw wasn't something he'd thought he would see... Half of his lower face was covered in some thick white substance, with the other side of his face having no hair on his jaw anymore. He was shaving with a knife... AJ thinks, anyway.
"Why are you doing that?" AJ asked, and watched as Micah's eyes slowly turned towards him on the ground, an annoyed expression on his face now. AJ knew he slightly annoyed the man. but he never said anything about it, so...
"What are you talking about, kid?" The man looked at him with narrowed eyes, before AJ motioned at his face, and Micah seemed to understand. "Oh... This... Yes, it pains me, but... The beard must go." Micah said and didn't really clear up any confusion on why he was doing it.
"But why?" AJ asked and Micah stopped for a moment and turned his head, showing him the freshly red scar going across the left side of his face. It had happened a day ago when AJ had pushed him out of the way, before he was shot.
"I had to cut half of it off to get it... Fixed." Micah said with a slight edge to his voice near the end of the sentence and continued cutting off the other side of his beard. He obviously didn't much like having to cut off his beard, because of a wound, but he did it regardless. "And I don't want to walk around with half a beard and make a goddamn fool of myself, so... Here I am. And, uh... thanks for the push yesterday... I wouldn't be standing here today if you hadn't."
"Your welcome..." AJ said and the man hummed to himself.
It was then that the group of the gang showed up behind Micah, Dutch. He rounded around the man and leaned on the table that Micah was using for own needs. Micah looked up from the small mirror he was using to cut his beard and looked at Dutch. "Micah..."
Micah stood up straight upon Dutch's arrival and AJ had a feeling that he'd just been cut out from the conversation. However, he stayed there and watched as the two talked. "Yes, Dutch." Micah responded.
"I need you to head into Rhodes for me. Maybe in an hour, or so..." Dutch began to explain and Micah nodded, seemingly listening to whatever he had to say to him. "The Gray's spoke to Bill. They have a job ready for us, something about needing security. I need you, Bill, Lenny, and Javier in Rhodes. Okay?"
"Right, boss. I'll be there just after this." Micah nodded and Dutch slightly smirked at that.
"Great." Dutch said and pushed off the little table, glancing at AJ.
There was nothing said between the two and Dutch soon disappeared into his white tent after that. However, AJ still stayed where he was. There wasn't much more for him to go, besides to the other side of the camp. So, AJ simply stood there and looked back up at Micah, still shaving with the knife in his hand. "Does that hurt?"
Micah's eyes glance back at him for a second third time again and he shakes his head slightly. "If you do it wrong, it can... But if you do it right, it wont." Micah said, and AJ asked how one could shave correctly? Earning another glance from the man. "Firstly... Knife's gotta be as sharp as a razor. Too dull and you're cutting nothing but time off from your day." He explained and the kid watched him, curious on how he would do it himself later on in life. "You hold the knife flush against your own skin and go against the grain of the hair. A scraping motion. Not a slicing motion." He pulled the knife down to his neck and slowly dragged the edge of the blade upwards, cutting off some of his hair, letting it fall to the ground below him. "Like so..."
"Do you shave a lot?" AJ asked.
"No." Micah answered.
"Why?"
Micah stopped completely at the question, his eyes staring forwards for a moment, before continuing. "I don't know, kid... Stop asking me sh*t." He said, and AJ had a feeling he's hit a nerve with the man and took a step back.
"Okay..." AJ said and turned around, not giving the man much time to say something else before walking off. Micah watched as he went for a moment and grumbled to himself with a low shake of his head.
"Goddamn kid..."
Clementine wondered how far away this place was...
They had been walking for what must have been thirty minutes now, their feet keeping a rhythmic pattern that had nearly bored its way into her skull. It was odd, back in her day, she made multiple treks that were twenty times longer, but she guessed that the luxury of horses and fast transportation had gotten to her, that even a thirty minute walk was long now. She looked over to Arthur who walked next to her, a rifle in his hands, looking at the tree around them, expecting anything to roll out and try to hurt them. She wouldn't say it out loud, but she felt safe knowing Arthur was next to her with a rifle in his hands. She actually rarely saw the man use a rifle. Mostly seeing him with revolvers. Still, she imagined he was a good shot with both. He had said he brought the rifle just in case a bear emerged from the trees and tried to attack them. Nice to know that was something that could happen...
Ahead of them, Ava walked with a map in her hands, silently cursing to herself as they went. Ava may have gotten them... Slightly lost, but it wouldn't be long until they were back on track and moving on towards where they needed to go. And where did they need to go? Well, Ava had found the serial killer's location in the few weeks she and Arthur had to recover. Most of her time out after her wagon was broken down was actually looking for the killer, only getting clues and such. But she believed that she found the exact location of the house that was shown in the picture that was made up of the three pieces of paper that Clementine was shown weeks ago. Arthur had said he'd want to go just to make sure she didn't get killed or such. And Clementine didn't think it was much of a bad idea to bring Arthur along, even though it did cut back on what she wanted to tell Ava about the man in the top hat the day earlier.
Between the three of them, things were quiet mostly. Besides the random noises that came from the reporter every now and again... It was almost humorous when she cursed and grunted to herself. But now, she needed to talk to someone, the lack of not talking in a while was getting to her and she looked up at Arthur. Again... What was happening to her. She used to be able to go days without conversation. But now she was hungry for it and it hadn't even been a few hours. She took stuff like this for granted until it was gone... She hoped it was never lost. But she could never be too sure, so she tried to be thankful about it when she could. With a clear of her throat, she got the man's attention next to her and he looked down at Clementine. There was a small moment that passed where Clementine wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to say to the man. There was a couple of things that floated around her head, but she chose not the safest one, but not entirely the most bold one to ask.
"Who's that girl in the picture that you keep by your bedside?" Clementine asked, and Arthur looked at her for a moment, before taking his eyes off her and looking back up at the trees around them.
Arthur repositioned the rifle in his arms and shrugged, glancing at her one more time. "Which one." He asked and Clementine had a feeling that would be his next words that he asked her.
"Not the one with your mom." Clementine answered.
'How do you-"
"The eyes..." Clementine quickly answered that. Maybe a little too quickly, but she was really curious about the other woman in the picture next to that one. "It's the eyes... You have the same eyes as her."
Arthur hummed at that and didn't talk for a moment, and Clementine feared that the conversation might've been lost, but she was happy when he spoke again after that. "You must be talkin' about Mary then..." He said her name and Clementine was surprised that she shared the same name as someone in the camp. Maybe that was why Arthur always said Mary-Beth's full name and not just her first. And seeing the fact that the girl in the picture didn't look much related to him in the slightest, she imagined that was either a good friend of his, or an older ex he didn't talk about much.
"Who is she?" Clementine asked, feeling a sense of danger in a territory she belonged nowhere near. It wasn't that she feared that Arthur might get mad at her, or even violent. She'd seen him do some pretty violent acts of attack, but even then, she could never see him doing anything like that onto her. In fact, she'd go so far to say she felt absolutely no fear from the man whatsoever. But Clementine did fear of making him uncomfortable with a question. Or making him change his view on her and not wanting to speak with her anymore. She knew that wouldn't happen from one simple question, but it was still a fear of hers with the man... Clementine couldn't exactly say on why she felt this way, but she did, and she knew how she felt. "Unless... That's too much." She quickly backstepped.
"No... No, it's fine." Arthur reassured and gave a slight wave that seemed to lift at least three pounds from off of Clementine's soul at the question. "She's uh... She was an old love of mine. Really... I still love her, but you know how life is... It ain't always easy."
Clementine fiddled with the sides of her pants before asking her next question, this one she feared might be a little more personal, but she asked away anyways. "So, what happened between you two?"
Arthur looked over at her with a raised brow. "How you mean?"
"You and Mary." Clementine explained and felt her heart beat raise slightly in speed. She didn't let it bother her too much. "You two aren't together in camp, so something had to go down for you... To Separate?"
"Hm..." He hummed at that and Clementine knew she stepped over a line she shouldn't have and thought about cutting off the train of conversation there, but Arthur talked first. "Life... She lived a life of luxury and normalcy. While I robbed and beat people for money... We were never really meant to be together. But we tried and that clearly didn't work out... All in the past now."
"What happened the last time you saw her?" Clementine asked.
"Well... The last time I saw her all them years ago, I believe her last words to me were, 'Because you can't live any other way I hope I never see you again.'" Arthur said and Clementine frowned at that. Even then, he still kept her picture by his bedside. She thought that to be really... Sad . "Though I did see her recently, and it wasn't much better... She knows I can't change, I guess. Or she doesn't love me enough... Or she hoped I would be a different person when we met again... I don't know."
"If you love her that much... Why don't you just leave the gang?"
"Okay..." Arthur breathed out.
"Too much?" Clementine asked.
"Too much." Arthur confirmed.
Clementine's lips went thin at that...
Javier hopped down from his horse and onto the ground...
He was near the far entrance into town of Rhodes, with the bank to his nearest. Dutch had told him to meet a couple of the boys in town in the next hour or so. Of course, Javier came riding into town as soon as he could. He looked over to see Bill standing near the bank. He was leaning on a wooden post made for hitching your horse with a scowl across his face. He must've been annoyed by something. He had a rifle leaning against the wooden post next to himself, ready to use it at a moment's notice. Lenny was behind him on the bank wall. He had his head down as occupied himself with cleaning his own revolver. His face was straight and was clearly intent on getting every nook and cranny clean. Javier always admired the man's care of his own weapons. And lastly... Micah . He sat on the steps leading up to the bank, looking over at Bill with a smug f*cking grin. In a moment, it clicked, and Bill's annoyed face didn't seem so out of place anymore. Javier felt almost bad for making him wait on him while Micah annoyed him. Truthfully... It actually took Javier a second to notice that that was Micah. His face was clean and smooth, and he actually looked like a whole different person without that stupid mutton chops on his face.
Javier mentally took a deep breath, knowing as soon as he reached the boys near the bank, Micah would open his mouth and say something to him. But the job, whatever it was, still needed to get done. So, with a step, he walked over to the three waiting on him and adjusted his hat as he arrived. Once he arrived, everyone turned their heads towards him at the sound of his footsteps approaching.
Micah leaned back slightly more into the steps he sat on and took in a breath between his teeth. "We've been waiting on you, Javier. Took you long enough..." Micah said and Javier frowned to himself mentally, but scoffed outwardly.
"Oh, and look at this everyone, you finally found your razor... How good... You shaved." Javier mused with a gesture at his clean face, only noticing the scar across his jaw now that he'd gotten close enough.
Both Bill and Lenny chuckled lowly at that, making Micah grumbled to himself slightly. Regardless, Micah pushed off the steps and onto his feet after that, waving for everyone to follow as if he was the leader in this situation. "Come on. Let's get going..."
Lenny and Bill were soon to follow Micah, so Javier simply shrugged and followed along as well. They all walked side-by-side in that moment, being the only people going down the main road of Rhodes. "So... What are we doing here?" Javier asked to nobody in particular.
"We're meeting a couple of Grays over at the saloon." Micah said with a single glance over at Javier, his hands placed firmly on both guns in his holsters. "They spoke to Bill about a job... Needing security."
Javier looked over at Micah with a confused look and then over at Bill, who simply shrugged in his direction. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... We stole their horses and you don't think they know about it. We've only been here so long and things suddenly start going crazy everywhere? Their hillbilly morons, sure... But even then..."
Micah scoffed and shook his head at that, suited with a roll of his eyes that Javier caught. "You worry too much, Javier. They don't have any clue that we were in on that. We just need to stay in with them and we're fine... Also, they're paying."
Javier shook his head and rubbed at his eyes. He never really doubted Dutch, and still, he wasn't planning on doing so. But he had a feeling that he didn't quite understand that they were overstaying their welcome a bit... He'd talked with Arthur about it a bit. People were going to catch on eventually. One kid on the Grays side already had found them out from what Ava had told him. Thank God he was looking for love and not justice of some kind.
Javier simply took it as it was and moved on. Wasn't like they could back out now, could they? No... So he made up as much as he could from the situation he was in. "I've done some things for them before... Why would they need security?" It wasn't a doubt, but a question. He really was curious.
"We're about to find out." Micah said, slightly annoyed at Javier's constant questions. Javier hummed to himself at that. "Dutch said we was to keep dealing with them until we find this gold."
Javier scoffed, causing everyone in around to look at him with questioning eyes. "The gold... I'm afraid that's all mierda ... The reporter, Ava, she told me herself. She's got connections even Hosea and Trelawny don't have... And she found nothing."
Lenny looked over at him and frowned. "You really gonna trust that reporter?"
Javier nodded. "Yes..."
Micah cleared his throat, getting everyone back on track. "Let's just see what they say." He said and Javier coughed slightly to himself, noticing that everyone in town wasn't in a great display of numbers like they usually were. It made him frown slightly, but nothing felt out of the ordinary.
"They said there was some... Big misunderstanding about them horses." Bill decided to butt in to the conversation finally, and all it did was make Javier's alert in his head go off. Who just says that on a whim. And more or less a person who'd just been deputized like Bill.
"And you don't think they know about Sean and Javier burning their fields... No offense, Javier." Lenny said and Javier nodded in agreement and looked over at Micah, seeing him staring back at them.
"None taken, Lenny..." Javier reassured.
"They don't know we had anything to do with that." Micah said and Lenny and Javier shook their heads together. At least Javier had someone on his side about this... He just had a really bad feeling about this.
"They think it was the Braithwaites..." Bill said and Javier just simply didn't believe that. maybe at first, but now, after all the damage they had done on both sides. At least one of them had to know. "Listen, I know these Gray boys a bit now... This is on the level."
Lenny shook his head with his lips going thin. "We haven't found any gold... We're barely getting paid and now we're getting used by both sides like a fiddle. When are we supposed to rob them? Because it just seems like we're helping both sides destroy the other side..."
Bill shook his head and looked over at them. "They were saying that Catherine Braithwaite..." Bill began, but Javier had noticed that everyone on the street had been gone for a moment now, seeing a couple of people peeking through the blinds at them.
"Shut your mouth, Bill..." Javier said and quickly spun around, looking at the various buildings around them. "We're being set up." He said lowly, his hand going onto his gun, his eyes dancing everywhere.
"How you mean?" Lenny asked.
"He's just worried... Like always." Micah said and Javier continued to whirl around, looking for someone that he'd been feeling spying on them the whole time. It took a moment to know what that feeling was, but now he knew... They were being watched.
"No... No... Someone's-"
Javier turned and caught the faintest sight of a muzzle to a revolver, looking back with speed, only to be suddenly struck backwards. His growing anxiety shattered and he felt inexplicably numb. The ground rushed toward bis back as he fell, everything swelling from the edges of his vision, sweeping over his sight and leaving him in complete darkness as he collapsed, head crashing hard to the cold, dusty brown ground beneath his head He heard that of the sound that a revolver makes when it's fired, the loud bang that accompanies it when the hammer strikes the bullet. It wasn't so close, but not too far, so he imagined it was the revolver that he'd seen for a split moment as his eyes passed. It was only then that he noticed that he couldn't exactly move much. In fact, no part of his body was under his control anymore, except the faint feeling of his heart beat rushing, he couldn't feel anything. He heard the sound of more gunfire and the blurred and muffled sound of voices yelling. Voices that were apart of the people around him. Lenny, Bill, Micah... All screaming as a hail of gunfire rain down upon them. All Javier did was lay there... Everything fading... But he tried to move. Again and again, he tried to move... But things got darker and darker until...
Everything went black.
Eventually... They found what they were looking for.
A completely broken down house stared back at them as Ava slowly lowered the map in front of her. Clementine was standing close behind her with Arthur still patrolling the trees with his eyes in search of anything lurking. The house ahead of them was one that had no roof and barely any walls. It seemed years of isolation and a lack of care had brought down the house long ago. But the floor was still there and that was probably because that was usually the last thing to go when it came to the decay of a house. Clementine could still see some of the remnants of the house that once stood tall, laying on the ground now. A far cry from what it once was all those years ago when it was first built. But it seemed time caught up with everyone, even that of an inanimate object. However, that wasn't what had caught the eyes of Clementine... It was the cellar doors that led down into a lower part of the broken down house. Presumably the basem*nt.
The doors reminded her of the cabin the O'Driscolls kept her at...
That wasn't much of a thought that kept her peace, but she forced it out and placed her eyes onto the door regardless. She walked up to it and found it to be completely locked, because of a metal number lock that was around the door handles. She remembered something like this and it wasn't long until it hit her. The piece of paper Ava had shown her a while ago had the numbers plastered on the top right corner of it. Still, she didn't have an amazing memory, so she asked the reporter to show her the paper, which in turn, she did... 6-34-32 ... She put in the numbers on the little pad and was relieved when the lock came apart and allowed access for them. She pulled the lock off and threw it behind her, before putting her fingers into the seams of the door and pulling it back, both Ava and Arthur recoiling when she did. The smell from the inside was so vile from the inside... It was like meeting an old friend for Clementine.
" Jesus! " Arthur said with a shake of his head and stepped forward, walking in front of Clementine and Ava. "I know the smell of a slaughter when I smell one... You two stay behind me.
Ava and Clementine looked at each other and shrugged, letting the man with the biggest gun in the trio descend into the dark, vile room below. It didn't seem like the worst idea ever... They followed closely behind the man as he entered, but stopped when he stopped. The place was a bloody and meaty mess, with limbs and organs hanging everywhere around them. Chains and hooks, all coated in blood. Unused ropes and knives and cleavers... Clementine remembered the scene she saw when she was with the reporter all that time ago... The pile of bodies in the hole and the head hanging from a tree, a single piece of paper stuck in their mouth. Not only did this person definitely enjoy his work, but he probably took pride in it as well... It had been awhile since Clementine had seen something like this in a long time. It reminded her why she didn't much miss home. With the Walker, hungry nights, cold days, and the fear of getting sick... The people were also batsh*t insane... Most of them anyways.
Arthur looked around with disgust on his face and shook his head, clearly not expecting to see the sight that was displayed in front of him. However, when she looked over at Ava, she held a face of... Glee. Not something she was quite expecting to find. "I... Found it!" She cheered and grabbed Clementine by the shoulders. " D , we found the shack! We found the shack! This is definitely front page news worthy... This is amazing !"
Arthur looked at the reporter with a raised brow of confusion. "I don't think the poor bastards strung up would agree..." Arthur said and the reporter nodded her head.
"Of course, but... Not everyone can be a winner..." Ava said and walked passed Arthur and further into the room.
The others followed her inside further and saw more and more bodies and blood, until the basem*nt ended. Ava reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a box of matches, lighting up a lantern she found from within the inside of the basem*nt on the ground, hanging it from a hook on the ceiling and took out her camera. It wasn't long until she began taking pictures and talking to herself in headlines. Muttering to herself the article before she even wrote it. Clementine had found herself slightly missing the aimless muttering to herself and picture taking Ava. It had been so long since she'd seen that. Arthur, on the other hand, hadn't seen it once and it showed. He looked at the girl as she worked and then looked over at Clementine with eyes that could only be described as worried. Clementine waved at him reassuringly, letting him know this was a... Common reaction from her. Clementine simply watched as the reporter did her thing, until she heard the faint sound of walking coming from the front door and jumped back next to Ava. Arthur simply turned around with the gun. And Ava's mutterings had quieted down as she turned with her camera.
When they turned around, they saw that of a man standing there at the door entrance, the light from the outside shining on him through the hole in the open door above him. He wore a clean white dress shirt with a black vest and slacks, with clean shoes. He dressed as if he was going to a dance... For his face, he had a mustache and middle-parted black hair. "Have you come for me?" The man smiled crazily and Clementine frowned at that. "Or was this all ... Nasty surprise... Or maybe it's both? Maybe it is a nasty surprise, even though you knew I was going to be here... What is it?"
"Alright..." Arthur lowered his gun and rolled his shoulder, but was quickly stopped by the reporter before he did anything.
"Wait... Let him talk for a moment." Ava said and Arthur groaned as she took a picture of the man standing only a few feet away.
The man smiled crazily again and reached behind himself, pulling out a big bloody cleaver in threat towards them. "You should think about what I said... Save yourself from thinking about what's about to happen... Now, I'm not going to lie... This is not going to be nice... Or fun. I mean, it will be fun for me, but not nice for you three..."
"Can I do it now..." Arthur looked over at Ava and she nodded.
"Yes. I got what I needed... Break his face." Ava said and turned away from the serial killer, writing down in her notepad with a pen.
Clementine watched as the serial killer walked towards them and Arthur lowered the gun. And in what Clementine could only describe as the quickest fight she'd ever seen, the man was laying on the floor motionless with Arthur looking down at him with a slight frown. Even he was confused about how quick the encounter was. It happened so fast that Clementine didn't even really get to see what happened. With Ava writing in her notepad and Arthur standing over the unconscious serial killer... Clementine found herself shuffling in place awkwardly.
"Well, that was... Something."
Lenny felt Javier's blood splatter on his shirt...
Chaos erupted! Multiple, yet, uncountable heads popped up and readied themselves at the sound of the first gunfire. Javier was right, and they were too late to congratulate him as he laid motionless on the floor with a hole in his face. sh*t... Just like that and someone dies... Lenny couldn't say it was a big surprise it happened like this. It happened like that to Jenny, then Davey, except his was more suffering than anything... It was almost a mercy to see him pass away. Lenny only wished it was a little quicker for the man. Even though Davey didn't much like him because of his skin, he was still a good gunman for the gang, no doubt.
Regardless, a cacophony of gunshots erupted as Lenny slid to a wagon half eaten away by the hail of bullets. A loose board flicked off. The sound of a springing whistle shone. Lenny's head bristled as the splinters flung onto his wide-brim hat. Lenny moved position, then sneaked a glance. There was a lawman standing atop the building farest to him, shooting down at Bill, who hid behind a few barrels filled with... Whatever they were filled with. It wasn't Lenny's biggest concern in that moment as he watched the raining down fire that was happening to Bill. Lenny finished his attacking fire with a bullet to the brain, precise and true. Done. He mentally told himself that one was for Javier and ducked back behind the wagon.
"What the, ahh! Goddammit!" Bill cursed and held his arm as he shuffled around behind the barrels and Lenny glanced back at him again, seeing a flash of red. "I can't believe he shot me! That bastard!"
"You alright, Bill?" Lenny yelled out from behind the wagon. Lenny took another chance on the other side of the wagon and lifted his revolver to the sheriff's office near him. There was another man, standing still atop the building. Lenny aimed his revolver and pulled the trigger. The bullet flung through the air at an unnervingly tremendous pace, knocking the Lawman from the building. He staggered, limbs as lifeless as gelatin, then toppled to the ground, hitting the floor hard enough for dust to kick up.
"I'm fine!" Bill yelled back.
Micah was near another wagon a little away from his own, shooting with the both of his revolvers he seemed to love more than life itself. Lenny swore, that man loved his guns more than Romeo loved Juliet. He imagined he would die for them just as they did for each other, too. However, Lenny couldn't deny, watching Micah gun down the various people around with the two of them, Lenny couldn't say that he wasn't a damn good shot. Especially under the stress of gunfire. Lenny knew his hands were shaking slightly as bullets whizzed past him. It was just something that always happened. Arthur said it would go away given time, and he took his word on that, because someone with steel cool nerves could only shoot like Micah did. Lenny moved to the other side of the wagon, seeing another person shooting from the ground this time. He took aim and shot, having to shoot twice since the first bullet didn't kill the man.
"Is Javier dead?" Bill yelled out in question and Lenny glanced out from behind the wagon, seeing the hole in his face. Lenny frowned and quickly duck back behind the wagon before anything hit him.
"It don't look good..." Lenny said with a shake of his head. "It was quick... Javier was right to be skeptical, and we all followed into this like a bunch of pigs to the slaughter house!"
Micah fired a couple of shots and looked over at the two. "You sure you two wanna talk about this now?!" Micah asked and Lenny decided he guess he didn't and the conversation about Javier's limp body ended there. Micah shot again, scoffing at the various lawmen around. "You Grays must be even dumber than I thought!" He yelled out, and made a couple more bodies fall.
A couple of the Grays poured into the Gun store, and Bill saw it with a point. "The cowards are in the gun store!" Bill yelled out, informing the both of Micah and Lenny.
That was when Micah looked over at Lenny and waved for him to reach him. Of course... He wants Lenny to run out into gunfire and not himself. Lenny groaned to himself and took a breath, before pressing against the ground harshly with his boots and taking off towards the man with the clean face now. A few bullets flew at him, with one grazing his leg slightly and cutting through his pants. He wouldn't know about that until after the firefight however...
When he reached Micah's wagon he pressed his back to it and looked over at the man. "I'll get the front, you take the back?" Micah proposed and Lenny looked at the store for a moment, before nodding.
"Sure, Micah." Lenny said, and they both separated from each other.
Micah went for the front with a couple of shots at the various Gray around them and Lenny went for the back of the store like they agreed on. Two men appeared from out beside the store and Lenny fired first, killing the both of them before they had a chance to kill him first. It was quicker than he usually was, and he would've prided himself on it if it wasn't a fact that one of their best men was laying dead out in the street, and them still being under heavy gunfire. Lenny made his way up to the door and put his hand around the braze door handle, finding it to be locked. He groaned in an annoyed tone and stepped back, bringing his foot up and smashing it into the door, feeling it crack under his boot. If it was Arthur, he'd have the door broken open by now. But he wasn't Arthur, so he needed to kick the door three more times for it to fly open. Wood splintered upon his arrival and he pulled his gun up. Someone came around a corner with a shotgun and Lenny fired, making their head shoot backwards with a bullet. However, when he turned the corner, he saw two people aiming guns at him near the front door. Lenny's heart rate spiked as he thought he was about to die. Luckily, Micah busted in through the front door and shot the two with each gun he held, making them both fall to the ground.
"Hello, kid..." Micah said in that smug tone he always carried, but Lenny simply tried to ignore it. They both ducked behind the wall near the windows on each side of the door, peeking out their respective windows for firing. "Better in here than out there..." Micah said.
"They're in the gunsmith's! All of you, pour a broadside into those sons of bitches! I want them dead!" A Gray yelled, causing all the other Grays to look over at them with their rifles.
Lenny looked over at Micah... "You and your big mouth..."
After that, it was almost all a blur. Lenny and Micah peeked from the windows, let off a few shots and ducked back before they were hit. Of course, Micah hit more people than he did, but in that moment, neither of them cared. All they were focused on was getting out of the firefight they were currently stuck in. The pattern went on for a while, and Lenny could see the numbers of Grays dwindle by the minute. He couldn't believe they were actually doing it! Still, they had a long way to go to survive, and Lenny was intent on surviving. Or at least trying his absolute best at surviving. The smell of gun smoke was high in the air and Lenny could feel it in his eyes, slightly stinging them, but he couldn't let himself be distracted by that. He just continued on shooting and trying not to be shot himself. He wasn't sure how long it was before the Grays started running away. Maybe a few minutes... Maybe an hour... But they ran... Lenny almost couldn't believe it. He outwardly laughed and leaned on the window seal, long broken and destroyed. Micah laughed to his side, and for the first time, he shared the same enjoyment with the man.
"See that? Those cowards are running away..." Micah said and looked over at Lenny, who was still reeling off of the fight he'd just been through, his hands shaking badly. "Not bad for... Well... One of you."
"You know... You got all the charm and personality of a fresh turd, Micah..." Lenny said and looked over at the white-hatted man, and scoffed. "But right now... I couldn't care less about what you have to say, because I can't believe we just survived that."
"Well... We didn't kill all of them..." He said and walked out the front door, closely followed by Lenny. He looked confused for a moment and shrugged his arms at Micah in question. "Sheriff Gray."
"What about him? We should be running in the opposite direction right now!" Lenny said and pointed to the other side of town, making Micah scoff at him. "With Bill... And where is Bill? Was he killed too..." Lenny frowned at that, scanning the floors. He didn't see him for the moment.
"We'll find him later." Micah said and gestured at the sheriff's office. "Now come on... Sheriff Gray!" He yelled out as they stopped in front of the sheriff's office, making Lenny's hands sweat with the constant tempting fate with Micah. "You need to get a hold on this town, it's going to hell!"
"Who do you think you are?" The person who Lenny assumed was Sheriff Gray yelled from inside of the building still. "A bunch of two-bit thugs from God knows where?! You so dumb to think we don't know what you've been doing!"
"Come out Sheriff!" Micah yelled. "It's over..."
"We've put down far worse than you! A hundred times over!" The man yelled from inside the building still and Lenny looked over at Micah for a moment. "This is the Grays' town. Always has been, always will be!"
"Only Grays' I see left around here..." Micah looked around with a wide gesture at all the dead bodies that were littered around them. It wasn't until Lenny saw the absolute chaos they left. "... Is you!" Micah finished with a point towards the door.
"You want us to come out?! We'll come out!" Sheriff Gray yelled from within the building and the door to the front of the Sheriff's office flew open and out emerged Bill... Being held at gunpoint with Sheriff Gray close behind.
Micah Sighed. "Goddammit, Bill..."
A second deputy left the building with a revolver pointed at them. "Guns on-on the ground now!" He yelled out, his voice shaky and his revolver wavering slightly. He didn't want to be there, that was for sure. "Both of you! Now!"
"Don't do it!" Bill yelled in protest.
"Why don't we all put our guns down and end this peacefully?!" Lenny said and he almost regretted the words as they came out of his mouth. He knew nobody would listen to him. Especially not the hillbilly's in front of them.
"I'll blow his brains out!" Sheriff Gray yelled and pressed the barrel of the revolver closer into Bill's temple, digging it deep. "I'll make him join his little friend on the ground there! Put the guns down!"
Lenny and Micah looked at each other. "Okay... I'm bored. Lenny?" Micah said and he understood what that meant.
They both pulled their revolvers and shot. Lenny shot the deputy on the left since he was on the left and Micah got Sheriff Gray. Both their guns went off and both the deputy and sheriff hit the ground with a thud. Bill jumped hard as the men hit the floor and looked back at them both. He took a breath and dusted off his pants. Bill cursed to himself lowly as if surprised that Micah hadn't hit him in the crossfire. Lenny looked around for a moment before holstering his gun, making sure no other Grays' were around them. There was a long moment where nobody moved and breathed much needed breaths. It was only when Lenny turned to look at Javier that his breath hitched in his throat, making him have to do a double take. He almost couldn't believe what he saw when he looked down at the man. Javier laid on the floor, but stomach rose and fell weakly and shallowly, but he was breathing. How the hell was he alive? Lenny did not know, but he didn't stop to think about it.
"Bill! Get his legs! Quickly!" Lenny yelled out and took Javier's arms into his own hands, lifting them up and awaiting Bill. But he simply walked from the sheriffs office and toward him with a confused look on his face.
"What are you talking about?" Bill asked.
"Look!" Lenny jutted his chin at Javier below him. Bill looked down and Lenny saw his eyes slightly widen with shock. "He's still breathing! There must be a doctor still in town, right?! We gotta get him there before it's too late. Come on and grab his legs!" Bill nodded quickly and took his legs into his hands and lifted him off the ground.
He hoped a doctor was still in town...
Clementine made it back to camp...
After Arthur had... Beaten down the serial killer, they had brought him to the Valentine sheriff's office, with Arthur and Clementine having to wait outside of the town. Showing their face there again wasn't the wisest choice, so they awaited for Ava's arrival. When she came back, she told them about how the man was behind bars and couldn't hurt anyone ever again. He would be hanged with given time and Clementine was happy to hear that, but something felt... Lopsided. She was truly proud that she had helped in getting the man behind bars and unable to touch or harm another soul ever again, but Clementine had something a little more different in mind when she agreed to catching the killer... Something more dramatic... Instead, she watched as Arthur broke the man's cheekbone and brought him into custody. Well, at least they had caught the man with the help of Arthur. That's all that really counted, right?
With that, they went back to camp and talked among themselves. Of course, for bringing in the killer, there was payment involved and Ava suggested they cut it into three's, but Arthur declined. That left it to go fifty-fifty between Ava and Clementine. Even though Clementine felt it should be seventy-thirty between her and the reporter. Ava did pretty much all the work, and Clementine loosely followed along with barely any help whatsoever, but Ava insisted on cutting it halfway between them two. Clementine didn't argue. She now had money in her pocket, but that really wasn't much of a surprise. In fact, she had almost forgotten, but Clementine was still sitting on a lot of cash with the gold bar she was given to by the German family her and Arthur saved. She wasn't exactly sure how much she would get for trading it in, but she imagined it was a lot of money. But what would she do with that money?
She could save up to leave, but... Well... She was still battling with the fact that she didn't want to leave. Today she was going to talk to Ava about it more, but Arthur decided to tag along, unknowing of her wanted privacy with the reporter, but felt no ill intent against the man. He was just there to make sure they were okay, and that was fine with her. There would be more time for Ava and Clementine to be alone again, she would just need to wait for it to happen. Regardless, when they got back into camp, they were greeted with a sight she didn't imagine she would see upon their arrival. Everyone in the gang seemed to be shuffling around nervously and the three of them all looked at each other. Dutch stood a little aways with a group of people he talked to, with another group of people gathered around a table. Ava and Clementine went for the table and Arthur went for Dutch. When they reached the group around the table, they saw Javier laid motionless on his back, his chest rising and lowering shallowly. His face was wrapped in a bandage with his left eye being covered. The bandages were soaked in blood...
Ava's eyes widened slightly and looked at the people around. "What happened?!"
It was Lenny that stepped up to explain what happened to the two clueless girls. "We was given a job in Rhodes and things went bad. The Grays' were onto us and jumped us... Javier was shot in the face and me and Micah barely fought out of it with our lives. We thought he was dead, but he wasn't. So we rushed him to a doctor and forced them to save his life... And Micah up and shot 'em after..." Lenny shook his head and Clementine expected Micah to laugh, but for the first time, she saw the man's expression slightly down and angered... And he also had a clean face now...
"Thought you'd be more worried about what was happening with AJ and Jack..." Micah said with a point over in Dutch's direction, and Clementine looked at him for a moment, a confused expression on her face with her mouth slightly agape. "You don't know, do you..."
Clementine pushed off the table and flew towards Dutch, not giving a damn about Javier's life expectancy anymore as she ran across the camp grounds. She felt her heart race as she almost tumbled to a stop ahead of the group. Forcefully pushing past Arthur without care, she looked up at Dutch, eyes impossibly wide. "What happened to AJ?!" She asked and the man looked down at her for a small moment.
"Miss Marsh..."
Dutch began, but the tent to their far left flew open and Abigail came storming out, her eyes glassy as she approached and Clementine felt her heart beat even faster. What happened while she was gone?! "Where's my goddamn son?! Where is he? Where's my son?!" She yelled as she approached the group and wiped at her nose. "They took them, didn't they?! They took my son! They took AJ!"
"Who took them?" Arthur stepped up and Hosea appeared out from behind Abigail, pointing in the direction of camp, leading to the Braithwaites if Clementine had to guess.
"We think the Braithwaite woman took them..." Hosea said as he approached fully. "That Kieran saw a couple of fellers... Sound like Braitwaite boys..."
Suddenly, Clementine couldn't breathe as she moved forward, pushing past Dutch and Hosea, walking to really nowhere in particular. Her chest felt impossibly tight around her own figure as she wavered slightly on her feet and she couldn't believe how sweaty her hands had become. She wasn't really one to sweat profusely in any situation that wasn't physically demanding. But now she seemed to be drenched in sweat in only a matter of a few seconds. Her heart beat faster and faster until her hand was grasping to her chest, feeling the booming in her chest rising to her throat. It felt like her heart was about to burst any moment and her eyes became tunnels of vision as she dropped to her knees, gripping the grass tightly under her, dirt pooling in between her nails as she did so. Clementine felt as she was about to die as her breath became a frantic mess... She was now hyperventilating and it wasn't long until Arthur was beside her, speaking, but she couldn't hear him. It was like everything had become muffled. But, in a moment, Clementine was able to catch herself again when thinking about AJ and she began taking deep breaths, slowing her heart down and making her chest loosen with tightness. She breathed heavily for a moment, before looking over at Arthur with gritted teeth.
"Where? " Clementine growled.
"What?" Arthur asked.
"Where are the Braithwaites?!"
