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At first, she’d thought the plan was flawless. And at first, it had been.
Enter the storage room. Get the walkie talkie. Get out and get the talkie to Luke. Simple enough.
She hadn’t exactly accounted for the fact that Luke wasn’t just going to sit and wait for her to get it to him.
Now, that she was here in the main room, watching Carver pace angrily back and forth with the opposite walkie talkie in his hand, she thought that just maybe the plan wasn’t so good after all.
Looking at him, Carver appeared so angry that with every step she half expected itd leave a scorch mark behind. “Whatever you were planning, it’s done,” he snapped, gesturing roughly in Luke’s direction. “Luke can’t help you anymore.”
Clementine frowned in Luke’s direction, taking a step forward to stand beside Kenny for a better angle. Blood oozed from a cut on his lip, and he was clutching his chest like he expected his ribs to tumble out. She grimaced. She doubted he could even help himself, looking like that.
The weight of the talkie in her pocket seemed to be weighing her down. She felt like everything was going by way too fast and way too slow.
Fuck. Everything was so fucked.
”But you can help me,” Carver continued, pacing back and forth and holding the device high in the air; high enough so they could all see their failures. “Help me find the strength to forgive you.”
The air was thick with tension. She felt like she couldn’t breathe, the heady, consuming feeling of the hardware store growing tenfold. She felt small under his scrutinising gaze. Guilty.
He seemed to notice something, too. Carver’s eyes flickered to her for an instant, and she held her breath, squaring her shoulders so hard her muscles screamed in protest. He looked away, though she knew he tucked that info away in the back of his mind. Guilty, guilty, guilty.
He cleared his throat. “If that radio isn’t in my hand by the count of three,” he began, his eyes flicking back to her again. “We’re gonna have trouble.”
Count of three. She had time.
Kenny’s hand is on her shoulder. He squeezes tightly, as though he knows. He knows she fucked up and he knows she wants to fix it.
”One…”
She tensed. Her grip on the radio tightened. Her legs were shaking so badly she had to use her other hand to dig her fingers into her thigh, trying to focus on the pain more than the fear.
“Two…”
She swallowed. Count of three. We’ll have trouble.
In the same instant Kenny released her, she shot her hand high into the air and said, “I’ve got it right here!”
Her throat was tight and swollen. She wanted to cry but she wouldn’t let herself. She couldn’t. She couldn’t show anybody here that she was afraid because she wasn’t, she couldn’t be afraid.
She felt slow and stupid as she stepped forward, pushing past Sarita when she tried to yank her back. No. She had to do this.
When Clementine stopped right in front of him, he held out his hand. She dropped it in his palm, narrowing her eyes as she met his. “I.. don’t know what I was thinking,” she said quietly. “Nobody else was doing anything. I did what I thought would work.”
She held her breath to prevent herself from losing it. Now wasn’t the time to get hysterical.
Carver smiled at her. His gaze swiped over the crowd, like he’s a wolf amongst the sheep. “Why am I not surprised?”
For a moment, silence falls between them, as though he expects someone else to stand up and say it was all them. No one does. He looks away from the crowd.
”You know, I figured you had something to do with this,” he mused, and he tossed the radio up in the air and let it fall back into his palm. “All that planning would never come from someone,” he gestured lazily at the group, “over there.”
”I guess not,” she replied. She was trying to keep her voice steady, but it wavered a little. If he noticed, he didn’t react.
He smiles. But somethings wrong. His grip is tight on the radio and his demeanour shifts. “You’re a clever girl, Clementine.” And then his smile withers and his eyes are cold and she suddenly realizes maybe she should’ve been a little faster getting the radio to him, “But not clever enough.”
The first blow is relatively small. It doesn’t hurt as much as she thinks it should.
She staggers, and it’s strange because she can take a hit but here she supposes she can’t because her legs were ready to give out the moment she stepped up here.
Someone screams, and she can’t tell if it belongs to her or not.
The second hit is rough, and her hat falls off, she thinks, because there’s a hand in her hair and he uses it as leverage to hit her again. She grunts and she struggles but she doesn’t scream because she can’t bring herself to.
There’s a mix of voices behind her that muddle together in her head, and she doesn’t know who’s who.
She isn’t awake long enough to figure it out.
…
“This is all your fucking fault!”
There’s a full body scream of agony that shoots up Luke’s spine as he dashed back to avoid the swing of Kenny’s fist, and he slumps to the ground with a groan.
Bewildered, he looked up only to see Kenny was being held back by Mike and Nick, his eyes burning with hatred. He glared right back, stumbling to his feet with the help of a horrified looking Sarah, who didn’t really do much but stare at the man who was currently trying to kill him.
“How is this my fault?” He demanded. “You’re the one that made Clem take the radio in the first place!”
”She wouldn’t have had to take it if you didn’t fuck up the whole thing!” Kenny snapped in reply, though he wasn’t fighting against Mike and Nick anymore. “That was stupid! How did you—“
He cut himself off when Sarita stood, staring at someone behind Luke. “How is she?” She asked, her voice wavering. She hadn’t stopped crying ever since they’d gotten Clementine in here.
Luke turned, and fear flooded his chest as he spotted Carlos.
Carlos’ hands were covered in blood, and he looked exhausted. His jaw was set, as though he was mulling over the safest things to say. “..well,” he said quietly, “I did the best I could. Cleaned it, bandaged it, made sure she was stable. I’m afraid there’s no hope for the eye.”
”But she’ll be okay?” Kenny persisted.
The doctor looked away. “I’m… not sure. There’s no way to tell if there is any damage to the brain.”
Sarita slumped back down in her chair, burying her face in her hands. Kenny’s arms fell to his sides.
It was like watching a family fall apart all over again, and suddenly the anger Luke felt dissipated. He just felt cold, empty sympathy.
He sighed. ”Kenny, I didn’t mean all that.”
Kenny sniffed. “Me either.”
With that, he slumped down in a chair next to Sarita and, absent-mindedly, placed a hand on her shoulder. Maybe comfort. Maybe a grip on reality.
”Listen, uh-..” A sudden break in the silence made Luke look up, and he frowned as Jane walked over to them. She looked like she might be sick. “If you guys are serious about getting out tonight..”
She frowned, glancing over at the makeshift bed they’d made for Clementine. She lay very still, almost like she was sleeping.
Almost like she wouldn’t wake up again.
She cleared her throat and continued, “We need a plan. Fast.”
There was a sudden uproar that nearly scared her back into the shadows.
”Plan? We have the plan.” Mike crossed his arms, leaning against one of the supports of the building. “Bonnie’ll get us the fuck out of here.”
Luke, despite his misgivings about her, understood what Jane was talking about. “Jane’s right,” he murmured quietly, “look. If y’all are serious about going tonight..”
Kenny looked up. His gaze was deadly serious; a warning. “Don’t you say it. Don’t you fucking say it.”
”..we should start thinking about leaving some folks behind.”
”No!” Sarah protested, horrified. She had been silent for most of the night, staring quietly at the ground. Now she looked ready to start crying. Carlos shushed her, though she didn’t back down. “We can’t just leave her!”
He loved Clementine. He did. But they needed to get out of here.
He pressed harder, “Listen, I don’t like it either. But this is the only way.”
With a grunt, Rebecca turned away from Sarita to scowl at him. “This is bullshit.”
“No!” Sarita cut in before he could speak again. “She is only here because of you people. Now you want to leave her behind?”
Silence followed her words, but only briefly. He wanted them to understand.
”Listen, I don’t want to leave her behind!” Luke snapped, throwing up his hands in frustration. “But it’s where we’re at right now. I’m beat to shit, Rebecca’s ready to pop, and Carver’s a fuckin’ madman. You think I wanna hang around that?”
Kenny threw himself to his feet. “You don’t get to say that!” He snapped. He stepped forward and jammed his finger against Luke’s chest, “That girl risked everything for you! For us!” He narrowed his eyes. “Maybe it was my fault. Maybe I coulda done better. But I don’t wanna fucking hear you say that lets you leave her behind!”
Luke sighed. He stepped back, and didn’t argue against it. “I don’t want to leave her, Kenny.”
More silence. But this time, what broke through it, was a new voice.
”Good. Because… you won’t have to.”