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The hallways of the dormitory, Clementine realized, were unsettlingly quiet at night. Too quiet for her liking.
The brunette stood outside of the dorm she and Alvin Junior shared, arms crossed as she leaned against the wall next to the room’s door, unable to sleep. A candle was gripped in her hand, its flame illuminating the spot where she stood. AJ was already asleep, his tiny breaths steady and his small frame curled up in bed. Clem knew she could step out and have a moment to herself and the little boy would be fine. She focused her gaze on the graffiti that was imprinted on the walls on the other side of the hall.
For a while, Clem just stood in silence, her eyes dragging across the walls in front of her as she examined the uneven slashes of spray paint along the decaying walls. Over time, however, faint voices drifted through the old boarding school’s plumbing – distant, but sharp, bouncing off the copper pipes and merging with the hallway’s atmosphere. Creaks and whispers of nature were common throughout the school, so it wasn’t hard for Clementine to make out which noises didn’t belong where. Clem released a sigh through her nostrils, closing her eyes as she soaked the peacefulness of the moment.
But the voices kept rising.
Her eyes snapped open. She tilted her head toward the rusted pipe that ran along the ceiling above her, furrowing her brow.
“... lied to all of them, Marlon!”
The voice belonged to Brody. Clementine registered that quickly.
Her voice was raw – furious and frightened all at once. Similar to how she was when she and the others had come back from a successful scavenge and informing them about the man they encountered.
Another voice replied, louder and more defensive.
“I did what I had to do!”
Marlon’s. Clementine narrowed her eyes.
Their argument was muffled, distorted by distance and obstacles of structure and objects in between. Despite this, it wasn’t enough to hide the truth beneath it. Clementine couldn’t make out every single word being said, but their tone was as clear as glass, and that was enough for her. Panic. Accusation. Regret.
Something was unraveling. Something deeper than Clem expected.
She stepped away from the wall she was leaning on and slipped out of the dormitory building. A rumble of thunder echoed throughout the night sky as Clementine exited out into the courtyard of the boarding school. The sky above was littered with dark clouds, signalling a storm was brewing. The makeshift flag made from a t-shirt flapped violently in the wind. The flame that lit the candle in her hand extinguished, plummeting her in a wave of darkness. No matter, it was light enough for Clem to know where she was going. And she knew exactly where she was going.
Getting to the storm doors of the basement didn’t take long. They stood out amongst everything else in the courtyard, the bright red paint faded and chipped with time but still obvious enough from afar. Clementine could hear the argument from where she stood. It was still difficult to make out what exactly was being said. Marlon sounded peeved, though, with Brody sounding desperate. She had to figure out what was going on. Her amber eyes caught sight of a lock snug tight on the doors, which caused her to curse under her breath. She had to break the lock, and quickly.
It didn’t take Clem long to find something to aid her in breaking the lock. A loose brick; perfect for the job. It didn’t take her long to slam it against the lock, either. A few hits and the lock broke free, Clementine tossing the brick to the side and heaving the doors open. She released a shaky breath as the two’s argument was audible, clear enough that she could make out more words, but not enough to fully understand what was being said. Silently, Clementine descended the stairs. The deeper she went, the colder it became, as if the stone amongst the basement was holding its breath.
Her boots landed lightly on the concrete flooring of the basement. The chill was more apparent now, slapping against her skin and tickling the hairs on her neck. The smell of mold and rust clung to the air, thick and sour. It wasn’t a pleasant smell to hit Clementine’s senses. The only source of light that flooded the room with light came from a flashlight, its beam shaking faintly due to the hand that held it shaking like mad. Clem crept behind a tall row of metal shelves, filled to the brim with empty paint cans, boxes filled with broken tools, and other useless junk. From where she hid, she could see the argument unfolding right in front of her; Marlon being the one holding the flashlight, an annoyed look on his face, and Brody right in front of him, an uneasy aura of rage and fear surrounding the both of them. They hadn’t seen her yet. She kept hidden and waited, listening.
“You lied to them, Marlon,” Brody spat. Her arms were crossed as she narrowed her eyes deeply at the blond in front of her. “You lied to Tenn! Their brother!”
Marlon paced around, his hands placed on his hips as he shook his head in deep thought. “I didn’t have a choice, Brody, you know that!”
“You had every choice!” She retorted. “You just didn’t want to lose control.”
Marlon stopped in his pacing. His shoulders heaved. “You think I wanted to make that deal? You think I liked giving them Minnie and Sophie?”
“You didn’t just give them away,” Brody said, her voice trembling as her hands curled into fists. “You let them go. You stood there and watched as those- those raiders took them away!”
“I kept the rest of us safe,” Marlon growled, a dangerous glint shining between his pupils. “That was the deal. Give them two, and the rest of us walk away.”
A chill crawled up Clementine’s spine.
Two kids. Traded away like currency.
That fact made Clem’s blood boil.
“You swore we were done with them,” Brody’s voice brought Clementine back to reality. “That it ended with the twins.”
“I thought we were done,” Marlon shot back, a tremble noticeable in his voice. He was scared. “But then they… they mentioned Abel was at that train station. They saw him, Brody. They’re near.”
Abel. That’s what his name was. Clementine remembered shoving him into the pile of walkers that were crammed outside. There was no chance he survived that. Yet, with what was being said, it sounded like there were more, and they were sure to find out about the sorry fate that one of their own met.
“They want more.” Marlon spoke quietly. “They’re sure to find us, and when they do- they’ll want more of us. They’ll want more of us and we have nothing to give-”
Brody suddenly stepped back, her expression changing to a horrified one. “You’re planning another trade, aren’t you?”
“No!” Marlon quickly snapped. “No. Not, not unless I have to.”
Brody wasn’t buying it. Her voice trembled as she asked a question she didn’t want to know the answer to. “Who?”
Marlon didn’t answer.
“Marlon,” Brody said, firmer, stepping closer to the taller one. “Who?”
He hesitated – just a beat too long.
“Clementine,” He finally said. His lip quivered as he answered. “Clementine… and her kid.”
Clementine’s stomach dropped. The bubbling sensation that ran through her blood came back, rising to her chest.
“She’s new,” Marlon continued, despite the terrified look Brody gave him. “She’s strong. She knows how to survive. And AJ, well, the pair of them can’t be separated.”
“You cannot be fucking serious, Marlon!” Brody’s voice cracked with disbelief. “You’re willing to trade a child to those- those raiders…?!”
“Not unless I have to!” He shouted. He took a moment to take a deep breath before continuing. “It’s… it’s us or them, Brody. I’ll do what’s necessary in order to keep us safe.”
Behind the metal shelves, Clementine was frozen as she listened to what the blond had to say. Her mind flashed to AJ, sleeping peacefully back in their room. Completely unaware. But Clementine knew. If those raiders returned, if they had found the school, Marlon would hand them over. Like they were nothing.
“I can’t believe you right now.” Brody snarled. She refused to properly look him in the eye. “You’re disgusting, and a coward!”
“I’m trying to save lives, Brody!” Marlon desperately said. “I’m trying my best here. I’ve been leading this place ever since those damn adults left us. You think it’s easy keeping everyone alive?”
The auburn turned back, a scary glare imprinted on her face. “So you choose who dies instead.”
“I make the hard calls. That’s what any leader would do.”
Brody shook her head. “That’s not leadership,” She softly growled. “That’s betrayal .”
Clementine had enough. Her fists were shaking with rage. She knew she had to say something. Clem shifted and stepped away from behind the shelves.
“You said AJ was safe here.”
Both of them turned, startled by the new voice.
Clementine stepped into the light that illuminated from the flashlight, her rage continuing to slowly but surely rise to the surface. “You said we were safe.”
“Clem,” Brody whispered in shock. “How long…?”
“Long enough to hear what I needed to know.” The brunette said, a hint of annoyance tickling behind her throat. “I heard that you traded Tenn’s sisters away. That you told everyone that they died. And that if those raiders came back, me and AJ would be the first to go.”
Beats of sweat trailed down Marlon’s forehead, realizing he was now cornered. “No- that’s not- that’s only if they came back-! I was trying to protect-”
Clementine raised a hand, silencing the blond. “Don’t,” She spoke softly, her tone signalling that one wrong move and she wouldn’t hesitate. “Don’t you dare try to defend yourself.”
“You weren’t supposed to hear that. Any of that.”
“Yet I did.”
Marlon’s grip on the flashlight tightened.
Brody took a step near Clementine. She turned to Marlon. “We need to tell the others. They… they deserve to know.”
Panic overwhelmed Marlon. He desperately shook his head. “Are you insane ?” He barked. “If this gets out, everything falls apart!”
“It’s already falling apart!” Brody countered back. “Everything we’ve built has been broken for ages!”
Marlon looked between the two girls. He was clearly outnumbered here. And he didn’t like that. The grip on the flashlight didn’t lighten, neither did the shaking of his hand that gripped said flashlight. He was no longer afraid. He was furious. Furious that they weren’t understanding him, furious that everything he had worked towards meant nothing. Furious that there was now the threat of them telling everyone what he’d done. He couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t .
“Brody’s right, though,” Clementine said, arms crossed. “The others need to be told about this.”
“No-” Marlon huffed, the beam of the flashlight jerking back and forth between the two girls. “Don’t you dare-”
But Brody was already nearing the stairs. She was prepared. Prepared to tell the others what she should’ve told them a long time ago.
“Brody, stop!”
She didn’t.
“STOP!”
And then the flashlight swung.
The metal struck Clementine just above the temple. A sickening crack echoed throughout the basement.
Her vision exploded with white light. Her ears rang like they’d been filled with fire. Pain lanced through her skull, sharp and hot, then dulled down into a deep, sick throb. She felt herself collapsing onto the ground. Her hat flung off her head. Blood, wet and sticky, dripped heavily down from her wound, droplets falling to the ground beside her. Everything felt numb.
“CLEM!” Brody screamed. She ran back to the brunette and dropped to her knees beside her. Sincere worry glazed over her eyes as she helped her into a sitting position. “Oh my god, oh my god - no no no-”
Clementine blinked slowly, attempting to make out what the auburn was saying, but the world refused to focus. The pain was searing. Her breath came in shallow gasps. Blood continued to rush down her face like a waterfall, dripping down and staining her denim jacket.
“Oh my god, what the hell is wrong with you, Marlon?! You hit her!”
The blond stood frozen, the flashlight limp in his hand. Its beam cut across the floor in a jittering arc, speckles of Clementine’s blood mixing in with its light. “I- I didn’t mean to-” He struggled to speak. “She startled me-! I didn’t-”
“She’s bleeding , Marlon! You slammed that damn flashlight into her skull! You- you were trying to shut us up!”
“I was trying to protect us!” Marlon shouted, attempting to defend his case. Though it was no use. There was no way he could get out of this situation easily.
Brody turned her attention back to Clementine. A hand slid into one of the brunette’s, grasping it tightly. “S-Stay with me, okay? Don’t- don’t close your eyes.”
Clem groaned, struggling to focus her eyes. “AJ…”
“He’s okay,” Brody hushed her, her thumb lightly grazing over her hand in an attempt to comfort her. “He’s okay, Clem. Don’t, don’t worry.”
“I- I swear, I didn’t mean…” Marlon was mumbling to himself. Brody turned to face the blond, watching as he tossed the flashlight to the ground and dragged his fingers through his hair. A beat of silence passed, and then Marlon locked eyes with the auburn. “I- I need to-” But he didn’t let himself finish his thought. He turned toward the stairs, each footstep pounding as he ascended.
Fear shot through Brody. He wouldn’t. Yet he was. Brody released her grip on the brunette, running after the blond. “Don’t you dare-!!”
But it was too late. The storm doors slammed shut right as Brody neared them, and a beat later the loud echo of the bolt being slid into place was heard. He locked them in there. Furious, Brody banged on the underside of the doors, desperate to get the blond’s attention again. “Marlon! MARLON! Open the door!”
No answer. Just the muffled patter of incoming rain above them.
Brody slumped back into the depths of the basement, defeated. She quickly kneeled down back beside Clementine, her breath ragged and hands shaking. “Okay… o-okay, you’re gonna be fine, you-” She reassured, more to herself than anything. Her hand found its way back into Clem’s. “We’ll get out. He- he can’t keep us down here forever. We’ll… we’ll figure it out.”
Clementine attempted to sit up, but a sharp wave of nausea stopped her. The world began spinning again. A shaky and sharp breath escaped her lips as she felt herself collapsing back down.
“Don’t move!” Brody quickly said, helping the brunette adjust herself once more. “You… you took a nasty hit.”
Clem’s eyes fluttered. “A-AJ… where is…?”
“He’s okay,” Brody reassured her again on the boy’s status. “He’s safe, I promise. We’ll… we’ll get back to him, okay?”
Clementine merely nodded. The flashlight still lay on the floor nearby, flickering slightly. The basement was quiet now, the noises of the world locked tightly outside. Just the sound of two girls, trapped in the basement, one bleeding out and the other doing her best to not fall apart.
The others surely had to figure out what was happening by now. They had to have encountered Marlon by now, Brody praying that they’re demanding answers out of him.
But that’s all she could do right now. Pray.
Pray that this nightmare of a night would come to an end.