"So what exactly happened while I was out?"
Violet sighed at Clem's questioning. It wasn't exactly a happy experience that occurred earlier this morning. Sure it was a relief to have Clem back and to know that she was going to be okay, but getting there wasn't very lighthearted.
"Er..um...we almost killed a guy who was actually trying to help you."
Clem's eyes widened. "You did what?!"
Violet chuckled at Clem's expression. "I'm kidding." She laughed. "Well, mostly kidding." She said quieter hoping Clem didn't hear.
"It's a long story, but if you really want to know what happened..."
------
Not seeing any sign of her Luke started to jog back to the porch. "Violet! Louis!" He yelled for them as he walked back through the door.
"What's up?" Louis asked from the stairs as Violet walked into the living room from the kitchen.
"Clem's gone."
Violet immediately got defensive. "Gone? What do you mean gone?" She crossed her arms.
"I mean gone. She's not in the front yard, she's not anywhere. I checked everywhere." Luke told them.
Louis came down from the stairs with Tenn trailing behind. "Maybe you just missed her. We can look again."
Luke shook his head. "No, somethings wrong. I know it is. Clem doesn't just take off like that." He ran a hand through his hair. "I searched for ten minutes without a trace from her. We have to go find her. Grab anything you need." With that, he walked past the teens and up the stairs to get his machete and anything they might need to rescue Clem. Who knows how long they could be gone.
Violet was trying to process what Luke was saying to them. Clem was gone? How could she be gone? If anything Violet thought Clem would have ran outside to be alone for a minute, but not actually run away. What was she thinking?
Unless Clem didn't run away and was...taken away. The Raiders.
"Shit," Violet swore. She ran a hand through her hair much like how Luke did. "Fuck." She started to pace back and forth. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." She really wanted to punch the wall right now. But she assumed Luke wouldn't be too happy with a large hole going through the drywall.
Louis approached and tried to calm her down. "Vi, relax. Everything is going to be fine." He reached out to place a had on her shoulder.
Violet glared at him and quite violently pushed his hand away. "Don't tell me to calm down! Fuck, Louis. My girlfriend is who the hell knows where, and you want me to calm down!?"
"Violet, please, this isn't going to help find Clem." Louis tried to reason with her. He was just as worried as the rest of them and still really confused about what had exactly happened during breakfast.
Violet rubbed her face with her hands in frustration. "Ughhh! I know. I just..." She looked at Louis than at the front door, before deciding to stare more so at the floor. "Dammit! I-I should of followed her, should have gone after her. Shit, It's my fault." Violet felt like she wanted to cry. How could she have been so stupid? She should have never allowed Clem to go off on her own.
"Vi, it's not your fault. None of us knew this was going to happen." He tried to reassure her.
"I know Lou, but...the raiders. What if...what if they followed us this far. If they're still out there what if she..." Violet couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence. She had already lost too many people. She wasn't about to lose Clementine too.
"We have to find her. Come on!" Violet turned around to go grab her knife from the kitchen when she came face to face with AJ. She instinctively glared at him.
"It-it's my fault isn't it?" He somewhat asked her.
Violet's gaze softened. "What?"
AJ looked to the floor ashamed. "It's my fault that Clem ran away. She probably hates me now."
Violet knelt down to his level. "No AJ, Clem doesn't hate you. She just..." Violet sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look, you shouldn't have said something like that in front of everyone. It wasn't right to bring up something so personal in front of other people, but..."
"But you knew." He told her.
Violet nodded. "I did know. But no one else did and Clem didn't want them to know. She was embarrassed and scared that everyone would hate her if they found out."
"But no one hates her!" AJ tried to justify. "I don't!"
"I know that, but Clem doesn't." Violet sighed for what felt like the tenth time that morning. She really wasn't mad at AJ, just frustrated that this had happened in the first place. "Look, some things just aren't meant to be shared with other people, and it's best to just not say anything at all. I know that can be confusing, but sometimes you have to think about how what you say will make other people feel."
AJ thought about it for a minute processing what Violet had told him. "And what I said made Clem sad?"
"Ugh...in a way, yes." Said Violet.
"Okay... I think I get it. I'll try not to say things that'll make Clem sad anymore." AJ told the blonde, a look of determination taking over his face. "And I'll make sure to apologize once we get Clem back."
Violet smiled slightly. "Good." She stood back up and went to grab her cleaver.
"Are we going to rescue Clem now?" He asked Violet once she re-entered the living room, Louis reappearing too after going to grab Chairles for their mission.
"Me, Louis, and Luke are. I need you and Tenn to stay here in case Clem comes back. Can you guys do that for us?" Violet asked.
AJ nodded. "I'll grab my gun." He said as he ran off.
Violet then turned to Tenn. "You going to be all right."
Tenn nodded before he came up and hugged her. "Stay safe out there."
Violet smiled as she hugged back. "We will."
She let him go and turned to Louis. "Let's look around a bit while we wait for Luke."
Louis nodded and hoisted Chairles onto his shoulder as he and Vi walked out the front door.
Once alone Louis decided to speak up. "So what exactly happened earlier?"
"What do you mean?" Violet asked looking around not really keen on talking with Louis.
"I mean with Clem. Is everything okay?" He asked concerned for the well being of his friend.
"Louis, I don't really want to talk about it right now. Can we just find Clem for right now?" Violet said annoyed.
Louis gave Violet a glare before agreeing. "Fine, but you have to tell me something sooner or later." Then he walked away to go check around the back of the house again.
Violet rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. She knew Louis was just being caring and wanted to know what had been going on with Clem, but for some reason, it was just really ticking her off right now. She assumed she was just too worried about Clem to bother with answering Louis. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't sick with anxiety just thinking about what could have happened to the brunette. What if the raiders really had captured her and were torturing her trying to turn her into one of their soldiers, or worse.
Violet felt her stomach twist at the thought. She couldn't lose Clem, she just couldn't. She tried to distract herself as she walked around the yard, stepping over the numerous walker bodies that now littered the ground. Damn, how many of these things did we put down? She thought as she observed each puncture wound that accompanied each skull.
She looked up for a second but had to do a double-take when something caught her eye. Something moving in the forest. It looked like a walker, but it was still too far away to tell, and was it...carrying something? As far as Violet knew walkers didn't carry things. Just the clothes on their backs, that is if they had any anymore.
Violet didn't move but continued to stare at the form moving closer towards the clearing. It seemed to be moving faster than any walker she had encountered before and it seemed to be actually walking not limping like they usually did.
"What the hell?" She quietly said to herself. She watched as the figure approached, posture straight instead of hunched over and it made no noise except for the occasional snap of a twig under its foot. It was only about a hundred yards away now and she could tell it was carrying a body, but couldn't make out the person quite yet.
A minute later they were close enough for Violet to put the pieces together. Denim jacket, light green pants, dark curly hair, but what really gave it away was the blue and white baseball cap that was clasped in his hand that was hooked under her knees. He was carrying Clem.
"Louis! Over here!" Violet shouted to him, not taking her eyes off of the stranger as she pulled out her meat cleaver.
She saw him stop right at the edge of the forest where it met the clearing that formed the front yard of the cabin. Violet was a good five yards away, keeping her distance in case he tried anything. He didn't do anything except stare back at Violet as he held the unmoving girl in his arms. She observed his appearance. It was definitely a human, but he was wearing a mask of some sort. Was that walker skin? It made her skin crawl just thinking about it.
Violet was distracted by her thoughts as she heard Louis run up from behind her. "What...what's going on? What is..." He stopped as he realized the presence of the stranger. "What the hell?" Louis was as shocked as Violet was. "Who are you?" He asked.
The stranger slowly took off his walker mask being careful not to drop the girl in the process, revealing his black hair that was slightly shorter than Violet's. He looked to be about their age in comparison.
"I..."
He didn't get to finish as Violet noticed a bright red color drip from his arm where Clem's head rested. In fact, his sleeve was covered in it from what Violet could tell. It was blood, Clem's blood.
Violet's grip tightened around her cleaver. She was outraged that this guy had injured her somehow. "What the hell did you do to her!?" She went to take a step forward ready to sink her blade into this guy's skull, but Louis grabbed her by the arms before she could lash out.
"Whoa, easy Vi. Hold on, let him explain." Louis said as he wrestled Violet into submission.
The boy took a tentative step back until Louis had restrained the mad blonde girl. "Please, I mean no harm." He said in a quiet voice. "Your friend is hurt."
"Yeah, you're the one who hurt her!" Violet accused, clearly pissed at the state Clem was in.
Just then they could hear the front door fly open. Luke came running out after hearing the yelling. "Whoa, what the hell is going on here?!" Luke jogged over towards the group of teens and took notice of the new boy with a very familiar girl in his arms. "Holy shit! Clem!" He looked to the newcomer expectantly.
"She's hurt." The new guy stated. "I found her in the woods. Walkers were surrounding the area. She hit her head on a rock after falling. I stopped them from coming and carried her here. I knew where you were." He explained to Luke in his slow voice.
Then he turned to Violet and Louis. "I know you."
Violet and Louis stood shocked at his words getting Violet to desist her struggle in the taller boy's arms. They certainly didn't know him.
"You're from the school." He turned and looked back behind him. "That way."
"Yeah, how did you know?" Louis asked.
"I've watched you. Watched the other group too. Saw them take your people." He explained.
Violet's fight stopped as she processed this information. She pulled free from Louis's grip. "The kids they took, did...did they manage to escape? Did any of them get out?"
He shook his head at her question. "They left on a boat. Said they'ed come back in a few weeks."
Both Violet and Louis looked alarmed by this. If the raiders came back they could take the rest of them.
"Don't worry." He told them. "They don't come this far West. You will be safe here."
"Did they try and catch you?" Luke asked.
The strange boy shook his head no. "They raided my camp before they reached the boat with your people. They did not see me since I was hidden. Afterward, I left to avoid the fighting and to look, for...my boyfriend." He looked past the small group of people and noticed the surplus of decaying walker bodies behind them. His face grimaced for a second before going back to normal. "It brought walkers, but I use them to hide. Sometimes I guide them as well."
"You can guide the walkers?" Luke asked surprised.
"It was a practice for my...our people. They called themselves, whisperers." He adjusted his grip on Clementine and took a few steps forward. "Here, she needs your help. You need to stop the bleeding." He reached his arms out and prompted Violet to take hold of the unconscious girl.
Violet walked forward and held out her arms for him to place Clem. The out cold girl groaned as she was shifted into her girlfriend's arms. Violet held her tight not wanting to let anything happen to her again. "It's all right, Clem. I've got you." Violet felt like she wanted to cry at that moment. Clem was back, and she was safe in her arms. God, she had been so scared that she was going to lose her. A feeling of relief washed over her, though she still knew that they had to stop the bleeding. She whispered a small thank you to him in return.
The boy gave her a slight smile and nodded in approval, then he handed over Clem's hat to Louis once he had passed Clem off.
"What's your name?" Luke asked the quiet boy.
He looked down at the ground. "It's been a while"
"Since?" Louis asked.
"I've said it." He looked back up at Luke. "My name is Charlie."
Luke sent him a smile. "Well, I appreciate the help. Thank you."
Charlie nodded and slipped his mask back on. "If you find anyone named James out there, please tell him that Charlie is looking for him and that...he's sorry for what he's done."
Luke gave him a confirming nod. "Will do."
With that Charlie turned and started walking away.
Luke scratched his head. "Well, that was...strange. Thank god he was there though."
"We've got to get her inside," Violet said. "Luke, can you find the first aid kit. Me and Louis will get Clem inside."
"I'm on it." He said walking ahead of them.
Violet struggled slightly to carry Clem all the way back to the house, not having the arm strength that Charlie had, but she rejected Louis's offer to help each time he said he could take her. Instead, he held the door open for her as Vi brought her inside. Her arms screamed in protest, but she didn't care. All that mattered was getting Clem patched up.
Luke came downstairs with the first aid kit just as they entered the house. "Set her down here," Luke said as he pointed at the coffee table.
Violet didn't think it'd be very comfortable for the girl but obliged anyway. Luke sat the medical kit on the couch and opened it revealing its contents.
Violet knelt down and inspected the gash on Clem's head, her hands coming away with a reddish tinge after moving some of her hair out of the way. "It's not that deep." She let out a sigh of relief. Violet definitely wasn't looking forward to trying to remember what Ruby had taught her about stitching someone up. "I think will be good as long as we stop the bleeding. Louis hand me some gauze."
Louis did as he was told and gave Violet some of the white cotton squares. She pressed them to the open wound and let them soak up some of the blood. Clem gave a groan of discomfort and winced a bit while she was out. Violet felt bad for causing the younger girl any discomfort but needed to apply enough pressure to the wound to clot the blood.
Just then they heard thundering footsteps run down the stairs. "Clem?!" AJ shouted as he raced to the unconscious girl's side. Tenn following suit but at a slower pace.
"Whoa there buddy." Luke put an arm out to stop the energetic five-year-old from almost jumping on top of Clem.
"I wanna see Clem. Is she okay?" AJ asked concernedly as he stared up at Luke, a pout on his face at being denied to see his so-called older sister.
"Clem's gonna be fine. But right now we need to leave her alone so she can get better." Luke explained.
Luke could see the worry and regret swimming around in AJ's eyes as he stared at Clementine's motionless body from a distance. He figured it'd be best to distract him till Clem was up and moving again. "Hey, why don't you come help me move some of the walkers outside. Then you can come see Clem once she's awake and Violet has her all patched up."
AJ looked worriedly back and forth between both his guardians. "But Clem needs me to protect her while she's hurt."
"It's okay AJ. I can protect Clem for you while you're gone." Violet told him. "I won't let anything happen to her." She said as Louis handed her some more gauze and a bottle of peroxide.
"Promise?" AJ asked seriously.
"I promise," Violet told him.
AJ smiled at her reassurance. "Okay. Your good at protecting Clem, you make her happy." Violet's face turned a light shade of pink at his words but was happy AJ trusted her.
With AJ satisfied Luke followed him and Tenn to the door. "Come help us when you're done?" Luke asked Louis as he walked past.
Louis sighed. "Yeah, sure," he said in a dull voice. His enthusiasm was gone for the time being.
And with that, he and Violet were left alone.
Louis paced back and forth with his arms folded as thoughts about Clementine raced through his head.
"Can you stop pacing. It's driving me nuts!" Violet barked at him as she finished wrapping the bandage around clem's head.
"I'm sorry, but I can't stop thinking about it."
"Thinking about what?" Violet asked.
"Why Clem ran away." Louis unfolded his arms. "I just...fuck Vi, what happened that caused her to go off like that."
"It doesn't matter Louis," Violet growled under her breath as she put the medical supplies back in the case. "Just drop it."
"Vi, you have to tell me if somethings wrong. I worry about her too." Louis said.
"I don't have to tell you shit!" She fought back.
"Violet you told me before that she's already had a panic attack and she just took off into the woods after whatever all that was this morning, that is not normal. You have to tell me what the hell has been going on!" Louis shouted. He knew about the first panic attack and knew Clem suffered from nightmares, but he didn't know how bad it actually was. "I want to help Vi, but I can't if you keep pushing me away."
Louis was right. She wanted to tell him and he deserved to know, but would Clem be okay with it. If she was then why wouldn't she have told him before? Violet sighed giving in and sat down on the couch. "How much do you know?"
Louis rubbed the back of his neck. "Ugh...not much. I know she has nightmares and you told me about her panic attack the second night we were here, but that's about it."
Violet put her head in her hands. "Fuck." She groaned at being put in this position. "Alright look, it's not my place to say out of respect for Clem's privacy, but yeah. She gets nightmares, really bad ones."
"Well, I figured that much. Did she scream last night?" Louis asked.
"Shit, you heard that. Fuck." Violet said as she leaned her head back and stared up at the ceiling.
"Well I was half asleep, so I wasn't sure if it was real or not," Louis told her. "It was that bad huh?" Louis said sympathetically.
"That wasn't even when she had the nightmare. But it's what caused her to go into another panic attack." Violet told him. "Some people have really hurt her Lou. Some sick fuck had really hurt her a long time ago."
"Seriously? Who?" Louis asked unbelievingly.
"I don't know. Some guy named Calvin or Carver or something." Violet replied.
"So is it true?" Louis asked.
"Is what true?"
"What AJ said. Did...did she really...wet the bed?" Louis asked tentatively not sure if he should ask or not, worried that Violet might feed him to the walkers for bringing it up.
Violet really didn't want to tell him, but she supposed the cat was already out of the bag. If only she could have shoved the damn cat back into the bag earlier before all this started.
"Yeah, yeah she did, we just didn't know that AJ was awake at the time. But you didn't see her like I did Lou. It really scared her. She was terrified that me and Luke were going to be killed by some guy who's been dead for years. Like, she actually believed it." Violet explained.
"When she goes into panic mode I-I think there are times when she doesn't even know what's real and what isn't." Violet looked at the sleeping girl on the table and watched the slow rise and fall of her chest. "I-I tried to help, but sometimes I don't know if what I'm doing is right."
Violet felt tears brimming her eyes. "And then she ran away and..." She couldn't help it as a few salty droplets slid down the sides of her face. "I was so fucking scared something had happened to her, Lou. If I would have only stopped her or followed her. It's my fault she's hurt." Violet cried.
"Vi, it's not your fault. No one knew that was going to happen. There's no way you could have known." Louis reassured her. Then he leaned forward and brought the blonde in for a hug.
Violet was surprised by the embrace and even more surprised when she accepted, but she was glad to have someone as caring as Louis in her life. Sure he drove her crazy most of the time. To the point where she wanted to stab scissors in her ears to drown out his constant annoying charm. But deep down she really loved Louis, just like a brother. Sure he was no Jackson, but he was the second, best chance she could have asked for.
"Thanks, Lou. It means...a lot" She said as they separated.
"Anytime!" He smiled at her. "By the way, I don't know if Clem told you this, but I charge by the hour." He joked.
Violet rolled her eyes. "Jackass. I thought we were having a moment."
Louis flashed her a smile. "We are. Come on, you can't tell me it wasn't a little funny?"
Violet gave him another eye roll.
"Not even a little, damn," Louis said crestfallen.
Violet shook her head, but let a slight smile trace her lips. She'd let Louis have this one. "Alright, maybe it was a little funny."
"Yes! Told ya!" He pumped his fist in victory.
"Don't push it," Violet warned.
"Come on you know you love me." Louis teased her.
She did know that, which is why she let her smile widen a bit more at his words. "Alright, you better get out there and help them like you promised. I'll keep an eye on Clem."
"Yes, ma'am." Louis gave her a salute before walking off.
Violet rolled her eyes for the nth time, but the smile didn't leave her face. That was until she looked at Clem. She reached over and tucked a loose strand of hair behind the brunette's ear. "Don't disappear on me again, okay?"
------
"And that's about it." Violet rubbed the back of her neck. "You woke up about twenty minutes later...I think."
"And the coffee table?" Clem questioned.
Violet chuckled. "Yeah, sorry about that. It was just a clean and flat surface that we could lay you on. I was gonna move you, but then you woke up, so...ya know." Violet answered apologetically.
"I'm also sorry I told Louis about everything. He just gets really worried about you, we all do." Violet apologized again.
Clem sighed and looked down at her hands. "What about Luke?"
"I haven't talked to him about anything specifically, but I'm pretty sure Luke knows," Violet told her.
Clem brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them. "Are...are they mad at me?" Clem asked without looking at Violet.
"Of course not, Clem." Violet wrapped an arm around her shoulder and brought Clem in for a partial hug. "They understand what happened. I don't hate you, I know Louis doesn't, and I know for a fact Luke would never be mad at you for something like that."
Violet placed a kiss to her temple. "I love you."
Clem sent her a soft smile. "I love you too."
A click from the door handle caused them to separate. Violet smirked. "I'd brace yourself if I was you. I have a feeling you might get tackled by a certain five-year-old once that door opens."
A/N: So if you thought James was the one who saved Clementine, you would technically be right. It was originally supposed to be James but got changed to Charlie right at the end as a twist. ;)
Now we're all caught up. Yay! This is where I left off on the other sites I post on, but I'm currently working on the next chapter. So hopefully, it's out soon.
Secret Life of Writing Out! :)