TWDG//

TWENTY

With a rough shove, the brown haired woman picks me up.
"Hey, where are you taking us?!" Omar says, as they take Ruby, Clementine and Louis in another direction.
"We'll be separating you guys for now." The man snickers. "Let's...take those three to R18." He says, pointing to Willy, Omar and Aasim. "And the murderer can follow me."
Clementine turns around, worried. "Wait! AJ!"
"Keep fucking walking." Lawson says, pushing Clem right between her shoulder blades. Clementine winces, and keeps walking. My heart races as the man takes me by the arm, and drags me into a building.
The inside smells like soot, and is plainly decorated, and dry blood stains the grey walls. I can hear people talking inside, the daylight trapped outside, since there are no windows I can see. I grimace as the man pulls me up the stairs.
"What's your name?" He asks.
"What's yours?" I ask.
"Jerome Harriss. Just call me Jerome, but." He frowns. "Now, your name."
"AJ." I answer. The man pulls me into a wooden door with the words "L11."
The man opens the door, and the day shines in from a window, although the view is the brick from the other building. Jerome closes the door behind me.
"Sit." He says.
The room has one meeble desk, with a chair behind, in front of the window, and a chair right in front of the desk. I sit on the one facing the desk. I watch as Jerome sits on the chair.
"So...AJ." He laughs, and brings out a dagger, and starts swivelling it around in his hand. "Why did you kill Isik?"
"Isik?" I asked, frowning.
"Sorry, Gunner." Jerome says. "I forgot he had a nickname."
"I killed him because he was sick." I said, coying as I tapped my head. "In the head."
"I heard the rumours." Jerome says. "Kid, we kill those who are useless. Like we said outside. Now, the amount of guts you had to kill a man, and at your age. We need more fucking people like you. Is your Mum the same?"
"Of course." I said. "She's not afraid to pull the trigger."
"Good. What's her name?" Jerome asks.
"Clementine." I say.
"Clementine." He repeats. "The way things work at Austin Pl are different to pretty much about anywhere you've been. If you're too young, we toss you out. If you're too injured, we toss you out. Too old, we toss you out. Like I said before, why waste food on those who don't commit. You, on the other hand, from what I saw before, you have will."
I frown. "But that was wrong. I shouldn't have killed him."
"Whatever people are telling you, they are wrong AJ." He spits.
But Clementine told me that. But...Clementine isn't always right.
"Yeah. Yeah, I guess." I say, sitting up straight.
"See." Jerome smiles. "You'll fit in. I'm thinking...what? Solider?"
I shrug. "It's up to you."
"Solider it is. You gotta learn to shoot, drive, hunt and fight, kid. That won't be hard, with someone with your spirits." He says.
I nod. "When do I start?"
"As far as I'm concerned, right now."
...
Of course, he didn't mean right at that very moment. He meant, A very pissed, silent Lawson drag me up stairs, and into a very plain room, dumping all of the stuff I had back at the cabin.
"Where's Clementine?" I ask, as Lawson shuts the door.
"She's not staying in your quarters." He mutters. I sigh as the door closes, and turn around. The window lets in light, but only views out onto the fence, with just a set of drawers and my bed. I sigh, and sit down. She's not staying in my quarters? Where is she?
I look through my bag with worry, and find all my things. I take Tenn's clothes and pace them in the drawer, along with his pencils. My knife goes under my pillow, for safety.
I curl up on the bed, hugging my knees to my chest. Where is Clementine??
I take out Tenn's photo, and stare longingly at it.
For once, I'm glad Tenn isn't here. To see this.
A knock comes at the door.
"Hello?" I ask, and the door opens anyway. "Clementine!"
I run up and hug her, and she kneels down to cradle me.
"AJ! Are you okay?" She asks, and pulls back. "Did they hurt you?"
"No, they didn't. They offered me to be a solider." I said.
"Did you say yes?" She asks. "Because it's dangerous here."
"Of course I said yes." I frowned. "I think it's okay."
"You don't know that. They were going to throw you out!" Clem exclaims, walking in and shutting the door.
"But they didn't. They atoned." I said.
"No they didn't. Making you into a solider isn't atoning." Clementine says.
"How would you know? Have you ever atoned?" I asked.
Clem sighs. "After doing something wrong? Yes. Plenty of times."
"When? How?" I ask.
"I have stolen things before. To help you, or myself. When those people came, I had to atone, and apologise and make the best out of it. They aren't doing you any favours!" She replies.
"You don't know anything!" I yell. "You are wrong!"
"I'm wrong?" Clementine stands back in surprise. "I guess saving you and raising you was wrong too, huh?"
I stare at her in disbelief. "I wish you hadn't."
I turn around, and look out the window, only to hear silence.
Except I hear the door close.