𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍.
[ a house divided; part four ]
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They finally reached the ski resort about an hour later. They stayed low and quiet, keeping an eye out for walkers or people.
"Well?" Rebecca panted, "What the hell are we waiting for?"
Carlos sighed, "We have to be careful. We need to make sure no one's here. I doubt they'll be friendly."
Rebecca huffed, "Careful? We've been on the road for five days. My back is done bein' careful."
"Doesn't look like anybody's home." Looking through a window Alvin turned to the door that was nailed on and tried to tear it down, failing. "Damnit, nailed on tight. I'll check 'round front."
Luke sighed, "Well, be on your best guard. Whoever owned this place may still be around."
Carlos looked around, "I'll go with you, Ollie, wanna go?" He turned to his daughter, "Sarah, stay in Luke's sight."
Sarah nodded at his order as he, Alvin, and Ollie walked around back.
Kass was standing at the edge of the deck outside, trying to see a little further into the thick trees as Clem stood beside her.
"Well, it'd be good to know if anybody's back there." Luke walked up to them. "Could probably get a better view from up top." Kass looked at were the man's eyes were, staring at the Ski Lift. "You'd both have an easier time gettin' up there. You feel like taking a look?"
They both looked up at Luke with a deadpan look. Kassidy cocked her brow, "Do we look like monkeys to you?"
Luke shook his head and laughed, "No! It'll be just like climbing a treehouse. You know, just a really tall treehouse. Made of steel."
"I had a treehouse once," Clem said.
Luke grinned, "Well, there you go!"
"...I hated it.
"Oh..."
They walked over to the lift and looked up it.
"Just to let you know, I hate heights," Kassidy said. She had hated anything that was the least bit high up ever since falling from the balcony in Savannah. Every time she was high up she'd think back to Ben, her falling, him getting impaled, and losing her father.
"You'll be fine. Just take it nice and slow. If you fall, I'll catch you. Probably," he said.
"Luke!" Kass exclaimed, smacking his arm. "That's reassuring," she quipped sarcastically.
Luke sighed, "Just have a good grip on it and go slow. And don't look down."
They began climbing the ladder and Kassidy kept on whispering to herself to keep moving and not look down. She slipped a little and almost fell, "Ah!"
"Don't worry! You're doing fine!" Luke yelled up at her.
"No, I can't do this! I need to get off! I can't end up like Ben!"
Luke was confused as to who Ben was.
Clementine frowned. That's how Ben died? Falling? "Kassidy, look at me!"
Kassidy looked up at her friend with panic and worry in her eyes.
"Climb up to me slowly and just look at me."
Kassidy slowly climbed up the ladder, while looking at Clementine. She managed to get up to the top and took a breath, "Okay... Okay... I did it!"
"You guys see anything up there?" Luke asked.
Clementine pulled out her binoculars and looked around the area that they were in, "I can see the bridge."
"See anything else?"
"Wait, I see something!"
Luke asked, "What is it?"
"A light. But wait, there's another. Luke?"
"Hey, Luke?" Kassidy called. She looked over to the house and saw other people surrounding their group.
Clem sighed, "This can't be good."
Clementine and Kassidy climbed down the tower and sneaked their way over to the group and other mysterious people.
"Everyone just calm down," Luke said.
"Who are you? Are you trying to rob us?" It was a woman's voice, she sounded Indian.
Rebecca snapped, "I'm sorry, honey, but do I look like a fucking thief?!"
"Now, everyone please calm down. This won't solve anything," it was a man's voice this time.
Alvin huffed, "Hey man, how about you tell your friend with the gun to calm the fuck down?!"
Carlos yelled, "Sarah, stay behind me!"
"Y'all better get that fuckin' gun away from my face," Ollie snapped.
"Just tell us who you are and why are you here?"
Alvin shook his head, "We ain't here to hurt anyone! And you, put the gun down, man!"
"Fuck that!" Another man said, and a sense of familiarity shot through the teen girl after hearing the accent.
Kassidy pushed past the others and stepped in front of them with Clementine at her side. Her mouth dropped, she felt like passing out. He was wearing a green coat, rifle in hand, and a big beard to match his mustache. His hair was longer and greyer than last time Kassidy had seen him. He was still wearing his cap, and when he glanced at her, the angry look on his face vanished, replaced by shock as he lowered his gun.
Clem exclaimed, "Kenny!"
Kassidy's hands flew to her mouth in shock, "Dad!?!"
Luke furrowed his brows, "Wait, you two know this guy?"
"How?" Ollie asked.
"Clementine...?" He looked at her and immediately double-checked, "Kassidy...?"
Both of them threw their arms around him, hugging him as he hugged back, smiling. Then he pulled away, crouching in front of them and smiling fondly.
Kassidy let out a sob of relief, "Y-you're alive!!!"
"Don't cry now, darlin'. I'm here now. It's alright," he soothed his daughter.
That's when she saw the two people that were next to him. A short Indian woman and a short, chubby, balding white guy.
"I'll take that as a yes."
"These people with you guys?" Kenny asked. They both nodded as he got up and looked at the rest of the group, smiling, "We can talk inside."
"Great. I just started dinner," the other man said, a giant smile on his face.
Carlos asked, "Are you sure you don't mind?"
"It's gonna storm soon. Please, come in."
They made their way into the ski resort, Kassidy walking alongside her dad and Clem. Everyone else seemed pretty confused, but Kass didn't really care. She thought Kenny was dead. No, she was right there with him when he died.
But when she looked around at the main room of the resort, she was in awe. Christmas lights hung from the ceiling and banisters of the second flood, a large Christmas tree lighting up the seating area. Soft music played from the radio on a shelf, and the fire kept the place warm.
"Kenny and Sarita have been staying with us for several weeks. Used to be a ski lodge, obviously, so we have plenty of food. And believe it or not, we still get some power from that wind turbine out front. We tend to keep most of the lights off at night to avoid drawing attention."
As the man spoke, Kenny turned to Kass and Clem, miming a talking mouth with his hand as he rolled his eyes.
"But after we found this stuff in storage, we couldn't resist making an exception," It was funny to Kass but what made it better was how Clementine had to hold her mouth and lean over from preventing to burst in laughter. "What's funny?" He asked, clearing seeing something.
"Oh, nothing, Walt," Kenny smiled as he clapped him on the back. "Walter here's a smart son of a bitch. Makes a mean can of beans, too."
Walter smiled, "Well, why don't you three catch up while I get dinner started?"
The door behind them opened and the rest of the group walked in.
"Please, make yourselves at home," Walter said and gestured to a bench by the door. "You can leave your things there."
They look at the bench where Walter told them to put their weapons.
"The hell we will."
Kassidy rolled her eyes at Rebecca, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Yeah, I'm holding onto my rifle, thanks."
She could kill Nick.
"Yeah, my pistols staying right where it is," Oliver added.
And Oliver.
"You are our guests here, there is no need to worry," Walter assured.
"Tell him to put his gun down," Nick looked over at Kenny.
"Kenny?" Walt asked.
The man was silent for a moment, making the girls look at him. "Will you vouch for them, girls? If you two tell me that they're good, then I'm good."
"Us?" Nick spike, stepping forward. "You were the one waving a gun around, man." Kassidy looked back at Nick, a look of pure disappointment written on her face. It was like a few hours ago had not happened, like that man was not dead, floating down the river.
"These people saved me and Clem's life. They are fine. Guys, you can trust him. Clementine and I knew him for a while. Me... Longer... He's my dad."
They all looked between Kenny and Kass with wide eyes, seemingly finally putting the pieces together– even after hearing her exclaim 'Dad,' somehow.
The door opened again, Carlos and Sarah walking in with the woman Kenny was with.
"Dad, Ollie, look!" Sarah's face lit up. "A Christmas tree!"
"Not now, Sarah."
"Isn't it great?" Sarita smiled. "We found it all in storage."
Sarah looked around in awe, "It's amazing."
Kenny walked over to the bench and set his rifle down, turning to the others and waiting for them to do the same.
It took a minute, but soon everyone had placed their weapons and bags down, including Kass and Clem. Luke walked over to the bench and put his machete on it, "If what Kass and Clem says is true, then I'll say sure."
"Good," Sarita led them up the stairs. "Now, if you all follow me, I can show you where you'll sleep."
They walked toward the stairs by the Christmas tree when Clem stopped, looking at the large fireplace, and the couches surrounding it.
Clem, Kenny and Kass sat down by the fire, smiling.
"Still wearing this dirty old thing, huh?" Kenny tapped the rim of Clem's hat lightly. "You know, I half expected Lee to walk on up next to you two. You were like two peas in a pod, and if it wasn't for him..."
Clem bows her head, feeling down about the topic of her old caretaker. "Oh, shit," he cursed. "I didn't mean to... it's just hard not to think about it, you know?"
Clem frowned, "He saved me."
"I knew it! I knew that tough bastard would do it! That guy had one hell of a fire in him that's for sure. He was my best friend, though at times I could've treated him better than I did. When Duck...Well...he took care of him."
It was quite after, everyone thinking. The older girl felt a tangy bittersweet feeling in her chest. "So, where'd you two end up?"
Kass answered this time, "We were with Christa and Omid. Omid...well... Christa and we were together for a while, but these guys caught us. She's gone..."
"Sounds like it ain't been easy for you. I'm sorry, darlins' I wish I coulda found you sooner. But everything's gonna be fine now."
"Savannah was just a total disaster," Kassidy sighed.
Kenny laughed half-heartedly, "Yeah it was. I should've seen it the moment I stopped that train."
"Wait, but I thought you died. I SAW you die," Kass questioned.
"I am. This is all a dream," he laughed and the two girls looked at him awkwardly.
"Sorry, bad joke. I remember when Ben and you fell... I stepped in to help that shitbird. Lord knows why..." he sighed. "Maybe it was because you liked him, Kass... " he added thoughtfully. "Then it turned into a damn cluster. Couldn't help the kid, but I got out. Long story short, got lucky. Real lucky. Spent a long time alone after that. It, uh... Then I met Sarita, thank god. God, I missed you both, so much!" he explained.
Sarita appeared at Kenny's shoulder, smiling. "You three catching up?"
"Clem, Kass, this is my girl Sarita," Kenny smiled. "Ain't she beautiful?"
She rolled her eyes, "Nice to meet you, girls. I've heard lots about you, Kassidy. You too Clementine."
They shook hands with her and smiled slightly when Kenny looked over at the kitchen, "Hey, Walt, where's Matthew? He still out there rootin' around?"
"Of course he is. Well, I'll start dinner."
"Carlos, right?" Sarita smiled at the group as they came back down the staircase. "Mind if I steal your daughter for a secret mission?"
Carlos nodded, "Stay in sight, sweetie." Sarita and Sarah walked off towards the left.
"Hey uhh...Kenny. We were wondering if there's anything we can do to help?" Luke asked.
"Actually. Yes. We got a lot of supplies to bring in before that storm hits us. Kassidy, wanna help too?"
"Sure thing."
Clem looked at him, "What can I do?"
Kenny thought for a moment, "You can help Walt with dinner. Don't worry, he won't bite."
Clem looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
Kenny just smiled at her reaction and laughed a little, "Sorry, another bad joke. Come on, Kass. We've got a lot of shit to bring in."
Kass, Kenny, Luke, Nick, and Ollie went around the side of the lodge and began sorting out the supplies. As they did this, Kenny talked with Luke and Nick to try to get to know them. Ollie stayed beside Kass while talking with her father.
She'd say that they were getting along...fine. They chatted about random things for a bit before Kenny said that the two could finish up and the rest could get back inside to get warm. He put one more box of food on a cart and began pushing it back to the front.
"Dad?" Kassidy spoke up after a few seconds of silence, dipping her head.
"Yeah, darlin'?" he replied, turning to look at his teenage daughter.
"You like Sarita, right?"
He frowned a bit before saying, "Yeah, I do."
"As much as Mom? More than Mom? You're not replacing her with Sarita right?" Kassidy asked as Kenny widened his eyes. "You aren't replacing Mom and Duck? You won't forget about them or me, right?"
Kenny sighed before replying, "Yeah, I do love her. But... I don't think I'll love anyone more than I loved your mother, alright? No one can ever, EVER replace your mom and Duck. Please, don't you ever think that..." he trailed off. "I'm not forgettin' about Mom and Duck. Or any of y'all. I'll love you, Kat, and Duck forever. Okay, darlin'?"
"Okay," she muttered, sniffling.
They hugged each other and walked back over to the front of the lodge. Kenny covered up the supplies underneath a tarp and strapped it down, so the rain didn't make it useless.
Kenny walked over to the tables as Kassidy met up with Clementine. She smiled at her and they walked over to the tables.
Luke and the rest of the group sat on one side while Kenny and Sarita sat on the other. Luke and Ollie waved them over to sit with the group while Kenny did the same.
Kass sighed, shaking her head. She thought the group were good people, but there was no way she would choose them over her father.
"Here you go, Kassidy and Clementine," Walter said, placing the bowls down in front of them.
Kass started devouring her food when Kenny asked, "What's the deal with the kid? What's his name... Luke? Is he in charge? Do you trust him?"
"Kenny," Sarita sighed. "Please."
"We don't know these people!"
"Well, they seem nice."
"Yeah, gators seem nice, too, till they bite your arm off."
"Kenny!"
"I trust him. He's a good guy," Kassidy finally responded.
"And he saved me when I needed help," Clementine added.
"But do you trust him with your life?" Kenny pressed.
Kass got confused about what her father was saying. He'd never really acted like that before. She knew the world was different now and he just met them, but he's asking as if these guys kidnapped her and Clem.
"I mean, I guess," Kass continued eating. She didn't really trust anyone with her life– other than Clementine, that is.
Clem nodded, "Yeah, same."
"That guy, big Al?" Kenny continued, "He said they were on the run."
"Alvin," Kassidy curtly corrected, "But, some people are after them and we got caught in the middle of it."
"Well, we had no choice but to stay with them. We got into bad stuff and needed help," Clem added, Kassidy shooting her a look of disapproval.
"Well, you don't have to worry about that no more," he smiled. "They can go tomorrow, and you and Clem can stay here."
Clem and Kass looked at each other, surprised. Kassidy turned back to Kenny and grinned as Clem looked like she was thinking hard.
"Absolutely," Sarita smiled. "Honey, you stay with us as long as you'd like."
"They're staying with us for good!"
Clem nodded, tilting her head, "Of course, Kenny. But what about our friends?"
"They can stay too if they like," Sarita responded, smiling.
Kenny scoffed, "No, they can't."
"Why not? We have plenty of food, rooms-"
"I said, they aren't staying!" They jumped a little at his sudden outburst and he looked at them, "I'm sorry."
They sat in awkward silence before Sarita said, "I'm gonna go get washed up." She got up and walked over to the bathroom.
Kenny looked down in shame for how he had reacted. Just then, Ollie, Luke, and Nick came over and sat with them. Luke sat by Kenny while Nick sat beside Clem, and Ollie beside Kass.
"Hi," Kenny greeted awkwardly.
"Hey," Luke responded, the same amount of awkwardness in his voice.
"So how's the food?" Kenny asked them.
"Wha- Oh, it's great, thank you."
"Peaches and beans. Great for nutrition. Not too great on the way out, though, I tell ya!" He laughed a little too much at his bad joke. Was he feeling alright? Kass had never seen Kenny act like that before and it was starting to worry her. Her and Clem looked at each other in confusion.
"So, Luke...and Nick. Luke and Nick. You guys sure do look like a match, that's for sure."
Kass almost burst out laughing at his assumption.
Oliver definitely sure did laugh though, "Oh my god!" he spluttered.
Nick and Luke look at him concerned. "The hell's that supposed to mean?" Nick snapped.
"I'm just sayin', you look like good friends, that's all."
Nice save Kenny. Nice save.
"So I've gotta ask. What're you guys plan here? Hold out for the winter?" Luke asked after a few moments of silence.
"Actually, we were thinking of moving on. Somewhere up north. You ever heard of a place called Wellington?"
Clem's face lit up, "Yeah, me, Kass, and Christa were on our way up there."
"So where is it?" Ollie asked.
"Supposed to be a big camp up near Michigan."
"Michigan?" Nick asked, surprised.
"You got a hearing problem, kid? Yeah, Michigan. Think about it. Freshwater, lots of land, and cold-ass winters, so the walkers get slow."
"Sounds like bullshit."
"Listen, Vanilla Ice, I don't know what your deal is, but you're more than welcome to take off in the morning."
"That'll be just fine by me."
Kenny turned to the girls, scoffing, "Kids, what's these guys' problem?"
"Hey, fuck you buddy," Nick snapped.
Luke glared slightly before turning to Nick, "Nick, it's fine. We're not saying."
"They're staying," Kenny said.
Luke quickly turned his head to look at him, "Excuse me?"
"Says who?" Ollie asked, glancing at Kass.
"Did I stutter?"
Kass sighed and spoke, not once meeting Ollie's gaze, "Stop fighting, okay?! We can talk more about this in the morning. Just, let's not right now."
"Gentlemen, please," Walter appeared behind her. "Listen to Kass. There's no need for this. Now, look, we've all had a long day. Please eat."
They were silent, but went back to eating.
Kenny sighed, and gestured to a can beside his daughter, "Pass me the can, Duck."
Kassidy went wide-eyed at what her father said. He just called her Duck. Her brother.
Kenny gasped in realization, before closing his eyes.
"Duck? Who's Duck?" Luke asked.
Ollie cringed at Luke's question. He was always asking questions at the wrong time.
"Luke, just don't," Clem warned.
Kass looked over at her father sadly, "Dad?"
He still had a look of sadness and the group fell silent until Walter broke it.
"Hey, uh, Kass, Clem, would you mind helping me outside with something?" Walter asked.
They nodded and stood up, following him outside.
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