𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍.
[ amid the ruins; part four ]
━━━━━━━━━━
It was late at night when Kassidy heard the baby started making noises. She slowly got up and saw Rebecca holding her son in her hands, with Oliver cooing at the baby. They looked over and saw that Kassidy was awake. "Hey, Kass," she greeted.
"Hey. How's he doing?" she asked her, gesturing toward the baby.
"He's perfect," Rebecca replied as she looked down at her son while Kassidy stood up and walked over to her.
"Who's a perfect little man? Who's the most perfect little man in the whole world?" Rebecca cooed at her son. "You are! That's right. You are."
"What're we gonna do now? We can't stay here, can we?" Kass asked her.
"I've gotta rest," Rebecca replied.
"It's getting colder."
"Kassidy, I can't think about that right now. We'll think of something, just not this second," Rebecca said and then began to cough.
"Becca!" Oliver exclaimed in a small voice.
Kassidy jumped and gave her a worried look, but she shook her head. "I'm fine, I'm fine...I just wish I could get warm..." she said and at that moment Mike got up.
"Kassidy... Why don't you give her that coat we found?" he questioned.
Kassidy unsurely pulled the coat out and gave it to her.
"Sorry, y'know, about the color," Mike apologized to Rebecca as he laid down again.
"You really think I care about that?" She asked him, annoyed. Then she turned to Kass and asked, "Do you...wanna hold him?" she held out her son to her.
"I don't know if I remember how," she muttered with an embarrassed flush.
"It's easy. Just keep him close and support his head," she guided, handing her the baby and Kassidy did as she instructed.
Kassidy smiled down at the baby as he began to get fussy. "Shhh, shhhhh. There you go," she muttered to him, comfortingly, and he almost immediately calmed down.
"You're a natural," Rebecca said as they heard footsteps and saw that Clem was awake. "You wanna hold him too, Clem?" Rebecca asked her.
"Uh, sure," Clem said as she was handed the baby.
"Hold his head," Kassidy whispered to her as Clem held the baby, smiling.
Oliver gushed at that. It was adorable.
"Look at you two. Like big sisters," Kenny said as he walked over to the three of them as Rebecca began to cough again.
"Here, let me take him. You all need to rest," Kenny said as Clem handed him the baby. "Especially you," Kenny said as he looked down at Rebecca.
"When's the last time you slept, Kenny?" Rebecca asked him.
"Ah, about two years ago. I'm fine," Kenny replied, looking down at the baby. "Plus somebody's gotta watch you while Mama gets her beauty sleep." He sniffed the newborn baby smell, sighing, "You never forget that smell."
Rebecca smiled softly up at him, closing her eyes to try and fall sleep.
Oliver snuggled up to Rebecca's side and she smiled down at the teen.
Kenny walked away as Kass and Clem went outside, noticing Jane looking through the shutter next to the room where they all resided. Kassidy raised an eyebrow at her when she turned to see them standing there. "Aw, shit," she muttered.
"What are you doing?" Kassidy asked her.
"Listen...I'm sorry. I've gotta go," she declared as she opened the shutter gate.
"But why?" the teenage girl asked again.
"You know...Jaime...Sarah...I'm not gonna stick around and...and watch it happen to you girls, too," Jane said as she turned away from them.
"But I thought you believed in us?" Kass questioned with a slight edge.
"I do. But give it enough time, and everyone's luck runs out," she said, heading toward the stairs before she stopped.
"So you're abandoning us?" Clem asked.
Jane shook her head, "No, I'm not. I feel like I've done what I could here. Plus, you kids can take care of yourselves. Both of you are smart and strong."
"What about your new boyfriend?" Kassidy sneered.
"Oh, um...Yeah, that was..." she sighed "I'm not to sure why I did it. But I can't have that in my life anymore. Love, I mean. Anyway, I'll see you around, I guess," she said. "Listen...when shit hits the fan, 'cause it always does, remember that you two can make it on your own. It's not an option for everyone...If things start heading south, don't let them drag you down with them. You kids don't owe them anything. They'll make you feel like you do. Like it's all one happy family. But when push comes to shove...you'll see."
"We owe these people enough! They saved us. You don't know them like we do," Kass snapped.
Jane sighed, "Sure, but I'm just giving you the hard truth. You kids take care of yourselves and each other. I mean that." She said before digging in her pocket and pulling out a nail file. "Here," she said and Kassidy took it.
"Thanks..." she muttered.
"...Yeah," Jane replied, awkwardly. "I, um...I gotta go." And so she walked down the stairs to leave while Kassidy and Clem sat down and watched.
"Hey," Luke said as he walked up to them. "Thought you two'd be asleep by now. You guys okay?"
They only frowned and said nothing to him. "I guess we all got stuff on our minds," Luke muttered before he sighed. "Temperature's dropping. We're low on food. I think we've gotta stay put a while, you know, for Rebecca and the baby. So I'm thinking as soon as it gets light, Jane and I should go explore, see if we can find some place to scavenge," he said, looking down to see the girls awkwardly frown.
"What?" he questioned.
"Jane left...for good," Kassidy answered.
"What? When?" Luke asked, confused.
"Just now," Clem told him.
"Are you serious? She didn't say anything about leaving to me. What the fuck?!" Luke exclaimed, frustratedly punching the wall. "Dammit!"
"Hey, keep it down," Kenny snapped as he walked in.
"Sorry, I...sorry. Just...Jane's gone," Luke informed him.
Kenny scoffed in disbelief and annoyance, "Really?! Luke? Of all the childish bullshit."
"Childish? Dammit, Kenny, you know what? Just...lay off," Luke spat at him.
"No. You put our lives, this baby's life at risk, so you two could roll around like fuckin' teenagers!" Kenny snarled as the baby started crying.
"Look, I made a mistake, all right?" Luke apologized.
"No, it's not all right!" Kenny growled.
"What do you want from me?" Luke asked him, angrily.
"Dad's just trying to protect the group," Kass snapped at the two men.
"Well, comin' down on me isn't helping," Luke quippef. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I fucked up...But y'know what? Jane, she made an offer and...God, I needed it, okay? I mean, look around you, okay? Everything is shit! So forgive me for wantin' to enjoy one moment of somethin' else!" Luke exclaimed as his voice got louder with every word.
Oliver walked out and squinted his eyes at them, "Shut the fuck up..." he spoke dangerously, but the adults seemed to ignore him, save for the shocked look that Luke sent him.
"Fine. But this baby...he's what matters now, got it? So get your shit together," Kenny snapped at Luke.
Rebecca called out to them, "Kenny, where's my baby?"
"Is everything all right?" Mike asked as he came out to check on everyone.
"Everything is fine," Luke muttered as he walked away from them.
"We're gonna need a good place to raise him, which ain't here, we gotta push on. We head north. Get to Wellington. That's our best shot," Kenny said as they walked back to the others.
"There's a town across the river, it might be safe there," Clem replied as she pointed toward the woods across from them.
"Or at least, it might be a good stop on the way," Kenny shrugged it off.
"Kenny!" Rebecca exclaimed.
Kenny flimched slightly, walking over to her. "I'm sorry," he apologized, handing Rebecca her baby.
Oliver trailed behind them and sat back next to Rebecca. Rebecca tiredly put the small newborn into his arms.
"Clem's got a point. That could be a whole town full of supplies, and not that far from here!" Bonnie exclaimed.
"Whole lot better than here, anyway. Looks like that's our best bet. We need to get on the road as soon as possible...we leave at first light," Kenny said, firmly.
"Whoa, whoa! What're you talkin' about? Rebecca needs rest. A few days...at least!" Luke exclaimed.
"We've got that baby formula..." Bonnie said.
"That won't help the rest of us. And what about shelter? We'll freeze out here." Mike quipped.
"My dad's right. We should leave in the morning," Kassidy said to the others.
"Rebecca is not in any condition to travel!" Luke snapped.
"I'll be fine. If there's a chance there's food, we have to risk it," Rebecca replied, shaking her head.
Oliver frowned and snuggled closer to the woman, holding the baby close.
Luke sighed, "Okay, fine, if that's what you want."
"Look, we should all try and get some sleep. It's been a long day," Mike said, everyone nodding on agreement as they all took a spot on the floor to rest.
━━━━━━━━━━
The next day, all of them were walking along the road in the windy snowy morning.
"You all right?" Bonnie asked Rebecca after she fell to her knees.
"She's exhausted. We all are," Luke said as he glared over at Kenny.
"I can keep going" Rebecca whispered, weakly, as she stood up and continued on.
"Becca..." Kass heard Ollie softly whisper.
"We shoulda stayed put. We shoulda stay put until she was in better shape," Luke snapped.
"She wasn't gon' a get no better back there. We gotta find food, get her someplace warm," Kenny remarked.
"This look like someplace warm to you?" Luke asked him, angrily. "We could still turn back."
"That's not an option. Everybody hang in there. We gotta keep movin' if we're gonna make it to that town before nightfall," he said.
"You don't even listen to anyone else. You just go on barkin' orders. You gotta lighten up, okay? You're pushing 'em too hard," Luke argued.
"I'm just doin' what has to be done. Like always," Kenny answered.
"Stop arguing," Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose as he pushed the bridge of his deceased brothers hat down.
"He's right, we have to keep going," Kassidy agreed.
"Yeah, I guess," Luke grumbled as Rebecca fell and the baby began to cry.
"Over here, there's a place to sit," Mike said as he pointed at a large tire, Bonnie helping Rebecca back to her feet.
"Rebecca, let me take the baby," Kenny said to her, softly, as Bonnie set her down on the tire.
"He's okay. I've got him," Rebecca muttered.
"No, you rest for a minute. I'll watch him" he offered.
"Back off, Kenny. She said she doesn't want you to take the baby. Don't be weird about it, okay?" Luke snapped at him.
"I ain't being weird!" Kenny snarled.
"Yeah. You kinda have been. And not just right now," Luke scoffed.
"Kenny knows what he's doing," Clem said to Luke.
"Yeah, he's a dad," Kass snapped and Luke glared over at them.
"That's not the part I was concerned about," Luke snapped, narrowing his ears.
"Shut up, Jesus Christ!" Ollie exclaimed and they fell silent, looking back at him with frowns.
"Hello?!" A voice called out and they turned to see a figure walking, or actually limping, towards them.
"What is this?" Mike asked, confused.
Clem and Ollie looked, their eyes widening when the figure spoke in Russian.
"Arvo?" they questioned, cautiously.
"Arvo?" Bonnie and Kass asked, confused.
"We met him on the observation deck," Oliver answered.
"Before everyone else came," Clem finished.
"That's the guy?" Luke asked Clem.
"You know this sonuvabitch? What's he want?" Kenny asked, Bonnie looking at Arvo as he came closer to view.
"He doesn't look like much," she muttered.
"Hello! Please?" Arvo questionrd.
"Jane rob–" Oliver cut Clementine off with, "He has a sick sister. He might be in trouble."
"Alright then," Luke finished as Arvo limped up to the group.
"Hello! You are... Clementine and... Oliver. Yes?" Arvo said as he looked straight at them.
Kass went to stand in front of Clem, protectively, as he questioned her, "These are your friends?" He looked around, "I am hoping you can help me now. Not like before. All of you can help."
"What do you need, how can we help?" Clem asked.
"I need a...things for-- bandages. I need bandages," he told them, nodding.
"Are you hurt?" Bonnie asked skeptically.
"No..." he replied, shaking his head as people started coming out of their hiding places in the woods, all of them aiming their guns at the group– which was immediately met by profanities from them.
"Woah, what the fuck!?"
Arvo looked at a girl as she spoke to him in Russian and he replied back, his friends beginning to laugh.
"What's so funny? Why did they laugh?" Kassidy asked Arvo.
"I told them she is the one who robbed me. They think it's funny that they're just little kids..." Arvo replied as he nodded his head toward Clem.
"Robbed?" Kenny and Kass exclaimed as they looked over at Clem.
"...and they want you and your friends to put down the guns so we can take your things," Arvo ordered.
"Whoa, whoa! Hang on!" Luke exclaimed.
"What the hell?" Kenny questioned in shock.
"Back the fuck off!" Ollie snapped.
"Nobody get excited!" Mike yelled as Kass looked over at Ollie and Clem.
"Clementine, Oliver, you robbed this guy?" she asked, stifling a laugh.
"Jane took your stuff, not us!"
"Jane...where is the other woman?" Arvo asked as he looked around, continuing to speak to his friends in Russian. "I do not see the other woman? Where is she hiding? What's going on?" he questioned.
"She's gone! She left the group," Kass informed him.
"It's a trap. I know it," Arvo said, turning back to his friends.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Kenny exclaimed as he drew his gun and so did everyone else.
"This ain't no trap, back the fuck off," Ollie snapped.
"This can be easy for you," Arvo told them. "All of you just put your guns down. This will be fine."
"Fine my ass!" Kenny snarled.
"Please. Tell them not to shoot," Clem pleaded with Arvo, who stammered as the Russian female spoke to him.
"What the fuck is she saying?" Kenny questioned. "I will not let them touch that baby!"
"You have a baby with you?" Arvo asked as he looked over and saw Rebecca holding the small wrapped up bundle. Then he turned to his friends and spoke to them.
"Drop that now or I'm gonna blow that fucking head off!" Kenny threatened as Arvo's friends came a little closer. It was chaos as everyone started to shout at each other while the baby was crying.
Kass looked over and her eyes widened in fear as she saw Rebecca slumped forward, not moving, her skin pale and grey.
'Oh no! ' Kass thought as Rebecca twitched, moving as and she raised her head and looked right at Kass. She raised her gun, took aim, and shot her in the head.
"No!" Luke and Ollie exclaimed in panic as Arvo's people began to fire.
━━━━━━━━━━
arvo can also suck my big toe, pussy ass mofo. he just looks hella sus all around lmao. did you shoot rebecca or call for help? i shot her, kinda knew it didn't matter what i did, either way, she'd be dead.