"I don't see why we always have to do this at night," Clementine heard a sleepy Gene mumble from her hiding place in the locker.
"I do all my best thinking late at night," said Bill, who sounded wide awake. "Always have. When things are nice and quiet is when you can really clear your mind. And I've always found something about the dark relaxing. Like you're truly alone, and just free to be yourself."
"Then why do you usually call me out of bed too?" asked Gene.
"Because, I do a lot of good thinking when you're around."
"And we have to do this in the armory because?"
"I just wanted to see some of the handguns the crew found today," said Bill. "Figured we could do two things at once. You know, like..."
"Multitasking?"
"Yeah, exactly. Speaking of which, what do you think of this one?"
"I think I'd like it better if you weren't pointing it at me." Clem flinched as she heard a loud click. "Jesus Bill, you—"
"Oh lighten up Gene. You know that tight ass high schooler always double checks to make sure these things are empty."
"Well, I don't exactly feel much better having unloaded guns pointed at me either."
"That's the point Gene. You're not supposed to feel better when a gun is pointed at you. And I'm trying to find which one looks the worst pointed at somebody." Clem listened as she heard Bill pick up and set down several pistols in a hasty manner. "Now hang on, Byron said one of these had an expensive looking engraving on it he thought I'd like. I don't see it." Clem felt a chill shoot up her spine when she realized that was probably the gun she took.
"Maybe he's working on it or something," suggested an uninterested Gene.
"It's got to be around here somewhere." Clem nearly jumped out of her skin when the locker door swung open. It wasn't until she saw Bill's arm shuffling through the guns on the second shelf did she realize he hadn't opened the door she was behind. Clem instinctively pointed her gun at Bill's arm. She watched in terror as he dug deeper into the locker.
Clem found herself wondering what she should do if he saw her. Her first instinct was to shoot Bill if that happened, but she had no idea what to do after that. Clem felt like throwing up as she watched Bill check the top shelf, the only shelf on that side he hadn't checked yet. He was going to find her, and there was nothing she could do about it. The only question left was she going to shoot him or not when that happened.
"Look, you can ask him where it is in the morning," suggested Gene. "You know what he's like when you dig around in his stuff."
"It's my stuff," reminded Bill.
"You know what I—" Gene gasped. "Where did you come from?" Clem felt her whole body freeze up.
"I heard something." George's voice made Clem realize Gene hadn't seen her, which offered her a tiny bit of relief, followed by a swell of anxiety.
"You heard us you damn gorilla," barked Bill.
"Nah, there was something smaller scampering around a little earlier. Like an animal."
"Well, by all means, sniff around." Clem felt her stomach drop as she saw Bill pull the open door out as wide as he could. She could see out of the side of her eye that Bill was standing in front of the locker, as if he was inviting George to search it. As she heard George's heavy footsteps approach, Clem tightened her grip on the gun, thinking she had no choice but to try to shoot them.
"Something bothering you, boss?" Clem jumped as she heard the locker door slam shut in response to George's question.
"You know damn well what's bothering me," growled Bill.
"You still on that?"
"I told you, whatever Pete found up north must have been big for him to run off with three others like he did," explained Bill. "And we would have found it if you had just stayed put until he came out to get it. But—"
"Pete knew you'd be waiting for him in Springfield, and he'd be ready by the time he came out of hiding for whatever piss ants you left up there to watch out for him, assuming they even saw him coming to begin with," stated George. "It was best to settle this right away, so I settled it."
"You lost a man and nearly got Connie killed, all to bring back a bunch of useless fucking idiots we don't need and a doctor we can't trust."
"Not my fault the two people you sent to keep an eye on me didn't know what the fuck they were doing," spoke George in a dismissive tone. "And as for bringing people back. We had enough beds, so I brought them back. That's your policy, not mine."
"It's also my policy you do what the fuck I say, you hear me you goddamn dumb ape?" Clem listened for an answer, but she didn't hear one. "What, you deaf? Let me spell it out for you. You're only here because I want you to be, not because any of us need you. And if you want it to stay that way, you'd better not step out of line again." Clem listened again for an answer, and this time she heard George softly chuckling.
"Something funny you want to share with me?" asked Bill.
"What's it like?" asked George in an oddly curious tone.
"What's what like?"
"Having to do all this talking and scheming and scamming just to get people to do what you want?" asked George. "See, I got no idea. Anytime I tell someone to do something, they do it. If they're particularly thick-headed, I'll tell them a second time. Like your glorified hall monitor Maude. Practically pissed herself when I made it clear she was coming with me to bring Pete and the others back. All I had to do was ask, and that's all it takes for me to get someone to do what I want. But you, seems like you have to work real hard to make that happen."
"I ain't telling you again—"
"Yeah, you will." Clem listened as George moved away from the locker.
"Don't you walk away from me!" shouted Bill.
"I gotta get some sleep, I got a class to teach tomorrow," said George in an aloof voice. An odd silence followed George's departure for a few seconds before Bill spoke up.
"He's just about outlived his usefulness," commented Bill.
"You sure about that?" asked a tepid Gene. "He's still our best scavenger."
"He was," said Bill. "Big farm animal like him was useful back when we were competing with every wayward looter and a flood of lurkers none of us knew anything about.
"Now that things have settled a little and we know how they work, any couple of dopes with machetes can handle things. Which reminds me, I wanted to talk to you about the school."
"I think it's going well."
"Well I don't."
"Look, you said the same thing when Lauren started the greenhouse. Now it's helping to feed everyone. You said Cookie was unnecessary, and everyone perked up after he started handling the meals. You said the long lunch break for everyone would reduce how much work we'd get done in a day, and we get more done. And—"
"And you said debating that high and mighty faggot in front of everyone was a good idea," reminded Bill in a biting tone. "And he made you look like a fucking idiot."
"It wasn't like that, he—"
"You ever suggest something that stupid again, and you'll be leaving here next. You hear me?"
"Yeah... I hear you," answered a nervous Gene.
"And like I was saying, the school is shaping up to be a real bad idea. Not a single one of them worth the cost of feeding them. Except Adam. I wouldn't mind having a few more kids like him. Does what he's told, doesn't complain, and keeps his eyes and ears open. Well, as many of them as he has left."
"You shouldn't think of Adam as ideal. He's clearly traumatized—"
"We're all traumatized," retorted Bill. "Except maybe Gertrude's useless brat. All her hemming and hawing and she'll probably get herself killed on her first time out."
"Well that's why I've got George lined up for tomorrow. So that doesn't happen."
"Well, I guess that's one thing the big ape is still useful for, scaring people straight. But these damn kids just ain't worth the trouble."
"Look, I know the brothers aren't exactly rising to the occasion. But Ed really liked Sarah and—"
"And what? Dumb broad couldn't remember a screwdriver sitting in her pocket," commented Bill. "Even if she wasn't an idiot, Ed's gonna what? Train her for years just so we can have someone half as useful as him just in time for us to not need either of them?
"And that Clementine girl, she's the most useless of them all. She doesn't know anything, can't do anything useful, and she's got a rotten attitude. Little fucker nearly kills Connie, then has the nerve to ask for her worthless shit back right to my face. Spoiled little ingrate thinks people actually give a fuck what she wants." Clem felt her heart sink as she listened to Bill's characterization of her.
"Didn't Byron say she was the best shooter?" asked Gene.
"We already got plenty of people who can use a gun. What we need are more people we can depend on or someone who knows something important the rest of us don't, like the mad woman you got running the greenhouse. Not an entitled brat whose only talent is shooting a gun. That's just a recipe for trouble. Plus, we already have one of those. Her name Bridget."
"How much trouble do you really think someone like Clementine could really cause?" asked Gene.
"Not much, but that's more than I'm willing to risk for someone as worthless as her. Byron told me about how she didn't speak up when she found that bullet in her gun, like she was plotting something."
"I think you're overreacting. She probably just wasn't expecting it."
"Then she's incompetent, and that's almost as bad."
"She seems pretty capable for a nine-year-old."
"Yeah, for a nine-year-old," repeated Bill. "That's liking saying pretty capable for a damn baby. Kids aren't all that capable, so unless they're dependable like Adam, they ain't much use."
"You gotta think of it as a long-term investment. People need something right now to make them believe in a future, and they don't see that in Adam. But they do see it in having a couple of kids who actually act like kids. Gertrude and Cookie both like having them around. I like having them around. Hell, even Tom said he enjoyed his time with them, and he's on the crew.
"We have to think that one day, things are going to get better. If we lose that, we got nothing to shoot for."
"You see, that's one thing you and I have never seen eye to eye on Gene. You think if you found out this really is the end, that there be no point in going on. But the way I see it, it'd be a little like knowing the day you die.
"It'd be a shock at first, but once you've accepted it, it'd be liberating. Living like there's no tomorrow doesn't sound like a bad way to live, and if there really is no tomorrow, then you got no reason to not live when you think about it. Know what I mean?"
"Yeah..." spoke Gene in a dejected tone. "I just don't think most people would feel like that. For them, keeping a couple of kids around might help keep their spirits up."
"Yeah, but how many damn kids do we need? The way I see it, you really only need one for what you're talking about."
"Which one?" Gene asked, sounding uncomfortable as he did so.
"Well, I haven't decided yet," said Bill. "Let's finish up your classes first, then we'll see which one can be our little beacon of hope to the hopeful."
"And the others?"
"Let 'em fall where they may." Clementine listened closely as someone walked out of the container. She also thought she heard Gene sigh, but she wasn't sure.
"You coming Gene?"
"Yeah, I'm coming." Clem watched as the light shining through the cracks of the locker dimmed. She heard the doors slam close and the locks click into place, and then nothing. She was alone in the dark again, yet she still didn't move. She remained in the locker, waiting and listening for anyone else.
Clem didn't know how long it was until she finally summoned the nerve to push the locker open. She hesitated, almost expecting someone else to enter, but no one came. Clem climbed onto the safe, then onto the locker, and back out onto the top of the container. She surveyed the area, then sat down on the edge of the container and leapt down. Clem hurried back to the pen and went right towards the opening.
"Hello?" whispered Clem. "Christa? Carlos?" Clem reached through the hole, then heard someone approaching from the other side.
"You okay?" whispered Nick.
"Yeah, I got the guns."
"Pass them through." Clem removed the guns and stuck them through the slot in the fence. "Okay, now you." Clem saw Nick and Carlos's hands pull on the fence to widen the gap, allowing Clem to slip through. As her head came through the opening, Clem felt a set of hands grab her under the armpits and pull her through. Clearing the gap, Clem found herself in Christa's arms.
"Thank God you're all right." Christa held Clem tight. "You were gone so long I thought something must've happened to you."
"I'm okay," assured a weary Clem. "I'm just... tired." Christa set Clem down and handed the girl her hat back. As the pair moved back into the rest of the pen, they saw Carlos lift up one of the empty mattresses and place the two guns underneath it.
"Tomorrow evening we'll be rid of this place. Until then, everyone just keep your heads down," instructed Carlos in a hushed voice as he lay down on the same bed.
Clem found her way back to her bed, where Sarah was still sleeping peacefully. She very carefully climbed back into bed, taking great care not to disturb the older girl. As she settled in bed across from her friend, Clem noticed she seemed to be smiling, which Clem found comforting.