I woke up in the dark. I expected to wake up in the motor inn, where Duck would be outside playing and Lee would be talking to the rest of the group about what to do next. I expected all of this to just be a really bad dream that I could laugh about with Lee.
But I was in the underground shelter Calvin had built. I wasn't at the motor inn. It wasn't a dream. And I needed to decide if I wanted to stay with Apple or not.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I grabbed my hat and pulled it over my head, standing up to go above ground. Because the door was open I had light to walk around and didn't have to worry about bumping into anything--though I'm not sure what I would bump into, it was dirt walls with a few shelves.
I reached the dirt wall that had the latter leading out of the underground shelter. I began to climb up and slowly lifted myself high enough to check if it was safe to come out.
Calvin was sitting close to the door, staring off into space. He held his gun close to him, but his hands didn't seem to fit the gun well. He looked deep in thought.
I climbed up and out of the hole. Calvin smiled at me. "Good morning, Clementine."
He had a calm voice. I asked if I should close the door or leave it open and Calvin said that I should close it since no body was down there. I nodded and pushed it close. When I was done I rolled up the gray sleeves of the sweater and sat down next to Calvin and stared up at the sky.
"Do you know what you want to do?" Calvin asked.
With how calm Calvin's voice sounded, the decision of if I was going to stick with Apple or not didn't seem as scary. But it was still pretty scary.
"I," I continued to look up at the sky as I paused. What was my decision? I didn't think about it much last night... and this was too big of a decision to make with no thought. I sighed.
"What will make the choice easier for you?" Calvin asked.
I looked over at him. He had chocolate colored eyes that calmed me even more. Everything about Calvin seemed to calm me down....
He reminded me a lot of Lee because of that.
I sighed and looked back up. "My last group had been split up," I told Calvin. I knew I was lying, but in a way it was true. "And Lee told me I should look for Christa."
Calvin nodded. "I see. So... is that what you are going to do?"
I hesitated before saying, "I want to find Christa, but I think I might die on my own...."
Calvin set his gun next to him. "We can help you. Do you know where she may be?"
I shook my head sheepishly and Calvin seemed surprised.
"You guys didn't come up with a rendezvous point?" he asked.
I blinked and gave Calvin a confused look. "A what?"
"A rendezvous point is somewhere a group would meet up if need be," Calvin explained to me.
"Oh..." I said, looking down at the grass as I admitted, "We didn't really get the chance to talk before we split up...."
It was quiet for a minute. "Okay. We will figure out a way to try and find your friend," Calvin told me.
I smiled. "Thank you, Calvin."
He shrugged. "No problem!"
I rolled up my sleeves again and Calvin looked like he remembered something.
"Oh, Alex told me that your other clothes were clean and waiting for you downstairs. Just keep the door open on your way down and you will be able to find them and change," Calvin said, gesturing to the underground shelter.
I smiled again, relieved that I could get into my old clothes. "Okay, I'll be down there changing," I told him as I got up and opened the door.
I began to head down but heard Apple storm up to Calvin and stopped to look up at her.
"That's it, Calvin!" she shouted.
Calvin looked up at Apple with a confused look, asking what she was talking about.
Apple still hadn't noticed me, and so I ducked down but continued to listen.
Apple said, "I can't take this! I can't deal with Erica's bullshit anymore!"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Alex," Calvin told Apple.
"No! I can't! Calvin...." Apple sounded like she was crying now and I felt worried.
"Alex," Calvin said, trying his best to calm down Apple. He sounded like he was out of his element though. "What happened?"
When Apple spoke I knew for sure she was crying this time. "We were talking. Okay, maybe we were arguing... she said some stuff and when I snapped back at her, she brought up my family...."
Apple was really crying now, and I could hear the sound of Calvin whispering, but I couldn't hear what he said. Then Apple began to talk again.
"I yelled at her... but she didn't stop. I knew I would start crying and so I began to leave, and... she...."
Apple began to talk too softly this time for me to hear. I wanted to know what she was going to say, but I also felt bad for listening, so I didn't try to decipher what she said.
Calvin didn't say anything and there wasn't any sound except for Apple softly weeping. And then I heard Erica.
"You psycho bitch!" Erica screamed.
"Hey!" Calvin said in a much softer tone. "Don't make a lot of noise!"
"Do you see what she fucking did to me?" Erica sounded absolutely furious.
Apple began to yell back at Erica before I heard them begin to physically fight. I got scared and quickly began to climb down the ladder. I made my way across the room where my pillow and blanket was and found my old clothes. I slowly changed into them as I listened to the girls fight. I froze, just slipping on my dress when I heard a gun shot.
Everything was silent. My heart beat faster as I waited for somebody to say something.
"Get. In. The. Shelter."
It was Calvin who spoke, and he sounded terrifying. This was a major contrast to the calm, cool, Calvin I had just spoke to.
I grabbed my shoes and sat in the corner of the room, quietly slipping them on as Apple made her way down the ladder. Did she shoot Erica...?
Erica came down the ladder next, her long blonde hair swaying as she made her way down. Wait... what?
Calvin made his way down last, holding his gun. He seemed to be giving off rays of anger. He pad locked the door and then turned to the girls.
"Are you two fucking insane?" Calvin demanded. His eyes darted between Erica and Apple, waiting for their responses. I was forgotten, just watching a fight unfold from the corner of the room.
"Us?" Erica said in a offended tone. "You just shot a gun at the sky!"
I felt relieved to realize nobody was actually shot. Though I somewhat knew nobody was shot at, I relaxed a little knowing what had happened.
"You two were having a fucking screaming match! That's bound to draw somebody's attention!" He said.
"And your gun shot wouldn't?" Erica snapped.
"You two already alerted them of our presence!"
Apple cut them off, "Can we not do this?"
"Oh," Erica's voice began to rise. "Now you want to be the peace keeper, do you? Is this because Clemintine is in here? Huh? Are you putting on a show for precious little Clementine?" Erica furiously waved at me and I sunk back into the corner more, wanting to be tiny or invisible. Maybe I hadn't been forgotten.
"Erica," Apple warned, sounding like she was gritting her teeth.
"Hey, I have an idea! What if I told Clemintine what I told you!" Erica screamed.
Erica turned toward me and it was the first time I had actually seen her face since they came down. Erica has a black eye and a cut running down her cheek, with blood running down it.
"Would you like to know, Clementine?" Erica demanded with a fake smile.
I felt really scared and couldn't talk.
"Erica!" Calvin said in an angry tone. "Stop it!"
"Did I scare you?" Erica demanded, still looking at me with her fake smile.
"I--uh--you--" I couldn't form a complete sentence. I couldn't stop staring at her cut, either.
"Of course you scared her!" Calvin yelled, spinning Erica around to look her in the eye. "Look at you!"
"I only look like this because of your girlfriend!" Erica screamed, pushing, Calvin.
Calvin looked like he was angry but was keeping his temper. "Listen, we will discuss all of this later. But right now, we are all really excited, and need to calm down."
Erica didn't object. It was silent as everyone just took a breather, looking around awkwardly.
"Okay," Erica sounded much calmer. "I... I am sorry for over reacting like that."
"Who are you saying that to?" Apple asked.
Erica shot her a glare and said, "Not you."
Erica paused for a minute, taking a deep breath. "I was apologizing to Calvin and Clementine."
I gulped, still unable to say anything. It was quiet again.
Erica sighed. "I really am. I know..." she seemed like she couldn't finish her sentence, and so she just turned and grabbed a gun off of a shelf. "I will make it up to you by going to find supplies."
Everyone was still quiet as Erica loaded her gun and grabbed a knife, sticking it in her belt. She headed to the ladder and began to climb, but paused when Calvin began to speak.
"Erica," Calvin said in a tired tone. "It's too dangerous."
"I can handle myself," she told Calvin without turning around.
"No, if that--" Calvin began.
"Calvin," Erica sounded tired as well. "I got this."
And with that Erica was up and out of the underground shelter, closing the door as she went.
It was quiet. Again.
"Uh," Calvin turned, scratching the back of his head as he looked from me to Apple. "Well... that happened...."
Apple rushed over to me, looking really worried. "I'm really sorry, Clementine!"
When she got close I could see that she had a cut on her lip, but nothing worse. Nothing as bad as Erica.
"Who did that to Erica?" I asked in a small voice.
Apple crouched down to my level, looking reluctant and guilty. "I did... she said some bad things, Clementine. She... she threatened me."
"She did?" I asked.
Apple looked me in the eye, looking serious. "Yes. So I put Erica in her place."
"What did she say?" I asked Apple.
Apple pulled her eyebrows together and bit her lip before looking up at Calvin for help.
"It's not really for little girls," Calvin said in a calm voice.
None of this really seemed for little girls. I didn't protest though. I nodded before looking back to Apple. "Why do you guys fight so much?"
"Ah, that story isn't for now," Apple told me, patting my head.
I nodded, hoping she would tell me soon.
Apple stood. "Have you made your decision on leaving or staying?"
Calvin spoke for me. "She needs to find her group."
I felt like I was being stabbed at the reminder of my group.
Apple looked disappointed. "So you are going to leave?"
"No," I told her. "I was hoping you guys could help me."
Apple brightened up. "Okay! We can help you find your group."
I gave Apple a reassuring smile as she pulled me up to my feet.
This was it. I could find Christa, the last of the group, and do just what Lee wanted me to do. It would work out this time. It had to work out this time!
*
Hey guys.
I'm sorry the chapters are so short, I just felt rushed tonight because I had been working on my Geography homework all day and I REALLY wanted to finish this chapter! /:
Anyway, you get the feeling that the group is hiding some things from Clementine; but hey, she's hiding some things from them too! How will it all end, you ask?
Keep reading, bub, you'll find out. ;)
--Apple/AK<3