The Walking Dead: Return to Paradise Part Two

Chapter Seven: Sixteen Shells From A Thirty-Aught-Six

Violet scraped the nail repeatedly against the steel floor of the cage.
Clementine kept watch while her wife whittled down the tiny piece of metal. It needed to be the right thickness to fit into the lock and push the pins in.
It felt a little ridiculous to Violet that their freedom hinged on a nail.
A tiny, rust covered nail that she found in the bottom of her boot.
She hoped to god it didn't snap as she ground away at it.
Clementine tapped her on the shoulder and Violet hurriedly hid the nail, slotting it back onto the hole it had left in the sole of her boot.
The same raider that Clem had argued with about giving Violet a coat approached the cage and unlocked it.
She pointed a pistol at them as she opened the door.

"Bathroom break." She explained flatly.

The woman marched them out of the camp and back into the woods a ways. The camp was just barely in view.
Violet gave Clem a sideways look. The brunette knew exactly what it meant.
This could be their chance to escape. There was only one person watching them. Granted, she had a gun, but if they were smart, they could get it away from her before she had a chance to use it.

"Anika, what are you doing with them alone?"

Clementine and Violet both winced upon hearing Lily's voice. Anika turned to face her.

"Just letting them go to the bathroom, ma'am. Didn't bring anyone else because nobody volunteered." She explained.

"If nobody volunteers next time, come find me. Two prisoners, two guards minimum."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll remember next time." Anika nodded.

Lily didn't go anywhere, Clem cursed internally. They had lost their opportunity to make a run for it, so they complied and walked back to the camp afterwards.
They were back in the cage again, the brief taste of freedom ripped away from them.

"Shit." Clem whispered, "that could've been our chance."

"Fucking Lily." Violet spat.

"Is that nail thin enough to use on the lock yet?"

"Not sure. We can't check until they're asleep."

Clementine looked over at the bonfire. The raiders were all gathered around it, some of them sat up and chatted. She heard the occasional laugh from them. It seemed like a fair few were already asleep, lying wrapped inside sleeping bags or on top of bedrolls.
Two guards patrolled the perimeter, making laps of the camp. Each of them carried a high-powered machine gun. Clem definitely didn't want to be on the wrong end of those.
The sun had set almost two hours ago. The last few nights, she and Violet had kept their lock picking attempts to the latest hours. The guards were usually sitting in one spot rather than patrolling on account of fatigue, so they weren't as perceptive as they usually were.

"I guess we just wait then." Clem said.

***

The camp wasn't far, Minnie recognised this part of the woods.
She moved low, crouched down and taking slow, deliberate steps. If there were sentries out there, she didn't want to alert them before she got there.
A pair of walkers groaned ahead of her in the darkness. Minnie took her knife out and readied it as she approached.
She stood up and drove the blade down into the top of the walker's skull. It dropped into the snow, the weight of it pulling the knife free.
Minnie backed off from the second one to give herself room, but it didn't move, it just reached for her. It took her a moment to notice the sharp branch that was protruding from the walker's chest, pinning it to the tree.
She swung her knife up through its jaw and up into the brain. The walker made a gurgling sound and went limp.
Minnie cleaned her knife off with the snow and continued.