Flower Petals and Flesh - A Violentine Story

The Trade

"I don't think I ever asked, but where were you when all this started?" Violet asked as she patrolled a section of the outer wall, she thought that now was the perfect time to ask the questions they never had time to answer.

Clementine picked up the receiver and pondered on her past, the beginning of the apocalypse felt like a different lifetime.

"I was at home." She reminisced.
"My parents went on vacation to Savannah and left me with a babysitter. Sandra. She was really nice, pretty... before she turned. I hid in my treehouse; a few days later Lee found me and then... well here I am." She explained.

The radio clicked, static and silence hummed from the transmitter. "Do you know what happened to them?" Violet eventually asked with a wary tone.

"I found them in a herd... they had been dead since the beginning."

The blonde sighed and continued walking for a moment, "Do you still remember them?"
"Not really, only thing I had that reminded me of them was my dad's hat, and now I don't even have that." Clementine scratched her head, she hadn't seen her hat since she was captured by the bandits; she felt naked without it.

Again the radio was interrupted by a foreign voice, it was Jerry this time. "You said the bandits had your hat? Just put a bounty out for it or go on one of the scavenger teams!" He said as if this was common knowledge to newcomers.

"Are you just listening in to all our conversations, don't you have work to do?!" Clementine said with a slightly aggressive tone.

"Hey it's an open line, anybody can listen in but I am going to get to work... but now because you told me to!"

An hour or two passed and nothing of note happened, Clementine and Violet talked casually over the radio until noon passed and the patrolling blonde returned for a break. Clementine joined her at the foot of her snipers nest.

Whilst they were resting a truck arrived from inside the town; a man climbed from the car and proceeded to hand out lunches to all the present guards before departing back into town.

"So... what do you guys do for fun around here?" Clementine asked as she bit into her sandwich.

Jerry wiggled excitedly in his seat, "There's film night Saturday, Monday is live music and sometimes on Wednesday there's a market... ooh and we have a gym." He explained.
"Usually we just hang about at the bar, there's always something going on there." Grey added simply

As they were reaching the end of their lunch the distant sound of shuffling drew the attention of the experienced guards, Jerry and Grey quickly jumped to attention and began to fiddle with the gate's mechanism. The grand wooden doors were pulled apart revealing a horse pulled carriage, a group of armed guards walked alongside guarding the contents of the carriage.

"Hey Jerry, same stuff as last time, got about two-hundred gallons this time." One of the guards explained tapping the barrelled contents of the carriage.

With a slightly exasperated gasp Jerry approached the main guard, "Two-hundred! I've just got enough for One-Fifty... I can't pay for that!" He said in a failed attempt at a whisper.

The guard shrugged bluntly, "Boss seems generous this month, just take it... by the way he asked after those new people; you know if their still here or did they leave?"

Grey suddenly stepped forward, "Why? What does he want with them?" He said with a defensively hostile tone.
"Nothin, he just wanted me to check up on them is all. Don't get all uppity over something that doesn't concern you." The guard responded.

With a cough, Clementine interrupted and joined the conversation, "What is going on here and who are these people your talking about?" She asked confused.