Legless, But Alive | TWDG Season 5 Fanfic

Crutches, leg. Crutches, leg.

Violet was running. Faster than she had ever run before. She had to get the others. That damn hat screwed them over. Who the hell was that guy?  They had two options. A. Bring Clementine to them to see what that man was searching for, or B. Go rapid fire on their asses. She thought back to that little girl. Killing those people would hurt the kids more than their newfound enemies. They've been through enough the past few weeks. Vi stumbled a bit on a loose root sticking out from the ground, but did not stop. Soon enough, the familiar stone walls of Erickson's School came into sight. She sprinted along the perimeter until she reached the gate. Vi had been running for a good half hour straight. She didn't bother to take the discrete route. She had to get back and prepare. AJ and Aasim would've noticed she's gone, and probably started leading the group whichever way they could. If they were smart, that would be alone the long path. She hoped she was right. At this point, Violet was panting, and bent down: hands on her knees. She shouted through the gate. "CLEM!" Her breathing was labored as the gates opened, and Clementine, Ruby, and Willy swiftly came to her aid. "What the hell happened?!" Willy asked, concerned. Clem squated a bit to reach Violet. "Vi.. where's AJ.." Her voice was shaky with worry. "They.. the people.. Hat.." She swallowed hard, and stood up normally, still a bit winded. "They saw AJ's hat and asked where he got it. When he didn't reply.. They put a gun to his head. They're probably leading them the long way. If we intersect their path, we can get to them before they get to us.." Clem looked horrified. They'd taken AJ and Aasim?!? "And you just left them!?" Ruby asked in an aggressive tone. "They told me to!" Violet wasn't going to take the blame for this. She was doing exactly what numbnuts wanted, and now his wife was gonna have a fit? Fuck that!
"That's enough." Omar stepped out to join the conversation. "Clementine, what's our next move?" Clem sighed, the stress building. "We need at least two people to stay here, in case they get here first." She scanned the group. "I'd say Omar and Ruby, stay here. Lock the gates, don't open them for anyone until we're back." Ruby opened her mouth, as if she was about to object, but fell back into an obedient silence. "Fine by me." Omar said, hands in the air. Willy smiled ear to ear. "Let's kill these assholes!" He waved his bow in the air exitedly. "Willy we aren't going to kill them if we don't have to. We just want Aasim and AJ back. Safe." Clementine tried to deter his energy. He rolled his eyes. "Fine, let's just go." Rosie sprinted over to them, just getting out before the gate closed. "Guess she wants to come, too." Willy said. Violet seemed to dismiss his comment. "We wanna beat them to the midpoint. Aasim's an ass, but his plan was pretty smart." Willy scowled. "Everyone thinks Aasim is some kinda genius.." Clem had already started shuffling away. He dropped it, and the trio continued on into the woods.
Clementine was in the zone. Leg, crutches. Leg, crutches. AJ was out there somewhere. He needed them. He needed her. She wouldn't lose him again, especially not to something like this. She held a chunky pistol in hand, a nice souvenir from the delta. Her grip on the cold metal was so tight that it hurt. Willy was zipping forward, then pausing for her and Violet to catch up. His pace was much faster, considering he had both legs and didn't just run two miles or more without stopping. They had a vague idea of where Aasim and AJ were taking the group. They would probably end up roughly along the forest's edge near the road about a mile and a half away, which is where they were heading. The group was trying to stay as close to the trees as possible, but Clem insisted on walking on the pavement to go faster. It was easier than navigating through the brush of leaves, branches, and rocks. The terrain on the road was predictable and flat. "Clem, listen, about the caravan.." She didn't reply. Violet sighed. "There was a kid, Clem.. a little kid. Fuck, I can't hurt a kid." Clementine took a deep breath. "We won't if we don't have to, but if they don't give me what I want.." The rest was implied. Violet simply nodded. She knew not to get between her and Alvin Junior. Willy seemed to be less cautious, skipping along the road. A snapping twig was heard behind them, and Violet whipped around, drawing her knife. She scowled to be met only with a legless walker, crawling along with his arms. She plunged the knife deep into its skull, and held it's head down with her foot to pull it out again. Willy had paused, watching her tactic. "That was boring." He said, only half joking. "What, you want me to light it on fire next time?" Violet replied, sarcastically. Willy made walker slaughtering a bit too much of a game. He shrugged, playing with the string of his bow as they walked. Clementine had not stopped for them. They really had to find AJ and Aasim soon, she was clearly hanging by a thread knowing he was in danger. What could they have possible thought about her hat? Was there someone she knew? Maybe people from the Delta, or whatever was left from McCarol ranch? If they were taking such drastic measures, it couldn't be someone she knew. Everyone she'd know was long gone.
She took a minute to think. Where could she know them from? What grudge could be held against her, besides those from the Delta? Even then, it wouldn't make sense. She doubted any of their soldiers managed to return home to tell the tale. Clementine secretly hoped they lost their war. They didn't deserve their lives, their survival. It bothered her to know people like that existed, when so many others lost their lives. Lee, her parents, Duck, Christa, Omar, Kenny,  Luke, Jane, Sara, Rebecca, Alvin, Kate, Gabe, Javi, Mariana, Ava, James, Mitch, Brody, Tenn, hell, even Marlon: All swept away as if they were never there to begin with. Well.. she wasn't sure what happened to Richmond, but she could only assume they had died in the crossfire. Better to expect the worse in life, then to get your hopes up and get hurt all over again.

They were getting close..

~~~~

Aasim and AJ were silent. They were walking through the woods, Javier and Charlotte in front of them and Henry with Antoine behind. AJ considered running, but he knew that Aasim wouldn't follow. He didn't want anyone to get hurt. He was angry that the plan didn't work. He tried his breathing, just like Clem taught him. These people clearly hadn't ever done this before. They weren't like the Delta. 'Javier' quickly lowered his gun, but still had it out: making sure they could see it. Antoine held a weathered shotgun, but didn't have it in anyway aimed at them. He seemed to be the most suspicious of the kids, despite having any context for Javier's outburst. They all seemed shaky, as if they were ashamed that they were doing this. It was how AJ felt when he had to shoot Tennessee. Hopefully this was different, and they wouldn't pull the trigger.The people took AJ's backpack, with the map and their weapons. Charlotte was carrying it.
Javier paused and looked around, sighing. AJ and Aasim knew they were close to the road now. He turned to them. "We don't have to do this, kids.." AJ twisted his face into a sour frown. Aasim just crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for him to continue. "Just.. did you find it on a walker?" He thought through his possible responses. If he said yes, that could be the end of it.. Yet he doubted that they'd let him go. If he said no, the assumption would be that they either killed Clementine or that she was with them. If it was someone hunting for her, they may be put at ease if they knew she was a walker, or maybe they wanted her alive to kill her. Or maybe they were looking for her alive and well.. Clementine had told AJ so many stories that it all got jumbled in his head. All the names were too much to remember. He sighed and made his choice. "No." Aasim looked down to him, eyebrows raised. Did he think he was going to tell him? "Listen, I just need to know." AJ smiled. "You just got lost! That's why you're asking. You don't know where to go!"
The man frowned, approaching them. Aasim backed away a bit, into one of the men: who simply stepped back. AJ stood his ground, even as the man held up his hand. He closed his eyes, prepping for a blow. He felt a pat on his head in. "You aren't wrong." He said, laughing. Aasim sighed in relief. He didn't really know how to respond. This guy wasn't actually bad.. Aasim cleared his throat. "Uh.. if you don't mind me asking.." Javier looked at him. "Why do you want to know..?" The man's face fell a bit. "It's hard to explain." He swallowed hard and looked away. "Just someone I used to know, unfinished business and all that." AJ raised an eyebrow. "Bu-"

He paused, looking behind him.

"Don't move."

The voice was not AJ. Charlotte stood stone still, a knife to her throat.

Violet wielding the blade.

"Hands up!"

Clem's voice echoed through the woods, seething with anger.

Willy stood behind her, bow drawn:

And Javier turned around.

A/N: sorry for shorter chapter, I've got a lot going on! Stuff will start to pick up in the next one.