TWDG\\II-South State

TWO

AJ
I flip the guard off as he pushes me into a cell. He snarls, before turning away.
"Get your winks, kid." He says, as shuts the gate. "You'll be working harder tomorow."
I groan, and scowl, before turning to Clementine.
She lay leant up against the wall, her wrists blinded tightly together. Jerome had ordered the guards to tie her hands up specifically, since Clementine had a reputation for finding cunning ways to escape. Her eyes were close, but I knew she wasn't sleeping.
"Clementine?" I ask, as I set myself vigorously beside her. My arms and legs ached from carrying large boxes into the outpost by myself. I rubbed my forearms as I nudged her with my leg. "Clem?"
"AJ..." She groaned. "I'm trying to sleep. Go bother Ethan."
I look over at Ethan, who had been laying on the cold ground facing the wall. I hadnt really gotten to know him at all...all I knew was he preferred to stay away from us. From what I could find from staying here for the past two weeks was recently having a sword in your leg changes nothing; You work just the same as everybody else. Violet and I were often put together with jobs; Whether that persisted of piling the wood fire, or oiling the guns (Or any kind of harsh labour staying in South State persisted of.) Violet at the moment, lay awake and alert in the corner, hugging her legs to her chest. She hadn't spoken much at all...she had gone to the 'Normal Violet.' And Louis was taken out at nights, being taught some slavery techniques or whatever. Apparently, when you have no tongue, it makes you a target. I hadn't seen him in days.
And the worst part is, we are the only ones that survived.

--Two weeks prior--
"Stop right there!" The man yelled. I stopped in my tracks, everything silent except for the commotion in the truck; Violet was still coughing, whilst everyone was trying to figure out how to comfort her. I gaped at the body on the ground; Javi's head was impaled on the ground, his blood staining the grass surrounded. I stare up at the man with hatred.
"How fucking could--" I stop mid sentence as the familiar barrel of a gun touches the back of my head. I place my hands up.
I realise in the distance large walls, with an outpost. A stretch of flat land separated the community and the large forest trees.
I sigh.
If this was South State, then we made a huge fucking mistake.
I hear more footsteps, after about seven men surround me quietly.
Gabe was nowhere to be seen.
The dark men that killed Javi puts a finger in front of his mouth.
"Yell, and well fucking shoot." The voice of a female says behind me.
I nod, shaking. I hear someone going to the back of the truck; To open the door, I presume.
Anxiety runs through me as I think about Clementine.
She'll get shot she'll get shot! Ran through my head.
I can't stop the tears rushing down my face as I cry quietly. The woman behind me chuckles.
"Not so tough, are ya?" She mutters. Anger courses through me as I hear Gavin and Willy yell from the truck.
"AJ!" Clementine yells, and I twist my head a tiniest fraction to see both her and Ethan being held hostage. Guns were pointed everywhere as a spluttering Violet and a wounded Ethan get pushed forward.
"Clementine,what's--?" I get pushed to the ground. I felt so shocked, all I could do was gasp, as Clementine yells, and struggles against the women's gasp. I get hit in the back of the head.
My vision goes for a second, before I grip as furthest to where I got hit with my hands. The tears didn't stop.
A man grabs my hands, and inspects me.
"Are you crying?" He says, his voice sounding like he's holding back laughter. Everyone chuckles.
"Fuck you!" Clementine yells. "Let him go!"
"Shut up, whore!" Another woman says. I wince as the man's whisky filled breath came close to my breath.
He slaps my cheek, throwing me to the ground. I feel like the area is inflamed as so,embody else grabs my wrist.
"Take Shorty and Hothead to the administration. Wynn said Jerome wanted these fucks or whatever" The man said. Willy and I get pushed forward, my cheek and head still ringing from the impact. I wipe my tears as I feel we are getting followed through the gates.
And that's when I realise.
Wynn said Jerome wanted these fucks or whatever
We were being followed the entire time.
"What the fuck?!" Willy yelled, as a man used his unloaded gun to hit Willy in the jaw. A man with long dark hair held his arms back. Willy stopped struggling, only to throw his head back into the man's face. The man lets him go, reaching for his blooding nose. Willy rushes forward to the trees, before the woman holding Clementine shoots him dead.
"No!" I yell, and the person's grip on me tightened. Like I would try escaping or something.
"You mother fuckers!" Cian screamed. "I can't...fuck!"
"Cian." A woman with auburn hair tied into a plait walks among the chaos. My eyes are fixated on Willy's dead body; The back of his shirt bleeds though his collar. He was shot in the neck, and he'll be a walker any moment now.
Like a grenade.
"Wynn?!" Cian asks. "What the fuck are you doing here?!"
"Just remember, you're not getting any good treatment." Wynn says calmly, ignoring Wynn's questions. "You worked for Jerome since you were just...fifteen? Look at how you've grown!"
Cian scowls, and Clementine sighs.
"Violet needs help!" Clementine says. "Please, just...fuck, help her!"
Violet's voice is raspy as she says "Just let us fucking go!"
"--Jerome wants to kill any betrayers." Wynn continues. "Cian, I'm very sorry I had to do this--"
"Please! No!" Gavin yells, as Wynn pulls out a gun.
A single bullet rings out.
Cian drops to the ground.
"Fucking shithead!" Gavin stamps on the man's foot. He uses his gun to bash the side of his head. Gavin falls to the ground face first. Unconscious.
The man looks at Wynn, and he gets a single nod before shooting Gavin in the head. Three times.
I've seen so much death, and yet my jaw unhinges with horror.
"Nooo..." Clementine says quietly.
"Let's get a move on" Wynn says, Taking Louis, who has a horrified expression plastered on his face. "Jerome wants to see this."
"AJ, are you--?" Clementine begins.
"Shut up, I said!" The woman behind her kicks Clementine's left fake knee. Clem topples over, her fake leg coming loose. A loud chorus of laughter follows.
"Hey!" I scream. "Fuck all of you!"
"Kid" Wynn said, striding toward me. "You just saw three people shot dead. I think that's enough to tell you to shut the fuck up."
I took a deep breath, and focused on Clementine struggling to get up. Her prosthetic glinted in the sun light.
"Pick cripple up, were wasting too much fucking time." Wynn orders, pushing the gate door open.
New aromas of food and smoke flooded my nose as I see three more surrounding walls on the inside; With tents and metal shacks and fires surrounding the area, along with a large, sturdy wood building in the centre. Clementine gets dragged upright, her leg being left behind. Violet gets pushed forward too, but she grows paler as we walk past people in the community who are unfamiliar with us.
"Rebels?" I heard a man with a hand gun ask his friend.
"Yeah, apparently they corrupted Austin." He answered, and sniggered at Louis.
The cold air chilled my exposed face as a man walks out. He has a fresh cut on his cheek, and uses crutches for an obviously bent leg.
"My people!" He says, and the crowd that forms around us goes silent. "It seems like we a united again."
Violet's cough fills the silence, as much as she tries to quiet herself down.
"Well, we must even everything out before things go back to normal." Jerome gestures for one of his men to give him a gun. I take shallow breaths as he cocks it. "You destroyed my community. I know it's punishment enough to have killed some of your friends..."
To that, I think about Willy becoming a walker.
My fist clenched behind my back.
"...but you see, you killed way more than three in my case." Jerome walks around me. "Some in this group has even killed their own."
I assume he's referring to me killing Gunner.
"But of course, Wynn and I have compromised over this community. And together, we have decided that the people of South State decide what we do with these..."
"Rebels?" Wynn tries to fill his sentence.
Jerome nods. "I think 'Rebels' suits these people's descriptions perfectly."
"Please." Clementine said. "Just let us go!"
"You have no leg?" Jerome asks. "Oh wait, I do remember someone telling me that your prosthetic is outside?"
Clementine frowns.
"Well, somebody fetch it!" Jerome swivels his gun around in his hand. The action makes me nervous. "You can't work without a leg."
Someone in the crowd chuckles.
"You killed Javi." I said angrily. "And Willy. And Gavin. And Cian!"
"Oh, I forgot about Javi" Wynn said, trying to coy along with Jerome.
"AJ, is it?" Jerome asks.
I don't respond.
"Well, AJ, you killed way more people that meant a lot to me" He enunciated every syllabus like I was a two year old.
"Fuck off." I say, followed by gasps. "Don't talk to me like I'm a baby!"
Jerome clenches his jaw.
"Fine. Harry, take em' to the basement." He orders.