A Shred of Hope (The Walking Dead) (The Final Season Retelling)

30. One in Seven

Clementine spent most of the night awake. Every time she would fall asleep, she'd be awoken by the ghosts of her mistakes. Marlon's words had greatly affected her. Things were fine and then... it felt he had turned into someone she didn't recognize. When the sun finally crept into the cell-corridor, she sat up, rubbing some warmth into her face.

AJ was still asleep. Clementine had stayed up with him until his eyes had closed, only then climbing up onto the bunk bed. She'd look down on him every little while, afraid that he wouldn't be there.

She shuddered, wrapping the blanket close around her. The cell walls weren't particularly warm, instead doing their best to harbor the cold in the cells. She got down just in time to hear a voice bellow outside the cell-door.

"Wake up!" A loud clang of something hitting the metal bars echoed through the cells.

Clementine shook AJ awake, sitting beside his sleeping frame.

"Hey. How you doing?" she heard Louis behind her.

"Not too bad," she lied. "You?"

"Could be better," he replied. It appeared as though he hadn't slept much either. "I still can't get over Jared... I didn't expect something like that. Maybe we should've seen it coming. Maybe-"

Another loud clang ran through the room. "I want everyone in a line here!" the voice yelled. Clementine felt relieved at getting out of the conversation. It had bothered her for the entire night.

The seven kids lined up in the corridor. Clementine avoided Marlon's eyes as they did so. They watched as the door opened. It was the same guard from yesterday that had brought Clementine, Louis and Violet to Block A. Beside him stood the man Clementine had shot when they found Minnie.

"Didn't expect to see you here," Ed said to Clementine, a triumphant grin on his face. "My shoulder's still not healed. You'll be payin' for that."

"Not if I put another bullet in your head first," Clementine growled.

The grin fell off Ed's face as he looked at her with unbridled hatred. "You watch that mouth, sweet girl. Or I'll make sure you gon' be missing a few teeth."

"Come on now," the other man intervened. "Just like the days before, you lot will be helping out with whatever we need. After eating, half of you will be heading to Woods Hold. You're going to help in clearing some stuff."

"What stuff?" Louis asked.

"Did I say you could ask questions? You do what you're told and you'll survive."

Louis instantly went quiet.

"The other half will stay here and help Ed in Block C. Is that understood?"

The kids nodded their heads.

"Good. Let's go."

*

"What is this?" Violet whispered, looking at her food. It seemed to be vegetables floating in a translucent liquid.

The seven of them were seated at a table. Meals were served to both, members of Delta as well as the prisoners, in the cafeteria. The food was different for them, though.

"It's some soup," Aasim replied. "Prisoners don't get the best food."

"So, what do they get?" Clementine asked, poking her food with the spoon.

"Better cooked vegetables? And meat sometimes. You better eat it though. They don't like it if you throw the food. And you'll need it for whatever they want you to do."

Clementine was far from being hungry but thought the better of it and scooped the first spoonful into her mouth. It wasn't all that bad. She'd had worse before.