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

33. Predator and Prey

"What did Beth want from you?" Violet asked, once they were all back in the cells. The day had proved much longer for Louis, Violet and Marlon. They had been gone the whole day, returning only when the other three were almost done eating. Now that they had retired back to the cells and half of them were asleep, Clementine, Louis and Violet could finally have a conversation.

"Not much," Clementine replied, shrugging.

Violet stared at her. "You're not telling us something," she said, unconvinced.

Clementine sighed. "She was offering me the chance to stay with Delta. I think she wanted me to convince the rest of you."

"You refused her right? Clem?"

"I didn't get a chance to say anything. Cain called her to the gate. Some other group had attacked them and killed their patrol. I think they used to be allies."

Violet chuckled. "Fucking serves the bitch right. Guess now she knows what it's like to be fucked over for no reason."

"Yeah..." Clementine trailed off.

"Clem?" Louis said. "You're not seriously considering her proposal, are you?"

"I don't know."

"Clem, what the fuck?" Violet sounded upset. "You can't join her. She's a crazy bitch. She's not someone you want to work for."

"I know but, what about AJ?"

"You think he's going to grow up into a human being under her? What has she been telling you?"

"Just that I won't be able to look after him all alone outside," Clementine answered guiltily. "He'll have others looking out for him here."

"But you're not alone!" Violet stressed. "You have all of us. We look after each other, like we always have. What's happened to you, Clem? I've never seen you like this."

"I don't feel like myself," she confessed. "Ever since Marlon said those things, I've been thinking that..."

"Wait. You think Marlon's right? He's just grieving over Brody. Right and wrong isn't that easy. You've had to take all the hard decisions, and all of us have been glad to follow them."

"Yeah," Louis added. "I wish I could say I can take decisions like you do. But you're way more experienced and honestly, you have way more guts than we do."

"But what's the use if I get people killed with that?" Clementine asked. "If I get us killed."

"Clem, you didn't get anyone killed," Violet said. "You haven't put a gun to anyone's head. Trusting Jared was a wrong call and all of us are to blame. It's not just you. We didn't see the signs and that's on us. The three of us."

Clementine nodded. "Sometimes I wonder what would things be like if Louis didn't bring you to that train station."

"Shitty, to say the least," Violet replied. "The horde would've gotten us, one way or another. Or the winter. We'd be fucked either way."

"Glad to be of service," Louis said, grinning.

Clementine chuckled. "So, what'd they make you do today?"

Violet sighed. "We cleaned their rifles." She looked at Clementine. "That guy, Ed, thinks it's fucking funny to make fun of Aasim. I swear I would've shot him if I had bullets in that gun."

"He was talking about how we deserved to lose him," Louis added.

"This place gets to me. And seeing Beth every time... God... it just reminds me of how she shot Brody."