A Yellow Dress Forgotten [ABANDONED]

Ep. 3.4 | Dragon's Fire || 9.3k

All it took was one gunshot.

One gunshot, and Joan's fallen body.

Clementine ducked into the subway entrance. Everywhere, dirt rose and stung her eyes. Everywhere, people crumpled to the ground. Everywhere, bullets rained. She added to the hail of gunfire, managing two or three casualties before Javier swooped in beside her. "You were negotiating! Why the hell would you shoot her?!" she snapped between each bullet.

"Don't tell me you wouldn't've!" Javier barked back, firing a few rounds into another man.

Clementine scowled. "You and I both know I'm not exactly a saint— Fuck!" As tear gas was hurled over the short wall of cover they had, Javier's walkie-talkie buzzed. He answered Kate, hacking on his own coughs, and they both rushed out from the subway entrance. Clementine couldn't hear the conversation through the insistent ring in her ears. She only caught the last of it:

"No, no! Kate!" Javier growled to himself.

Clementine felt the moment freeze as she watched the armored truck barrel down the street. Within the sun's early morning glow and haze of dust was pure chaos. People stumbled. People lost balance. People perished.

She ran. She remained steady. She killed.

It was only until Javier shoved her out of the way of the truck did she finally plummet to the road.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

The screams outside were distant through the single door, which had been hastily barricaded. In the stairwell, they were bathed in red light, hiding the blood that stained their clothes. Blood of innocence.

"This should be good. Nobody's getting through that anytime soon." Javier set his hands on his hips as the group eyed the door blocked by an array of furniture. Walkers scratched from the other side though it didn't budge.

David turned to Gabe. "You put up a good fight out there," he said, undoubtedly surprised.

Clementine could almost feel Gabe's equal shock from beside her. "Hey...Dad." He grinned softly. "I'm glad you made it out."

Kate—whose eyes were kept to the door—remained unconvinced of their security. "Joan's probably looking for us," she murmured, incredibly worried. A pang shot through Clementine's gut—the same one she felt rip through her once Javier forced the bullet into Joan's temple.

"No," Gabe said, eyes narrowed and grin snatched away. He pointed to his uncle's chest. "Javi shot her!"

"What?!" Kate looked at Javier for confirmation, her worry completely replaced by bewilderment. Javier backed away from her out of his unsure guilt, hands raised.

But before Javier could give any confirmation, David gave it to her: "Good riddance," he growled.

Gabe ignored him. "I heard you two, you were negotiating! You didn't have to kill her!"

"She was lying, Gabe!" Javier said, arms raised higher. "I couldn't trust a word from that woman! I didn't believe she was going to hold up her end of the deal, and David would be dead!"

"So why didn't anybody shoot us?! We were outnumbered, and they only shot after—"

"Javi's right," David argued, stepping forward. "Joan had to go. I would have done it too."

"That's because you don't mind killing people, do you?" Gabe snapped. He balled a fist as he added, "I'm tired of being told people have to die!"

"Gabe," Javier said, "that's not fair. You know—"