Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here

Horrible Timing

The next few days had been tough on Clementine. The group seemed to get more and more frantic. Everyone was in a constant bad mood, especially Kenny and Carlos who had begun to get more argumentative as the days rolled by.

Multiple times Clem herself had been told to comply and obey, no matter how much she endured someone always found a way to throw that word in her face, none more than Carver. She was really starting to hate the word. She was tired of falling in line. Not to mention Carver's "training" was proving to get more and more difficult.

"You need to be alert! Always on your toes."

She remembered how persistent he was about her acing every obstacle he sent her way.

He came to stand in front of her looking down on her with his dark eyes. She stared back like she always did, confused and wondering what he was up to. Rarely did Carver act without reason, she was starting to understand that. His moves may seem impulsive and reckless, but there was always a reason.

It wasn't until he landed a quick smack to her cheek that she figured out exactly what he was thinking. It wasn't too hard, but it wasn't the softest smack in the world either.

"See? You need to be able to detect when someone is going to attack, work off body language it's all you got going for you." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Let your eyes be your ears." 

The girl rubbed her stinging cheek. Again the man raised his hand to land another smack but she saw it, dodging it quickly.

"Good!"

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After another grueling day of work Clem made her way back to the pen with Bonnie following after her.

"Y-You okay Clem?" The woman asked noticing how the girl was walking. She noticed the hard look Clem wore on her face.

However Clem never replied and the two kept walking until the woman opened up the gates to the pen and let the child inside. She had no idea why but Bonnie was beginning to get a bad feeling.

She had begun to notice the small changes Clem was showing. How she seemed to sport that bruised cheek almost everyday. The way Clem seemed to shake each time she was assigned to work with Troy. How she would jump if the woman got too close repeating the words "don't touch me" until the woman gave her the space she wanted.

She made a mental note to bring it to Carver's attention, but until then she decided to take a few moments to converse with the group.

"Any progress on the escape plan?"

Kenny sighed, "We can't decide on a time to get moving. Carlos says we should wait for Rebecca to give birth, I say we ain't got that long..." It was clear the man was frustrated but she couldn't blame him. No one wanted to be locked in a cage like an animal forced to work long hours of the day.

"Listen, I can get y'all some supplies. I'll take a little at a time, nothing too suspicious."

Alvin perked up at that suggestion, along with Russell who looked a bit weary of trusted the red headed guard. "How can we be sure to trust you?" The young boy voiced his concerns.

Rebecca spoke up before Bonnie could. "Bonnie's trust worthy, she helped us last time."

Shell looked over toward Bonnie confusion clear on the girls features. "You helped but didnt leave? Why?"

The question held a heavy weight, that much was for sure. Bonnie sighed, remembering the close friend she lost that day. "Reggie, he was escaping with us too, but he fell pretty bad, hurt his ankle and I couldn't leave him behind." Bonnie's eyes began to well with tears, Alvin seeing this continued the story.