Chapter 12- Rest in Peace

- General POV

A loud crack echoed through the basement. Marlon stood in shock as an injured Brody stepped back, covering her eye. Marlon, out of nowhere, swung his flashlight, hitting Brody on her head. The impact was so hard that she stumbled back, landing against a furnace. Marlon had a small blood splatter over his face. Clem jumped back in surprise and fear. "Uhh... What'd you say?" She asked weakly as a thick coat of blood came pouring out from the wound, her back hit the furnace as she slid down till she sat. Marlon set the flashlight on the ground, running to her aid as she breathed heavily, fussing over her and apologizing profusely. "Sh*t! What've you done?!" Clementine shouted through the fear and panic that enveloped her mind. He ignored her, whispering to Brody, who sat helplessly, unable to move away from him.

"D*mn it! Help!" He screamed at Clem, who just stood in shock. He then returned talking to Brody, but this time he shook her slightly and told her she shouldn't have said what she did. Clem had enough of his violent outbursts. "Get away from her! I mean it Marlon! Step back!" She crouched, trying to get him to look at her. "Okay, okay. Fine." He stood, finally, distancing himself from the girl. "Just... Just stay with her. There's gotta be a first aid kit or something down here, right?" He panicked, looking around. "A first aid kit!?" She responded angrily. He shrugged and walked around the basement with his flashlight, knocking over boxes and cursing under his breath. "Brody... it's me, Clem. Just... just stay still, okay?" She gripped Brody's cold hand in her own. She wasn't going to make it, she knew that much. "Who? I-I... I can't see..." She replied weakly, giving Clementine a heavy sadness in her heart. "Clementine, remember?" She looked at the girl, who stared blankly in front of her. She was completely blind. "Clem, you're in danger. You and AJ both." She finally remembered. "What danger?" She whispered back. "Marlon'll kill me if I tell." She replied quietly, her voice stern. "He's scared, and when he gets scared, he gets angry." Her tone subsided into a whimper, her voice cracking at the end of the sentence as she choked up. "I'll deal with Marlon, I promise you that." Clem reassured, lifting her hand higher, clutching it tighter. "Yeah... Yeah, you will. You're strong. He's not. You're a good person, Clem. I... would've liked to get to know you better..." She agreed, holding in a sadness at the end of her sentence. "If those raiders come back, Marlon said he'd let them take you and AJ. To keep them off our backs." Clem's eyes widened in fear. He would let them be taken by raiders, to keep the raiders away for longer. And the process would keep repeating. "Like he did... Like he did with Tenn's sisters"

She went into a fit, a seizure, ending her life. "Brody!" Clem tried to hold back the tears. Her cold hand slipped from Clementine's grasp, falling lifelessly to the ground as Marlon doubled back to check on them. She lay back, sliding as her body no longer supported her. He dropped the flashlight on the ground. "Oh sh*t, oh sh*t... What am I gonna do?" He whispered, backing up. Looking Clementine in the eye, he said louder: "She's gonna turn." And with that, he turned and sprinted to the cellar door, shutting it as Clementine reached it. "Marlon, you son of a b*tch! Don't do this!" She banged on the door hopelessly. "I'm sorry. I can't let you talk to the others." He spoke through the crack in between the doors, leaving her alone in the basement with Brody. Brody, who would turn any minute. She continued making noise, trying to attract attention. "Marlon! AJ! Louis! Anyone!" She looked at the gap, seeing the latch that she forced open. If I can find something thin enough, I could open the latch and get outside. She thought to herself as she turned, trotting back down the steps.

"I can't see anything in this dark!" She tried to collect her thoughts. She went to go get the flashlight. Clem knew it would be a mad dash to get out. She didn't want to harm Brody in any way, even if it was a walker. Brody was her friend. As she walked to the light, she realized something... It was too late. The blood stain was there, but with no sign of Brody. There were grunts and groans that echoed in the dark basement; shuffling of footsteps on the floor. Now it was just a simple game of hide and seek. The only difference was that this game was for her life. Finally the flashlight came into view. Clem picked it up, hitting it on her palm as the light flickered. Is that a... She trailed off as she picked up a ruler. This'll work to open the latch. She thought to herself. Walking around, trying to weave her way through the shelves of paperwork and boxes, the flashlight went out, leaving her in the darkness, listening to the sounds of what used to be Brody. It flickered back on, revealing the reanimated corpse coming at her. She tipped over one of many shelves, crushing her friend, trapping her so she could get away. Running through the maze to the doors, she forced open the latch. As Clementine opened one of the doors, the walker had caught up to her. She dragged her down the stairs, making Clem groan and yelp from pain, falling and landing harshly on her shoulder. But there was no time to think. Brody was on top of her. She grabbed the flashlight, hitting her over the head with it, sending her onto the ground beside Clem. She got on top of the monster, beating it brutally in the face with the weapon until it stopped moving. This was all Marlon's fault. At that moment she knew, she had to stop him, whatever that meant.

Happy December everyone!! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!