Chapter 21- Confusion

- General POV

"Ok Clem. What's the plan?" Violet asked as the door slammed violently. For the next hour or so, they planned barricades, escape routes, defences. Finally the map was covered in red marker that indicated a well thought out plan. "So, first thing we need to do is give everyone their own tasks. We don't know how much longer we have until the raiders get here, so we need to be efficient for our time. I'll go check the greenhouse with Ruby, maybe someone else. I don't know how dangerous it is though." Clementine stated as she walked towards the door. "You could take Mitch. He's good with that stuff." Violet suggested, although hesitant in her words. Clem gave her a confused look, remembering his aggression an hour earlier. "I... Don't think that's gonna happen." She said as she walked out the door, closing it behind her.

Making her way downstairs, she joined Ruby and filled her in on the plans. "Yeah... If there's anyone who can help with that, it'd be Mitch." Ruby stated plainly while glancing over to him. "Fine. But if he starts anything, don't hold me responsible." Clem sighed as she approached Mitch. He looked up, anger etched on his face as he turned to get up. "Mitch, we need your help getting supplies from the greenhouse." She said as he stood. "No way in h*ll I'm helping you." He practically spat at her. As Clem opened her mouth to speak, Ruby intervened. "This isn't just about Clem. It's for the whole school. Or would you rather get taken and forced to fight with the raiders?" Hesitant, Mitch finally agreed to Ruby. Although he plainly ignored Clem. She didn't mind, however. She didn't like him either.

Approaching the greenhouse, they refrained from bickering, excluding the few snarky comments from Mitch. "We can't get in through the door, but I think there's a hatch on the roof that we could use. It's just a matter of who goes in to open the door." Ruby looked around curiously, seeing a ladder propped against the stone wall. As they go to grab it, Mitch breaks the silence with yet another comment. "I think Clem should go." He turns to her, a vengeful grin ghosting his face. "We should send someone we don't mind losing." He added, clearly trying to make a jab at her. Her eyes widened as she thought about what he just said. Clem admitted it, it kinda hurt. But she couldn't show it. Not in front of him. "That's an ugly thing to say." Ruby shook her head as she positioned the ladder, glaring at Mitch for a moment, who caught her angry look. "Ok Clem, it's all ready. Don't think it'll break or anything. We got you if it does though." She said as Clem approached the ladder.

- Clem's POV

I stepped up the ladder, feeling Mitch's harsh glare behind me. Hurriedly I almost hopped up until I reached the top. Giving them a slight nod, I turned around and crawled towards the hatch. After it was opened, I did a quick look around for nearby walkers, making sure the coast was clear for me to enter. I lowered myself into the greenhouse, the smell of moss and plants entering my lungs as I dropped down into the building. I pulled out my knife, feeling slightly overwhelmed at all the bushes and vines overflowing, spilling out onto the floor from their pots and boxes. A little paranoid, I crept around, careful not to make too much noise. A mumble from behind, so I turn to see a walker sitting on the ground, slowly standing up to approach me. Almost without any hesitation, I forced my knife into its skull a moment, guiding it down to the ground as I pulled it back out. "Clem? You okay in there?" Ruby called through the wall. "Yeah, I'm alright. Don't see many walkers." I yelled back before hearing Mitch mumble something to Ruby.

I opened the door, letting them in after clearing the room. Ruby's eyes lit up at the sight of the plants and herbs lining the room, her expression lightening as she caught a whiff of the mossy scent. Mitch walked in after, not saying anything or giving any signs of emotion. "Ok, we need to find the barbed wire fencing, and anything else that could be useful." I said as i looked around with the others. Ruby found a weapon or two and Mitch found... Dirt. "Hey, check it out!" He exclaimed, a bit excited. "I can build a bomb with this. Just need some gasoline and something to light it." I speculated curiously, spotting a container in a cabinet across the room. I walked over, opening the cabinet to reveal both the fencing and a container of gasoline. "Perfect." Mitch pulled it out, letting me grab the fencing which lay behind the can.

After our successful trip, we made it back to see some tables flipped over, and the gate being barricaded. "We still have the back entrance, in case you're wondering." Violet said to me as we set the supplies down. The rest of the day was spent figuring out the bomb that Mitch worked on, working to prepare everyone for battle, and readying anything little before the actual plan was made. "It's pretty late now. You going to sleep?" Violet asked me as I sat next to AJ. "Yeah, I probably should. I'll take AJ back to the room and... Get some sleep before we start getting prepared." I nodded as I took AJ in my arms, walking back silently to our room as AJ had been asleep.

- General POV

Once in the room, she set him down and took off her hat. AJ had woken up, and the two talked until a knock was heard on the door. The door opened slowly to reveal Louis, who carried a pile of old shirts. "Hey, I brought you these. I noticed that AJ's shirt got kinda messed up when... You know." He said almost as if he'd rehearsed the line. Although the end was said sadly. "Where did you get those?" She asked examining the shirts from a distance. "They were Tenn's, back when he first got here. They should be about AJ's size." Louis set the pile down on the desk before hesitantly approaching the bed. "How is he doing?" He asked, slightly avoiding eye contact. "Well, his fever's down. He's still... Not in great shape though. Thanks for helping us back there, at the gates." She answered, seeing the slightly pained expression on his face. "No problem." He allowed a half smile, turning to face her.

I'm really sorry it's been almost a month. There's a lot going on lately, and I've been more focused in my schooling and mental health. I'm glad I finally got to writing again, but I know it's not nearly as good as it was before. I was planning to be closer to the end of the season, seeing as it's 6 days until the season finale (I'm super excited) but it didn't really work out the way I'd hoped. So I'm really sorry for all the delays and everything that's stopped me from writing. But, if you've made it this far and still read this story, thank you so, so much. It means a lot to me that I can finally do something that people like, and I'm so glad I started writing. So thank you all for reading, and I really hope you're enjoying my story <3