Young and Young at Heart (The Rewrite of The Walking Dead Game: S2) [TWDG/TWD]

12. Modest Proposals

Clementine scowled at Pete. Just the thought of staying any longer with the people who killed Omid and left her to suffer angered her to no end.

"Yeah, didn't think you'd be wild about that idea. I'd rather be talking to Christa about this, but seeing as you're always the one picking up her meals, I figured she feels less like talking than you."

"She won't even talk to me most of the time," reported a saddened Clementine.

"Yeah, I figured it was something like that." Pete sounded a little upset himself upon hearing that. "I know you don't want anything to do with us, but, if you're willing, we could at least leave you a little better off than you'd be if we left ya right now."

"How?" asked Clementine, utterly unconvinced.

"Look, you know what this is?" Pete gestured to the odd conical stick contraption lying on the table.

"No."

"It's a fish trap." Pete tugged on the inside of the device, revealing it was made of two cones, a smaller one placed inside a larger one. "You place some bait on the inside, fish swim through the hole, get stuck between the two halves, and you've got yourselves a meal. Easy."

"Can't they swim back out through the same hole?"

"Nope," smiled Pete. "Fish are stupid. They can't figure a way out unless it's obvious. I've got some other tricks I could show you and Carlos may be an asshole, but he is a good doctor. It'd take some doing, but I might be able to persuade him to help deliver Christa's baby, if that's what you wanted." Clementine thought about Pete's offer, unsure how to answer.

"Do Nick and Carlos want to help us, or is it just you?"

"Well, I can't speak for Carlos, although I could take an educated guess and say he probably doesn't. But I know Nick would. He's pretty shook up over shooting your man."

"He doesn't act like it," noted Clem.

"That's just how he is. When something starts bothering him he tends to get real uppity. Bad habit he picked up from that rotten bastard of a father of his, but believe me, he's a good boy at heart." Pete saw the doubt on Clementine's face and sighed. "Look, you wanna hate someone for what happened, hate me, not Nick."

"Why?" asked Clem. "You didn't shoot Omid."

"No, but I would've, and Nick only shot him because of what I said; I told him, you see someone taking aim at one of ours, don't hesitate."

"Does that mean you would have shot me when I aimed a gun at Nick?" Pete didn't answer, but his eyes carried a hint of regret. "Oh."

"I'd like to think I wouldn't just pull the trigger on a kid," Pete told himself. "But, I can't honestly say that I wouldn't anymore."

"So, you wouldn't have let them lock me in the shed, but you probably would have shot me before that."

Pete sighed. "Look, Clementine, I hate to tell you this, and I'm not saying it to scare you, but as bad you may think we are, there's far worse people than us out there, and they don't care how old you are. I know it's not fair, but kids don't really have the luxury of being kids anymore these days."

"I know," answered a downtrodden Clem.

"Yeah, I kinda thought you might." Pete took a breath. "I've been trying to tell Carlos that, about Sarah, but he won't have it. Hell, should have seen the conniption fit he threw when he had to leave her with me a few days ago. First big spill and that poor kid is going to pieces."

"She seems nice."

"Nice won't keep you alive," asserted Pete. "That's what I keep telling Nick. Although, considering that business with you and the shed, I'm starting to think maybe I've been telling him that a little too often lately."