No Mercy (Re-written)

21: New Faces

*Beginning of Arc 2

Suddenly, the door opened. The rest of Joseph's group came out. "What the fuck!?" Will shouted after hearing the gunshot. Will looked down at Carson's dead body. "Oh shit. Carson NOOO!" Dalton shouted as he kneeled beside his dead brother. Will looked up at the younger man with widen eyes. "Oh my god." He muttered.

"Jake?" Clementine said to him.

Her older brother.

Jake lowered his shotgun. Looking into his sisters familiar hazel colored eyes, who he shares the genes with. "Clementine." He muttered, shocked to see his younger sister. Jake also saw Abigail and his girlfriend. Kendra Smith.

Dalton looked up at Jake, anger burning throughout his body. "You piece of shit! I'll kill you!" He shouted and dashed toward Jake. But Will and Joseph managed to grab a hold of Dalton before Jake killed him as well.

"Argh! Let me go!" Dalton said as he struggled to break free. "Calm down, Dalton! You're going to get yourself killed!" Will said. "I DON'T FUCKING CARE!" Dalton shouted as Will and Joseph struggled to bring him into the cabin. "Wait, you know those girls?" The middle aged man asked. "Yeah. I do." Jake said. Clementine didn't know whether to feel happy or concerned to see her brother again. After all, he did just blow someone's face off with his shotgun. The whole situation was just a mess. She was so shaken by it.

Definitely one hell of a reunion.

"We'll, uh... sort the situation out. Then we can talk." Jake said to the girls. They nodded at him. The middle aged man walked into the cabin. Jake followed him. "Goddammit." Hudson muttered, looking down at Carson's dead body. "Jasmine, help me move him out of here." He said. "Okay." Jasmine replied.

Hudson and Jasmine moved the corpse away from the camp.

"I... know this quite an unpleasant situation. And I'm so sorry for your loss." The older woman said. Kendra nodded at her. "I'm Mallory. Mallory Snyder." She said. "You must be the Clementine, Abigail and Kendra who Jake told us about." Clementine nodded. "Yeah, he's my brother." She said. "We, kinda thought he was dead." Abigail said. "More importantly, he was my boyfriend." Kendra said.

"Yeah, he told us. So it's a good thing you're back together, right?" Mallory asked. Kendra looked up and shook her head. "I... I moved on with Hudson." She said. Abigail and Clementine looked up at her with a frown. "I still love Jake. But I'm in love with him anymore." She said. "And knowin' Jake, he ain't gonna react with heartbreak. He'll react with anger. And hate. And I don't want Hudson to get hurt, or worse. Killed." She said. Clementine nodded. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that's the way Jake was. Mallory frowned at the ground.

"What's he been like?" Abigail asked. Mallory looked up. "Well, he has good days. Bad days. He seems to be quite fickle." She said. "One day, he looks out for the group. The next, he's grouchy and snappy." Clementine nodded. "That sounds like Jake." She said. "He likes to have a drink or two every once in awhile." Mallory said.

Mallory frowned and said, "Recently, he's been struggling with things." "Like what?" Kendra asked her. "Just, a little down is all. But maybe now, he'll feel a lot better with you guys again." They nodded. "Yeah. Maybe." Abigail said. The middle aged man stepped out. "How are things with the kid?" Mallory asked.

"Jake and him nearly got into a fight. Had to keep them separate." He looked at the girls and cleared his throat. "Sorry for the scene, ladies." He said awkwardly. "I'm Jeffery Snyder." He said. "Y'er married?" Abigail asked. "Yep. Twenty-four years now." Jeffery said as he looked at Mallory with a smile. She smiled back at him.

"Was it just the two a' ya before ya met Jake, or...?" Abigail questioned them. Jeffrey looked at Mallory. She looked at the ground with a frown. "Should I not have asked?" Abigail asked them. "No. No it's fine." Mallory said. Jeffrey sighed and said, "We uh, had a daughter. Her name was Amber. She's... gone." The girl's frowned at them. Sympathetically nodding. "She told us not to feel bad about her. But it's hard not to." Mallory said.

Will stepped out and sighed. "Everything alright?" Jeffery asked. Will nodded. "Everyone's just a little excited is all. Should prob'ly do something about the body. Before Dalton gets more upset." Will told them. "Hudson and Jasmine already took care of it." Abigail told him. Will nodded. "Okay then." He said.

============

Clementine sat by the fire. Looking into the flames. She looked over at Jake. Things have calmed down since earlier and the happiness was taking over. She smiled and stood up and walked over to him.

"Hey." Clementine greeted. "Hey, Clem." Jake replied. Clementine held her arms out to her brother, welcoming him into a hug. Jake smiled warmly and squeezed his sister tightly.

"Awww. Brother and sister reunited." Abigail said as she walked upon the two. "Hey. I think we get a pass this time." Clementine said as they let go. "Of course. C'mere, Jake." Abigail said as she hugged him. "Like y'er new look." Abigail said to Jake who was now wearing a black jacket which was half way zipped.

The black jacket made his dark blue jeans more noticiable and he kept his old black baseball cap with faded white on the front.

"Ain't winter clothes, but it's somethin'." Jake said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Hey." Kendra said. Jake smiled at her. "Hey." He greeted back. She wrapped her arms around him. "I missed you." She told him. "I missed you too." Jake said.

Hudson stood by Will. Looking at Kendra. Feeling that urge to pry them apart. "That's gonna start some problems." Will said as he handed Hudson a beer. "So tempting to go over there and say something." Hudson said. "I wouldn't. Jake has a... temper." Will said. "I know that she's you're girlfriend now-" "Well, maybe like friends, with benefits?" Hudson interrupted. Will grinned and said, "I saw ya out there last night." Hudson felt his cheeks burning. "Okay, fine. There is something. I just want her to be happy. You know?" Hudson said. "I understand. Kendra's a good lookin' woman." Will said, nodding his head. Hudson lightly chuckled before taking another sip of his drink.

"Just wait for a while. Wait 'till you and Kendra are comfortable with each other. If you are, tell Jake calmly. He can take things a little too hard. But that's just the way he is. And I can't blame him for it." Hudson nodded. "Thanks for the tip, Will." He gave Hudson a nod. "No problem." Hudson looked at the fire. "I'm gonna warm up by the fire." He said. "You go do that." Will said as he placed his beer on the wooden rail.