A new Dawn (Clementine x Louis)

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Keep. Moving. Forward.

AJ opened his eyes, the world around him was blurred, all the colors had undefined boundaries. A couple of blinks fixed that quickly, his surrounding became clear again. The old tent was holey in some areas so it was possible for sunlight to come through and lighten up the inside of it. His gaze wandered over the sleeping bodies of his friends, all of them were pretty exhausted from the last couple of days. He knitted his eyebrows angrily as he remembered what had happened. The kidnapping and the two days in the work camp he had endured, how much pain the men had done to him. AJ had to dig some kind of pits where bodies of walkers were tossed into, the smell seemed to have remained in his nostrils against every attempt he had made to make it go way. The smell of burning rotten flesh had been so penetrating that he had to throw away his disco broccoli shirt because it was stuck in there too.
Even though he was tough and didn't cry a lot he had shed some tears over it, this clothing was the last thing that reminded him of Clem and Louis. Both of them were like family for him, he had grown so attached to Louis that he accepted him as a potential father since he hadn't know his own. The young boy's heart grew heavy as his thoughts trailed off to the peaceful days back at the school, the fun he had with Rosie, Willy and Louis when being on hunting patrol or just the times he was sitting in the musics room with Clementine and her boyfriend. He had bee trying to learn how to play the big instrument in the middle of the room, he scratched his head as he tried to remember its name.
-I wonder where Rosie went after the attack-, he asked himself, he hoped the cute dog would be okay on its own.

Then he remembered how Violet had stormed into the tent two days ago, her eyes had glowed with excitement as he told them why they were in one group and how Sophie was trying to help them.
"She's in here undercover, everyone thinks she is a loyal member of the Deltas even though she is not!", she had exclaimed in a low voice, she didn't want to attract any guard who would overhear their conversation.
Ruby and Aasim had been very skeptical, they had seen one of their friends turned against them already and couldn't really believe that Sophie was different.
"I don't want to criticize you Vi but you said the same thing about Minnie as well... are you sure that she is on our side?", Ruby asked while knitting her forehead.
She had spoken out the sentence everyone had thought about as well, Violet's trust had nearly destroyed their whole plan. Even though this could have been an accuse Violet still looked confident and nodded energetic.
"How would you explain all of us in one group and AJ here then? The Deltas wouldn't have allowed this on their own. She is helping and I know she's going to get us out of here."
AJ himself hadn't trusted Violets call at all, the happening at the bridge with Sophie's sister had haunted his dreams, the song the girl had sung was burned into his head: "Never mind the darkness, never mind the storm, never mind the blood-red moon. The night will be o-ver soon."
It wasn't the song that creeped him out but the image of Minnie's torn face and the blood on her clothes, a gun and axe in her hands, the same axe she had used to slice open Clementines leg. AJ had been forced to kill Tenn, the only friend in his age and nearly lost Clem back then, all of this because of one person. This thought made him angry again, he had stepped forward and spat on the ground next to Violet.
"I won't trust her, I don't want anyone to loose a leg again.", he had said with rage in his voice, Violet had flinched at the comment, guilt and sorrow flared up in her heart.
"I know I have done some dumb shit, I made wrong calls but this feels different, I'm sorry for all of what happened before. But you have to trust me this last time, I won't disappoint you anymore."
They had been interrupted by a person opening the tents cover, it was the nice soldier named Lars with some food. He placed the plate onto the table in the middle of the room and smiled.
"Sorry to disturb you folks but Sophie's given me the order to bring that stuff to you guys, she seems to like you."
He hesitated when he saw all of them looking at him suspiciously and turned to Violet, worry in his blue eyes.
"Did you tell them yet?"
AJ and the others gasped for air, they didn't know that this man was involved in what Violet had described.