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Ben was led bounded into an empty room, aside from a large rectangular mirror on the wall. Given that it was the only thing in there, Ben assumed it was a one way window. His cuffs were removed and the men leading him stepped back to stand on either side of the closed door.“Are we ready to start testing?” David’s voice came over the speaker.“Yes, he’s ready.” Max answered.“Woe, woe, what kind of ‘testing’ is going on here.” Ben sprung around to face Max and Badger.“We’re testing your immunity.” David said. “I need to see you’re actually immune before we waste our time.”A door on the far end of the room opened and a woman came in with a Walker on a stick collar Ben remembered seeing animal control using once. Immediately knowing what was about to happen, Ben jumped back and scrambled for the door he was brought through. Badger blocked his way, grabbing the teen’s shoulder to stop him.“There is no way in hell that thing is biting me! You people are insane!” Ben shouted. His heart pounded out of his chest as his anxiety sky rocked. Part of him wasn’t sure his immunity would work a second time.The Walker growled and tugged on its restrain, trying to go towards the shouting. “Max, Badge, leave the room with the door locked.” David ordered. “Joan, release the Walker then leave as well. Lingard and I will observe what happens. And don’t worry Ben, we won’t let it eat you.”“Wow, I feel so safe.” Ben said sarcastically.Max and Badger left the room, locking the door behind them, Joan released the Walker from the leash and left through her door. Ben tensed up as the Walker growled and shambled towards him. He jumped out of the way barely in time as it lunged for him. Ben missed his footing in his haste and fell onto the linoleum floor. The Walker was on him in an instant and struggling with the teen holding it back. It snapped its teeth at him, trying to bite as the teen felt it back. Ben managed to get out from under it and crawl away, only for it to grab his ankle. The teen rolled onto his back and started kicking its head. The Walker’s head snapped back before coming forwards again and biting into Ben’s right leg. “Fuck-” Ben cursed.The teen kicked hard, crying out as a chunk of flesh was ripped out as the Walker fell back. The door flung open as Max came in and quickly killed the undead monster with a knife to the skull.“I’m going to fucking kill all of you, in the most brutal way I can think of!” Ben hissed, gripping his bleeding leg.“Yeah, yeah, come on, Kid.” Badger took hold of the teen’s elbow and pulled him up from the ground.Max and Badger put the cuffs back onto Ben’s wrists before dragging him back to his room on David’s orders.—--------Lingard finished wrapping Ben’s leg and turned away to put away the cleaning supplies. The wound had needed stitches to close it up but was now closed into a neat line on the side of his calf. Ben leaned back against the bed board as he watched the man through his uncovered lidden eye.“You’re a doctor right? How can you agree with this?” Ben asked the man.“David just wants to know for himself if you really are immune to the virus.” Lingard said.“That’s not what I asked.” Ben frowned.Lingard just hummed as he continued working. Ben coughed, feeling the effects of being bitten starting to set in. He laid back in bed, rolling onto his side and curling up. His stomach cramped up from the movement, making him groan.“Already feeling symptoms?” Lingard asked.“Yeah.” Ben forced out. “All I can give you is pain medicine. Do you want some?” The man asked.Ben nodded. Lingard moved around and pulled out a bottle of painkillers out of the first aid kit, shook out two and passed them to the teen. Ben sat up and took them, throwing them back in his mouth and swallowing them dry.
He laid back down then and pulled his blanket up to his chin. He closed his eyes to block out the light and tried to relax while waiting for the meds to kick in. “I’ll leave you to sleep.” Lingard said. Ben just hummed. Lingard’s footsteps moved towards the door and the lights switched off before the door clicked shut. The teen curled up in bed, letting his mind wander to his family before drifting off.
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Clementine slammed her shoulder into the door only to groan in pain. The door remained closed despite her efforts. She rubbed her sore shoulder as she glared at the door. “Clem be careful, you could really hurt yourself.” Sarah tentatively said behind her. “We need to get out of here.” Clem snapped. “We need to find Ben, who knows what they’re doing to him!”Sarah flinched back as the younger teen rounded on her. Clem turned back to the door, trying to find a different way to open it. While old, the door was sturdy and steadfastly locked from the outside.“If only there was a vent in here.” Clem grumbled. “Could crawl through it and open the door from the other side.”“Have you done that before?” Sarah asked.“Yeah.” Clem didn’t elaborate, her thoughts taken over with images of the farm and being trapped in that meat locker. “Wait, I have an idea.”She turned to Sarah, setting out her plan to her.—---------“Help! Someone please!” Clem pounded on the door.Someone swore loudly on the other side of the door before it opened.“What the hell is going on here?” The man demanded.“I-It’s my friend!” Clem cried. “I-I think she was having a seizure and went still! I think sh-she’s dead!”The man grumbled something about not getting enough to have to deal with this. He made his way over to Sarah who was sprawled on the floor. He knelt down, checking for a pulse on her neck.Clem slowly inched out the door and reached for a wrench laying on the ground, most likely to be used for repairs, before slipping back into the room. “Well she’s breathing so she should be-”Clem cut of the man with a crack of the wrench over the back of his head. He fell to the ground as a small pool of blood formed from the wound on his head. Sarah sat up and jumped away from the man.“Let’s go before someone else comes.” Clem grabbed Sarah’s hand and pulled her out of the room and into the hall. “I-I think you might’ve killed him…” Sarah said.“I didn’t hit him that hard.” Clem shrugged. “He’ll probably just have a concussion and headache.”“He’s bleeding a lot.” She argued.Clem shrugged nonchalantly; “He’s part of the people who kidnapped us and took Ben. Who cares?”Sarah stayed quiet, following Clem down the hall. The building they were in looked like it was once a ranch from what they could tell. There were stacks of supplies and various tools around and looked like there was some maintenance under way.Sarah stayed close to Clementine, one hand gripping her sleeve. Clem slowly led the way, clutching the wrench tight in her hand. The duo slowly made their way through the hall, checking each room as they went.Hearing footsteps echoing down the far end of the hall, Clem yanked Sarah down behind a pile of crates by the wall. Sarah squeaked and slapped a hand over her mouth to keep quiet. Clem peaked around the crates, clutching her wrench close. “Man these prisoners are annoying.” A man groaned. “David only wanted the kid, why’d we have to take all of them?”“I don’t know, make sure they don’t come after us and ruin everything?” A woman answered. “I thought the kid agreed to the testing.” The man said. “At least that’s what I heard.”‘Ben agreed? There’s no way he’d do that!’ Clem mentally shouted. “Guess the rest of the group wasn’t on board.” The woman continued.The two soon strolled past, their voices fading as they disappeared down the hall. The girls stayed put for a long moment, making sure the two were gone before coming out. Clementine turned away from the direction the guards had gone, continuing down the hall as Sarah trailed after her. Despite how far they went, there was still no sign of their group.“Where is everyone?” Sarah asked after a long silence.“I don’t know,” Clem said as she kept her eyes focused on their surroundings. “But they have to be around here somewhere.”They continue looking for their four missing group members and soon some across a locked door, similar to the one they had been locked behind. They had no time to ponder if their friends were behind the door as shouting that sounded distinctly like Kenny drifted from the otherside. “This is definitely where they are.” Clem said, feeling a small amount of amusement. Clementine made her way over and started fiddling with the lock. The lock needed a code and no matter how much she spun the dial, she couldn’t figure out the code.“Maybe it’s written down somewhere?” Sarah suggested.“Sarah? Clem, is that you?” Luke’s voice sounded out. “You two okay?”“We’re fine. But we can get the lock opened.” Clem answered.There was a long pause and muffled voices on the other side before Sarita answered; “Let it, we’ll find a way out. You two get somewhere safe and we’ll meet you there.”“Are you sure…?” Sarah asked, nervously.“We can go find Ben.” Clem said. “We need to get him away from those assholes.”“Stay safe you two.” Luke chimed back in. “We need to get him back but don’t put yourselves in danger.”“We’ll make these bastards pay.” Kenny remarked.“We’ll find Ben and then come back for you!” Sarah promised.“Yeah!” Clem agreed.After a long moment of shared goodbyes and promises to be safe, Clem and Sarah separated and focused on finding a way out. The winding halls felt like they went on forever. It was soon apparent to the duo that their escape didn’t go unnoticed. People were all over the place, talking on walkie-talkies and searching every corner of the place. Clementine pulled Sarah down behind a pile of crates, peeking out to watch the nearby guards. The two were standing by what looked like the exit.“H-how do we get past them?” Sarah nervously questioned.Clementine studied them for a long moment; “Wait, let’s see what they do first.”Sarah nodded and stayed tucked next to the younger teen. The two guards talked but the duo couldn’t make out what they were saying. Clementine watched them for a long moment before looking down at her wrench. “Okay, listen.” Clem started. “I’m going to make a distraction, the moment they leave to check, run for the door.”“B-but what it-”“It’s okay, Sarah. I’ll be right behind you. I promise.” Clem repeated Ben’s promise.Sarah took a few deep, calming breaths before nodding. Clem nodded back before crawling over the edge of their hiding spot. She raised up her wrench and threw it as hard as she could down the otherside of the hall. It clattered hard against the ground and slammed into a table, causing more noise. “The hell was that?” One guard whipped around towards the sound. “Could be those kids that got out. Come on.” The second didn’t wait for their companion to react before speeding off down the hall, leaving the other to scramble after them.“Go Sarah!” Clem whispered, pushing her forward. Sarah stumbled to her feet and made a run for the door. Clem ran close behind her and out the door. With all the commotion inside, there was no one outside from what could see but they weren’t gonna wait around to find out. The teens sprinted down the path and disappeared into the treeline.
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Ben groaned as he rolled over in bed. Even the slightest bit of movement caused his stomach to cramp up severely. He coughed painfully, cringing at the taste of copper in his mouth. It had been nearly a full day since he had been bitten and the effects were setting in fully.Footsteps faintly sounded outside before the door opened. Dr. Lingard stepped into the room. He had a clipboard in his hand as he raised his eyes to the teen, fixing him from a studying glance. Ben stared back at the man from where his cheek was squished into the pillow.“Good evening, Benjamin.” Lingard greeted him.“‘Good’ is a strong word.” Ben grumbled.Lingard hummed as he moved to check the equipment beeping next to the bed. He wrote down the data, tapping his pen against the clipboard.“Your blood pressure is a tad high.” He stated.“I wonder why.” The teen’s voice was thick with sarcasm. “Couldn’t be because there’s a deadly virus coursing through my system.”“Well, it’s not at a dangerous level.” Lingard continued on, completely ignoring Ben’s comments. “I’ll monitor it but it should go down as the illness runs its course.”Ben just sighed and rolled over onto his back. He stared at the ceiling, a fluorescent light overhead was steadily flickering. Ben blinked, pressing his palms into his eyes. While his left eye was pretty much healed, the pressure from his hand on it stung and felt off with the rough skin around it.“How is your eye?” Lingard asked. “Since it’s not connected to your bite, I can get something for it.”“Just my eye patch.” Ben grumbled. “That’d be nice to have back.”“I’ll see what I can do.” Lingard said.Ben sighed, sinking into his pillow. He closed his eyes, hoping for a nap to pass the time. Sleep didn’t come to him, his eyes staying trained on the ceiling. There was a dull throb in his leg as numbness slowly kicked in.—------Ben was handed a pair of crunches the following morning along with his eyepatch. He was finally allowed out of his room. Of course Max and Badger allowed him around like shadows. The hospital had a small courtyard in the center that he was let into for some fresh air.Ben made his way around the grounds before sitting down on a bench. It was a decent day out; cloudy with a chill in the breeze. The snow layering the ground was turning to slush in spots and dripping from the edge of the roof above.He fiddled with his eye patch, making sure it was in a comfortable stop. Ben looked up at the roof. It was tall, perhaps eight stories high.‘Getting up there wouldn’t be a good escape.’ Ben thought. ‘How would I get back down?’He sighed, turning away to look around the yard. He could see people moving around inside through the large windows. He pulled his letterman jacket closer around him. He wasn’t able to wear his jacket all the time, since he needed his arms bare for whatever they wanted to hook him up to, but he was at least able to keep it in his room.“Alright kid, time’s up.” Badger called over to him.“I just got here.” Ben frowned.“Yeah well I just got a call from David saying he wants to see you.” Badger said.“Come on, Kid.” Max gestured for Ben to follow them.Ben sighed and stood from the bench, grabbing his crutches. He trudged along behind them into the building. It seemed like a busy day, people moving around the halls and center island of computers where others were working away.Max pressed the call button on the elevator. David’s office was located on the fourth and top floor. Ben stood towards the back of the elevator, leaning against the wall. It shook as it rose, Ben absentmindedly thought it might fall one of these days.The elevator jumped to a halt and the doors slid open and the trio stepped out. David’s office was at the end of the hall. Max opened the door and moved aside for Ben to step through. David was sitting at his desk looking over a mountain of paperwork. Lingard was standing by the desk, hands resting on the surface as he leaned over. Both men looked up as Ben entered.“Ben, have a seat.” He festered to the chair across from the desk.Ben rested his crutches against the chair before plopping down into the seat.“How are you doing today?” David asked.“Fine, y’know aside from being bitten and held hostage.” Ben snarkily answered.The man hummed; “We were just going over the notes Dr. Lingard made on your recovery. We’ll be able to start the next step soon.”“Which is?” Ben pressed. “What exactly are y’all planning to do to me?”“To start testing for a vaccine.” The doctor said. He reached for a piece of paper on the desk and turned it for Ben to be able to read as he continued; “While you may still feel the systems of the virus, your immune system is able to fight it off as if it were the flu.”He brought over another list of test results; “These are your readings before and after the bite. Your white blood cells doubled the usual amount produced to fight off the virus, even with many dying off.”“What about the nerve damage- I just feel my ankle or wrist- or puking blood and generally just feeling like dying?” Ben questioned, crossing his arms.“All things that can be worked out in testing.” David claimed, though Lingard looked a bit unsure.Ben raised a brow; “How exactly is this ‘testing’ going to work? Are you going to just start injecting people and seeing what happens?”“We will need some testers, once we fit that phase.” Lingard explained. “In a safe environment.”“Why does this sound like a sales pitch?” The teen asked. “You’re going to do this regardless of what I say.”“It’s better for everyone if everyone involved is a willing participant.”“We can make it so now one else turns and cut down the Walker population with your help.” David said. “Don’t you want that, Ben?”Ben paused for a long moment; “Of course I want that, what kind of question is that?”“So you agree to testing?” The man asked.“Yes- on one condition,” Ben straightened up in his seat. “I want to see my family and they need to be safe.”“Deal.” David said.Ben studied him for a long minute; “When do we start?”
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“Where are we going, Clem?” Sarah asked after a long silence.The two had been walking since yesterday evening with no sign of where to go. Clementine led the way a foot ahead of Sarah.“Where Ben is.” Clem answered simply. “They have to have another camp nearby and Ben has to be there.”“We've been walking for hours and there’s been nothing.” The older teen stated. “Let’s stop and try to make an actual plan.”Clem shot a glare over her shoulder before huffing and nodding. She turned back and pointed ahead; “There’s a car, there could be supplies.”Sarah nodded and followed the younger teen to the vehicle. The driver side door was open and Clem leaned in the dig around. In the center console was a handgun and half a pack of bullets.“Heck yeah.” Clem smiled, standing back with the weapon to show Sarah. “We’ll need to teach you how to use it.”Sarah looked nervous; “Do we have to though?”“Yes.” Clem emphasized. She checked the magazine before snapping it back into place, leaving the box of bullets rested on the seat. “Come on, it’s not too hard once you get the hang of it.”Sarah sighed, knowing she wasn’t getting out of this. She took the gun when Clem held it out to her. The two moved over to the trees.“Rule one; never have your finger on the trigger unless you plan on firing.” The younger explained.Sarah nodded, keeping her finger away from the trigger as Clem showed her how to hold the firearm.“Aim for the center of that tree.” Clem pointed about a foot ahead at a large oak. She moved Sarah’s arms slightly. “Don’t bend your elbows.”Sarah did as instructed and after some hesitation, firing. The bullet landed on the left side of the center.“Almost, try again. More to the right this time.” Clem said.Sarah adjusted her aim, keeping her arms straight and pulled the trigger. This time she hit the center.“Good job, Sarah!” Clem praised.The older teen smiled and shyly fixed her glasses.“Okay, one more time and then-” Clem was cut off by the sound of groans.She whipped around to a small group of Walkers coming towards them.“Shit, the gun must have lured them!” Clem took the gun from Sarah and fired, taking two down quickly.She went to take out a third but the gun clicked, signaling it was empty. Her eyes snapped to the open car, the ammo box sitting on the seat. Clem made a mad dash for it, grabbing the bullets and quickly loading.“Clem, look out!” Sarah cried.A Walker stumbled into the car door, knocking Clem as the door closed. Clem cried out as pain flared up in her hand as it got locked into the car door. The gun skidded out of reach. She quickly grabbed a rock and slammed it into the Walker’s head.More Walkers shambled towards her. Sarah grabbed the gun and shakingly aimed. She fired, hitting one straight in the head. She quickly aimed again and fired, making work of the rest of the undead.“Clementine!” Sarah slid in next to her on her knees and examined the damage. The door was completely closed tight on her fingers. “I-I’m going to open the door. Are you ready?”Clem quickly nodded; “Just do it!”Sarah ripped open the door and Clem yanked away. Her fingers were all cut up and bruised, but her index finger was completely broken from the second joint up and quickly changing colours to a nasty red-purple. Tears started bubbling up in Clem’s eyes from the pain.Sarah knelt down next to Clem and gently took her injured hand to inspect. The younger teen jolted and hissed in pain. Sarah was as careful as she could be as she felt around Clem’s hand.“Okay, we need to find supplies, most of it looks worse than it is. But your index finger…” Sarah trailed off. “W-we might need to remove it.”“W-what?” Clementine pulled her hand away from Sarah, holding it protectively.“From what I can tell, i-it’s completely broken and we don’t have any way to put it back together.” Sarah nervously rubbed her hands over her face. “I wish Dad was here, he’d know what to do.”“I’m sorry, Sarah.” Clem frowned.“Don’t.” Sarah shook her head and brought her focus back to Clem. “Let me see your hand again. I want to set your finger.”Tentatively, she offered her hand back to Sarah. The older girl tore the hem from her shirt and grabbed a twig from the ground, breaking it in half. The twigs were placed on either side of Clem’s broken finger before the fabric was wrapped tightly around. Clem hissed at the sharp pain growing through her finger but didn’t move away.Sarah finished and smiled at her work. “There, not the best splint in the world but it’ll work for now to keep it still.”“You don’t give yourself enough credit.” Clem smiled. She rose to her feet and held out her uninjured hand to Sarah. Taking it, Sarah was pulled up to her feet. They gathered what little there was in the car before heading off in the hopes of finding what they needed.—-------It was nightfall when they came across a van in the middle of the woods. There was a man outside of it, muttering curses could be faintly heard. Clem and Sarah crouched down behind the thick shrubs at a safe distance.“Maybe he can help..?” Sarah nervously suggested.Clementine studied the man for a long time. Even from a distance it was easy to tell that his wrists were bound together.“It looks like he needs help.” Clem gave a short amused laugh. “Follow my lead.”Sarah stayed close to Clem as she slowly inched her way up and behind the man. Clem pulled out their gun and pointed it into the man’s back. He immediately stiffened and slowly turned his head to look behind him.“Don’t move.” Clem snapped.“I’m not looking for any trouble.” He reasoned.“Neither are we.” Clem said. “Just need supplies and then we’ll be on our way.”“I don’t have anything.” The man tried to turn his head again, ‘causing Clem to press the gun harder into his back. “I’m just trying to get back to my family.”Clem stopped in her tracks, loosening her grip on the gun. She tilted her head to Sarah standing next to her. A silence conversion went on between them before Clem finally sighed and lowered the gun entirely.“Alright, turn around- but don’t try anything.” Clem said.The man turned around and his brows rose to his hairline in shock. “You’re kids…”“Don’t push your luck.” Clem glared at him. “Anyways- we need supplies. Are you sure there’s nothing in the truck?”Clem was already opening the passenger side door and rooting around for anything. She came back with an apple that was hidden somewhere in the front compartment.She offers the apple to Sarah before speaking; “We’re also looking for my older brother. His name’s Ben, he’s about this tall-” Clem reaches her hand up as far as she can above her head. -He’s a giant, shaggy brown hair, blue eye- the other is covered by an eye patch, and wears an old blue letterman with his name sewn on the front. Have you seen him?”“Uh, no. I haven’t seen anyone that looks like him.” He frowned, actually looking guilty.Clem and Sarah both slumped in disappointment.“Hey, tell you what; help me get back to my family and I’ll help find your brother.” He offered.“Where are they?” Sarah spoke up.“They’re at the junkyard, not far from here. We got separated and I need help getting back.” He explained.“You better hold up your end of the deal.” Clem’s voice held a threatening undertone.“I promise. I mean I’m worried sick about my niece and nephew, I couldn’t imagine not knowing where they were at all.” The man said.Sarah and Clem looked at each other for a long time before nodding. Clem gestured for the man to lead the way and the three started down the forest trail.After a long moment of silence, the man spoke up; “I’m Javier, by the way. But you can call me Javi.”
“I’m Clementine.” She answered.“Nice to meet you, Javi. I’m Sarah.” She smiled shyly.Javi returned the smile before turning forwards again. They fell back into silence but a bit more comfortable this time.