Three Orphan Pilgrimage (The Alternative to TWDG's Final Season) [Walking Dead]

39. Pound of Flesh

"Was Chilton serious?" Clementine heard the man behind her ask. She couldn't see him, but she could feel his massive paw clamped over her face while the other hand grasped her shoulder, his iron grip filling the girl with terror.

"Did she not sound serious?" Clem looked over at Sarah, who was being held in place by Tanner. The older girl was terrified, her eyes wide with fright, trembling in place as Tanner kept his hand over her mouth.

"I mean, how old are these kids?"

"Clementine's only ten," answered a distraught Deacon as he approached the men. "And Sarah's just a year younger than me. They—"

"They were caught stealing red-handed," dictated Tanner. "But if you're both so concerned with age, we'll do the older one." Clementine panicked as she heard those words. She watched in terror as Tanner let go of Sarah's mouth and grabbed both of her wrists.

"No! Let me go! Stop it!" shrieked Sarah as Tanner dragged her to the door. "Clementine!" Clem tried to pull free of her captor, shooting out her arms and grasping hold of Sarah's jacket before the older girl was yanked out of her grip. Clementine clawed at the hand covering her mouth, digging her fingernails into the person's skin as hard as she could.

"Dammit!" yelled the man as he pulled his hand away from Clem's mouth. "You—"

"I stole Rhonda's box!" confessed Clementine as loud as she could.

"What?" asked a surprised Tanner.

"I did it, not Sarah. Please don't hurt her," begged Clem. "She didn't do anything wrong, I did."

"Well now that she's volunteered, how could we say no?" Tanner nodded to the man holding Clem's wrists. "Take her outside."

"No! She's just saying that!" insisted Sarah as Clem felt the man's arms constrict her so tightly she couldn't move. Clem tried running, but then felt her stomach drop as she was forcibly lifted off the ground. "We didn't steal anything! Rhonda's lying!" Sarah struggled to pull free from Tanner as he opened the front door.

"No more than either of you." Dismissed Tanner as Clem tried kicking free of the man carrying her. Her heart beat faster and faster as she was toted outside, across the driveway, and right to the flagpole. The cool evening air sent a chill up Clem's spine and the dark clouds hanging in the sky filled her with dread. "You two have been nothing but trouble since you got here. You're lucky Chilton is asking me to go light on you."

"What's going on?" asked the young man with a cigarette as Clementine was dropped onto the driveway.

"She's a thief," answered the other man as he grabbed Clem's arm with both hands.

"Her? For real?" Clementine felt a second set of hands grab her other arm before she could even stand up.

"She just confessed." Clem tried to run, but the two men in blue coats dragged her towards the flagpole by the arms, forcing her hands around it.

"It's been a while since we caught a thief." Clem's legs started shaking as the two men dragged her wrists together. The girl pulled against her captors as hard as she could, literally fighting for her life. But it was useless, and Clem was helpless as her hands were tied to the flagpole. "I guess you're never too young to start stealing."

"I didn't steal anything!" cried Clem as she pulled against the ropes in vain.

"Says the girl who just confessed," scoffed Tanner.

"I—" Clem gasped as she felt someone pulling up her shirt. There was a strong tug, a quick ripping sound, and the back of her blouse went slack. Clem could suddenly feel the cool air on her bare back now, chilling her to the bone.