Chapter 8: Atonement

AJ, You and Clem are in their room. You wake up and get out of bed. AJ is already awake along with Clem; she brings a cup of coffee to you.

AJ: "Made you some coffee. It was in the kitchen. Tenn said that I could have some. I didn't steal it."

You take the coffee cup and have a sip as Clem sits next to you. Her coffee in her right hand.

Clementine: "I'm surprised you remember how to make it. We haven't had coffee in a long time."

AJ: "You put it in hot water."

Y/N: "You're right. Thanks."

AJ: "Last night, with Marlon? I heard Louis, and...what he called me. Am I a murderer?"

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Clem, You and the rest of the group are in the courtyard. Surrounding Marlon's dead body, the blood is still on your face and your basically shell shocked.

Louis: "No!"

Omar: "Oh, my god!"

Violet: "Shit!"

Ruby: "We could get medicine. From the nurse's office." She says from behind the group.

Mitch: "He's dead! The kid blew his brains out!"

Louis: "You shot him. He's dead. You're a murderer." He looks over at AJ who's beside you and Clem.

Louis: "You promised Marlon! You said you'd help him fix things!" Louis looks towards you. "What the fuck did you teach this kid?!"

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AJ: "Louis called me a murderer. But...but we're supposed to kill bad stuff. Monsters. Did I do it bad? I thought Marlon was bad. He killed Brody, he...he kept telling lies." AJ stands in front of the two of you.

Clementine: "This'll be hard to hear. Louis was right. Sometimes people do bad things, like Marlon did. But when you shot him, he wasn't a threat to us anymore. If you kill someone when they're no longer threatening you, that's murder."

AJ: "Even if they were bad?"

Y/N: "Even then. It was wrong."

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Back at the courtyard, the group surrounds AJ. Violet steps in front of him and brandishes her cleaver.

Violet: "Back off! All of you!"

Louis: "It was under control! I talked Marlon down, then... He murdered my fucking friend!"

Back at the courtyard, the group surrounds AJ. Violet steps in front of him and brandishes her cleaver. You look over at Mitch and see him flexing his fist, you and Clem walk to violet and stand beside her.

Violet: "Take AJ, go inside."

Clementine: "Come on, let's go."

Louis: "Oh, just let them go back to the dorms?! What happens the next time one of us does something this kid doesn't like? Should we expect a bullet, too?"

Violet: "That's not what happened."

Louis: "It's exactly what happened! It was over, 'til little Mr. Trigger-Happy decided otherwise!"

Y/N: "No, he wouldn't do that! He'd never hurt any of you! It was--Marlon threatened us!"

Louis: "AJ pointed the gun first!"

Violet: "We get it, Louis, just back off, okay?"

Louis: "Back off? Seriously?!"

Clementine: "Let's go."

AJ: "Y/N?"

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AJ: "Y/N?"

AJ: "If I'm a murderer, am I gonna die, too?"

Y/N: "What? No." AJ does a criss cross on the floor and looks up at you and Clem.

AJ: "Well, I think murderers are like monsters, and...I know what happens to monsters. Nothing good. Nothing good at all."

Clementine: "We can forgive them. Murderers, even some monsters, they get a second chance."

AJ: "Some monsters? Not all?"

Clementine: "When bad people, like murderers, try to make it right, that's when other people forgive them."

AJ: "That sounds hard."

Clementine: "It is."

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Ruby cries over Marlon's body. While the three of you walk along the walls back to the dorm.

Ruby: "For god's sake, someone help me with this!"

Mitch: "Saved you from that car wreck, and you fucking murdered him?!"

Y/N: "Mitch, C'mon man."

Clementine: "Get back, Mitch."

AJ: "Get. Back."

Mitch: "Or what?" (draws knife) "You gonna let him kill me, too? Then who's next? Aasim? Willy?"

Clementine: "Haven't enough people died tonight? Brody, Marlon. We can't keep killing each other."

Mitch: "How the fuck are you saying that to me after what he did?"

Mitch: "Screw both of you." Mitch walks over to the others.

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Y/N: "Hey. What is it?"

AJ: "You guys have killed a lot of people."

AJ: "You murdered your friend Lee, didn't you?"

Clementine: "What?"

AJ: "You said he was handcuffed. He wasn't a threat. So that means you murdered him."

Y/N: "I didn't want him to suffer."

AJ: "How? He'd be dead." You look over at Clem and see her eyes closed, it almost looks like shes holding back tears.

Y/N: "He would've turned. I didn't want that for him. He deserved better."

AJ: "I love you, Clem and Y/N."

Y/N: "Love you too, AJ."

Clementine: "I love you back."

Clem wraps her arm around AJ. You hear a knock at the door, And Clem unwraps her arm from around AJ. Before Tenn enters.

Tenn: "Hey. Violet said to come get you for the funeral."

Clementine: "Really?"

Tenn: "We used to have them more. Then we stopped. It seems right, though. I brought you something." (offers firefighter toy)

AJ: "For me?"

Tenn: "I figured you'd be afraid, with everyone all upset. But you were brave last night. Like a firefighter."

AJ pushes the toy away.

AJ: "No, firefighters are good. I'm a murderer."

Tenn: "No, you're not. You gotta have a trial first. They decide that stuff in a courtroom. That's how it works. Er, worked. Before. Back then, there were all kinds of rules. About who was innocent, who was guilty. It was complicated."

Y/N: "We have to decide things for ourselves now. We can't rely on other people to make the rules for us."

Tenn: "Who decided you're a murderer?"

AJ: "Clem, And Y/N. But they're right. So's everyone else."

Tenn: "I think you're okay."

Tenn: "You sure you don't want your firefighter?"

AJ: "You should keep him, 'cause you're good, like him. But maybe we could play with him later? Together?"

Tenn: "Sure. After the funeral. They buried them already. Vi'll start it soon. See you out there."

Tenn leaves the room.

Clementine: "This is gonna suck. They're gonna say a lot of things about Marlon and Brody. Some true, some not. Let's just get through it without upsetting everybody. Okay?"

Y/N: "Like really Suck."

AJ: "Okay."

Clementine: "Ready?"

Y/N: "Mhm."

Clementine, You and AJ stand up and leave the room. And enter the courtyard.

The three of you walk up to the others at the graveyard. But stay a little ways back from them.

Aasim: "Oh, god, they're here."

Violet: "So what? They knew Brody, didn't they?"

Omar: "Yeah, but Marlon--"

Violet: "Just leave them alone."

Louis: "Shit." The whispering is something you can handle.

Violet: "We're here for Brody and Marlon. They died." You overhear.

AJ: "Clem, Y/N."

Clementine: "What?

Y/N: "What's going on?"

AJ: "Why do people have funerals? Tenn said they used to have them more. But I don't get it"

Clementine: "Well, to say goodbye to someone you've lost."

AJ: "But they're dead."

Clementine: "This is your last chance to see them before they're gone forever"

AJ: "I made them all sad. Like if someone took you away."

Clementine says nothing.

Violet: "Shit. Brody, she was...she was real sweet. She had big dreams. And we all knew they wouldn't come true, but we didn't care. And we didn't care because when she was talking, whatever she said seemed possible."

AJ: "Does everyone get a funeral?"

Y/N: "People do. Some animals, too."

AJ: "Even monsters?"

Omar: "We'll miss you, Brody." Omar pays his respects.

Violet: "I don't know if she found the place she dreamed about, but I'm gonna miss her." Vi pays her respects.

Louis: "We all will." You listen to the talking.

Y/N: "Marlon did bad things, but he wasn't a monster."

Violet: "Tenn, you ready?"

Tenn puts a drawing on Brody's grave.

Tenn: "Brody. You always said you wanted to go to the beach, so I drew it for you."

Violet: "Marlon was... I can't. Not for Marlon. After what he did to the twins and Brody, I--"

Willy: "You didn't even like Brody! You were always mean to her."

Violet: "I can't. Someone else do it." Violet walks away from the group and skulks beside them.

Mitch: "Bitch."

Louis: "Dude, don't."

Mitch: "Seriously, Louis? He was your best friend. He wasn't perfect, but he deserved better than to get gunned down by that kid. AJ killed him like it was nothing. We all saw it, and no one stopped him." Mitch turns to You and Clem, and starts to approach but stops halfway.

Clementine: "You're right, Mitch. Marlon didn't deserve what AJ did to him."

AJ: "I know what I did. I'm sorry"

AJ: "What I did was bad, and I'm gonna make it up to you. I promise."

Violet: "You don't have to make up shit! Marlon was a fucking murderer, and a liar, and if we'd all asked more questions about Minnie and Sophie disappearing last year, none of this would've happened!"

Aasim: "She's got a point."

Willy: "Shut up! It wasn't Marlon's fault."

Violet: "Then whose fault was it?"

Y/N: "Whatever happened before, AJ shouldn't have killed Marlon."

AJ: "Yeah, he wasn't hurting anybody when I killed him."

Mitch: "See what I mean? How can any of us trust these fucking people?"

Violet: "What are you saying?"

Mitch: "I'm saying they gotta fuckin' go. We take a vote. Majority decides: they stay, or they leave. Today." Mitch looks back at the group then back at the three of you.

Ruby: "That does seem fair."

Aasim: "Are you serious? It's bullshit."

Willy: "You're bullshit."

Clementine: "I don't wanna leave, but if you all decide we should, we'll go."

AJ: "Clem!"

Mitch: "You heard her, kid."

Omar: "A vote's the only way to settle this, or we'll be arguing forever."

Violet: "Fine. I guess we're fucking voting. Louis needs to vote. Could you go get him? And try to talk to him."

Tenn: "Come on, Rosie. Come here, girl."

Tenn claps his hands, but Rosie stays lying down on Marlon's grave. Tenn leaves.

Violet: "Could you guys go wait in the dorm? I'll come get you."

AJ: "Please don't kick us out." Aj turns around and you grab his shoulder.

Y/N: "Come on, let's go."

Clem, you and AJ leave.

At the dormitory room.

Clementine and you sit on the bed next to each other while AJ kicks the wall.

Clementine: "AJ, stop. You'll break your toe or something. Come here, sit down."

Y/N: "AJ, C'mon man, stop."

AJ continues kicking the wall.

AJ: "No! I--it didn't work! I did what you said, and they didn't even care!"

AJ: "I know that I was bad, but--but they don't wanna let me fix it!"

Clementine: "AJ, breathe. Remember what we do when we're mad? C'mon. You don't wanna be loud, do you? What do we do when we're mad?"

AJ: "We stop, and think, and, um... I'm still really, really mad. I know that I'm not supposed to get mad. Or sad. Because then I do dumb things."

Clementine: "And you have every reason to be upset. We'll deal with it together. Okay?"

AJ: "Okay."

Clementine: "We stop, we think, and we... Breathe."

AJ: "Breathe."

AJ takes several deep breaths.

Clementine: "Feel better? You're still mad, huh?"

AJ: "And, uh, I think I'm sad, too."

AJ sniffles and sits next to you, you wrap you're arm around him.

AJ: "I did what you told me to."

Clementine: "I know. You're a good listener."

AJ: "I wanted to make them all feel better."

AJ: "It didn't work. Why'd you tell me to do that, if it didn't work?"

Clementine: "We don't know that it didn't work. They might've voted for us to stay."

AJ: "I don't know. They seemed pretty mad."

Clementine: "Violet was on our side. Maybe she'll persuade the others.
AJ: Yeah, maybe."

AJ: "You don't know, either."

AJ: "I don't wanna go."

Clementine: "I know you don't."

AJ: "I like knowing where we are all the time. The bed, the food. I like the other kids. Not all of them, but Tenn, and Louis, and Violet."

There's a knock at the door, and Violet and Louis enter.

Violet: "We took the vote. You have to leave."

AJ: "Don't we get to vote? I vote that we stay."

Louis: "That's not how it works."

Violet: "Maybe it should be." Violet turns towards louis.

Louis: "You don't have to like it."

Violet: "Good, 'cause I don't."

Clementine: "Fine, I get it. We'll learn to live with your decision, somehow.
Violet will remember that."

Violet: "Seriously, that's it? You know this is fucking wrong, and you're not gonna fight it at all?"

Y/N: "What's the point? You've already decided."

Louis: "Yes, we have"

Violet: "It's bullshit, and you'd know it if you weren't so used to burying your head in the sand."

Louis: "Oh, I'm burying my head in the sand? Hate Marlon all you want, but you can't tell me AJ isn't dangerous, too."

Violet: "We'll wait for you to pack up, then Louis and I'll escort you out past the safe zone. We'll make sure you get to the road safely. It's not a lot, but at least you won't die on the way."

Louis: "We could've happily dumped you outside the gates."

Clementine: "Thanks for making sure that we--"

AJ: "No! Don't thank them! It--it's their fault we gotta leave! They're gonna get rid of us!"

Louis: "Get him under control."

Y/N: "AJ, breathe."

AJ holds Clem's hand.

AJ: "Where's Tenn? I gotta say goodbye."

Violet: "He was really upset about the vote, and he's not talking to anybody. It's best to leave him alone when he's like this, but... For the record, he wanted you to stay."

Louis: "Wait. Does AJ still have that gun?"

AJ picks up his gun.

Louis: "Hand it over."

Violet: "Is this necessary?"

Louis: "Hell yes, it's necessary. I'm not walking out into the woods with him holding that thing. We already know he knows how to use it."

Y/N: "Give it to him."

AJ: I might need it.

Y/N: "AJ, now."

AJ: "Here, you can have it."

AJ gives the gun to Louis.

Louis: "Fuck."

Violet: "There, happy? Can we go?"

Clem puts on her backpack and hat, you do the same with your pack and hat. Everyone leaves the room. And heads outside towards the gate.

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