#while playfully lamenting the boring stuff adults have to do | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

threeorphanpilgrimage · 7 years

Text

Chapter 64 - Unforeseen Circumstances

Clementine sighed as she listened to the sound of rain canvassing the top of the Brave. It was the second day in the row it had rained, and she still hadn't gotten used to the constant noise. It wouldn't bother her so much if she weren't trapped inside a cramped RV for the duration. Looking out the window, she couldn't see the sun but she knew it was setting now by how dark it was getting.

"Ah-sah." Clem turned her head to discover Omid was no longer seated beside her.

"OJ?" Clem stood up and found the boy standing on the bottom step and pushing against the door in vain.

"Come on OJ, you can't go outside," said Clem as she grabbed him.

"Ah-sah!" protested Omid as he was forcibly returned to the dining table.

"Come on, you're supposed to be eating dinner." Clementine scooped out a small bit of canned spinach, trying her best not to wince as she moved the spoon closer to the boy. "Just take—"

"Nuh-buh! Nuh-huh!" mumbled Omid as he turned away.

"Just eat a little," encouraged Clementine as she angled the spoon closer to the boy's mouth. "Just a tiny bit and—"

"Nuh!" Omid swatted the spoon out of Clem's hand, spilling the spinach onto the floor.

"OJ, no!" Clem grabbed a paper towel and groaned as she reached down to clean up the mess. "You've gotta eat something OJ, and…" Clem turned around to find she was talking to an empty seat. "Now where—"

"Ah-bree." Clem found Omid desperately trying to pry open the closet with his chubby fingers.

"No, you need to eat your vegetables first." Clementine picked up Omid, which caused the toddler to squeal in protest.

"What's wrong?" Clem looked over her shoulder to see Sarah standing at the door, garbed in a wet raincoat and holding something in each hand.

"He won't eat the spinach," said Clem as she placed the unhappy toddler back in his seat.

"Hang on, I'll be right there." Clem watched as Sarah set down a book and a flashlight before undoing her raincoat.

"Is everything okay with the funnel and the water tank?" asked Clem.

"Huh? Yeah, I wasn't even checking on that," said Sarah as she placed her raincoat over the sink. "I was grabbing an encyclopedia from storage."

"Another one?" asked Clem.

"Not like there's much else to do but read today." Sarah sat down while Clem set a squirming Omid in her lap.

"All right Omid, here comes the airplane." Sarah playfully danced the spoon in front of the toddler's face while making swishing noises, but Omid refused to open his mouth.

"I tried that, a lot," informed Clem.

Sarah leaned over to one side and snapped her fingers. Omid turned his head after the noise and Sarah tried to slip him a spoonful of spinach in the confusion, but the boy was too quick. He turned back in time to see the spoon and kept his mouth shut, making angry muttering noises.

"Tried that too."

"Come on Omid, just a little bite." Sarah leaned forward and tickled Omid under his chin, causing the boy to laugh. Clem held him still as Sarah slipped the spoon into the boy's mouth. Omid scrunched up his face and then spit the green goop onto the carpet.

"Omid, no!"

"Nuh-ha-ahh!" Omid started crying loudly. Clem tried bouncing the boy on her knee to cheer him up, but it didn't seem to help.

"He's eaten spinach before," noted Sarah. "So he's not allergic."

"He just hates it," concluded Clem as she kept trying to settle Omid. "He hated it the last time we gave him spinach too."

"How many bites did he eat before I came back in?" asked Sarah as she went to clean up the spilled spinach.

"None."

"None?"

"Yeah…" Clem sighed as Omid continued to cry.

"What's going on?" asked Patty as she stumbled out of the bedroom.

"Nothing, Omid just doesn't want to eat his vegetables," informed Clem as Patty moved towards the table.

"Canned spinach?" Patty read off the label. "Ugh, I don't blame him for crying."

"I guess we'll just have to give him something he likes today," concluded Clem as she handed a still sobbing Omid over to Sarah. Opening the closet, Clem carefully appraised their remaining cans of fruit: Mixed, pears, peaches, pineapple; they had only a single can of each. Past them, Clem noticed a couple of cans with the same label and grabbed one.

"I think he'll like this," said Clem as she placed the can on the table.

"I've been saving the mandarin oranges for an emergency." Sarah looked down at a still weeping Omid and sighed. "He barely ate anything yesterday, so I guess this is an emergency."

Clem opened the can of oranges and, after some coaxing, Omid tried some. The boy's crying stopped almost instantly and suddenly they couldn't feed him fast enough. Clem, Sarah, and Patty all tried a bite as well, and the sweet citrus flavor was a massive improvement over spinach. Clem thought it didn't quite compare to Winnie's jam, but they had even less of it and didn't want to use it up too quickly.

The joy of tasting fruit again was short lived as Omid kept demanding more with every bite. They kept feeding the hungry toddler while reluctantly taking spoonfuls of canned spinach for themselves. Clem was happy to give Omid something he really liked, but seeing him devour bite after bite of one of their few remaining cans of fruit was also distressing. Minus the few spoonfuls the others had taken, Omid finished the entire can of oranges in short time. Sarah carefully poured the syrup in the can into Omid's sippy cup and mixed it with a little water while Clem and Patty took turns eating what remained of the spinach.

"Ugh, I wish we could get out there and find something better to eat, but the raincoats are useless in the rain," lamented Patty as she forced herself to swallow a spoonful of canned vegetables.

"Not useless," corrected Sarah. "They still keep the rain off you."

"You know what I meant," insisted Patty. "It rains any longer and I'm going to get cabin fever."

"At least we have plenty of water now," shrugged Clem. "Now we just need food."

"We always need food," mumbled Patty.

Sarah fed Omid his sippy cup, which he was glad to have. Clem enjoyed listening to the sounds of the toddler happily sucking down his sweet juice and it made the task of washing the dishes go by a little faster. After storing the last of their plates, Clem turned to the others to see them all looking back at the girl.

"So… now what?" asked Clem.

"Do you want to play chess?" suggested Sarah.

"Not really," said Clem. "We played it almost all day yesterday."

"What about poker?" said Patty.

"We played it for the rest of the day," said Clem. "And most of this morning."

"Yeah, I was getting a little bored of it myself," admitted Patty.

Everyone looked at each other for another suggestion. "Maybe one of the others wants to do something?" Everyone looked at Clem, then just kind of shrugged as she picked up the radio.

"Hello? Jet? Sin?"

"What's wrong?" asked Sin almost immediately.

"Nothing," assured Clem. "We were just… bored, and was wondering if you or Jet wanted to do something."

"I'd love too," spoke an enthusiastic Jet. "I used up my laptop's battery yesterday, so I've had nothing to do since but…" The radio suddenly went silent and Clem and the others waited patiently for a response. "I'm sorry, but Granddad says he wants to go over some more stuff about the RV with me today, says it's important I know how it works."

"Oh," spoke a disappointed Clem.

"You still making the kid do his homework during the end of the world?" spoke Anthony's voice over the radio. "That's cold-hearted man, even for you." Everyone waited for Jet or Sin to reply, but they didn't. "Well if you guys are bored I can always come over. Not like I'm doing anything important right now."

"That would—" Patty put her hand over Sarah's radio.

"He's not coming over," declared the woman.

"Why not?" asked Sarah.

"Sarah, I… I just really don't want to deal with that guy right now."

"Why not? I thought you just said you were bored." Patty sighed in response to Sarah. "Why don't you like Anthony?"

"You guys still there?" asked Anthony, unable to hear the conversation.

"It's… complicated," said Patty as she rubbed her forehead.

"He's always saying stuff to Patty," interjected Clem. "And she doesn't like it."

"Yeah, it feels like the guy is always trying to… push my buttons."

"Are you guys all giving me the silent treatment?" asked Anthony. "I usually have to do something more than say hi for that to happen."

"Look, please, Sarah, just as a personal favor, could you not invite Anthony over tonight?" asked Patty. "It's already late, and I really don't want to have to deal with him. I mean, Clem do you want him to come over?"

"No, not really." Clem couldn't help noticing Sarah looked disappointed to hear that.

"Fine," said Sarah. "But I can still talk to him, right?"

"Sure," shrugged a weary Patty.

"What should I say about why he can't come over?" asked Sarah.

"Just… say I'm busy right now and he can't come over."

"Hello?" called Anthony. "Seriously, is there anybody out there?"

"I'm here," Sarah said to the radio. "Patty's kind of busy right now so it's not a good time for you to come over, but you and I could talk."

"Surprised she's not keeping you busy too," said Anthony. "The 'adults' sure seem to like telling us what to do."

Patty sighed before turning away from Sarah and heading towards the bathroom. "Are you okay?" asked Clem.

"Yeah, just a little edgy from being cooped up for so long." Patty turned and looked into the bathroom. "Seeing as we got plenty of water for the moment, you mind if I take a long hot shower?"

"Go ahead," said Clem with a smile.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Patty headed into the bathroom while Clem went to collect Omid, who was wandering towards the front of the RV. Passing by Sarah, she watched the older girl settle into place on the couch, talking with Anthony on the radio with one hand while flipping through pages of a book with the other. Looking down, Clem saw Omid was desperately trying to climb into the driver's seat of the Brave.

"I bet you want to look outside," said Clem as she hoisted the boy off the ground. "Don't you?"

"Wah-wah," said Omid as he pressed his hands up against the cold glass.

"Yeah, there's a lot of water out there," noted Clem as she looked at the never-ending stream of rainwater flowing across the dirt and into the river just downhill from where they had parked.

"Why would you go out fishing when it's raining?" Clem heard Sarah ask Anthony.

"Rain tends to stir up the water, knock food in from the shore, hides the ripples a lure can make; generally just makes it a little easier to catch them," explained Anthony. "But I'm still paranoid about mercury poisoning, so I'm staying off fish for the foreseeable future."

"Wah-wah," repeated Omid as he continued to look outside.

"Are you still hungry?" Clem asked the boy. "Because I am."

Clem carried Omid back to his room and placed him in his crib, then headed for the closet. She collected a fishing pole, baited it with a lure, then grabbed their cooler and the raincoat Sarah had used earlier.

"Are you going out?" Sarah asked as Clem headed for the door.

"Yeah, I'm gonna try and catch a fish," said Clem. "We haven't eaten one in like four days. Just one, spread out over the three of us, and a tiny bit for Omid, should be safe."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Sarah.

"I just heard Anthony says it's easier, and the rain is lightening up," said Clem as she quickly glanced at the nearest window. "If it doesn't work, I'll come right back. Besides, I don't have anything better to do right now."

"Okay, just be careful."

Clem opened the door and felt a chill shoot up her spine as the cold, wet air blew in. Stepping out, Clem shuttered as she moved towards the rushing river not far ahead. They had parked here the day before yesterday in anticipation of the rain, thinking it best not to travel while their best defense against walkers wouldn't work. Ever since the chance meeting at Texarkana, the group had agreed to stay away from the major interstates, at least for the time being, and as a result, ended up staying somewhere fairly rural.

Marching down to the shore, Clem could feel her shoes sinking into the mud slightly as she walked. It wasn't a big river but it was loud, roaring from the massive amount of water flowing through the area. Clem set her cooler down and tossed her line in the water. She found it awkward to cast with a fishing pole that wasn't much shorter than her, but Anthony seemed to insist anything less would make casting harder.

Even with the raincoat, water was finding ways onto Clem's clothes and she was afraid she wouldn't be able to stay out for long. But despite the cold weather, the girl did find some relief in having finally having left the RV for the first time in two days. She didn't necessarily like siphoning gas stations for fuel or collecting water to boil, but she hadn't realized how much she missed simply going outside until recently.

Suddenly there was a tug on her line and pulling back on it, Clem wasn't sure what she was fighting more, the fish or the river. Her catch was quickly pushed downstream and the girl struggled to reel it back upriver to where she was standing. Trying to plant her feet more firmly, Clem nearly slipped on the wet mud and only just barely caught herself in time to keep the rod from slipping out of her hands. Clem began to shiver as she felt water seeping into her shoes but she refused to lose her catch.

Walking backwards and reeling in the line, Clem forced the fish back upstream. Seeing it near the shore, Clem pulled it out of the river with a final forceful tug, causing a small bass to pop out of the water and onto the mud. Clem quickly yanked on the rod again as her catch desperately tried to flop back into the water, forcing it further onto land where it was effectively helpless. The girl let go of the rod and grabbed the line itself, pulling the fish off the ground.

"Wow. That was fast." Clem took a moment to admire her catch. It wasn't a very big fish, but even a little one would be a treat after a few days of their least favorite canned goods. Clem opened her cooler and drop the fish inside. She only now realized she hadn't brought her tools to butcher the fish, perhaps because she didn't actually expect to catch one so easily, and searched for something to kill her catch with as it flopped around the empty cooler. She bent over to grab a rock resting on the shore, and that's when she saw it, a massive wave of water heading towards her.

"Whoa!" Clem grabbed the cooler and stumbled backwards several feet as she felt water soaking her feet. Looking down, Clem was shocked to see the river had basically jumped up the store and was flowing over where she was just standing. Hurrying uphill and out of the water, Clem was surprised to see the water seemed to be steadily climbing further uphill after her. The girl grabbed her fishing rod before it was washed away and hurried back to the Brave.

"Clem?" asked Sarah as she watched the girl barge in. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but…" Clem looked over her shoulder. "I think we should move the Brave."

Sarah stood up and looked out the door. "Oh wow. Is… is it flooding?"

"I don't know." Clem watched with great concern as the river seemed to loom closer. "But we should get uphill."

"Yeah, we all should." Sarah grabbed her radio. "Anthony? Sin? It looks like the river is flooding and we think we should move our vehicles, just in case."

"Ah, I see that," said Anthony.

"That bridge we saw when we came here goes north according to the atlas," explained Sarah. "We should just go uphill for a while and get a safe distance from the river."

"Right, I'll get going." Clem watched as she saw Anthony emerge from his camper and hurry into his truck's cab. "I'll pull over at the first decent spot I see once I'm across the bridge." Clem listened to the sound of Anthony's truck echoing through the rainfall as it pulled out of sight; Sin's RV however showed no signs of moving.

"Sin?" called Sarah over the radio. "Sin, can you hear me?"

"I'll just go tell him." Clem set her fishing rod and cooler down and hurried back outside. She rushed over to Sin's RV and hastily knocked on the door. She waited patiently in the cold for a few seconds, anxiously looking over at the still rising river, then the door swung open. Sin leaned out and looked towards the road, not the river.

"Where is Anthony going?" he asked.

"Across the bridge to get away from the river," explained Clem. "We just told you that over the radio."

"Oh… I turned our radios off."

"Why?

"I didn't want to eavesdrop on Anthony's and Sarah's conversation," explained Sin. "I'll turn them back on, but why do we need to get away from the river?"

"I think it's flooding, look." Clem checked over her shoulder, surprised to see the river had seemingly risen slightly from a few seconds ago. "I mean, I don't know for sure, but—"

"No, you're right," said Sid he studied the river carefully.

"Is everything okay?" asked Jet as he suddenly appeared at the door.

"Fine," Sin told Jet. "You said over the bridge right?"

"Yeah," confirmed Clem. "Anthony said he'd stop at the first place he saw that looked good."

"All right, we'll get moving."

"We'll be right behind you."

Clem turned back to the Brave as Sin closed the door to his RV. By the time Clem got back into the Brave, she could hear the other's RV's engine starting.

"Are they okay?" Sarah asked as Clem shed her raincoat. "Yeah, their radio was off, that's all."

"Really? Why?"

"Sin said he didn't want to listen to what you and Anthony were saying."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot all our radios are on the same channel." Sarah blushed slightly as she said that.

"What were you talking about with him?"

"I was just asking him what it was like to be homeless. It sounded like it was a lot like how we're living now. He moved around a lot, was never sure if he'd had enough food, was worried about having nowhere to stay when it got cold. He said the biggest difference is he couldn't just take whatever he wanted back then."

"And there weren't walkers trying to eat us then either," added Clem.

"Mah-bah." Clem looked down and found Omid tugging on the cooler's lid. "Ohh…" Sliding the top of the cooler open, the boy stopped to awe at the fish swimming around inside. Clem hadn't even noticed the cooler had collected enough rain water for the fish to swim in until now. "Mah-bah!" giggled Omid as he stuck his hands in the water, causing the fish to panic and dart around in circles in a futile attempt to escape.

"No OJ, don't touch the fish," said Clem as she pulled him away. "Not until after I cook it at least."

"Mah-bah!" protested Omid as Clem closed the cooler.

"I'll move the Brave," said Sarah as she sat down in the driver's seat.

"Go slow, Patty's still in the shower," said Clem as carried Omid back to the bedroom. "I don't know why I even bother, you're just going to climb out again in a minute." Clem placed the boy his crib then headed out. "But Sarah says you still have a hard time getting through this." Clem smirked as she shut the bedroom door then headed back up front. The Brave was moving now and the girl felt a tinge of relief as they headed off a worn gravel path and back onto a paved road.

Placing the cooler on the counter, Clem popped it open to find her catch still idling about in the tiny portion of space it had. She tipped the cooler forward, pouring the water into the sink. Seeing the fish desperately try to swim against the current caused Clem to take pause. She stopped in time to leave the creature just barely enough water to stay submerged. Even after numerous fish, Clem still found herself struggling to kill one more.

The girl retrieved the knives they used for gutting fish and laid them out on the counter, then continued to stare at them for a second before looking out the window. Clem could see they were on the bridge now. It was a short and simple bridge that only carried them about ten feet above the river, which was churning away from the heavy rains saturating the area. She had nearly turned away when she spotted something off in the distance.

She couldn't be sure at first what she was looking at, just that something appeared to be moving on top of the water. Leaning in close though, she could suddenly see it was more water riding on top of the rest of the river. Panic gripped Clementine as the fast approaching torrent came into focus; a solid wall of water that was taller than the bridge, wider than the river banks, and was racing towards them at shocking speed.

"Sarah!" yelled Clem as she sprinted to the front. "Go faster! Go faster!"

"What—oh God!"

The ground moved from under Clementine as a tremendous rumbling overtook echoed throughout the RV. The lights flickered, Sarah screamed, and suddenly the entire vehicle jerked violently towards one side with enough force to knock Clem right off her feet. She stumbled across a chair and slammed painfully into the wall right next to the dining table. The girl hastily tried to regain her footing, but a deafening shattering rung out around her and she screamed as she expected water to come rushing in next.

"Clem!" Sarah helped to pull Clementine away from the wall as the lights flickered out for good. Looking around, Clem saw broken plates strewed across the area and realized the jolt had sent their dishes flying out of the cupboards. Water was foaming up outside the kitchen window and taking a step forward to get a better look, Clem was shocked to see only more water in every direction. "Oh God, what's happening!"

"I don't know!" Clem felt the ground tilting under her feet and had to place her hands against the wall to keep her balance.

"We're gonna tip over!" realized a panicked Sarah.

"We gotta get out of here!" said Clem as she searched for any signs of escape. "We… OJ!"

"Clem!" called Sarah as the girl rushed to the end of the RV.

"Call Sin and Anthony!" instructed Clem as he threw open the bedroom door. "Tell them we need help!" The sound of anguished crying greeted Clem as she hurried towards Omid's overturned crib. "OJ!" Clem hastily pulled the crib away from the bed, but there was nothing in it. "OJ!" Clem could hear his cries of pain but couldn't locate them over the cacophony of noises surrounding her; the constant roar of the water, the loud creaking of the Brave straining under pressure, and the uneven clatter of everything in their closet falling off the shelves.

"OJ!" Clem climbed over the bed and found the boy curled up against the wall, screaming in pain. "It's okay, I'm here." Carefully placing her arms around Omid, Clem immediately noticed he was clutching the center of his forehead as he screamed. "It's okay, just let me see it." Prying his hands away caused him to scream even louder as Clem caught sight of the massive bruise he was covering.

"What's going on!" Clem heard a panicked Patty yell from just outside the room. "Clementine! Sarah!" The woman came barging into the bedroom, soaking wet and her bright green eyes wide-open in terror.

"Clem!" called Sarah as she hurried into the room. "Sin's coming back!"

"What about Anthony?" asked Clem as she did her best to cradle Omid.

"I don't know, he's not answering the radio!"

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Patty as she looked out one of the side windows. "Are… are we in the river?"

"We were on the bridge and suddenly there was all this water and—" There was a violent jolt and everyone screamed along with an already squealing Omid. "We gotta get out of here!"

"And go where!" asked Patty.

"Onto the roof," said Clem.

"And then what?"

"And… hopefully Sin will save us."

"How can—"

Another jolt along with another quick series of startled yells rang out through the RV. Looking at one of the windows, Clem could see the water splashing up into sight.

"We can't stay in here!"

"But how do we get to the roof?" asked Patty.

"The back window!" said Sarah as she hastily crawled across the bed. "The manual said there's a cord here and…" Clem watched Sarah uncover a small plastic loop positioned on the bottom of the window. She pulled on it and Clem was surprised to see glass shift slightly through the curtains. The older girl pushed against the window and the entire pane of glass fell forward. A cold wind suddenly blew in along with flecks of even colder water as Sarah pulled back the curtains.

"Oh my God…" The bridge they had been driving across had vanished, replaced with a roaring river that they were now trapped in. Their trailer had been twisted into a chunk of metal that was now banging against a concrete barrier that was only just visible below the surface of the water, likely the only thing that was stopping it from being dragged downriver. Everything on the trailer, including the generator, was gone now, washed away in an instance. Listening to the deafening roar and feeling the frigid spray of the river racing in front of her face, Clem feared falling into the water would be certain death.

"I… I'll go first," volunteered Patty in a shaky voice as she headed to the window. "That way if this is a bad idea… you two won't get yourselves killed for nothing."

"Take my radio," said Sarah. "That way you can tell us what you see."

"Right." Patty clipped the radio to the top of her shirt, which forced Clem to finally notice the woman wasn't wearing pants. She must have been in such a rush to escape the shower she didn't even have time to get dressed. Clem wanted to object to Patty so hastily heading outside, but the woman had already threaded her legs past the windowsill and was reaching for the ladder by the time Clem opened her mouth to speak. The girl's heart skipped a beat as Patty hopped from the window onto the ladder, and kept pounding as Patty began to climb.

"Jesus, this is insane." Clem tried to reach for her radio to reply, but couldn't while holding a still sobbing Omid in her arms. Instead, Sarah grabbed the radio from Clem's belt.

"What do you see?" asked Sarah.

"Water, fucking everywhere." Clem suddenly felt very sick upon hearing that. "It's just… wait, I think I can see the road too." Clem listened closely as she heard Patty crawling across the top of the Brave and back towards the front. "Okay, yeah, the road isn't too far from where we stopped."

"How far?" asked Sarah.

"I… I don't know, maybe like twenty feet or—"

Clem instinctively tightened her grip on Omid as she felt the RV rocking slightly. It didn't move much, but it moving at all was cause for alarm. Clem suddenly felt her knees shaking as her mind began to ponder what could happen next.

"Puh-Patty?" stuttered Sarah. "Are—"

"I'm okay," assured the woman. "But I don't know how long the RV is going stay in place. I'm looking over the edge and it looks like the river could push us over that crappy guard rail any second."

Sarah turned to Clem and the girls' eyes suddenly met. Feeling Omid still crying softly against her chest as she was forced to look at the fear in her friend's eyes, Clem found her mouth moving without thinking.

"We gotta go," said Clem suddenly.

"Patty," said Sarah. "We're coming up."

"Hurry."

Sarah put away the radio, then looked down at Omid, who was still grasped in Clem's arms. "How are we going to carry him out the window and onto the ladder?"

"We… we'll put him in my backpack," suggested Clem.

"Is that a good idea?"

"Do you have a better one?" The look on her face made it clear Sarah didn't, much to Clem's disappointment. The pair rushed to the closet and pulled Clem's backpack out. Dragging it back to the bedroom, Sarah hastily stuffed a blanket into the pack before Clem very gently placed Omid inside. Seeing the child stuffed into her backpack felt wrong to Clem, but she didn't know what else they could do.

Omid's soft sobbing got a little louder as Clem let go of him, but Sarah quickly placed the boy's stuffed elephant in his arms, which he immediately clung too. Finally, Clem took off her hat and adjusted the band on it to make it as small as possible, hoping it would be enough to keep the rain off Omid. Zipping up the sides enough to keep him from falling out, Clem felt herself doubting her idea more and more.

"I… I hope this is a good idea," said Clem as she leaned in to comfort Omid as much as she could.

"I'll go first," said Sarah as Clem turned around. "That way I can be waiting at the top of the ladder to help you up." Sarah's words provided a minor sliver of comfort before the sudden weight of Omid being placed on Clem's back chased away what little lingering solace she had left.

"Be careful Sarah," pleaded Clem.

"I… I will." Her tense stutter didn't ease Clem's mind any, nor did the wide-awake panic still showing on Sarah's eyes. The older girl crawled across the bed and hesitated when she got to the window. She briefly looked over her shoulder at Clem, then turned to the ladder. It ran directly beside the window; even Clem could easily reach it, but watching Sarah make the short hop from the windowsill was terrifying. Crawling across the bed herself, Clem arrived at the window in time to see Sarah disappear past the edge of the roof.

"Okay," called Sarah as she reappeared over the ladder. "I'm ready." Clem wasn't. Merely edging over to the window was an ordeal onto itself. She could feel the merciless sting of the frigid rain across her skin as she poked her head outside. Hanging her feet past the edge of the window was immediately met with a shutter as the foam from the water cascading past the RV nipped at her heels, soaking her already soaked socks.

Clem reached out and grasped the ladder, the steel feeling slick from the rain. She then stretched our her right foot next, finding the rung slippery as well. Feeling Omid squirm in her backpack, Clem forced her weight onto her right foot. Clem's stomach dropped as she pushed off with her foot and panic coursed through her veins in the brief second she was moving through the air before colliding with the ladder.

"Clem! Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she answered, trying to control the terror in her voice. "I… I'm coming." The girl forced her hands to stop shaking long enough to move one of them further up the ladder. A few steps later, she was in arm's reach of Sarah. Feeling the older girl's secure grip helping her climb the rest of the way to top helped to briefly calm Clem's nerves, but only briefly. With Sarah's help, Clem immediately removed her backpack.

"Is he okay?" asked Clem as she spun around.

"Yeah, I think so." Clem looked at the tiny shivering boy, feeling both relieved and frightened at the same time. He appeared unharmed, but looking around, Clem saw little hope for an escape. Peering over the edges, she was a little relieved to see the water didn't appear to be high as she initially thought. The river was flowing against the Brave's left side, and the splashes that created were big enough to be seen through the windows.

The right side however revealed the water level was probably only a few feet above the road they were on, but it also revealed that a small concrete wall attached to the bridge was likely the only thing keeping the Brave from being swept away, same as the trailer. Just peering over the edge, Clem felt the whole vehicle shift ever so slightly with her, which sent the girl scrambling backwards.

"I think I can see Sin!" A brief nod from Sarah was enough for Clem to know she'd watch Omid, prompting Clem to crawl across the top of the RV to where Patty was lying. Nearing the front, Clem saw a literal ray of hope approaching in the form of an RV's headlights as it emerged from the trees. "Sin, are you there?"

"We're here," answered Jet's voice over the radio.

"Thank God," spoke a relieved Patty. "You gotta do something."

"We'll…" Jet's voice cut off suddenly.

"Jet?" called Patty. "Sin?"

Clem inched up to the front of the Brave for a better look. Sin and Jet's RV was parked about thirty feet away, safely on a section of the road just beyond the river's reach. Staring out at their vehicle, its windows nearly as brightly lit as its headlights, rescue suddenly felt close yet miles away at the same time.

"Guys?" called Patty in a nervous tone. "I don't know how long we can stay up here. This—"

A horrible screeching sound filled the air and the Brave begin to shake as Clem gripped the vehicle for her life. There was a final jolt as the screeching stopped and was replaced by a single loud clank. Turning her head, Clem watched as what was left of their trailer drifted downstream briefly before sinking into the river.

"Granddad has an idea." Clem breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing those words. "We're gonna get our RV as close as we can, then he's gonna throw a rope out to you. If you can tie it to your RV, then you can use that to get through the river to our side of the road."

Clem watched as Sin's RV begin to creep closer, moving into the shallow stream of water bordering the road and continuing for several feet before stopping. Once a few inches submerged, Sin emerged from the RV with a rope coiled around his shoulder. He very quickly tied off one end of the line to his RV's bumper, then tied the other end into a loop.

"Get ready, he's going to try and toss it to you." Jet's words prompted Patty and Clem to sit up in anticipation of the incoming lifeline. Clem was surprised to see Sin twirl the lasso over his head, swinging it about with a degree of grace and precision she hadn't been expecting. He released the rope and it hurled towards the Brave in a straight line. Clem reached out to grab it, but the rope stopped suddenly several feet away and plummeted into the river.

Watching Sin pull the rope back in, Clem suddenly realized it wasn't long enough. The man quickly reeled in his line, then looked over his shoulder and motioned towards the RV's windshield. Clem was surprised to see what could only be Jet in the driver's seat. The vehicle inched forward a few feet before coming to a sudden stop. Sin then took a few careful steps forward into the water, then swung the lasso over his head again. Again, he sent it soaring right towards the Brave, but again it came up short, stopping a few measly feet away from where Clem and Patty were sitting.

They watched Sin pull in his rope again, but this time he didn't motion to Jet. Instead, the man just stood there, seemingly staring at them. Clem couldn't see the man's face very well from this far, but she couldn't stop herself from imagining him looking sorry, as if he knew he couldn't save them. Suddenly, Sin's RV lurched forward slightly, forcing Sin himself to spin around and wave at Jet to stop. Sin looked out at them once more briefly, then headed into his vehicle.

"Oh shit, what's going on over there," mumbled Patty as she grabbed her radio. "Hey, guys, talk to me." Clem watched the other RV carefully, hoping to see some clue to what Jet and Sin were doing through the windshield. "Come on Sin, you were so close last time, just get a little closer." Looking down past the windshield, Clem noticed she couldn't see the other's RV's tires very well because of how far it had driven into the water.

"They can't save us," realized Clem.

"Don't say that," insisted Patty, sounding almost angry.

"If they get any closer they'll get stuck too, or worse," informed Clem.

"We just need a few feet more," insisted Patty before grabbing her radio. "Just a few feet, that's all we need."

"A few feet…" Clem turned around and started climbing back towards the end of the Brave.

"Clem?" said Sarah as she cradled Omid through the backpack. "Where are you going?"

"Back in the Brave. I think I know what can help us." Clem grabbed the ladder. "Wait here, I'll need you to pull it up for me." Clem moved down quickly but carefully with relative ease, but getting back into the RV was harder than getting out of it. The girl had to risk planting her foot on a thin handle just below the window, then carefully pivoting her head forward through the window, all the while knowing a single slip would send her plummeting into the river. Clem found herself grateful for once that she was so small, thinking she couldn't even use the handle for a foothold if her feet were any bigger.

With her head clipping past the windowsill, Clem pushed forward and flopped onto her bed. The covers were damp from rain and bits of the river that had splashed in, but it was the least of the girl's concerns right now. She rolled off the mattress and rushed for the cupboards. It took some digging as everything had been tossed out of place, but the girl found a short length of rope buried amongst her gear. Next she rushed back to the front and found her fishing rod lying on the floor. "This is a few feet long… I hope."

Clem turned to hurry back to the bedroom when she spotted her cooler, still sitting in the sink on its side. Moving over to it, she discovered the fish she caught earlier twitching inside as it lay there helplessly, slowly dying. Looping the rope over her shoulder, Clem grabbed the cooler and hurried back into the bedroom. She set the rod down, then carried the cooler up to the window.

"I hope it's not too late." Clem dumped out the cooler and the fish almost immediately disappeared into the water. "For either of us."

"Clem?" Looking past the window, Clem could see Sarah peering down from the roof.

"I'm gonna pass up my fishing rod," said Clem as she hurried back to grab the tool.

"Fishing rod? Why are—"

"Trust me." Clem thrust the pole up, which Sarah immediately took from the girl's grasp. Clem then repeated her maneuver to get back on the ladder and climbed up. Reaching the top of the ladder, Clem tied one end of her rope to the ladder, then carried the rest back towards where Patty was lying.

"Please, help us!" begged the woman into her radio. "Just a few feet closer, that's all—"

"I think I know how we can get the rope without you getting any closer," said Clem as she grabbed Patty's radio. "I'll tie our rope to a fishing rod and hold it out. If Sin can throw his rope over it, I can tie both of them together." Clem waited for a response, then felt Patty wrest the radio away when they didn't get one.

"Jesus, at least try it!" begged Patty. "At least give us a damn chance!"

Clem was startled by the sudden sound of an engine starting. She felt what little hope she had evaporate as Sin's RV moved backwards, only for it to stop suddenly and pull forwards again.

"Here." Clem looked over her shoulder just in time to see Sarah setting the fishing rod down beside her. Clem pulled her rope forward and set it beside the fishing rod. She folded the end of the line into a small bundle, then used the bit of remaining rope to tie the bundle to the end of the fishing rod, making sure the literal end of the rope pointed out just past the end of the fishing rod.

"Patty, you have the longest arms," said Clem as she handed the fishing pole to the woman.

"Got it." The woman grabbed the rod and held it out as far as she could past the front of the Brave. The group watched as Sin emerged slowly from his RV, trudging carefully through a foot of water a few steps before once again raising his lasso above his head. Sin tossed the rope, and once again it came sailing towards them. Clem held her breath as Patty tilted the rod up to catch it. The lasso just barely connected with the tip of the rod before Patty pulled back on the rod slightly, snagging it.

"Got it!" exclaimed Patty as she tried pulling the rope closer. It only moved a few inches before it became taut. "Dammit, I can't get it close enough to tie it off."

"You don't have to," said Clem as she moved to the edge of the Brave. "I just need to grab the end of ours and then…" Clem stretched out for the bundle of the rope attached to the end of the rod, but her arms weren't long enough. "Sarah, can you reach it?"

"I can try." Clem moved away from the edge while Sarah set Omid down. Moving to the check the toddler, Clem could see he had practically buried himself inside the pack. Peeling black the blanket he was covered in, Clem could see Omid was still shivering as he continued to sob softly. She wanted to hold him, and tell him it would be okay, but it would mean exposing him to more cold, and she didn't know if they would be okay or not. Instead, Clem quickly wrapped the blanket back around Omid, hoping he wouldn't need to stay in there much longer.

"I think I got it." Clem looked over to see Sarah narrowly grasping the end the rope attached to the tip of the fishing rod that Patty was trying to keep at an angle that wouldn't lose Sin's lasso. "But what do I do? I can barely hold onto it from this far."

"Just pull on the end of my rope, it'll undo the knot," instructed Clem. "Just make sure you pull it through the loop on Sin's first." Clem watched as Sarah carefully pulled on the end of the rope, making sure to thread it through the lasso before giving it a stronger tug. The knot holding the bundle together quickly came undone as Sarah slowly walked backwards with the line in hand. Pulling out all the slack on their rope, it became taut as it tugged on Sin's lasso.

"Okay, hold it there," said Clem as she approached Sarah. "I'll just need to tie a slip knot." Sarah held the rope steady as Clem crossed the end of it over the rest of the rope and then tied them into an unusual looking knot. "And now an anchor knot here, and…"

Clem pulled on the end of their rope and Patty and Sarah watched in disbelief as the first knot seemingly moved forward on the rope, like it could somehow slide along the line. As the slip knot connected with Sin's lasso and stopped moving, the rest of the rope continued to move through an opening in the knot. For a moment, it looked like Clem would pull the rope right out of the slip knot and undo it, but then the second knot connected with the first one, at which point Clem couldn't pull it anymore.

"Wow." An awestruck Patty pulled on the rope a few times, only to find it securely attached to Sin's lasso now. "Where'd you learn—"

There was sudden rumbling and everyone let out a startled yell as they felt the Brave shift slightly. Clem and Sarah both scampered across the RV to grab hold of the backpack containing Omid while Patty dropped the fishing rod into the river while she grabbed hold of the edge of the Brave.

"We need to get out off this thing," concluded a frightened Patty as the shaking stopped. The woman briefly tugged on the connected ropes a few times, then eyed the knot Clem had made. "Okay, I'll go first again. If it can hold me, it should hold you two if you go one at a time."

Patty scooched over to the front of the Brave and sat down. She wrapped her hands tightly around the rope, then slid off the edge. Clem felt her heart stop momentarily as Patty let out a startled cry as she fell. Hurrying to the front, Clem could see the woman dangling from the rope. Trembling as she clung to the rope for dear life, Patty moved one of her hands forward, then another. The rope sloped down from the top of the Brave towards Sin's bumper, and progressing a few feet further, Patty's feet connected with the water.

"Oh shit is this cold!" she yelled as she paused briefly before resuming her decent. Clem grew more and more nervous as Patty slowly submerged herself in water. Eventually, Patty's legs reached the road through the river and she started walking through the water, first while holding onto the rope over her head in an awkward fashion, then normally as the rope moved down enough for her to just use it to pull herself forward. Sin met Patty about ten feet out from where he was parked and offered the woman her hand. She took it, and the pair managed to wade through the rest of the river together.

"Okay," said Sin over the radio. "One of you now."

"Clem, you—"

"You need to go next."

"But—"

"You're stronger, and taller," reminded Clem. "If I tried to carry Omid in the backpack, I might not even be able to keep him out of the water."

"But…" Sarah sighed. "Okay." The pair immediately hurried to backpack and peered inside. "Is he all right?" asked Sarah as she peeled back the blanket.

"I think so." Clem felt less certain after checking Omid. His shivering seemed to be worse now and he had become very quiet. "Just a little longer, and it'll be okay." Clem leaned in close and kissed the boy on the top of his head, which was still covered by her hat. "We love you."

"We both do," said Sarah as she gently wrapped the blanket back around Omid. "I should put the backpack on backwards, that way I can get to him in a hurry if I have to."

"Yeah, that makes sense," said Clem, finding it hard not to think about what could happen to Omid. Sarah knelt down and threaded her arms through the backpack's straps. As she made sure the bag was secure, Clem unzipped the smaller compartment on the bag and placed her radio inside it, hoping to keep it from getting wet while Sarah tossed her glasses inside next. Clem zipped up the compartment while Sarah zipped up the rest of the pack, sealing Omid inside.

"I… I love you Sarah," professed Clem.

"I know," she said. "I love you too Clementine." Clem leaned in and held Sarah at an angle, taking care to gently hug the backpack she was wearing. Even while being rained on, Clem found Sarah's embrace comforting, but it was short lived as the older girl pulled away and sat down on the edge of the Brave.

Clem watched anxiously as she saw Sarah reach down and grasp the rope with both hands, then felt her knees tremble in anticipation of what would come next. Her heart was pounding against her chest, her hands were shaking, and she felt like throwing up, and then Sarah slipped past the edge of the Brave and out of sight. Clem nearly collapsed in shock and was only kept standing by a sudden startled scream.

"Sarah!" yelled Clem as she rushed over to the edge. She found her friend dangling clumsily from the rope, swaying in place as she tried to move one of her hands.

"Come on Sarah!" Clem suddenly noticed Patty still standing in front of Sin's RV. "You don't have to go far, we're right here!" Patty waded a few feet back into the water. Sin reached out and grabbed Patty's arm as she did, not stopping her but serving as an anchor as the woman waded a little closer to the terrified teenager.

Sarah finally managed to move one of her hands in front of the other and started inching forward. It was obvious that she was struggling, taking much longer to move one of her hands than Patty did, and every time she did the rope seemed to bounce slightly under the girl's weight. As her feet made contact with the water, Sarah started letting out muffled cries of panic.

Seeing her dangle from the line, being swung back and forth by the water like laundry in the wind, Omid strapped to her chest, was almost too much for Clem to bear. Her mind kept racing for something she could do, some way to help them, but there was nothing she could do, and knowing that terrified Clementine. As Sarah's legs sank into the water and the girl finally found her footing, Clem felt a slight tinge of relief seeing her family grow closer to safety, and then Sarah slipped.

"Sarah!" Clem felt as if a hot iron had just been driven through her heart as Sarah was quickly swept aside by the fierce current, plucking the rope from the older girl's hands and pushing her over and beneath the water. "No Sarah! OJ!" screamed Clem at the top of her lungs before collapsing onto her knees. The girl started crying into her hands, gasping for breath as she heard Patty say something.

"Sarah!" yelled the woman. "Hold on!"

Clem immediately looked up and discovered a soaking wet Sarah clinging to something just a few feet from where she fell. Clem assumed it was the concrete wall bordering the bridge, but she still couldn't even see it from where she was sitting. "Just hang on Sarah!"

Patty's words were enough to send Clem jumping back to her feet. She looked around for anything she could use to help Sarah, then found her eyes settling on the rope itself. Clem grabbed the line with both hands and started pulling it closer towards Sarah. The rope wasn't entirely inflexible, but Clem found herself only able to force it a few inches before it stopped moving. Looking back at Sarah, still clinging to a waist high wall that the river was trying to push her off of, the rope was only slightly closer to her than before.

"Patty!" yelled Clem as loud as she could. "Grab the rope! Move—"

"Got it!" Patty immediately grabbed hold of the rope and started pulling it in the same direction as Clem, with Sin joining in right afterwards. The rope swayed closer to Sarah and the girl stretched out a hand towards it, but she couldn't quite reach it. Clem closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she pulled as hard as she could, thinking even moving the rope a single inch more would be the difference between life and death. Her muscles felt like they were ready to snap and her arms were shaking as she felt the fibers of the rope digging into her palms, but she refused to stop.

"I got it!" Clem breathed out deeply as she heard Sarah say that. Letting go of the rope, she moved back to the front to see Sarah had both hands on it now and was moving forward through the water. Sin held onto Patty as she reached out to Sarah and Clem watched as she took one hand off the rope. Sarah grabbed Patty's hand and Clem felt like she could breathe again. With the others help, Sarah trudged out of the water and into Sin's RV.

"Okay Clem, now you!" yelled Patty, a certain jovial relief in her voice now. Even with the frigid rain pouring down on her, Clem couldn't help feel a renewed sense of energy coursing through her sore arms as she sat down to grab the rope. Scooching off the end of the vehicle, Clem felt her stomach dropped as she fell a few feet before being tugged back slightly by the rope.

Her arms ached and she was utterly drenched, but Clem kept moving, one hand over the other. She could see Patty, still clinging to Sin for support in anticipation of Clem's arrival. With every movement, Clem was a little closer to safety. Her feet dipped just low enough to touch the freezing water and the stinging cold sent another chill up her spine, but Clem forced herself forward anyway. Seeing Patty grow closer and feeling concrete beneath her feet, Clem was happy enough to cry.

She moved her hand forward again, clinging the rope tightly, then there was a sudden drop and the girl was underwater. The freezing river felt like her entire body was being stung by thousands of tiny needles while the current nearly ripped the rope out of her hands, like a fierce animal trying to yank it away. Even the constant rush of the water past her ears made it sound like the river itself was roaring in her face.

Clem clung to the rope for dear life, desperate to pull herself forward but fearful of taking a single hand off the rope lest she lose it completely. She kicked her feet, trying to find the road as she was tossed about in the current. She attempted to raise her head above the water, but couldn't because she didn't know which way was up anymore. The freezing pain of the river, her aching arms barely able to cling to the rope, and her lungs ready to burst from the lack of air, Clem felt like this was it; this was how she was going to die.

Then suddenly came a forceful tug on the rope, one that was stronger than the river. Another came right after, and then another, and Clem suddenly could see the surface. She stuck her head up for a much-needed breath of fresh air and looked ahead to see Sin and Patty pulling her in like a fish on a hook. Feeling the concrete scraping across her shoe, Clem stood up and charged as fast as she could out of the last few feet out of the water and into Patty's arms.

"Oh Clem, thank God!" proclaimed the woman as she clutched the girl as tightly as she could. "When the rope snapped I thought—"

"I'm okay…" assured Clem between deep breaths. "I'm okay."

"We need to get inside, now," instructed Sin as he pulled the pair towards the door. Clem happily obliged the man and hurried into the RV.

"Where's Jet?" asked Sin, sounding a little frustrated as he sat down in the driver's seat.

"I'm right here," said the boy as he came hurrying, towels in his arms. "Here, you should dry off."

"Thanks kid, I really appreciate it," said a profusely grateful Patty as she took one of the towels.

"Where's Sarah?" asked Clem as she took another towel.

"In my bedroom. She wanted to make sure your baby is okay."

"Is he?" asked a deeply concerned Clem.

"I don't know, I think so, but I'll go check real quick," said Jet in a hurry. "Just get dried off, I'll bring you some clothes next."

Jet ran off, Sin turned the RV around, and Clem started toweling herself off. She was soaked from head to toe and with the danger gone and her adrenaline fading, the girl suddenly became aware of how cold she really was. She was shivering and her teeth were chattering out of control as she clung to the towel for a mere ounce of warmth. Clem hurriedly stripped off her shoes, socks, and coat, but was still soaking wet. She wanted to get out of the rest of her clothes and was about to ask Sin where their bathroom was when the RV came to a sudden stop.

"What's wrong?" asked a concerned Patty.

"There's a truck coming," announced Sin as he slowed to a stop. "It's Anthony."

"Anthony?" said Patty as she hurriedly wrapped a towel around her waist. "Where the hell was he during all this?"

"I don't know," said Sin as put the vehicle in park. "He never answered his radio when Sarah called for help."

Clem watched as Anthony's truck came to a sudden stop near Sin's RV. The man emerged from his vehicle and took a few steps forward, seemingly awestruck at the sight of the river, then pivoted towards the RV in a hurry. "Hey! You guys in there?"

Sin opened the door and Anthony barged in, wide-eyed concern hanging off his face as he studied his surroundings. "Jesus, what the hell happened?" asked the young man as he looked around in confusion before setting his sights on Clem and Patty. "Are you two okay? Where's Sarah?"

"She's fine," answered Patty flatly.

"What the hell happened out there?"

"All this water just came out of nowhere," explained a shivering Clem. "It almost pushed the Brave into the river and we had to get out."

"The river was flooding a little when we passed over it, but it wasn't anywhere close to where it is now," added Sin. "Something upstream must have happened for the water to rise so quickly."

"You'd didn't hear us explaining any of this over the radio?" asked Patty.

"Radio?" Anthony pulled a radio off his belt and held the talk button. "Hello? Testing?" Clem noticed there was no electronic click when he pressed the button. Sin then raised his own radio in response.

"One, two, three." Clem heard Sin's voice echo from another radio, presumably Jet's, sitting on the counter.

"Shit, the batteries on this one must have died or got wet when I got out earlier," concluded Anthony as put the radio away. "Is everything okay? Are you guys all right?"

"Yeah, we're fine," said Patty in a stern voice.

"Expect OJ," said Clem. "We still don't—"

"He's okay," assured Jet as she slipped out of the bedroom and back towards the front. "Sarah says he's doing better now and sounds like he'll be okay." Clem breathed a sigh of relief as she heard Jet say that.

"Well that's good," said Anthony, sounding relieved himself. "So what now, are we gonna try and pull their RV out of the river or—"

"It'd be reckless to even try right now," stated Sin.

"No, it'd be insane," said Patty as she tried to stop herself from shivering. "We barely got out alive as it is."

"Maybe by morning the water will have receded enough for us to try and tow your RV off the bridge," Sin told Patty. "But for now, we should move further uphill from the river."

"Where are you guys gonna stay for the night then?"

Patty looked hopefully at Sin, who seemed reluctant to answer.

"Patty, why don't you stay in my camper tonight?" suggested Anthony. "That ways the kids will have room here and—"

"No," declared Patty.

"Look, I know I've been an ass before," admitted Anthony in a humble voice. "But—"

"Just no Anthony," insisted Patty.

"Come on, it's going to be crowded as it is," reasoned Anthony. "I mean, where are six people and a baby going to sleep in here?"

Patty just turned to Sin again, who was still hesitant to answer her.

"I'll stay with Anthony." Everyone turned to Jet suddenly.

"What, Jet no, that—"

"Why not?" Jet asked Sin. "They can all stay in my room and you can sleep out here like you always do."

"I guess that could work," shrugged Anthony. "As long as your granddad is okay with it."

"I…" Sin looked at Jet, then back at Anthony. "Give me a moment to talk to my grandson.'

"Sure, I'll just go make some room in my place while you talk it out," said Anthony as he headed out. The second the door was shut, Sin spun around and looked at Patty.

"Why don't you want to stay with that man?" he asked in a stern voice.

"Granddad, don't," insisted Jet.

"Because he's a horny a teenager and I'm a woman in a wet t-shirt," retorted Patty. "Do I really have to spell out the rest?"

"There's more than that," said Sin. "He said you didn't trust him with a gun. Why not?"

Patty turned to Clem, possibly seeking her approval to answer, and Clem could only nod at the woman in response.

"When we went to New Orleans, we were held up by a couple of guys," explained Patty. "Clem and I were trying to talk them down, and Anthony shot one of them."

"So he… saved you?" asked a confused Jet.

"Maybe," answered Clem. "I think they were starting to listen to us, but then Anthony shot one."

"He said he didn't hear what we were saying and just saw us on her knees with guns aimed our heads; from where he was standing it probably looked even worse than it did to us," admitted Patty.

"He killed someone who was threatening to kill you?" repeated Sin. "That's why you don't want him to have a gun?"

"It's not that, it's…"

"It didn't bother him," said Clem. "He killed someone and he didn't even act like he felt bad afterwards."

"Yeah, basically, having to kill someone didn't seem to bother him at all," said Patty in a quiet voice. "They were threatening to kill us and I still felt like shit afterwards for shooting that man."

"You shot someone?" asked a surprised Jet.

"After Anthony shot the first man, I had to shoot the other when he tried to shoot Anthony," explained Patty as she hung her head in shame. "It all happened in the blink of an eye but…"

"It made us worry about him having a gun," said Clem.

"He was just so casual about it the day after," recalled Patty. "Like what happened wasn't a big deal."

Sin crossed his arms and stood there quietly for a moment before looking at his grandson. "Do you think he would do anything to hurt Jet?"

"I really doubt it," said Patty. "Like I said, what happened in New Orleans just sort of happened; we may have been able to talk those men down or he may have saved our lives, I don't know. And he gave back the gun he had afterwards when he could tell it worried us. I just… I just personally really don't want to spend a night with him in his—"

"I understand," assured Sin before turning back to Jet. "Keep your radio on. If anything happens, just call me."

"I will." Jet turned to Patty and Clem. "You guys just rest, okay?"

"No problem," said Patty with a weak laugh.

"Thanks, both of you." Jet smiled at Clem in response, then hurried back to his room. He came back with dry clothes, something Clem and especially Patty were eager to see. They agreed to take turns changing in the RV's bathroom while Jet returned to his room to pack a few things. As Clem waited for Patty to finish, she watched as Sin met Anthony at the front door.

Listening to them to talk, Clem heard Anthony tell Sin he'd keep an eye on the river for the night in case anything happened while Sin tested Anthony's radio with new batteries. Sin then gave Anthony the radio and Jet followed the man out. Inching over to the window, Clem watched as Jet entered Anthony's camper while Anthony himself climbed into the cab of his truck. It felt strange to Clem to see so much happening without it involving her.

"Sorry I took so long." Clem turned around to see Patty emerge from the bathroom, wearing tan shorts and a green shirt that both appeared a bit too small for her. "Kept trying to figure out if I wanted clothes that were too big or too small," explained the woman as she approached Sin. "You gotta be nearly a foot taller than me." Patty handed Sin a set of clothes.

"I used to tell Jet he didn't have to worry about being tall enough for the space program, both his grandparents were well over the minimum," said Sin as he folded the clothes and set them aside. "Then he heard of recessive genes, and he started asking me how tall my parents were."

"So, I guess we'll just hold up in your bedroom tonight?" asked Patty.

"It's Jet's room, I sleep out here every night in case something happens and we need to leave in a hurry," explained Sin.

"Well… thanks, we really appreciate this," professed Patty.

"Thank you," Clem told Sin. "You saved our lives."

"You… you're welcome," said Sin as he turned away from the pair. "Get some rest." Patty headed for the bedroom while Sin watched Anthony's camper from the window. Clem couldn't help noticing the man appeared uncomfortable when they told him thanks, as if he wasn't used to gratitude.

Feeling a shudder from still wearing her wet clothes, Clem hurried into the bathroom. Even after locking the door, the girl felt uncomfortable undressing somewhere she was unfamiliar with. She was in someone else's home, putting on someone else's clothes, before going to sleep in someone else's bed. Things even smelled different; there wasn't an offensive odor, just a slight non-distinct smell she didn't remember ever smelling when she lived in the Brave, a lingering reminder that this was somewhere different.

After putting on one of Jet's shirts and a pair of his pants, Clem found herself unhappy with what he saw in the mirror. Jet's clothes were too big for her, and it made her look like a child playing dress up. She had given her hat to Omid, which meant the only things left on her that belonged to her was the hair tie Christa had given her and the bracelet made out of colorful plastic beads Sarah gave her on her tenth birthday. Briefly recalling what she had just been through, Clem felt grateful to still have them even.

After ringing as much as water as she could out of her own clothes over the drain, Clem hung them up on the shower rod along with everyone else's. She stepped out and noticed Sin still sitting in the front. Clem felt odd creeping towards someone else's bedroom, like she was trespassing even though she knew she wasn't. Despite their RV being very similar, everything felt different somehow, and it wasn't until Clem headed into the bedroom did she see something that made her feel at home.

"Clementine!"

"Sarah!" Clem rushed into her friend's arms, squeezing Sarah as hard as she could. She nuzzled her face against Sarah's cheek, breathing in her friend's familiar scent and enjoying the warmth of her skin against her own. Feeling Sarah's hands gently caressing her back, Clem found her thoughts drifting towards ones of enjoying a peaceful night tucked into a warm bed while wrapped in the arms of her closest friend.

"Jet said you fell into the water," said Sarah suddenly.

"I… I did," stuttered Clem. "I… I thought I was going to die."

"Oh God… Clem, I'm so sorry."

"I thought you and Omid were going to die when you went under the water and I… I…" Clem found herself too choked up to talk.

"I did too," confessed Sarah in a quiet voice.

"Wuh… where is he?"

"Right here." Sarah let go of Clem and guided her to the bed. "I got him out of his wet clothes and warmed him up as fast as I could, and then Jet got him some canned fruit so he'd have something to eat." Clem looked down at the tiny boy tucked into the massive bed. He was lying on his side, breathing softly while sucking on his thumb. "After that he went right to bed."

"Is he okay?" asked Clem as she leaned in close for a better look. "He bumped his head when the water hit us."

"I saw that," said Sarah. "He was acting kind of confused at first, but by the time he went to sleep he seemed to be acting normal."

"Seemed to?"

"After he finished eating he went right to sleep. I think he's okay, but—"

"We should probably let him rest," concluded Clem.

"Yeah, I guess we'll see in the morning if… if there's anything wrong with him." Sarah sighed loudly, sounding exactly like how Clem felt right now. She leaned in close and kissed the sleeping toddler on the cheek.

"I'm sorry," whispered Clem as she backed away.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked Clem as she placed a hand on the younger girl's cheek. "I… I wanted to come back out to help you but—"

"You had to take care of OJ," assured Clem as she took hold of Sarah's hand. "You did the right thing."

"It… it didn't feel right," admitted Sarah as she squeezed Clem's hand. "You said you almost died and—"

"I'm okay now," assured Clem. "It's okay."

"Yeah, for now…" The way Sarah said those words stung, as if to remind Clem their problems were far from over. "Oh, here." Sarah pulled away and collected something from the nearby dresser. "I figured you'd want this back."

"My hat!" Clem eagerly took back her favorite headwear and adjusted the band on it to make it a little bigger. "Thanks Sarah."

"And here's your radio too." Sarah offered Clem a familiar device decorated with peeling and faded flower stickers. "I tested it and it still works. I figured it was the least I could do after you and Sin saved all our lives."

"Christa told me learning how to tie knots was important, but I never thought it would save our lives… again," admitted Clem as she recalled the night they were trapped on an overhang. "I wonder what other important stuff she was going to teach me but never got to…"

After setting her hat on her head, Clem noticed Patty peering out the back window. Glad to see the woman dry and safe now, Clem walked up to her and lovingly wrapped her arms around Patty's waist.

"Hey, what's this?" she asked in a playful voice as she reached an arm back to return Clem's embrace.

"I'm glad you're okay," professed Clem.

"Same here partner," said Patty as she gave Clem a pat on the back.

"What are you doing?" asked Clem.

"Just keeping an eye on our RV." Clem let go of Patty and tried to squeeze in next to her by the window. "We didn't have time to grab anything on our way out; our food, our tools, our guns, it's all still over there."

"Our photo album," added a saddened Sarah as she approached the pair.

"I didn't even have time to put my damn pants on it," sighed Patty.

"Is… is it going to be okay?" asked Clem as she edged up to the window.

"I don't know."

Clem looked out at the Brave, now dark and desolate as it sat helplessly in a river. Watching the water rush against the side of it, rocking the vehicle slightly as it did, Clem couldn't help thinking the river was determined to wipe away everything they had called home for the last several months. Clem suddenly heard an engine start, and they began moving uphill and away from the river. Watching the Brave shrink into the darkness, Clem had a horrible thought; this could be the last time she'd ever see it again.

Previous Chapter - Next Chapter - First Chapter

#three orphan pilgrimage #TOP #Chapter 64

0 notes