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

109. Entropy

Clem tossed and turned as she tried to get comfortable. Her head felt light and the dim little hotel room was now almost pitch black. She should have enjoyed having a real bed again, but it did nothing to comfort her troubled mind. The sliver of moonlight coming in from the widow slightly deluded the darkness, making this strange and unfamiliar room twist in front of Clem's eyes as she searched for any familiar sights for comfort.

Eventually, Clem gave up on sleep and just sat up, taking care not to wake Sarah or Omid. Her head felt heavy and some distant sound was nagging at her ears. Clem couldn't identify it, and it didn't sound close, but whatever it was annoyed her. She took a deep breath and looked over, expecting to see Sarah resting with Omid in her arms; the bed was empty.

"Sarah?" said Clem as she looked around the room. "Sarah?" she repeated a little louder as she stood up. Clem didn't get an answer. Looking around, her eyes adjusting to the low light, she noticed the bathroom door was open. As she crept forward, the sound got louder. It was like wet pasta being hastily stirred around in her ears. Clem felt her heart beating faster as she moved into the bathroom. "Sarah?"

The first thing Clem saw was Omid lying on the bathroom floor, his stomach ripped out into a bloody mess of entrails and an expression of unbridled terror permanently etched onto his now lifeless face.

"Omid!" Sarah suddenly spun around, blood running down her mouth and a crazed look in her milky eyes."No! God no..."

Sarah let out a savage groan and Clem felt her instincts kick in. She ran as fast as she could, charging through the darkness and colliding with the bed. Clem fell onto the floor and felt a horrible pain shoot through her already sore shoulder when she hit the ground. She scurried across the carpet towards her backpack sitting in the corner. She ripped it open, pulled out her gun, and spun around, her finger on the trigger.

"Clem?" Clem watched as Sarah sat up on the bed, Omid crying loudly as he climbed onto her.

"Sarah... you're alive." Looking around, Clem just noticed it was morning and light was pouring in past the thin curtains. "Oh, thank..."

"Wait... is that?" Sarah's eyes went wide with shock as she realized what was in Clem's hands. "What... what are you doing with that?" asked Sarah, her every word gripped with terror. Clem just now realized she was aiming a loaded gun at Sarah.

"I'm sorry," spoke a repentant Clem as she hurriedly put the gun down. "I... I'm so sorry. Sarah, I'd never... I..." Clem looked to Sarah for comfort, but her eyes were still wide-open in terror. "I... I... I..."

Clem could just hear Omid crying, his fear rattling her already frayed nerves. Each sob felt like a noose being tightened around her neck until she couldn't breathe. Clem raced out the door in a hurry, the cold air biting at her skin as she fled from her own family. Clem found herself on the edge of the motel before she stopped running. She looked back at the open door beside the room marked with the number seven and wondered how she could go back in there after what she just did.

"If you had just listened we'd already be out of here!" Clem could hear Sabriya's voice bellowing in the distance.

"If I'd listened to you we'd be dead from sucking in toxic fumes!" Dilawar came stomping around the corner, his face twisted with anger. He marched right up to his room but stopped suddenly when he noticed Clem.

"Whoa," he said as he looked over to her, his anger evaporating once he laid eyes on her. "What's wrong?"

"I... I just pointed my gun at Sarah and Omid," Clem realized out loud.

"What? Why?" asked a horrified Dilawar.

"I... I was having this nightmare, and I woke up without knowing it and I just grabbed it..." Clem felt her blood freeze as she finished speaking. Only now did she realize the gun was still in her trembling hands. She raised the pistol.