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

6. Moving Day

There was a horrible pounding. Two knocks, each loud enough that Clem could actually feel them in her ears; then an eerie silence, which made Clem sick to her stomach. She looked around for the source of the terrible noise, but all she could see was darkness. Two more booming knocks, even louder this time. Was it the door? Was there someone trying to get in? Clem wanted to spring off the couch, but she felt shackled in place by terror. Two more knocks. They sounded so close now that whatever was coming had to be in the room with her. Panic shot through the girl's veins like a bolt of lighting as a thunderous crashing shook the room.

Clementine rolled off the couch and onto the hard floor with a painful thud. Her head suddenly felt very heavy, but she forced herself to her feet and started running. Everything seemed like a blur and she didn't know where she was going, but her every instinct told her to run. She nearly fell racing through the kitchen and threw the back door open so fast she tripped down the steps and onto the grass. She was about to make a break for the RV, but then her mind cleared enough to remember why she couldn't.

"Sarah! Omid!" Clem scurried to the backdoor on all fours, only to find Sarah standing over her.

"Clementine!" she said. "What are you doing? What's wrong?"

"We have to go!" blathered Clem.

"Why?" asked Sarah as she helped Clem to her feet.

"That noise, didn't you hear it?"

"I just heard you rolling off the couch and running away," said Sarah. "You must have been having a nightmare."

"No, it... it was..." Looking around, Clem realized it was morning now, instead of dark like she thought it was a minute ago. "You... you're sure you didn't hear anything?"

"Just you." Sarah placed her hands on Clem's shoulders. "Why don't you go lie down for a minute."

"I... I..." With the sense of panic gone and her adrenaline fading, Clem suddenly felt something else rising in her stomach.

"Clem, come on. I'll—" Clem turned her head and puked into the grass. "Clem!" A horrible pain gripped Clem's stomach, forcing her to her knees as she became sick again. Her head was pounding and palms were sweating as she felt another horrible urge wash over her. "Clementine, what's wrong?"

"I... I think I'm dying." Clementine didn't die, but for the next few hours she wish she had, or at the very least wish she hadn't drunk as much as she had last night. Even after Sarah helped her into bed and brought her a bucket in case she was sick again, she couldn't get a moment's rest.

Her head was throbbing, like someone was inside it banging a hammer against the side of her skull. Everything sounded louder for some reason. Even making every effort to be quiet, Sarah's occasional trips through the bedroom to collect something created noise that irritated Clem to no end. And the first time Clem heard Omid cry actually hurt, causing the pounding in the girl's head to reach all new heights.

Everything smelled more potent too, and not in a good way. The blanket Sarah had provided Clem with seemed to have a faint mildew smell she never noticed until today. And the stench of the bucket was so awful she had to push it away, which made it awkward the next time she had to throw up.

Clem's stomach also felt like it was churning, as if she had swallowed a washing machine. Between it and the overwhelming nausea, Clem found it hard to even drink water. She was so miserable that even Sarah's best efforts to comfort her did nothing to make her feel better.

But after a few hours of tossing and turning in a desperate attempt to find any position that was less painful, the misery plaguing her body finally seemed to fade. A few more hours of sweating under the covers and the throbbing in Clem's head became a manageable splitting headache instead.