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

15. The Big Things

Clementine was yanked aside and then felt something cold and metal jabbed into her cheek.

"Don't move," whispered a muffled voice. "Don't even make a sound." Clementine was paralyzed by fear. Her chest tightened, her legs began to wobble, and horrible thoughts started flooding her terrified young mind.

"Whatta ya got?" whispered a second muffled voice.

"Another kid, even younger than the last one." Clementine suddenly felt like screaming Sarah's name, but was too afraid to try it. "They can't have any more. Get in there and tell their parents if they want their kids back, they'll amscray, immediately."

Clementine watched as someone else crept towards the door. They were garbed from head to toe in thick padded black clothing that had been partially spray painted red. Their entire head was covered by a helmet shaped like a skull that had also been painted red. Clementine watched in terror as this person raised a gun and aimed it at the door.

"Go get 'em!" The person in red nodded at whoever was holding Clem and raced inside.

"Nobody move!" The person in red's shout was followed by the sound of Omid crying. Those shrill screams from a terrified baby instantly became the only thing Clementine could think about as she desperately tried to break free from her captor's grip. She thrashed about in place, pulling at the hand covering her mouth.

"Knock it off you little brat!" Clem felt the hand over her mouth move a little and she didn't waste a second. The girl bit down on her captor's hand as hard as she possibly could, finding her teeth grinding up against what felt like hard plastic. "I said knock it off!"

Clementine felt a sudden push and was tossed onto the pavement. Flipping onto her back, she saw another person in padding also with an odd skull-shaped helmet, this time spray painted green. "Move from that spot, and you're dead," threatened the person in green in a quiet voice as they raised their pistol. The gun was shaking in their hand, but only ever so slightly. Clementine held her tongue and remained still until the one in red emerged from the RV.

"Hey," called the person in green in a quiet voice. "Talk to me."

"They got a shitload of food in the closet and a lot of other stuff," the one in red reported. "But there's no one else in there."

"What about Omid?" asked Clem, trying to control the terror in her voice.

"Omid?" repeated the red one.

"The baby!"

"It's inside," they shrugged.

"Wait, they have another goddamn kid?" asked the green one.

"Apparently."

"You give him back!"

"Settle down!" ordered the red one as they aimed their pistol at Clem.

"We're wasting time," said the green one. "Let's get this thing and go before these damn kids' parents get back."

"We don't have any parents," informed Clem.

"Shut up!" The green one grabbed Clem by the arm and forced her to stand. "Go round up the other one real quick and I'll get rid of the damn baby."

"What!" shouted Clem.

"Get in there!" The green one shoved Clementine towards the Brave. She stepped inside, practically being pushed up the stairs by her captor. Looking around, Clem spotted Omid hiding under the dining table, crying loudly.

"Omid!" Clem rushed over to the screaming infant and grabbed hold of him with both arms. "It's okay, it's okay," said Clem as calmly as she could as she picked up the squealing baby boy while tears streaked down his face. "I'm right here. It's okay."