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

21. Setting up the Board

Clementine tread carefully across the asphalt, her tomahawk gripped tightly in her hands. On her left were trees that obscured her view of the residential area beyond them, but she could still hear them; dozens—possibly hundreds of walkers—shuffling about in the distance, just waiting for something or someone to stumble a little too closely to them.

Clem turned her eyes back to the highway, carefully eyeing the occasional stalled or crashed vehicle sitting on the road and making a mental note how far apart they were from each other. The highway was relatively clear of obstructions, something Clem thought boded well for her as she did her best to ignore the distant moans of living corpses roaming about in the distance.

Following the exit away from the main highway, Clem picked up the pace as something of interest came into view. Sitting on the corner just past the edge of the road was a modest combination bar and grill. Moving up to the curb, Clem noticed the motel behind it and the few dozen walkers idling outside in its parking lot. A concerning sight, but one that was hopefully far enough away to avoid taking notice of her.

Approaching the small diner, Clem took great care when she pulled the door open, fearful more walkers were inside. She didn't see any corpses inside, moving or otherwise, but she could only see a small section of the building from the door. The girl removed her noise maker next and shook it in front of the door, taking care not to shake it too hard and alert the walkers in the motel parking lot.

No response from the restaurant, and none of the walkers in front of the motel seemed to hear Clem's noisemaker. The girl removed a doorstop from her pocket and wedged it under the front door. With the exit propped open, Clem took hold of her tomahawk and moved inside. She navigated past the tables, behind the main counter, and into the kitchen where she found the grill's pantry, which was still partially stocked.

Clem removed her backpack and eyed the canned vegetables left behind for a moment. She had limited options, but eventually settled on a can of corn. She tucked the can into her pack, then removed a small garbage bag from it. Clem opened the bag and started stacking cans inside. After placing about ten inside, she gave the bag a tug. It was heavy, but not too heavy for her to carry. Clem put two more cans in it then tied the bag off.

After putting her pack back on, Clem slowly and carefully toted the bag of canned goods outside, taking great care not to jostle them enough to make any noise. Walking past the door, Clementine approached the edge of the road and set the bag down. Relieved she wouldn't have to carry it any further, Clementine returned to the door, retrieved her doorstop and then headed back to the road.

Moving east along the road, Clementine eventually found herself passing by some modest suburbs, whose former residents were wandering about as walkers now. Despite the presence of her raincoat, Clem felt herself tensing up. Even if they couldn't smell her, she was still fearful a single mistake or miscalculation would bring the vicious corpses down upon her. But this many walkers in a small area also meant those houses almost certainly still had food left in them.

Stopping at an intersection, Clementine took a deep breath, and then proceeded into the suburban neighborhood. She moved to the nearest house, where she used her tomahawk to down and kill a walker standing on the lawn. Clem briefly evaluated her surroundings to make sure there weren't any other walkers lurking about, and then began a slow and thorough examination of the house.

Once Clem was sure there weren't any walkers waiting inside, she began searching for food. Tossing a house for anything edible was something she had grown accustomed to in the months she had lived in Spokeston. The fridge was often a waste, but she checked it out of habit. At the very least she could find bottled waters that were never opened. The cupboards were usually her best bet, often having at least a few canned goods stashed in the back, and maybe even some dried goods that hadn't been opened if she was lucky.