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

38. The Final Judgement

"We're here." Clementine opened her eyes to find Sarah standing over her.

"Here?" mumbled Clem as she sat up.

"Valkaria," said Sarah.

"Already?"

"You've been asleep for an hour now."

"Open up," called a familiar voice from outside.

"I'll go talk to him." Sarah headed up front while Clem climbed out of bed. A shower, a good meal, and some much-needed rest while Sarah had driven them back to Valkaria had done a lot to put the horrible thought of Clem's latest near death experience out of mind. But her ankle still hurt. Not nearly as bad as it was earlier, but enough that when Clem put her weight on it, she almost immediately remembered how close she was to her demise.

As she heard Sarah talking with Tanner, Clem dressed herself, electing to wear her smocked top with the butterfly on the chest and a pair of pants she thought went well with it. Since she didn't plan on going anywhere dangerous in the next few minutes, Clem elected to leave her hair unbound and left her hat on the nightstand.

Moving over to the crib, Clementine saw Omid still sleeping soundly. "Not much longer now," whispered Clem. "When you wake up, we'll be in paradise." Leaving the bedroom, Clem watched as Tanner stepped out of the vehicle. "What'd he want this time?"

"He says Chilton is waiting in the building next to the roadblock, and we should bring what we found to her so she can look at it," explained Sarah as she grabbed the red bin. "Just wait here, I'll—"

"No way," said Clem. "I'm coming with you."

"I just figured with your foot, I—"

"You said it's only sprained," reminded Clem.

"I also said I'm not a doctor," reminded Sarah.

"I spent all day getting that stuff," said Clem. "I want to be there when Chilton sees everything I found."

"Omid—"

"He's asleep," said Clem. "Come on, this will only take a minute."

Sarah smiled at Clem. "Okay. But I'm carrying this stuff. I don't want you hurting your foot anymore. And Tanner said to leave our weapons in here."

Clem followed Sarah outside and waited as the older girl locked the Brave. The rain had stopped but it was still overcast, and a flash of lightning was followed several seconds later by a distant thunderclap. Looking over at the barricade made out of cars, she spotted an older man in a blue coat she didn't recognize who seemed to be staring at her.

"This way." Sarah collected their bounty and carried it towards a small house tucked away next to the barricade. Clem's ankle was still bothering her as she limped after Sarah, but not so much she couldn't keep up with the older girl's modest pace. The house was fairly ordinary, being a simple one-story home with a garage.

Clem did think the house was a little odd it had both a flagpole and a basketball hoop bordering the driveway, but it was hardly concerning. She also saw a couple of young man in blue jackets conversing by the garage door. They were much bigger than Deacon, and one of them was smoking. Turning away from them, Clementine spotted a kerosene lantern hanging from the front door of the house and guarding it was a bigger man who looked to be about Tanner's age.

"This is where we bring the stuff we got for Chilton right?" The man nodded slightly and stepped aside. Clementine opened the door for Sarah, and the pair moved inside. The entrance seemed to lead right into a living room that had been repurposed. A long wooden table covered in a blue linen was set by the wall farthest from the door, and seated behind it was Chilton.