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

40. Paradise Lost

"Keep going." Clementine watched from the bed as Omid slowly walked across the carpet. Every few steps seemed like a challenge for the boy, but one he seemed to enjoy as he marched forward with a big smile on his face. When he got to the wall, he turned in place and looked up at Clementine, which prompted his smile to grow even larger.

"Muh-meh," he said, sounding happy.

"You want to be on the bed?" asked Clem.

"Ah-brah-dee." Clem watched as Omid walked over to the edge of the bed and started grabbing at the covers. The boy wasn't as proficient as climbing as Clem originally suspected. After his first few unassisted steps the day before yesterday, Sarah had discovered he had knocked over his crib trying to climb out of it instead of successfully scaling it. But Clem let him try to climb onto the bed, thinking it would only be a matter of time before he could do that as well.

"Ah-dee. Ah-dee," he repeated as he kept failing to scale the bed, sounding upset.

"It's okay, I'm right here." Clem scooched over to the edge and offered her hand to Omid. "Go head, grab on." Omid curved his arms around Clem's, clinging to it like an animal clutching a tree branch. Clem grimaced as she slowly pulled Omid onto the bed, the weight of lifting him causing her some discomfort. But Clem didn't rush, allowing the boy some time to use his feet to help the ascent. "There you go."

"Muh-meh," said Omid as he tried to stand up on the bed.

"Come here, come to Clementine." Clem held out her hands and Omid carefully navigated the soft surface of the mattress and walked right into her arms. "Good boy," praised Clem as she hugged the toddler tightly in her arms and kissed his cheek, prompting him to giggle.

"Muh-boo," said Omid between giggles.

"I love you too." Clem embraced Omid tightly, enjoying the warmth of feeling him in her arms, and then a gunshot sounded.

"Wuh-muh-da-ba?" mumbled Omid as he stopped giggling.

"It's okay, it's just part of Sarah's and Patty's plan. Whatever that is." A second gunshot sounded, and it was just as distant and faint as the first shot. "I'll go see what they're up to." Clementine carefully placed Omid back on the floor. "Here, play with your elephant," prompted Clem as she removed the worn stuffed pachyderm from the crib. "I'll be right back."

Clementine set the stuffed animal in front of Omid and left the bedroom, making sure to shut the door behind her. Moving towards the front, she stopped to look out one of the windows. Clem could see the park just past the trees, the same one they settled in the first time they arrived in Titusville. She wasn't sure why Sarah had wanted to return her, but she also didn't question the older girl's judgement.

"I think that got them heading northeast," hearing Patty's voice, Clem looked over to the dining room table. There she found Sarah sitting in front of a couple of pieces of paper, holding a radio with stickers on it in her hand.

"How long until you get back?" Sarah had been talking to Patty a lot since the woman crossed paths with the girls the day before yesterday. Ever since that day, Clem had been content to stay in the bedroom and just play with Omid as she healed. She wasn't entirely sure what Sarah was planning, but Clementine reasoned it had to be a better idea than anything she could have suggested.

"Probably in like ten minutes, as long as the invisibility cloak holds up," answered Patty over the radio. "I keep expecting it to wear off any second."

"It won't, as long as you're quiet, and nothing washes off the smell."

"So you keep telling me," said Patty. "Still, this almost seems too easy."