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

81. Man Plans

The last twenty-four hours had been excruciating for Clementine. Her body had been racked with pain, even after the painkillers Sarah had given her, and all she could do is lie in bed and think. Think about everything they had lost. Think about Patty and Jet's fate. Think about Sin's death. Think about her own possible death every minute of every hour she lay helpless in bed.

The only other thing Clem could do was listen. Listen to Sarah's frantic footsteps, Omid's occasional cries for food or attention, and maybe the occasional muffled word or two from Devlin or Anthony. Clem kept hoping if she listened long enough she'd hear a vehicle approaching followed by familiar voices calling her name as footsteps raced forward to meet her.

She'd have gone over the image of Jet and Patty fleeing in her mind hundreds of times. Patty's entire right arm was covered in blood, but she was still moving and Jet wasn't hurt at all. There had been plenty of time for them to get out through a window and get to Sunseeker while Sin and then Clem were shooting at their attackers. They weren't even willing to shoot Jet when he dove on top of Patty, and he didn't have a gun like Clem did. She kept expecting them to pull up any minute now; they never came.

As the sunlight began to fade, Clem was forced to consider the possibility that their attackers were still looking for them. Things couldn't have gone more wrong and any hesitation they had for killing them was surely gone by now; the bullet that had pierced Clem's side had made that all too clear. With the sun setting, Clem was terrified these people would return, come in the middle of the night, and just shoot them in their sleep, just as Fan had threatened.

Sarah eventually came into the bedroom and reluctantly told Clem she would have to tie her wrist to the dresser, just in case she didn't survive the night. Just hearing those words made Clem nervous, and feeling her hand be bound, even somewhat loosely, made her sick. But she didn't say a work while Sarah did it because even now she was far more afraid of what would happen if she did die in the night and came back as a walker.

The fear ate at Clem as she laid there in the pitch darkness. She was dead-tired and desperately wanted to rest for a while, but couldn't. Every little ache and pain she felt as she awkwardly squirmed in place terrified her and made her wonder if she was dying. It was so bad Clem eventually started weeping into her pillow. She tried to swallow as much as of her sadness as she could, making only pained little cries in hopes of not waking up Sarah in the other room; she had.

Sarah checking in on her had been one of the few comforts for Clem across this incredibly long day. Sarah had brought Clem meals and even fed her, then always stopped to ask how Clem was feeling and if there was anything she needed. Even now, only half-awake, Sarah was nothing but concerned for Clem, and after hearing how she couldn't sleep, fetched one of the pills Patty had given her after the tornado. Clem doubted it would help, but took it anyway.

Sarah then untied Clem then promised to stay with her until she fell asleep. They talked for a time, Clem asking Sarah how Omid was doing as she had rarely gotten to see him today. She said he's mostly doing good, being blissfully unaware of the implications of what happened. However, he could tell Clementine was hurt, and the few times Clem had seen Omid today, she could tell he was worrying about her.

Sarah went on to talk about how she had time to make a grave marker for Sin. She had taken a few boards from an old fence and painstakingly carved out 'Here lies Sin' onto it while she was waiting for the others. She lamented she couldn't remember his full name from when he introduced himself, and felt those three words weren't nearly enough. She carved another board to read 'Grandfather', then another to say 'Father', then 'Friend', and finally nailed a board that read 'Hero' at the base of the tree he was buried under.

As Sarah spoke, Clem felt her already weak muscles become completely limp as her eyelids grew heavy. The drug was taking its course now and Clem felt her racing mind finally began to quiet. But a single terrifying thought reentered her head as she shut her eyes; this could be her last night alive. Clem felt panic crawling through her veins as she thought about calling out for Sarah, but ultimately succumbed to her fatigue as everything went dark.