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

88. Scars

Clementine stared down impatiently at the creek. She had been sitting on this bridge for so long her legs were falling asleep. Taking one hand off her fishing rod, she wiped the sweat from her face before briefly glancing up at the sky. The sun had been bearing down on her all morning without so much as a single cloud interrupting its smothering glare. All though she hadn't been keeping track of the exact date like Sarah had, Clem could tell they were well into the summer months just from the sweltering heat.

Swatting at a fly so small she couldn't see it but loud enough she could never ignore it when it circled around her head, Clem discovered yet another reason to why she hadn't thought to go fishing before today. Hours of waiting and watching in the hot sun only broken up by occasionally reeling in her line to make sure her bait hadn't fallen off was as tedious as it was tiresome. Picking up the baby monitor, Clem hoped to hear Omid whimpering for assistance just so she'd have an excuse to stop.

Omid was silent, probably still asleep, and Clem sighed as she realized she had nothing better to do but keep fishing. With Sarah going out for food every day, Clem had grown restless again. There was only so long she could remain in bed before the boredom became greater than her many lingering pains. But there were no chores that needed doing that she hadn't already done, and Omid had become quiet and withdrawn since his trauma, leaving Clem to suffer in silence until Sarah returned.

Even today, with Sarah parking the Brave on this small bridge running over an even smaller creek so Clem could fish, she could barely stand the monotony in-between the bouts of anxiety she felt waiting out in the open like she was. The grassy fields of the mid-west had become less green the closer they moved to the actual west, as if the land was going bald and its dirt scalp was beginning to show. This creek and its surrounding trees were the only signs of life for miles, and even they so far had offered little beyond occasional flies.

Ever since Sarah took them off the interstate to reduce the risk of any more chance encounters, it felt like whatever minuscule progress they may have been making to a possible destination had vanished. Just on the drive here this morning, Clem saw a sign that read 'Welcome to Wauneta - Half-way between here and there.' Clem didn't know where here or there was. She wasn't even sure what state they were in right now. All she knew is she felt utterly lost, with no idea where to go, what to do, or how. Looking down at the creek, she didn't even know how much longer they could continue eating.

Ready to admit defeat, Clem stood up and started to reel in her line. It was then she heard a rustling near the tree past the edge of the bridge. It was faint but might as well been a clap of thunder compared to the total silence Clem had listened to all morning. She dropped her fishing rod and immediately pulled her gun, her hands shaking so bad she could barely aim it. Clem felt her heart pounding against the side of her chest as she listened for signs of her attacker, and when she didn't hear them she started inching towards the Brave's door as quietly as she could. She had nearly made it when something burst out from behind the tree.

Clem pulled the trigger and a bullet struck the trunk of the tree just as a squirrel went scampering away from it. It scurried across the road and up the next nearest tree. Clem eased her finger off the trigger, but she didn't relax. She kept listening, knowing there may have been something else making that noise instead. After a few seconds of silence, Clem spun around in anticipation, the image of someone about to bash her across the back of her head flashing through her mind; there was nothing. Clem lowered her gun, taking deep breaths to ease her panic, and that's when she heard a voice in her ear.

"Clem?"

Clementine nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard Sarah's voice. She spun around in confusion for a second until she heard the familiar crackle of static.