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

94. Another Year Wiser

Clementine lay there in the darkness, her wrists bound behind her back by the handcuffs, and dread settling in her stomach like a ball of lead as she stared at the bedroom door. She never got used to it, the overwhelming sense of helplessness, no matter how many times she found herself in this situation. Even now, she was terrified and panic was seeping into her body with every breath she took. Hopefully, this was the last day she would ever have to live like this.

Carefully, Clem removed a paper clip that she had attached to the back of her belt. It was difficult twisting the tip of it while her hands were tied behind her back, but slowly she managed. It took several attempts, but Clem managed to thread her crude lockpick into the cuff's keyhole. After twisting the metal in the lock to give the clip a bent angle closer to a key, Clem desperately started trying to unlock her restraints.

She couldn't see what she was doing, only guess based on how much resistance she felt when she pushed against the cuff's mechanisms. She didn't fully understand how they worked but knew enough by now that the key was incredibly simple, which meant the lock was too. She twisted the paper clip, hearing all matter of different clicks without any clue what they meant. Suddenly, there was a very loud click, and pushing against the cuff, Clem hand's was free.

Immediately she swung her hand around, looking at the cuffs dangling from her right wrist. She put the paper clip in other hand and then quickly picked the other lock. The cuffs fell onto the bed and Clem should have felt a little safer, but she didn't. Freeing herself just now only made her think about the next time she'd be a prisoner. Growing weary of the darkness, Clem hurried over to the window. She pulled the curtains open and let the morning light in.

Sarah didn't approve of Clem's attempts to learn how to pick handcuffs, primarily because Clem insisted on learning how to do it while they were still on her. Her last attempt had gone poorly, resulting in Clem panicking and having to call Sarah while holding a radio behind her back. Sarah was so upset when Clem admitted she put the cuffs on herself that she threatened to throw them into the dump.

And Clem could tell Sarah meant it too. She felt guilty for worrying her, but Clem reasoned she needed the practice. Learning how to pick handcuffs didn't do her much good if she couldn't do while in handcuffs herself. So, she pretended to sleep in this morning until Sarah left with Omid, then practiced. Clem was only glad she had gotten them off before Sarah came back and caught her in the act.

Looking out the Brave's back window, Clem saw it was already late in the morning now, something she already suspected from the rising heat. Even as far north as they had gone they hadn't escaped the summer. If it were up to Sarah they'd just live in the bunker where it was cooler, whereas Clem wanted to leave this place behind already. The compromise was sleeping in the Brave at night and staying in the bunker during the days, although Clem would put off her visits as long as possible.

After hiding the handcuffs and putting the paperclip back on her belt, Clem fell into a familiar routine. First she headed to the closet for a late breakfast. Seeing it fully stocked again should have been a relief, but eating stale beans from a can just reminded her that meals usually weren't worth looking forward to anymore. It was just another chore now, and most of the food they had was so flavorless it wasn't even worth the extra time to heat it up first.

After breakfast, Clem went to the bathroom and wasted time fiddling with the knobs to try and get water to come out of the sink. It had rained last night so the Brave had water, it just wouldn't come out. This wasn't a new problem, Sarah had already tried fixing the plumbing two nights ago and had no success. At this point, Clem was just dreading that the toilet would break next, not least of which it'd be the excuse Sarah would need for fully moving them into the bunker.