Finally, after all the other group members were awake, it was time to keep moving. They still had four very long days ahead of them, and no doubt it would be nothing but a restless trip. They cleaned up all their supplies and repacked their bags, and even destroyed their little fire pit so that there was no sign of them here if Carver decided to show up. "All right, everyone ready?" Luke asked as he shouldered his bag. He was answered with a few head nods, and some chimes of yes, and they were on their way to the mountains. Getting into their normal lines, the group trekked on. It was quiet between them for the most part, just some light conversation about the weather, or the walkers.
Clementine noticed that Sarah was being awfully quiet since this morning when they shared their fruit snacks, and she hoped the older girl was okay. Sarah was never known to be quiet, unless she was upset. Since they were walking beside each other, Clementine slipped her small hand into Sarah's and squeezed it for comfort. Sarah looked over and smiled, and they continued holding hands as they walked. It felt like they had walked for a few hours, when Alvin finally spoke up about something more important than the weather. "Guys, we gotta take a break, Bec's tired." He said and they stopped and turned to look at one another.
"Don't listen to him, I'm fine." Rebecca tried to argue, but it was clear that she was out of breath. She was walking for two, so it was no doubt she'd be tired with all the extra weight and what not, plus, exertion could make her go into labor early, and nobody wanted that. The baby would be quite premature if born now, and it would have little survival chance.
"Listen to you, you can barely breathe." Alvin retorted. "Let's just sit down for a few minutes until you catch your breath." He tried to reason with his wife, and she nodded in agreement, and they sat down on a nearby log.
"A break is what we need anyway, I'm tired too." Nick said as he took off his hat and wiped the small beads of sweat from his forehead. Albeit it was chilly out, the group was walking at more than a leisurely pace, and they were hot and tired.
Luke nodded, "Okay, ten minutes." He said as he too sat down. Clementine used her long sleeve to wipe her forehead as well, the fished around in her book bag for the small canteen of water that she brought from the house. She took a small drink, then walked over to Rebecca.
"You thirsty?" Clementine asked as she held the canteen out to Bec. She knew that she was probably dehydrated from the baby and all this walking.
"Oh, Clementine, thank you, but you need it more than I do." Rebecca replied.
"I'm not the one with a baby about to pop out of me." Clem smiled. "Seriously, take it." She said, holding the canteen out again. Hopefully this would show the group that she wasn't so hard after all. Because if she was going to stay with them, she wanted them to trust her, and think she was nice. Deep down, Clementine knew that she hadn't won over everyone in the group yet, even if she had been staying with the group for a month it seemed.
"That's very sweet of you Clem." Alvin said as he watched Rebecca take the canteen and take small sips out of it, trying to make it last. "I'm sure she'll feel better now."
"Don't mention it." Clementine shrugged. "I better go check on Sarah." She then looked around for her teen friend and saw that she was talking to her dad, Carlos. She didn't want to intrude on their conversation, so she waited until they were done. A part of Clem was glad that Sarah still had her dad to talk to stuff about. In fact, if she really wanted to get down on her feelings, she felt a little envious that Sarah still had her father, and she didn't, hell, she didn't even have Lee anymore. But Clementine knew better, she wouldn't let envy get the best of her. "What was all that about?" Clem asked as Sarah walked over and approached her.
"Oh, he was just checking on me... You know how dads are." Sarah replied. The conversation consisted of Carlos asking how Sarah was dealing with the move. She was okay, due to Clementine, and she also told her dad about her conversation with Rebecca that night, and he was happy that she was happy. Bringing her back out of her thoughts, Sarah watched as a look of sadness flashed on Clementine's face. "I'm sorry Clementine... I didn't mean it like that..." Sarah said gently.
"Yeah, I know..." Clem trailed off. "It's just hard not to think about... What happened to the people I love... Well, loved." She added on.
"I think about my mom everyday." Sarah said, and her voice then dropped down to a whisper so her dad wouldn't hear her. "She turned into one of those... Things."
"A walker?" Clementine asked, but she knew what Sarah was talking about. The teen girl only nodded. "I'm so sorry, Sarah." Clem said. Now she felt bad for envying Sarah for her father, because she knew that her older friend lost people she loved too. In the end, they had both experienced some form of loss, whether it be big or small, it was all the same, and they both went through some kind of pain.
"It's okay." Sarah said simply.
"All right everyone!" Luke said, "Time to keep moving." He added. Everyone got up, and started walking again. Throughout the four days, they stopped every night to camp and sleep and get their energy back up, and they walked during the day. The mountains wouldn't be far now, and the whole group was getting pretty agitated at one another because they were hungry, and sleep deprived, and just tired of walking. They were nearing the end of their five day trip, and were almost at the mountains, and almost to safety, when suddenly, they encountered a large bridge. "What the hell?" Luke questioned.
