Clementine pushed the door open and shook her sports bottle full of loose change like a rattle. Listening carefully, Clem heard a distant moaning, followed by something shuffling towards her position. She secured the bottle, quickly removed her tomahawk from her shoulder and pulled the sheath off the weapon's head. A walker stumbled past the threshold, but Clem was ready for it. Unable to locate the girl because of her gore-stained raincoat, Clem neatly sidestepped the walker and swung her tomahawk into its ankle, slicing its rotted tendons and causing it to fall onto its side. Quickly flipping the tomahawk around in her hands, Clem drove the knife end down into the corpse's skull, killing it with relative ease.

Clem pulled her tomahawk back, only to find it stuck in the walker's head. She tugged on it a few times, but it wouldn't budge. She put her foot on the walker's head then gripped her tomahawk with both hands. A quick and violent jerk managed to dislodge the blade and a generous portion of the walker's skull.

Clem shook off some of the blood, then replaced the sheath on her weapon before hoisting it back onto her shoulder. She then removed her sports bottle and rattled it again. Receiving no response this time, Clem stuffed the cotton back into the bottle and clipped the simple device onto her belt.

Moving into the next room, it became apparent all Clem's work seemed to be for naught as this dilapidated gas station had almost nothing to offer her, much like most places she had checked recently. She had hoped to maybe find some goods whoever had looted the front had overlooked. And she had, but it was mostly things she would have overlooked herself if she hadn't found so little elsewhere.

A few bottles of soda and water scattered around the cold case, a box of packets of powdered flavor to mix with water, a can of mixed nuts that had rolled behind a shelf, lots of gum, and a few travel-size boxes of cereal. A disappointing bounty to say the least. Clementine carefully packed the items into her backpack and headed for the exit, moving through the now empty back room, past the cleared out shelves, and through the glass doors.

Stepping outside, the girl eyed her surroundings carefully as she moved past the gas pumps, looking carefully for any threats lurking nearby. Her entire morning routine had been uneventful besides a few stray walkers, but moving back out into the open always gave her reason to pause. Stepping onto the highway, the girl took a breath of the cool air and started walking.

It was still early, which did give Clem some hope she'd find more today, but the walk back to the Brave wounded that faint hope. Traveling on the rural highway, she passed a flea market, a dentist's office, a few churches, and a funeral home, which Clem didn't even want to think about approaching. It was an odd stretch of road, to say the least. After a bit of walking, Clementine spotted a familiar RV parked next to a different gas station, prompting the girl to reach for her radio.

"Sarah?" said Clem. "Are you there?"

"I'm in the Brave," answered Sarah. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm almost back. Can you see me?

"Yes." Clem saw Sarah staring through the Brave's windshield.

"I'll be right there." Clem clipped her radio back to her belt and picked up the pace. She rushed up to the front door which sprung open. Clem hurried inside and Sarah locked the door behind her.

"Here, I'll take your coat." Clem maneuvered her arms free as Sarah removed the bloody raincoat. Sarah carefully folded the coat while Clem pulled off her ski mask. She hated wearing it, mostly because of how hot it was, but ever since they applied a fresh coat of walker gore to their raincoats as a precaution, the smell proved worse than the heat. Sarah carefully packed the coat into the fridge, which while useless for keeping things cold without the use of the generator, was great at keeping toxic odors locked inside.

"So?" asked an anxious Sarah as she removed her rubber gloves and placed them in the fridge. "What did you get?" Clem sighed as she unpacked her backpack. "That's it?" asked a dismayed Sarah as she rifled through the meager bounty.

"That's all there was," shrugged Clem. "What about you? Did you find anything in this gas station?"

"Just some leftover candy that's probably stale and a can of beans. Everything else was rotten or gone."

"Wait, you actually found something canned?" asked a hopeful Clem. "Maybe there's—"

"It was the only one, and I found it in the trash along with a bunch of empty ones. It must have gotten thrown out by mistake." Clem sighed. "I told you we shouldn't have tried anywhere this close to the highway. We need to get back on the backroads, we were finding more food like that."

"And we ran out of diesel, and I had to walk almost all day until I found more, and then I had to carry it all the way back," reminded Clem. "You agreed no more backroads after that, and that we should stick to places where we can always get more diesel."

"I thought we'd find more food than this though," said Sarah. "I mean, if we can just find another store nobody has taken anything from, like before, we—"

"I don't think that's going to happen again," realized Clem. "Even the houses on the backroads didn't have much, if anything."

Sarah sighed and sat down. "I guess we were lucky before."

"Yeah, probably," nodded Clem as she sat down across from Sarah. "We… we just need more diesel, so we can go further. Find somewhere with more stuff. Did you check out the auto garage next door?"

"Yeah, the shop part has lots of stuff like oil, fuel stabilizer, gas cans and tools, but no diesel."

"What about the garage?"

"A lot of really big heavy stuff, most of which needs power. There was a truck parked inside and I managed to get a little diesel by poking a hole in the gas tank, but it was almost empty."

"What about the truck parked next to the pumps?" asked Clem.

"It's gas, not diesel."

Clem sighed. "Well, I saw a few trucks on the highway. Some of them might have diesel."

"I'll get the hammer, along with a couple of buckets." Sarah stood up and headed for the door, but Clem grabbed the older girl's wrist.

"Sarah, look." Clem pointed to the windshield. Outside the pair could see someone approaching from the highway, and they moved much too quickly to be one of the dead.

"Who… who's that?" stuttered Sarah.

"I don't know," whispered Clem.

"Well… what do we do?" Clem watched as the mystery person drew closer. They were in a long black coat and were moving at a brisk pace, but not quite running. "Maybe we should talk to him?" suggested Sarah.

"What if it's someone bad?"

"What if it's not? Maybe they could help us."

"And if they don't they might hurt us, or try to take the RV."

"Well we gotta do something, he's coming this way." Sarah was right; Clem watched as the person changed course and started approaching the gas station. They were close enough Clem could see they were wearing a gas mask over their mouth and nose and sunglasses over their eyes. They were also carrying a rifle in their hands.

"Get down," urged Clem as she pulled Sarah into a crouch. "Let's just stay out of sight and be quiet," whispered Clem. "Maybe he'll just go past us." There were a loud couple of knocks at the door.

"Hello?" called a muffled voice.

"It's a woman," realized Sarah.

"Just stay quiet," whispered Clem. "She doesn't know we're in here."

"I know there're at least two living people in there," announced the voice at the door. "I saw one of you go inside after someone else opened the door from inside." Clem frowned. "I just want to talk, that's all."

Sarah cracked the driver's side window open. "About what?" she asked.

"Sarah!"

"What? She already knows we're in here."

"I'd just like to know where you've been, and if you have any news about the rest of the world," answered the stranger at the door. "I'm a scout for a settlement, so I make a point to talk to anyone new I meet, which isn't often these days."

"You said a settlement?" asked Sarah. "Where?"

"Far from here, hence the scout part," answered the person at the door. "Why don't you open the door so we can talk in person already?"

"Why can't we just talk through the window?" challenged Clem.

"I prefer to talk to people face to face, and not out in the open where something can sneak up on me," said the stranger. "If it'll put you at ease, I'll disarm myself first." Clem edged up to the windshield and watched as the stranger held her rifle over her head. She carefully placed it on the ground, then raised her hands above her head.

Looking closely at the rifle, Clem realized it looked just like the one she had taken from the woman she had shot, right down to the knife attached to the end and the scope on top. The stranger removed her trench coat next and set it over the rifle. Seeing it a little closer, Clem noticed the coat was smeared with dried blood.

"I would just like to come in and talk, that's all. Okay?"

"Just… just give us a minute." Clem ducked out of view.

"She mentioned a settlement," whispered Sarah. "We should let her in."

"Why?" asked Clem.

"So we can find out more about it. It might be somewhere safe."

"Yeah, but why do we need to let her in for that?" Clem edged back to the windshield. "Tell us more about where you're from."

"Open the door and I will."

"Why not just tell us from out there?"

"Because right now, I don't know if you're the kind of people who should know anything about where I'm from," answered the woman.

"Well, we don't know if you're the kind of person we should let into our RV."

"Clem," scolded Sarah.

"All the more reason we should talk face to face," said the woman. "You can learn a lot more about someone up close then… like this."

"Well… what happens if we say no?" asked Clem.

"Then I'm leaving," said the woman. "I'm not standing out here all day for people who don't want to talk to me." The woman lowered her hands. "What's it going to be?"

"Um… hang on." Clem ducked out of view.

"So, should we let her in?" asked Sarah.

"I… I don't know."

"I think we should. She put her gun down."

"She could have another one. Or it could be a trick to get inside."

"Or maybe she just wants to talk."

"But we can't know that," said Clem. "I don't think we should risk it."

"We need help," insisted Sarah.

"We'll be fine without her."

"No, we won't. Have you been keeping track of how much food we have left?"

"Um…"

"Because I have. We're eating more than we're finding right now. At the rate we're going, we'll probably run out of food in less than a month."

"Well… that's just because we haven't found much food yet," reasoned Clem. "Once we find another store other people haven't—"

"You just said you don't think we'll find one," reminded Sarah. "And what if we run out of diesel and get stuck again? Get stuck somewhere with nothing to eat?"

"Sarah…" Clem tried to think of a rationale, but nothing came to mind.

"Are you two gonna let me in or not? Because I'm getting sick of waiting out here," called the woman.

"She's the first person either of us has seen in like over half a year." Sarah's words caused Clem to flinch as the memory of the woman she had shot floated back to the top of her mind. "The very least we can do is talk to her."

"Talk to her…" Clem repeated to herself before sighing. "Okay, but we got to be smart about it. Where did you put that rifle?"

"It's in the closet, why?"

"Get it."

"But it doesn't have any bullets."

"She doesn't know that. So you hold the rifle while I hold my pistol while we talk to her. But don't aim it at her. We… we don't want her to think we want to shoot her. We just want her to know we're… ready."

"Um… okay." Sarah removed the rifle from the closet and took hold of it while Clem drew her pistol from her holster.

"And don't tell her it's just us. If she did want to take the RV she might think it'd be easy if it's just us."

"What should we tell her?"

"That… our parents are out right now."

"Hello?" called the woman from outside.

"We'll let you in," Clem called back. "Just, give us a minute." Clem turned to Sarah. "Ready?"

"I guess so." Clem moved to the door and unlocked it.

"Okay. It's open." Clementine waited anxiously as she heard the woman approaching. The door swung open and Clem got her first look at this scout. She was a tall, athletic woman wearing a brown tank top, dark green pants, and big black boots. "Lock… lock the door." The woman did as she was told and then stepped forward, prompting Clem to step back. "Sit… sit there." Clem motioned to the tiny two-person dining area with a chess board sitting on it.

The woman looked at the nearest seat, then turned back to Clementine and Sarah. She seemed to be studying them, but the sunglasses she was wearing hid her eyes from view. Clementine tightened her grip on the gun, wishing it still had a bullet in it. She was already regretting opening the door, but much to her relief the woman decided to sit down.

"Easy now, I'm not gonna hurt you two." After taking her seat, she removed her sunglasses and pulled her mask down. Seeing her face, the woman appeared to be middle aged, if just barely. She had very short hair and sharp dark brown eyes that appeared to be judging the girls. She tilted her head to examine her surroundings, then looked at Sarah. Her eyes seemed to be studying the rifle the older girl was holding.

"You two alone?" asked the woman, sounding dubious.

"No," answered Clem. "Our parents are out getting things right now."

"When will they be back?" asked the woman. "I'd rather be talking to them."

"You can talk to us," insisted Clem. "They… they told us to guard the RV while they were gone."

"Did they?" asked the woman. "Do you two even know how to use those guns?"

"Yes."

The woman's eyes narrowed. "You're keeping your fingers on the trigger guards," she noted. "So someone has shown you how to use them at least, but have you ever actually fired a gun?"

"Yes, we have," said Clem. "We know how to clean them too."

"Really? Because I was going to say, that bayonet looks pretty dull."

"Bayonet?" said Sarah.

"The knife on the end of your rifle." The woman gestured to the blade. "I could sharpen it for you, if you let me remove something from my pocket." The woman looked at girls, waiting for an answer.

"Just… do it slowly." Clem felt her stomach tying itself in a knot as the woman reached into her pocket. She pulled out a small orange container filled with pills, then a piece of cloth. The woman pocketed the pills and unfolded the cloth to reveal a small rectangular stone nestled inside.

"What is that?" asked Clem.

"A whetstone." The woman removed a canteen from her belt. "A little water and you can sharpen a blade with this." The woman gestured to the bayonet on Sarah's rifle. "I could touch that up for you." Sarah turned to Clem for an answer.

"Um… okay." Clem examined the bayonet, trying to see how to remove it.

"There's a release," said the woman. "A little button you push and it comes off." Clem located the release and removed the bayonet. She took a step towards a woman, who seemed eager to get the bayonet. Clem set the bayonet on the floor and took several steps back. She gripped her gun as the woman reached for the bayonet.

Seeing that knife in the woman's hand terrified Clementine, and Sarah too judging from the older girl's face. The woman studied the bayonet closely for a few seconds, then took her seat at the table. She gently pushed the chessboard aside, poured a small dab of water on the stone she laid out, then started dragging the bayonet across the surface of the stone at an angle, making a sharp scraping sound with each motion.

"Can I ask you two something?" said the woman.

"What?" spoke a nervous Clem.

"Where did you find that rifle?"

Clem suddenly felt sick. "Why… why do you want to know?" she stuttered.

"Because, it looks exactly like mine, and every rifle our scouts normally use," explained the woman as she sharpened the knife. "So I'm thinking, maybe that used to belong to another one of our scouts." The woman looked up at Sarah. "Where'd you get it?"

"Our parents found it," announced Clem.

"Where'd they find it?" asked the woman as she dragged the knife across the stone.

"I… I don't know," said Clem.

"Well, I'll just ask them when they get back then," reasoned the woman as she examined the fine edge on the bayonet she was holding.

"That… that might be a long time," said Clem.

"I can wait." The woman flipped the blade around and started sharpening the other side.

"You said you just wanted to talk," reminded Clem.

"I do want to talk," said the woman. "Especially to whoever found that rifle she's holding." Clem watched as the woman kept guiding the bayonet over the sharpening stone. She did it with such ease and precision it was a little frightening, and the horrible scraping it made just sounded louder in Clem's ears every second. Looking at the woman's face, it was clear that she wasn't afraid of the girls, and Clem was terrified to even think what would happen if the woman realized they weren't holding loaded guns.

"You… you said you wouldn't hurt us, right?" spoke a nervous Clem.

"You're just children." Clem scowled upon hearing that assessment. "I know to some people that doesn't matter anymore, but it does to me. I'm not going to hurt either of you."

"What… what if one of us did something really really bad?" The woman stopped sharpening the knife and looked up at Clem in surprise.

"Like what?" asked the woman, sounding genuinely curious. "What could you have done?"

"Um…" From the bedroom came a soft crying, which then erupted into a very loud crying.

"Is… is that a baby?" asked the woman, stunned by the sound of Omid yelling. Sarah looked at Clementine, who simply nodded in response. Sarah set her rifle down and hurried into the bedroom, returning with the squealing infant in her arms.

"Shh, shh, it's okay. Come on, don't cry," spoke Sarah as she tried to comfort Omid. "Ever since his first tooth came in, he's been crying a lot more."

Clementine noticed the woman was staring at Omid in disbelief. "He's… he's our little brother," said Clem.

"And… you two take care of him?" asked the woman.

"We do... while our parents are out." The woman stared at Clem. Her gaze wasn't judgmental but disturbed, as if what she was seeing wasn't possible.

"How old is he?" asked the woman.

"A little under seven months," said Sarah.

"And… how old are you two?"

"I'm fourteen," said Sarah. "She just turned ten a few weeks ago." The woman looked down at the knife she was holding, then hastily wiped it off with the cloth.

"Here," she set the blade on the floor in front of Clementine, then quickly returned to her seat. "Be careful with it, it's razor sharp now. I mean it, people get so used to dull knives they forget how much more dangerous a sharpened one is."

"I'll be careful." Clem collected the sharpened bayonet with great care and placed it in a cupboard.

"Since your parents are… out. I guess I can just talk to you two, and then be on my way." The woman looked at Clementine. "If that's okay." The tone of the woman's voice was completely different from a minute ago. She sounded far more amiable now and the sharp look in her eyes had changed to a penitent one.

"Um… sure."