Clementine was yanked aside and then felt something cold and metal jabbed into her cheek.

"Don't move," whispered a muffled voice. "Don't even make a sound." Clementine was paralyzed by fear. Her chest tightened, her legs began to wobble, and horrible thoughts started flooding her terrified young mind.

"Whatta ya got?" whispered a second muffled voice.

"Another kid, even younger than the last one." Clementine suddenly felt like screaming Sarah's name, but was too afraid to try it. "They can't have any more. Get in there and tell their parents if they want their kids back, they'll amscray, immediately."

Clementine watched as someone else crept towards the door. They were garbed from head to toe in thick padded black clothing that had been partially spray painted red. Their entire head was covered by a helmet shaped like a skull that had also been painted red. Clementine watched in terror as this person raised a gun and aimed it at the door.

"Go get 'em!" The person in red nodded at whoever was holding Clem and raced inside.

"Nobody move!" The person in red's shout was followed by the sound of Omid crying. Those shrill screams from a terrified baby instantly became the only thing Clementine could think about as she desperately tried to break free from her captor's grip. She thrashed about in place, pulling at the hand covering her mouth.

"Knock it off you little brat!" Clem felt the hand over her mouth move a little and she didn't waste a second. The girl bit down on her captor's hand as hard as she possibly could, finding her teeth grinding up against what felt like hard plastic. "I said knock it off!"

Clementine felt a sudden push and was tossed onto the pavement. Flipping onto her back, she saw another person in padding also with an odd skull-shaped helmet, this time spray painted green. "Move from that spot, and you're dead," threatened the person in green in a quiet voice as they raised their pistol. The gun was shaking in their hand, but only ever so slightly. Clementine held her tongue and remained still until the one in red emerged from the RV.

"Hey," called the person in green in a quiet voice. "Talk to me."

"They got a shitload of food in the closet and a lot of other stuff," the one in red reported. "But there's no one else in there."

"What about Omid?" asked Clem, trying to control the terror in her voice.

"Omid?" repeated the red one.

"The baby!"

"It's inside," they shrugged.

"Wait, they have another goddamn kid?" asked the green one.

"Apparently."

"You give him back!"

"Settle down!" ordered the red one as they aimed their pistol at Clem.

"We're wasting time," said the green one. "Let's get this thing and go before these damn kids' parents get back."

"We don't have any parents," informed Clem.

"Shut up!" The green one grabbed Clem by the arm and forced her to stand. "Go round up the other one real quick and I'll get rid of the damn baby."

"What!" shouted Clem.

"Get in there!" The green one shoved Clementine towards the Brave. She stepped inside, practically being pushed up the stairs by her captor. Looking around, Clem spotted Omid hiding under the dining table, crying loudly.

"Omid!" Clem rushed over to the screaming infant and grabbed hold of him with both arms. "It's okay, it's okay," said Clem as calmly as she could as she picked up the squealing baby boy while tears streaked down his face. "I'm right here. It's okay."

"Muh-muh! Muh-muh!" wailed Omid in between sobs.

"Get moving!" Her attacker pulled Clementine to her feet. "Back outside, now!" Clutching Omid close to her body, Clem hurried down the steps, doing her best not to fall as her legs kept shaking as she moved. Once outside, Clementine spotted the one in red emerging from the tail end of the RV, forcing someone along with them.

"Sarah!"

"Don't move!" The one in green grabbed Clem by her collar and pressed their gun against the back of the young girl's head.

"Over there, by the front door!" The red one shoved Sarah towards where Clem was standing. Finally seeing her friend up close, Clem could see tears welling up in her eyes, a gag tied around her mouth, and her hands bound behind her back. "Sit down."

"You too!" Clem felt the green one's hand on her shoulder and a sudden push caused her to fall to her knees right next to where Sarah was kneeling, prompting Omid to cry even louder as Clem nearly lost her grip on him.

"Keep still," ordered the red one as they approached Sarah.

"Or else!" added the green one as they aimed at the girls. Clem watched as the red one untied Sarah's hands, then her gag. The older girl immediately covered her face and started sobbing loudly.

"All right, let's get the hell out of here already," said the green one.

"The keys aren't in the ignition," informed the red one.

"Shit." The one in green aimed their gun at Sarah. "Where are the keys!"

"They… uh… I…"

"Out with it!" ordered the green one.

"Please don't do this!" begged Clem.

"Shut up!" Omid kept crying as the green one aimed their gun at Clementine.

"Please…" said Clem, choking back the urge to cry herself. "Please don't."

"You can beg all you want kid," said the red one. "We're not leaving without this thing."

"Just look at her. All dressed up for a party, not a care in the world," noted the green one in a disgusted tone as they gestured to Clem's outfit. "When your parents get back, just tell them we needed this thing more than they did."

"We don't have parents," sobbed Sarah. "Anymore…"

"Then tell whoever the hell has been taking care of your asses," retorted the green one.

"There isn't anyone else," said Clem.

"Bullshit!" retorted the green one.

"It's true," said Sarah.

"You two and a baby on your own?" asked the red one, who made no effort to conceal their skepticism. "And no one else is helping you?"

"Yes," said Clem without hesitation.

"He's not even weaned yet," sobbed Sarah.

"And all our food and baby formula is in the Brave," said Clem. "Without it, he'll die. So will me and Sarah."

"Brave?" repeated the red one.

"It's what we call our RV," explained Sarah.

"You gave this thing a fucking nickname?" asked the green one in disbelief. "You're just some dumb kids playing fucking games until your parents get back. They'll take care of you." The green one grabbed Clementine's wrist and dragged her to her feet, further upsetting an already hysterical Omid. "Where are the damn keys!"

Clementine held her tongue as the green one aimed their gun at her head. She was terrified of what would happen if she didn't speak, but she was even more afraid of what losing the RV meant for Omid, whose shrill and desperate cries cut through the otherwise tense silence. She had seen first hand there was nothing in this mall they could eat, and probably nothing left in town either, and who only knows how long it'd be until they found another one with food, and if they could even get it without any of their weapons or equipment.

"You two can end this anytime, just tell us where the damn keys are already," said the red one.

Clementine managed to spot Sarah out of the corner of her eye. The older girl was shaking horribly, her knees pulled up to her chest, wide-eyed with terror, and yet she didn't seem any more willing to speak than Clem was.

"I'm sick of fucking around!" The green one cocked their gun. "You want to keep your goddamn baby alive! Then tell us where the keys are!" The green one snapped out their hand and grabbed Omid by his hair, causing the boy shriek in pain as the green one pressed their gun against the boy's forehead.

"No!"

"I have them!" The green one turned to a trembling Sarah. "I… I have the keys." Sarah forced her trembling hand into her pocket. No sooner had she removed the keys than had the person in green snatched them from her grasp.

"Bout fucking time," mumbled the green one as they headed for the door.

"Jesus," spoke the red one.

"Jesus what? I just pulled his hair. And it fucking worked." The green one marched into the RV.

"Please don't leave us here!" begged Sarah.

"You'll kill us if you do," said Clem as she rocked Omid in her arms, who was screaming his lungs out. "You're going to kill him too."

"You look plenty healthy to me," reasoned the red one as they stepped inside. "You'll get by." Sarah rushed to the door as it slammed shut. She tried pulling it open, but it wouldn't budge.

"Don't leave!" yelled Sarah as she banged on the door with her fists.

"Just let us take the baby formula!" yelled a desperate Clementine. "It's useless to you!" The sound of the RV's engine roaring to life caused Clementine's stomach to drop. She and Sarah turned to each other, finding a mutual look of unbridled terror in each of their quivering eyes. The familiar click of the parking brake being released made Clementine feel sick. She was on the verge of collapsing when Sarah shouted something.

"The generator!" yelled Sarah as the Brave began to lurch forward. "You didn't pack the generator! Without it you can't get any diesel for the RV!"

Realizing the intent of Sarah's plea, Clem spoke up too. "We use the generator to run a pump to get diesel from gas stations!" yelled Clem as loud as she could over the engine and Omid's crying. "Without it you can't get any diesel from gas stations!" The Brave began to pick up speed, forcing Sarah and Clem to run alongside it. "There's almost no cars with diesel engines out there! Just gas ones!" yelled Clem as she tried to keep up while carrying Omid.

"Without the generator and the pump you'll run out of diesel!" yelled Sarah as she ran alongside the Brave.

"And that means you'll have killed a baby!" screamed Clementine at the top of lungs as the Brave started pulling away from them. "Just for a useless RV!"

Clementine watched in despair as the Brave drove out of reach and towards the end of the parking lot. Between the weight of Omid in her arms and the horror gripping her body, the girl suddenly found herself unable to stand. She fell to her knees, suffocating from the shock of what was happening.

Hearing Omid crying his heart out, Clementine felt the urge to do the same. She looked up to gaze out at her only home one last time, only to see the brake lights on the Brave come on. Clementine's heart skipped a beat as the Brave started reversing towards them. Looking over at Sarah, the older girl turned to generator sitting on the pavement, then raced over to it, Clem following right behind her.

"What… whatta we do?" asked a panicked Sarah as the Brave backed up.

"I… I don't know," confessed Clem as she kept cradling a bawling Omid. "We… we got to get them to let us back in the RV somehow. Our guns are in there."

"But they don't have any bullets."

"They don't know that. They probably think we don't even have guns."

"But how do we get inside?"

"I don't know!"

The sound of the parking brake sent a chill down Clementine's spine. The girls watched anxiously as the door swung open and one of the thieves emerged, the wicked gaze of the red skull-shaped helmet petrifying the girl. The armored attacker approached the girls, their gun aimed in their direction.

"You." The red thief aimed at Sarah. "Load the damn thing."

"I… I can't," said Sarah.

"Well then I guess I'll be going." The red thief turned back to the RV.

"I just need the board to wheel it to the compartment!"

The red thief looked at the storage compartments lining the bottom of the RV. "Which compartment is it?" they asked.

"That… that one." Sarah pointed towards a compartment near the right rear tire.

"Okay, you." The red thief aimed their gun at Clem. "Get over here." Clem very slowly moved forward, shaking more and more with every step she took towards her attacker. Their ominous helmet muffled their voice and completely concealed their face, making it impossible to tell who this person was. Clem couldn't even see any of their skin because every part of their body was covered with padding or thick clothing, right down to the heavy duty gloves concealing their hands. The closer Clem got to them, the less human they appeared.

"Stop." Clem stopped. "Turn around." Clem did as ordered, clinging Omid tightly as he continued to cry softly. Next Clem felt what could only be the barrel of a gun pressed against the back of her head, a feeling that was quickly becoming familiar to the young girl. "You, open that compartment, slowly. And there better not be any surprises waiting in there, or your friend gets it. Understand?"

"I… I understand," spoke a trembling Sarah.

"Go. Open it." Clementine watched Sarah move towards the compartment out of the corner of her eye. She was too afraid to turn her head, but she figured if she didn't do something soon, they'd lose their only chance to get back in their RV.

"There're… there're other things you need to know about the Brave," spoke a nervous Clem. "If you—"

"Save it," said the thief as Sarah removed the wheel board from the compartment. "We're packing this up and then we're gone. Don't think I don't know what you two are trying to do."

"What? What are we trying to do?" asked a confused Clem.

"Don't play dumb. You're trying to stall until your parents or whoever get back. Well guess what, if anything happens to me while I'm out here, my partner will take off without me; so either way, you're not getting this thing back." Sarah set the wheel board next to the generator. "Load it."

"I… I can't do it by myself," said Sarah.

"Well you'd better figure something out, I'm getting impatient, and your friend's not leaving this spot until that thing is loaded." A chill shot up Clem's spine as she heard the familiar click of a gun being cocked right in her ears. "Alive anyway." Looking at Sarah, the older girl looked shocked as she eyed the younger one, cradling a still upset baby in her arms. Clem watched as Sarah spun around in a hurry and grabbed hold of the generator with both hands, gritting her teeth as she strained to lift it.

"We're not stalling," promised a trembling Clem as she watched Sarah try to pick up the generator in vain. "Nobody is coming for us. We're alone."

"So you keep saying," scoffed her captor.

"Why would I keep saying it if it wasn't true?" argued Clem.

"I don't know and I don't care." Sarah let out an agonized cry as she managed to hoist the generator just far enough off the ground to drop it on the wheel board. Immediately after releasing the generator, the older girl collapsed onto the pavement, taking deep panicked breaths as sweat poured down her face.

"Hurry up and load the damn thing if you want your friend to survive this." The thief's command forced an exhausted Sarah off the pavement. Clem watched her best friend wheel the generator over to the compartment, then struggle to lift the heavy piece of machinery a second time.

"Don't you care at all?" asked a desperate Clementine. "Don't you care you're going to kill a baby, and me, and—"

"Quiet!" Clem felt the gun's barrel pushed harder against her scalp. "I don't want to kill any of you, but if you don't shut up and put that damn generator in there, I—" A loud bang sounded as the generator flopped onto the wheel board, prompting Sarah to fall to her knees. "Hey, what'd I—"

"I can't!" shrieked Sarah through her tears. "I'm just not strong enough. Don't… don't kill Clementine! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Please don't kill her! Please! I'll do anything! Just don't kill her…" begged Sarah as she clasped her hands together, praying for mercy from her attacker.

"Jesus Christ. Just go stand over there by the back tire. You too shortie." Clem felt a slight shove and started walking as instructed. Despite what was happening, growing closer to Sarah did provide Clem with a momentary tinge of relief. The older girl wiped her eyes as Clem joined her. Turning around, she watched the red thief grab hold of the generator with one hand, keeping their gun clutched tightly in the other.

Watching them struggle to get a solid grasp on the bulky piece of equipment with only one arm, Clem found her eyes focusing on the gun in the thief's hand. She couldn't let go of Omid, but maybe Sarah could get it away from them while they were distracted. But even if she did, there was still the other thief in the RV, who might just drive off at the first sign of trouble. Before Clem couldn't even consult with the older girl, Sarah took a single step forward.

"Step back!" ordered the thief as they snapped their gun into position.

"I… I was just going to help," stuttered Sarah. "Just… let me grab this end." The thief lowered their gun and Sarah knelt down to lift her end of the generator. Even together, the pair struggled to lift the heavy thing, but with a lot of grunting and groaning, they managed to hoist the generator into the storage compartment.

"Finally," said the red thief as Sarah loaded the wheel board into the compartment. "Close it up." Sarah shut the compartment, and then the thief took off running for the front door.

"You can't just leave us!" yelled Clem as she ran after them.

"Watch me," said the red thief as they reached the door.

"The power cable!" yelled Sarah. "If you drive off without packing it, you'll wreck it!"

"Not my concern." The thief spun around and aimed their gun at the girls, halting them in their tracks.

"Without that cable the generator is useless," insisted Sarah.

"I'm sure." The red thief opened the door and turned to enter the Brave.

"Did you see anywhere to plug things into that generator?" Sarah's questioned halted the red thief. "It only plugs right into the RV, and then we plug our pump into an outlet inside. If you don't put the cable up and it gets wrecked because you were dragging it behind the RV as you drove off, then that generator becomes useless."

Clementine heard what sounded like a loud sigh, but the helmet muffled the red thief's voice.

"Get in here!" yelled the green thief from inside.

"One more minute." The red thief closed the door and spun around. "All right, hurry up and load this damn cable." The red thief looked around. "Where… where is it?"

"It's on the other side of the RV," said Sarah.

"It's on the other side?" asked the thief.

"Yeah. It comes out of a compartment on that side."

"Then why the hell are you storing the generator on this side?"

"Because the only place it fits is on this side."

"What the hell kind of sense does that make?"

"I don't know, I didn't build this thing!" retorted Sarah, nearly at the end of her rope.

The red thief groaned loudly enough that even the helmet couldn't obscure their frustration, then raised their gun. "Get marching, both of you, right now."

Clementine adjusted her grip on a still unsettled Omid who was shivering as he sucked his thumb, and moved with Sarah towards the front of the Brave.

"We… we really are alone," said Clem.

"I don't know why you keep saying that," said the red thief. "Like I'm gonna believe you if I hear it enough times."

"It's the truth," insisted Sarah as she crossed in front of the RV.

"I'm sure," said the red thief as they all crossed over to the other side of the vehicle. "Is that what we're looking for?" The thief pointed at a long black cable sprawled out in the distance.

"Yeah, that's it." Clem traced the cable with her eyes, following it from the plug sitting on the asphalt to the open hatch on the side of the Brave, confirming it hadn't snapped when the thieves had tried to drive off just now.

"Tall one, go check it out, and be quick," ordered the thief. "Little one, stay right here." Sarah rushed towards the end of the cable while Clem turned to look at her captor. The thief seemed tired from the way they were hunched over, but without seeing their face, Clem couldn't tell for sure.

"If… if you leave us here, we'll starve," said Clem. "There's no food left in this whole town."

"No shit," said the red thief. "That's why me and my friend came running when we heard somebody honk their horn."

"Horn?" Clem realized they must have heard the Brave's horn when they used it to check for walkers when they arrived.

"Thank God you ran that generator when you did, otherwise we never would've figured out where that honk came from." Clem felt sick as she realized if she just hadn't wanted to see a movie, or ever thought to use the horn to check for walkers, none of this would even be happening right now. "If this thing hadn't of been here, we…" Clem thought she heard the red thief say something else, but if they did, the helmet concealed their words.

"It's okay," called Sarah as she looked at the end of the cable. "You didn't break it when you drove off."

"Then put it up so we can leave already." Sarah dragged most of the cable closer to the RV, then grabbed a handle inside the open hatch to reel the cable back into the Brave. Clem took a step forward, but then felt a hand on her shoulder pull her back.

"I said stay," reminded the thief.

"I just want to be close to Sarah," said Clem as she clung to Omid. "And so does OJ." The thief looked down at Clem, then released her.

"No sudden moves." Clem moved over to Sarah, who looked exhausted. The older girl briefly stopped to look Clem in the eye, which Clem found oddly comforting. It must have been for Sarah too, as a bit of the misery hanging on the older girl's face faded slightly when Clem drew closer.

"Keep going." The thief's order dashed what little comfort there was to be had and Sarah took a deep breath, then kept reeling.

"We really are going to die here if you just leave us," said Clem as she cradled Omid, the boy still sniveling as she rubbed his head. "All three of us."

"Please…" The red thief looked at Sarah as she reeled in the rest of the cable. "Please just don't leave us here." The thief just looked at Sarah in response, their skull-shaped helmet glaring at the older girl.

"You said there's no food here." The thief turned back to Clem. "How do you know that?"

"Because we fucking looked for it," said the red thief. "This whole town is—"

"Picked clean," finished Clem. "We know, because we spent all morning looking for food here too and found almost nothing, because Sarah and I are all alone."

"Muh-muh?" Clem tightened her grip on Omid and looked into his scared quivering eyes.

"And we're all he's got," spoke Clem, her voice teeming with desperation. "And everything we have is in that RV. Without it… I don't know what we're going to do."

"We could give you food," suggested Sarah. "Or something else even. Just don't take the Brave too."

"It's… it's not like I want to do this," admitted the thief. "But at this point, I don't have a choice." The red thief darted away.

"Wait!" called Clem as she chased after them.

"Nothing personal, but we need this," insisted the thief as they crossed in front of the Brave.

"We need it too!" retorted Sarah as they emerged on the other side.

"I get that," said the red thief as they reached for the door. "But I'm not staying here, and I don't see you two wanting to share a ride with us after what just happened."

"Yes we do!" Sarah's outburst stopped the red thief before they could climb the steps. "If you're going to take the Brave, then the least you could do is take us with you."

"So you can figure out a way to get rid of us later?" asked the red thief.

"So we're not stuck here," insisted Clem. "Just take us somewhere else before you take our RV, please."

"Where?" asked the thief.

"Anywhere," said Clem. "Anywhere we can at least find food."

"Get the fuck in here!" called the green thief from inside.

"Give me a minute!" The red thief turned back towards the girls.

"If we really had anyone taking care of us, would we ask to come with you and just leave them behind?"

Clementine's question seemed to stump the red thief, but as always, their helmet hid their face, making it hard to know what they were thinking.

"I'll… let me talk it over with my partner." Hearing that door slam shut made Clementine sick to her stomach. She felt like she was going to throw up, but then she heard Sarah crying. The two looked at each other, a mutual terror hanging on both their faces, then they looked at Omid, who was clutching Clementine as firmly as his chubby digits would let him, scared and confused all the while having no idea just how scary things really were.

The door swung open suddenly and the girls looked up to see the red thief standing in front of them. "You two," they said. "Get in here."