Sarah had found a secluded spot off the highway to hide the Brave while Clementine stowed their equipment. Looking through the windows, Clem could see trees on all but one side and breathed a sigh of relief, confident that their home had been safely tucked away and was out of sight now. But this fleeting sense of safety did not last as Clem looked at the stacks of bullets they had collected and realized they would not always be able to hide. The girl grabbed one of the boxes of handgun ammunition and sat down in front of the dining room table.

Clementine removed her pistol from its holster and ejected its magazine. Clem set the magazine next to the bullets, and then carefully pulled the gun's slide to confirm there was no bullet in the chamber. Seeing the gun was unloaded, Clem clicked its safety on and set the gun down, taking care to point the barrel away from her and Sarah, just in case.

Clem opened the box and slid the tray holding the cartridges out and onto the table. She was surprised to see so many bullets crammed into such a small space and checking the box she discovered apparently fifty rounds had been stuffed inside. Clem started feeding bullets into the magazine, managing to load fifteen into it before it was full. Including the two she loaded back at the gun store, that made seventeen. Clem loaded the magazine into the gun, pulled back on the slide, then slid the magazine back out and reached for another bullet.

"I thought you already loaded it," said Sarah as she sat down in front of Clem.

"The gun holds one bullet," explained Clem as she loaded a single bullet into the magazine. "So if you pull on it, that loads a bullet in the gun, and then this part can hold one more."

"I don't remember Byron telling us that."

"He didn't, I just sorta figured it out on my own." Clementine loaded the magazine into the gun, making for eighteen rounds total. "Next we need to figure out what kind of bullets that rifle uses." Sarah nodded at Clem and grabbed the rifle. She tried to set it on the tiny table, only to realize it wasn't going to fit. "Um, let's just figure it out on the floor."

The girls set the rifle on the ground and sat down in front of it. Clem carefully inspected it before ejecting its magazine while Sarah grabbed one of every type of rifle ammunition they had taken, laying them out on the floor to examine.

The rifle bullets were much longer than the pistol ones, and had sharper points on the end; there were also far less of them in a box. Clem removed a bullet from one of the boxes and tried to load it in the magazine, but it was too big. Clem pulled another bullet from a different box and tried to load it; too small. She pulled a third a bullet and it almost fit, but not quite. Taking from yet another box, Clem tried to push the bullet into the magazine without looking, only for it to slip right in.

"Huh." Looking closely, the bullet seemed like a snug fit, so Clem loaded the magazine into the rifle and cocked it.

"Was that the right kind?" asked Sarah.

"I think so." Clem cocked the rifle again and the bullet was ejected. She picked it up off the floor and examined the number stamped on the bottom. "Three-zero-eight. I guess that's what type of bullets it uses." Clem reached for the box with those numbers and ejected the rifle's magazine.

"Wait," said Sarah. "Can I load it?"

"You want to?" asked Clem.

"Well, if I'm going to use it, I probably should get used to loading it." Sarah collected the magazine and loaded a round into it. "I can't stop thinking about it either," she said as she loaded another round.

"About what?"

"About when that gun was pointed at Omid's…" Sarah paused as she looked at one of the rounds. "I… I was so scared when they tied up my hands and said they'd kill everyone in the RV if I ran away. I didn't think I could be more scared than right then. But then one of them grabbed Omid's hair and…" Clem watched as Sarah guided her trembling hand towards the magazine and struggled to load the bullet. "Do… do you really think someone would do that? Would… just shoot a little baby?"

"I… I do," said Clem in a quiet voice.

"Really?" asked a disturbed Sarah.

"I mean, they were just going to take everything and leave us and OJ to die anyway." Clem found her hands balling themselves into fists as she recalled that horrible evening. "If they would do that, then even worse people probably would kill a baby."

"But shooting one?" asked a sickened Sarah. "Why would anyone ever do something as horrible as that? Babies… they can't hurt anyone. They can't do anything bad to people. There's… there's no reason to ever shoot one. It… it doesn't make sense."

"There are people out there who do really bad things that don't make sense, so that means there probably are people who'd just shoot a baby," concluded Clem in a pained voice as she listened to her own words. "I… I just hope we never find them."

"Yeah, me too…" Sarah took a breath before loading another round. "Well, we haven't seen anyone or any signs of people since we started staying far away from the interstates. We probably can just keep doing that until we reach Florida. But then what do we do?"

"We look for food, same as always. At least until the winter is over."

"Yeah, but then what?" asked Sarah as she loaded another round.

"I don't know Sarah, right now I just want to get through the winter," said Clem. "Maybe if we just find enough food to rest for a while, we can figure something out."

"Yeah, I've barely started on those textbooks we took from Five Corners."

"Five Corners?"

"You know, the mall we stopped at?" said Sarah as she pushed another bullet into the magazine.

"It was called Five Corners?"

"Yeah, you didn't see the signs?" Clem shook her head. "Oh." Sarah paused to look at the rifle sitting before her. "If you had your gun then, and it had bullets, would you have shot those people?" asked Sarah before loading another bullet.

"Maybe," said Clem as she watched Sarah load yet another round into the magazine. "They had guns too, and there was two of them, so I don't know if I could shoot them both before they shot me, or you and OJ."

"But if you knew you could have shot them without any of us getting shot, would you have done it?"

"I…" Clem felt her chest tighten as she stared at the bullet in Sarah's hand. Watching Sarah slide that long piece of sharp metal into the magazine, Clem suddenly had a flash of it bursting out of a gun and into her head. "I… I would have," Clem hastily blurted out.

"Because they were going to take the RV, and hurt Omid."

"Yeah," spoke a nervous Clem. "I didn't think they were going to let us keep the Brave, and when I saw that gun, I… I…" Sarah reached out and grabbed Clem's trembling hands. "After that, I would have shot them," admitted a shaking Clem. "I wouldn't like it, but…"

"It wouldn't be as bad as something happening to Omid." Clem looked up at Sarah, seeing the quiet concern in her eyes. "I understand." Sarah let go of Clem's hands, loaded a bullet into the magazine and then loaded the magazine into the rifle.

"How many bullets does that hold?" asked Clem.

"Ten." Sarah looked at the weapon for a moment, then cocked it. The older girl ejected the magazine, loaded another round, then pushed the magazine back into the rifle. "Eleven."

"I hope that's enough." Clementine stood up and started collecting the boxes of bullets lying on the floor. "We should put these up." Clem set the bullets on the counter and went to collect the rifle, only to see Sarah was still holding it. "Sarah?"

"We should practice," she muttered.

"Huh?"

Sarah looked up at Clem. "We should practice our shooting a little." Sarah looked down at the rifle in her hands. "We don't even know if this gun works, or if we got the right bullets for it."

"That's true." Clem looked at their bounty of ammunition stacked up on the counter and strewed across the floor. "We got a lot of bullets. It'd probably be okay to use some to practice."

"I should be ready in case…"

"In case of what?" asked Clem.

"In case someone else wants to take the Brave, or hurt Omid." Sarah looked up at Clem, an odd fear hanging on her face. "There were two of them; there should be at least two of us."

"Sarah…"

"Just in case something happens," stressed Sarah. "And practicing will help. I haven't used a gun since Omid was born, when I shot…" Clem watched as a sudden swell of anxiety and guilt seemed to grip Sarah, her eyes widening with fright and her hands trembling.

"Sarah, I don't want you to have to do that," said Clem as she put her hand on Sarah's shoulder. "It's… it's such a horrible feeling… killing someone."

"I know it is," said Sarah as she twisted her hands around the rifle. "But watching someone shoot a little baby… that would feel a million times worse." Sarah looked up at Clem suddenly, revealing the tepid determination building in her eyes. "I don't want to shoot anyone again, but I want Omid to be safe a lot more, and this is our only other gun. I should practice with it."

"Okay," said Clementine. "Let's get our raincoats."

After tending to Omid's needs, the girls reequipped themselves, then looked out every window to make sure it was safe. No signs of walkers, the living, or anything but trees surrounding the small clearing they were parked in. Stepping outside, their guns in their hands, Clem couldn't help feeling nervous anyway. It was cool outside, with a chilly breeze blowing through the forest and sending a shiver up her spine. Other than the wind, it was dead quiet.

"Where should we practice?" whispered Sarah.

"Um…" Looking around, the only thing Clem could see other than trees was a small clearing leading back to the highway.

"How about we climb on top of the Brave and look around?" Clem turned her head to see Sarah standing at the back of the RV. Rounding the right taillight, Clem found Sarah was looking at the ladder built onto the back of the Brave. Clem nodded and Sarah started climbing, holding the rifle in one hand while using the other to scale the ladder. Clem holstered her pistol and climbed up after Sarah.

Arriving on top of the Brave, Clem found the view pleasing. They were only about ten feet off the ground, but being able to see their immediate surroundings from up high actually made them a little less mysterious. Clem walked over to the front of the Brave and peered over the edge. Seeing the ground below made Clem feel tall, even though she knew she wasn't.

"Careful." Clem felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, urging her to take a step back.

"I guess we could just practice up here," realized Clem as she surveyed the area for a target. "How about we try to shoot that branch?" Clem pointed to a distant tree with a crooked branch sticking out at an odd angle.

"I guess that'll work," shrugged Sarah.

"So, do you want to go first?" asked Clem.

"Um, how 'bout you go first, and I can watch you."

"Sure." Clem removed her pistol from its holster, switched the safety off, and took aim. Clem lined up her sights near the end of the branch, and carefully squeezed the trigger. The crack of a gunshot was immediately followed by the sound of wood splintering and bird's flapping their wings. Clem watched as a flock of crows took off in a hurry as the branch wobbled in place from the force of the shot.

"They're so loud," said Sarah. "Before, in the store, I didn't really notice because so much was going on. But now that it's quiet…"

"Yeah, they're really loud." Hearing her own words, Clem suddenly started scanning the area.

"What's wrong?" asked Sarah.

"Just keep an eye out, in case something heard the gunshot," spoke Clem in a hushed voice. "Or someone."

"I will."

"I'm gonna practice for a few more shots." Clem took a moment to aim at the same branch and fired again. The branch wobbled from another bullet and Clem waited patiently for it to stop before squeezing the trigger once more. A couple of pieces of bark went flying as the branch was shot again. This time, Clem didn't even wait for it to stop shaking before shooting it. The latest shot snapped the branch and sent it plummeting to the ground.

"Wow," awed Sarah. "You're really good at that."

"Yeah, I guess so." Clem holstered the gun and rubbed her hands. The recoil from the pistol still hurt, but not as much as it used to.

"I guess you've practiced a lot."

"Not really," realized Clem. "I just remember what Lee told me and… and then I do it."

"Alright, well I'll probably need a lot of practice." Sarah took a few steps towards the edge while Clem took a step back. Clem surveyed the area while Sarah braced the rifle against her shoulder and tried to move the scope up to her eye, only for it to bump into her eyeglasses.

"Clem, can you hold this for a second?" Clem took the rifle while Sarah removed her glasses and stored them in the case clipped to her belt.

"Will you be able to use the scope without them?"

"I think so." Sarah took the rifle back and held the scope up to her eye. "It's a little blurry, I can see all right."

"Don't forget the safety," said Clem.

"I won't," Sarah switched the safety off and looked down the scope. "It's sorta hard to see much through this. I'm gonna aim at the tree in the back, the one that's kind of crooked." Clem located a slanted tree in the distance, listing to the right as if it was trying to fall over.

"Remember, squeeze the trigger."

"I will." Clem watched as Sarah struggled to keep the rifle steady, the barrel trembling slightly in her grasp. Suddenly there was a booming shot that made Clem jump, Sarah yelp, and even more birds further off in the forest to take to the sky. Clem found herself hastily rechecking the area to make sure the rifle didn't attract any unwanted attention.

"You okay?" Clem asked Sarah.

"Yeah… I'm… it just scared me a little," spoke a rattled Sarah. "And it hurt my shoulder too."

"Maybe you should lie down?"

"Clem, I want to practice."

"No, I mean lie down and use the gun." Sarah looked at Clem for a moment, then it struck her.

"Oh yeah." Sarah took a step back from the ledge and set the rifle down. She then lay down on her stomach and inched closer to the rifle. As Sarah moved her legs apart to get in proper prone position, Clem quickly checked the area again to make sure nothing was coming.

It nagged at the girl every time she turned her head. It felt like there was always something ready to sneak up on her just out of eyeshot, only for her to find nothing when she turned her head. But no matter how many times Clem saw no one was creeping up on her, it did nothing to ease her mind.

"All right, I'm ready." Clem looked down to see Sarah lying on her stomach with the rifle carefully gripped in her arms.

"You still aiming at that crooked tree?" asked Clem as she sat down.

"Yeah." Clem watched the tree carefully. The shot startled her, but not so much she looked away before a piece of bark erupted on the right side of the tree. "You hit it," said Clem.

"Yeah, but I was aiming at the middle," said Sarah.

"Try again." Clem watched as Sarah adjusted her grip. Another shot and another chunk of bark went flying, just a few inches away from the hole the last shot created.

"I don't get it," said Sarah. "It's like the scope is messed up."

"Well, maybe it is," said Clem. "Maybe that's what these knobs on top are for?"

Sarah eyed the dials attached to the scope. "Left, right. Up, down," she read off the dials. "I guess, you have to adjust it for it to work?"

"Try it."

Sarah carefully adjusted one of the dials, then the other. Clem watched as Sarah readied the rifle again. Another shot, this time a little to the right of the center of the tree. Sarah made some minor adjustments and fired a third time, striking the tree's trunk in the center.

"I think you got it."

"Almost." Sarah gently turned one of the dials. "The scope was a little higher." Sarah braced herself and fired. Clem watched a bullet hole erupt just a tad higher than the last one.

"Well?"

"I… I think that's it," said Sarah as she looked up from the rifle. "Or pretty close."

"So you figured it out?" asked Clem as Sarah stood up.

"I think so," said Sarah. "It's weird you have to adjust the scope though."

"I think Byron said scopes have to be adjusted depending on how far away you are."

"Yeah, but there's three dials and a bunch of numbers. They can't all be for distance." Sarah removed her glasses from their case and slipped them back on her face. "This dial says focus." Sarah moved her glasses onto her forehead and looked through the scope again. Clem watched as the older girl tweaked the dial.

"Well?"

"It's not blurry now," said Sarah as she lowered the rifle. "Now, if I could just figure out the numbers, maybe—"

"Sarah, get down!" Sarah quickly hit the ground right next to Clem.

"What's happening?" whispered Sarah.

"Someone's coming," answered Clem as she pulled her gun. "From the road." Sarah braced the rifle against her shoulder as Clem inched over to the front of the Brave. She anxiously watched the highway as a distant figure moved through the trees, walking along the highway and towards the entrance to the off-road they had taken. Clem felt her stomach tying itself in knots as it emerged from behind the trees and started moving right towards them. She tightened the grip on her pistol, trying to ready herself for whatever comes next.

"It's a lurker," spoke Sarah in a calm voice.

"You're… you're sure?" asked Clem.

"Yeah. It's practically rotted through." Watching the figure in the distance, Clem couldn't see it too closely, but she did notice it seemed to be listing to one side. "Come on, let's—"

"Wait." Clem put her hand on Sarah's shoulder as she tried to stand up.

"What?"

"Shoot it."

"Huh? Why?"

"For the practice." Clem grinned at Sarah, which Sarah probably couldn't see because of the respirator covering Clem's face. But Sarah got into proper prone position and braced the rifle against her shoulder. Another deafening shot and Clem watched as the walker stumbled in place from the force of the bullet.

"Remember, don't hold your breath," said Clem. "You want to try and fire between breaths."

"I know," said Sarah as she turned one of the knobs on the scope. "Let me just…" Clem watched Sarah closely. Her breathing seemed to slow down for a moment, then she became very still and quiet, and that's when the shot sounded. Clem looked back to the road just in time to watch the walker collapse onto the dirt.

"Great job," complimented Clem.

"We should probably go before more of them come," said Sarah as she stood up. "Lurkers could probably hear this rifle for miles."

"Yeah," realized Clem. "They can."

"Clem." Clementine turned around to see Sarah was already on the ladder. "Come on."

The pair returned to the Brave and removed their gear. Free of her raincoat, Sarah went to comfort a sobbing Omid who had almost certainly been spooked by the loud gunshots that were happening right above his roof. Listening to the older girl try to soothe the baby's rattled nerves made her regret not going further away to practice. To Clem, it felt like another small failure to care for the person she promised to look after.

Looking at the rifle, Clem realized they only had a box and a half of bullets left for the weapon, and they hadn't even reloaded it yet. Her gaze then turned to the half-dozen ammo types strewed out on the floor that they didn't need. Clem felt discouraged as she realized how poorly thought out her supply run had been and found herself wishing she could try again.

"Clem?" Clem looked over her shoulder to see Sarah standing behind her.

"Is OJ okay?" asked Clem.

"He's all right now, I think the loud noise just scared him a little," assured Sarah. "Are you ready to go?"

Clem pondered Sarah's question. "No."