"Was Chilton serious?" Clementine heard the man behind her ask. She couldn't see him, but she could feel his massive paw clamped over her face while the other hand grasped her shoulder, his iron grip filling the girl with terror.

"Did she not sound serious?" Clem looked over at Sarah, who was being held in place by Tanner. The older girl was terrified, her eyes wide with fright, trembling in place as Tanner kept his hand over her mouth.

"I mean, how old are these kids?"

"Clementine's only ten," answered a distraught Deacon as he approached the men. "And Sarah's just a year younger than me. They—"

"They were caught stealing red-handed," dictated Tanner. "But if you're both so concerned with age, we'll do the older one." Clementine panicked as she heard those words. She watched in terror as Tanner let go of Sarah's mouth and grabbed both of her wrists.

"No! Let me go! Stop it!" shrieked Sarah as Tanner dragged her to the door. "Clementine!" Clem tried to pull free of her captor, shooting out her arms and grasping hold of Sarah's jacket before the older girl was yanked out of her grip. Clementine clawed at the hand covering her mouth, digging her fingernails into the person's skin as hard as she could.

"Dammit!" yelled the man as he pulled his hand away from Clem's mouth. "You—"

"I stole Rhonda's box!" confessed Clementine as loud as she could.

"What?" asked a surprised Tanner.

"I did it, not Sarah. Please don't hurt her," begged Clem. "She didn't do anything wrong, I did."

"Well now that she's volunteered, how could we say no?" Tanner nodded to the man holding Clem's wrists. "Take her outside."

"No! She's just saying that!" insisted Sarah as Clem felt the man's arms constrict her so tightly she couldn't move. Clem tried running, but then felt her stomach drop as she was forcibly lifted off the ground. "We didn't steal anything! Rhonda's lying!" Sarah struggled to pull free from Tanner as he opened the front door.

"No more than either of you." Dismissed Tanner as Clem tried kicking free of the man carrying her. Her heart beat faster and faster as she was toted outside, across the driveway, and right to the flagpole. The cool evening air sent a chill up Clem's spine and the dark clouds hanging in the sky filled her with dread. "You two have been nothing but trouble since you got here. You're lucky Chilton is asking me to go light on you."

"What's going on?" asked the young man with a cigarette as Clementine was dropped onto the driveway.

"She's a thief," answered the other man as he grabbed Clem's arm with both hands.

"Her? For real?" Clementine felt a second set of hands grab her other arm before she could even stand up.

"She just confessed." Clem tried to run, but the two men in blue coats dragged her towards the flagpole by the arms, forcing her hands around it.

"It's been a while since we caught a thief." Clem's legs started shaking as the two men dragged her wrists together. The girl pulled against her captors as hard as she could, literally fighting for her life. But it was useless, and Clem was helpless as her hands were tied to the flagpole. "I guess you're never too young to start stealing."

"I didn't steal anything!" cried Clem as she pulled against the ropes in vain.

"Says the girl who just confessed," scoffed Tanner.

"I—" Clem gasped as she felt someone pulling up her shirt. There was a strong tug, a quick ripping sound, and the back of her blouse went slack. Clem could suddenly feel the cool air on her bare back now, chilling her to the bone.

"What are you doing to her? Stop it!" Clem twisted in place and could just barely see Sarah struggling against Tanner and someone else in a blue coat as they tied her hands behind the metal pole that held up the basketball hoop.

"You'll see what we're doing in a minute. In fact, my boys here will make sure you don't miss a thing," assured Tanner as he secured the knot binding Sarah.

"Can I do it?" asked the young man in the blue coat next to Tanner. "I never got to punish a thief before."

Clem started struggling against her bonds, first trying to slip her wrists out of the ropes, then untying them with her fingers, and then finally attempting to chew them off. But none of it worked, they were too thick and too secure.

"Deacon will be the one to do it," said Tanner. "Chilton herself said so."

"Please Tanner, I… I'm sorry." Clem tried twisting in place enough to see Deacon, but the ropes were tied around the piece of metal meant to hold the flagpole's rope, limiting Clem's ability to pivot. "I don't… I…"

"He doesn't even want to do it," scoffed a boy.

"And he's a wimp," called a different boy. "She'll barely feel it if Deacon does it."

"Deacon's doing it, and that's the end of it," stated Tanner.

"Sarah, what's going on!" asked a panicked Clem as she struggled against her bonds, trying to turn her head enough to see anything, only to find herself constricted at every turn.

"Please Tanner, I'm begging you," said Deacon. "They don't deserve this, and—"

"I didn't have you practice for all this time just for you to chicken shit out when we finally caught a thief," said Tanner. "Take this damn thing, and do it just like I showed you, for your sake and theirs."

"I can't… she's…"

"Stop being a pussy Deacon," called a boy's voice.

"Yeah, she's a thief," said another boy. "Hurry up and do it."

"Do what?" asked a shaking Clem. "What's happening?"

"Remember, if you don't do it, I will, and it'll be for the both of them, and ten instead of five," growled Tanner from directly behind Clem. "So unless you want to be kicked out of Valkaria, or you really just want to see them both suffer, take it!"

"Somebody help us!" screamed Sarah.

Clem started pulling against her ropes as hard as she could, desperate to escape. She planted her foot against the flagpole and tried to force her wrists free, only to put too much pressure on her bad ankle and fall to her knees while her hands remained bound above her head.

"She's a thief and a liar. And she was using you Deacon, treating you like a damn fool," spoke Tanner in a subtle growl. "Make things right Deacon, or I will." Clementine could hear Deacon a few feet behind her, recognizing his voice through the choked sobs he was making.

"Deacon, you know I didn't steal anything," said Clem, terror gripping her voice. "Rhonda was lying and you know it. You have to tell them."

"I… I don't… um…" mumbled Deacon in a barely audible whimper.

"If you're so worried about them Deacon then why don't you just go with them?" suggested Tanner. "You can hop in their RV right after you watch me tan both their hides, because you're sure as shit not staying here if you don't take care of this."

"Deacon?" Clem stood up and tried looking over her shoulder, desperate to find any trace of the young man. She could see Sarah tied to the flagpole, a couple of blue coats on each side of her; all three of them were looking intently at something behind Clem. The girl tried looking over her other shoulder, and only saw an older blue coat, also looking behind her. No matter how much she pivoted, she couldn't see Deacon or Tanner.

An eerie silence seemed to fall over the area, and it terrified Clem. She couldn't even hear Deacon's sobs anymore over her own panicked breathing. Her heart was beating faster than she ever remembered it beating before and she found it hard to breathe. Suddenly, there was a deafening thunderclap that caused Clem to yell out in terror.

"He's actually going to do it!" called a boy.

"Deacon no!" yelled Sarah.

"Do it! Make the thief pay!" yelled another voice.

"Thief! Thief!" chanted a boy, "Thief! Thief!" chanted another, "Thief! Thief!" chanted yet another. Clementine felt her stomach churning as she heard the raw excitement and eagernesses mixed in those voices as they kept yelling "Thief!" as loud as they could, gradually swelling into a deafening shout spoken in perfect unison just as another clap of thunder rang out.

Her legs were shaking so badly she could barely stand anymore and Clementine felt like throwing up. Her whole body began to tremble as she kept listening to that horrible sound yelled over and over again. The young girl found herself wishing she could wake up; just wake up from this awful nightmare and be back in bed. But she didn't wake up, and she couldn't even run, forced to remain in place by her bonds as she those horrible chants grew even louder.

"I'm not a thief," sobbed Clementine as tears poured down the girl's face. She couldn't hold it back anymore and started crying out loud, practically suffocating. "I'm not a thief… I'm not a thief…" she mumbled to herself as she could feel someone approaching her from behind.

"I'm…" Deacon's voice was small and shaken, barely more than a whisper in her ear. "I'm… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Deacon's blubbering apologies briefly drowned out the chants of the other boys, only to be replaced with a loud crack.

"Ah!" Clem screamed out in pain as she heard the boys cheering in response. Something had shot down her back in a flash, like a bee sting that spanned her whole torso.

"Put your back into it!" ordered Tanner. "I taught you better than that!"

"Ahh!" shrieked Clem as another crack brought another vicious sting across her back before the first one had even faded. The second one was even worse than the first, and the pain lingered as Clem started pulling against her bonds again. "I didn't steal anything! I didn't steal anything!" babbled Clem as she struggled in vain.

"Stop it!" screamed Sarah. "Stop hurting her!"

"Deacon, if you don't stop holding back, I'm gonna pluck that damn thing out of your hands and do it myself!"

"I didn't steal anything!" cried Clem as she kept struggling against the ropes, her wrists aching as she did. "I didn't steal anything! I didn't—ahh-ha-ha!"

A third crack and a third painful blow sent Clementine to her knees, sobbing loudly to herself as it felt like a knife had just been dragged across her back. The pain was unbearable; each strike inflamed the previous one and now it felt like her whole back was on fire. Her instincts to escape the pain compelled Clem to try to crawl away on her knees, only moving a few inches before she reached the limits of her constraints.

"Look, the crybaby made the other baby cry," chuckled one of the boys.

"I wonder who will cry more when this over, Deacon or her?" laughed another boy.

"Stop it!" begged Sarah. "Just stop it!"

"Hey, she's not even watching!"

"You hold her head, I'll hold eye eyelids open."

"No! Stop it—Clementine!" shrieked Sarah. "Oh my God—stop it! You're going to kill her!"

"Not with limp-wristed strikes like that he won't," criticized Tanner. "Deacon, if you really want this to be over, then I'd better see you draw blood this time, because if I don't, I'm taking that whip and starting over. So what's it going to be?"

"Please…" croaked an anguished Clementine. "Please stop… I'm sorry. I—aha-ahhh!" Clem shrieked in agony as she could feel her skin flayed right off her back in one sudden horrible strike.

"Noooo!" screamed Sarah as Clem felt her whole body go limp, hanging from her own arms as they remained firmly tied to the flagpole. The pain was overwhelming, feeling like her entire body was withering in the face of the scorching hell unleashed on her back. Even breathing made it feel like razor blades were snaking their way into her throbbing wounds.

"We might make a man out of you yet Deacon," praised Tanner.

"I didn't do anything wrong…" Clem whispered to herself. "I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't—ahhhhhhh!" The blow was a lightning bolt that shot down Clementine's back and into the girl's veins, wracking her tiny body with anguish until finally everything went black.

Clem suddenly felt weightless, suspended in a void. She couldn't see anything, but she could hear a low hum. The noise became more distinct and Clem could also hear what sounded like someone crying now. She blinked her eyes, seeing a big brown blur. As her senses came back to her, Clem could feel she was lying on her stomach. She moved one of her arms, and a pain shot through her shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Clem!"

"Sarah? Where—ah!" The second Clem tried to get up a terrible pain shot up her back.

"Don't move, I'll be right there." Clementine could hear tires screech as she realized she was lying on the couch in the Brave, and she could hear Omid crying in the bedroom. She wanted to hurry to the boy, but the shooting pain she felt before erupted into a terrible throbbing agony that encompassed her whole back. "Ow! Oww!"

"Just give me a minute, I'll take care of you." Clementine watched as Sarah sprinted into the bathroom and could hear the older girl rummaging through the cabinet. Her arm shaking, Clementine carefully moved her hand and touched her own back. "Owww!" Clem pulled her hand back and was sickened when she saw it was covered in blood. "Oh my God!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Sarah rushed up to Clementine, dropping everything she was toting in her arms. Finally seeing Sarah's face again was a great relief to Clem, until she saw Sarah's bloodshot, panic-stricken eyes as she hurriedly sorted through everything she had just dropped on the ground.

"Here, swallow this." Clem didn't hesitate to open her mouth and Sarah placed a pill on her tongue. "Water." Sarah brought a bottle to Clem's lips and she gladly drank from it, not even realizing how parched she was until she tasted that water. "Now just hold still, I'm going to help you, I promise."

"What was that?" asked Clem.

"A painkiller," said Sarah as she unspooled a roll of paper towels. "They're leftover from Pete's supplies, from when Christa…" Sarah sniffled, then moved behind Clem. Looking at the bedroom door, Clem could hear Omid screaming. "OJ! Sarah, you gotta—ow!" Clem yelped as she felt something coarse touching her raw back.

"I'll take care of him a minute," spoke a horrified Sarah. "But you're bleeding, I gotta help you first."

"How bad is it?" asked Clem as she clenched her teeth, trying to endure the pain of Sarah treating her.

"It's not that bad." Sarah's shaken voice betrayed her assuring words. "I just need to disinfect it and then put some bandages on it."

"Disinfect it? Does that mean—ahhhhhhh!" Clementine screeched for mercy as a horrible new burning sensation invaded her already pulsing injuries. "Oh my God!"

"I'm so sorry!" rambled Sarah as she hurried back in front of Clem and collected a stack of packaged gauze pads.

"I don't think the painkiller works," spoke a wounded Clem.

"It probably takes a minute," assured Sarah as she raced behind Clem again.

"Well, can we wait—ah!" Clem let out pained sobs as she felt something pressing against her back, inflaming the already excruciating collection of miserable pains she was experiencing.

"I don't want you losing any more blood, or getting an infection," babbled Sarah.

"But it really really hurts," moaned Clem as she felt her wounds being touched.

"I'm going as fast as I can Clem," assured Sarah as Clem felt another horrible stinging as something pressed up against her back. "It'll be over soon."

Lying there, helpless and racked with pain, Clementine started sobbing uncontrollably, her tears spilling onto the carpet.

"I'm almost done Clem," promised Sarah. "I'm almost done."

"I can't believe they did that," whimpered Clem.

"Who?"

"All of them!" cried Clem. "They… they were so horrible. How could Rhonda and Howard just lie like that, just make up all those terrible things about us? Even after they found out it was just us, they kept lying, they didn't even care we were kids, or that we were taking care of a baby. Why?"

"I don't know Clem."

"And those boys kept calling me a thief, and were happy when I was hurt, and laughed at me when I cried," sobbed Clem. "They didn't care at all that I was little, they just thought it was funny to watch me get hurt!"

"They made me watch the whole thing," recalled a sickened Sarah. "It… it was the most horrible thing I'd ever seen in my entire life. Even lurkers… they're not happy to eat people, they just do it, but those boys…"

"And Chilton acted like she was so smart, but she was stupid! She didn't even notice our box had bullets and Rhonda's didn't until I said something, and she believed all their dumb lies anyway! And she acted like she was a good person when I met her, but then she tells Tanner to hurt me, and makes Deacon…" Clem found her hands balling into fists upon saying that name. "I thought he was my friend, but—"

"He didn't want to do that," insisted Sarah.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better!" yelled Clem as she felt Sarah applying pressure to her already tender back.

"If he didn't, Tanner would have whipped you twice as many times," reminded Sarah. "And… then he would have whipped me too." Clementine felt sick upon hearing that. The mere thought of Sarah suffering what Clem was feeling now made the younger girl want to puke. "He hated it Clem. He was crying the whole time. I think he only did it because he knew it would be worse if Tanner did it instead."

"Maybe…" conceded Clem. "Or maybe he was just afraid of leaving Valkaria."

"We're away from there now, and we're never going back. And I'm sorry I didn't put a bandage on you sooner. After they put you in here, Tanner said they'd kill us if they ever saw us again, and that we needed to go."

Clem started crying again. "Why…"

"They said it's a rule. If anyone ever comes back after they get caught stealing, they—"

"Why are people so horrible?" sobbed Clem. "Everyone lies, and steals, and kills people, and none of them even care."

"Not everyone Clem," insisted Sarah.

"It might as well be," retorted a bitter Clem. "It's almost nothing but bad people now. What's the point in even being a good person anymore?"

"The world needs good people Clem," said Sarah.

"No it doesn't."

"So does that mean you don't need me?" Clem's pain paled in comparison to the horrible guilt she felt now. She started crying again, feeling horrible for what she just said, but then she felt Sarah's touch on her hand.

"It's okay Clem," said Sarah as Clem felt her friend's fingers squeeze her hand. "It's horrible… it's so horrible. But we're away from that terrible place now, and I'm gonna take care of you." Clementine watched as Sarah stepped in front of her again, and she saw the tears welling up in the older girl's eyes.

"I love you…" muttered Clem in between sobs.

"I love you too." Hearing Sarah say those words seemed to ease Clem's pain, or maybe it was the painkiller finally taking effect. But seeing Sarah lean in close definitely made Clem feel better, until Sarah wrapped her arm around the younger girl.

"Ow!"

"I'm sorry!" said Sarah as she released Clem. "I didn't touch your back."

"Just moving at all hurts," sobbed Clem.

"Are—"

"I'm okay," assured a distraught Clem. "I guess I just need to lie here."

"This is terrible," said Sarah. "I can't even hug you."

"You could kiss me." Clem found herself stunned that those words had slipped out of her mouth. Looking at Sarah, Clem felt petrified upon seeing the older girl's surprised face. The younger girl felt her chest tightening and a slight nausea brewing in her stomach as she tried to gauge Sarah's reaction to such a sudden suggestion. Sarah leaned in, and Clementine felt the older girl's lips smacking against her forehead.

As Sarah pulled away, Clem turned her head and kissed Sarah's cheek, and then she stretched out her hand and gently grasped the back of Sarah's head, stroking her hair as she pulled her friend closer until their cheeks were touching. Feeling the warmth of Sarah beside her, Clem felt one small bit less miserable.

"You were right," whispered Clem.

"About what?" asked Sarah.

"That we should have left when we had the chance. Valkaria was like Shaffer's, and I should have known."

"You couldn't have known they would do this."

"You knew," said Clem.

"No I didn't," said Sarah.

"Yes you did. You knew good people care about kids, and I knew most of those people didn't care, especially not Tanner or Chilton. Bad people run Valkaria, just like how bad people ran Shaffer's, and I should have known that would mean they would do terrible things to us. They… they could have killed us and OJ… and it would have been all my fault."

"No it's not Clem." Clem felt Sarah's hands on the sides of her face, tilting her head slightly so they could look each other in the eyes. "You didn't do anything wrong Clem, they did."

"I didn't do anything wrong to any of them, but it was wrong for me to think we should stay in a place that didn't care what happened to little kids," insisted Clem as she pulled herself out of Sarah's grip. "We all could have died getting things for Chilton, and she wouldn't have cared. She was the one who sent us out to get them even. It was stupid to ever think she would have helped us. And I believed her because I'm stupid."

"You're not stupid Clem. You're the smartest person I know."

"I'm the only person you know," dismissed Clem. "And you're smarter than I am. If we had done what you said, we would have just left and none of this ever would have happened."

"If we had listened to me, we never would have gone into Valkaria and gotten our tire fixed," reminded Sarah. "I just wanted to stay away because I was scared, not because I was smart."

"Maybe being scared is smart," mused Clem. "I don't know. I don't know anything."

An awkward silence fell between the girls, which made it easier to hear Omid crying in the background.

"I should—"

"Take care of him," said Clem.

"I'll be right back." Clem felt useless as she watched Sarah approach the bedroom. She couldn't even comfort the little boy she loved so much right now; Sarah would have to care for him and Clem now, all because of what happened. But before Clem could begin to dwell on her miserable thoughts, she heard something other than Omid crying.

"Sarah!" The older girl froze, not even bothering to finish opening the bedroom door she just cracked. "Do you hear that?"

Sarah hurried back into the driver's seat as Clem could hear the sound of a loud engine approaching.

"Sarah, what is it?" Called Clem, still finding it too painful to sit up.

"It's a motorcycle," said Sarah as she started the Brave's engine.

"Motorcycle?"

"It's stopping right in front of us!" announced a terrified Sarah. "I'll try to back up and—"

"Is it Patty?" asked Clem.

"Um… yeah, I think so," said Sarah. "She—"

"Hold up, don't go!" Clem recognized that voice; it was indeed Patty's, but it sounded less combative than usual. "Please, don't leave, I just want to talk for a minute."

"Don't worry Clem, we're leaving." Clem heard the parking brake click off. "Now that she's off the motorcycle, I can go around her."

"Wait, Sarah, don't leave," called Clem as she desperately tried to turn her head enough to see the front.

"Why not?" asked Sarah.

"Just… just don't leave yet," suggested Clem.

"But—"

"Seriously, I just want to talk to you people for a second, I'll leave my gun out here," Clem heard Patty yell from outside.

"What's she doing?" asked Clem.

"She put her gun in a bag on her motorcycle," reported Sarah.

"I'm unarmed," assured Patty. "Can we talk face to face for a minute?"

"Just… find out what she wants," said Clem.

"What if she wants to hurt us?" asked Sarah.

"Keep your gun out, and don't let her inside," reasoned Clem.

"Okay." Clementine tried sitting up again, finding the trauma in her back muted now but still too painful for her to move for more than a second. As Clem flopped back onto the couch, she could hear Sarah rushing to the door.

"Hey—whoa!"

"You stay outside!" ordered Sarah with a surprisingly amount of anger in her voice. "Whatever you want to talk about you can talk about it from out there."

"Okay, okay. But could you not point—"

"Just talk!"

"Alright, Jesus." Clem heard Omid's crying suddenly stop when a loud thump came from the bedroom. "I just wanted to know if it was one of your people who bailed me out earlier."

"Sarah?" called Clem.

"Bailed you out?" said Sarah.

Clem listened closely as Omid's crying started again and she could actually see the boy now, wailing as he moved to the gap in the door Sarah had left. He was too big to fit through the opening, but Clem watched as he stuck his chubby arms through the gap.

"Look, maybe this is a misunderstanding," said Patty. "I just thought, since I saw this RV at the Kangaroo Express, that maybe one of the people in there was in Titusville today?"

"It's none of your business where we've been," retorted Sarah.

Clem watched as Omid clumsily managed to slide the door open a little more, then immediately crawled through the opening. The little boy was crying softly the whole time he crawled, but Clem could see he was heading right towards her.

"Can I talk to the rest of your people?" asked Patty. "Or maybe you could ask them if any of them were in Titusville today?"

Clem felt a smile growing on her face as she saw Omid draw close.

"Hey OJ," whispered Clem. "Come here. Come to me." Clem held out her arms as Omid crawled up to the edge of the couch, hoping to feel the boy in her grasp, but she couldn't reach him due to the awkward position she was in, her hands barely stretching past the edge of the sofa. She was dismayed when Omid moved out of sight, having crawled so close to the couch Clem couldn't see him from where she was lying.

"Why do you care where any of us were? What do you want?" asked an increasingly impatient Sarah.

"Jesus, okay, I get it, I'm not wanted here," said Patty. "I just thought maybe one of your guys helped me out today and all I wanted to say was thanks. That's it. I'll go now."

Clem was stunned when she saw Omid's head suddenly poke up past the edge of the couch, having stood up on his own right in front of her. Seeing the upset look on his sweet face as he tried to maintain his balance, it was clear the boy still wanted to be closer to Clementine.

"Muh-meh," he said in a sad voice as he looked at Clem.

"Sarah!"

"Stay right there." Clem could hear Sarah's footsteps fast approaching. "Clem what—Omid? How did he get out of his crib? I'll put him—"

"No, no don't!" insisted Clem as she looked out at Omid. "Come on OJ, you can do it, I'm right here," prodded Clem in the warmest voice she could muster right now. "It's not far, just walk to me." Omid looked at Clem's hands, which gestured as much as they could from where Clem was lying. "I'm right here, you can do it. Just walk over to me." Omid looked at Clem's face while tears ran down his cheeks from his big sad eyes.

"Muh-meh," he cried.

"Come on OJ, just put your little foot out. I'm right here, you can do it." Clem watched anxiously as Omid briefly looked down at his feet, then back up at Clem. He leaned forward, looking unsure, then took a step closer.

"He did it!" exclaimed a shocked Sarah. "He took his first step without holding onto anything."

"Come on OJ, keep going!" cheered Clem as she kept trying to stretch out her hands a little further to touch the little boy. "I'm right here, you can do it." Omid took another step forward, nearly falling as he did. "It's okay, just a little more, you're almost there now." Omid leaned forward and took another step, followed by two more in quick succession as he walked right into Clementine's hands.

"Muh-meh," he repeated as he grabbed onto Clementine's arm.

"He's walking! He's walking!" repeated an overjoyed Sarah.

"And he got out of his crib all by himself," added Clem, practically crying with joy now as she felt Omid's touch. "Who's our big strong boy?"

"Muh-boo," said Omid as he moved his head closer to Clem's hand, brushing his cheek against her fingers.

"I… I love you too," spoke a stunned Clem as tears streamed down her face. "I—"

A frantic fumbling followed by a loud thud sounded from behind.

"Don't move!" ordered Sarah as Clem tried to force herself to sit up. "Put your hands up!" It pained her to do so, but by grabbing the top of the couch, Clem finally managed to sit up.

Looking over to the front, she saw Patty lying on the ground in an awkward position, as if she had just fallen. She looked wide-eyed with fright as she raised her trembling hands, dropping a lighter and a pack of cigarettes that were clutched in them.

"I told you to stay outside," reminded Sarah as she aimed her gun at the woman.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," babbled a terrified Patty, sounding like she had just seen a ghost. "I just heard you yelling something and… and…" Patty turned her head to the right, then back to the left. "Where is everyone?"

"They're not here," said Sarah. "So why don't—"

"There is no one else," announced Clem in a sad voice.

"What?" asked a stunned Patty. "You mean… they all died?"

"Almost a year ago," informed Clem.

"A year! But… how… what?" Sarah lowered her gun as it became clear Patty was no threat to them at this moment, practically in a state of panic as she tried to grasp everything she was seeing.

"Muh-meh?" Clem helped pulled Omid onto the couch, grimacing as she felt his tug upsetting her wounds. The boy crawled into her lap, and Clem was relieved to feel him close to her again.

"I was the one who helped you back in Titusville," informed Clem without much enthusiasm.

"What?" asked an utterly lost Patty.

"You saw Patty while you were in Titusville?" asked Sarah.

"She got stuck somewhere, so I shot my gun a few times until the walkers started following me away from her." Clem looked over at Patty, the woman's bright green eyes practically bewildered to be looking into Clem's golden ones. "You're welcome."

"Huh?"

"You said you wanted to say thanks," said Clem as she turned back to Omid, gently rubbing her fingers through his hair as she embraced him. "So, you're welcome."

"Um… okay," spoke a mystified Patty. "I… I guess I should go now." Patty collected her lighter and cigarettes off the floor and stuffed them back into her jacket. She grabbed hold of the driver's seat, practically using it as a crutch as she stood up. The woman looked at Clementine, Sarah and Omid, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing, then shuffled to the door.

"Wait." Sarah's call stopped Patty.

"Yeah?" she said in a quiet voice as she turned around.

"Could… could you help us?"