"Have you ever seen anything like this?" asked Sin.

"They sure as hell didn't put up any signs in Miami," answered Patty.

"The only signs we ever saw in Houston were ones warning people to keep away," added Jet.

"We sorta saw one like this in Baton Rouge, on the side of a truck they used to block the bridge," said Sarah. "But it said 'Turn off your engine and don't move' or something."

"Just because it ain't telling us to fuck off doesn't mean it's good news," interjected Anthony as he adjusted the strap of his machine gun. "I mean, if I wanted to set up an ambush, I'd leave a sign like this hanging in front of the biggest highway into town."

Clementine kept rereading the words of the weathered banner strung up on the overpass ahead of them: DOWNTOWN TULSA ABANDONED - FOLLOW SIGNS TO CITADEL. The crudely painted letters had faded and the white tarp they had been written on fluttered in the cold wind along with a few of its ropes that had come undone. Beyond it, there were nothing to suggest anyone had been here since the start of the outbreak, just more fields of grass killed by the winter surrounding a now desolate highway.

"Clem, you ever see any towns with signs posted outside with something like this on them?" asked Patty. "Instructions on where to go?"

"No, but I saw some that said 'stay out' for a neighborhood in Georgia," recalled Clem. "They also piled up walkers to block the road, and left a few alive stuck on spikes."

"Shaffer's did that?" asked Patty.

"No, this was another place in Georgia I never want to go back to."

"Shaffer's had a huge wall; Valkaria had a barricade of cars blocking the road," listed Sarah. "We always see stuff trying to keep things out, not invite people in."

"All the more reason to think these people put up a friendly welcome sign to guide gullible dopes into a trap," stated Anthony. "What better bait than sending out a rumor that they were the one safe place left on the planet."

"So what exactly do you suggest then?" asked Sin, his normally stone-faced expression faltering as he spoke. "We came all this way, just to turn around once we actually got here?"

"The lead up to Tulsa hasn't exactly been encouraging," said Patty. "Clem and I had to hack our way through a few walkers yesterday just exploring the outskirts. There wasn't many of them, but it's not a good sign, especially considering there wasn't a speck of food to find either."

"That lack of food means people are here, collecting it," concluded Sin.

"There probably were," spoke Clem in a disappointed voice. "But if there are walkers this close to town, there's probably no one left or they'd kill them anytime they went out."

"Yeah, when I left Miami, I didn't start running into the dead until I got as far as Boca Raton," added Patty. "The troops were always having to push further away from the heart of town to find more food, and they always killed any stray walkers that would wander in each time."

"It was the same for Valkaria," added Sarah. "The road leading up to them was just completely empty. The closest we found a lurker was at a gas station far away from town, and Clem killed it."

"So we should just leave then?" asked an irritated Sin.

"I didn't say that," insisted Patty. "But, going into Tulsa is a risk, and odds are we're not going to get anything out of it."

Sin slowly eyed the entire group, seeking out possible supporters perhaps. Clem wish she could muster a more uplifting expression to show the man, but everything she had seen suggested they were still no closer to safety. Even Jet appeared discouraged, a small frown tugging at the corners of his mouth as he stared down at the cracked asphalt.

"I'll go alone," Sin suddenly volunteered. "It was my idea, so I should—"

"I'll come with you," insisted Patty, sounding reluctant. "Everyone else can lag behind a bit, in case something happens, just like we did on our approach to the outskirts of town."

"Granddad, maybe we should…"

"Stay with Clementine and Sarah for now," Sin instructed Jet. "You'll be safer with them than with us."

"Oh… okay," conceded Jet.

"Anthony, give Sin your gun, he might need it." Anthony passed the older man the weapon and received a holstered pistol in return, which he clipped to his belt. "We'll follow wherever the hell these signs lead us and call out what we see on the radio."

"Be careful," said Clem as she walked up to Patty.

"Don't worry partner," she said as she leaned in to pat Clem on the back. "This already looks a lot more inviting than New Orleans."

"You've got that ankle gun right?" asked Clem in a whisper.

"Yeah," confirmed Patty. "Hopefully, I won't need it."

"Any chance I could get that big rifle?" Clem backed away from Patty and saw Anthony looking at them. "In case something finds us while you're scouting ahead."

"It only has six bullets," retorted Clem. "And we don't have any more."

"But you had bullets for that thing?" asked Anthony as he pointed to the machine gun Sin was holding.

"It uses nine-millimeters," informed Sarah. "None of the bullets we have are the same as the ones in the automatic rifle though."

"Oh…" Anthony shrugged. "Still, it's better than just a pistol, the rifle has a scope on it at least."

"Go ahead," Patty told Clem. "If something happens, he might need to bail us out."

"All right." Clem turned around and headed back to the Brave, which was parked on the road alongside Sin's RV and Anthony's truck right behind them. She retrieved the automatic rifle from their closet, then made sure its safety was on before loading it with a nearly empty magazine. Heading back out, Clem noticed Patty just a few feet away in front of one of the Brave's storage compartments.

"What are you getting?" asked Clem as she moved closer.

"Insurance." Clem watched as Patty removed a grenade from the green metal box she kept them stored in. "Hope I won't need it either."

"Me too." Patty stored the grenade in her bag and then locked the compartment. She handed Sarah the keys as they returned to the group while Clem passed Anthony the rifle.

"If you have to use it, don't put it on auto," she said.

"Sure," shrugged Anthony as he threw the gun over his shoulder.

"Keep your radios on," said Patty as she walked with Sin to his RV. "If you hear any trouble, and then don't hear from us… just turn back." Clem watched as Patty disappeared into the RV, which then pulled forward and through the underpass. Feeling Sarah tug on her sleeve, Clem returned to the Brave with her and Jet.

"I should have gone with him," Jet said the second Clem locked the door.

"He didn't want you to," assured Clem as she approached the boy.

"Yeah, but I didn't say anything because I was scared," he confessed.

"It's okay to be scared," assured Sarah.

"Is it? My granddad might die and I didn't even say I would help him." Sarah didn't seem to know how to respond to Jet, nor did Clem either.

"Bree-bree." Everyone turned to find Omid dragging a picture book behind him as he emerged from the bedroom.

"I—"

"I'll read to him," insisted Jet. "You both have more important things to do." Jet picked up the book and then led the toddler back to the bedroom.

Despite what Jet said, Clem couldn't think of anything she urgently needed to do herself. She checked to make sure the volume on her radio was turned up, then sat down next to Sarah. Looking over at her friend, she noticed the older girl was watching Anthony through the windshield. The young man was just leaning against the hood of his truck, apparently undisturbed by the cold.

"You okay?" asked Clem.

"I just worry about him," said Sarah.

"Anthony?"

"Yeah."

"I don't."

"I really wish you'd stop saying that."

Clem was surprised by the harshness in Sarah's voice. "I'm sorry, but I really don't. He's a jerk to Patty."

"She's not nice to him either."

"He slapped her butt," reminded Clem.

"You did that to me," reminded Sarah.

"What? When?"

"Back at that mall we stopped at. When I bent over to pick up that toy sword, you slapped me with yours."

"I… I was just playing," insisted Clem.

"Well, maybe so was Anthony," reasoned Sarah.

Clem became silent for a moment as she noticed Sarah was still looking out at Anthony. "If I ever do anything you don't like, you can just tell me to stop and I wouldn't ever do it again. You know that?" Sarah was still looking out the window, but Clem could tell from the way her eyes were wandering that she was thinking. "Did me doing that make you mad like it did Patty?"

"Not that…" said Sarah.

"What then."

"Well…"

"Just tell me."

"It kind of made me mad that you and Patty decided all this stuff about who goes where and how much food everyone gets without even talking to me about it." Finally turning to look at Clem, the younger girl found herself disturbed by the clear signs of discontent on Sarah's face. It was subtle, like the way her eyebrows were slightly scrunched up, but knowing she caused even that made Clem feel guilty.

"I'm sorry," said Clem immediately. "I was just trying to find a way to makes things better for Patty, and we just kept talking until we figured out something that sounded fair. We didn't mean to plan that stuff without you."

"I know, I know," assured Sarah as her expression softened. "I guess it just bothers me you're going on supply trips again, and you didn't tell me first. Maybe we could have figured something else out."

"Like what? Taking turns with each other?"

"I… I don't know," admitted Sarah in an unusually pained voice.

"Well if you ever think of anything you want me to do, just tell me."

"Well, there is one thing. I really wish you would be nicer to Anthony."

Clem groaned in frustration. "You know he didn't just slap her butt. I told you about all those jokes he was making and—"

"I know, and Anthony said he wouldn't do stuff like that to Patty again."

"After we asked him to stop like a hundred times."

"I know, and he was wrong, but I still feel bad for him."

"Why?"

"Because so many people have been bad to him. There were the ones he told us about at Gulf Port, he said his mom hated him, and then he was homeless, and then the lurkers," recalled Sarah. "And even now he really doesn't have anyone. We've got each other and Patty and Omid; Sin and Jet have each other; but he's still alone, even when he's with us."

"I guess so." Clem looked out the windshield at Anthony. The young man was now lying on the hood of his vehicle, idly fiddling with the rifle in his hands with a bored look on his face.

"I think if he just had a friend, he'd be nicer."

"If he wants a friend, he should act nicer."

"Maybe if we're nicer he'd be nicer."

"We were already nice to him a lot."

"Patty aimed a gun at him."

"Because he wouldn't leave her alone."

"I know, but… could you just try to be nice to him, for me?"

"I don't—"

"I know it's not fair you have to be nice after he was mean to Patty, and if he keeps acting like a jerk after that you can stop, but could you please try?" begged Sarah. "If you were nice to him, maybe he'd realize we care about him and stop acting like the way he was. I mean if he's going to stay, it'd be better if we were all friends."

"I don't think he wants to be friends," said Clem. "But I'll try, for you."

"Thanks Clem," said Sarah before taking a deep breath. "I just wish we could all get along."

"Yeah, me too."

"Seeing Patty aim that gun at Anthony… it made me think about that night at the ranger station, when I woke up and dad was aiming a gun at Christa, and she was aiming a gun at him."

"Yeah, stuff like that happens a lot now," spoke a weary Clem.

"I remember when we didn't have to worry about people pointing guns at each other when they got mad."

"I barely do anymore. Things from before just feel like a dream now."

"Really?"

"Yeah, not having to worry about food all the time, or monsters, or people trying to kill us… none of it even feels real anymore."

"Guys?" Clementine grabbed her radio in a flash.

"Yeah?"

"We're a few miles down the highway and there's still more of these damn signs pointing us ahead," reported Patty. "You guys might want to go ahead and start following us, it might be a little while before we get to wherever the hell we're going."

"Have you seen anything yet?"

"Suburbs, trees, and empty space so far. No citadels that I can tell."

"I'm telling you, this is a trap," said Anthony.

"Possibly, but judging from the occasional walker and the state of the things we're passing, I'd say it's more likely this place is just abandoned."

Clem sighed upon hearing that.

"We'll start following behind you," reported Sarah. "That way if anything happens we can get to you sooner." Sarah turned the key and the Brave's engine churned a few times but didn't start. "Come on." Sarah had to turn the key twice more before the RV finally started. Soon after they heard Anthony's truck starting right beside them, and then both vehicles drove forward.

Just traveling through the underpass, the group discovered a line of cars blockading most of the road. It wasn't nearly as long or elaborate as the one used at Valkaria, and they could easily go around it if they wanted to. It's only purpose seemed to be to guide people towards the lane leading to the on-ramp, where a road sign reading exit had been painted to say 'citadel' instead. Leaning in for a better look as they drove onward, Clem saw the surrounding area was exactly as Patty described; trees, suburbs, empty space, and nothing else she hadn't seen before.

After a couple of miles, Clem spotted a large building coming up on their right. She sat up and examined the parking lot for signs of life. Sarah must have been looking as well since the Brave started to slow down. But there was nothing but parked cars strewn across the lot, with no signs of where their owners went or what this place was for. Turning back to the road, Clem found herself grimacing at an overhead sign that read 'New Orleans St.' And next to it was another sign pointing straight ahead with the word 'citadel' sprayed painted over it.

"Kem-men." Clementine turned around to see Omid walking towards the front of the RV. "Sah-duh."

"I tried to read him another book," said Jet as he followed behind the toddler. "But he just keeps saying your names… I think."

"Did you miss us?" asked Clem in a sweet voice as she picked up Omid.

"Kem-men," he repeated with a smile.

"You feeling all right?" asked Clem as she gently brushed back Omid's hair. "Your head feel okay?"

Clem briefly examined what remained of the bruise on the boy's forehead. As she did, she felt Omid's hand on her face, likely imitating what she was doing.

"Do you see anything yet Granddad?" Clem heard Jet ask his radio.

"Your granddad is driving," answered Patty. "But so far it's just a lot more of the same. We're still seeing signs that say 'citadel' on it, so we haven't missed it yet."

"All right." Jet put his radio down and looked right at Clementine. "Do you think we'll find anything?"

Clem considered Jet's question carefully while Omid continued to touch her face. "Probably not," she finally admitted.

"But we might," interjected Sarah. "All these signs means there were people here."

"Were," repeated a disappointed Jet. "If we don't find anything, where do we go next?"

"I… I don't know," admitted Clem.

"Well, where were you guys going before Tulsa?" asked Jet.

"We were going west because someone told us they saw planes going that way," said Clem. "And that's when we met you and your granddad."

"Oh, that's right," said Jet. "And before that, you went to New Orleans, and you said there was nothing there either."

"Yeah, and before that—ow!"

"Mah-bah," said Omid as he tugged at Clem's hair.

"OJ, no!" scolded Clem as she pried Omid's hand away.

"Here, I'll hold him," said Jet as he pulled the toddler away.

"What about you?" Clem asked Jet. "Where do you want to go?"

"To my parents," blurted out Jet. "But I don't even know where they are."

"Okay, I think I finally see this citadel thing," reported Patty. "The signs had us turn off the interstate and now we're heading north to this… weird ass office building I think."

"What's weird about it?" asked Clem.

"The design is just kind of odd, it's gold with white trim," said Patty. "And it looks like the only tall building in the area."

"Do you see anyone yet?" asked Sarah. "Or signs that people are here?"

"Not yet," said Patty. "I'll call back when we get closer."

"Be careful, both of you." Jet put his radio down and Clem watched as he slumped down in his seat. She tried to think of something comforting to say to him, but nothing came to mind.

"Ah-sah." Clem and Jet looked over to see Omid at the bottom of the steps pushing on the door.

"No!" Jet rushed over and grabbed the toddler while Clem checked to make sure the door was still locked. "I'm sorry, I put him down for a second to get my radio and—"

"It's okay," assured Clem as she lightly pushed against the door to test it, making certain it wasn't going to pop open. "It's okay."

"Ah-sah!" demanded Omid as Jet carried him away from the door.

"No, you can't go outside right now," lectured Clem.

"Ah-sah!" repeated Omid.

"Maybe… well probably not later either, we don't know much about this place," admitted Clem as she sat down.

"I was thinking we she should look for a farm." Clem and Jet looked over at Sarah. "I… I mean, I was thinking since we're already in Oklahoma, and it'll be spring in a couple of months, maybe we should just find a farm or something and grow our own food."

"That's… not a bad idea," realized Clem. "Sin even used to be a farmer."

"He was?" asked Jet.

"Yeah, he grew up on a farm," said Clem. "Didn't you know that?"

"No. How do you know that?"

"He… told me." Jet stared at Clem in disbelief.

"Well, anyway…" said Sarah, breaking the awkward silence. "We could find somewhere really isolated and far away from any of the major roads, so we wouldn't run into lurkers or people, and if we could grow enough food we could just… live there."

"I guess that sounds okay," shrugged Jet.

"It sounds great," said Clem. "Why haven't you ever told me you wanted to do this before?"

"Well, we'd need a lot of food just to get started," explained Sarah. "It would take a long time to grow crops, and we'd probably eat more than usual because of all the work. Remember how hard we worked on that garden all summer, and we only grew enough to eat for, like, a month, and we were still eating out of cans because there was so little of it."

"Yeah, I remember that. We did all that work and we didn't even get to eat a lot of it. Birds and bugs and the sun killed so much of it."

"Yeah, that's something else we'd have to figure out if we started a farm," said Sarah.

"The military wouldn't even let people grow their own food in Houston," said Jet. "If they saw you growing something in your yard, they'd take the whole plant away."

"Yeah, Patty said they did that in Miami, maybe because people like us would mess up if we did it ourselves," reasoned Clem.

"Even if we hadn't messed up," said Sarah. "What we were growing still wouldn't have been nearly enough for the winter, and there's seven of us now instead of three."

Clem sighed. "How come there was so much food before?

"I don't know," admitted Sarah.

"Me either," said Jet. "Maybe Granddad knows."

"Before they got messed up, I had been reading as much as I could about farming in our encyclopedias, but most of it wasn't very specific. I was hoping we could find some books about farming, but food's been so hard to find lately and—"

"Guys."

"Yeah Patty?" answered Clem.

"We're at the citadel." Everyone sat up upon hearing that, except Sarah, who was already busy guiding the Brave onto an exit ramp. "It's some kind of skyscraper with a big ass wall around it that was clearly built more recently than the rest of building."

The Brave banked to the right and then turned onto a small highway. They were now passing by abandoned restaurants, stores, and other places of business sandwiched between sporadic trees and empty fields; no different from the dozens of other small cities they had passed through. But looking straight ahead, Clem could see a literal tower far off in the distance, shining in the early morning sun.

"Weird…" said Jet.

"Yeah, it really is the only tall building around," said Clem.

"And we're still like ten miles from the center of Tulsa," added Sarah. "There shouldn't even be a big office building this far away."

"There are faded instructions painted on the wall," reported Sin over the radio. "Telling us to wait outside until someone comes out to meet us."

"But I kinda doubt there's anyone left inside to do that," said Patty.

"We can see a gate too, and it appears to be open," added Sin.

"We'll wait for a few minutes, see if anyone comes out, then we'll go inside," reported Patty. "I'd park it for now and wait on us. If this is a trap, no need for you guys to get any closer than you already are."

"All right." Sarah slowed the Brave to a stop at an intersection and shut off the motor. A second later Anthony's truck squeaked to a stop right behind them. Then everyone sat in silence for a moment as they stared out at the ominous gold tower in the distance.

"So, we just wait?" asked Jet.

"Pretty much," said Clem.

"I could put on some music," suggested Sarah.

"No. We need to be ready in case Patty calls back needing help," reasoned Clem. "Music would just make it harder for us to hear her, and easier for someone to hear us… if there is anyone."

"Yeah, you're right," conceded Sarah.

"So… we just wait." Jet's words were followed by silence. Everyone remained in their seats; eyes fixed on the alleged citadel, and ears alert for any possible calls for help.

"Wah-wah." Clem looked down to see Omid trying to pull free from Jet. "Wah-wah!"

"He must be thirsty," said Clem as she stood up. "I'll get him some water." Clem located the toddler's sippy cup and placed it in the sink. She turned on the faucet, and only creaking noises came out. "Come on." Clem lightly tapped on the spigot, which finally started producing water in short spurts. Clem looked aside at the window to her right as she waited for the cup to be filled.

All that was outside was another intersection, same as any other. There were cars pulled off to the side, signs of people once here who were now likely long gone. Small buildings whose windows and doors were broken out when they were looted. Dead trees throwing shadows over the withered grass in the areas bordering the cracked roads. The only thing of interest Clem noticed was a traffic light with a road sign that read 'Riverside'.

"Clem."

Clem looked down and realized the sippy cup was overflowing. "Oops," she said as she shut off the water. "Sorry, I was just looking at something."

"It's okay," said Sarah as she screwed the lid onto the cup.

"Wah-wah," demanded Omid as he walked up to the pair.

"Here you go," said Sarah as she handed the cup to the toddler, who eagerly began to drink from it.

"Sarah, do you think we can drive over to the road on the left? I think there's a bridge over there."

"Why do you want to go there?" asked Sarah.

"If there's a bridge, there's probably a river, and maybe we could see something if I went up top with the telescope. It'd be better than doing nothing."

"Yeah," concurred a bored Jet.

"I guess we might as well," said Sarah as she sat down in the driver's seat.

"Anthony," called Clem as she grabbed her radio off the counter. "We're going to drive over to the bridge across from us, see if we can get a view of the area from there."

"Okay, I'll be right behind you."

Clem paused as she moved to set her radio down. "And maybe you can help me?"

"Do what?" asked Anthony.

"Just, keep watch?" suggested Clem.

"Sure, why not." Clementine found Anthony's resigned tone concerning, but she didn't dwell on it. The girl retrieved her gun, knife, respirator and raincoat as quickly as she could. Seeing the bridge pull into view, Clem was relieved by the lack of anything dangerous in sight. The bridge didn't even have any abandoned vehicles left on it, let alone walkers. But inching ahead, she was troubled by the sight of a break ahead in the road.

"I think the bridge is out," noted Sarah as she slowed the Brave to a stop. "I'll park us back here, far away from where it might have broke."

"Good idea," said Clem as she went to pick up the telescope. "This probably won't take long. I'm just gonna see if there's anything on the river and then come back." As the girl grappled with the telescope, she noticed Jet approaching her.

"Maybe I should go with you," he suggested as helped Clem carry the telescope to the door. "I could, I don't know, keep watch or something."

"It's okay," assured Clem. "I already asked Anthony to do that."

"You did? I thought you didn't like that guy."

"I don't," said Clem in a hushed voice. "But Sarah thinks maybe if we're nicer to him, he wouldn't be such a jerk. And she's right about us trying to get along if we're going to stay together."

"Okay, I just get sick of feeling so useless all the time," admitted Jet.

"You're—"

"Not useless? I guess not, but you can do so much more than me… and you're younger."

"You only left home like a week ago," reminded Clem. "I spent over three months living at a hotel before Lee taught me to use a gun, and I hated it."

"Really?" asked Jet.

"Yeah, and I still don't like using a gun, or all this other stuff we have to," admitted Clem as they carried the telescope towards the door.

"But you still do it," said Jet as they set the telescope down. "I… I don't know if I could."

"Just… stay here," instructed Clem. "There's no reason all of us should go out."

Clem turned to the door when she felt a hand grab hers. "Be careful…" pleaded Sarah, sounding more worried than usual.

"The bridge is empty, and I'm just looking around. I'll be fine."

"I know it's just…" Sarah took a breath. "Just be careful."

"I will."

"Muh…" Omid moved towards Clem, then backed away and whimpered slightly.

"I love you too OJ," assured Clem as she grabbed the telescope. "And I'll hug you once I take off this stinky raincoat."

Clem bounded outside, finding Anthony standing near the front of the bridge. She set the telescope down and inched over to the young man, who hadn't even bothered donning his raincoat. Stopping near the end of the bridge, it looked much like the one they had seen outside of New Orleans. The road just stopped suddenly and there was a large chunk of it missing, as if something had just crudely snapped off a piece of the bridge. And about thirty feet below, Clem could see the river calmly churning along.

Looking over at Anthony, he seemed just as curious about the bridge as Clem did. "What do you think happened?" she asked him. "You think the military did this?"

"Who else," he mumbled. "Not much for me to keep watch for up here."

"Yeah." Clem couldn't ignore the discontent look on Anthony's face as he stared off into the distance. It wasn't subtle like Sarah, he was clearly unhappy. "Um… you could help me take the telescope up the ladder, if you want."

"Sure, why the hell not." Anthony walked over to the Brave and grabbed the telescope, then kept walking towards the back. Clem followed after him and started climbing the ladder, trying to keep up. Anthony's tone had been oddly quiet and dejected since she and Patty confronted him over his behavior. Clem found it a relief at first, but after a couple of days, it was beginning to concern her, and she was starting to see why Sarah was worried.

After reaching the top, Clem noticed Anthony had already set up the telescope near the edge of the RV. "Thanks," she said. "I—" Anthony turned around quickly and sat down on the opposite edge of the RV. Seeing him literally turn his back on her, Clem felt obligated to say something. She still didn't exactly feel bad for Anthony like Sarah did, but she realized saying nothing wouldn't improve the situation either.

"I know you're probably still mad at me and Patty," she started as she pulled her respirator down to speak more clearly. "But I wanted to tell you we appreciate everything you've done for us, like teaching us how to fish and going to look for food, and we do care about you and want to be friends with you."

Anthony made no answer, and remained so still it made Clem wonder if he was even hearing her. "Are you mad because it looks like Tulsa is probably not going be safe either? It's bothering me too; it's bothering everyone. Jet was even asking what should we do next, and I have no idea. What about you? Where do you want to go?"

Still no answer. Clem wasn't sure if he was ignoring her, or if he simply had no idea what do himself. Or maybe the smell of her raincoat made him not want to open his mouth. In either case, she didn't see a point in talking to someone who wouldn't talk back. Clem put her respirator back on, then moved over to the telescope and looked through the eyepiece.

Examining the citadel in the distance, Clem saw it was actually composed of three office buildings. The main tower was about twice as the tall as the second building, which was a little taller then third building. All three of them had bright golden exteriors with massive white borders that would connect each side to the next at an odd angle. She couldn't be sure, but these buildings all appeared to have three sides, instead of four. Between the sun reflecting off the exterior and its strange design, the structure resembled a temple more than an office building, but Clem doubted there was any salvation to be found there.

Turning away from the citadel, Clem spotted a couple of short buildings on the river, and behind them was a taller and more lavish building. Looking closely, she could see even taller cranes behind that; monuments to that what would never be finished. Looking further to the left was just open water until she found the leafless trees planted on the other shore. Focusing on what may have been a small hotel in the distance, Clem suddenly saw something moving in its parking lot.

"I think I see someone," she announced as she tried to get a better at look at what was creating the movement. "I see them, they're…" Even from this distance, Clem recognized the familiar shuffle of a walker. It was ambling about aimlessly as at least two more stumbled into view. "It's just walkers. It's always—" Turning away from the telescope in frustration, Clementine found herself colliding with Anthony and then being pushed backwards.

"Oh shit!" She heard Anthony yell as she felt herself falling. "Clem!"

Clementine could briefly see Anthony reaching out for her and she tried to grab his hand, only to be yanked away by gravity. Anthony, the RV, even the bridge itself, it all shrunk away in the blink of an eye before disappearing into darkness as Clem felt herself being swallowed by the river.

The impact on the water felt like a million tiny sharp blows across the entire upper half of her body before the stinging cold attacked the rest of it. In an instant, Clem could feel the pressure of the tons of water above her, first in her ears, then in her eyes as it felt like the river was trying to crush her head. The watery darkness engulfed her as she searched in desperation for anything that would tell her which way the surface was.

Clem swam towards what she could only hope was up, following the blurry hint of light she spotted out of the corner of her eye. The faint light grew brighter as she moved but the surface still wouldn't come. Her lungs ached and her mind raced in terror as no matter how fast as she swung her arms or how much brighter the light grew, she couldn't seem to escape the river. Clem forced her mouth to stay shut as her every instinct told her to take a breath and swam as hard as her aching body possibly could.

Her head burst past the surface and Clem gasped for breath, only to feel water flowing into her mouth. Bobbing back under the river, violently choking for air even harder, Clem realized her respirator must have had water in and ripped it off in a hurry. She poked her head above the river again, puking out the water and part of what she had for breakfast and taking a single quick breath before she felt herself pulled under the surface again.

Clem managed to swing her arms hard enough to force her head up again for more air. She looked around desperately for any idea of where she was, but could only see more water in every direction and a single distant shore covered in trees before falling beneath the surface again. The constant sound of water rushing past her ears made it impossible for Clem to hear anything else and every stroke to keep above the water drained a little more of Clem's failing strength as the river refused to release its grip on her.

Head spinning, muscles aching, skin stinging from the frigid waters, Clementine couldn't even tell which way she was facing anymore as the current continue to drag her further from where she had fallen. Suddenly, there was a deafening boom and Clem found herself instinctively diving underwater, fearful that, for some reason, she was being shot at now. The girl could only bare a few seconds before coming up for air again, her arms so numb that she wasn't sure if she could force them to move for much longer.

Spinning around in desperation for anything that could help, Clem spotted something bright red just ahead of her. Desperately swimming towards whatever she saw, she could suddenly see multiple bright red objects all rocking back and forth on the surface. A few more painful strokes forwards and Clem saw there was a neon yellow rope marked with small plastic flags just sitting on top of the river.

Clem instinctively grabbed hold of it, only to keep drifting along with the current. Out of desperation, Clem tried pulling herself along the line, hoping it was tied to something. As she did, there was a sudden jolt as the line pulled on her. Clem wasn't sure what was happening, but something was moving the rope so she clung to it for dear life. Each sudden pull felt like it was threatening to dislocate Clem's aching arms, but she refused to let go, and with each tug the shore moved a little closer.

Kicking her legs to move forward as she moved, Clem suddenly felt her foot connecting with the riverbed and didn't hesitate to plant herself on the ground. Pulling herself forward along the rope and running as much as she could through the water, Clem stumbled out of the river as fast as her aching limbs could carry her. The last hundred feet or so all dissolved into a blur as she burst out the river and collapsed onto the ground.

Lying on the dirt on her hands and knees, gasping for air, the girl desperately tried to collect her thoughts when she noticed a large shadow looming over her. Looking up in a hurry, she saw a tall figure clad in black body armor and a gas mask reaching out to grab her.

"Stay back!" yelled a panicked Clem as she stumbled backwards, her shaking hand trying to remove her gun from its soaking wet holster. "Just stay away!" Clem finally managed to raise her pistol and took several more steps back as she aimed at the armored stranger. They raised their hands in surrender and pivoted slightly to see Clem better as she walked along the shore. She stopped moving after she realized this person wasn't pursuing her and just stood there patiently while she tried to steady her aim.

"Easy," instructed the armored stranger, their voice muffled by their mask. "I'm not going to hurt you." After several deep breaths, Clem finally felt her heart slow down just enough so that it wasn't causing her chest to ache with each beat. Clem lowered her gun, and the stranger lowered their hands, letting them rest at their side. "Are you all alone?" they asked. "Is there anyone else that—" The stranger stopped speaking suddenly and turned their head, prompting Clem to look over her shoulder.

She saw a glint of light coming from a tree next to the shoreline and realized what she was looking at; someone raising a scoped rifle. "Anthony don't!" yelled Clementine at the top of her lungs as she ran towards him. "It's okay, don't shoot!" Sprinting forward, Clem could clearly see Anthony now, the rifle still raised. "Just put the gun down." Anthony slowly lowered the rifle, then hurried forward to meet the girl.

"Jesus, are you all right?" he asked, a guarded concern in his voice as he approached.

"I think so," answered Clem as Anthony moved past her.

"And who is that?" asked Anthony as he moved towards the armored stranger. "You some kind of—shit!" Anthony raised the rifle. "Clem, get his gun!"

"Gun?" Looking down at the dirt, Clem suddenly noticed some kind of rifle just a few feet from where the armored stranger was standing.

"Take it," insisted the stranger without a trace of hostility as they raised their hands again.

Clem hurried forward quickly and grabbed the weapon with both hands, discovering it had a large metal canister attached to the underside of it. Upon closer inspection, Clem found that the rope she had grabbed apparently was tethered to the weapon's odd attachment. The gun also had an incredibly short barrel for a shotgun or rifle.

"Why don't we go somewhere and talk," suggested the stranger as Clem picked up their rifle.

"Why don't we just talk here?" suggested Anthony.

"That thing made a lot of noise when I used it," spoke the stranger. "And there's a lot of infected on the other side of the river. Even with the bridge out, they manage to get over here sometimes."

"Where do you want to go?" asked Clem. "The citadel?"

"You saw our signs," concluded the stranger. "Yeah, that's the safest place to hold up on this side of the river. Let's go there, and I'll tell you people what's going on."

"Why can't you just tell us right now?" challenged Anthony.

"It's a long story, and out here in the open isn't a good place to tell it."

"But who are you?" asked Clem. "Can't you tell us that?"

"Me?" asked the armored stranger. "I'm the last living person in Tulsa."