Lying there in the darkness, hands bound behind her back, listening to the sound of the truck's motor as it carried Clementine away to some new terrible fate, she found herself wishing the woman had just shot her. When Clem left the Brave this morning, she suspected it would probably be the last time she'd ever see Sarah or Omid again; she'd rather just die and get it over with already instead of suffering anymore.
Everywhere they had been, all the miles they had traveled in search of safety, and they still were no better off than when they started. No matter what they did it always led to one of three outcomes. Either they'd find bad people they'd have to escape, find good people who they'd eventually lose, or take their chances with the dead while scavenging the already picked clean remnants of civilization; Clem was sick of it all.
Lying there in the utter blackness, her mind began to drift. She could picture Omid smiling at her and it briefly chased away her despair. She never felt a love like the love she felt for him. To give of yourself in a way that you see some of yourself in that person, to feel that part of you is also a part of them, was something Clem never knew before raising Omid. She only hoped it was the best pieces of herself that she had imparted on him.
Then Clem found herself thinking about Sarah. Clem also loved her in a way she never felt for anyone else, but with Sarah, it was as if she filled a void in Clem's life she never knew existed before meeting her. She couldn't even really put it into words, beyond never wanting to be apart from Sarah if she could help it; if only she had the courage to tell her that. Thinking about Sarah, Clem suddenly remembered her promise; she'll do whatever she could to get back to them.
Clem had no idea how long she was in that truck, time being impossible to track while bound and blindfolded. But when Clem finally heard the squeak of brakes she steeled herself for whatever was coming next. She lay there for a while, nothing to do but wonder what her captor was waiting for. Whatever happened next, Clem just wanted it to be over. Suddenly, the creaking of hinges sounded and light flooded in from the edges of the blindfold.
"We're here," announced the woman. "Get up."
Clem struggled to sit up while her hands were cuffed behind her back. No sooner was she sitting up did she feel a hand pull her off the floor. Clem just followed along, afraid of what would happen if she didn't cooperate. She was guided out of the vehicle and onto what felt like concrete, then walked along in whatever direction she was pulled, like a dog on a leash; she hated every fucking second of it.
"This next part is narrow, move slowly," instructed the woman.
Clem inched forward, feeling her face brush up against something smooth and metal. She was pulled forward by her collar, sliding along the metal for a second until the light bleeding in around the edges of the blindfold disappeared entirely. She was somewhere much cooler now, the sound of their footsteps echoed loudly as they walked and it felt like they were moving slowly downhill.
Clem first wondered if this was a garage, but she never remembered being in a garage that echoed this loudly. They also were walking for a very long time without having to stop, leading her to think this was a tunnel instead, which only raised more questions. Clem was tempted to ask the woman where they were going but remained quiet out of fear of retribution. If nothing else, it was a relief to be out of the heat; Clem hoped it wouldn't be her only relief today.
"Stop," instructed her captor. "Wait here and don't move."
Clem felt her collar be released and heard the woman walking away from her. Sensing an opportunity, Clem tested her restraints. She had to bite her own tongue to stop herself from crying out as a horrible pain shot through her right wrist. Clem braced herself and tried pulling on her left hand instead. There was absolutely no slack; this person was a lot more careful than the last one who put Clementine in handcuffs.
"All right." Clem heard what sounded like keys dangling followed by some loud clicks. "Come on."
Clem felt that familiar tug on her collar and started walking again. They must have finally reached a door, but why was it so far from where they came in? Clem had only marched a few steps forward before being stopped again. Listening to the sound of the door being locked behind her, each loud click sent a chill up her spine.
Clem was dragged even deeper into this unknown dungeon, being led through a long hall and slowly guided down a flight of stairs, her heart beating faster as her footsteps seemed to get louder with each step she took. After a long and tense walk without a word from her captor, Clem heard the sound of a doorknob being turned before being pushed into a new area. Her footsteps didn't echo in here and the ground felt much softer.
"Here," directed her captor while yanking Clem forward. "Sit." Clem was shoved backwards and landed on something firm yet fairly soft; if it was a chair it was a very comfortable one.
"All right," Clem heard her captor say before a switch clicked and a white light started seeping in past the edges of the blindfold. "Let's talk." Clem felt the blindfold be ripped off and had to immediately close her eyes as she found herself blinded by a light being shined directly in her face. "Start with telling me about the people you're with."
Clem blinked her eyes a few time and saw the image of her captor come into focus. She was sitting across from Clem, her helmet still hiding her face. She had a machine gun clutched in one hand and a large flashlight in the other. The woman seemed to keep the light aimed right at Clem's eyes, making it hard to get a good look at her surroundings.
"Well?"
"Well what?" asked a confused Clem as she tried to come to her senses.
"Tell me about your people, the ones who sent out a child to meet us because you were expendable."
"Why do you want to know?" asked Clem.
"We want to know so we know what we're dealing with."
"Well, I want to know what I'm dealing with," argued Clem. "And I don't want to tell you about my people until you tell me about yours."
"Well that's not gonna happen."
"Why not? For all I know, this is just a trap so you can figure out how to kill my people," accused Clem.
"For all I know, your people sent you in as a baby faced spy to learn more about my people so you could attack us," accused the woman.
"If you were worried about that, you shouldn't have left us signs," retorted Clem.
"Those signs are just one of many precautions we take," stated the woman. "Another is we don't trade with someone until we're acquainted with each other."
"Okay, then tell me about your people," said Clem with no small amount of smugness. "I'm listening."
"No, I think you'll be sharing first," stated the woman.
"Why? Because you'll kill me if I don't?"
"Because you were willing to let me tie you up and put a blindfold on you," spoke her captor. "Either you're some sort of spy, or you're really desperate to trade for something."
Clem groaned to herself. She had done her best to put on a good poker face but it didn't seem to matter, this woman knew she was holding all the cards right now. Thinking about it, she'd have to tell these people about Sarah eventually if there was any chance of helping her.
"I've got a friend," said Clem. "She's pregnant and she doesn't want to be. We don't know what to do."
"How did that happen?"
"I'd rather not talk about it," insisted Clem through clenched teeth. "Can you help us?"
"What about the rest of your people? What do they want?"
Clem thought carefully to herself. "There are no other people."
"Really?" asked the woman. "How old is your friend?"
"Fifteen."
"You and a fifteen-year-old are out here all alone?"
"No, we also got a baby we have to worry about."
"Your friend's pregnancy."
"No, I mean the one-year-old boy we already have."
"You have a baby?" Clem looked around in confusion. That was a new voice, and it sounded a lot friendlier than the one interrogating her. Looking at her captor, her head was turned now and staring at a figure in the distance shrouded in darkness.
"Goddammit…"
"Sorry Mom, I—"
"Just get the lights, will ya."
Clem watched as the figure disappeared and the woman took off her helmet. A string of globe lights loosely hanging from the ceiling lit up suddenly, giving Clem her first good look at her captor. She was a slim, middle-aged woman with graying hair, a scar on her cheek, and a look of exhaustion as she wiped the sweat from her leathery face. She appeared so much meeker without the helmet on leaving Clem to believe she shouldn't have been so quick to remove her own mask earlier.
"You're so cute." Clem turned her head to find a tall and heavyset girl looming over her. She looked a few years older than Sarah, had long curly red hair, was covered in freckles, and had a large eyepatch covering her right eye. Clem was so distracted by the eyepatch she almost didn't notice the girl stretching out her hand towards Clem's face. "I love your hair, it's—"
"Amelia!" barked the woman. "Get over here."
"But she's just—"
"She was armed to teeth; she's no ordinary child," said the woman as she fished something out of her pocket. "You keep your distance, for now." The woman moved in close to Clem. "I'm gonna unlock your cuffs," she said as she held out a ring full of keys. "You remember what I said about no sudden moves?"
"Yeah."
"It still applies, understand?"
"Yes."
Clem felt the knot in her stomach start to untie itself as the woman leaned in behind her. There was a slight twisting and then Clem felt the cuffs come off. Immediately Clem grabbed hold of her wrist and started rubbing it, and the pain disappeared almost instantly, as if it was never there in the first place.
"What's your name?" Amelia was staring right at her, that big brown eye brimming with curiosity.
"Clementine," she answered.
"That's such a pretty name," beamed an excited Amelia. "I'm Amelia, and this is my mom."
"Beth Gunness," said the woman as she switched off her flashlight. "Welcome to our humble hole in the ground."
Looking around in the low light, Clem was surprised by what she saw. She seemed to be in a very posh living room, sitting on a fancy leather couch, a flatscreen TV mounted on the wall to her right and plush carpeting under her feet. Turning her head, she spotted a marble kitchen counter on the other side of the room surrounded by pristine looking appliances that put the ones in the Brave to shame.
"Thirsty?"
"Huh?" asked Clem.
"You thirsty?" repeated Beth. "Most people are after riding in the paddy wagon."
"Yeah," said Clem as she cleared her throat. "I'm pretty thirsty."
"Thought so." Clem looked over to find Amelia holding a bottle of water.
"Thanks." Clem took the bottle and twisted the cap off. Taking a sip, she grimaced as she as discovered the water had a salty aftertaste.
"Iodine tablets," explained Beth. "This place was made with a nuclear war in mind, which means they stocked up on tons of those instead of regular water purification tablets. They taste like crap but they're safe."
"Nuclear war?" asked a baffled Clem. "Where are we? A basement?"
"Nah, you're on the top floor," said Beth. "The basement is about fourteen floors below this one."
"Seriously?"
"This is missile silo," informed a chipper Amelia as she sat down next to her mother.
"There's a missile here?" asked Clem in shock.
"Used to be," clarified Beth. "Once upon a time, a peacekeeper warhead was sitting right about where you are right now."
"Peacekeeper?"
"It's what they called the missile," explained Amelia.
"I guess everyone being dead is technically a form of peace," shrugged Beth. "There're silos like this all over the three-state area, so many that after the Cold War ended and the government started removing some of the missiles, they began selling off the empty silos for a fraction of what they cost just to be rid of them."
"And you bought one?"
Beth laughed. "If only," she said. "Some rich prick bought it. Got it for a song, or so I heard, then had the bright idea of converting a silo into a fancy ass bunker for other rich pricks. From what I heard, he was selling reservations for the rooms at a few million each before construction even started."
"For this?" asked Clem as looked around the darkened living room.
"Oh don't you know, this place is fully loaded," said Beth with a devilish smirk. "Kitchen, pool, library, full gym, even a swimming pool with its very own water slide."
"Really?"
"It doesn't work," reported a saddened Amelia.
"Over a dozen floors filled with junk that's useless without electricity or running water."
"There is a rock climbing wall that works though," said Amelia.
"And with the elevators not working, all you have to do is stumble down ten flights of stairs in the dark to get to it," griped Beth. "Because getting this place off the grid wasn't one of the owner's priorities when taking pre-orders for the end of the world!"
"We go through a lot of batteries just so we can see where we're going," added Amelia.
"And before that we had to risk our lives getting these shitty party lights!" added Beth as she gestured to the globes hanging from the ceiling.
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Clem. "We've been living in RV, and we go through a lot of diesel, and it's getting a lot harder to find."
"I don't think this place was ever supposed to work," stated Beth. "They build a water slide to impress gullible idiots without putting a thought into where that water would come from after shit hits the fan. I think this was all just a big scam to swindle idiots with millions out of a fraction of their money."
"Is that how you ended up here?"
Beth chuckled. "Yeah, as if I could ever afford the chance to be that stupid. No, I worked here. The genius who owned this place paid people like me to pace around with guns to scare off anyone wanting to plunder their precious post-apocalyptic showrooms. When news of the virus broke, me and the other hired guns brought our families here, thinking this would be as good a place as any to wait out the storm."
"What about the people who paid to stay here?"
"They never showed up," said Beth with a smile.
"Really?"
"Well in the event of a disaster, the security team, that's me and the other grunts, were supposed go out and fetch the residents, but I convinced them that would be a bad idea."
"So, you just left those people behind?" asked a concerned Clem.
"We didn't feel like driving all over the state during a massive outbreak and risk bringing the virus into the bunker all for some rich assholes who probably were away in one of their dozen summer homes. And even if we wanted to, we wouldn't be able to find them. The phones here never worked so we couldn't even call the people on the list and GPS became useless not long after the start meaning we couldn't get directions to their addresses."
"I guess I didn't think about that."
"Neither did the prick who hired us," said Beth. "Believe me, if this place was built to last, that guy would have been the first one here; instead, we never heard from him again. He probably used the money he scammed off of this place to build himself a real bunker and leave the rest of us to die in this elaborate deathtrap he constructed."
"Deathtrap?" asked Clem.
"The blast doors, the big ass ones leftover from this place's silo days, have to be opened with a mechanism that runs on electricity. So when the power went out we couldn't open the door anymore, which meant we were trapped in here, in the fucking dark."
"What'd you do?" asked Clem.
"There were still tools left from the construction workers, and one of us knew how to use an acetylene torch. Even then it took about two days to actually break the locks on the damn thing, and then we had to use one of the trucks in the garage to push the door open since they're so damn heavy. That would have been an ironic way to die, locked inside a fallout shelter."
"How many people are here?"
"You're looking at all of them," said Beth with a frown. "Me and my daughter are all that's left."
"It's been lonely here for a while now," added a saddened Amelia.
"How have you stayed alive so long?" asked Clem.
"That's an odd question coming from a kid who's only friends are supposedly a teenager and a baby." Beth gave Clem an odd look. "Not everything in here was for show, there was actual food on the eighth floor, and plenty of guns and ammo in the shooting range."
"This place has a shooting range?"
"Yeah, we got a shooting range but not running water or electricity. In retrospect, we were lucky the toilets even work when we fill up the tanks ourselves. If the septic system wasn't hooked up right I think me and Amelia would have taken our chances out there with the virus," said Beth with a small laugh.
"Anyways, we rationed what we had, occasionally we made trips outside to get more. Things would sometimes go wrong, and sometimes people would do wrong, out there and in here. Now, it's just me and her left," explained Beth as she put her hand on Amelia's shoulder. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it wasn't always just you and your friend."
"Yeah, we've been with groups of people… wish we still were."
"You could stay with us."
"Amelia!" scolded Beth.
"What?"
"How about we just to stick to business for now," declared Beth. "You want me to help your friend get an abortion right?"
"Abortion?"
"Get rid of her pregnancy."
"Yeah. Can you do that?"
"Maybe."
"What do you mean maybe? Can you help us or not?"
"That depends on what you've got to trade for that help."
Clem groaned, annoyed at Beth's attitude; it reminded her of the time she traded with Rhonda. "I brought some things to trade in my backpack."
"All right, that'll be a good start." Beth stood up and walked over to the kitchen where Clem's backpack was already sitting on the counter.
"Don't mind my mom," said Amelia as Clem took another swig from the water bottle. "She's just being careful."
"You have a lot of weapons on you for a kid," noted Beth as she laid out both of Clem's pistols, inspecting and unloading each of them carefully.
"I have them because I'm a kid," dictated Clem as Beth laid out the knife and tomahawk. "I'm little, so I need them to stop bad stuff that's bigger than me, dead or otherwise."
"Have you ever killed anyone?" Clem turned her to head to find Amelia staring at her, eagerly anticipating an answer.
"I… uh…"
"Amelia," said Beth in a stern tone. "Let me do the talking."
"Fine," said Amelia as she crossed her arms.
"Don't mind her," said Beth as she placed Clem's mask on the counter. "She always gets excited when she meets new people and—Jesus Christ!"
Clem watched as Beth leapt backwards in a fright as the grenade came rolling out of her backpack. "What the fuck is this?" asked Beth as she raised her gun and pointed it at Clem.
"I thought you might want to trade for it," explained a nervous Clementine. "They're pretty rare. I mean, I've never found more."
"Good," mumbled Beth as she slowly crept over to the grenade, hands shaking. "Goddamnit, I could have brought a suicide bomber in here because I was so reckless."
"Trust me, it's safe as long as you don't pull the pin," assured Clem.
"Yeah, and if you had pulled the pin you could have stuck it in a coffee can or a lunch box or anything else that kept the handle pressed in and then when I opened it that handle just pops right off and…"
"What?" asked a confused Clem as a trembling Beth placed the grenade in the refrigerator.
"When mom was overseas, she said people would hide bombs everywhere," whispered Amelia as Beth slammed the refrigerator door shut. "And if you weren't careful for just a second, you'd get blown up."
"Where did she go?" whispered Clem as Beth wandered back over to the counter.
"I don't know, she doesn't like talking about."
Beth rubbed her head briefly then reached into Clem's pack. She pulled out Clem's old radio next, then a small baggie with a white substance in it.
"What's this?" asked Beth as she held up the bag.
"Ice cream."
"Funny."
"No really," clarified Clem after realizing how sarcastic that must have sounded. "It's freeze-dried ice cream. I brought a sample in case you want to trade for more of it."
"Oh, I want to try it!" said Amelia.
"No," said Beth as she marched over to the couch. "You try it," dictated Beth as she thrust the bag at Clem.
"Why?"
"In case you're trying to poison us," said Beth.
"Oh come on mom," said Amelia. "If she was gonna poison us would it be with a weird bag full of white stuff she just called ice cream?"
"Maybe she was planning on slipping it in something we eat or drink," suggested Beth as she glared at Amelia. "And now that I found it she's having to manufacture an excuse to cover her ass."
"If I were going to do that why would I just leave it in my backpack for you to find?"
"Maybe you're not too bright."
Clem scowled at Beth, then snatched the bag out of her hand. She took out the piece of ice cream, split it in half, then popped it into her mouth. She almost didn't stop to taste it she was so annoyed; almost.
"See, I'm fine," said Clem.
"Open your mouth," instructed Beth.
"What?"
"So I know you swallowed it."
Clem opened her mouth, making sure to stick out her tongue as she did.
"Mom stop it!" Clem almost jumped as Amelia's voice went from a whisper to an angry shout. "You always—"
"Fine, whatever, I'm only trying to keep us alive," griped Beth as she marched back over to the counter where the backpack was.
"God she pisses me off sometimes," griped Amelia as she clenched her fists. It actually made Clem nervous how furious she looked.
"Here," said Clem as she held out the remaining piece of ice cream. "Try it, it's really good."
Amelia looked at Clem, her eyes almost bulging with anger until she looked down at the ice cream. Her face softened as she took the piece, and then lit up with excitement as she tasted it.
"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "It really is ice cream!"
"I know, right?"
"But how?"
"The package said they dehydrate the real thing, and then it never goes bad."
"And you have more?"
"A little," said Clem.
"Mom—"
"No," dictated Beth as she dug through Clem's pack.
"But—"
"Ice cream is a luxury, not a necessity."
"You say that about everything," accused Amelia as she crossed her arms.
"That's because we're living in a monument to useless luxuries, so every time I say it it's true." Clem watched as Beth removed a small book from her backpack. "Outbreak survival guide? Is this a joke?"
"No." Clem rubbed her head and took a quick sip of water. "I was with a group of people for a while, and we had to work together and use everything we learned to clear out a city to get to the food left in the middle of town. Afterwards, the boy with us thought we should write it all down, thinking it could help other people. He printed up a bunch of those and left them behind, but I took one in case I ever met anyone new."
Beth had a dubious look in eyes but cracked the guide open anyway.
"Your sign said you would trade for info, that book has lots of it."
"Really?" asked Beth, sounding doubtful but curious. "And how exactly do you know all this stuff?"
"It's all things we've tried, places we've gone, or stuff we heard from people we've met. Like I said, one of us thought we should write it all down after they realized we only stayed alive as long as we did by sharing everything we knew with each other."
Clem studied Beth as she stared at the guide, occasionally flipping through the pages. She was doing a good job of hiding it, but Clem could tell the guide was troubling her. The way her eyelids narrowed as she focused on the words, how she'd occasionally blink quickly twice in a row like she didn't believe what she was reading, the anxiety tugging at the corners of her mouth, gradually morphing her stern scowl into a look of quiet confusion.
"Mom?" Beth snapped her head and suddenly looked directly at Amelia. "Are… are you okay?"
"Huh?" she said before looking back at the guide. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said as she closed the book and walked away from the counter. She sat down next to Amelia and looked Clem directly in the eyes. "How sure are you about… all of this?" she asked as she held up the guide.
"Sure," said Clem with no uncertainty.
"New Orleans was a military base of operations but they abandoned it; how do you know that?"
"We've been there, it's a ghost town with nothing but empty ships left in the river."
"But how do you know the military was there before that?"
"We met a soldier who had been there. He was shocked it had been abandoned." Clem took a breath, her head starting to spin as she was forced to dredge up bad memories. "Before that we met two other soldiers who had come to New Orleans, hoping to get rescued, and they weren't happy with what they found."
"And what's this about…" Beth opened the guide. "A conflict between branches of the armed forces? The military is fighting each other?"
"We never found out for sure but that's probably what happened."
"How could you possibly know that?"
"We found what was left of a fight in Alabama. One side had bodies that were wearing Army uniforms, the other had Navy uniforms."
"The Army and Navy are fighting each other?" asked Amelia in disbelief.
"Probably, and it wasn't that last time we found something like that."
"What else?" asked Beth.
"It's all in there." Clem gestured to the guide and Beth immediately looked down at it. She wasn't even trying to hide her distress now, growing increasingly disturbed at the words she was reading.
"Wait, what's this?" asked a shocked Beth. "The Air Force—our Air Force… bombed Houston?"
"You saw that happen?" asked Amelia.
"No, the boy who wrote that book did," said Clem. "I did see the oil refineries outside of Houston catch fire though. Even from really far away I could feel the heat."
"And although at the time of writing this it can't be stated for certain, the conclusion drawn from our collected experience is… any rescue will likely not occur for several years… if ever."
Clem had never read all of Jet's guide. Hearing those words for the first time felt like a pinprick through her heart. Looking at Beth and Amelia's faces though, Clem wagered it felt more like an iron stake through theirs.
"I'm sorry," said Clem, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"I'd say it's worse than I thought but…" Beth sighed as she closed the guide. "But really, this syncs up with what we've heard."
"What do you know?" asked Clem, genuinely curious to learn more about what had transpired in the rest of the world. Beth stared at Clem for a moment, as if she was contemplating telling her or not, then opened her mouth to speak.
"Not much," she finally answered. "We've mostly been here, in this damn hole in the ground. Originally the plan was just to wait out this mess underground, then when things started getting tight and people started getting jumpy, we had to start going out, and that's when we started losing people, and usually for nothing.
"During one trip back to Cheyenne, me and a couple of others went to check out the Warren Air Force Base. We figured maybe we'd at least find some clue to what was happening. Instead, we found an army of bodies pumped full bullets that kept moving until they had killed one of us. Things only got worse after that. Last fall I lost the last member of our team on a scouting expedition, and it's been just me and Amelia here ever since."
"It gets so lonely just the two of us," added a dismayed Amelia.
"And more importantly, we can't stay underground forever, unless we want to starve to death down here, so that's when I made the signs you saw."
"How many other people have you seen since then?"
"Not a lot, most people either don't come alone or aren't willing to disarm and get into a truck with a stranger. The ones we have met we've heard bits and pieces from," said Beth. "Probably the biggest piece of advice we ever got was to stay away from the Canadian border."
"Why?"
"Last winter, not long after I put up the signs, we got our first taker. He was a wide-eyed feisty young thing, practically babbling when I found him, almost didn't get him into the paddy wagon. Once he calmed down, he told us he had been with a group of people who'd heard that there were safe zones in Canada."
"But there wasn't?"
"He says they never made it that far, but not from a lack of trying." Beth took a quick breath. "First they went to a border crossing in Montana, but it had been barricaded. Cement dividers blocked the roads and a chainlink fence topped with razor wire went off for miles in both directions with a second fence behind that one. He said none of that was there before the outbreak.
"They had to go off-road for a few miles before they finally found a spot where the fence just stopped, like they never finished building it. With just open ground ahead of them they figured they'd finally made it, and that's when one of their cars exploded."
"What? Why?" asked a disturbed Clem.
"He just told me 'One minute I was following her car, the next the ground shook and there was a mangled pile of metal where the car used to be.' I told him it sounded like a landmine or an IED, but it didn't really matter to him. He just kept talking about what it was like to watch his friends drag their legless corpses out of that wreck. He didn't even know if they were still alive or had already died and became a couple of those… whatever they are."
"Jesus…" mumbled Clem, her own legs feeling shaky after hearing that.
"What was left of his people started driving west, too afraid to cross any open ground after that. Eventually, they found another pair of fences, and that led them to another checkpoint, just as blocked up as the last one. They decided they had had enough, figured they cross right here, and with the right tools it wouldn't be so hard. They all got over the first fence no problem, then someone started shooting at them."
"Who?" asked Clem.
"He didn't know. Never once did he see the shooter, just the person in front of him's head burst open just before he heard the first shot. It must have been a sniper far and away on the other side of the fence is all I could figure. When I told him that, he said 'That's why there were two fences."
"I don't understand," said Clem, feeling dizzy from all of this. "Why were there two fences?"
"To set up a shooting gallery," clarified Beth. "He didn't realize it until long after it happened, but they made the fences just tall enough you couldn't get over them easily, but not so tall you couldn't make it with some extra effort. It wasn't until they were all over the first fence did the shooting start; they were waiting for all of them to fall into the trap."
"That's horrible," said Clem.
"He said he heard his friends get picked off one by one as they all tried to scramble back over the first fence, always thinking the next shot would be for him. Once he hit the ground, he took off running and never looked back. He just kept moving away from the border until he eventually found us, nearly two states and three weeks later."
"Where is he now?"
"He left us not long after we made contact. We've had some other people come and go over this last year or so but we usually keep hearing the same thing; it's a war zone out there." Beth sighed and looked down at the guide. "And then you come along with a fucking report of how that's pretty much the case everywhere in the country."
"Not everywhere," corrected Clem. "A friend of mine used to hear rumors about the west coast and we don't know what's out there."
"Is there any reason what's out there would be different from anywhere else you've been?" asked Beth.
"Well… no," admitted Clem, her head feeling heavy with that realization.
"I didn't think so."
An uneasy silence fell over the room as Clem stared down at her feet. She could see the rough outlines of footsteps stained into the carpet. They spread out in every direction in all shapes and sizes, likely the only remnants of so many other people who were now long dead.
"Is there anything else you want to know?" mumbled Clem.
"Well… one thing," said Beth.
"What?"
"Why did you call me Patty earlier?"
"I thought you may have been someone I know. You're about her height, and she used to leave messages on signs in spray paint, and you even sound a little like her… well, at least I thought you did when you had your helmet on. I was really hoping I had found her again." Clem looked up at Beth. "You haven't met anyone named Patty, have you?"
"No, not since the virus."
"What about a boy named Jet, or a man named Devlin? Did you ever meet anyone with those names?"
"If I did they never introduced themselves," said Beth.
"What about… a Walter, or a Matthew?"
Beth shook her head.
"Um… well… did you ever meet a girl named Molly?"
"Sorry, none of those names are ringing a bell. I don't get many takers, even less who follow the instructions and come alone, or who want to get in the truck like you did."
"I didn't want to get in but…" Clem yawned. "So are we going to trade? Will you help my friend? Is that something you can do?"
"How far along is she?" asked Beth.
"Huh?"
"How long has she been pregnant?"
Clem didn't know for certain, partially because she didn't know exactly when Sarah got pregnant and partially because she had lost track of time since leaving the farm.
"At least a month," estimated Clem. "Two at the most, I think." Clem watched Beth closely but couldn't tell what she was thinking. "That guide has more in it than just where we've been," added Clem, hoping to entice her. "We also wrote down how to deal with walkers, how to catch and gut fish, how to grow food."
"Is that how you and your friend have stayed alive?" asked Beth.
"Yeah, it hasn't been easy, but we've managed to keep going using the stuff we learned, and we put it all in that book. The only thing we don't really know how to deal with is… people who are still alive."
"And pregnancies," reminded Beth. "Which confuses me actually, since apparently you're already taking care of a baby but don't know what to do now that your friend is pregnant?"
"He's not our baby, he belonged to a couple of people who used to take care of me; my friend and I promised we'd take care of him."
"That must be hard," quipped Beth.
"It is," retorted Clem in a biting tone. "It's very hard just the two of us. Even when you know how to get past walkers, it's impossible to move more than a backpack full of stuff without any help, and that's if there's any food left to find. We can't even find propane for our RV's stove, which means I can't cook fish without staring a fire outside first. That takes up time, so does boiling water every other day, and so does taking care of Omid. It's really fucking hard!"
"Omid?" repeated Amelia.
"That's the name of our baby," explained Clem. "We love him, but it's a lot of work taking care of him, and… we really can't take care of two. We're barely keeping him and ourselves alive as it is."
Clem looked Beth in the eyes. "Please help us if you know how. We're not just kids, we can help you too. I can catch you a fish, gut it, and cook it if that's what you want. We both know how to deal with walkers if there's somewhere you need to get to. My friend knows a ton of stuff about crops. Before we came here we were living on a farm and growing our own food."
"Why'd you stop?" asked Beth.
"We were attacked and lost everything, and then everyone," recounted Clem in a grim tone. "But… it can work if there are enough people."
Beth looked conflicted now, less so for Amelia who was just eagerly staring at her mother.
"Mom, you remember how Roger used to say we'd need to start growing our own food, and—"
"Yeah, I remember, I was hoping he'd be wrong though. I was hoping eventually the cavalry would show up and take us to somewhere they had things under control," admitted Beth before looking down at the guide. "But that's not a viable solution, is it?"
"No," answered Clem, speaking from experience. "But, we could help each other. I know what it's like, having only one other person you trust, and then you meet new people and don't know what to do. I… I really didn't want to get in your truck. I just wanted to go back and forget I ever met you, but I took a chance anyway, because I knew I couldn't do this just the two of us anymore."
Beth looked away from Clem and sighed.
"Mom?"
Beth held up her hand, then looked back at Clem. "Let's start with this; trade me this guide in exchange for ending your friend's pregnancy. Then we'll go from there."
"You can do that?" asked Clem. "You can just end it? She tried drinking and… it didn't work."
"I've got something more reliable than alcohol," said Beth.
"Great, give it to me and—"
"I'll go out and give it to her myself while you stay here with Amelia."
"What? Why?"
"Collateral," answered Beth. "For all I know, you've been feeding me a pile of lies this whole time and as soon as you get back you'll tell your people you've found a good target to strike."
"I haven't—"
"If you've been telling me the truth, then that means a fifteen-year-old girl who doesn't want to be pregnant should come out to meet me, and that'll confirm your story."
"Why would I make up something like that?" challenged Clem.
"Because it's a good story to get someone to pity you and drop their guard."
"That's ridiculous," accused Clem.
"So is a kid and a teenager with a baby and another one on the way surviving what's already killed most of the planet," refuted Beth. "People can make up some pretty crazy lies to get what they want. Hell, we're standing in one right now, and it was cooked up before people were being driven into desperation because of a fucking plague."
"Long cons," mumbled Clem under her breath.
"Exactly. I can tell you don't like this, but we've had enough close calls of our own." Beth pointed at Amelia's eyepatch, causing her to frown and look away. "She got that from someone we brought back that we weren't careful with. And before that, we let someone go without thinking through the consequences; there were a lot more of us before that."
"Yeah I… I know what that's like."
"Than you understand why I'm only going to do this my way."
Clem hesitated to answer.
"Look, either we do this my way, or you put the blindfold back on long enough for me to drop you off somewhere out of the way, and then you can go back to your friend, without my help."
Clem sighed. "Okay," she conceded.
"Where can I find her?"
"She's probably close to the overpass I met you at."
"Where exactly?"
"I don't know, she was supposed to stay away if I didn't come back."
Beth looked over at the counter. "Would that radio be a good way to reach her?"
"Yeah, we always keep them on when we're apart."
"And what's something I can say so she knows you told me to meet her?"
"Huh?"
"I'm guessing she's as suspicious of people as you are and won't just willingly meet with a stranger," explained Beth. "You guys have any kind of password or just something I could say that no one but you two would know? Something to prove you chose to tell it to me?"
Clem racked her mind for something that would convince Sarah that Beth hadn't just taken her prisoner. It was hard for her to think, her head was cloudy and she was tired from all the questions.
"Ceres," said Clem suddenly.
"Ceres? What does that mean?"
"It's doesn't matter, what matters is only me and her would know that word, and the only way you'd know to say it to her is if I chose to tell you; tell her I said that."
"And her name?"
"Sarah." Clem yawned again. "I'm so tired."
"Yeah, riding in the paddy wagon in the middle of summer can do that to you," said Beth as she stood up. "I'm gonna use the bathroom real quick and then I'll go out to meet your friend; Amelia, keep a close eye on her."
"Yes mom."
Beth walked off, following the string of lights down a hall while Clem wandered over to a stool next to the counter. Everything was happening so quickly that her head was spinning now.
"Are you okay?" asked Amelia. "Do you need to lie down?"
"I'll be fine, it's just…" Clem looked at the radio on the counter. "Can I call Sarah first? I'd feel a lot better if I could talk to her and explain what's happening."
"You can try."
"What does that mean?" asked Clem, a sense of panic gripping her upon hearing that cryptic answer.
"We're really far from where mom found you," explained Amelia. "Your friend isn't going to be close enough for a radio like that to work, but you can try."
"Oh." Clem just stared at Amelia for a moment, then picked up the radio, finding it heavier than usual. "Sarah?" asked Clem as she held the button down. "Sarah? Can you hear me?" Clem let go of the button and waited for a response; nothing.
"Don't worry, mom will meet with her soon," assured Amelia. "Once she's done trading with your friend, she'll come back here and then drop you off somewhere your friend can find you. She's just being careful."
"Yeah, I know," sighed a weary Clem as she looked over at Amelia. "Earlier, you said maybe we could stay with you. Do you really think your mom would let us?"
"I think she will," said Amelia with a smile. "She tries to pretend like she doesn't mind but she gets really lonely too. I think that's why she told you all that stuff about the guy who owned this place and how none of it works; she misses having people to talk to."
"Yeah, I love Sarah and Omid, but I miss having other friends to talk to and…" Clem shook her head, trying to wake herself up a little.
"Let me go get you a pillow, you can rest on our couch until mom gets back."
"Thanks," spoke a weary Clem as Amelia ran off down the hall. Clem stood up and shuffled over to the couch. She was ready to flop onto it when she thought she heard a familiar electronic crackle. Walking back over to the counter, she could hear static coming from her radio.
"…there?" spoke a voice.
"Sarah?" Clem grabbed the radio and pressed the talk button. "Sarah, are you there?"
"Clem!" exclaimed Sarah, her voice muffled with static. "Where are you? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I found people, they're… they're gonna help us and… uh…" Clem trailed off as she suddenly felt very dizzy.
"Clem?" exclaimed Sarah. "Are you okay? You don't sound well."
"I… I…" Clem looked over at the empty water bottle she left laying on the couch. "No," she realized as she felt her legs give out from under her.
"What! Clem, talk to me."
"I'm not okay," mumbled Clem as she struggled to stand up, both her head and her radio feeling like they weighed a ton each. "They poisoned me," continued Clem, her grip so weak she could barely keep the radio's talk button pressed. "Whatever they say, don't believe them… they're liars," rambled Clem as she used her free hand to grab the counter. "There's two of them… a woman… and her daughter… stay away from them."
Clem could feel her whole body going numb as she managed to pull herself onto the counter. She could see her guns lying just ahead, almost within arm's reach. She dropped the radio and used her other hand to drag herself closer to her weapons.
"Clem? Clem!" called Sarah from the radio. "I couldn't hear you, what did you just say?"
"I… promised…"
Clem placed one hand on her pistol and the other on its magazine. She struggled in vain to load the gun before a strong hand swatted it out of her grip. Looking up, Clem saw an infuriated Beth staring down at her, then she saw nothing as something was placed over her head. Clem felt her legs give out and she collapsed onto the floor. As she drifted off into unconsciousness, Clem found herself praying she didn't wake up this time.