Clementine clutched Omid tightly as she hurried up the stairs, both relieved and frightened to be allowed back in her own RV. Standing by the driver's seat was the green thief, a gun clutched their hand and their skull-shaped helmet practically mocking the girl.
"So, you two say you're on your own?" asked the green thief, making no effort to hide their skepticism. "Fucking prove it."
"How?" asked Clem.
"Drive the RV," ordered the green thief. "If it really is just the two of you, that means one of you can drive this thing."
"Okay." Sarah sat down in the driver's seat, released the parking brake, and shifted the vehicle into drive.
"Hey!" The green thief aimed their gun at Sarah.
"You said drive," retorted the older girl.
"I didn't think you'd actually do it. Get up!"
"That's not fair!" said Clem.
"Fair? Who gives a shit about fair!" retorted the green thief. "I mean you two were out here, what, watching movies or some shit?" The thief gestured to the stack of DVD's on the counter. "And you're gonna—"
"Just knock it off already," said the red thief.
"Really? You're seriously—"
"You said if one of them knew how to drive you'd be convinced," reminded the red thief before turning to Sarah. "First place we find with any food, and I mean any, and you're getting off, and then we're moving on."
"Oh… okay," spoke a dismayed Sarah.
"And since you know so much about driving, you can take us there," reasoned the green thief as they sat down in the passenger's seat across from Sarah, their gun resting in their lap in a way that it was still aimed at the older girl.
"Where do I go?" asked Sarah.
"Just head north," said the green thief.
"We came here from the north," said Clem. "We already got everything at the nearest place north of here."
"We've been going south," said Sarah.
"There ain't shit south of here," said the green thief. "We were on the highway for over two days getting here, and there wasn't shit."
"Let's go east, towards the coast."
"No!" said Clem and Sarah nearly in unison.
"Why not?" asked the red thief.
"Savannah is on the coast," said Clem.
"So?" asked the red thief.
"You don't want to go there," insisted Clem.
"There are bad places near Savannah," added a nervous Sarah. "And bad people."
"Fine, what about west?" Nobody said anything. "Well, west it is." Sarah pushed down on the gas pedal and the Brave lurched forward. Clementine watched as they left the mall parking lot and returned to the road.
"I think we can get on the highway down the road," said Sarah. "There's an intersection at the bottom of the hill. We could probably go west from there."
"Do it," ordered the green thief.
"You." Clem looked up to see the red thief was aiming their gun at her again. "Sit on the couch, slowly." Clem inched towards the sofa and sat down, then adjusted her grip on Omid so that he was resting on her lap, taking some of the strain off her arms. The boy had seemed to settle, but still look distressed. Clem watched as the red thief sat down at the dining table across from the couch, keeping their gun aimed at Clem as they did.
"Everything will be just fine if you just sit there," said the red thief.
"For how long?" asked Clem.
"Until we get wherever we're going."
"But that could take hours."
"Then you'll be sitting there for hours."
"What if I have to go to the bathroom?"
"You hold it."
"What if I can't?"
"Then I guess we'll have to clean up our new couch, because you're not leaving that spot." Clem's eye drifted towards the bedroom door. Their guns were stored in a cabinet running over the bed. If she could think of a reason to get in there, she might have a chance to get them.
"Can I just put OJ to bed?" asked Clem, doing her best to sound pathetic, which wasn't hard given the circumstances. "It'll only—"
"No," said the red thief.
"Pleeeaaasse," begged Clementine in her most pitiful voice. "I—"
"I said no!" Omid started murmuring softly in response to the red thief's yelling, prompting Clem to try and comfort him. Their two attackers kept still in their seats, their guns aimed at each girl, and there was nothing to suggest that was going to change anytime soon. With nowhere to go, Clementine simply resigned herself to her fate, at least for the time being.
An awkward silence fell over the vehicle, with the noise of the Brave's engine fading from notice after a few miles. Clementine would occasionally glance out the windshield, seeing only open highway ahead of them. She didn't know where they were going, but she wasn't eager to get there. The Brave was Clem's home, and yet it didn't belong to her now, it belonged to her captors, meaning they would lose their home as soon as the thieves found somewhere to stop.
Occasionally glancing at the pair, Clementine noticed they appeared tied. Despite their outfits concealing their whole bodies, their posture showed a lot of signs of fatigue. They were both hunched over in their seats, their guns merely resting in their laps in a way that remained aimed at their targets, their heads hanging low. The red thief would also occasionally use their free hand to tug at their helmet, almost like they wanted to take it off.
"Why… why do you have to take our RV?" asked a nervous Clem.
"Why?" scoffed the green thief. "Why do you think? We're sick of walking everywhere. Plus, this thing is like a mobile… home."
Clem scowled at hearing the word home. "I just mean, why not take something else? Why do you have to take our home?"
"Kid, have you even tried starting a car lately?" asked the red thief. "None of them work."
"None of them?" asked Clem in disbelief.
"None of the ones we've tried lately," said the red thief. "This is the first running vehicle we've seen in a long time."
"It's probably the batteries."
The red thief looked over at Sarah. "Batteries?"
"There's stuff in most cars, like the clock, that keeps draining the battery even when they're off," explained Sarah. "And if no one uses the car for a really long time, that means the battery will die because it was never recharged."
"What do you mean recharged?" asked the green thief. "How does driving a car recharge the battery?"
"Not driving, just starting the engine," explained Sarah. "While the engine is going, it powers the alternator, which charges the battery."
"Is that why you would start the Brave every two weeks when we lived in Spokeston?" asked Clem.
"It was one of the reasons," answered Sarah.
"Well whatta know, you learn something new every day," quipped the red thief as they turned away from Sarah.
"Well, maybe we could help you fix a car," suggested Clem "Or even another RV, and—"
"Or maybe you could just fix one yourself," the green thief said to Clem. "Seeing as she's apparently an expert."
"I'm not an expert," insisted Sarah. "I just spent a day with a mechanic once and he taught me some things, but I don't know a lot about cars."
"Which means you probably couldn't fix one," challenged the green thief.
"Well, probably not," admitted Sarah.
"Which means your friend's offer was just a bunch of bullshit." Clem suddenly felt uneasy as she saw that green skull glaring in her direction.
"I could try," offered Sarah. "If we get a battery from a store, one that wasn't hooked up to a car, maybe—"
"Maybe you can try that after we drop you off," finished the red thief.
Clementine sighed quietly to herself, realizing there was little chance of negotiating with her captors to let them keep the Brave. Looking up at the red thief, Clem noticed they were tugging at their helmet again.
"So," said Clem, trying to force herself to make conversation. "Were you living at that mall?"
"What?" snapped the red thief as they jerked their head in Clem's direction.
"I was just wondering… were you two living at that mall?" clarified Clem.
"Mall?" asked the red thief.
"There were people living in that mall we were parked in front of."
"Shit really?" asked the green thief as they spun around in their chair, sounding frightened. "Are they gonna come after us?"
"Um…" Clem wondered if she could somehow use this to scare them into giving up the Brave. "Well—"
"If they do, we'll be long gone before they know where to look."
Clem sighed in response to the red thief's reasoning. "I meant, they lived there a long time ago," explained Clem, thinking there was little to gain by lying to them, at least about this. "I was just wondering if you were with them or something."
"We didn't even know where the hell we were when we found you two," said the red thief.
"And we ain't with anyone but each other." The green thief spun around so they could keep their gun aimed at Sarah. "Anytime there was more, it just caused problems."
"What kind of problems?" asked Sarah.
"You don't know a woman named Cruz do you?" asked a nervous Clem.
"Or ever hear of somewhere called Shaffer's?" added Sarah. "Because—"
"Just watch the fucking road." As Clem turned away from Sarah and the green thief, she noticed the red thief messing with their helmet again.
"Where did you even get that thing?" asked Clem, disturbed by how oddly detailed the skull helmet appeared to be.
"Department store," answered the red thief.
"Really?" asked Clem. "That was at a store? Was it a Halloween costume?"
"No, it was with the paintball gear," said the red thief. "I think the leg stuff may have been hockey pads. And…" The red thief turned to the green one. "Do you remember what the arms are?"
"Hell if I remember," said the green thief. "I was just grabbing whatever looked the thickest."
"And all that stuff keeps you safe from the walkers?" asked Clem.
"Walkers?" said the red thief.
"The dead."
"Yeah. Those things can't bite through this stuff."
"Yeah, me neither."
"Huh?" The green thief spun around to look at Clem.
"I bit your hand, or tried to," reminded Clem.
"You did?" asked the green thief.
"You didn't feel it?" asked Clem.
"No." The green thief spun back towards Sarah.
"Does that mean you don't have to worry about lurkers when you wear that stuff?" asked Sarah.
"Of course we worry about them," said the green thief. "Just because they can't bite through it doesn't stop them from trying to. And the damn things will swarm you if they get the chance."
"How the hell do you two deal with them?" asked the red thief. "I mean even with this shit, we can barely handle them." The red thief tugged at their helmet again. "And it doesn't help this shit is heavy and hot and a pain in the ass."
"Why not take it off for now?" suggested Clem. "There's no walkers in here." The thieves turned to look at Clem, those sinister skulls staring at the small girl, then turned away.
"Right now…" said the red thief. "I'd feel more comfortable if I left it on." Another silence fell over the area, lasting for what felt like a small eternity. Clem merely stared at the floor, trying to think of some kind of plan, but nothing came to mind. She was nearly startled when she heard Omid crying softly. Adjusting her grip on him, she smelled something familiar.
"Oh no, not now," said Clem.
"What?" asked the red thief.
"He needs… changing," said Clem.
"Changing?" repeated the red thief.
"His diaper."
"Oh…" Clem just stared at her captor, trying to figure out what if anything they were thinking.
"Just let me change him," said Clem. "I've got diapers in the bedroom. It would—"
"No," dictated the green thief.
"It'd only take a minute," said Clem.
"A minute you could use to scrounge up something to use against us," reasoned the red thief.
"I'm not going to do anything but change his diaper," insisted Clem, unsure if that was a lie or not. "Please?"
"Christ…" groaned the red thief as they stood up. "Fine, let's get this over with."
"Hey, what—"
"I'll watch her and make sure that's all she's doing." The red thief approached Clem. "Go on, lead the way." Clementine stood up and carried Omid into the bedroom, the red thief following close behind her. She laid the baby out on the bed, then rubbed her arms.
"What are you doing?" asked the red thief.
"My arms hurt," said Clem. "From holding him for so long." As Clem massaged her arms, trying to numb the pain, she looked up at the cabinet over the bed. Her pistol and Sarah's rifle were in there, but it was too far for her to rush over without the red thief noticing in time to stop her.
"Come on, you said you had to change the kid." Sensing an opportunity, Clem slowly climbed onto the bed. "What are you doing?"
"Getting the stuff to change him," said Clem as she approached the cabinet.
"Slowly!" The thief's order halted Clem's hand; her attacker was no less suspicious now than before. And hearing the sound of Omid crying softly on the bed, Clem pulled her hand back, realizing she'd be risking her life and his for an empty gun that probably wouldn't even do her any good right now.
"What are you doing?" asked the red thief as Clem climbed down from the bed.
"I forgot, we just left them on the dresser." The girl approached a bag of supplies sitting on the dresser, but then felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Hold up." The red thief pawed through the bag. "What's this stuff?" The thief picked up a tube of ointment.
"It's stuff so he doesn't get a diaper rash," said Clem.
"I thought that was what baby powder is for?"
"Sarah read in a book that you shouldn't use baby powder because if the baby inhales the powder, it can make it hard for them to breathe, even hurt their lungs. So we use that stuff."
Red dropped the ointment, picked up the bag and handed it to Clem, who went to the bed. "So, you do this often?" asked the red thief as Clem spread out a blanket on the bed.
"Sarah does it more than me." Clementine rolled Omid onto the blanket. "But I do it a lot too."
"And, what, did your parents teach you how to do this?"
"One woman tried to tell us as much as she could before she died." Clementine unbuttoned Omid's onesie and removed it. "But most of it we had to figure out on our own, and are still figuring out." Clem grimaced as she looked at Omid's face, wet with tears and dried mucus caked around his nose. The girl removed a wet wipe from her supplies and gently dabbed his face with it, only for the thief to grab her wrist.
"Hey, you're just here to change him," said the red thief.
"I'm just cleaning him up," snarled Clem. "That's the least you could let me do after your friend grabbed his hair and pointed a gun at his head. He's not even one year old yet!"
"My partner couldn't actually shoot your baby," assured the red thief.
"You don't know that," accused Clem.
"Yeah, I do," stated the thief, as if it was just a simple fact.
"Yeah, well I didn't, and neither did the baby who I thought was about to get shot!" Clem glared at her captor, who simply released her wrist and took a step back. Her arm free now, Clem took a moment to clean up Omid's face, then undid the tabs on Omid's diaper.
"I think I'll just stand in the corner until you're done." The red thief moved away from Clem, leaving the girl with some privacy while she changed Omid. It was a task she had done dozens, if not hundreds of times by now. It was almost calming for Clem, doing something so familiar. At the very least, it took her mind off her troubles for a few minutes, which was the most she could hope for right now.
Clem tested the snugness of Omid's new diaper, then grabbed the onesie and dressed the boy. Looking at him, his eyes were half shut now and he looked dead tired, his thumb stuck in his mouth. "You'll get to rest soon," assured Clem in a whisper. "Just be good a little longer and… and it'll be okay." Clementine kissed Omid's forehead, then went to get him a pacifier.
Turning around, Clem spotted her captor eyeing the photo album sitting on the dresser, flipping through the pages. Again, Clem wished she could see this person's face, but even still she could tell this interested the red thief. They flipped the pages slowly and carefully, and only after studying each one for a few seconds. Finally they reached the front cover, and then after a short pause, shut the album and turned around.
"I'm done changing him," informed Clem. "I just wanted to get his pacifier."
"Where is it?" asked the red thief.
"In the pouch, on the stroller." Clem pointed to the folded up stroller sitting in the corner. The red thief approached the stroller and fished out a small blue pacifier.
"Here." The red thief handed the pacifier to Clem, who returned to Omid. Clem gently slid Omid's thumb out of his mouth, prompting him to pout a little, but then slipped the pacifier in its place, which seemed to put him at ease. Clementine collected the tired boy in her tired arms and turned to her captor.
"So, you done?" asked the red thief.
"Yeah."
The red thief's head turned towards the album. "What is that?"
"A photo album," said Clem.
"There's only one photo, everything else is drawings."
"We didn't have a camera, so we don't have any photos of them," shrugged Clem. "So we just kinda made our own pictures."
"Of who?"
"Of everyone we used to care about," informed a saddened Clem.
"What… what happened to them?"
"The same thing that happens to everybody," shrugged Clem. "And the same thing that will eventually happen to me I guess, and OJ too." Clementine clutched Omid close to her chest and walked back into the living room. She took her place on the couch, the red thief shuffling behind her before returning to their place near the dining table.
Seeing more empty road ahead of them, Clementine elected to close her eyes. She didn't know what if anything she could do to get these people out of the RV. Her only chance to get their guns was likely gone, and it was a slim chance to begin with, and for guns that didn't even have bullets. These people were both stronger than Clem, and Sarah too probably, and their padding means they probably couldn't even hurt them if they got a knife. With no solutions coming to mind, Clem simply drifted off to the sound of the road passing them by, falling into a trance until she heard someone's voice again.
"Here, stop here." Clem opened her eyes. She didn't know how long she had been resting but her head felt light and it was dark out now. Looking out the window, she saw a gas station through the Brave's windshield, along with what looked like more buildings in the distance. "All right, this will do." The green thief shut off the ignition and removed the keys. "Go, sit on the couch with your friend."
Sarah did as instructed, taking a seat next to a weary Clem. "How do you know there's any food in there for us?" asked a nervous Sarah.
"I'll go check it out," said the green thief. "And if there are any scraps to be found, then this is your new home."
"Just… just like that?" asked Sarah in disbelief.
"Yes!" The green thief set the keys in front of the red one. "Be ready to get out of here in case there's some nasty shit waiting outside for me." The red thief stood up and took the keys while the green thief went to the door. "You hear two knocks, that means open the damn door." The green thief put their gun in a holster and removed a long knife and a flashlight from their belt. "You don't hear that, keep the damn thing shut."
"I hear ya." The green thief took one last look at the red one, then unlocked the door and flung it open. The green thief charged outside, and the red one slammed the door and locked it behind them. The red thief hastily returned to their seat across from the couch and aimed their gun at the girls. They seemed to struggle to keep their arm in the air, as if fatigue was getting the better of them. Growing indifferent to the sight of having a gun aimed at her, Clem turned to Sarah, who was clearly on the verge of tears.
"It's… it's going to be okay Sarah," assured Clem, trying to conceal her own fear.
"I… I guess," shrugged Sarah. "The first thing we need to do is find a building or room or something we can lock to keep lurkers out, then food, and formula for Omid, and…" Clem's heart sank as she watched Sarah desperately trying to hold back her sadness, making pitiful little cries while covering her face with her hands.
"It'll be all right," repeated Clem, desperately trying not to cry herself. She wanted to reach out to touch Sarah, but her arms were occupied. "Could you take OJ for a second, my arms are really tired."
"Sure…" Sarah carefully took Omid from Clem's arms and clutched him closely. Watching Sarah comfort a half-asleep Omid as he sucked on his pacifier, Clem felt the urge to move closer to them. She inched in right next to Sarah and wrapped her arm around the older girl.
"You… you know, he stood up on his own," informed Clem.
"What?" asked a surprised Sarah. "When?"
"Earlier, he grabbed hold of the chair in front of the dining table and then he pulled himself up without any help from me. I didn't even tell him to do it, he just crawled over to the chair and did it because he wanted to."
Sarah turned to look at the nearly sleeping boy in her arms. "Is that true?" she asked in a sweet voice. "You stood up all by yourself?"
"It's true," smiled Clem.
"Did he take his first steps?"
"He tried but he fell over. He was about to try again…"
"And?"
"Well, that's when I went outside to get you, and…" Clem glanced over at her captor, then turned back to Sarah. The older girl sighed and looked down at the floor.
"You… you two really were alone." Clem looked up at the red thief.
"Yeah, just like I told you," shrugged an uninterested Clementine. "But you didn't believe us."
"It's… it's just hard for me to wrap my mind around it," admitted the red thief. "I mean, you two weren't alone this whole time. You had parents at some point, right?"
"My mom and dad died right after things changed," recounted a saddened Clementine. "A man took care of me for a few months, but then he died…"
"My mom died when I was a baby. And my dad died not long after I met Clementine," sniffled Sarah.
"Your mom and dad?" asked the red thief. "You two aren't related?"
"No. We're just friends," informed Clem.
"And the baby?" asked the thief. "Is he your brother or hers?"
"Neither," said Sarah.
"Neither?"
"He's the baby of a couple of people who took care of me after the man I used to know died. OJ's dad died a couple of weeks before he was born, his mom died right after he was born," explained Clem.
"When was this?" asked the red thief.
"Months, over half a year now. That was the last time anyone was taking care of us," said Clem. "We told OJ's mom we'd take care of him for her just before she died."
"Then why are the hell are you wasting gas on a generator just to watch movies, and dressing up like you're having a party?" asked the thief, sounding almost disappointed in Clem. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"I just wanted to do something fun for once," sobbed Clem. "For like a month now, all we've done is look for food. We go some place, we kill the walkers, we check everywhere, take any food left, break into a gas station to get more diesel, then just do it all over again," Clementine tried to explain through her choked cries as tears ran down her face.
"And today Sarah was getting upset because no matter how much we find, it's not enough to last very long, and I saw that mall, and I just thought it'd make us both feel better if we did something fun… just for one day… and now we're going to lose everything because of me."
"Don't say that Clem," spoke a sympathetic Sarah. "You've done a great job. This… this was just bad luck. We had some good luck for a while but… I guess it couldn't last forever."
The thief watched as tears streaked both girls' faces and onto the carpet. Omid started to cry as well, prompting Clem to hastily wipe her face.
"It's okay, it's okay. I'm okay," Clem said to Omid, trying to swallow her sadness the best she could. "I'm not crying. We'll… we'll be okay. We'll be okay," assured Clem with whatever little strength she had left as she gently ran her fingers through Omid's hair.
Two loud knocks came from the door. The red thief sprung out of their seat and unlocked the door, allowing the green thief to dart inside.
"What's the deal?" asked the red thief as they locked the door.
"Just a couple of living dead, which I took care of," said the green thief as they sheathed their knife and pocketed their flashlight. "And there's still some shit in there that's edible, which probably means there's more in the area." The green thief removed their gun from their holster. "Last stop, everyone off," they said as they aimed their gun at the girls.
"Can't we just get some of—"
"No," dictated the green thief.
"You didn't—"
"I said—"
"Stop it," ordered the red thief in a stern voice.
"Stop what?" scoffed the green thief. "You didn't want to leave them high and dry, and we're not. Now—"
"We're not taking their RV."
"What?"
"You're not?" asked Sarah.
"Yes, we are!" declared the green thief. "Now get up, and—"
"Why don't you sit down!" The red thief shoved the green one into the passenger seat.
"What the fuck is wrong with you!"
"You not listening, that's what's wrong!"
"What the hell's gotten into you? You really gonna give this thing up, for them?"
"If you had fucking listened to me, and just talked to them first—"
"Fuck you and your fucking talking!" screamed the green thief, sounding almost hysterical. "Do you remember what happened last time we tried talking to someone?"
"Look, I know—"
"No, no you don't," dictated the green thief in a growl. "You have no idea what it was like."
The red thief sighed. "Look, this isn't like that time though."
"We didn't know that, and I wasn't willing to take that risk," retorted the green thief.
"When we unplugged the generator, yeah, but once that older girl came out we knew this was different. We—"
"We what? Could have walked off? Or asked them to help us?" suggested the green thief in a mocking tone. "Because I don't remember you suggesting anything then, and I didn't force you to do shit. You practically jumped when I said we could get everyone out of this thing by taking the older girl hostage. And you were just fine with ripping off this RV and leaving kids in the cold until you found out we'd only being leaving kids in the cold."
"Well that kinda makes a difference!"
"Does it? If they had been a few years older, then it would suddenly be okay to steal from them?"
"Well, no, but…"
"But then they couldn't bat their big eyes at you, you fucking sap. That's the only fucking difference."
"They have a god damn baby, that changes things."
"How? There were millions of babies before shit hit the fan. I don't see you getting misty eyed for any of them dying. You gonna fuck us both over for one that probably won't last much longer than the rest of them?
"I'm… I'm not taking their RV."
"So what then? Because I doubt they're gonna let us stick around after what we did, and I sure as shit wouldn't want to share a vehicle with a couple of people who have every reason to want to get back at me." The red thief sighed loudly as the green one stood up. "Are you really willing to go back out there? Because there's the door, but you were the one always saying how we needed to find some working wheels, and now we got some, a fucking palace on wheels, and you want to give that up?"
Clementine felt her heart in her throat as she watched the person in the red armor. Their head was hanging low as they looked at the door.
"Why don't you go take a good look outside if you think this is such a great idea?" suggested the green thief. "Out there, it's dark, it's dangerous, and it's fucking everywhere, and you're saying you want to go back out in it?" Clem kept watching the one in red for any signs of what they were thinking, but found none. Slowly the red thief turned back to their partner.
"If we don't take this, you'll regret it, and immediately." The green thief took a step towards the red one. "But just tell them to walk out that door, and you won't regret that."
"I won't?" repeated the red thief, clearly insulted by the green one's characterization.
"Not nearly as long as you'll regret leaving this thing behind. Even with it, we're still gonna have to fight off the living dead everywhere we go but at least we can get to them before we collapse of hunger on the side of the road. And all we have to do is just take off right now, and within in a week, probably within an hour, you'll have forgotten all about these kids.
You give this up for them, and you'll regret it every step of the way we're stuck walking down the highway, just desperately hoping there will be something we can eat and we can even get to in the next town so we don't starve to death before we have to do this whole thing all over again."
Clem tightened her grip on Sarah, dreading that they were seconds away from the fate the green thief was describing.
"And you won't stop regretting it until the day we find something like this again, not something we want but something we fucking need. And if we're both lucky enough to even survive until that day comes, the day another answer to all our problems just announces itself to us from a mile away, then are you going to tell me whoever the fuck is in there needs it more than us that time too? Huh? Because I know you, and I know you won't."
"I…" The red thief looked in Clem's direction, seeing the younger girl practically quaking in front of them as her best friend clutched their baby for dear life. Clementine felt her heart in her throat as the red thief slowly turned back to their partner. "Next time…"
"Next time what?" asked the green thief.
"Next time, I'll tell you we need it more… but not this time."
"Come on, you can't be—"
"I'm not taking their RV. And that means you're not taking it either."
"Would you just look at this thing!" pleaded the green thief in desperation.
"I am," answered the red thief. "They're just kids. They'd probably starve without it. They need this thing."
"We're just kids! We're starving!" argued the green thief. "We need it!"
"They need it more."
"Do they?"
"Yeah, they do," stated the one in red, as if it was just a simple fact. "So come on already." The green thief just seemed to stare at the person in the red armor.
"What if I say I'm not leaving?" Clementine watched anxiously as the green thief's hand seemed to move to their knife. "Then what? You gonna force me out."
The person in red's gaze tilted slightly, as if they saw the green thief going for the knife. Clem tried to think of what to do if these two people tried to kill each other, but then the person in red took a couple of steps forward, moving so close towards the green thief that their helmets were practically touching.
"The real question is," said the person in red. "Are you going to kill me, just for this RV?" Clem watched the green's thief's hand, just waiting for the moment it would pull that knife. "Because I know you too, and I know you don't want to be alone, even if it meant getting this RV."
"You… you…" Clementine watched as the green thief let go of their knife. "Goddammit…"
"Come on already," said the person in red as they moved towards the door.
"I… No! I'm not leaving empty-handed!" declared the green thief as they hastily backed away from the door. "You… you said they got a shit load of food in that closet right? You and I are taking whatever we can carry."
"Would you just—"
"They got this RV, they can just go somewhere else. We'll need whatever we can get in case things here don't work out," argued the green thief. "Come on, don't tell me we did all of this for nothing?"
"Well…" The person in red sighed and turned towards Clementine. "It okay if we take some of your food for the road?"
"I… I guess it's okay." Clementine didn't really feel like it was okay, but if telling them it was meant they would leave, she was willing to sacrifice some supplies.
"Give me your bag." The person in red removed their backpack and handed it to the one in green. "Now watch them while I fill up." Clementine watched as the person in green moved to the closet and pulled the door open. Seeing them take her and Sarah's hard earned supplies felt sickening, each item packed away feeling like a tiny defeat, especially when they took one of the bags of white rice Clem found earlier today. The person in green zipped up the red one's pack and immediately started stuffing their own pack, emptying the entire top shelf of canned goods and bottled water, then packing the other bag of rice on top.
"All right, that should hold us over for a little while." The person in green handed the pack back to the one in red, who struggled slightly in putting it back on. "And you two better get out of here. This is our territory now. Everything around here is ours? You understand?"
"We understand," answered a nervous Sarah.
"Come on, before I change my mind." The one in green hurried out the door, while the one in red removed the Brave's keys from their pocket. They stared at them for a moment, then tossed them onto the dining room table.
Sarah passed Omid back to Clem while the one in red slowly descended the stairs back outside. Sarah grabbed the keys while Clementine set Omid on the couch. Moving to the door, Clem watched as the person in red stepped out and onto the road. As they walked away from the RV, Clem carefully moved down to the bottom step and grabbed the door. Just then, the person in red spun around and Clem felt a chill shoot up her spine as the ominous skull glared directly at her.
"Hey…" The person in red looked away for a moment, the turned back to Clem. "I'm… I'm sorry." Even through the helmet, Clementine could hear the sincerity in their apology. "For whatever little that's worth." The one in red shrugged at the girl, then turned away. As they headed towards the nearby gas station, Clementine found she couldn't close the door just yet.
"Use the smell."
The red one stopped in their tracks. "What?" they asked as they turned around.
"The walker smell," clarified Clementine. "If you cover yourself in their guts, and smell like them, they won't try to bite you as long as you're quiet and aren't bleeding."
"Seriously?" Clementine nodded softly at the individual in the patchwork armor, then hastily slammed the door and locked it.
"Sarah drive!"
Sarah quickly sat down and started the engine while Clem rushed to collect Omid from the couch. The older girl wasted no time putting the vehicle in drive while Clem sat down in the passenger seat. As they sped off down the road, Clementine spotted the image of the person in red in the side view mirror. They just stood there in the distance, before being swallowed by the darkness.