"So what did you say this place used to be?" asked Clementine as she pulled some loose boards from a pile.

"Well the building behind you used to be a flea market, and I think the one across from it was… also a flea market, but that was ages ago," said Deacon as he started arranging wood into a fire pit. "This area use to be for new people to settle and meet."

After leaving Rhonda's house, Deacon had given directions for Sarah to bring them to this area right off the main road. There were two very short old buildings that created a wide alley that led to more old buildings nestled in a heavily worn paved lot. Centered in the middle of it was a huge fire pit made from cinderblocks and on each end of the alley were an assortment of mismatched chairs and stools that had been left exposed to the elements for far too long.

Other than crickets chirping in the distance, it was eerily quiet. The sun had nearly set now and the first stars of the coming night sky had already emerged. The air was cool but not cold, making for a fine evening to spend outside. After tossing another board into the fire pit, Clem stopped briefly to examine one of the buildings creating the alley.

"The flea malls here were hollowed out, turned into a kind of shelter if you will, where people used to sleep," explained Deacon.

Standing on a chair to peer through one of the windows, Clementine could see a disorganized collection of old blankets, pillows, and sheets arranged in-between shelves inside. There were other things scattered across the floor like books, old shirts, and empty cans, with a thin layer of dust coating everything she looked at.

"There hasn't been anyone new around these parts in a long time," said Deacon as he cleaned a small metal grate with a rag.

"Why not?" asked Clem as she approached Deacon.

"I guess there just ain't many people left at this point," shrugged Deacon. "You and your friend are the first ones I've seen in over a month. And I can't even remember how long it was before Patty that I saw someone new." Deacon stopped cleaning the grate. "Had to be before winter, but when… I'm not sure. So little happens here now is just sort of blurs together." Deacon placed the grate over the fire pit as Sarah emerged from the Brave, Omid clutched in her arms.

"Hey OJ," smiled Clem as Sarah brought the boy closer.

"Say hi Omid," prompted Sarah. "Say hi to Clementine."

"Muh-meh," said Omid.

"I think I got everything we'll need, can you just watch him for a few minutes while I get it ready?" asked Sarah.

"Sure." Clem took Omid from Sarah. "Who's our big boy?"

"Dah-bah," said Omid.

"That's right, you are," said Clem.

"Deacon, you said you needed this?" asked Sarah as she held out a lighter.

"Thanks." Sarah returned to the Brave while Deacon tried lighting the fire pit.

"Are you sure this is good to eat?" asked Clem as she approached the wrapped fish sitting in a chair. Studying it carefully, Clem saw that it had been sliced nearly in half and folded open, almost like a clam shell.

"Sure it is, you could eat it right now if you wanted," said Deacon as he fanned the flames in the fire pit.

"I could?"

"It's already dried and salted; cooking it just makes it taste better." Deacon collected the fish and brought it to the fire pit.

"Rhonda said she doesn't trust them," said Clem as she followed Deacon back to the fire pit, Omid clutched in her arms.

"I eat fish all the time and I'm okay." Deacon flipped the fish over and set it on the metal grate, revealing the dark red meat tucked inside. "And cooking it kills germs too, so it should be fine."

"Ohhh." Omid tried pulling free of Clementine's grip.

"What is it OJ?" Clem looked down to see the infant stretching his hands out towards the modest fire in front of him. "You don't want to touch that Omid, it'll hurt you."

"Tah-tah," said Omid, clearly unconcerned with Clem's warning.

"I guess he's never seen a fire before," said Deacon.

"No he has. The first place we stayed had a fireplace and he wanted to touch it too. Ever since we left there though we've just been living in the Brave, so this is the first fire he's seen in a long time."

"He's… he's the first baby I've seen in a long time," commented Deacon. "Have you and your friend really been taking care of him this whole time?"

"Since he was born," said Clem.

"You never had any help?"

"His mother gave us as much advice as she could, before she died…"

"That's something else. I can barely take care of myself. I'd probably be dead if I hadn't found this place when I had." Deacon took a breath. "You told Patty your parents were dead, is that…"

"What do you think?" shrugged Clem.

"I'm sorry," said Deacon.

"Sarah's are too. It's just been us for months now."

"I don't know how you do it."

"We had a lot of good people teach us some important things, and we had a lot of luck when we first started living together." Clem sighed. "But we haven't met many good people or had much luck lately, which is why we came to this place."

"People here are all right, and hopefully you'll have better luck here too."

Clem watched as Sarah emerged from the Brave, precariously carrying three plates towards the fire pit. "Here you go." Sarah handed Clem a plate that contained a chunk of jellied cranberry, an orange sliced into two halves, a pile of roasted cashews, and a stack of peas.

"I brought a knife for Deacon to cut the fish when it's done. And I have forks and spoons for—" Clem immediately bit into the orange, not even bothering to peel it first. That sweet succulence oozing into her mouth as she chewed on the fruit was heavenly; for a brief moment the entire world just seemed to disappear from the girl's mind. Clem hadn't eaten anything fresh since leaving Spokeston, and she couldn't even remember the last time she tasted an orange, but tasting it now she never wanted to go without it again.

"Mah-bah," said Omid as he reached for the orange in Clem's hand.

"You want to try some OJ?" asked Clem.

"Hold on, I made this special for him." Sarah removed Omid's sippy cup from her pocket. Looking at it, Clem could see it was filled with an orange liquid.

"You made him juice?" asked Clem.

"It was hard without a squeezer, but I wanted Omid to try it." Clementine took the sippy cup and offered it to Omid.

"You ready for your first Thanksgiving treat?" teased Clem.

"Mah-bah," said Omid.

"Here you go." Omid took the sippy cup and started drinking.

"Now don't give him too much, he might be allergic and—" Omid tilted his head back and juice started dripping down his face. "Wait, Omid." Sarah tried taking the cup back, but Omid wouldn't let go. He drank every drop he could and kept sucking on the sippy cup for more.

"He… he loves it," realized Clem.

"Mah-bah! Mah-bah!" chanted Omid as he shook the empty cup.

"OJ likes OJ." Clem looked at Sarah, and they both started laughing.

"Glad to see someone still likes the taste of oranges," said Deacon.

"You don't?" asked Clem as she cleaned off Omid's face.

"You tend to like something a lot less when you literally eat it every day," said Deacon as he looked at his orange. "But I suppose I should be grateful for the orchard. I've heard a lot of stories of people going hungry outside of Valkaria."

"People don't go hungry here?" asked Sarah as she peeled an orange.

"Well anyone who works with Chilton doesn't. Between Mack's orchard and Leonard fishing, there's enough food for everyone who pitches in."

"What if you don't pitch in?" asked Clem.

"You gotta find food on your own I guess," shrugged Deacon. "People use to go out and do it all the time in the old days, and sometimes they'd come back here and share a little with the others if they found a lot. It used to be there was a fire out here and enough to go around every few nights. But now… this is the first time I remember doing this since the summer. It's nice."

"Yeah, it is," smiled Sarah before biting into her orange.

"Remember the last time we did this?" Clem asked Sarah.

"Did what?"

"You know, just sat around a fire and talked and ate," said Clem. "We were in that church and I said I wanted to go to Florida because I was sick of being cold all the time."

"Oh yeah, you did say that," said Sarah. "And now we're actually here."

"It felt like it was years ago, but it hasn't even been one year yet," said Clem. "And didn't you say you wanted to go somewhere too?"

"I think maybe I said Kansas, to grow food or something?" recalled Sarah. "I don't know why I said that. And I think Nick said he wanted to go to Wyoming for some reason?"

"I know Christa wanted to go home to California," said Clementine. "Deacon, is there anywhere you want to go?"

"I don't know. I've lived in Florida my whole life, before and after those things showed up," shrugged the young man. "You'd probably have to chase me out at this point."

A slight rustling sounded from around the corner. Everyone jumped out of their seats, Clem gripping Omid tightly as she felt herself instinctively moving towards the Brave. As she reached the door, she saw what caused the rustle.

"Ah hell, it must have smelled the fish." A mangy old alley cat came sauntering towards the fire pit, meowing slowly and loudly as it approached.

"Oh wow," said Sarah as she studied the animal.

"Ohh. Pah-buh-dah," babbled Omid as he tried to stretch out to touch the cat. The feline prowler looked towards the baby in Clem's arms, revealing its mismatched eyes; one a reddish-brown, the other a dark green. It purred softly as it approached Clem and Omid, then yelled out as flaming board landed in front of it.

"Go on, get out of here!" yelled Deacon as he swatted at the cat, which took off screeching into the night.

"Deacon, what did you do that for?" asked Sarah.

"The damn things are just pests," said Deacon as he threw the board back into the fire.

"Cats?" asked Clem.

"Yeah, cats," answered Deacon. "They sulk around all over Valkaria, digging through garbage and looking for handouts. They're just a nuisance."

"The walkers don't get them?" asked Clem.

"Apparently not, at least not the ones that are left. They're always quick to get away if something chases after them, and they can climb too," grumbled Deacon. "I wish we still had dogs around, but they'd always bark at those things which would just make them attack the dogs. Poor things didn't know to stay quiet."

"That cat had eyes like yours," noted Clem.

"Like mine?" asked Deacon.

"They didn't match. You've got like two different eye colors."

"Oh, that. I have heterochromia."

"What's that?" asked Clem.

"A fancy way of saying you have different colored eyes," shrugged Deacon. "Well, if cats are poking around, that fish has to be done." Deacon took the knife Sarah had given him and start slicing the now fully browned meat off the cooked fish. Clem couldn't help thinking about a Thanksgiving turkey as Deacon carved meat off the bone.

"That smells really good," said Sarah.

No sooner had Deacon placed a piece of fish on Clem's plate than she had popped in her mouth. It was warm, hearty, and had just the right amount of salt to make it the perfect entree for their dinner. "This is so good," raved Clem as she slowly chewed the fish, savoring the flavor. "You want some OJ?" suggested Clem as she tore off the smallest piece of fish she could.

"Mah-bah." Clem fed the morsel to the boy, who happily chomped and gummed at it with great enthusiasm.

"I used to live in a cabin in the woods, and almost all we ate was fish after all while," said Clem. "I was so sick of it. But this…"

"Yeah, Leonard is a hell of a fisherman," said Deacon as he piled more meat onto everyone's plates. "And he knows how to dry the fish so they'll stay good for a long time too," explained Deacon as he took a bite of the fish himself. "That's why Chilton put him in charge of fishing."

"Who is Chilton?" asked Sarah before chewing on a piece of meat.

"Yeah, Rhonda mentioned someone named Chilton too," added Clem.

"Elizabeth Chilton. She and a bunch of others from Orlando came here after things got bad, worked with Tanner to keep things from getting out of hand. In the early days, there were always fires to put out; people stealing from each other, bandits rolling into town, plus those horrible things walking around. But Chilton kept people calm and Tanner dealt with the ones who made trouble."

"How did he deal with them?" asked a concerned Clem.

"Chilton and him agreed to a bunch of rules for Valkaria and Tanner carried them out. If someone was a killer he'd… he'd kill them."

Clem felt a chill shoot up her spine when she heard Deacon say that. "Anyone who killed someone?" asked Clem. "I mean, what if it was an accident?"

"I'd reckon that makes little difference to Tanner," shrugged Deacon.

"But what if someone else was going to hurt you?" asked Sarah. "Tanner would still kill someone even if they had to kill someone?"

"Well that's what Chilton's for. She always makes sure Tanner ain't got the wrong man or something first," said Deacon. "And they don't kill you just for stealing or whatnot. I wouldn't worry about it. You two aren't going to start any trouble."

Clem looked down at her plate and saw the cranberry jelly. She took her spoon and scooped up a mouth full. "You know," said Clem as she chewed the jelly, letting the smooth and fruity substance tease her tastebuds. "This is really good."

"Of course it is," said Sarah as she took a spoonful herself. "What were you expecting?"

"I don't know, I don't think I've ever eaten it before," said Clem as she scooped up some more jelly.

"Never?" asked Sarah.

"My mom would always put this stuff out every Thanksgiving and I'd never try it," said Clem as she ate another spoonful. "I only got it from Rhonda because I remember having it every Thanksgiving."

"Hell, the cranberry jelly was always one of my favorite things to eat at Thanksgiving," said Deacon as he dug into his plate.

"Not mine, I'd always eat everything else first, and then I was too full to eat any cranberry."

"Too full…" Sarah sighed.

"Yeah, that's a problem we're never gonna have to worry about again," noted Deacon in a glib tone.

"You want to try the jelly?" Clem asked Omid.

"Bah-bree," cheered Omid as Clem fed him a tiny portion of cranberry.

"Are you sure we haven't caused any trouble?" asked Clem.

"Huh?" said Deacon.

"You said we won't cause trouble, but Rhonda was really mad at us for breaking the roadblock back in Titusville," noted Clem.

"Is that why she was yelling?" asked Sarah. "I could hear her from inside the Brave."

"Are you sure we're not going to get in trouble for that?" asked Clem.

"Nah. Unless she can prove you did something to her directly, like rob her, anything goes when you're out there as far as Tanner is concerned," assured Deacon. "I wouldn't worry too much about Rhonda, she's probably just mad because Chilton won't let her join the others on Paradise."

"Paradise?" asked Sarah.

"It's just this little island in the river, wouldn't take you more than an hour to walk from one side to the other," explained Deacon. "I've also heard it called Grant Island or Vacation Playground. I think Rhonda said it was a tourist attraction or something before. Chilton lives there along with almost everyone else."

"Almost?"

"Well, it's a small island, so she only lets people she thinks are really helpful stay there; anyone else would have to live here in town. Chilton also shares food with anyone who lives on her island. There used to be a lot of people competing to live there."

Clementine looked around at the empty chairs surrounding the fire. "But not anymore?"

"Some people got sick of waiting and left, usually chasing rumors that got passed around. Others got up to no good and Tanner had to kick them out. And some did get picked and are living in Paradise now," said Deacon. "Now all that's left is Mack's family at the orchard and Rhonda and Howard at their house. It's actually gotten pretty lonely on this side of the river."

"What about Patty?" asked Clem.

"Oh right, she got here a month ago and was trying to talk Chilton in letting her stay as Valkaria's mechanic, but they already have a mechanic on the island."

"How come Rhonda and Howard don't live there?"

"When things were first settling, Chilton wanted Rhonda to join Paradise, but Rhonda turned her down. You see, Chilton wanted Rhonda to share anything she got off the river with the others and Rhonda thought she and Howard would be better on their own. Now there's not much left to find around here and Chilton is getting Valkaria ready to grow their own food, Rhonda wants into Paradise, but Chilton doesn't need her now."

Clem scooped a handful of roasted cashews off her plate and popped them into her mouth, enjoying the savory crunch they produced. "Does Tanner get to stay in Paradise?"

"Well… I guess he could, but I think he likes it better on this side of the river," said Deacon. "Me and the other blue coats all sleep in a couple of buildings turned into bunks near the roadblocks and we get fish and oranges to eat, sometimes more if we're lucky. It's okay."

"Mah-bah." Omid tried taking a cashew out of Clem's hand.

"These are a little hard for you," said Clem as she popped the nut into her mouth. "I don't want you to choke. But here, have some more cranberry," said Clem as she fed the boy some more jelly.

"Why do you have that coat?" asked Sarah, gesturing to Deacon's blue jacket. "It has Tanner's name on it. Is it special?"

"They all do, it's how you know we're working for him," said Deacon.

"He put his name on all your coats?"

"Actually they're leftover from the business he used to run," said Deacon. "He painted over it, but just under his name it used to say 'heating and cooling." Deacon gestured to a spot on his jacket under Tanner's name. Clem could see there was a splotch there that didn't quite match the rest of the fabric. "I guess if he hadn't of done that it would look like we were running around fixing stuff that's useless now."

"Why do you work for him?" asked Clem.

"Well I gotta do something if I want to eat," shrugged Deacon. "I used to do odd jobs for anyone who needed help and they'd give me some food for my trouble. But like I said, people kept leaving one way or the other until there wasn't anyone left. I talked to Chilton and she said I should work with Tanner since he could use extra people. I'm actually kind of new at this."

"Is that why you don't have a gun?" asked Clem.

"Tanner says I'm not ready for one yet," said Deacon. "I wouldn't know what to do with it if I had one."

"Then how come he made you come out to meet us?" asked Clem. "Isn't that dangerous? Having to meet new people who might be bad, and with no gun?"

"Well yeah, but Tanner says it has to be done," shrugged Deacon. "And I can't do a whole lot, so I gotta do what he says."

"What about your parents?" Deacon's face sank after Clem asked that. "The same as ours." Deacon only nodded slightly in response to Clem's sympathy.

"My mom went back for my dad when one of those… things, bit him, and I just ran," admitted Deacon as he lowered his head in shame. "And I just kept running, until I found this place."

"That's horrible Deacon," professed a saddened Sarah.

"I know it was…" spoke Deacon in a quiet voice. "I could hear her screaming… but I kept running. I should have done something. I—"

"Don't do that," said Clem as she moved closer to Deacon, adjusting her grip on Omid. "Don't blame yourself for what you couldn't stop."

"I just… I don't know," said Deacon

"How come no one here is taking care of you?" asked Sarah.

"Well, Tanner—"

"That's not taking care of someone," insisted Clem. "He should be teaching you things, and not making you do dangerous stuff he should do."

"You two managed without anyone," noted Deacon.

"Only because we had to," said Clem. "And only after people did take care of us for a long time." Clem watched as Deacon just sat there quietly. "You want to hold OJ?"

"Oh, I probably shouldn't."

"Go ahead," said Clem as she held out Omid. "Holding him makes me feel better. And OJ never gets to meet new people."

"Well…" Deacon very carefully gripped Omid under his arms and moved him close to his face.

"Um… hi."

"Hah-bah?" asked Omid.

"So he doesn't talk yet?"

"Just baby talk," said Sarah.

"Muh-duh-bah," babbled Omid as he studied Deacon with great curiosity.

"He's really cute," said Deacon.

"Isn't he?" smiled Sarah.

"How old is he?" asked Deacon.

"Well, it's near the end of November, so he should be almost nine months old now." Clem watched as Omid reached out and grabbed Deacon's nose.

"He's… he's got my nose." Omid started giggling, prompting Clem, Sarah and Deacon to join in on the laughter. "Here, you should take him back now."

"No wait, let me get the camera." Sarah raced into the Brave and came rushing back out with her instamatic camera in hand. "Smile!" Deacon smiled as the camera flashed and Omid giggled as he held onto the young man's nose.

"I can't remember the last time someone took my picture," said Deacon. "Or anyone's picture."

"We only just found this a couple of days ago," said Sarah as she took the photo from the camera. "I almost forgot we had it just now."

Omid grabbed Deacon's hair and started tugging on it. "Ow! I think you should take him back now."

"Come here OJ," said Clem as she took care when prying the baby's hand away from the young man's hair.

"Ah-bruh-dah-pah," said Omid as Clem collected him in her arms.

"How come he's called OJ?" asked Deacon.

"His name is Omid Junior, after his dad," explained Sarah. "So his initials are OJ."

"I still can't believe it, just the two of you, raising a baby," said Deacon.

"It's hard," confessed Clem.

"I bet. I could never do that," said Deacon.

"You don't know that," said Sarah.

"Huh?"

"You don't know if you couldn't raise a baby," said the older girl. "Clem and I never thought we would raise a baby, and we're doing okay. We've done a lot of things I never thought we would do. You probably could too."

"I doubt it. I'll probably just be here for the rest of my life."

"You could always leave." Deacon looked at Clem after she said that, a subdued fright lurking behind his mismatched eyes.

"No, I… I couldn't."

"Why not?" asked Clem.

"I… I wouldn't even know where to start out there," stuttered Deacon. "I'd probably be dead in no time. I mean, you said you came here because it was bad out there."

"Yeah, but if things don't work out here, we'd leave," said Clem.

"I don't think I could ever do that," said Deacon.

"Well you don't know," said Sarah. "Maybe you would be okay."

"Two years ago I was still in the first grade, just waiting for Christmas break," said Clem as she looked up at the hundreds of twinkling stars that canvassed the night sky. "And now I'm here, with Sarah, taking care of OJ, and talking to you," said Clem as she looked at Deacon. "You can do a lot of things if the right people help you."

"How do you know if someone is the right person?" asked Deacon.

"Well—" A blinding light suddenly blanketed the fire pit.

"There you are!" Tanner burst out of an old truck parked beside the Brave and rushed towards Deacon.

"Tanner, I—" Tanner grabbed Deacon by the collar and pulled the young man off the ground.

"Save it you slacker," groused Tanner as he dragged Deacon back towards the truck. "Laying down on the job when you should be working. You're working in the orchard tomorrow as soon as the sun comes up!"

"He didn't do anything wrong." Tanner stopped and looked back at Clem, frightening the girl with his deathly scowl.

"You." Tanner pointed at Clem. "I don't want to hear another word out of you again as long as you're here. You understand me!"

Omid started crying in response to Tanner's yelling. "I… I understand," blurted out Clem.

"You understand what?" growled Tanner.

"I understand, sir," said Clem, practically forcing the words through her teeth.

"Good. Now don't forget it." Deacon got in Tanner's truck and the girls watched them drive away.

"Let's… let's get back inside," said Sarah as Clem tried to comfort a bawling Omid.

"Yeah." Clem brought Omid back into Brave while Sarah put out the fire and collected their plates and utensils.

"It's okay, It's okay. That bad man is gone now," said Clem as she set Omid in his crib. "I'll get you some orange juice, that'll make you feel better. I'll be right back."

Clem hurried back to the kitchen and grabbed an orange from the bin as Sarah put their plates in the sink.

"Do you have Omid's sippy cup?" asked Clem.

"Yeah." Sarah handed the cup to Clem. "I'll be glad once we're away from this place."

Clem looked at Sarah. "Away?"

"Yeah. We got the tire fixed, we should go, right?" said Sarah. "I mean, I would like it if Patty looked at the Brave too, but—"

"What about Deacon?" asked Clem. "We just got him in trouble."

"Well, what can we do about that?"

Clem pondered Sarah's question. "I don't know," she admitted. "But I don't want to leave yet."