Clementine clung to Patty as the cold wind whipped past her face. The pair had tried starting the motorcycle over a dozen times and were preparing to walk back before the vehicle finally seemed to take pity on them when Patty's last desperate turn of the key ignited the engine at long last. Even then, the drive back felt more like a slow march. They had found nothing in Mobile, nothing but more death and desolation, and now they'd have to return to what little home they had with nothing to show for their trip and no idea what they should do next.

Despite the lack of results, Clem felt herself growing excited as she could see a sign in the distance that read 'Alabama Fireworks World'. As they drew closer, Clem could see a familiar gas station just across from that sign, and then a big white RV with the word 'Brave' stamped on the front of it. The girl felt her heart skip a beat as the bike slowed down and Clem was so anxious to return home she leapt off the vehicle before it came to a complete stop and raced towards the Brave.

"You're back!" proclaimed Sarah as the RV's door burst open. "Are you okay? You two aren't hurt are you?"

"We're fine," assured Clem as she leapt into Sarah's arms. "We're okay. What about you? Did anything happen?"

"No, we've just been waiting for you to get back all day." Sarah hugged Clem as tightly as she could. "I missed you so much Clementine."

"Kem-men." Looking over Sarah's shoulder, Clem saw Omid standing at the top of the Brave's stairs, his big brown eyes practically sparkling at the sight of her. Clem let go of Sarah and ran over to the boy.

"Hey OJ," said Clem with a smile as scooped the toddler off the ground. "Did you miss me?"

"Kem-men," said the boy as he flashed Clem a mostly toothless smile.

"He's been saying that that for hours now," said Sarah. "I'd play with him for a while, but every time we finished he'd go look at the door and say that, like he was asking when you were coming home."

"I'm home now," said Clem as she hugged Omid. "And I won't be going anywhere anytime soon, I promise."

"Does that mean you didn't find anything in Mobile?" asked Sarah.

"Not a damn thing…" Clem looked over at Patty. She was leaning against her motorcycle with a sullen expression on her face and a cigarette hanging from her lips. Clementine sat down on the Brave's bottom step and set Omid in her lap as Sarah approached the woman.

"You really didn't find anything in a whole city?" asked the older girl.

"Just that whoever was left isn't there anymore," remarked Patty before taking a drag off her cigarette. "And that we shouldn't expect any help from the military."

"Why not?"

"Because apparently they're too busy fighting each other to help the rest of us," said Patty as she blew out a cloud of smoke. "Or maybe they're too busy fighting over who gets to kill the rest of us."

"Huh?"

"We found a tank, and a bunch of army trucks," said Clementine. "They had been shot by a bunch of other trucks that said Navy on them, like the Army and the Navy were fighting each other."

"Really? Why would they do that?" asked Sarah.

"I don't know, we didn't really feel like sticking around after seeing their handy work," grumbled Patty. "And Clem told me that apparently gasoline, fucking all of it, has a god damn expiration date."

"You didn't know that?"

Patty glared at Sarah. "No, I did not know that," the woman grumbled slowly through her teeth. "But now that I do, it means I need to ditch this bike and get something diesel powered." Patty sighed to herself and looked at the motorcycle before gently running her hand over its fine black finish.

"Well, we don't have to get rid of it now," reasoned Clem. "We could—"

"We barely got it back today," reminded Patty. "What if something was chasing us and we needed to make a quick getaway?"

"Well…"

"I know there was something wrong with it, but I always figured it was something I could fix…" Patty said in a quiet voice. "But that's not the case, unless you two also know of some way to fix gasoline?" Clem and Sarah shook their heads. "Yeah, then I need a new ride, and soon."

"And we probably should get a new generator," added Sarah with a hint of sadness. "It's just going to get worse too."

"Sorry to waste you two's time this morning getting me all that gas," said Patty as she stamped out what was left of her cigarette. "Might as well poured it down the drain for all the good it'll do us. Hell, I might do that right now. It's practically dead weight at this point." Clem watched as Patty opened her trailer and removed a couple of fuel cans. She looked around for somewhere to place them and started moving towards the nearest trash can.

"Wait, Patty," said Clem. "Don't throw those away."

"Why not?" mumbled Patty.

"Because, we could use them."

"Doing what? We might as well set them on fire… oh wait, that's what we can't use them for anymore."

"Let's use them for the generator," suggested Clem.

"You want to get more diesel?" asked Patty.

"No, I… I want to watch a movie."

"A movie?"

"The last time we did that…" Sarah suddenly became very quiet.

"The last time we weren't careful, and last time there wasn't three of us," said Clem as she turned back to Patty. "Would you like to watch some movies with us?"

"Are… are you serious?" asked Patty.

"Why not? The gas won't work at all before long, and we're gonna have to leave the generator behind, we might as well use them both while we still can." Clem looked at Sarah. "Wouldn't you like to watch a movie?"

"I can't remember the last time I actually got to see a movie," realized Sarah. "Last time we barely got to see one start, and before that… I think I was with my dad and we were going to watch a movie together, but he had to go to the hospital before we could start it… and when he came back he said we had to leave home."

"I think I went to the theater with some friends a few days before the Army rolled into town," said Patty. "We… Jesus, I can't even remember what we watched. Just… something."

"And I can't remember the last time I watched a movie at all anymore," added Clem. "And OJ has never even seen one."

"Kem-men," said the boy as he looked up at Clem.

"Oh what the hell, it's been a long day," reasoned Patty as she sat the fuel cans down. "And like you said, we might as well get some use out of the gas while we still can."

"I'll get the generator ready," said Sarah with a smile.

"And I'll give you a hand," added Patty.

"Come on OJ," said Clem as she picked up the boy. "You're going to watch your first movie."

"Moo-me," said Omid as Clem carried him inside.

"That's right," said Clem as she set the boy on the carpet. "Now we just have to figure out what to watch." Clem unloaded her guns and stored them and her other equipment as quickly as she could, eager to spend a night together with her family watching a movie. She hopped off the stool she used to reach the cupboards and raced towards the closet in a flash.

The girl dug through the shelves of food and cases of canned drinks piled up inside, trying to find the DVD cases she remembered seeing stacked up in the back a while ago, but she couldn't find them this time. She checked the cupboards, the dressers, and even under the sink, but she found no sign of the missing movies. She was about to search the bathroom when Clem heard Sarah and Patty approaching.

"I can't find the movies," informed Clem as the pair came up the stairs.

"They're right here." Sarah handed a stack of DVD's to Clem. "I had to move them to one of the outside compartments a while ago to make room."

"Make room? They barely take up any space," said Clem.

"Yeah, but we never use them, so they just get in the way when we need something we do use all the time; like our stuff for going out, or our clothes, or our food, or—"

"Okay, I get it," said Clem as she laid the DVD's out on the carpet.

"Hey," said Patty. "Would this fridge work with the generator on?"

"There's a switch for it on the dashboard," informed Sarah. "We've never actually used it because we don't keep the generator running that long."

"Well we're going to be leaving it running tonight," said Patty. "Mind if we try it?"

"What for?"

"I've got a six-pack of beer in my bike's trailer," said Patty. "As long as we're enjoying stuff we haven't had in a really long time, I'd love some cold brews."

"We can try it," said Sarah. "In fact, I'll put some sodas in the fridge too." Patty stepped back outside while Sarah headed for the closet, leaving Clem alone with Omid.

"This is your first movie, so you should get to decide," said Clem as she gestured to the selection of DVD cases she had arranged on the carpet in front of the boy. "So, what are we going to watch?"

Clem watched with great anticipation as the boy sat down and started eyeing the boxes. He judged each one with a passing curiosity, studying the box art of a case before turning his head to another, sometimes bobbing back and forth between the same two titles for a while. Clementine felt her heart beat with anticipation as Omid crawled over to one of the boxes and placed his hand on it.

"Mah-bah," spoke the boy as he started pawing at the case.

"What's the little man got there?" asked Patty as she stepped into the RV, a case of beer tucked under her arm.

"I'm letting him pick out our movie," informed Clem as she took the case from Omid.

"What'd he pick?" asked Sarah as she set the sodas she was carrying on top of the fridge.

"The Nightmare Before Christmas," announced Clem as she held up the case.

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

"That might be too scary for him," warned Sarah.

"It's not scary, not really," argued Clem.

"Maybe not for us, but he's just a baby. It might be really scary for him."

"Come on, I think the little man can handle it," assured Patty as she set her beers on the counter. "Isn't that right little man?"

"Mah-bah!" repeated a more desperate Omid as he tugged on the case Clem was holding.

"If he gets scared, we'll turn it off." Clem retrieved the disc and then let Omid claim the case, which he immediately set back on the floor.

"Okay, that sounds good," said Sarah as she placed a couple of sodas in the fridge.

"I'd put those in the freezer just to be safe," Patty said to Sarah. "We don't know how long the generator will last."

"Good point," said Sarah as she moved the sodas to the freezer instead.

"Mah-bah!" celebrated Omid as he slapped his hands against the case.

"If you like that," said Clem. "Just wait until you see the actual movie."

After stuffing the freezer full of sodas and beer, Sarah sat down in the driver's seat and honed in on a set of switches mounted on the dashboard. She flipped one, then hesitated as she put her finger on another. "Here's hoping the generator starts." Clem listened anxiously as Sarah flipped the switch. The generator made a distant churning sound for a few seconds and then went quiet as Sarah switched it off. She took a breath, then flipped the switch again; this time the generator hummed to life.

"I just heard the fridge's compressor kick on," reported Patty as she approached the front. "Here's hoping we got enough gas to keep it going for a while because I could really use a cold beer after today."

"I'll just be glad if we actually get to watch a movie this time." Sarah turned on the small TV mounted on the ceiling between cabinets. Clem handed a disc to her, and Sarah loaded it into the player and pressed buttons to skip through the menus until a familiar logo appeared on-screen. Sarah scooped up Omid and rushed over to the couch, but Clem found herself hesitant to sit down.

She checked to make sure the door was locked, and after confirming it was she felt compelled to peek past the curtain covering the windshield. Clementine saw nothing amidst outside, but her view was limited and the rear view mirror didn't do much to rectify that. Looking over her shoulder, the girl headed for the bedroom next.

"Clem, you're missing it," called Sarah.

"I'll be right back." Clem headed into the bedroom and climbed onto the bed. Peering out the back window revealed nothing of concern, and she saw only their generator from the side windows. In the next room, Clem could hear 'This is Halloween' blaring from the TV's tiny speakers, but she still couldn't quite pry herself away from the window.

A nagging voice in the back of her head kept telling Clem that the second she turned away she would miss something, so she kept watching an empty lot instead of the movie playing in the other room. It wasn't until she heard Omid laughing out loud that she felt herself being drawn away from the window and back to the front. There she found Patty sitting on a stool in front of the TV with Omid standing in her lap and looking up at the screen.

"There you are," said Sarah as Clem approached. "You missed it, Omid was singing along with the movie."

"He was?"

"Duh-bi-hah-bah-di! Duh-bi-hah-bah-di!" chanted the boy as he clapped his hands.

"He was getting so excited he was practically jumping off the couch," said Patty as she held onto Omid. "Figured the least we could do is get him a little closer to the screen."

"You like the movie OJ?" Omid didn't answer her, he just kept staring up at the screen, utterly hypnotized by what he was seeing. Although it did her heart good to see Omid so happy, Clem felt a tinge of guilt for not being here a moment ago. "Can… can I hold him?"

"Sure, his feet are digging into my thighs anyway." Patty carefully passed Omid to Clem, the boy's eyes not wandering from the screen as he was moved from one person's hands to the other's. Clem slowly sat down on the stool and let Omid stand on her lap.

She couldn't see the screen through Omid's hair, and after a few minutes her legs hurt from Omid standing on them, but she could also feel the boy's chest move as he laughed and could hear him babbling along with the music. Holding him so close as he experienced such joy was a treat for Clementine, and she would have been happy to remain Omid's personal seat for the entire movie, but after about thirty minutes the boy stopped laughing and started crying.

"OJ? What's wrong?" Clem stood up in a hurry, doing her best to cradle the heavy toddler as he wailed at the top of his lungs. "What happened?"

"I don't know," said Sarah. "Maybe he's scared of Sally?"

Clementine looked up at the screen and saw a pale woman covered in stitches lying on the ground, her legs and one of her arms lying beside her in separate pieces.

"Why would she scare him now?" asked a Clem as she kept rocking a still screaming Omid. "He's been seeing her all movie."

"A blue-skinned zombie woman missing her limbs," observed Patty. "Maybe… maybe she reminds him of that walker that lunged at him back on the playground? Do you think he remembers that?"

Clem watched as the undead woman tied off a stitch to reattach her arm, noticing she did have a faint resemblance to a walker. "Yeah, I think he would remember that," spoke Clem in a resigned voice. "Turn it off."

After Sarah shut off the TV, Clementine pivoted in place so Omid could see the now blank screen. "She's gone now OJ, there're nothing to be afraid of, everything is okay." After more than a little cradling, Omid went from loudly crying to whimpering slightly.

"I guess you were right," Clem told Sarah. "That was too scary for him."

"It wasn't the movie that scared him," said Sarah. "It's the real monsters it reminded him of that's he afraid of."

"There's no monsters in here," Clem assured Omid as she sat the boy on the couch. "And you're safe, okay?" Clem grabbed a paper towel and started dabbing the tears that had run down the boy's cheeks. "It's all okay Omid."

"We should top off the generator while we're taking a break," suggested Patty as she stood up. "You two stay with him, I'll go take care of—"

"No wait." Clem rushed over to the nearest window and peered outside, finding nothing out of the ordinary. Turning around, she saw Sarah looking out the windshield before hitting the switch to turn off the generator.

"I'll put Omid in the bedroom," said Sarah as she picked up the toddler.

"Don't forget to lock the Brave's door behind us," reminded Clem.

"I won't." Sarah rushed Omid out of the room while Clem retrieved her pistol.

"Do you have your gun?" asked Clem as she loaded her own weapon.

"I left it on the bike," said Patty. "I know you don't like it when—"

"Here." Clem passed a pistol down towards the woman. "You can borrow Sarah's."

"We're just going right outside," said Patty as she took the gun. "And I'm pretty sure I can do this on my own."

"I'd feel a lot better if we both went," insisted Clem as she placed her pistol in her holster. "The generator is really noisy, you can hear it from really far away." Clem hopped off the stool. "It might have taken them a while to get here."

"We ran it this morning," reminded Patty. "And Sarah said nothing came by all day."

"Maybe they weren't nearby then and just heard it now," said Clem as she handed Patty a magazine. "We don't know, so we should be careful."

"Well then shouldn't we get our raincoats too?" asked Patty as she loaded the pistol.

"It's not walkers I'm worried about." Clem looked at the door and took a deep breath. She unlocked it and then placed one hand on her gun. Stepping outside into the cool evening air, Clem quickly scanned the area right in front of her before poking her head past the corner of the RV. As usual, nothing to be found. Turning around, Clem saw Patty stepping out. The second the woman left the RV, Sarah pulled the door closed and clicked the lock on.

"So… what exactly happened the last time you two watched a movie?" asked Patty as she headed for her motorcycle's trailer. "You both keep acting like something is going to jump out at us; I mean, more than usual even." Patty retrieved a gas can from her trailer and started walking towards the generator. "You two didn't watch some slasher flick and get all jumpy did you? Because I figured you would have enough horror as it was."

"Last time we didn't get to actually watch the movie," said Clem as she continued to survey the area.

"Why not?" asked Patty as she knelt down by the generator.

"The people who heard our generator wouldn't let us." Patty looked up at Clem suddenly. "They waited for us to come outside, then they grabbed us and pointed guns at us."

"Jesus… why?"

"They wanted the RV," said Clem as she eyed the Brave. "And they weren't going to leave until they got it. One of them got so mad when we didn't give them the keys, they pointed a gun at OJ's head."

"What? Oh my God, Clem… I'm… I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, me too…" said Clem in a quiet voice.

"So what did you two do? They clearly didn't get the RV." Clem looked down at her feet in response to Patty. "You had to kill them, didn't you?"

"No, we couldn't, we never got a chance. In the end, one of them felt sorry for us when they realized we were taking care of OJ all by ourselves, and told the other one to let us keep the Brave." Clem sighed. "After that we always made sure we had guns when we went outside, and plenty of bullets for them."

"God, you poor kids…" Clem looked up to find Patty staring at her. The woman's face was racked with concern and her eyes overflowing with pity. "You… you really didn't have anyone at all, did you?"

"Like I said, they all died a long time ago," informed Clem. "And after that, we figured it was better to just stay on our own. And when we couldn't do that anymore, we went to Valkaria." Clem found her hands balling into fists just from saying that word, but feeling Patty's arm wrapping around her shoulders helped to chase away the angry feelings.

"And that's when I met you, which was the best thing to happen to me in a long time," said Patty with a warm smile. "And you three were too good for a place as rotten as Valkaria anyway."

"So were you," answered Clem as she put her arm around the woman.

"I don't know about that…"

"You're a good person Patty."

"I think it's more like you and Sarah have been a good influence on me," said Patty with a smirk. "Come on, let's get this thing gassed up and get back inside, the little man must be dying for some entertainment that doesn't have any zombies in it." Patty topped off the generator and the pair headed back towards the Brave. Clem was about to head inside, but then she noticed Patty had stopped and was staring at the gas can in her hand.

"What is it?" asked Clem.

"You said, all the gas will go bad, everywhere, no matter what, right?"

"That's what we were told."

"Then... that means Rhonda and Howard are fucked." A devilish smile spread across Patty's face. "Their fancy ass boat ran on gas, and that was the only reason those worthless sacks of shit ever got anything done. Without it, they're both screwed."

"Yeah… I guess they are." Clementine suddenly pictured Rhonda and Howard standing on their boat as it floated uncontrollably down a river, the couple yelling at each other over whose fault it was that it's broken without either one realizing what the real problem was. It was a thought that felt comforting to the young girl, seeing the people whose lies had cost her so much now being stranded without a clue what to do next.

"And I wouldn't be surprised if nobody in Valkaria knew the gas went bad," said Patty. "I had to go ten miles down the road to get gas for my bike because they had siphoned all the gas near town, but not all of the diesel."

"I remember them having to try to start the boat to the island a few times, like your motorcycle," added Clem. "And Leonard said something about always fixing things they use for fishing."

"And Chilton was always talking about the future, but I bet her brilliant plans never accounted for gasoline just becoming useless in a couple of months," added Patty. "Too bad she didn't have a couple of smart girls like you and Sarah around to tell her otherwise."

Clem smiled at Patty and the pair headed back inside. Sarah swapped in Fantasia and the group settled in to watch it instead. Omid seemed to enjoy it, but not nearly as much as he did The Nightmare Before Christmas, only babbling something happy sounding on occasion between long bouts of silence. The group took turns holding the boy closer to the tiny screen, which did seem to increase his enjoyment of the movie, but also put an incredible strain on the arms of whoever was holding him.

Around the time the Sorcerer's Apprentice was wrapping up, the generator stopped and Clem and Patty returned outside to refill it. Clem's nerves had eased a little, but she could never shake the sense that something was always waiting for her just out of sight. But like in so many other instances, there was nothing waiting for her on this occasion. After finishing the rest of Fantasia, except for Night of Bald Mountain as Sarah was worried it might scare Omid, the pair headed out to refill the generator yet again.

Heading back inside, the group was faced with the dilemma of selecting which movie to watch next. Sarah said Fantasia was her pick and she didn't feel right choosing the next one, Omid was busy playing with his rattle now, and Patty's only suggestion was a movie called 'Easy Rider', which they didn't have a copy of.

With the decision falling on Clem, the girl looked at the movies they had and found herself immediately selecting Bambi. Sarah happily popped the disc into the player while Patty stated she had enough of Disney movies for the day and would just prefer a shower and a nap instead. With the girl's permission to use their bathroom and bed, Patty left them to watch the movie together with Omid.

Clem always had fond memories of Bambi, but rewatching it now, it seemed different from how she remembered it. When she thought about Bambi, she always recalled the scenes of him with his friends enjoying themselves in the forest. And those things still happened, but so did a lot of other bad things that, while not completely forgetting about them, didn't seem nearly as disturbing then as they did now to Clementine.

Bambi just hears a gunshot and then can't find his mother again, simply told by the Great Prince he can never be with her again. It seemed so cruel to Clem now how sudden and blunt it was. And the animals running for their lives from people with guns as the forest—their home—burned, made it difficult for the girl to keep watching. Clem found herself turning away from the screen, only barely seeing the ending out of the corner of her eye.

"Clem?" Clem snapped out of her trance and saw Sarah staring at her. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah." Clem looked up to see the credits were rolling now. "Do you think OJ liked it?" Sarah pointed to Omid, who was sitting on the carpet, smacking his rattle against the DVD case for The Nightmare Before Christmas.

"The TV is really small, and stuck way up on the ceiling," noted Sarah as she removed the disc from the player. "Still, I enjoyed it. Didn't you?"

"I guess," shrugged Clem.

"You guess?"

"It was… it was different."

"Different how?"

"I guess the ending was different, it wasn't happy this time."

"Not happy? He saved the other deer, and they had babies, and everything was okay in the end."

"But it wasn't the end, not really," said Clem. "I mean, he's gotta protect them in case the hunters come back, or the forest ever catches fire again, or if anything else goes wrong."

"Clem, you could stay stuff like that about any ending."

"You… you could," realized the girl. "I guess the first time I saw it, I didn't think about stuff like that." The hum of the generator disappeared and suddenly things became very quiet.

"Do we have any more gas left?" asked Sarah.

"Nada," yawned Patty as she stepped out of the bedroom. "Not unless you want to siphon what's left out of my bike,

"We would need gas to run the generator to use the pump to get the gas out of your bike," said Clem.

"Well, I guess that's it then," said Sarah. "It was fun while it lasted."

The trio stood there in silence for a moment, each waiting for the other to speak until Omid approached Clem.

"Bah-bah," said the boy.

"You hungry?" asked Clem. "I'll try to find you some juice. I think—"

"The fridge," Patty stated suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Those beers and colas we put in there, they should be cold by now."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about those." Sarah rushed over to the fridge and opened the top section.

"Did it work?" Sarah thrust a can into Clementine's hands and the girl nearly dropped it as she felt the frigid metal against her skin. "It's really, really cold." Clem wrapped the end of her shirt around the can to make it easier to hold.

"Just what I wanted to hear." Patty grabbed a beer from inside, popped the can's top, and immediately started chugging it. Looking over at Sarah, Clem could see the older girl was already doing the same, except for soda instead of beer. Clem opened her own can and moved it to her lips. The cola must have been partially frozen since it didn't pour easily, but what did make it into Clem's mouth was wonderful.

It didn't have much fizz, but the cola was sweet as it was cool, and Clem kept tilting her head back to drink more. She started to feel dizzy as she swallowed the sugary treat, nearly tipping over backwards before finally putting the can down. Clem took a deep breath, noticing Patty doing the same. The girl tried to say something, but a burp came out instead of words.

"I hear ya," said Patty with a chuckle before taking another swig from her beer.

"Bah-bah! Bah-bah!" called a hungry Omid.

"You want to try some cola too?" asked Clem as she turned to the boy.

"Bah-bah," repeated Omid.

"Should we give him soda?" asked Sarah. "I don't know if that's good for him."

"I'm pretty sure one won't hurt him," said Patty as she reached for another beer.

"And I bet he'll really like it." Clem grabbed Omid's sippy cup, poured soda inside, then screwed the lid on. "Here you go Omid, your first cola."

"Bah-bah." Omid took the cup and immediately put the spout to his lips. Clem had to stop herself from giggling as she heard Omid making happy noises as he drank from the cup, his eyes lighting up as he tasted what was inside. Just like the others, Omid kept tilting his head backwards until he finished the whole cup. "Bah-bah, bah-bah!" pleaded an excited Omid.

"You want more?" asked Clem as she took the cup back. "Sure."

"Clem," said Sarah. "You said—"

"Come on Sarah, it's New Year's Eve, we're celebrating," prodded Patty before taking another swig from her beer.

"And how can I say no to that face?" said Clem as she saw Omid's open-mouth grin grow wider as he watched the sippy cup being refilled.

"Bah-bah, bah-bah!" Clem gave Omid the cup and watched as he chugged this one too. She felt as if she could watch him all night, but then Clem felt something cold touching her arm instead.

"I'm pretty sure one won't hurt you," Patty said to Clem as she slid a beer across the counter to the girl. Clem smirked at her and then grabbed the can. It was already open so the girl moved it right to her mouth, and immediately regretted it.

"Ugh!" groaned Clem as she wiped the awful taste from her lips. "That tastes like… like pee!" Omid giggled at Clem's outburst while Sarah had to hide a smirk.

"Come on, you told me you've had whiskey before," teased Patty. "You can't handle a beer?"

"Whiskey tastes better than this." Clem handed the beer back to Patty. "And it doesn't taste good either. I don't know how you can drink that."

"You drink enough of them and the taste stops bothering you," shrugged Patty. "Still, you're lucky it was cold, it's a lot worse when it's warm."

"We should have been using the fridge this whole time," lamented Sarah. "I mean, it's not like we ever had trouble finding gas."

"We didn't want to risk the noise," reminded Clem. "I… I guess we could have sometimes though."

"Well, we're gonna find a diesel generator after this," reasoned Patty. "We could get a mini-fridge too. Just plug it in while we're already using the generator to siphon fuel, stuff some treats in it for us to eat and drink after we're done."

"Where would we put it?" asked Sarah. "Because I don't think we can move the fridge in here, I'm pretty sure it's hooked right into the Brave."

"We wouldn't have to keep it inside. We'll find a little trailer, hook it to the back of the RV, and just keep the generator and the mini-fridge on that."

"Sorta like your motorcycle?" asked Clem.

"Yeah… my motorcycle."

Patty took a long swig from her beer, then tossed the empty can in the sink. Clem watched as the woman walked over to the front and peered out the windshield. "I'll be right back."

"Where are—Patty?" Clem watched as Patty opened the door and left the RV without another word. Rushing outside after her, Clem saw Patty was heading right to her motorcycle. "What are you doing?"

"Using up the last of our gas," said Patty as she removed something from her trailer.

"You're going to get the gas out of your bike?"

"No." Patty rotated a small lever on the part of the trailer that connected it to the motorcycle.

"Then… what are you doing?"

"I'm going for a drive," said Patty as she started tinkering with something on the trailer's hitch.

"Now, at night?"

"Yep."

"Where?"

"The interstate was wide open," said Patty as she twisted the wrench in her hand. "Guess I'll just go that way for a while."

"Why?"

"Because… it'll be the last time I'll ever get to ride it." Patty sighed to herself as she put her wrench away. Clem watched the woman carefully wrap her scarf around her neck, then take hold of the bike's handlebars. Patty pushed the vehicle forward slightly, pulling it free of the trailer. "I'll be right back. I just want to feel that rush of driving it before… before we leave it behind."

"Clementine?" Clem turned around to see Sarah standing in the Brave's door. "What's going on?"

"I'm just going for a final joy ride," announced Patty as she climbed on the bike.

"And I'm going with her," added Clem.

"Say what?" asked Patty.

"I'm gonna miss riding on your motorcycle too," said Clementine. "It's exciting, and a lot of fun. I… I bet it's even more fun driving it."

"Bah-bah!" Clem looked over to see Omid holding out his sippy cup for Sarah to take.

"Hop on partner," whispered Patty.

"We'll be right back Sarah," called Clem as she grabbed her helmet from the trailer.

"Be careful!" called Sarah as she took hold of Omid.

"Hold on tight," said Patty as Clem climbed onto the bike.

"I always do," said Clem as she put her hands around Patty's waist.

"No, I mean really hold on," said Patty as she gripped the handlebars. "Because without that trailer, we're really gonna fly." Patty turned the key and Clem heard a familiar stalling sound. The woman turned it again and there was more stalling; then a third time with no more success.

"Come on," Clem heard Patty whisper. "Just once more, for old time's sake." Patty placed her hand on the key, but hesitated to turn it. Clem wasn't sure what the woman was waiting for, but she could feel the deep breath Patty took before turning the key again. The engine sputtered for a few seconds before Clementine felt the whole vehicle vibrating beneath her.

"All right," said Patty as she revved the engine. "Here we go." The engine roared and Clem felt her stomach drop as they peeled out of the gas station. The bike's headlight shot on and cut a path through the darkness as they charged forward. Clementine dug her fingers into Patty's sides as they swerved back onto the road. The bike was turning more sharply and more quickly than it ever did before, almost as if it was trying to buck the girl off.

Clem felt nervous as she could feel the bike picking up even more speed, making the girl almost nauseous. It felt even more frightening than the first time she rode on the bike and once again Clem found herself closing her eyes. Even then, she could feel the stinging air blowing past her face, the sounds of one thing after another whipping past her head at an incredible pace, and there was a sense of speed growing in Clem that made her feel like they were about to lift right off the ground.

Finally, Clementine mustered the courage to open her eyes, and she was awestruck at what she saw. The road, the trees, everything, it all just seemed to blend into a single vista that was rushing past her on both sides, like they were moving through a dark sea that had parted itself. And looking up at the starlit night hanging above them, Clem felt as if they were flying through space, the bike their own personal rocket shooting them forward through the cold void at the speed of light.

The sense of danger began to melt away and Clem found it being slowly replaced with a feeling of exhilaration. The girl's heart began to beat quicker and quicker as they zoomed forward, the force of the cold wind against her face shocking the girl more awake then she knew she could be. She had never moved this fast before—she had never even felt a fraction of this speed before, but now she felt like yelling at Patty to go even faster.

But Patty didn't go faster. In fact, Clem could feel the vibrations from the engine weaken. The bike was slowing down, and Clem felt her heartbeat slowing with it. Instead of flying they were gliding now, and then they were coasting, and then just rolling, and finally Patty brought the bike to a full stop. The engine was still idling but they weren't, and it took Clem a few moments to adjust to being still again.

"What's wrong?" Patty stepped off the bike so Clem could get a clear view. She could see they were on a concrete bridge arching over the water now and looking ahead she could just see something off the in the distance shimmering in the moonlight.

"Is that?"

"That's Mobile," said Patty in a resigned voice. "You can just barely see it with its lights off, but that's the top of that big building we checked out."

"Wow, we got here so fast."

"Yeah…" Patty sighed. "I thought I was going to travel across the country with this thing one day, but I guess that's just one in a million things we lost when the world fell apart."

"I'm sorry Patty," said Clem as she stepped off the bike.

"Eh, it's nothing compared to everything else we've lost," spoke Patty as she stared out at the dark horizon. "I should be grateful I have as much as I do; it's stupid to be bummed out over this of all things."

"No it's not." Clem stepped in front of Patty so she could look the woman in the eyes. "Riding on your bike just now, it… it was unbelievable."

"Really?"

"It… it was almost like we were—"

"Flying?"

"Yeah, it felt like I could just fly away," said a still excited Clem. "I never felt anything like that before."

Patty smiled at the girl. "Remind me to teach you to ride a bike someday," said the woman as she climbed back onto the motorcycle. "It's the only thing standing in the way of you becoming a good biker."

"I don't even have a bike," said Clem as she climbed on behind Patty.

"Okay, remind me to find you a bike, then teach you how to ride it," said Patty as she revved her bike's engine. "Hell, remind me to find a new bike for myself while you're at it."

Patty turned the motorcycle around and the two sped off back the way they came. Clem enjoyed the ride back as well; the cool wind, the fresh scent of the trees, and the starry tapestry above all made Clementine feel alive and alert. After turning off the interstate, Clem could see the Brave in the distance, its windows being the only source of light for miles other than the stars and the moon. But just as they entered the edge of the parking lot, Patty brought the bike to a sudden stop.

"What's wrong?"

Patty turned the bike slightly to the left so it faced the building next to the gas station the Brave was parked at. "Oasis Travel Center."

Clementine could see Patty was reading the lettering on the building. "We already checked that building when we—"

"Off Interstate Ten," said Patty as she drove the motorcycle past the building and back to the gas pumps where her trailer was still sitting. "About thirty miles east of Mobile; Exit Fifty-three," recited Patty as she turned off the bike and deployed the kickstand.

"Patty?"

"I'm just trying to remember where's it's parked," said Patty as she got off the bike. "In case we ever come back for it."

"Come back?"

"Yeah, you know… maybe one day this shit will be over, and they'll start making gas again," speculated Patty as she rummaged through a pouch on her bike's saddlebag. "And then I could just come back and gas it up again, like nothing ever changed."

"Patty, I don't think that's ever going to happen," admitted Clem. "Even if it did, it'd probably be years."

"Well if the world does get its shit back together in a few years," said Patty as she retrieved a small atlas from her bike's bag and flipped it open. "Then I'll regret not remembering where I left this thing." Watching the woman, Clem could see she was marking a spot on the bottom of a map for Alabama, then writing directions on the page next to it.

"This bike means a lot to you, doesn't it?"

"My dad gave it to me," said Patty as she continued to write in her atlas.

"I thought you didn't like your dad?"

"I don't, but… he wasn't a bad person or anything, he just didn't know what to do with a daughter. But still… he tried, and sometimes he managed to do things right." Patty turned around and looked at Clem. "He got me this motorcycle on my sixteenth birthday. I heard him pull it into our driveway early that morning. He was probably trying to surprise me, but I could tell right away that wasn't his truck's motor I was hearing.

"At first, I thought he was bringing it by to work on it or something, but when I asked him about it at breakfast, he just said 'It's yours'. The only catch was he expected me to take care of it, and I'd have to be the one to fix it if I broke it." Clem looked at the motorcycle. Even in the dim moonlight, it still had a fetching shine to it, as if it was still new.

"And you did take care of it," noted Clem.

"Damn right I did. To sixteen-year-old me, this thing gave me what I wanted most, which made me think… maybe my dad was trying to give me what I wanted most."

"What's that?"

"Freedom; I could go wherever I wanted whenever I wanted to. It was like suddenly the whole world was in my reach." Patty frowned suddenly. "And yet, I never left Miami until just a few months ago. I guess I was too afraid to ever really cut loose and disappear like I wanted to."

"Or maybe, you didn't want to leave your dad?" suggested Clem. "If he gave you this bike, he must have cared about you, and it sounds like you cared about him even if you didn't like him."

"Yeah, maybe… or maybe I was just afraid of being alone." Patty sighed, then removed the key from the bike's ignition. "Whatever the reason, it hardly matters now." Clem watched as Patty set the key on the page that had a map of Alabama on it, then closed the atlas.

"So, it okay if I stay with you two in the RV?" asked Patty. "At least until I find something else to drive."

"Why until then? Why not just stay with us all the time?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why not just live with us in the Brave from now on?" said Clem. "You could sleep on the bed the couch turns into, and we could make room for all your stuff, and then we'll be all together."

"I don't know, wouldn't it be a bit cramped with four people, even if one of them was a baby?"

"Please?" begged Clem. "I'm sure Sarah would want you to stay with us, and I'd… I'd really like it if you did."

"For real?" asked Patty.

"Yeah, I feel better when you're around," said Clem. "Just like when I'm close to Sarah and OJ."

"Well, all right…" Patty said in a sly tone as she looked away. "But you gotta help me get moved in tomorrow," she said as she gestured to the bike's many saddle bags and its now detached trailer. "Good roommates help each other move."

"Okay, deal," said Clem with a smile.

"You sure?" smirked Patty. "I stuffed that trailer pretty full."

"Actually, the first time I went out with you, I almost looked in your trailer."

"What for?"

"To see if you were hiding something, because I didn't trust you then," confessed Clem. "Sarah made me promise I wouldn't though, and I didn't, but I still feel bad that I almost did."

"Eh, well, I don't know if I would entirely trust me if I had just met me either," shrugged Patty.

"Why not?"

"Well, I don't always make the best decisions," said Patty. "But like I said, I got you and Sarah around to keep me thinking straight." Patty smiled at Clem, then walked over to the trailer and pulled the lid open. "Seeing as we're going to be living together, you're gonna see what's in here anyway, so you might as well check it out now."

"You sure?"

"I've got nothing to hide."

Clem looked inside to find Patty's raincoat sitting on top. Under it was a big chain with a padlock hanging from it. "What's this for?" asked Clem as she discovered the chain weighed even more than she thought it would.

"Whenever I crashed somewhere without a regular lock on the door, I'd use that to make my own lock," said Patty. "Make sure nothing got in while I was sleeping, dead or alive."

Clem lay the chain on the pavement and dug deeper, finding a trash bag full of crumpled up clothes, some jugs filled with water, and a stash of canned goods. Peeking out from under the cans was something made out of paper. Clementine reached for it only for Patty to snatch it away.

"Whoa, you don't want to look at that," said the woman as she tucked what she took into her jacket.

"I thought you said you had nothing to hide," said Clem.

"I'm not hiding anything, I just don't think this is something a kid should be looking at," said Patty.

"You said you wouldn't treat me like a kid either," reminded Clem.

"Well… I guess if you wanted to you could look at it." Patty opened her jacket to reveal what she was holding.

"A magazine?" asked Clem. "That's it? Why would you think I shouldn't look at that?"

"Because it's full of pictures of naked men."

"Eww! Why would I want to look at that? Why would you?"

"You'll understand when you're older." Patty tossed the magazine back into the trailer.

"I doubt it." Clem turned back to the trailer and looked for anything else of interest. The only thing she hadn't investigated was something blue stuck to the bottom. "What's this?" asked Clem as she tugged on it.

"That? I think that's the tarp I use to cover the bike when it's raining." Patty grabbed hold and helped Clem pull the folded piece of material out from under the case of canned goods. "I haven't really used it in a long time, seeing as I have bigger problems than getting rained on these days."

Patty unfolded the tarp, revealing it to be much bigger than Clem had suspected. Looking at her bike and then back at Clem, Patty signaled to the girl to grab the end of it. "Might as well cover it up, seeing as it's just going to be sitting here from now on."

Clem grabbed one end of the tarp and helped to pull it taut. Together, the pair dragged the tarp over the bike and the trailer, as if to close the curtain on them. As Patty looked for things to weigh down the tarp so it didn't blow away, Clem noticed their generator still resting by the Brave. Moving over to the device, Clem felt a tinge of sadness as she looked down at it. It was just a gas-powered generator, but it had helped them so much it seemed like a shame to just abandon it.

"Patty," said Clem as she unhooked the generator from the Brave.

"Yeah?" said the woman as she walked over to Clem.

"Help me carry this." Clem grabbed one of the generator's handles.

"I guess it makes sense to keep it until we find a diesel one." Patty picked up the generator and tried to move it towards the Brave, but felt Clementine pulling her the other way.

"I don't want to put it up," said Clem. "I want to put it under the tarp, with your bike."

"What for?" asked Patty.

"If things ever do get better, and they start making gas again, I'd want to come back for it too."

"Really?" asked Patty as she helped Clem tote the device over towards the bike. "For a generator?"

"It's more than a generator, it's a part of the Brave," said Clem as she set the machine on the ground by the tarp. "And the Brave is—"

"Say no more," assured Patty as she lifted the edge of the trap. "The Brave's important to you, that's all I need to know." The pair placed the generator next to the trailer, then secured the tarp over it. It wasn't much, but Clem felt better than just leaving it out unprotected. The pair headed back to the Brave and knocked.

"Finally," spoke Sarah in a tired voice as she opened the door. "I heard you two pull up like five minutes ago and was starting to wonder if you were ever coming back in."

"We were just talking." Clem noticed a backpack slung over Sarah's shoulder. "Are you going somewhere?" Sarah took off the backpack and unzipped it. "Fireworks?"

"It is New Year's Eve," reminded Sarah. "I figured we could set off a few rockets before we go to bed."

"That sounds like fun," said Clem.

"Yeah, and hopefully it'll cause Omid to forget about soda for a while," said Sarah, sounding desperate. "Because he—"

"Bah-bah! Bah-bah!" Clem heard Omid yell loudly.

"Just get them ready as quick as you can," urged Sarah as she passed the bag stuffed with fireworks to Patty. "I'll go get Omid." Sarah rushed off to retrieve the demanding infant while Patty looked down at the pyrotechnics that had been thrust into her care.

"Funny, I didn't even think about how we were setting off fireworks on New Year's Eve earlier, when we were in Mobile," said Patty as she looked at the various rockets covered in colorful paper. "I just… don't think about stuff like that anymore."

"You will if you live with Sarah," said Clem. "She's always keeping track of the dates, and always wants to do something special on the holidays. She even threw me a surprise party for my birthday."

"Really?" Clem nodded at Patty. "Well then, remind me to tell her my birthday is on the second of June."

Sarah brought a fussy Omid outside while Patty volunteered to set off the fireworks, reasoning she already had a lighter on her. Omid kept asking for his cup as they sat down on the pavement, even trying to pull free of Sarah's grip to get away. Then there was a loud bang followed by a series of bright red lights streaking across the sky, which finally convinced Omid to sit still.

Watching the bursts of light decorate the night sky like flowers sprouting out of a patch of dirt, Clem felt a sense of relief washing over her. The many troubles and challenges this long day had presented finally seemed to fade from memory along with the rest of the world into the darkness, leaving just a vibrant display of colors to entertain and awe them. And feeling Sarah and Omid sitting next to her, the warmth of their bodies chasing away the cold of the night, Clem felt like she was just back home, enjoying another holiday without a care in the world.

But before long the fireworks stopped, and Patty announced that there were none left in the bag. Clementine forced herself off the ground and the group headed back inside the Brave for the night. Patty returned to the fridge to get more beer while Sarah carried Omid into the bedroom, the boy's sugar rush having ended suddenly during the fireworks. After having crawled through a literal dump earlier today, Clem retrieved a change of clothes and then headed to the bathroom for a shower.

As she undressed, Clem caught sight of herself in the mirror hanging over the sink. Looking over her shoulder, she could see a pair of unsightly scars that ran down the length of her entire back. Clem had hoped they would disappear with time, like how all the smaller marks had, but these two had remained on her skin, a painful and permanent reminder of the kind of dangers that still lurked out in the world.

Forcing herself to look away from her scars, Clem hurried into the shower and turned the water on. Normally she would shut the shower off right after getting wet so as not to waste, but that initial burst of warm water hitting her skin and the cloud of steam enveloping her were so soothing to the girl's weary mind and body that she simply left it running, allowing the shower to wash away more than the dirt and grime she had collected from the day.

Clem didn't know how long she stayed in there; the warmth and calming sound of the running water just caused the world to evaporate from her mind and leave her with nothing but peace. Only when the water became cold did Clem snap out of her trance and shut the shower off. After that she just stood there, her muscles so relaxed now that it took Clem a while to summon the will to force them into action again. And even then, she felt like she was moving in slow motion as she dried and dressed herself.

Leaving the bathroom, Clem discovered the RV was dark and quiet now. Near the front, she could see Patty resting on the couch that had now been unfolded into a bed. Approaching the woman, Clem could see she was fast asleep. Seeing Patty without her jacket, lying on her side, signs of worry still tugging at the corners of her mouth while she slept, she appeared so much smaller and fragile than she normally did. Looking at covers, Clem noticed that they didn't entirely cover Patty's body and elected to pull them over the sleeping woman until she was neatly tucked in.

Heading into her own bedroom, Clem's eyes immediately fell on Omid's crib. The toddler was fast asleep now, a pillow under his head and a pacifier in his mouth. Peering over the edges of his crib, she couldn't help noticing how much smaller it seemed now. Omid was getting big, and Clem started wondering what they would do once he outgrew his current resting place. There wasn't any room to include a bigger crib in the RV, and he seemed too small to sleep in their bed with them.

With no answers springing to her tired mind, Clem decided to just go to bed herself. She was about to crawl under the covers when she noticed Sarah was not asleep yet. The older girl was sitting on the other edge of the bed, already undressed and hunched over something she was holding in her hands. Sensing an opportunity, Clem crawled across the bed as quietly as she could and laid her hands on Sarah's shoulders.

"Hey."

"Ah!" Sarah yelped and spun around. "Clem? You scared me."

"Whatcha doing?"

"I was just waiting for midnight." Looking over Sarah's shoulder, Clem could see she was holding her watch in one hand and a small flashlight in the other. "I've never stayed up to midnight before, not on New Years' Eve I mean. I always got tired and went to bed before then."

"Yeah, me too," realized Clem.

"Want to stay up together?"

"Sure." Clem leaned in close and put her an arm around Sarah's waist as they eyed the small wristwatch. Looking at the hands, Clem saw it was only a few minutes to midnight, and she was content to simply sit in silence with Sarah until the moment came. The last year had been a difficult one, and watching the second-hand tick forward, Clem was relieved to see it was finally coming to an end.

But Clementine's relief was short-lived as she realized the end of this year meant the beginning of a new one. Gas would be completely useless soon, food was getting harder to find, Omid was getting bigger, and as far as Clem knew, they were no closer to safety now than when they left home. With just a minute to midnight now, Clem couldn't stop herself from thinking about tomorrow and all the many challenges that undoubtedly still awaited them. It had been a struggle just to survive this year; could they really do it again?

"Happy New Year," whispered Sarah.

"Huh?" Clem looked down at the watch and saw it was past midnight.

"You missed it," realized Sarah.

"Yeah, sorry," said Clem.

"It's okay," yawned Sarah as set the watch on the dresser and turned out the light. "We can always do it again next year."

"Yeah…" Clem said to herself. "Next year."