Clementine tugged on the hood of her jacket, trying to shield as much of her face as she could from the cold. Even though it had stopped raining yesterday and was sunny today, the temperature had dropped to the point where it truly felt like winter now, even in southern Louisiana. They had crossed the state border the day before yesterday, then spent most of the next day checking the surrounding area, which was even more desolate and empty than most places they checked.
Staring out over this new lake, Clem found it unsettling she couldn't see to the other side of it. According to Sarah's atlas, New Orleans lay just beyond the water stretched out before her. The interstate they had taken to get this far continued over the lake and appeared passable as far as they could see, yet Patty had elected they stay the night on this side of the bridge before proceeding. Now it was morning, and Clem sat on a pier wondering what would come next.
"I just don't think I'm any good at this." Clem looked over at Sarah as she reeled in her fishing line.
"It just takes time," assured Clem. "Anthony told us that."
"He also said catching fish with bait like this would be easy," said Sarah as she examined her lure.
"This is your first time."
"It was your first time and you caught two in like five minutes," said Sarah as she pointed to the dead fish lying on the dock beside Clem.
"It was more than five minutes," said Clem as she opened their tackle box. "And this wasn't my first time."
"It wasn't?" asked Sarah as she held a baby monitor up to her ear. "Did you go fishing before we left Beaver Lake?"
"No," said Clem as she removed a knife from the tackle box. "I went with Omid… once."
"Omid?"
"OJ's dad, the first Omid," said Clem. "He took me fishing once… right before he died."
"I'm sorry Clem," said Sarah as she set the baby monitor down.
"It's weird. We ate fish the whole time we lived in that cabin," mused Clem as she looked down at the fish lying in front of her. "But I never learned anything about fishing then, not until that day at least."
"Why not?" asked Sarah as she cast out her line.
"I just… didn't," shrugged Clem as she sliced open a fish's belly. "Christa and Omid taught me about other things, and so did Lee, but I guess… I just didn't want to learn about stuff like that, not then."
"You were just a little girl then," said Sarah as she slowly reeled in her line. "You still are."
"Yeah… but now I kinda want to learn about stuff like that. Like, actually want to, not just because I have to, at least for some of it," realized Clem as she sliced off the fish's head and tail. "Does that sound weird?"
"Actually, I think I feel the same way," said Sarah. "I used to love reading adventure books and stories when I lived at Shaffer's, but not anymore, at least, not most of the time. I like reading those textbooks I took more now."
"I always thought it was weird adults liked boring things so much," said Clementine as she pulled open the fish's caucus. "But I guess… that stuff isn't boring to them."
"Yeah… but why?" wondered Sarah. "Why do we like it now when we didn't before? What changed?"
Clem thought on Sarah's question as she looked down at the nearly dissected fish before her. "I guess, we had to start doing things on our own," said Clem as she pulled a small bucket over to where she was sitting. "And it feels good when we do things right, so we want to do more of it, and that's better than just playing with a toy or a game, I guess."
"Sometimes it is," said Sarah as she watched Clem begin to remove the fish's organs. "Other times, I think we're just happy when things are finished because we know we won't have to do them again for a while."
"Yeah, sometimes I'm just glad for something to be over," said Clem as she dumped a handful of entrails into her bucket.
"I wish we could have just had a little more time where we didn't have to do so much hard stuff," admitted Sarah. "Just a little more time where we could try stuff we wanted to do, instead of all the stuff we have to do."
"Yeah. There were a ton of things I wanted to do before the walkers showed up," said Clem as she began to cleave the fish's meat from its spine. "Now I don't even remember what most of them were anymore."
"Yeah, me too," sighed Sarah as she reeled in her empty lure again. "I used to think I wouldn't have to worry about being a grown-up until I was twenty or something. But that's not what happened." Sarah took a hand off the fishing pole and grabbed the baby monitor again.
"Maybe there will be something in New Orleans," suggested Clem as she looked up at the bridge running beside the pier. The Brave was parked on top of it, and on top of it was Patty, scanning the area with the telescope.
"Do you really think we'll find anything there?" asked Sarah as she cast out her line yet again.
"Honestly? Probably not. But we won't know until we look."
"I don't think we're going to find anything in any of these cities, or at least anything good," said Sarah as she started reeling in her line.
"Well what do we do then?" asked Clem. "We can't just give up."
"I know, but… I just don't think this is working," said Sarah. "Anthony has taught us how to fish, even if I'm not any good at it. If we could just start a garden or something, like the one we had in Spokeston…"
"That garden was a ton of work, and we didn't get a lot of food off of it."
"But we did get some," said Sarah. "If we were just better at it, then—" Clem watched as the fishing rod nearly shot out of Sarah's hands, the reel spinning out of control before the older girl managed to grab it.
"Just hang onto it!" instructed Clem as she came around behind Sarah.
"It's really strong!" yelled Sarah as Clem placed a hand on the reel.
"It's okay, I'll help you."
Clementine found herself thinking strong was an understatement, this fish was a beast of some kind. The line kept violently shifting from one side to the other with incredible speed, each time managing to unspool the reel slightly. Clem was straining with every muscle she had, and even with Sarah doing the same they were barely moving the reel at all. The line suddenly darted towards the dock and then away, pulling the rod out of Clem's grip.
The girl fell backwards and feared she had just lost their catch. But sitting up, Clem saw Sarah was still holding the fishing rod. She was about to rush back to Sarah's aid when the older girl planted her right foot on the rail running around the pier. She forcefully yanked the fishing rod backwards a couple of times, and then there was the familiar clicking of a reel being turned.
Hearing a loud splash from below, Clem peered over the railing just in time to see something big and gray briefly fall back into the water. Slowly, the mystery catch was forced above the water as Sarah continued to reel in the line. Clementine watched as the angry beast was hoisted into the air, thrashing about like mad every inch of the way. It wasn't until the fish was brought up to the pier did it finally surrender to its fate, electing to stay still on the line it was hooked to.
Clem was awestruck at the creature dangling from Sarah's fishing rod, which was bent so far forward it looked ready to snap. Its fins were narrow and very long, appearing more like wings than fins really. Jutting out past the corners of its mouth were incredibly long, thin appendages along with two very short ones hanging from the bottom of his head. Together, they made it look like the fish had a comically big mustache and a tiny goatee. Mostly, Clem was shocked at just huge it was, being as long as one of her legs, if not longer.
"Wow," awed a stunned Sarah.
"Yeah, wow," said Clem as she watched the fish wriggle helplessly on the line. "I can't believe you reeled that in."
"Yeah, me neither."
"It's like a little shark or something."
"Actually, I think it's some kind of catfish," corrected Sarah. "I remember Anthony saying something about them having whiskers, like a cat."
"Well whatever it is, it's huge." Clem continued to stare at the mighty catfish for a few seconds, then spun around. "Lay it on the ground," she instructed as she retrieved her hammer. "I'll do the rest." Clem turned back to find the fish was still hanging in the air over the water. "Sarah?"
"Do we really have to kill it?" she asked.
"Sarah, it's huge," beamed Clem.
"I know, but that's why I don't want to kill it. A fish this big is probably really old. It's sad to think it lived all this time just to get eaten by us in the end."
"It's going to die someday anyway," reasoned Clem.
"Yeah, but it doesn't have to die today," argued Sarah. "We've got plenty of food right now, and we already got the two fish you caught. Do we really need to kill this one too?"
"Sarah…"
"Yeah, I know…" The older girl swung the fish closer to Clem. "This is where meat comes from."
"Yeah…" Clem watched as Sarah lay the fish on the dock.
"And I need to learn how to kill a fish and cut it open anyway," spoke a resigned Sarah as she knelt down over her catch. "You'll help me right?"
"Yeah, I will," said Clem as she handed Sarah the hammer. "Let me just get the hook out of its mouth first." Clem placed a hand on top of the fish's head, using her weight to hold it still. She found this more difficult than she would have suspected as the fish was incredibly slimy, causing her hand just to slide off. Reaching down to remove the hook, the fish tried thrashing free, pushing back against Clem with surprising force.
This fish was a great deal stronger and more determined than the small bass she had butchered just earlier. Even just trying to touch the hook caused the catfish to counter as violently as it could while beached on land. It occurred to Clem it would just be easier to kill the fish first, then remove the hook, yet she found herself not wanting to do that. Bearing down with all her weight, the girl managed to hold the fish still long enough to finally remove the hook stuck in its mouth.
"Okay, now I'm just supposed to hit it really hard?"
Clem looked up at Sarah, the hammer in her hand and a look of pity in her eyes, then looked down at the fish. Clementine grabbed the catfish with both hands. It was heavy, and the slime on its body made it almost impossible to carry. The girl had only just barely reached the railing when the catfish slid free and fell back into the lake below.
"Clem, what did you do that for?" asked a confused Sarah.
"I thought you didn't want to kill it? asked Clem as she tried wiping the slime off her jacket.
"I didn't but… I thought I had to, or something."
Clem looked at Sarah for a moment, then smiled. "Maybe, but not today," she said with a shrug. "I think you can have a little more time where you don't have to do that."
The girls smiled at each other, then started collecting their equipment. Clementine butchered the second bass, doing it slowly so Sarah could observe the process. The older girl was clearly disgusted, but remained attentive and observant the entire time. With their gear stored and their breakfast caught and butchered, the two began the walk back to Brave. The pier ran under the bridge before turning towards the land, giving the two girls some time to talk.
"You don't think Patty and Anthony will be mad that I let that fish go?" asked Sarah as they passed under the bridge. "Do you?"
"I'm the one who let it go," reminded Clem.
"Yeah, but only because of me."
"Well Anthony catches his own fish, so I don't think he really cares. Patty I'm not sure. Probably not."
"Yeah, probably."
"We can just not tell them about it. It'll be our little secret."
"That sounds good," said Sarah as they turned left and started walking back to the shore. "Oh, but that means I can't tell them about it either."
"Yeah," said Clem as they stepped off their pier and onto the dirt.
"I guess they wouldn't believe me if they didn't see it. I should have brought our camera, then I could have taken a picture of it."
"Then you couldn't show them the picture."
"Well next time we go fishing I'm bringing it," said Sarah as she walked uphill towards the road
"That's a good idea, you can take a picture when I catch an even bigger fish," teased Clem as they stepped onto the concrete bridge.
"You wish." The pair moved down the interstate until they reached a couple of familiar vehicles parked in the middle of the road.
"Looks who's back," said Anthony as he rose from the lawn chair he was sitting in.
"You two catch breakfast?" asked Patty from on top of the Brave.
"Yeah, we got a couple of bass we can eat," answered Clem.
"That's great," said Patty as she packed up the telescope.
"Just a couple?" asked Anthony.
"Yeah, why?" asked Clem. "Do you need a fish?"
"I already got mine right at dawn," boasted Anthony. "I'm just checking to see if you guys need another lesson from the master himself."
"They caught some fish and came right back," asserted Patty as she joined the group. "It sounds like they did just fine."
"In a big lake swarming with easy catches, sure," said Anthony as he eyed Patty. "But if somewhere down the line you need me to be the breadwinner while the rest of you are doing the laundry or something, I—"
"Shut up," ordered Patty.
"Seriously, I don't know why you bother with it," said Anthony. "People don't eat clothes; seems like it'd be easy enough to just throw out anything dirty and replace it anytime you go out for food."
"It's hard to find stuff that fits me," said Clem.
"And we like these clothes," added Sarah.
"You must; I can't imagine why else you'd keep that mangy old jacket or she keeps that dirty ball cap." Clem and Sarah glowered at Anthony, while Patty just continued to glare at him. "What? What'd I say?"
"Nothing…"
Clem, Sarah, and Patty all headed into the Brave and got to work. Clem cooked the fish, Sarah tended to Omid as he woke up, and Patty stored their equipment. Breakfast passed with little conversation, Clem spending most of her time silently critiquing her own cooking. She had started cutting the skin off the fish like Anthony had instructed her, but she wasn't nearly as good at it as he was, so her cuts of meats still had small patches of skin that gave them a rough texture.
After cleaning up the table, the group sat down to discuss their plans, which started with a long and awkward silence only broken up by Omid's occasional babbling.
"So…" said Sarah, being the first non-toddler to break the quiet. "What now? Are we going to New Orleans today, or—"
"Yeah, we're going," said Patty in a quiet voice. "Everyone remember the plan?"
"Yeah, we'll take the interstate into the city for as far as we can," said Sarah. "The road atlas says it goes right through the middle of town."
"And we only use the Brave as long as the road is clear," added Clem. "Once it's not, you and Anthony will go in on foot."
"And if at any point things don't look safe, we turn around and come right back," said Patty. "All right, I'll go make sure Anthony remembers and then we'll get moving."
"Bree-bree," said Omid.
"I'll go read him a story," said Sarah as she grabbed hold of the boy. "Clem, could you take out the trash before we leave?"
"Sure." Clem headed for the garbage can and grabbed the edges of the bag. She was about to tie them off when she spotted something odd. Sitting on top of the emptied cans and discarded rags was a pair of underwear. Even crumpled up, Clem could easily tell it was the same pair Patty had been embarrassed Anthony had seen. Turning to the woman, Clem saw she was busy retrieving her gun from the cupboard.
She was tempted to ask Patty why she was throwing them away, but instead she tied up the bag and headed outside. They were parked on a bridge, which meant there was nothing resembling a dumpster to be found. Instead, Clem just dragged the bag to the edge of the road and figured that was as good a place as any to leave it. As Clem turned back to the Brave, she spotted Patty knocking on the door to Anthony's camper.
"Hey beautiful," said Anthony with a big smile as he emerged to greet her. "Why don't you come on in for a minute and—"
"I am not going to tell you again to cut that shit out," said Patty in a quiet but harsh tone.
"Cut what out? Being friendly?" said Anthony. "You should try it yourself sometime."
"This is me being friendly for you; you want to see me pissed off keep talking. I just came over to make sure you were ready to leave."
"I've been ready since yesterday; you were the one who wanted to wait."
"Yeah, well I'm done waiting. Just follow us and be ready to make a quick u-turn if things get out of control. We'll—"
"Although, I'm still missing my gun. But I guess you forgot about that."
Clem watched as Patty removed a silver revolver from behind her back. "Don't make me regret this," said Patty as she handed the man his weapon.
"Since when have I ever made you regret anything?" asked Anthony as he popped the gun's chambers out.
"You don't want me to answer that."
"Wait, what the hell? You didn't load this?"
"It wasn't loaded when we got it."
"You want me coming with you to New Orleans then I'm gonna need some bullets."
"We don't have any for a gun like that."
"Then what the hell am I supposed to do with this?"
"Same thing you did with it before, just point it at people."
"Are you serious?"
"You want us to find you some bullets?" asked Patty. "Prove to me we can depend on you today."
"And if I run into someone with just this useless thing?"
"Then I'll take care of it, because I'm armed and will be with you every step of the way, just like always."
"Being alone with you should sound appealing," said Anthony. "But you always seem to find a way to wreck it."
"Get used to it, because I don't give a shit if you find me appealing."
"Well maybe you should," retorted Anthony. "Seeing as you're the one so damn worried about the stack of kids in that RV that you keep insisting I put my ass on the line for, all the while telling me what a piece of shit I am."
"We appreciate the help," said Patty, her voice cracking slightly. "But—"
"But you got a funny way of showing it," said Anthony. "If I were you, I might worry more about the man you depend on to watch you back not feeling all that appreciated lately."
Clem watched as Anthony closed the door and disappeared back into his camper. Patty sighed, then turned around, prompting Clem to duck out of sight. She hurried back into the Brave, then just waited patiently for Patty to return. The woman stepped inside a few moments later, a tired look on her face.
"Everything okay?"
Patty seemed surprised to see Clem. "Yeah, I'm fine," she assured as she sat down in the driver's seat. "I just get sick of explaining things to that guy."
"Like what?" asked Clem.
"Just… for him to keep his head out of his ass and to pay attention to what he's doing," said Patty as she started the RV. "Anyways, ready to go?"
"As ready as I can be I guess," said Clem as she sat down in the passenger's seat.
"All right, here's hoping for the best."
Patty shifted the Brave into drive and slowly the vehicle started moving forward on the interstate, Anthony's truck following right behind them. Clem kept a sharp eye open for danger, but at the moment all she saw was water ahead. The bridge seemed to stretch on forever, with not even so much as an abandoned vehicle to decorate the desolate highway. Before long, Clem could only see water in front of and behind them. It was as if they were trying to drive across an ocean.
Eventually, the sight of land returned on the horizon, and Clem felt her stomach tying itself into a knot as they drew closer to their destination. The road was now surrounded by bushes and short trees. There was little to see beyond power lines and the occasional billboard, but Clem knew that wouldn't last. After passing through numerous intersections tucked away in an increasingly thick forest, the trees began to part and clear the way for a robust suburbia on their right. Clem felt herself tensing up as she saw these former signs of civilization and she could tell Patty was too; the Brave was moving slower now.
"See anything?" asked Patty in a hushed voice.
"Just a bunch of houses," said Clem as she watched carefully through the windshield. "The big fence is making it hard to see much."
"Yeah, we'd probably see better from on top of the RV instead of in it," Patty slowed the Brave to a stop. "All right, I'll go out and scope things out with the telescope. You keep watch as best you can from in here."
"I'll call you if I see anything," assured Clem.
"I know you will," said Patty as she shut off the engine. "All right, be right back." Patty hurried out the door with the telescope and Clem locked it behind the woman. She sat patiently as heard footsteps on the roof.
"Kem-men." Clementine turned to find Omid walking towards her as fast as he could.
"Hey there OJ," said Clem as she picked him up.
"Is everything all right?" asked Sarah as she sat down in the driver's seat. "I noticed we stopped."
"Patty's going to check the nearby neighborhood," said Clem as she sat down in her seat, letting Omid rest on her lap. "We need to keep watch in case we see something she doesn't."
"Right, I'll—"
"The houses look abandoned," reported Patty over the radio. "I doubt anyone has been here for a while now."
"What about walkers?" asked Clem.
"I don't see any, not even any bodies."
"What about five-star restaurants?" asked Anthony over the radio. "Don't suppose you see any of them?"
"Yeah actually, I see one way in the back, why don't you go check it out for us?" suggested a sarcastic Patty. "Seriously though, these look exactly like the kind of houses that are always picked clean. Most of the doors and garages are open, some of the windows too; I bet the military cleared out every last one of them ages ago."
"How can you be sure it was the military?" asked Sarah.
"A few of the houses have some sloppily made graves in the front yards," said Patty. "The military usually buried any walkers they killed where they found them, at least when they could be bothered to."
"So if the military has been here, what's that mean for New Orleans?" asked Anthony. "Wouldn't it probably be cleaned out too?"
"Maybe, maybe not. In Miami, they'd always bring everything they found back to the center of town where they'd keep it under guard," explained Patty. "They cleaned it out when they ditched us of course."
"So we might find a city with nothing left in it, or we might find some army guys guarding what's left?" asked Anthony. "What happens if we find the second one? I mean, what'd they do in Miami?"
"At first, they were letting people in the city, but that didn't last long," informed Patty.
"What happened after that?" asked a frightened Sarah.
"They were either turning away people who came to town, or they were shooting them."
"Or?" asked Anthony. "That seems like a pretty big difference to leave up to 'or."
"I heard it both ways, from a lot of different people," said Patty. "The soldiers always said things were done on a need to know basis, and none of us never needed to know what they were doing I guess. By the time we realized they were abandoning us, they were already on their way out of town." Clem could hear Patty sigh over the radio. "Let's just keep moving."
Patty returned to the Brave while Sarah returned Omid to the bedroom and the vehicle started moving forward again. As they drove along, Clem could see some of the graves Patty mentioned in front of other buildings. Most were little more than a couple of random pieces of wood nailed together to make a cross; others were a single board sticking out of the dead grass. Abandoned cars started appearing on the road at this point as well, but they were always neatly parked to the side.
Clem watched as neighborhoods and small apartment buildings passed them on the right, while abandoned car lots and stores passed them on the left. Patty would occasionally slow down to get a better look at something, but they always found the same clear signs that the area had already been looted. In front of every store were parking lots where nearly every car's doors were wide open, likely left that way from whatever people searched them for supplies.
As they moved further down the interstate, the more it seemed like it would never end. Just like traveling over the lake, it became surreal just how far Clem could see the same thing stretched out in every direction. More houses, more stores, and the occasional church, all as desolate and hopeless looking as the last ones, their doors and windows left wide open from when they were pillaged long ago, and crude grave markers left behind in front of them to commemorate wherever walkers had fallen to the military.
After what felt like an eternity of slowly strolling through what amounted to little more than ruins, Clem noticed the road was sloping upward now. As they moved off the ground, Clem watched as the neighborhoods that had been surrounding them disappeared and were replaced with warehouses that had cargo shipping containers scattered across their yards. Just looking at those big metal boxes made Clementine feel nervous, and any thoughts of searching them for food were dashed by how their doors were all left wide open like almost everything else.
Clem turned back to the road in time to see a green sign overhead that listed the interstate they were on along with the words 'New Orleans' on it. Even moving slowly, they were fast approaching the downtown area, visible on the horizon as a row of massive office buildings. The sprawling suburbs they had been passing for so long transformed into small city blocks. The houses changed from wooden and quaint to brick and mortar with the occasional splash of graffiti on the side, while the abundance of trees and open lawns shrank away to almost nothing. And yet, Clem still saw no signs of the living or the undead.
The skyline of towering structures made from glass and metal quickly went from distant landmarks to looming over the group and their vehicles. Turning to the left, Clem got a glimpse of a massive brick building taller than the overpass they were driving on, and behind it an even bigger one that had 'University of New Orleans' written on the outside. Everywhere she looked they were surrounded by buildings larger than anything they had seen for miles now.
"Ah-dah." Clem was surprised to find Sarah standing behind her with Omid in her arms. The boy looked stunned at the sight of an entire city passing them by, as did Sarah. The older girl looked on in silence for several moments before noticing Clem staring at her.
"Sorry," said Sarah. "He… we just wanted to get a better look. I'll just go back to the bedroom."
"Don't, stay," instructed Patty. "You're another set of eyes who can keep a lookout for trouble. I'm gonna slow down again and I want you both to check the streets for any signs of people—or walkers even."
"Okay." Clem stood up and moved to the side so Sarah and Omid could squeeze in beside her. Looking down at one of the streets, Clem spotted palm trees running in between the different lanes, and more abandoned cars parked on the sides of the road. There were knocked over barricades at some of the intersections, but most of them were just clear. Occasionally there was a lone car stalled in the middle of the road, but only occasionally.
Clem could see more parking lots filled entirely with cars, as well as the occasional parking garage loaded with vehicles, just like she had seen in Mobile. The tall buildings they were passing appeared unharmed from the outside, but there were faded signs of conflict on some of the streets in front of them; broken roadblocks, bags of garbage just left to rot, and more cars in the center of the road. But still no bodies, or any signs there was any life left here except trees and bushes planted beside some of the roads.
Looking at Omid, who Sarah was still holding up to the window, the boy appeared utterly lost in thought as he took in everything he saw. She hadn't seen him this awestruck since they visited the Space Center in Florida. Even Disney World failed to produce such a sustained silence from the small boy. Clementine only wished there was something worth finding in all those empty buildings, but so far she hadn't seen any evidence there would be.
The overpass started curving towards the right and the tall buildings subsided to reveal a massive bright white dome positioned in the center of town. Clem found herself growing anxious looking at the structure, and she suspected Patty did too as the Brave began to move even slower. Clem kept watching the roof carefully, expecting a massive hole to come into view at any moment.
Glancing downward, she noticed odd gaps in the parking lot. It would be entirely full if not for small sections where a car or two were missing, as if a select few had decided to leave at some point. What she found troubling was this seemed consistent across the entire area in front of the dome. There were empty parking spaces in otherwise full rows no matter where she looked. And checking just past the dome, Clem could see the nearby streets had road blocks at every intersection, a few still standing, but most were tipped over or pushed aside.
What Clem didn't see was anyone or anything still moving. There was nothing to suggest anyone was still occupying the dome, nor any bodies she could spot with her binoculars, and she didn't feel like going down there to confirm otherwise. Patty likely didn't either as the Brave started moving faster, finally finishing the long curve it was on and moving straight again, further into town and away from the dome.
Clem could only guess they were driving past the business district now. The glass office buildings she had seen before were to their left, while shorter and older brick buildings started appearing on her right again. When they had visited Mobile, they had only seen a few blocks worth of it on foot over several hours. But seeing so much of an even larger city bare and lifeless so quickly was almost incomprehensible to the girl.
Hundreds of thousands of people all just dead or gone now, their homes left behind as part of a giant monument to what was, and would likely never be again. And this was likely just one of many. For a long time now, Clem had feared the walkers would eventually take over everything, yet hoped that people would eventually get rid of them; she never wanted to think it was possible both would eventually disappear.
"Look, up ahead." Sarah's words woke Clementine from her trance. "That metal stuff over the road, it must be part of the bridge that leads over the Mississippi River."
"Here's hoping there's still a bridge to cross," Patty said to herself.
Clem watched as the overpass started sloping upward even further, raising them high above the surface. The girl could clearly see what must have been the top of a suspension bridge just ahead, but could hardly be bothered by it at this point. Instead, she turned her attention to Omid, who was still gaping at the sights with his mouth wide open. Clem quietly removed him from Sarah's grasp and helped to seat the boy on the dashboard in front of her so he could see better.
"I bet you didn't know the world was so big, did you?" Clem whispered to the Omid. "I guess I really didn't know either, but it is, it's really big."
"Bree-duh," said Omid as he gazed out at everything.
"Hopefully, one day you'll be big too, and maybe the world will be okay by then," said Clem. "Maybe I'll get to be big, and…"
"Holy shit…"
Clem could see the river now, and she could also see ships, dozens if not hundreds of them. Tons of them were lining the shores on both sides of the rivers; a few appeared anchored farther out into the water. A lot of them were tiny speedboats, others were big flat barges with cargo containers, a few were even larger still and had bright orange hulls. Some of them were capsized or floating on their side, most of them weren't. Everywhere Clem looked, ships practically littered the river and blocked sight of the shore.
"Okay… I'm thinking this is a good place to stop," said Patty as she shifted the Brave into park. "I'll scout out as much as the area as I can from up top," explained the woman as she stood up and grabbed the telescope. "Just wait here."
"But…" Before Clem could object Patty hurried out the door. The familiar sound of footsteps on the roof followed and Clem found herself moving back to the windshield, trying to get a better look. Omid was still seated on the dashboard, every bit as spellbound as he had been before.
"She'll be okay," Sarah told Clem. "There's no walkers up here… or anything really. It's just a big empty bridge."
"Yeah…" Clem jumped out of her seat.
"Clem, where are you going?"
"Out," answered the girl as she headed for the door. "I'll be right back."
"But—" Clem darted out the door before she could hear what Sarah said next. She was immediately hit in the face with a rush of frigid air. It had somehow become colder since they left this morning, and the strong breeze present on the bridge just made it even worse. The girl's teeth were nearly chattering as she walked over to the safety railing. Using her binoculars she could see even more ships swamping the shores and floating in the water further up the river, and yet no signs that any of them were still in use.
"I told you to wait inside." Clem turned around to see Patty staring down at her.
"I… I just had to see this."
"Yeah, me too…" Clem looked over to see Anthony heading towards the edge of the bridge. His typical smug grin was gone and had been replaced with a look of bewilderment, not far from Omid's own look of astonishment. His gaze was locked ahead as he stepped forward, as if he was in a trance. "You think most of these people would have high-tailed it out of here with those," spoke the young man as he looked out over the river. "Why would so many stay?"
"Maybe they haven't left," said Clem as she raised her binoculars.
"Yeah, maybe…" said Anthony as he raised his own binoculars.
"If there are still here, I don't see them, at least not yet," reported Patty.
"It's winter, they're probably inside," reasoned Anthony.
"Inside what?" asked Patty. "Most of the boats I see are open or have big windows."
"And you've already checked every one?" retorted Anthony.
"I'm just telling you what I see," said Patty. "The cargo containers on the barges, at least the ones I'm looking at, are empty."
"Yeah, I see that too." Clem's eyes had gone right to one of the bigger barges anchored near the shore, hoping to find some lost treasure trove. It was hard to see much from so far, but what little she did see wasn't encouraging. Every boat she looked at appeared abandoned. Many of them were anchored at odd angles or half submerged in water, as if they had been tied up then forgotten about.
Even the boats still right side up showed no signs of activity. Much like the cars they had seen, doors to the cabins were often left wide open. Clem couldn't spot anything resembling provisions, either on the decks of smaller boats or in the open containers of the barges. Scanning one of the largest ships anchored in the middle of the river, Clem was disappointed but not surprised to see nothing there as well; nothing moving across its enormous deck, or anything near the doors that led to the ship's innards. The river appeared every bit as quiet and forgotten as the rest of New Orleans.
"Jesus… there's not even any damn dead people roaming around," spoke a shocked Anthony as he spun around and aimed his binoculars down river. "Fucking nothing. Nothing in the river but empty boats, nothing on the streets except old cars, fucking nothing everywhere. How the hell is that even possible?"
"It's just what's happens," concluded Clem in a sad voice. "Walkers kill people, people kill people, until eventually there's no one left."
"But an entire fucking city? With no one left in it? That's not possible."
"The military probably wiped the walkers out, that was usually one thing they were good at," said Patty as she looked up from her telescope. "Held out here until they ran low on supplies, then bailed on whoever was left, then those few people had no choice but to leave themselves. That was how it happened in Miami. If we went back there today you probably wouldn't find anyone left, undead or alive."
"But then where the fuck did they go?"
"I was hoping the troops in Miami came here," said Patty as she collected the telescope. "But if they did, they're not here anymore."
"I just can't believe it," spoke Anthony in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. "A whole fucking city, just empty."
"Yeah, I found it pretty unbelievable myself," said Patty as she climbed off the RV. "Clem and I spent hours poking around Mobile, didn't find anything, except…"
Clem heard a clicking sound and looked over her shoulder to find Sarah standing behind them. She had her camera in one hand while the other was wrapped around Omid's hand, the boy now bundled up in his winter clothes. Clem watched as Sarah let go of the camera and let it hang from her neck by its strap.
"Great, you want a picture of the end of the world."
"I've… never seen anything like this," said Sarah as she moved closer to the railing, Omid walking with her. "My first thought was, 'No one would even believe this if we didn't have a photo of it."
"There's no one left to not believe it," retorted Anthony. "Why don't you get a picture of me next? It'll be something to remember me by after I throw myself off this fucking bridge."
"Anthony! Don't say that," pleaded Sarah.
"Calm down," urged a concerned Patty. "I know how you feel, but—"
"I ain't gonna do it, it's just…" Anthony sighed. "Could you take my picture actually? I think I'd really like that right now."
"Sure," said Sarah. "Clem, could you watch Omid for a second?"
"No problem," said Clem as she approached the boy.
"I just realized, I can't even remember the last time I even saw a working camera," said Anthony as Omid walked over to Clementine.
"Kem-men," he said with a smile as he was lifted off the ground.
"I gotcha," assured Clem as she picked Omid up. "I bet you wanted to come outside real bad," she said as she turned back to the river. "You're probably sick of spending almost every day inside the Brave."
"Bree-duh," said Omid as he gazed out over the river.
"Yeah, it's really big," said Clem.
"Here you go." Clem turned around in time to see Sarah offering Anthony his photo.
"Keep it," he said with a smile. "That way you can see me anytime you feel like it."
"Great, I know a good place under the fridge we can't move where it could stay," joked Patty.
"Oh, Clem, let me get a picture of you holding Omid," said Sarah as she pocketed Anthony's photo.
"Sure," said Clem as she adjusted her grip on the boy. "Say cheese OJ."
"Bree," said Omid as Sarah snapped a picture.
"At least this place is good for scenic end of the world photos," shrugged Anthony.
"It might still be good for one more thing," said Patty as she leaned over the railing. "That wharf down there, on the other side of the river." Clem stepped forward to see Patty was pointing to a massive warehouse sitting right beside the water, its dock completely swarmed with cargo barges. "I saw some roadblocks all over the streets leading up to it."
"You think that's where the military stashes their loot?" asked Anthony.
"Probably at least one place they used as a storehouse," said Patty. "The roadblocks are down now and none of the barges look like they have anything, but even in Miami, they couldn't pack all the food they hoarded onto their trucks. They didn't leave us much, but—"
"It's worth checking out," concluded Clem.
"Yeah, as long as we're here," said Patty.
"I also saw a big ass dome on the way in," Anthony added. "If there is anyone left, I figure they'd be held up there." Clem and Patty exchanged nervous glances. "What, you gonna tell me I'm wrong?"
"No, you're not, it's just… let's just check the warehouse first," suggested Patty. "We're already facing this way, and that'd probably be… less risky."
"All right, let's get a move on then."
Anthony returned to his camper while everyone else returned to the Brave. Clementine carried Omid back into the bedroom and helped him out of his bulky winter clothing.
"You're not cold, are you?" asked Clem as she pulled the boy's jumper off. "You need anything? A bah-bah maybe?"
"Bree-duh," said Omid as he looked up at the back window.
"I know, you want to go out some more, maybe later," said Clem. "Anything else?"
"El-muh." The boy grabbed his stuffed elephant and passed it over the top of the crib and into Clementine's hands.
"You want me to take Elma again?"
"El-muh," he said in approval.
"All right, I'll take Elma with me." Clem leaned forward and kissed Omid on the forehead. "Love you."
"Muh-boo," said the boy before Clem headed for the door. Leaving the bedroom, Clem saw Sarah snapping a photo of Patty standing at the front of the Brave.
"More pictures?" asked Clem.
"I just realized, I didn't even have one of Patty yet," said Sarah as she removed the photo from the camera.
"Hopefully, we'll have someone to show it to eventually," said Patty as she sat down in the driver's seat. "Other than each other."
"Want to take one of Elma?" suggested Clem as she held up the stuffed animal. "Omid really likes it when it I take her places for some reason."
"I think I'll save the film," said Sarah as she headed for the bedroom.
"All right," said Patty as Clem sat down in the passenger seat. "Let's hopefully finish up our tour of what's left of The Big Easy with something to show for it."
Patty started the engine and the Brave moved forward once again. Clem kept her eyes open for possible danger as they crossed over the Mississippi River. The other side of the river was considerably less built up, appearing more like the suburbs leading up to downtown, with open yards and trees sitting between the roads and the houses on them.
It took a while for the overpass to finally slope back down to the ground, but as it did, Clem spotted a bird flying out of a tree bordering the road. She watched as a tiny brown ball of feathers took off flying into the air. She was about to say something when another one popped out of a tree just ahead, followed by another, then three more, than a dozen, all flapping their wings as they darted up into the sky, like so many tiny feathery kites carried away by the wind.
"Wow," awed Clem as more and more birds fled the trees they were driving beside. "There're so many of them."
"Yeah, they must be migrating or something," said Patty as she watched the ever growing flock continue to pour forth from the trees. "I guess with no people around, they can just live wherever they want now."
"At least that means there are probably no walkers either," said Clem. "They usually chase away animals."
"Yeah, guess we just have to worry about everything else."
The road eventually curved back towards the river, and Patty drove slow as they entered a small neighborhood. Clem kept vigilant as they moved ahead, but the constant streams of birds fleeing their presence seemed to indicate they wouldn't find anyone in this place. Eventually, the river came back into sight, and just a few blocks over from where they were parked, Clem could see the warehouse.
"Okay, that's close enough," said Patty as she shifted the Brave into reverse. "I'll park us out of sight, then me and Anthony can check out the warehouse. If we don't find anything, we'll probably just keep going west until we're out of town. After that, we can…"
"We'll figure something out," assured Clem.
"Yeah, we're gonna have to," sighed Patty as she put the Brave in park and shut off the engine.
"We'll be okay," assured Clem. "We'll… um… well… it could be worse."
"Yeah, it could always be worse," said Patty as she stood up. "But I guess things getting better would be asking for too much." Clementine watched as Patty retrieved her shotgun shells from the cupboard.
"Patty," said Clem. "Why don't I come with you?"
"We've talked about this Clem," said Patty as she set the shells on the counter.
"I know, but, we're not going far, and this isn't like when you usually get supplies," reasoned Clem. "And… you'll have someone other than Anthony to talk to."
"Ugh… that would be a nice change of pace." Patty looked at Clem, who was busy trying to make her eyes look as big as possible.
"Please?" asked Clem in her most pitiable voice.
"All right, just stick close to me, okay?"
"Don't I always?"
Clem went to explain to Sarah what was happening, then hurried back to gather her equipment. Collecting her backpack, Clem decided to toss Elma inside for good luck. Grabbing her tomahawk, Clem figured she was ready to go, but then she noticed Patty tucking her revolver into her sock.
"You really think you'll need it that?" asked Clem.
"Better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it," shrugged the woman as she pulled up her sock.
Clem headed back to the cupboard and retrieved her own ankle gun. She quickly loaded it and strapped it to her calf.
"I really wish you weren't going," admitted Sarah as she came to the front of the vehicle.
"I'm not going far," assured Clem as she pulled her pant leg down to conceal her weapon. "And I'll be with Patty and Anthony."
"If anything goes wrong just call me," said Sarah as she retrieved her own pistol from the cupboard. "I can drive right over to you and we can get out of here."
"We'll probably being leaving soon anyway," said Patty as she cocked her shotgun. "But we'll keep in touch if we see anything."
Clem bounded out the door with Patty right behind her. They circled around the Brave to where Anthony's truck was parked. The young man was already out front, clad in a bloody raincoat with a baseball bat in hand.
"You finish painting your face or—wait, what's she doing here?" asked Anthony.
"I'm coming with you," informed Clem.
"What for?" asked Anthony.
"To keep us company." Patty started walking and Clem followed after her, Anthony trailing behind them. More birds emerged from the nearby trees as they started walking towards the warehouse. Clem could feel the sun on her skin now, helping to mitigate the cold, and the soothing sounds of the river helped to make their walk feel more peaceful. Even the knocked over and faded traffic barricades added a certain quaint charm to the scenery.
"This is not what I was expecting, not at all," said Anthony as he looked at some birds flying away. "I don't know why, but this place just being empty is freaking me out a lot more than what I was thinking we were going to find. I was just picturing dead people coming at us from every angle. Or hell, I figured New Orleans would be like a lot bigger version of Gulfport, but nothing, it's just a big nothing."
"You never really told us what happened at Gulfport," said Patty.
"There's not much to tell, the whole place was ripped up pretty bad by the time I got there," said Anthony.
"What about the bad people?" asked Clem.
"They'd probably be the only noteworthy thing left," said Anthony. "They would camp on the biggest roads leading into town, just waiting for someone to come along."
"They just wait?" asked Patty.
"I told you before, they were lazy assholes," said Anthony. "And if you want someone to find you, you just have to stay in the same place long enough, and eventually you'll cross paths with someone. Hell, I was going out of my way not to be found and then you people came to me."
"So they waited for people, then what?" asked Patty. "They attack?"
"If they thought they could take someone without much of a fight, sure; otherwise they'd play nice, tell them we got somewhere safe in the city for them to stay."
"So they lured people into a trap?"
"If the people had something they wanted, or that person was something they wanted; otherwise they kept playing nice," said Anthony. "Offer some food to keep you happy, help you out a little."
"Why?" asked Clem.
"Yeah, what's the game here?" asked Patty.
"The game was if someone didn't have anything worth taking, then maybe they could get them to be useful, convince them to be a part of the team," said Anthony. "Go two towns over, see if you can avoid getting eaten long enough to bring back some food for all you new friends who just helped you out. Come on, you're not gonna just let us starve are you?"
"You're right, these do sound like lazy assholes," said Patty.
"You know it," said Anthony.
"What happened when you're not useful anymore?" Anthony quickly traced his finger across his neck while making a gagging sound. "Figures," said Clem with a sigh.
"So how do you know about all this?" asked Patty.
"I was useful to them for a while," he explained. "And managed to get away when my usefulness came to an end."
"And they were just going to kill you, just like that?" asked Clem. "Even though you had been helping them?"
"I didn't stick around to find out, but yeah, that was the impression I was getting," said Anthony. "Like I said, you'd never see it coming."
"You did," noted Patty.
"Not everyone can be me," said Anthony with a smirk. "Too bad for them they didn't know New Orleans was deserted. It's only fifty miles away and they'd probably get a lot more traffic here than motherfuckin' Gulfport."
"Keep reminding me about how these manipulative sacks of shits are only a stone's throw away from us," commented a sarcastic Patty. "It's really putting my mind at ease."
"Relax, if these people were here, they would have been waiting for us at that bridge we crossed to get into town," said Anthony. "In fact, looking at how things are here, I'm starting to think they're gonna run out of easy prey sooner before later."
"If that's how they acted when things were easy, I'd hate to think what they'd do when the going got tough," said Patty as she looked up at the warehouse looming over them now. "All right, let's circle around the building, then we'll head inside."
Clementine drew her gun as Patty readied her shotgun. The warehouse exterior was a mess. Bits of trash, old boxes long turned to a cardboard mush by rain, and rotting shipping pallets all littered the nearest loading door. A pair of semi-trailers were backed up to the next couple of loading doors after it, but searching them only revealed more empty wooden pallets.
Moving past the side of the warehouse revealed a dock built right into the building. Traversing the half-dozen or so barges anchored in place proved time-consuming, requiring extra care to move from one boat to the other while they bobbed up and down on the river. But the extra work was for nothing, as there was only empty containers and more scraps of junk to be found.
Returning to land, the trio crossed past the warehouse to the railroad tracks running beside it. There was a single train on the tracks with a long line of boxcars behind it. Checking them proved as fruitless as everything else they checked. There were more scrapped cardboard boxes, bundles of wadded up plastic, and empty pallets; all signs that supplies of some kind were moving through here in the past, but no longer.
"Well, this has been a waste of time," complained Anthony as they started moving back towards the warehouse.
"Be glad this is all we've searched," said Patty. "Imagine if we had gone through the whole city on foot."
"I guess all we need to check now is the warehouse itself," said Clem.
"If there is anything left it'll be in there," said Patty.
"Which is why we spent the last half hour checking everything out here," added Anthony.
"We checked out here first so nothing sneaks up on us," insisted Patty. "And something could still wander over to us, so you keep watch out here while me and Clem—"
"Wait, me keep watch?"
"That a problem?"
"Um, yeah, I just got a baseball bat here," complained Anthony. "The hell am I supposed to do if I see something?"
"Yell for us and we'll come running."
"And if you don't hear me? Or if whatever I see comes running for me? Or—" Anthony became silent as Patty pulled her pistol out of its holster. The woman eyed the weapon for a moment, then slowly extended it to Anthony, who reached for it immediately.
"Don't do anything stupid," instructed Patty as she held onto the gun. "You see anything, you still come and get us, this is just for emergencies. You understand?"
"What the hell else am I going to use it for, opening—"
"Do you understand?" repeated Patty.
"Yes, I understand." Patty let go of the gun, and Anthony eagerly gripped it in his hand.
"We'll be right back, just keep your eyes open."
"Can do."
Patty motioned to Clem, who followed the woman through one of the open loading doors and into the warehouse. The interior was about as underwhelming as everything else they had seen today, being more empty space littered with evidence that anything useful here was gone now, along with a musky smell that seemed to hang in the air everywhere they went. It was a long building, and dark, but the pair retrieved their flashlight and pressed forward into the structure anyway.
"I was really hoping to find something," said Patty in a quiet voice as they walked. "I wasn't expecting paradise, but I figure we'd at least find some clue to what's going on," she said as she shined her light on the wall, finding nothing but sheet metal. "I guess most people don't leave behind clues to where they're going, they just go."
"We don't know for sure there isn't," suggested Clem. "There could be some clues somewhere in the city."
"But that would mean going back into the city, and checking every building in hopes someone somewhere conveniently left us a note or a sign of where to go," said Patty as she looked into a box only to find nothing. "That'd be a lot of risk for something that's probably not there."
Looking ahead, Clem saw a row of shabby curtains strung up across the width of the building. Moving past it, she found several more curtains hanging from both sides that stopped before reaching the middle, leaving an aisle she could walk down. Taking a step forward, Clem found a worn bed on each side of her, both of which were walled off by curtains to create a crude room of some kind.
"Makeshift bunks; I saw the troops in Miami do stuff like this," said Patty as she sat down on one of the beds. "A building like this they would want guarded at all times, so they would just make somewhere to sleep, that way there could always be someone here in case someone tried to break in."
Clem holstered her gun and sat down on the bed with Patty. It wasn't comfortable, not at all, and looking around there wasn't much else in this 'bunk', except a single bucket and a magazine.
"So what now?" Patty asked Clem. "This was the only idea I had."
"I guess we just keep moving," shrugged Clem. "Hope we find something someday."
"Just keep trying and hope we get lucky?"
"I guess," shrugged Clem. "I mean, what else can we do?"
"Not much," said Patty as she stood up. "We should head back. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get started on tomorrow."
"Yeah."
"Besides, if we look around much longer, Anthony will probably blow off one of his fingers playing with that gun I gave him." Clem giggled as she watched Patty move past the curtain wall. She was about to follow after the woman, but she noticed her light was causing something in the bucket to shimmer. Kneeling down, she spotted a yellow liquid sitting in the bottom of the pail. A chill shot up Clem's spine as she realized what she was looking at; this was someone's bathroom, and it had been used recently.
"Don't move." Clem heard a loud click right beside her head. She was too afraid to turn, but just out of the corner of her eye she could see someone had drawn back the curtain separating bunks and was now aiming a gun at her. "Put my toilet down, then place your hands on your head."
"Down on the ground!" Clem nearly jumped as she heard a second voice from outside the bunks.
"Hey, you don't worry about him, you worry bout me," instructed the first voice. "Now, drop the bucket and put your hands on your head." Clementine guided her shaking hands onto her head as slowly as she could manage as her legs felt like they were ready to drop out from under her. The second she touched her head, a strong hand grabbed the back of her neck. Clem's legs moved without thinking as the hand gripping her pushed her forward.
"In there, right now!" Clem could briefly see Patty being marched into the bunks by a second person as she was forced to walk to the aisle.
"Stay on your knees and don't move!" The hand moved from Clem's neck to her shoulder and the slightest push was enough to cause the girl to fall to her knees. Clem felt like throwing up as she suddenly felt that hand move down her side and to her waist. She felt something tugging on her belt, then realized her attacker was removing her gun from its holster. Next was her knife, then her radio, then her right hand was pulled off her head long enough to confiscate her tomahawk.
Clem could hear Patty beside her, her panicked whimpering impossible to ignore. She desperately wanted to turn to her, to see her friend's face, but feeling her captor's hand slowly removing everything on her made her too terrified to move her head. She could feel the hand of the person searching her now rummaging through backpack.
"The fuck is this?" Clementine watched as Omid's stuffed elephant was tossed on the floor a few feet away from where she was kneeling. "She ain't got shit besides a lot of weapons."
"Yeah, this one too."
Clementine gasped as she felt a hand pull back the hood on her raincoat. "Jesus, this one is just a kid," spoke a deep voice.
"Yeah, a heavily armed kid," spoke a second voice.
"While remaining on your knees and keeping your hands on your head, I want you to turn around slowly and face us." Moving slowly was about as much as Clementine could manage as she shifted in place on her knees. Looking up, she saw her attackers: a couple of bearded men wearing badly faded green camo uniforms and aiming guns right at their heads.
The one aiming his submachine gun at Patty was fairly thin and pale, almost sickly looking; the name 'S. Young' was stitched onto his shabby uniform. The other man, the one pointing the automatic rifle at Clementine's head, was a little heavier and his uniform sported the name 'G. Parker' on it. His dark skin and bigger beard made it hard to see the details of his face in the dim light, but he didn't look well either.
"Are you two with anyone?" asked Young.
"No," answered Patty without hesitation.
"Bullshit, why the radios then?" asked Young.
"It's so we can find each other if we get separated," insisted Patty.
"You're fucking lying," insisted Young. "You're clean, well-fed, yet are just walking around without a scrap of food on you, but with plenty of guns. They sent you two out here to pick up a shipment, didn't they?"
"Shipment?" repeated a confused Patty.
"Didn't I say we just had to wait here until they came to us?" said Young.
"Now if we can just find the rest," said Parker as he looked at Patty. "Where are they?"
"Huh?"
"The troops stationed here! Where the fuck are they!" barked Parker.
"Aren't you troops?"
Young leaned forward and planted the barrel of his gun on Patty's forehead. "Don't fuck with us! Tell us where in the city the troops are!"
"We don't know!" answered Clem. "We just got here today!"
"Hey!" Clem felt her stomach drop as the barrel of that rifle nearly jabbed her in the eye. "Don't you be lyin' to us!"
"I'm not," cried Clem. "We don't understand what you're saying."
"There might still be people at the dome," speculated Patty. "We were—"
"That dome is just another empty building," said Young. "I'm only going to tell you once more to stop lying to us. We've been here over a month now and we've already checked every obvious place in town, so don't think you can trick us into running out to some dead end."
"I'm not trying to trick anyone, I swear," babbled Patty. "I used to hear people talking about New Orleans when I lived in Miami and thought this might be somewhere safe. We just got here today."
"You… oh God…" Clementine watched as Young pulled his gun back. He still had it aimed at Patty, but wasn't jabbing it into her forehead now.
"She had the same stupid fucking idea you did!" grumbled Parker as he lowered his rifle. "There really isn't anyone left in town!"
"Well it was better than you and your no fucking ideas!" retorted Young.
"You killed us both, you know that? We nearly drowned fucking coming down to Mississippi just to starve here in your precious New Orleans!"
"As opposed to what? Starving a little later in Saint Louis?"
"We wouldn't be starving at all!"
"My ass we wouldn't! If we listened to you, we would have just kept being good slaves like the others and floating what little we had left to eat down the river until there was nothing at all!"
"So instead we floated ourselves down the damn river just to find there wasn't shit left anywhere else!"
"Forgive me for not wanting to sit on my ass and wait to die!"
"That's exactly what you're doing! We're ate through what was left here and now you just want to stay put and starve!"
"We just have to wait until they send a shipment down from Saint Louis, then we'll be all right! It's not like there's anyone else left to take it!"
"It ain't fucking happening! We haven't seen one since we got here!"
Clem turned her head and saw Patty was as confused as she was.
"Hey! We didn't say move!" barked Young.
"I'm sorry," said Clem as she looked forward to see that rifle in her face again.
"Don't be sorry, be still!" ordered Parker.
"Okay, you're not from here, but you said you were from Miami," said Young as he aimed at Patty again. "What's it like there?"
"It's… empty now, I'm sure," said Patty as she shook her head slightly. "The troops left a few months ago and—"
"Troops, what kind? Army, Navy—"
"Army," said Patty. "Miami was under martial law for a little over a year, then they left us."
"What do you mean left?" asked Parker.
"Just packed up what they could and pulled out one morning, left what few of us were still alive to fend for ourselves."
"Where'd they go?" asked Young.
"I don't know. I thought maybe they came here because I heard them talk about New Orleans a few times, but—"
"There ain't shit here," concluded Parker. "We need to go west now, while we're still strong enough to make the trip."
"No, no fucking way," said Young.
"I followed your dumb ass down here, now you can follow me west."
"Forget it."
"Wuh… why west?" stammered Clementine.
"Did I say you can talk!" Clem looked away as Young changed his aim to her instead.
"We saw planes."
"Parker!"
"Did you see them?" asked Parker.
"Planes?" asked a shocked Patty. "You saw planes?"
"He did," said Young. "I didn't see shit."
"You fucking heard them!" said Parker. "There was a cracking sound, then I headed outside and heard it again as five planes flew in formation to the west."
"Yeah, west, because you totally had a compass on you right then."
"The fucking sun was setting and they were flying right at it," barked Parker. "That's fucking west."
"When… when did this happen?" asked an anxious but curious Clem.
"Three days ago," answered Parker. "Practically a sign from God and you don't want to do shit."
"I don't want to run off in some random direction chasing planes into the unknown," said Young. "God only knows what's west of here."
"Maybe we don't have to ask God," said Parker as he turned to Patty. "Where else have you been?"
"Huh?"
"Other than Miami, where have you been?" asked Parker. "Have you ever been west of New Orleans."
"No," said Patty.
"But we've been other places," blurted out Clem, sensing an opportunity. "I've been to Macon and Savannah."
"Where the hell are they?"
"Georgia," said Clem. "Both are full of walkers."
"Walkers?" asked Parker.
"Infectees," concluded Young.
"We also went to Mobile, in Alabama, before we came here," added Patty. "It's just a big ghost town like this one."
"And Titusville is full of walkers," said Clem.
"Titus—"
"It's right next to NASA, in Florida, which we also went to," said Clem.
"You went to NASA?" asked a shocked Young. "Was there anyone there? Like, anyone at all?"
"No," said Clem. "Or if there were, I didn't see them."
"We went to Hattiesburg in Mississippi, it's also full of the dead, Orlando is too as far as we could tell."
"And Jacksonville."
"Seriously, all these fucking places are wiped out?" asked a skeptical Young. "Are you telling me there's no one left out there?"
"There are a few places with people," spoke Clem in a hushed voice. "There's a group of people living outside Savannah in a shipping yard. They kidnap everyone they find, and force them to live in a cage."
"The fuck would anyone do that for?" asked Parker.
"So they can force you to work on stuff they need."
"Slavery, you're talking about fucking slavery," concluded Parker.
"Well she did say Savannah was in Georgia," said Young.
"Shut the fuck up man."
"And they weren't the only bastards we've found," added Patty. "There's a town of assholes living near the east Florida coast as well."
"Assholes how?"
"Well…"
"Just look at my back," instructed Clem.
"What?" asked Young.
"You'll see."
"Do it," ordered Parker.
"It could be a trick," argued Young.
"Trick? The fuck you think she's keeping under there?" asked Parker. "You think a damn bear is going to jump out if—"
"Fine," said Young as he moved behind Clem. "I'm doing it."
Clem gasped as she felt Young's hand lift up her raincoat and shirt in a single sudden movement. "God damn…"
"What." Parker moved behind Clem next. "Holy shit…" Clem looked over at Patty. She was slowly moving a hand towards her right ankle. The woman briefly locked eyes with Clem, who could only shake her head slightly at the woman. Patty blinked, then put her hand back on her head.
"How the fuck did you get those scars?" asked Parker as he moved back in front of Clem.
"Yeah, where the fuck did those come from?" The men were still pointing their guns at them, but they were less focused than before, their aim drifting downward slightly as they seemed to relax their stance.
"They hit me with a whip," answered Clem in a quiet voice.
"Why?" asked Young.
"For stealing, even though I didn't steal anything," reported Clem.
"We were also told… by someone we met a while ago, that we should stay away from Gulfport for similar reasons," reported Patty. "Which is fifty miles to the east of here."
"Well that settles it man, we got nowhere left to go but west," said Parker.
"What?"
"You heard them: Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama; all fucked. So is everything we saw on the river on the way down. We sure as shit can't go back to Saint Louis, and to the south is the Gulf of Mexico, that just leaves west, planes or no planes."
"You keep saying west like we can just go there," retorted Young. "We're barely hanging in there as it is, and now you want us to wander through… probably whole armies of infectees, just to wind up in another shithole like this one?"
"We don't have a choice," insisted Parker. "I didn't survive all this time just to die here in the end. We have to—"
"We can get you to the west," blurted out Clem.
"What?" asked Parker.
"Yeah, what?" asked a confused Patty.
"I mean, we know how to get past the walkers at least," said Clem. "You see the raincoats we're wearing? They're covered in blood and guts we took from walkers. That lets us smell like them, and if you smell like them, they don't attack you."
"Bullshit…" spoke Parker, sounding more baffled than angry.
"It's true," said Clem. "You said it yourself, we're clean, we're well-fed; that's because we can go past the walkers and get stuff we need from places most people avoid. That's how we got here."
"That… that would actually explain why they never attack each other," realized Young. "Or how they always seem to find you no matter how fucked up their face is, if they hunt by smell and not sight."
"We could actually make it," realized a stunned Parker.
"Yeah, assuming we don't run into these roaming gangs of slavers or whatever they mentioned," said Young.
"I could fix you up a vehicle," proposed Patty. "I'm a mechanic. With some time and my tools, I could probably get a truck or something working for you."
"Yeah, sure, how generous of you," said Young as he raised his gun again.
"I'd like to believe you two," said Parker as he raised his gun. "But—"
"Then believe us," pleaded Clem. "If you kill us, then what?" Parker and Young exchanged looks, as if each was looking for the answer from the other. "I know you're both scared; we're sacred too. But we all want the same thing, to find somewhere safe where won't have to be scared all the time, right?" Parker and Young jut stared at Clem, unable to answer the girl. "If we work together, maybe we'll actually find it."
"We want to believe you, we really do," insisted Parker. "But I just don't see you two helping with us after…" Parker looked down at his rifle. "After we did this."
"You'd be surprised. We've actually had to work with a lot of people who've introduced themselves by pointing guns at us," said Patty with a nervous laugh. "It seems to happen a lot these days."
"Please, no one has to die today, just… don't. You don't have to kill us." Clem watched the men's faces anxiously, desperate to figure out what they were thinking. They looked nervous, but beyond that, Clem had no idea. Parker looked at Young, sharing a look of concern. The men communicated something with a couple of subtle nods, then looked back at Patty and Clem.
"Okay," said Parker. "We'll—" Parker's eyes erupted into a spray of blood. Before the man's body hit the ground Young had spun around and fired his machine gun into the curtains. Clem grabbed her ankle gun in a flash only for it to refuse to leave its holster when she pulled on it. Young turned around in an instance and locked eyes with a terrified Clem, then there was a gunshot.
Young fell dead as Patty lowered her revolver, the woman's hands shaking as she took deep panicked breaths. Clementine just stared at the two dead men in horror, blood pouring from their heads and onto the cold pavement, seemingly moving right towards the girl as she edged away from the gory sight.
"You two still there?" called Anthony from a distance.
"Yeah!" called Patty with as much strength as she could muster. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," called Anthony. "There any more of them?"
"No." Anthony burst through the curtains, a pistol gripped in his hand. He spotted the rifle Parker dropped and immediately bent over to pick it up.
"Jesus Anthony," said a shaking Patty. "They weren't going to shoot."
"That's not what it looked like from where I was standing," said Anthony as he gripped the rifle. "From where I was standing, I saw two men aiming guns at you after Clementine had begged them not to kill you."
"Yeah, but…"
"I thought you said you didn't have any bullets for guns like that." Clem saw Anthony was staring at Patty's revolver. The woman didn't answer him, or even reacted when Anthony tossed the pistol she loaned him onto the ground in front of her. "At least you gave me something for emergencies I guess." Anthony stood up and aimed the rifle at the wall of curtains. "Well, seeing as we're not going to check out the dome now, I'd call Sarah so we can finally get out of here."
"Right…" Patty started hastily collecting her equipment off the bed it was sitting on, prompting Clem to grab her radio the moment she spotted it.
"Sarah," she called. "Can you pick us up at the warehouse?"
"I'll be right there," answered the older girl, a trace of panic in her voice. Clem clipped her radio back to her belt, then started grabbing everything else that had been taken from her.
"Clem," spoke a quiet Patty as she gripped her shotgun. "Get his machine gun. We… we might need it."
"Right." Clem knelt down and tried to pull the gun free from Young, but his corpse's hand wouldn't let go of it. Instead, she had to uncurl every single finger before she could remove the weapon from the man's grip. Lifting the gun, Clem found it heavy but manageable. Looking to Patty, the woman seemed like she was on the verge of crying.
"Let's go." Patty took only two steps forward before stopping and looking at Young's body. Clem thought she heard the woman whisper something before heading past the curtains. Clem nearly followed after her, but then spun around and saw Omid's stuffed elephant still sitting on the pavement. She tossed the toy into her backpack and then ran after Patty and Anthony.
The trio hurried towards the nearest open loading door and returned to the street just in time to see the Brave pull up to them. They all hurried onboard and Sarah wasted no time turning the vehicle around. The group rode in silence as the Brave returned to its hiding spot where Anthony's truck was still parked. The man headed for the door, but stopped short of leaving when he reached the bottom step.
"You're welcome," he said as he peered over his shoulder at Patty, who couldn't even lift her head high enough to look the man in the eyes. Anthony then exited the Brave, leaving Patty and Clem alone with Sarah.
"What happened?" asked the older girl.
"Just drive," said Patty in a quiet voice. "We'll tell you about it later."
"Drive where?" asked Sarah.
"West," said Clem.