Clementine wheezed and gasped for air as she forced herself to keep pedaling. She had to travel quite a few more miles then she expected before she could reach the others on the radio. When she finally did and reported the good news that she had found food, Sabriya told her to wait by the road and they'd pick Clem up in the bus. A minute later Sabriya called back with the bad news the bus wouldn't start.

With the biting cold growing worse with every mile, Clem searched the immediate area for shelter. Up ahead was a depilated trailer awkwardly wedged between the road and the canyon wall. Swerving over to it and hopping off her bike, Clem reached for her gun only to remember it wasn't there. She groaned as she looked at the front door, dreading there could be a walker inside. She winched as she gripped her tomahawk and pulled the door open.

Clem couldn't see much of what was inside, so she banged her weapon on the door frame a few times. Only silence followed, and carefully exploring the interior revealed no signs of threat, nor anything of interest. Whoever lived here was long gone and left nothing but a mess of wrappers and empty containers for her to find. Wandering into what remained of the bedroom, Clem collapsed onto the bed. The mattresses was so worn out she practically sunk into it, and all the water stains on it made her think she should keep her mask on as much as possible.

Throwing off her backpack, Clem dug out her canteen and drank what little water she had left. It was so cold it hurt her cracked throat, and just removing her mask for a second was enough to get a whiff of the thick mildew hanging in the air. Looking around at her surroundings, this stinking wreck of a drafty trailer, Clem realized it wasn't much worse than the bus, and she briefly wondered if there was anywhere left on Earth that wasn't another festering shithole.

Her own thoughts gnawing away at her waning willpower, Clem started digging through her backpack, desperate to distract herself long enough to catch her breath. She had a can opener, her utensils, a toothbrush, and a can of spray paint leftover from yesterday when she left the 'CERES' code on a road sign, for all the good that had done. She hadn't thought to pack a book or anything else to keep herself entertained, so she just picked up her copy of Jet's guide. Looking on the back she saws the words 'Don't Panic' written in silver, and smirked.

Flipping through the pages, Clem wondered if it would have been better to stay wait in Tulsa like everyone had wanted. She had argued with them to start a farm because she wanted a future, but now she was thinking those two years they may have had really was the most she could have hoped for. Back then, she wanted to see Omid grow up. Now, she'd settle for him just being happy for a little while before the next inevitable disaster.

Looking at one of the pages, Clem noticed something written in the margins, and it wasn't her handwriting. She must have taken Eskiya's guide by mistake and upon realizing that found herself instinctively looking over her shoulder. She half-expected Eskiya to be behind her right now, as if she had summoned him by reading a spell from his book. He wasn't of course and once Clem accepted that she turned back to the guide.

Clem's first thought was to close the book and not pry into Eskiya's personal thoughts. Her next thought was realizing he wouldn't offer her the same privacy. Looking at the writing closely though, Clem realized she couldn't actually read it. She knew the letters, but they weren't arranged in a way that made any sense to her, with the words just reading as gibberish to her. Either Eskiya wrote in another language, was writing in code, or both. Whatever the case, she had no chance of deciphering it.

Flipping fruitlessly through the guide, Clem found a large pouch with single page tucked in it at the very back. Pulling it out, Clem recognized it as the small maps Jet printed up that showed people where they had been. Examining this one, Clem saw that Eskiya had made great use of this map. She couldn't read his writing, but all the marks and scribbles over entire states painted a pretty stark picture of how much of the country was effectively a dead-end.

There were extensive notes around Wisconsin and Michigan, with a series of X's all across the Great Lakes. There were small notes around places on the east coast and the south-east where Jet had printed markers for the places they had visited. Between Eskiya's writing and the original notes Jet had printed on the map, all the ink looked like a plague that was strangling the nation, and the small part of Canada that was visible had the words 'Savaş Alanı' written across it.

The only places not extensively marked on were a few states north of New York, the most western parts of the country, and whatever little of Mexico was visible on the map. All of them only contained small questions marks written in pencil. There were some notes written beside the west coast, but they were so short Clem couldn't imagine they contained much useful information. Looking at the small X written in pencil on Utah's northern border, Clem found it hard to believe how far she had traveled since leaving Spokeston.

And yet getting up just now felt nearly impossible, with her legs aching as she forced herself to a stand, and her mostly empty backpack felt like it was full of bricks as she slung it over her sore shoulder and stuffed the guide in her back pocket. Stumbling back outside, Clem moved over to her bike. Just looking out at all that open road leading off into the horizon was depressing. She hadn't heard anything from the others about the bus, so she assumed it hadn't been fixed yet.

Clem started to think it'd be easier for her to return to the restaurant for now. It's not like there would be anything to eat if she made it back to the bus and she had told the others where to go, meaning they'd inevitably come to them. With her stomach growling, Clem was forced to consider if she was hungry enough to risk being alone in a room with Eskiya again. Just turning to look north on the road in his direction made her nervous, and that's before she noticed something moving in the distance.

Clem instinctively hid herself from sight, taking cover past the edge of the trailer. Her heart was beating against her chest while she gasped for air through her mask. Clem didn't know what she saw, just that there was a dot on the horizon that moved. Reasoning she may have been seeing things, Clem inched over to the edge and looked out. Eyeing the road carefully, there was no mistake about it, something was moving towards her.

It was distant and it didn't appear to be moving quickly. Far too small to be a car or other vehicle, and Clem couldn't hear an engine in the distance. It could be Eskiya, riding to her, but its movement seemed too slow to be a bike. After what a big deal he made about how useful bikes were, she doubted Eskiya would abandon the food just to walk back. Clem tried to stop her hands from shaking long enough to remove her binoculars off her belt; who could possibly be out here alone on foot right now?

It was hard to keep her focus on the stranger, assuming it even was a stranger. It was just a distant dot moving down the road, but that it was moving was reason enough for Clem to be afraid. Lifting her binoculars up to her face, she hastily tried to locate whatever was approaching. It was difficult to find the specific spot again with such a zoomed-in image, but with careful movements Clem was eventually able to locate her target.

It wasn't a person but an animal. It was four-legged and large, possibly a big dog. Adjusting the focus on her binoculars, the image of not a dog a cat came clearly into view. A really big tan cat, bigger than any dog she could think of, just strolling casually down the road, it's tail swinging behind it. Even seeing it now, Clem couldn't believe it, a massive wild cat prowling out in the open; it was as big as she was, if not bigger.

"Oh my God…" The mountain lion's ears perked up and it stopped in its track to look Clementine directly in the eye, from nearly a mile away. Panic shot through her veins as Clem put her binoculars away and rushed over to her bike. Climbing on the seat, she looked over her shoulder only to discover the beast was gone now, no sign of it as a distant dot moving on the horizon. Where it had gone Clem didn't know, and she didn't wait to find out.

Pedaling as fast as she could, Clem's terror kept her moving over her tender limbs protests to stop. She didn't know if a mountain lion was faster than a bike, nor did she know if they eat people or not. All she knew is she didn't want to find out, so she forced herself ever forward while desperately gasped for air, hoping each breath wouldn't be her last.

Clem didn't know how long she had to go to get back. She figured it couldn't be too far if she was close enough to talk to the others on the radio, but mile after mile seemed to bring her no closer to what loosely could be called home. Every bit of cold air she breathed in hurt her throat and her lungs. She wanted nothing more than to stop, but every time she felt her bike began to wobble she forced herself to speed up, reasoning if she stopped now she probably wouldn't get up again.

Eventually, Clem could see the mid-day sun reflecting off a lake in the distance, and not long after that the bus finally came into view, right where she left it this morning. Clem breathed a sigh of relief as she sped up, eager to return to relative safety. The bus loomed ever closer in the distance, practically beckoning to Clementine, and that's when her foot missed the pedal and she felt herself being pulled onto the ground.

Landing on the asphalt was painful, more painful than Clem would have expected. Her left hand was already incredibly sore from having to use it for so long, and now banging it against the road made her yell out in the agony. The bike fell on top of her afterwards and she felt her ankle being twisted as she collapsed onto her side. Clem tried freeing herself from under the bike when she felt something grab her arm. It was very strong, and it had an iron grip on her.

"No!" yelled Clem as she tried to pull her knife. "Get off of me!"

"Hey!" called a voice as she felt her arm be released. "It's just me."

Clem looked up and saw Dilawar standing over her, a worried look on his tired face. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm…" Clem found it hard to speak, her throat nearly closing up on her as she gasped for air. "...thirsty," she managed to croak.

"Here." Dilawar handed Clem a canteen he had removed from his shoulder, and she hastily grabbed it. It hurt to swallow, with the water being so cold it almost felt like bits of ice were stabbing her tender throat on the way down. "Can you walk?" asked Dilawar as he lifted the bike off of Clem, taking care to untangle her leg from it as he did. "Do you need me to carry you back into the bus?"

"I'd… I'd like that." Clem sat up and wrapped an arm around Dilawar's shoulders as he scooped her off the pavement.

"We were coming to pick you up," he said, his voiced strained as he slowly lifted Clem off the ground.

"So the bus is fixed?" asked Clem as she felt herself being carried forward.

"Well… no," he admitted in-between grunts. "But I'm pretty sure we'll get it working soon."

"Pretty sure?" repeated Clem as she craned her head around, trying to get a view of the bus.

"Pretty sure," repeated Dilawar, not sounding all that sure. "I mean, if you just had given us a few more minutes I think we'd have it and could have saved you a ride back."

"I… I saw a mountain lion," said Clem as she looked around, paranoid it was stalking her even now.

"You did?" asked Dilawar, sounding surprised. "That's a good sign."

"It is?" asked Clem. "You're not afraid it'll attack us or something?"

"Well, now that you bring it up, yeah," he said, his tone noticeably more distressed than a second ago. "But it's a good sign there isn't any undead around. Animals avoid them like a plague… probably because they are."

"If there were walkers around, that'd be a good sign there might be food left though."

"Yeah, I know that too, it's just…" Dilawar trailed off. He sounded tired and distracted himself. "You told us you and Eskiya actually found food, like enough to last for… a day or two."

"Eskiya said it might last a week, maybe—"

"Oh my God, that's such good news," exclaimed Dilawar, a sudden swell of relief punctuating his every word. "I'll take you back to the bus, we'll get it running, and then—"

"Clem!" called Sarah's voice. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's—"

"What's Sarah doing out here?" asked Clem she turned her head and saw Sarah seated in a lawn chair in front of the bus.

"She—"

"Bring me over to her."

"Yeah, sure…" Dilawar groaned as he changed directions.

"Put me down," said Clem as she watched Sarah trying to turn in her seat. Dilawar knelt down and Clem winced as she felt her tired ankles hit the ground. Stumbling over to Sarah, she was met with a mutual look of confusion, anxiety and utter exhaustion.

"What are you doing out here?" asked Clem.

"Helping fix the bus," answered Sarah. "What are you doing back? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm just tired."

"Then why didn't you stay and rest somewhere?"

"I… I saw a mountain lion and it scared me, so—"

"A mountain lion? Where—"

"Who's watching Omid while you're out here?"

"Horatio," answered Sarah. "Where—"

"You just left him with someone we barely know?"

"I didn't have a choice! You left him with Simon when we were at the hot spring."

"That was different."

"How?"

"He—"

"Girls!" interrupted Dilawar. "I'm starving and half-freezing, is there any chance you have this argument later, preferably after we've fixed the bus and hopefully have eaten?"

Clem looked at Sarah and was meet with a mutual look of regret and shame.

"Do whatever you have to," said Clem with a weary nod. "I'm gonna go lie down."

"I'll talk to you in a little bit." Sarah stared at Clem for a second, then turned to the bus. A large panel on the front of the vehicle had been pulled opened, revealing the complicated machinery responsible for moving it that Clem couldn't begin to comprehend. "It's not the battery or even the fact it's cold," Sarah said as Dilawar approached the engine. "So that just leaves the fuel injector."

"Yeah, and if that's not it… I'm out of ideas," said Dilawar as Clem stumbled over to the bus's door.

"Me too," Clem heard Sarah say as she pulled open the door. Climbing up the steps, she found Sabriya leaned back in the driver's seat, her hand resting on her forehead. Clem was about to ask her if she's all right when Sabriya turned her head to look at the door.

"You're back," she said, sounding surprised.

"Yeah," said Clem with a shrug.

"Is everything okay? Did something happened," asked Sabriya as she sat up, her tired eyes narrowing with concern.

"I saw a mountain lion."

"Where?"

"Just… walking in the road, a few miles back. I didn't want to wait for it to find me."

"Here's hoping it didn't follow you," said Sabriya as she leaned forward and looked out the windshield. "The last thing I need is more problems with animals."

"More problems?"

Sabriya looked over at Clem. "Do you really want to hear about my problems?"

"I might," said Clem. "Especially if they could become my problem."

"I don't think there's much danger of that." Sabriya exhaled slowly. "We had just finished moving to somewhere remote near the Indiana border when Dil spotted a pack of horses, just roaming about like nothing was the matter." Sabriya groaned as she peeled back her headscarf slightly. "He thought we should try to catch a few of them, so we wouldn't be dependent on things like this piece of junk to get around, and the second I got near one of them it did this."

Looking closely as Sabriya's face, Clem could see a very large semi-circular scar that started under her right eye and curved backwards under her ear and disappeared into her dark hair. "Apparently I was lucky it wasn't worse, although I didn't feel like it waking up in a bed with blood all over my pillow. I remember my first thought after coming to was I had survived the undead, bandits and all matter of things for over a year, just to die to a damn kick in the head."

As Sabriya adjusted her scarf, Clem felt her hands moving on their own. "I was out in the woods, just looking for bugs and other stuff to use for bait so we could keep fishing." Clem pulled up her left sleeve. "I saw a dog, the first dog I had seen in like a year. It didn't look mean, in fact it looked hurt and tired, and I just felt bad for it, and then it did this." Sabriya leaned in to examine the faded scar on Clem's forearm.

"A dog did that?"

"Yeah," said Clem. "And it started growling at me, and… I was afraid it was gonna kill me."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Sabriya as Clem pulled her sleeve back up. "Supposedly there's always a story behind every scar, but in my experience there always stories the person with the scars would rather forget."

"I don't think I'll ever forget them," said Clem as she found herself instinctively touching the scar on her cheek.

"Me neither." Sabriya took a deep breath. "Go rest. I'll keep an eye out for trouble."

"Thanks." Clem shuffled into the aisle and slowly dragged herself back to her room, ready to collapse on the mattress. But pulling back the curtain, she found Horatio inside, sitting on the edge of the bed past where Omid was sleeping.

"What are you doing?" asked Clem as she walked in.

"You're back," said Horatio while looking over his shoulder.

"Yeah, what are you doing?" repeated Clem as she noticed Horatio was fiddling with something on one of their curtains.

"I uh… I figured you might like something a little more inviting than just the drab old carpet that used to be hanging in here." Clem hadn't even noticed, but the curtains hanging now we're different from when she left this morning. The raggedy dark red curtain had been replaced with sky-blue sheets instead. "And I was thinking your baby might like it if there were some decorations. So I figured with this color, painting some clouds on it might be nice… but I'm not much of an artist."

Standing up, Horatio picked up a paintbrush and a couple of tubes of paint as he stepped aside, revealing a simple mural. He had painted a dozen or so white splotches on the curtain, and arcing between two of them was a crude rainbow.

"I also brought you a new blanket," said Horatio as he gestured to a folded up quilt in the corner. "It's organic cotton, which is usually the best material for babies since it's soft and doesn't contain any chemicals that could agitate a potential skin condition, provided he doesn't have an allergy to cotton of course." Clem just looked at the blanket, then turned back to Horatio. "I… I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have overstepped my—"

"No, it's fine… I appreciate it," said Clem, glad to mean that. "Where did you get this stuff though?"

"The paint was just something we had leftover in storage," explained Horatio. "The blanket and curtain are from my bed. The others don't really seem to care about where they sleep but I figured if we're gonna be stuck in this bus for a while I'd at least take the time to find a decent blanket from the town we were staying in. It's not like it's something people loot en masse, so it wasn't even hard to find one."

"So, this means you don't have a blanket or a curtain right now?"

"I figured I'd just trade for yours." Horatio looked down at the lump under the blanket where Omid was resting. "Maybe if you help, we can swap them out. He… he might feel a little better in this blanket."

Clem sighed as she knelt down. "Just be quick," she said as she peeled back the covers. "Lately, he doesn't like coming out."

"I understand." Horatio grabbed the other blanket as Clem tossed off the old one. Omid immediately started crying as Clem pulled the covers away before he could grab hold of them. Seeing him writhe on the mattress, tears staining his cheeks and clinging to Elma for dear life was nearly enough to make Clem break down in tears herself. Thankfully, Horatio pulled the new blanket over him and almost instantly he settled. Clem took off a glove and gently set her hand on Omid; this blanket was noticeably softer.

"I'm sorry."

Clem looked over at Horatio. "For what?"

"I mean… just in general," he said. "You said he's two years old, right?"

"Not yet, he will be at the end of February, whenever that is."

"And his name is Omid, right?" Clem nodded. "I noticed Sarah trying to get him to say goodbye earlier. I'm… surprised he isn't already talking."

"He used to talk all the time. He was just getting to the point where he was using words when…" Clem trailed off as that horrible day came flooding back into her mind. Looking up at Horatio, she could tell from the look on his face he had already deduced the cause of Omid's silence. Unlike Eskiya, Horatio also had a look of overwhelming remorse on his face. "Do you know if he could ever start talking again?"

"It's very difficult to predict how children, especially a toddler reacts to trauma. They can… regress in their behavior, seemingly forget things they already knew," he explained. "With enough time and reassurance, he could start talking again, but…"

"He might not."

Horatio nodded in response. "I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. Trauma is difficult enough to treat in adults when they can tell you what they're feeling, and even then they might not want to talk." The way he said that made it clear he was talking from personal experience.

"Eskiya told me about Ezina," said Clem. "Along with Anwar and Zahra."

"He did?" asked Horatio, sounding shocked. "Why would he do that?"

"I had a lot of questions about you people, so he gave me some answers." Clem took a breath. "I'm… I'm sorry."

"So am I," said Horatio with a sigh. "May their memory be a blessing."

"What does that mean?"

"It just means, we were lucky to have known them, and we should cherish the memories of our time with them, it's a blessing."

"I think it'd be a bigger blessing if they were just still here with us."

"It would... but they're not." Horatio took a deep breath. "Truth be told, I had barely met Anwar and Zahra before they died, and almost all the time I knew Ezina she was in a deep depression over their deaths."

"Eskiya said she was kind in a way unlike anyone he ever knew."

"He said that?" Clem nodded at Horatio. "Huh, I've had Dil and Sab tell me that, but I wouldn't expect Eskiya to say it. I'm guessing he also said she was dangerous or something too, right?"

"No, he said she was useful."

"Typical, should have expected that from him." Clem found herself torn by Horatio's cold dismissal. She wanted to agree with him, but couldn't after seeing Eskiya himself seemed ashamed of saying that. "Well, I wouldn't mention her name to Dil or especially Sab. They knew her a lot longer than me or Eskiya and… they're still dealing with what happened to her the night before last."

"I won't say anything," said Clem as she laid down beside Omid, gently rubbing him through the covers as she did. "This was her bed, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was and… she spent a lot of time in it. Sab and Dil told me it wasn't like her, but that's usually where I saw Ezina," said Horatio with a sigh. "She was completely different from when I first met her. She loved talking to me while the others were still suspicious of me then. I kept talking to her after Anwar and Zahra's deaths, even though she rarely talked back. I figured eventually—"

"She'd start talking again?" Horatio nodded and Clem sighed as she looked at Omid, a quiet lump afraid to come out from under his blanket. "Maybe this is just as good as it gets and we should be grateful, before it goes to shit like always it does."

"Don't talk like that," insisted Horatio.

"Why not? You guys don't have a plan… I don't either."

"Maybe not but it's a big world and I refuse to accept there aren't people left working to make things better," said Horatio. "There's been a lot of dark chapters in human history, including other plagues, but we've always come back from them as a species."

"You sound like someone I used to know," said Clem without looking up. "The last time I saw him, he was being let out of this horrible place keeping us prisoner, but only so someone could kill him away from the rest of us so we wouldn't know about it."

Horatio let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry but… if we give up on all hope, what are we even surviving for?"

"I don't know anymore," Clem mumbled to herself. "But I'm sick of getting my hopes up for things ever getting any better. It always just ends—"

There was a rumbling followed by a small explosion in the distance. Clem jumped to her feet, panic shooting through her nerves as she hurried over to the window. She didn't see anything outside, but looking down at the corner of the window, Clem suddenly noticed the tape patched over the obvious hole in the glass; this is where Ezina was shot, and where she could be too. Clem recoiled backwards, nearly tripping as she heard something smash through the front door.

"We eat tonight!" yelled Dilawar as he charged inside. The bus was rumbling because the engine had started, yet Clem's legs kept trembling so much she felt like she was about to fall over.

"Are—"

"I'm fine," Clem told Horatio as she sat down, trying to stop her hands from shaking. "I'll be fine."

Clem heard Sarah's voice approaching from down the aisle but it sounded strange; she was laughing.

"This bucket of bolts isn't done with us yet," announced Dilawar as he moved down the aisle, carrying Sarah in his arms as she laughed with joy. "Your friend here is a genius, you know that?"

"Yeah," said Clem with a weak smile as Dilawar carefully laid Sarah on the mattress. "I know."

"So what kind of food did you find?" asked Sarah as she settled in next to Clem and Omid. "You didn't find fruit did you?"

"Canned peaches," said Clem. "And we found some rice."

"Those are both great changes from green beans, corn and fish." Dilawar turned to Horatio. "Come on, let's give them some privacy."

"If you two, or Omid need anything, just call." Horatio left with Dilawar, leaving Clem alone with Sarah, who was awkwardly staring at her.

"I'm sorry…" said Sarah as she turned away suddenly.

"No I'm sorry," professed Clem. "You've got enough to worry about without me making a big deal that you can't also be with Omid every second. Just forget it." Clem moved in close to hold Sarah, only to notice she still looked upset. "I said I'm sorry. If—"

"I ate your food."

"Huh?"

"Dilawar caught a fish while you were gone. I saved a couple of pieces for you, but Omid really wanted more so—"

"It's okay," assured Clem as she put her hands on Sarah's shoulders. "He needed it."

"I kept one piece for you but… I was really hungry and—"

"It's okay," whispered Clem as she put her arms around Sarah and rested her head on her shoulder. "The others did give me some more food this morning, but Sabriya said I had to save it for myself, so I wouldn't be too weak to find more."

"And you did," said Sarah with a smile.

"I got lucky." Clem nuzzled her cheek against Sarah's; the warmth from touching her again was worth the trip back.

"You… you said you saw a mountain lion?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah, just… walking across the road."

"Wow, that's really cool."

"I didn't think so," said Clem. "I was just afraid it was going to chase me down and eat me."

"You think it would do that?"

"I had a hungry dog bite me just before I met you, remember? I don't see why a hungry mountain lion wouldn't do the same."

"That's true. It's just… everything feels so dead, it'd be nice to see some animals again, other than fish. Do you think what's happening is hurting them too?"

"I've never seen anything but people turn into walkers," said Clem.

"Yeah, but lurkers still chase after animals and kill them right? And they never get tired, and they never give up. So, if they're out there, all day and all night, they probably spend a lot of time killing any animals they can find."

"Dilawar told me animals avoid walkers."

"Do they, or are there just never lurkers in the same place as animals because they killed all the animals?"

"I… I don't know." Clem hadn't thought of that, and now that she had it was hard to get it out of her mind. "Hey, want to know something crazy? These people have Jet's guide, the one he made in Tulsa."

"Yeah, I know. Dilawar was trying to use it to fix the bus earlier, then I told him I helped write that book, although not the section about vehicle maintenance… Patty did that." Sarah sighed. "I asked him for a while about where he got it, thinking maybe they had seen Jet or Patty, or even Simon, but—"

"They haven't," said Clem. "I asked Eskiya about everyone I ever knew."

"And he didn't know any of them either?" Clem barely managed a nod. "Just our luck I guess."

"Actually, he may have seen Molly. He saw someone that looked like her with a big group of people, the same ones who found our guide. Maybe we'll find them someday," said Clem, not really believing that.

"Who's Molly?"

"You know, we… oh, no, I met her before I ever met you," realized Clem. "I met her in Savannah. I didn't know her very long, but I liked her."

"Yeah, you drew a picture of her for our photo album, didn't you?" recalled Sarah. "What happened to her? Did you get separated from her, like we did from Jet and Patty?"

"No, it wasn't like that. I think she just wanted to be on our own. Maybe she thought it'd be easier if she wasn't with a big group."

"It's harder being on your own."

"Yeah, I realize that now." Clem sighed. "You still have that photo album?"

"Yeah, it's just buried in the bottom of my backpack." Sarah turned to look at Clem. "Do… do you want to look at it?"

"Yeah, I think—"

"Hey." The pair looked up to see Dilawar standing in front of their bed. "Sab needs your help navigating. She doesn't want to risk missing this Morgan town you told us about."

"Okay," said Clem as she pried herself away from Sarah. "I'm coming." Clem shuffled up to the front of the bus where Sabriya was seated at the wheel.

"Does any of this look familiar to you?" asked Sabriya as Clem pulled a chair up to the front and sat down behind the driver's seat.

"Umm… yeah, I remember that," said Clem as she pointed to the turn-off that led to that area with all the industrial machinery. "We got a ways to go."

"Just tell me when to slow down." Looking at Sabriya, her eyes were barely open; it's no wonder Eskiya told her to stay behind.

"Are you—"

"I'll feel a lot better once we have something to eat," she mumbled, half-awake. "How much food did you and Eskiya find exactly?"

"Eskiya said he thinks it'll last a week, maybe two."

"A whole week, just enough time to get ready to tackle a whole city of undead," groaned Sabriya.

"Well he said it'd last longer if… there wasn't seven of us now, with another one on the way."

"What? Oh, right, I'm going to have ration for seven people expecting an eighth, again…" The pain on her face when she said 'again' was very telling. "Look, I know you don't trust us and I don't expect you to, but now that you're here it's all in our mutual interest to cooperate. If we didn't feed you when we had food, you'd inevitably find out anyway and cause us problems, and that's no good for any of us. Can we agree on that?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"So, in the future, let us search for the supplies. This bus is small, so it's not like we could keep many secrets from you even if we tried. And regardless of what you're capable of… we're the adults, and that means we should be responsible for your care."

Clem wasn't sure how she felt about that. It was refreshing to meet an adult who said they would care for children again, but she hadn't forgotten Sabriya's insistence on leaving them behind yesterday. Even if Sabriya was grieving from Ezina's loss, it just left Clem thinking that her sense of responsibility might be fickle. But thinking about what Eskiya told her about Anwar and Zahra, Clem realized Sabriya might have a personal reason for wanting her to stay out of harm's way.

"All right," said Clem with a shrug, reasoning that it was best not to press the issue. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"There is one thing." Sabriya looked over at Clem, a sudden sharpness in her eyes. "Eskiya, he didn't try anything today, did he?"

"If he did, do you think he'd do it in front of me?" retorted Clem. "He's not stupid, he knows none of you trust him."

"With good reason after what he pulled with you yesterday," said Sabriya through clenched teeth. "I brought him out of the cold and kept him safe for months, and I still don't know a damn thing about him beyond he was a bookkeeper—"

"From Wisconsin, yeah, he told me that."

"It's all he's ever told any of us," said Sabriya. "It's driving me crazy. For a while, I just figured he hated talking about himself. But it's been months now and it's obvious that he's hiding something, and after what he did yesterday, I can't stop thinking about what else he's capable of. For all we know, we're traveling around with a serial killer or something."

"Why let him stay then?" challenged Clem.

"We're few enough in number as it is, and as much as I hate to admit it, his is useful to the group," said Sabriya. "But it feels like we're sitting on a time bomb with him, and I can't chase away one of the only people we have left without evidence he's up to no good."

"Really?" Clem slowly removed the Outbreak Survival Guide from her back pocket. She couldn't read what Eskiya wrote, but maybe Sabriya could. "What do you think he's hiding from you?"

"If I knew that I wouldn't lay awake at night thinking about it. I used to think he was a soldier like me, but… he doesn't act like one, at least not like any I've ever met." Clem cracked open the guide and turned it to the first page Eskiya had written on.

"You think he'd hurt us?" Clem flipped past a couple of pages with notes written in the margins.

"I don't know, and that's what is bothering me."

Turning to the back of the guide, Clem found the couple of blank pages Jet left for people to write on, and Eskiya had used them extensively. This wasn't like the short notes written in the margins. Even if she couldn't read what he wrote, Clem saw the paragraph breaks and realized this was more than just a simple note he had written. Clem looked at the page for a second, then looked up at Sabriya, who was concentrating on the road.

"If someone could tell you more about Eskiya, what do you think they'd say?" asked Clem as she stared at the page.

"I don't know," admitted Sabriya. "But I've always got this image in the back of my head, that we're gonna run into a group of people one day, and somebody will point at Eskiya and say he killed their family."

Sabriya's words hit Clem like a bolt of lightning. She was paralyzed as the same image entered her own mind, except the somebody was Corporal Cruz loudly proclaiming Clementine murdered her scout in front of everyone. For all Clem knew, she was with the group Sabriya is looking for. Sitting there, Clem recalled Cruz mentioning trying to grow crops, along with the idea of packing up an entire town and the few dozen people in it.

"Hey!"

"Huh?"

"That sign said Morgan," informed Sabriya as the bus slowed down to a stop at an intersection. "You need to tell me where to go."

"Right, just turn left and stay on the main road," said Clem as she pocketed the guide. "There's a big brick building up ahead with a sign that says 'Spring Chicken Inn'."

"I thought you said you found food at a restaurant?"

"We did," said Clem. "Or maybe it's a really weird hotel, I don't know. But it'll be on the left."

"All right, call Eskiya, let him know we're almost there."

Clem stood up and pulled her radio off her belt. "Eskiya, are you there? Can you hear me?" Clem waited patiently for a response.

"I'm here," he said. "I hear an engine approaching, I assume that's you?"

"Yeah, we're almost there."

"Good." The radio went silent for a second. "I must admit, you've been gone so long I assumed something must have happened."

"Yeah, the bus broke down, and I had to ride all the way back."

"That must have been… difficult."

"Yeah, it was." Looking up, Clem saw the Spring Chicken Inn roll up to a stop right outside the door. There was a familiar squeak of brakes followed by the sound of feet moving.

"Wait here," said Sabriya as she headed to the back of the bus. "Dilawar and I will be right back." Clem looked over her shoulder as Sabriya disappeared behind one of the curtains, then Clem turned to the door. The restaurant was just a few steps away, so Clem made her decision. She walked down the steps, opened the bus door and headed into the restaurant. She saw the table nearest the door, it still had the peach can on it, but no sign of Eskiya.

"Still hungry?"

Clem nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned to find Eskiya right beside her. "Jesus, you scared the hell out of me!" said Clem as she scurried backwards. "Were… were you just waiting by the door?"

"People usually look right ahead when they enter a room," said Eskiya. "It makes the space nearest the door easy to overlook."

"What… what if they don't overlook it?" challenged Clem.

"Then I'm close enough to act first." Clem regretted asking him that as the answer just filled her with dread. Looking over, she noticed a chair parked beside the door.

"Have… have you've just been sitting there this whole time?"

"I didn't know if someone else might find me while you're gone, I wanted to be ready." Eskiya raised an eyebrow. "Why did you come in first? Surely Sabriya and Dilawar are eager to recover the food."

Clem pulled Eskiya's guide from her back pocket. "Here," she said as she offered it to him. "I just wanted to give you this back." Eskiya examined the book for a second, then collected it. The look on his face made it clear he knew it was missing. "I didn't read it."

"You mean you couldn't read it," he corrected. "Otherwise, how would you know there's anything worth reading in it beyond the guide you already wrote."

"Yeah, well, I didn't let anyone else see it," said Clem, reasoning Eskiya already suspected she showed it to the others.

"I… appreciate that." Eskiya removed a separate guide from his pocket and handed Clem's guide back to her. "I didn't read it."

"You mean there was nothing to read," corrected Clem as she pocketed her guide. "Nothing you didn't already read in your copy."

"Indeed," noted Eskiya.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" Clem looked over to see Sabriya and Dilawar rushing past her, their weapons drawn as they scanned the room for threats. Sabriya lowered her rifle and turned to face Clem. "Did I not just get done telling you to let us handle these things? What were you thinking?"

"I—"

"They're very hungry," answered Eskiya. "Having to ride all the way back in the cold must have been exhausting for them."

"She…" Sabriya just groaned and rubbed her forehead. "You need to be more careful than that in the future, okay?"

"I will," assured Clem.

"Good." Sabriya tossed her rifle over her shoulder. "Wait for us on the bus and we'll bring everything in. The food is in the back, right?

"Yes, along with Dilawar's acetylene torch," said Eskiya.

"Okay, me and Dil will start loading. Eskiya, make sure she gets back in the bus, then keep a watch out for anything living, undead, or otherwise."

"Otherwise?" repeated Eskiya.

"The girl saw a mountain lion on the way back," informed Dilawar.

"And the noise of the bus might have attracted attention," added Sabriya. "So stay alert."

"Understood." Sabriya and Dilawar disappeared to the back of the restaurant, and once again Clem was alone with Eskiya.

"I… appreciate that." Clem told him.

"I must admit, I figured with the delay I would be met with at least a very angry Sabriya," said Eskiya. "I assume you didn't have much to say about me to them then?"

"Yeah, well… I figured it's in our mutual interest for me to not say anything."

Eskiya just stood there, the same expressionless face he always had when staring at Clem. "You should take that," he said as he gestured to the peach can on the table. "Before Sabriya rations it away."

"Won't she get mad?"

"There's more in the back and she'll be too busy counting everything else to notice one can missing, I'll make sure of it. Besides, you need to replace the calories you used to ride back." Eskiya looked aside for a second. "And I'm sure your friend and your baby would like some too."

Clem wasn't sure what he is angle was, but she wasn't going to pass up more peaches.

"Do you have any other advice?"

"What?" said Clem as she picked up the can.

"You said you helped write that guide, but didn't include anything on bikes because you hadn't learned to ride one yet," said Eskiya. "I was just curious, is there anything you learned you would have included if you knew it then?"

Clem thought to herself for a moment. "Get some better beds."

"I'm sorry?"

"Better beds," repeated Clem. "The one I have now is awful."

"You sound a little like Horatio when we first left Wisconsin," said Eskiya. "I'll tell you what I told them, comfort isn't a priority right now."

"You spend a third of your life sleeping, so I'd say it is," refuted Clem. "And it's not like something people loot en masse, so it wouldn't be hard to find."

"Well… Sabriya will want to follow-up finding food with gathering other necessities while we have the strength to do so," said Eskiya. "I suppose if we find a furniture store, we could stop long enough to get new beds."

"You won't regret it," said Clem as she headed out the door. She moved back into the bus and headed for her less than ideal bed. There she found Horatio seated in front of it with Sarah.

"Hey," said Clem as she held up the can. "Look what I got."

"Oh my God, actual peaches," said Sarah, practically salivating as Clem set the can down. "Can I—"

"Go ahead. I already had some." Sarah was already in the process of removing her utensils from her backpack before Clem finished saying that. She immediately fished out a spoonful of peaches and swallowed it in one bite, tears in her eyes as she did. She ate two more spoonfuls before looking around at the others in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, do you want some?" Sarah asked Horatio.

"It's fine, I'll eat when the others do, you go ahead," he insisted.

"Omid," whispered Sarah. "We've got something special to eat." Sarah gently nudged Omid, but there was no response.

"He's probably sleeping," said Clem. "He wasn't happy about changing the blanket." Clem looked over at Horatio. "Thanks for that. Did you think of something else that might help Omid?"

"I was just asking him that," said Sarah. "But said he told you—"

"There's not much to do but be patient and give him reassurance," repeated Horatio. "Again, sorry there's not much else I can offer."

"It's okay, but…" Sarah looked aside, then turned back to Horatio. "There was something else I wanted to ask you."

"What?"

"Can… can you kill my baby? The one in my stomach?" Those words shocked Horatio. He slowly turned away from Sarah, an uncomfortable look on his face. "Please, I… I never wanted it, and we tried some things, but they didn't work, and then—"

"How far along are you?"

"I… I don't know exactly anymore," realized Sarah.

"Do… do you know when the pregnancy started?"

"It would have been before her birthday," said Clem. "So that means—"

"It was after my birthday." Sarah's correction confused Clem; the attack on the farm was after her birthday. "Let's just say since mid-May of this year… or last year if it's after New Year's."

"I'm pretty sure it's January. We celebrated Thanksgiving as much as we could before we hit the road over a month ago," reasoned Horatio. "If it's mid-January that would mean it's been eight months."

"So?"

"So, at this point, you're in the third trimester," said Horatio. "If I could abort your pregnancy, which I'm not sure I could do safely at this point, you'd probably still have to stillbirth the fetus."

"Stillbirth?" asked Clem.

"She'd effectively have to give birth to it, even if it's dead," said Horatio. "The fetus is too big for your body to absorb, and I'm not a surgeon, and even if I was I probably wouldn't be confident in my ability to do a c-section safely with what we have on hand, so—"

"So I'm stuck giving birth no matter what," said Sarah as a tear rolled down her face. "I've known that for a while but… I kept hoping if I found a doctor they'd know something I didn't."

"I'm very sorry," said Horatio as he gently placed his hand on Sarah's shoulder. "I promise you though, I'll do everything I can to make this easier for you, and—"

"I've got another question," croaked Sarah through her misery. "If… if my baby dies, before it's born, would it become a lurker?"

"I…" Horatio's face went blank as he processed what she just said.

"Well?"

"I… honestly don't know," he admitted.

"You don't?"

"No… I don't have anything to use as a precedent."

"It happens to everyone when they die now," reminded Clem in a grim voice. "It… it happens to babies too."

"Yeah, but… at what point?" asked Sarah. "How big do they have to get before they… turn into lurkers when they die? If it dies right after you get pregnant, does… whatever little is there turn into a lurker?"

"A lot of what we know about the undead defies logic, but even I'd be surprised if zygotes could turn," reasoned Horatio. "If… if you have to destroy the head, maybe it starts with brain activity."

"When is that?" asked Sarah.

"Well technically eight weeks, but the fetal brain develops and grows a lot during pregnancy, with the most growth in the last thirteen weeks."

"So, if it is the brain, it's probably already too late," concluded Sarah. "It would probably become a lurker if it died now, and even it doesn't have teeth it being inside of me would still kill me."

"I… again I honestly don't know."

"Wouldn't it?" repeated Sarah. "They smell like rotten meat, and animals avoid them. If something like that is part of me then… it'd poison me and kill me, wouldn't it?"

"It would?" repeated Clem, horrified as she thought about that possibility.

"I… I don't know," repeated Horatio.

"Don't lie to me," insisted Sarah, tears welling up in her eyes. "If it dies, I die, right?"

"I don't know," repeated Horatio slowly. "What you're talking about… I've got nothing to compare it to. What I do know is this, I'll do everything I can to keep you healthy up until, during and after childbirth. Okay? I'm so sorry I don't have more answers."

"Thank… thank you," said Sarah in a quiet voice as she looked down at her feet. "I… I guess I'll I just have to worry about what happens after it's born… hopefully it just dies after that."

"You're—"

"Don't look at me like that!" snapped Sarah at Horatio. "You have no idea how hard this is, how hard it is just to care for Omid. And now, another baby, when we've got nothing to eat, and…" Sarah trailed off as more tears started streaking down her cheeks, prompting Clem to move and wrap an arm around her. It tore her apart seeing Sarah like this, so scared and angry all at once. Clem couldn't even begin to comprehend how much pain she was in right now.

"I'm sorry if looked judgmental," spoke a pennant Horatio "I didn't mean to it's just… you surprised me when you said that."

"Yeah. Imagine how surprised I felt when I found out…" mumbled Sarah as she cradled Clem for comfort. "I drank a bunch of alcohol to get rid of it. It did't work, and now that means it'll probably be born all messed up, right?"

"I… I don't know exactly," said Horatio. "Depends on how much you drank and—"

"A lot," said Sarah. "And then I'd throw up a lot right after… that was such a horrible week."

"Well, whatever happens, I'll support you however I can, with whatever you decide to do," assured Horatio. "Considering how terrified I was of getting pregnant as a teenager, I don't think I could live with myself if I did anything less."

"Wait, you can't pregnant," said Clem. "You're a guy."

Horatio let out a weak laugh. "I could when I was younger, but a lot has changed since then." Clem didn't understand but she didn't press the issue. "Is there anything else you need?" he asked. "Do you want me to check your feet while I'm here?"

"No, they don't hurt too much, less than yesterday at least, but…" Sarah looked over at Clem.

"What?"

"It's stupid."

"Sarah…"

"I'm fine," she insisted. "It's just…" Sarah looked at Horatio, then turned away to lean in to whisper into Clem's ear.

"What?" Clem turned her head and studied Sarah's face closely. "I… I didn't even notice you had hair on your upper lip."

"Clem!"

"What?" said Clem. "Nobody can even see it."

"I saw it in the mirror this morning," grumbled Sarah as she turned away. "And I can feel it too, anytime I touch my face I can feel it and it just…" Sarah looked at Horatio, then turned away in embarrassment. "Like I said, it's stupid."

Horatio stood up and walked away, then returned carrying a small bag. "I've never liked facial hair," he said as he dug through his bag. "Not on me, not on others, and I don't have a good reason for that beyond vanity, but…" Horatio pulled out a disposable razor. "It's a vanity that I can afford, seeing as people don't horde razor blades all that much, even now."

Clem watched as Horatio picked up a canteen and poured a bit of water into its cap. He dipped each end of the razor into it. "It'd only take a second."

Sarah stared at the razor, then turned to Clem for guidance.

"I don't really care," admitted Clem. "But you want to get rid of it, don't you?"

Sarah stared at her for a second. "Yeah, I really would."

"All right, just hold still and it'll be gone in a second." Sarah did as instructed as Horatio gently grasped her chin. He very carefully dragged the razor across Sarah's upper lip a few times, and what little hairs Clem could see were gone now.

"Thanks," said Sarah, still sounding embarrassed. "I shouldn't even care but… it really bugged me. Why do I have hair there now after not having hair for so long? I thought after I went through puberty I was done with weird changes to my body."

"Change is a constant of nature," said Horatio as he cleaned off the razor. "In this case, your pregnancy will cause changes in your hormones, especially near the end, and that might be why this is only happening now."

"Like I didn't already hate being pregnant enough," sneered Sarah. "Still, everything's that going on and I'm worried by some stupid hair that's not important."

"You worry about important stuff all day long Sarah," reminded Clem. "I think it's okay if you worry about a few things that aren't."

"And changes to your body, even little ones, can feel traumatic," added Horatio. "Taking control, even in little ways, is a good way to cope."

"Thanks," said Sarah. "Both of you."

Horatio set the razor down while Sarah rubbed her fingers across her upper lip, seemingly content with how barren it was now. "Anything else?" asked Horatio. "Don't be afraid if it's something embarrassing. For whatever it's worth, I maintain doctor-patient confidentially, even in the apocalypse."

"It's not embarrassing, but there's something important you should look at." Sarah turned to Clem.

"What?" she asked.

"Your hand," said Sarah. "You should let Horatio look at it."

"Sarah, I don't—"

"I didn't even get to change the bandage last night and… I don't even know if I've been treating it right this whole time," confessed Sarah as she turned Horatio. "You should look at it."

"Right now?" asked Clem.

"Omid's still asleep, right?" Sarah gently shook Omid. "Omid, are you up?" No response beyond gentle breathing. "If there's something wrong, the longer we wait the worse it'll be and—"

"Okay," said Clem in defeat. "Just… I don't want to see it."

"I understand." Sarah turned to Horatio. "How about Clem lies down and sticks her hand out in the aisle, we can close the curtain over her arm so she won't have to watch."

"For a quick examination, that should be fine," said Horatio. "Anything else, and we'd probably have to use my room as a makeshift trauma center."

"Clem?"

Clem swallowed hard and pull her left glove off. Just looking at the crusty bandage, the rough shape of the stumps where her fingers used to be was enough to make her feel sick. She laid down on her side as Sarah stood up. She did as she was told, stuck her arm out into the aisle while Sarah and Horatio gathered around her hand. Sarah pulled the curtain closed and then Clem winced as she felt the bandage being pulled off.

"I… I did what I could to stop the bleeding," Clem heard Sarah say. "I think it worked, but… what's this?" Clem shuttered as she felt Sarah's fingers being traced across her hand. "Is… is that an infection?" Clem's heart started pounding against her chest upon hearing that. "I... I don't remember seeing that two days ago." The anxiety in Sarah's voice sent Clem's already racing heart into a frenzy. It was taking everything she had to avoid hyperventilating.

"I don't think it's an infection," said Horatio. "Looks like bruising and swelling, in fact, it looks more recent than the rest of the injury."

"I… I banged my hand," announced a nervous Clem. "A couple of times in fact."

"You did?" asked Sarah. "When?"

"Earlier, when I was out… and when I fell off my bike when I got back."

"I imagine it hurts, but it doesn't look severe," informed Horatio.

"So, you don't think there's been any infection?

"I don't see any signs of it, no." Clem breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Horatio say that. "You've done a good job of treating the injury. Do… do you have medical training?"

"No. My dad was a doctor but… I didn't learn much from him before he died," said Sarah. "But I used to have these medical textbooks I took from a store, and I read them twice each because my dad isn't here anymore and I figured if something happened… I'd need to be the one to know what to do."

"That's… quite a burden you took on for yourself."

"She… she takes on more than me." Sarah had whispered that last part, but Clem had heard it anyway. "I'm… I'm still worried about the skin here—"

"I could put it some sutures, mend the skin around what's left of the bone. I think that would help it heal more cleanly." Clem breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the bandage being wrapped around her hand. "That is, if you want me to Clementine."

"Will… will it hurt?" asked Clem as she felt her aching hand throb a bit more as the bandage was tightened.

"It would." Clem flinched. "But… I think it'd cause you less pain in the long run."

"And I've still got a couple of painkillers, in my backpack." Sarah pulled back the curtain and hurried inside to unzip a pouch on her bag. Clem watched as she removed a couple of pill bottles from inside, then locked eyes with Clem. "You… do you want to do this?" asked Sarah. "I mean, it's your choice, but—"

"I'll do it," assured Clem, forcing a smile onto her face to reassure Sarah. "This… this will help my hand, right?" she asked Horatio.

"It should help it heal quicker, which might ease the pain," he explained.

Clem felt a sudden rumbling and sat up to see Sabriya, Dilawar and Eskiya all gathered around the front of the bus, stacks of canned goods and bags of rice piled up around them.

"There's a gas station with a makeshift wall back the way we came," informed Eskiya. "The bus should be out of sight if we park away from the gap in the wall."

"And then we feast!" celebrated Dilawar, sounding positively jovial.

"We need to make this last," said Sabriya as she shifted the bus into drive.

"Jesus Sab…"

"Starting tomorrow," she hastily added. "I think after the last few weeks, all of us could use a real meal for once."

"We'll do it after dinner." Clem turned back to Horatio. "That way it won't spoil the evening."

"You should go ahead and take the painkiller though, before you eat." Sarah placed a couple of pills into Clem's hand. "The food will push it into your system so it'll be in full effect this evening."

"Wait, these aren't both painkillers," noted Clem as she eyed the different pills.

"No, that's just this one," said Sarah as she pointed to the larger pill. "The other one is a xanax, one of a couple I had left."

"I don't need that," insisted Clem as she tried to hand it back. "Just—"

"It's for tonight, after Horatio… fixes your hand," insisted Sarah. "You'll need sleep to heal right, so just hold onto it until then."

"But we don't have many left," noted Clem. "We should save it for—"

"This is an emergency," stressed Sarah. "You've run yourself ragged since Vernal. Please, just take it."

"Okay," said Clem with a weak nod.

"Horatio," said Sarah. "Can you help me into the bathroom?"

"Sure," he said as he leaned down so Sarah could get a grip.

"And once I get back, we'll get to have a real dinner," said Sarah with a smile as she slowly stood up. "And it's all thanks to you."

"No, we all did it," corrected Clem with a smile. Horatio helped Sarah hobble to the back and Clem watched as both Eskiya and Dilawar started picking out what they wanted to eat. Looking down at the pills in her palm, Clem saw a tiny hand reaching for them.

"Hey," she said with a weak laugh as she pulled them away. "Look who came out of bed," said Clem with a forced smile as she turned to see Omid emerge from the covers. "You don't want these, they don't taste good, trust me." Omid just stared at Clem, sadness and longing hanging off his face. "I know, it's not great here, but…" Clem watched as Omid's eyes turned to the can of peaches. "Oh, that's why you got up." Clem grabbed the can and moved it closer. "I bet you smelled these even through the blanket. Well, we got enough for a little while, so you can have all you want today."

Clem dug out a small spoon for Omid, which he greeted with eager anticipation. "Yeah, it's fruit. Really old soggy fruit, but that's better than soggy old green beans." Clem fished out a spoonful of peaches, doing her best to avoid grimacing while using her left hand. Omid's eyes lit up as Clem held out that spoon, and moving it in close he smiled for a second before the spoon went in his mouth. Clem could watch Omid chew on those peaches all day, just so long as it made him happy. But after she fed him a second spoonful, Omid's eyes drifted towards the curtain.

"You like that?" said Clem as she noticed Omid staring at the rainbow Horatio painted. "Maybe… maybe if find somewhere we can stop for a while, we can paint something like that on a wall for you. Give you a real room again, at least for a little while." As Clem fed Omid another bit of peaches, she went to rub her hand through his hair when she remembered she was still holding the pills.

Moving over to her backpack, she tossed the painkiller in her mouth and swallowed it, which was unpleasant without any water to drink. Digging through her bag's outer pouch, she found a vitamin bottle and tossed the xanax in it for later. She already felt tired even without medication, and moving back over to Omid, she was content to just stroke his hair for a while as she fed him peaches.

Sitting there, Omid in one hand and a spoon in the other, Clem was suddenly struck by a terrible realization; Zahra was pregnant when she died. If Sarah was right, if a baby in the womb turned into a walker when it died, and if having a walker connected to the mother kills her, then that might explain why she suddenly died one night. And as Clem sat there, stroking Omid's hair, she realized the same thing could happen to Sarah one night.

Clem jumped to her feet and looked out into the aisle. She saw Horatio was standing by the bathroom door and was going to rush over to him when she felt something pulling on her leg. She looked over her shoulder to see Omid clinging to her, panic welling up in eyes as he stared up at Clem in desperation. She hastily sat down and moved over to him, taking him in one hand while grabbing the spoon out of the peach can with the other.

"It's okay… it's okay," she insisted, trying to control her breathing as she forced her shaking hand to scrap the can for what was left of it.

If Clem told Sarah about Zahra, about how she turned in her sleep and killed Anwar, it would just make her even more miserable. It'd make Sarah want to stay as far away from them as possible, just in case. Clem decided to keep it to herself. Horatio already said he'd do everything he could to keep Sarah healthy, and Sarah was terrified enough at the possibility of her pregnancy killing her; no reason to burden her with something else she had no control over.

Looking down at Omid, a rare moment of content on his face as he chewed soggy peaches, Clem reasoned it was best if she put herself between him and Sarah when they went to bed. That way if something happened in the night, Sarah would have to go through Clem to get to Omid. Looking over to her backpack, Clem realized she wouldn't be needing that sleeping pill tonight. If anything, she wanted to be sleeping as lightly as possible in the immediate future.