Three Orphan Pilgrimage (The Alternative to the Final Season)

by J. Gray Dingler

A story about three kids on a post-apocalyptic road trip, and the sequel to Young and Young at Heart. Their reprieve from a world torn apart by the dead coming to a close, a ten-year-old girl and her best friend set out on a journey to find a place to call home for not only themselves but also for the baby boy that they promised to take care of. [Art:Albaharu. Some M-Rated Content]

109. No Man's Land

Clementine shuffled forward, bits of soot sticking to her pants as she left footprints in the pale ash coating the road. She adjusted her mask as a pungent aroma stung her nostrils. Looking up, she saw a broken old house left to rot like a festering corpse. The entire porch was blackened and burnt, with a massive hole revealing the charred remains of a living room. The top half of the building appeared less damaged, giving Clem a shred of hope there was something worth salvaging.

She dragged herself inside, a horrible creaking sound following her every step. Clem stopped to examine the living room, finding a twisted mess of burnt furniture coated with a layer of snow-white ash. Moving to the stairs, the creaking got louder and the first step wobbled slightly under Clem's weight. She moved very slowly, fearful the staircase might collapse out from under her at any moment.

Clem could see the walls here were stained with smoke but not burnt like the first floor. Reaching the upstairs, she headed for the bathroom first, reasoning there were some leftover medicines she could take. There wasn't, in fact the bathroom didn't even have any towels left. Heading into the bedroom, she saw a dresser left open and emptied of clothes. Clem sighed as it confirmed to her this house had likely been cleaned out before most of it burnt down.

Heading to the nearest window, Clem looked outside at the desolate landscape they now found themselves trapped in. She had passed dozens of concrete foundations decorated only by piles of soot and occasional brick chimneys left standing. Ash-coated cars sitting on naked wheels with piles of melted glass caked onto the metal just beneath where the windows used to be. Bare and burnt trees flanked the roads on both sides, like prison bars reminding Clem she was trapped here.

"Nothing?" Clem looked over her shoulder to find Dilawar behind her. His face, what of it she could see through his ski mask and goggles, was racked with anxious despair. Clem merely nodded in response to his question. "Figures."

"What about you?" asked Clem. "Was there anything in the garage?"

"Mostly nothing," Clem noticed something under Dil's arm.

"What's that?"

"This? I looked around in the kitchen, most of it was burnt up and empty, but I did find a stuck drawer," said Dilawar as he sat down. "And I managed to unstick it."

"Really?" Clem perked up as she realized Dil had brought the entire drawer with him. She leaned in for a closer look. It was stuffed full of small, square packets. "These are… what are these?"

"Pretty sure they're moist towelettes," said Dil.

"What?"

"Those little wet napkins you sometimes got at restaurants. I guess whoever lived here hoarded them or something." Dilawar started fiddling with one of his packets but then his hand started twitching. "You think you can open it?"

"What's the point?" asked Clem as she took the packet.

"Well… we can't waste water on a bath right now, these might be the next best thing… if they're still good." Clem sighed and tore open one of the packets. She was surprised to see a bit of liquid leak out. Unfolding the tiny, damp square, she rubbed the towelette against the lenses on her mask. Much to her surprise, it wiped away most of the ash and dirt with ease.

"Huh," said Clem as she looked at the towelette. "These things stay good for over two years but not gasoline?"

"I guess so," shrugged Dilawar as he took off his backpack. "And it's not like we have anything else to show for our trip so far." While Dilawar dumped the towelettes into his bag, Clem inched up to the window and wiped away the soot and dust. She sighed to herself as she only saw a more clear image of scorched trees stretching all the way to the horizon. Had they only noticed the signs before it was too late.

They had spent almost all night driving north, desperate to put as much distance as possible between them and Reno. A clouded night sky had left them only with the bus's headlights to guide them. It wasn't until the sun came up did they discover they had driven into a literal disaster area. They weren't sure what happened here, just that something had destroyed the region and now they were trapped within it, trying to scrounge up enough fuel to drive out the other end before the Vaquero found them.

"How did this happen?" A brief silence followed Clem's question. "Are you asking me?" said Dilawar.

"You're a firefighter, right?"

"In another life," he answered as he approached the window.

"Still, you didn't just forget all that. What happened here?"

Dilawar looked around. "A fire." Clem stared at him until he sighed. "I don't know what started it, but there'd be no fire departments left to put it out." He said while turning back to the window. "And it would have kept spreading until it ran out of fuel. Probably happened sometime this summer when things were hot and dry."

"What makes you think it was this summer?" asked Clem. "Maybe this happened a couple of years ago."

"No, we'd see more plant life, even in the dead of winter," said Dilawar. "All that ash makes for good fertilizer. In a year you'd already have saplings growing up, beginning to replace the forest. All I see are burnt trees leftover from before."

"Why are so many of the trees still here?" asked Clem as she looked at the various pines surrounding the flattened and scorched foundations. They were all bare and badly burnt, but still standing, a few with seemingly healthy branches still left on top.

"They were less flammable than the houses." Clem looked at Dilawar in confusion. "Bark around the trunk of the trees, at least the ones that are still standing, is thicker to resist fires. Some trees also have sap just beneath the surface that doesn't burn well. The wood used to build houses like this have none of that."

"But wouldn't the houses catching fire spread to trees?"

"There's space between the house and the trees in this area, that cuts the risk a bit," explained Dilawar. "Wildfires spread more through embers usually. Little burning bits, like sparks the wind can carry. Trees only have branches, embers usually don't land on them and even if they do, there's not much to use for fuel.

"Roofs and yards though? Big, flat surfaces, sometimes with dried leaves, pine needles, cut grass? All of it acts like kindling for a new fire. From there, it could spread to the house, set off a gas line, and…" Dilawar looked out the window. "Well you get the idea."

"So… trees can resist fires but houses can't?"

"This one did," noted Dilawar.

"Not all those other ones we've passed," retorted Clem. "Why not?"

"I don't know, maybe whoever lived here was more fire conscious than his neighbors, made preparations before he left," shrugged Dilawar. "Or maybe the fire was starting to wane at this point. We should get moving, see if it's any better down the road."

Clem looked out at the dozens of trees standing tall beside the flattened and burnt slabs of concrete that used to be people's homes. It dawned on her the forest would grow back, but not the houses. Eventually, there'd be little evidence there ever were houses here to begin with. Stepping back outside, Clem looked over her shoulder to get one last look at the only surviving building in the immediate area. It appeared as frail and decrepit as she felt, and she suspected it wouldn't last any longer than she would.

The pair returned to the road and started moving. It was marginally warmer today, but it was hard to enjoy the difference when surrounded by such destitute scenery. Literal scorched earth in every direction as they rode deeper into oblivion. There was nothing Clem could see that'd let her cling to even faint hopes. Every building they saw had burnt down, and even though many trees survived there was no evidence that anything else had made it.

She stifled a cough as she felt that odd aroma creeping into her nostrils again. Even with a mask on she couldn't keep it out entirely. There was a charcoal-like smell from all the burnt ruins, which was unpleasant but not unexpected. But within it dwelled another scent, a more pungent one that reeked like rotten eggs. There was also a harsh tinge to it that burned ever so slightly, as if Clem had a salt-shaker under her nose for every breath.

Dilawar skidded to a sudden stop and Clem did the same as he held up his hand. "What is it?" asked Clem in a whisper.

"I heard something…"

Clem grew more tense and found herself listening carefully. At first she could only hear the sound of the wind, just barely audible as it passed through what was left of the trees. But then there was something else, a distant sound calling out to them.

"Is that…"

Dil motioned for her to be silent, and she was. She watched as Dilawar very slowly got off his bike and removed his bow from his back. Clem followed his lead, drawing her pistol as she heard the noise again. They moved away from the road and stepped into the burnt-out forest surrounding them, leaving footprints in the ash as they did. It looked almost like snow, their feet even making soft crushing noises as they walked across it.

"Easy," said Dilawar in a hushed whisper as he put out his arm to slow Clem. "I can see it."

Dilawar gestured ahead, pointing high up a tree in front of them. There Clem found it sitting on a branch; a crow. It cawed softly, seemingly unaware of them. Dilawar removed an arrow from his quiver and inched forward slightly. Clementine followed close to him, tightening her grip on her gun and she fixed her eyes on their target; a single solitary crow surveying its surroundings.

It wasn't very big, being little more than a lump on the branch it landed on. Even the occasional cawing it made wasn't very loud. Clem was surprised Dilawar had even heard it over his bike's noise. Clem watched as the crow looked around, seemingly as lost as they were. Eventually, it looked down at the ground. Clem didn't think it was looking at them in particular, but she couldn't help wondering what it was thinking right now.

"Do you know how to gut a crow?" whispered Dilawar.

"What?" said Clem.

"You know, how to cut it up so we're eating the good meat and not the organs or whatever."

"I only know how to gut fish," said Clem.

"Same, but I'm willing to learn if it means something to eat."

Clem had never eaten crow before. She had no idea what it would taste like. Looking up at the bird, it'd certainly make for a scrawny meal. But it'd be one with fresh meat. Even if they only had a single morsel each, it'd be a welcome change from meager rations of cold tomato soup with a stale vitamin for dessert. Clem watched as Dilawar threaded an arrow onto his bow's string, his hands trembling as they moved.

"Let me shoot it," whispered Clem as she raised her gun.

"No. The noise will draw the undead or worse here."

"There's nothing out here," insisted Clem. "Also your arms are messed up."

"They're feeling better," he insisted. "Besides, you've got a messed up hand." Clem grimaced upon hearing that.

"Your hands are shaking," she noted.

"So are yours." Clem hadn't even noticed, but her pistol was trembling in her grip. The cold crept its way into her bones no matter how many layers of clothing she had on. Beyond that, her stomach was practically trembling at the thought of eating again today. She tried steadying her grip with her other hand, but she flinched as she felt a tinge of pain shoot through the stumps that used to be her pinky and ring finger.

"It's all right," insisted Dilawar in a calm voice as he pulled the bow's string taught. "I know what I'm doing." Something about the way he said that eased Clem's mind. His hands were seemingly still now and Clem felt herself holding her breath as she waited for him to shoot. There was a sudden whoosh followed by cawing and flapping.

"God damn it." Clem looked up to see the crow flying away. "Down an arrow and nothing to show for it." Clem looked back at the tree. An arrow was stuck in the trunk right above the branch where the crow had been perched. How it had missed its target baffled Clem. "I guess that's better than losing a bullet." Dilawar sighed as he tossed his bow onto his back. "Why do you use a bow?" asked Clem.

"Cause I don't want to use a gun."

"I mean, why a bow and not a… what is it called? A crossbow?" asked Clem. "I knew someone once who had a crossbow. It had a trigger and I was able to shoot it even. Why don't you use one of those?"

"Because I'm already used to regular bow," stated Dilawar. "When we were kids, our mom would take me and Sab hunting sometimes, and this is what I'd use instead of a gun. So I've got a lot of practice with it." Dilawar looked up at the arrow stuck in the tree. "Although if I get the chance, I clearly could use a refresher."

"Wait, so you wouldn't use a gun even as a kid?" Dilawar froze upon hearing that question.

"That one house still standing may be a sign mean we're moving away from the center of… whatever happened here," said Dilawar, ignoring Clem's question. "Let's get moving."

Watching Dilawar move towards his bike, Clem suddenly felt overwhelmed by guilt.

"Dilawar, can I ask you something?"

Clem felt anxious as he turned around. "What?"

"Do… do you hate me?"

"What? No," he answered. "What would make you think that?"

"Because… I almost shot you." Even though his ski-mask, Clem saw Dil's face drop upon hearing that. "Again, I'm sorry—"

"It's fine," he said as he climbed onto his bike.

"But—"

"Clem, I'd really rather not talk about it right now, okay?"

"Okay…"

Dilawar pedaled ahead and Clem felt her heart sink as she climbed on her own bike. She dutifully followed after him, paying little attention to her surroundings. Everywhere she looked was just more burnt trees and ash all in every direction. The sun was high in the sky now, bathing the area with light that reflected off the pale ash, practically blinding Clem if she stared directly at it for more than a few seconds.

Looking over her shoulder, Clem was ever fearful they were being followed. There had been no signs of the Vaquero since leaving Reno, but that did nothing to alleviate tensions amongst the group. They had taken turns keeping watch from the bus's broken back window and had kept their weapons close. None of them had slept for more than an hour since they were attacked.

Looking at the tire tracks their bikes were making, Clem was terrified the Vaquero would find them as soon as they realized what direction they went. There was nothing here except them, and the bus would have left tracks anywhere the road was covered in ash. Clem had wanted to backtrack this morning, find where they started and possibly cover the tracks. She was ready to race out on her own before Sabriya pointed out that if the Vaquero were already coming this way then Clem would be charging into an ambush.

Clem forced herself to look ahead again. There wasn't much new to see. Dilawar's assertion did seem correct though as there were some houses partially standing, suggesting the fire started weakening in this direction. But even then, the damage was still enormous. The few houses they saw were piles of debris instead of piles of ashes, and the surviving trees were only slightly less burnt than before, but there was still no end in sight.

"Hold up," said Dilawar as he came to another stop.

"I didn't hear anything," said Clem as he came up behind them.

"Me neither, but look, off in the distance." Clem pulled out her binoculars and scouted the horizon. The trees seemed to thin out a little further ahead, and beyond that Clem could see an intact building. "Is that a gas station?"

"Might be," said Dilawar. "I don't see any trees around it. It could be there's clearing ahead and not enough fuel for the fire. Maybe this place didn't get burnt up as bad and we'll get lucky." Dilawar pedaled ahead and Clem followed after them. He was right about the clearing, the forest receded for maybe the next half-mile. Clem could see more singed trees far off in the distance, making this a little oasis amongst the destruction.

There was no gas station though. A couple of signs outside a wooden building mentioned a resort. Clem followed Dilawar into what might have been a restaurant at one point. It was devoid of any supplies, and there wasn't a gas pump anywhere in sight. While Dilawar checked a large propane tank installed behind the building, Clem scoured what was left of the parking lot.

Despite the lack of fire damage, most of the cars' windshields were still caked with ash. Clem recalled having to escape a burning house back in Florida and swallowed hard at the thought of seeing that across an entire forest. Forcing that thought out of her mind, Clem moved to a semi-truck parked on the edge of the lot. Looking at the large fuel tank mounted on its underside, Clem sighed before giving it a weak kick. She expected a hollow echo confirming it was empty; it made a solid thud followed by a very faint sloshing sound.

"No way." Clem dropped to her knees and hastily unscrewed the fuel cap. Underneath she could see diesel shimmering in the low light. "Dil, get over here!" Dilawar came racing over with surprising speed.

"What'd you find?" he said with great eagerness.

"Look, it's full!" said Clem as she pointed at the tank. "And, don't these things…" Clem hurried around to the other side of the truck and immediately found the other fuel tank. Unscrewing the cap, Clem could see more diesel sitting inside. "It's a jackpot!"

She raced around the front of the vehicle and found Dil staring intently at the first tank. "What's wrong?" Clem felt her stomach drop has Dilawar dipped a finger into the tank. Pulling back his hand, Clem was shocked to see the diesel coming with it. A small trail of it clung to his fingertip, looking more like an ooze than diesel.

"It's gelled," confirmed Dilawar.

"Gelled?" repeated Clem.

"When it gets below freezing diesel can harden and… turn into a kind of gel," said Dilawar as he wiped the gelled diesel on the edge of the tank. "When it gets like that, it won't move through the fuel lines or the engine." Dil looked up at the truck. "Maybe… maybe there's something else inside we can actually use."

Dilawar pulled open the door and stepped into the truck's cab. Clem didn't follow him, she just stood there. She couldn't stop thinking about how there was diesel sitting right in front of her but apparently they couldn't use it. She knelt down and put her own finger into the tank, and was shocked when she felt it was a soft, jelly-like substance that even jiggled slightly upon her touch.

"Well whoever was here last made sure not to leave anything else," said Dilawar as he stepped out of the truck. "Not so much a cigarette butt in the ashtray. And there's no trailer." Dilawar looked at Clem. "What?"

"Houses catch on fire easier than trees but the stuff that's supposed to burn doesn't if it gets too cold? Just… what the fuck!" she yelled. "How… how come this never happened when Sarah and I had an RV? We went through more than one winter with it."

"Were you guys putting additives in your diesel?"

"Yeah, this guy we knew told us… wait, is this why we had to do it?"

"It's one reason," said Dilawar.

"One?" repeated Clem. "What else can go wrong?"

"Look, this could work," reasoned Dilawar. "We just gotta de-gel it."

"How do we do that?"

"Well, they make stuff specifically for gelled diesel."

"They do? Why didn't you mention that earlier?"

"Because we used it all up when we got stuck in that blizzard in Montana," said Dilawar. "And… I haven't seen anything resembling an auto shop or a garage since we got here."

"All we've seen are burnt-down buildings," said Clem. "Except—" "The only thing I found in that one house's garage was half a bottle of antifreeze," said Dilawar as he took off his backpack. Clem watched as he removed a large plastic container and held it up for her to see. It was covered in grease stains and the plastic on the bottom was misshaped, possibly partially melted from the heat. But the red liquid inside seemed undisturbed by the outside world.

"Why'd you take this?" asked Clem. "What do we need antifreeze for?"

Dilawar stared at Clem for a moment. "It's the middle of winter." Clem just stared back at him. "Antifreeze stops things from freezing."

"Oh." Clem turned away in embarrassment. "Wait, does that mean you can fix the diesel with antifreeze?"

"I think this stuff is more for engines than the fuel itself," said Dilawar as he attempted to read what was left of the label. "I'm not exactly an expert on it though. Sarah used to take care of your RV, right? Do you think she'd know anything about this?"

"I don't think so, not unless the manual to our old RV mentioned antifreeze," said Clem. "And the only thing I know about antifreeze is it'll kill you if you swallow it."

"Yeah, my parents had to tell me the same thing," said Dilawar as he put the container into his backpack. "Why the hell do they make it look and smell like fruit juice?"

"My parents never told me that," said Clem. "The person who did, She… may have poisoned someone with antifreeze."

"Jesus," said Dilawar in a hushed breath. "Did… did they try to poison you?"

"No, it was someone else. She gave him a bottle of wine and later he got sick and died. She told me she didn't do it and…"

"She put antifreeze in wine?"

"Maybe. Why?"

"It's just, that'd be a bad way to do it."

"I don't think she did it though," argued Clem. "I think—"

"No, I mean, that's a bad way to poison someone with antifreeze," said Dilawar. "Alcohol is an antidote for antifreeze poisoning."

Clem's stomach dropped upon hearing that. "Are… are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"Wha… why?" asked Clem. "Why would alcohol stop antifreeze?"

"Uh, something about counteracting its toxicity," said Dil. "You'd be better off asking Horatio. I just remember alcohol being listed as a makeshift cure for antifreeze poisoning from my EMT training ages ago."

Clem just stood there in silence, her tired mind brewing with confusion and guilt. "She couldn't have killed Pedro if she wanted to," Clem mumbled to herself. "If I had just believed her… Patty would still be here, and Jet… Devlin… Sin…" Clem felt tears streaking down her face and her knees gave out from under her.

"Clem!" Dilawar knelt down beside her. "What's wrong?"

"I… I just don't feel well," she mumbled.

"It's the air, isn't it?" he asked, fear in his voice.

"No, it's not that," she said as she slowly stood up. She tried wiping her eyes, but her mask that impossible. "Let's just…"

"Head back." finished Dilawar. "Maybe the others found something."

"And if they haven't?"

"Well… there might be a way to salvage this frozen diesel, but I'd need stuff from the bus to even try it. If we hurry, maybe we can work something out and be out of here before it gets dark."

"And if we don't?"

"Then… we're stuck here for the night." Looking around, Clem saw scorched trees in every direction, appearing to her as an army waiting for its order to attack.

"Let's hurry."

"Don't gotta tell me twice."

The pair got back on their bikes and started pedaling. Dilawar didn't sound confident he could actually salvage the frozen diesel, but it was the first time today either of them had even a semblance of a plan, so they moved with great haste against the freezing cold. Clem should have been eager to return to the bus, to return to Sarah and Omid, but the foul air in this region meant they literally couldn't even breathe easier in relative safety.

They hadn't even noticed the smell until about two hours before sunrise. The scent of gunpowder had lingered long after the battle while Horatio had painstakingly used plastic and duct tape to cover the broken windows, then kept working to seal up every crack he could to keep the cold out. Unfortunately, it kept out the toxic aroma just long enough that they were surrounded by the time they noticed.

Clem could barely swallow a spoonful of soup this morning. The pungent smell made everything taste like dish soap mixed with rancid onions. It was so bad Omid refused to eat, and it only got worse after breakfast. The air seeped into the bus a little bit at a time despite Horatio's best efforts to keep it out. They all had to don gas masks or the closest they had on hand to keep the air from gagging them. Sarah had to hold Omid in place while Clem strapped an old painting respirator across his face.

A chill crept up Clem's spine as the surrounding area grew more desolate. The white ash began to darken and there were fewer trees bordering the road. Although a fire had clearly spread out across this region, what caused it was not clear. However, they did know it must have been more than a simple forest fire after the morning sun had revealed they were parked in a charred crater.

The ground had been scorched solid black. Asphalt, dirt, concrete, all just one big dark stain beneath them. They didn't even realize there used to be buildings until Eskiya discovered the corners of a foundation buried among the thick soot coating everything. The only remaining plant life was a few twisted stumps buried deep in the dirt. When she left this morning, Clem was afraid this wasteland went on forever. Coming back to it now, she was fearful they would never escape it.

The stinging in her nostrils grew worse and that awful taste hanging in the air became so strong it felt like it was clawing at her gums. Any signs of trees were gone now as Clem move further into this nightmare. She finally sighted the bus off on the horizon. It wasn't difficult as it stood tall over the surrounding desolation. Pedaling harder, Clem felt herself nearly gagging for air between deep breaths, the bitter cold and foul aroma working in tandem to choke her.

Looking over, she could see she was pedaling past the lake now. They had barely noticed it even after the sun came up. It was just as black as the dirt around it. Dilawar briefly thought about fishing in it before the mere act of trying to draw water revealed it was filled with a thick goop that stunk of death even with a mask on. The group had speculated if the lake was the source of the noxious fumes haunting the region, but there were no clues left to work out.

With the sun high in the sky now, Clem could better see the size of the lake and was shocked at how massive it really was. The light shimmered off the murky water and revealed it bordered the road for at least a mile, being the only thing between it and a small mountain barely visible on the horizon. Looking out at that sickly ink spread out like a dark ocean before her, Clem couldn't help thinking that something horrible was lurking just beneath the surface.

With her destination finally growing near, Clem forced herself to move quicker and hopefully put this horrible sight behind her. Reaching the bus, she hastily pulled up to the rack and jumped off her bike. She grabbed hold of the bike and tried lifting it, but her arms didn't feel like cooperating.

"Here," said Dil as he walked up to her. "Let me." Clem watched as Dilawar lifted her bike up to the rack. He visibly struggled to get it into place. Lifting his own bike, he couldn't quite summon the strength to make it onto the higher rack. Clem gripped the bike and helped to give Dilawar the extra lift he needed to put it in place. He took a deep breath, coughing a little as he did, then wiped his face, or as much as he could while wearing a ski mask with goggles.

"Thanks."

The pair headed into the bus, quickly closing the door behind them to keep any more toxic fumes from flowing into the already poisoned bus. Heading up the stairs, Clem saw someone on the floor looking through dozens of papers spread out across the floor.

"Hey Sab," said Dil in a weak voice. "Find anything?"

The person looked up and Clem was surprised to see Eskiya's looking back. Between his mask and a bandanna covering almost his whole head, Clem had actually mistaken him for Sabriya as well.

"Oh…" said Dil in an awkward voice. "So…

"Sabriya is in the bathroom," he stated.

"Got it, thanks." Dilawar headed for the back while Clem moved over to Eskiya.

"Did you find anything?" she asked.

"Nothing useful," he reported. "Most of these are lists of supplies, which they likely updated every week. Beyond that, I found one that was probably a patrol report, in which they found nothing." Eskiya groaned to himself as he tossed one stack of papers onto another. Even with the mask on, his eyes were clearly visible through his glasses and Clem could tell he was annoyed.

"What's wrong?"

"Sorting through old files in search of something that likely doesn't exist," he griped. "It's so… tedious."

"Didn't you say you used to be an accountant?"

"No, I said I was a bookkeeper."

"What does a bookkeeper do?"

"Keep… books."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you… sort papers and organize things." Clem stared at Eskiya in response. "I never said I enjoyed the job."

Clem left Eskiya to work. Heading through the bus, she saw Horatio sitting on his bed. He had a pen in one hand, a pad of paper in the other, and four bottles of water sitting in front of him. Clem wasn't sure, but that might be their entire water supply now. Watching Horatio writing something, Clem dreaded what they'd do when those bottles were empty.

She was ready to leave when a thought entered Clem's mind.

"Horatio?"

"Huh?" he said as he looked up. "What?"

"Is alcohol a cure for antifreeze poisoning?"

"Why… why are you asking me that?"

"Dil told me alcohol cures you if you drink antifreeze, and I just want to know if that's true or not."

Horatio looked at Clem through his mask. "No."

"Oh… okay. Thanks—"

"That's an oversimplification," said Horatio. "When you say alcohol, you mean like beer or something, right?" Clem nodded. "Those types of drinks contain ethanol, which is a type of alcohol. Antifreeze contains a different type of alcohol called—"

"Just tell me this," said Clem suddenly. "If someone put antifreeze in wine, would it kill someone to drink that?"

"It depends."

"On what?" asked an annoyed Clem

"On the ratio," said Horatio. "There have been scandals with people using a bit of antifreeze to sweeten wines. It's still toxic, but the amounts used were usually very small and the ethanol in the wine does work to counteract ethylene glycol poisoning."

"So… you can't kill someone with one bottle of wine and antifreeze?"

"I didn't say that," stated Horatio. "People spiking their wine with antifreeze weren't trying to kill their customers, just cover up a lousy taste. If you did want to poison someone with wine, you could just use a lot more antifreeze than they did. It might be possible."

Clem sighed upon hearing that.

"What happened exactly?" asked Horatio. "Did someone—"

"It was a long time ago," answered Clem. "And I wish I hadn't even asked…" Moving further back, Clem saw Sabriya exiting the bathroom.

"Are you okay?" Dilawar asked her.

"Yeah, it's just my stomach…" She took a deep breath as she noticed Clem approaching her. "You both made it back… thank God."

"You and Horatio have any luck?" asked Dilawar. "We found a parking lot that was burnt up a few miles south. The cars there… what was left of them were melted into the pavement." Sabriya sighed. "Your… your guide mentioned Houston may have been bombed," Sabriya said to Clementine. "Did it look like… this?"

"I don't know," she answered. "I never made it to Houston. The people who came from there, we only meet them far from Houston outside an oil refinery that had caught fire." "You saw that?" asked Dilawar.

"I saw a giant cloud of smoke and fire miles away."

"Jesus… I never had to deal with a refinery catching fire," said Dilawar.

"We haven't seen anything resembling a refinery out here though, or anything important for that matter," noted Sabriya. "It just looks like it used to be a small town with a big lake. No dam that we can see, it's far off the main road. Why would this place ever be a target? What… what the hell happened here?"

Only silence followed that question.

"Forget it," said Sabriya. "Did you two find anything?"

Dilawar held up a bottle of antifreeze.

"That's it?" she asked in a weak voice. "No food?"

"None," reported Clem sadly. "We got moist towelettes though."

"Really?" Sabriya's question was answered by Dilawar holding up a fist full of pre-sealed packets. She sighed loudly. "Well, at least we won't die with dirty hands," said Sabriya as she took a couple. Dil offered them to Clem next, who pocketed a few.

"We also saw a crow," said Dilawar.

"Really?" asked Sabriya as she ripped open one of the packets and pulled out the wet napkin. "Something is still alive out here? Well… that's a good sign right?"

"It was just one, and… it didn't look very healthy," said Clem.

"We tried shooting at," added Dilawar. "Figured bird meat would be better than nothing, but… I missed."

"You two tried to eat crow?" asked Sabriya in disbelief.

"Would have if we caught it." Sabriya kept staring at Dilawar. "What?"

"Nothing," she said as she finished wiping off her hands.

"Anyways, the damage didn't look as bad towards the west," said Dil. "We should move the bus while—"

"First, I want to see if Eskiya found anything in those papers," said Sabriya.

"I'm pretty sure he hasn't," said Clem.

"I want to be certain. We've got very little fuel left," she said as she moved forward, Dilawar following her. "The last thing we need to do is drive deeper into this hellhole."

As Clem turned to follow them, she saw Sarah sitting on the edge of their bed and moved over to her. At least she thought it was Sarah. With a gas mask on, all Clem could see was some dark hair sticking out the back. Beyond sitting on their bed, the only way Clem could be sure it was Sarah was she was wearing her jacket and she could see part of the bandage Horatio used to cover the bruise on her head.

"Hey," said Clem as she knelt down and leaned over Sarah's shoulder. "You okay?" Sarah turned her head then backed away suddenly. Clem couldn't see her face through the mask, but the way she moved made it clear she was frightened. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," said Sarah, her voice muffled by her mask. "It's just… I can't see that good and then I look over my shoulder and…"

"I scared you?"

"With that mask on, yeah," said Sarah. "I turned my head and… I just see a broken eye looking at me." Clem touched the right eyepiece on her mask. It had been cracked since Wyoming when the Vaquero shot the binoculars in her hands. "Doesn't that make it hard to see?"

"A little," shrugged Clem. "It's been like that so long I guess I'm used to it."

"I wish I could get used to not having glasses. Everything's just a literal blur now," moaned Sarah as Clem sat down on the bed beside her. "Did… did you find anything?"

"Not much," admitted Clem. "Just that things don't look as bad to the west of here, but it's still pretty bad."

"Oh God… it never ends."

"I know," said Clem with a sigh.

"I'm… I'm useless now."

"What?" asked Clem in surprise. "No, Sarah, you're…"

"I can't even see."

"We'll find you new glasses."

"And then what?" refuted Sarah. "I don't do anything."

"That's not true," said Clem.

"Yeah, I eat food you and Omid need."

"That's…"

"You'd be better off if I had just died back in Reno."

"Don't say that!"

"Why not? It's true."

"It's not!"

"At least then we wouldn't have to deal with me having a baby we're just gonna have to kill," said Sarah. "Oh God… what if I have to give birth here? How… how would that even work?"

"I… I don't know."

Sarah tried crying into her own hands, only for the mask to get in the way. "I… I can feel it… moving inside of me. I… I want it out so bad," wept Sarah. "Then we're just gonna have to kill it… assuming I don't die with it."

"Please Sarah… stop…" begged Clem as she tried to press her face against Sarah's, only for their masks to bang against each other. "I… I can't go on like this… I… I just want it all to end."

"No!" Sarah grabbed hold of Clem with such force it almost hurt. "I… I need you!" Clem just let Sarah hold her. Usually she enjoyed being in Sarah's arms, but something about the way she said 'I need you' this time bothered Clem; it sounded like a demand.

"I'm… I'm sorry Clem," mumbled Sarah as if she could read Clem's thoughts. "You do everything for me and Omid and… all I do is whine about it." The pair could hear a severely muffled whimpering coming from under the covers. "Oh great, now I've made him cry."

"I'll take care of him," said Clem. "Why don't you get cleaned up? Dil found these little sealed napkin things." Clem held out a couple of the packets. "You can give yourself a bath… sorta."

"Did Sabriya ever get out of the bathroom?" asked Sarah as she took the napkins from Clem. "She's been in there for a while."

"Yeah, she's out," said Clem. "She said her stomach is bothering her."

"She tried eating when she got back, and I think she breathed in too much of the air and got sick." Sarah stopped and looked down at the covers. "I… I've been afraid of trying to feed him."

"He still hasn't eaten anything today?"

"I took his mask off, but he covered his nose and started crying in less than a minute," said Sarah. "I had to put it back on and—"

"I'll feed him," asserted Clem. "Just get cleaned up."

"Oh… okay." Sarah slowly stood up, almost like she was struggling to do so. Clem couldn't help but notice how her stomach bulged out past the edge of her jacket and turned away so as not to stare. After Sarah left, Clem knelt down to duck under the covers. Clem crawled under the blanket, her mask making it harder to see than it already was. She came across Omid, pawing at the respirator strapped across his face.

"No no, don't touch that," said Clem as she crawled in close. "It's even worse without it. You know that from earlier, remember?" Inching up him, Omid looked over at Clem then quickly turned away. He tried crawling away, whimpering as he did. "It's me, it's me!" Clem regretted picking such a frightening-looking gas mask. The mere sight of it was enough to scare Omid into trying to escape. Clem took off her gloves, then inched in closer.

"It's okay Omid," she said as she tenderly put her hands on his shoulders. "It's okay," she repeated as she stroked his back. Clem carefully hugged Omid from behind so he wouldn't see her mask. After she felt him settle, she took a deep breath. "I… I bet you're hungry," said Clem. "Wait right here." Clem crawled back out from under the covers and moved up a few seats. She took the jar of gummy vitamins, reasoning Omid was owed one, then hurried back.

"It's me, it's me," repeated Clem as she crawled back to Omid. She came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I got something for you." Clem set the jar of vitamins in front of Omid. Clem couldn't see his face, but he was clearly eyeing the jar with great curiosity as he leaned forward. He knew what it was, and what was in it. "Yeah, you gotta be starving." Clem tensed up as she realized that might be literal. Turning back to Omid, she saw him pawing at the jar.

"Okay, let's get you something to eat." Clem removed one of the packets from her pocket, tore it open, and used the napkin to wipe down her hands. Actually felt good cleaning the ash and dirt off. She opened a second packet and cleaned Omid's hands next. He seemed confused but not bothered by this, simply letting Clem wipe down his chubby fingers.

"Now, let's make this quick." Clem unscrewed the jar and almost immediately Omid tried reaching into it. He struggled to grab anything, so Clem tilted the jar up until a gummy fell into his grasp. Clem hastily shut the jar as Omid tried to move the vitamin to his mouth, only for the mask to block it.

"Real quick," Clem said to herself as she grabbed the strap on Omid's mask. She gave the clasp a sudden tug and created some slack. With careful precision, she pulled the mask down just enough to expose Omid's face and he wasted no time popping the vitamin into his mouth. He started chewing and Clem could tell from the noises he was making he liked the taste.

"Now, I just need to—" Omid almost immediately went from happily chewing to whimpering. His face scrunched up like was going to cry and he suddenly covered his nose. He started whining loudly as a half-chewed gummy suddenly emerged from his mouth, ready to be spit out entirely.

"No!" Clem clasped a hand over his mouth which resulted in Omid crying loudly, even with a hand over his face. "I know, it tastes and smells bad, but just swallow it. You… you need it Omid. You need to eat!"

Omid struggled against Clem, crying louder as he did. Clem could feel the gummy pushing against her palm. She tightened her grip and forced the gummy back into Omid's mouth, which just set off even more panicked cries between gasps for air. It tore at Clem's nerves, her whole body shuddering in terror, but she kept her hand over his mouth, muffling Omid's cries while taking great care to leave his nose uncovered. Suddenly, he stopped crying. Clem felt him twist in her grasp, then he began whimpering softly; he swallowed the vitamin.

"What's going on?" Clem watched as the blanket was pulled off and Sarah appeared. "Oh no, did he get his mask off?"

Sarah hastily sat down in front of Omid and quickly pulled his mask back around his face. Omid started crying louder as Clem helped to tighten the strap. "I know you don't like it, but you need it, at least for now." Omid's crying softened slightly once the pair stopped adjusting the straps. He sat there briefly, then tried pulling the respirator off, to no success.

"What happened?" Sarah asked Clem.

"Nothing," said Clem. "I… I just had to hold his mouth close for a second until he swallowed a vitamin."

"What?" asked a shocked Sarah. 'You forced him to eat?"

"He has to eat something," reasoned Clem, raising her voice.

"I just told you how Sabriya might have gotten sick after eating," reminded Sarah. "Why would you think to feed him right now?"

"Because he's starving!" retorted an angry Clem. "Are you going to wait until he dies of hunger before feeding him?"

"I was going to wait until this afternoon," retorted an angrier Sarah. "I was going to try to feed him as soon as we moved the bus. You just said the west isn't as bad as here, so we're going to move soon, right?"

"I… I think so?"

"So… why didn't you just wait a little longer?"

"I…" Clem just sat there in silence, feeling incredibly foolish. With nothing to say, Sarah turned her attention fully to Omid. She carefully covered him with the blanket, then started rubbing his back through the covers. Clem found herself envious of how Omid started calming down in Sarah's care. Feeling useless, Clem moved to the front of the bus where she found the others gathered.

"It's gonna start," insisted Dilawar. "We just need to give it a minute," said Dilawar, sounding like he didn't believe that.

"You two are sure we're moving away from whatever this shit is?" asked Sabriya, anxiety seeping through the muffled voice of her mask.

"We're sure," said Clem. "There's still trees standing that way."

"Wasn't any we saw south," said Horatio.

"We don't need trees though," noted Eskiya. "We need fuel."

"Hey, there were a couple of buildings still standing too," added Dilawar. "And Clem found a truck with some diesel left in it."

"You did? Then—"

"It's gelled up," said Dilawar.

"Gelled?" repeated Sabriya. "Shit, we don't have anymore—"

"I know," said Dil. "I got an idea though."

"Which is what?" asked Eskiya.

"Does it matter? We can't go anywhere else." retorted Dilawar. "The Vaquero might still be following us from the east, you guys didn't find anything going south, and there's no obvious road north of here. Do you want to spend more time arguing about this shit while standing at what might have been ground zero for a bombing run or can we just leave for the one place where the air isn't quite as bad?"

Eskiya looked at Dilawar. Even with a clear view of his eyes, Clem found it hard to tell what that man was thinking. "Not if you can get the bus started."

Dilawar groaned as his trembling hand made its way to the key. He was nervous, and so was she. Clem felt her chest tightening up as he began to turn that key. There was a low churning sound that made Clem feel sick to her stomach, or maybe it was the air. Even with a mask on, she could taste it in her mouth. Thinking about Omid just now, Clem felt a new wave of guilt wash over her. The gummy must have tasted like poison to him.

The engine slowly sputtered to life and Clem could feel a collective sigh from everyone around her. Dilawar shifted the bus into drive and they started moving again. Clem felt herself moving toward the back of the bus. She was going to join Sarah and Omid, but stopped herself when she noticed Sarah was still in the same position as before. Rubbing Omid's back with one hand and embracing him with another while he hid under the blanket.

Listening closely, she could hear Omid coughing. It wasn't very loud, but he wasn't coughing at all when she left this morning. Her first instinct was to go over to him and comfort him. But she didn't, as she realized it was likely he was coughing because she took his mask off and forced him to eat that gummy. Hearing him cough again, it stung at Clem's heart. She couldn't bear to listen anymore and backed away.

She sat down in the seat in front of their bed and leaned her head against the window. Trying to look outside, Clem found herself staring at a plastic tarp tapped over the broken glass. Most of the windows in the back half of the bust were broken or had holes in them now. They had patched and covered them with whatever they had on hand, mostly to keep the cold out. It probably did nothing to keep the air out.

Adjusting her view, Clem could see the sky through a piece of glass that wasn't covered. It was clear and blue, unaffected by whatever befell this area. Clem tried to relax, but with each breath she tasted a tinge of that awful aroma filling her lungs. That awful mix of noxious chemicals and something rotten. The longer she sat there, the more she could feel that stench making its way down her throat and into her stomach.

"Hooray for small miracles!" Dilawar's yell caused Clem to nearly jump out of her seat. Sitting up, she saw they had stopped moving. Somehow, Clem hadn't noticed the bus coming to a halt. Getting out of her seat, she watched Dilawar hurry outside, Sabriya following right behind him.

"What's going on?"

"We're here," said Eskiya. "Whatever here is."

"Already?" asked Clem.

"We've been driving for about fifteen minutes," informed Horatio.

"We were?" Clem wondered if she had drifted off just now. "What was Dilawar yelling about just now?"

"He and Sabriya were arguing on the way over," informed Horatio.

"About what?"

"Would you slow down for one second!" Clem could hear Sabriya yell from outside the bus.

"On what Dilawar's plan is," stated Eskiya.

Clem headed outside and saw Dilawar fumbling around in one of the bus's storage compartments, Sabriya looking over his shoulder.

"Seriously, what the hell are you doing?" she said, sounding more like an order than a question.

"I knew a guy once who said he used a spot heater to warm up his fuel tank when the diesel inside gelled up," answered Dilawar as he tossed a few fuel cans out of storage.

"We don't have a spot heater," noted Eskiya as he and Horatio came out of the bus.

"No shit," said Dilawar as he pulled something out of storage.

"Wait, you're going to waste our acetylene torch on—"

"It's my torch," stated Dilawar as he sat the torch on the ground. "And I don't even have enough fuel left to cut a lock with it anymore," he explained as he pulled the portable acetylene tanks out next. "I'll use its spark lighter and those papers we took to start a fire under each tank. They're useless, right?"

"All the ones I read, yes," confirmed Eskiya.

"The remaining trees already survived one fire, so they probably don't burn easily. You guys, check the other buildings, find anything made out of wood, cardboard, whatever we can burn," ordered Dilawar. "Once the fire warms up the tank, I'll use whatever's left in the torch on the lowest setting to heat up the diesel as much as I can. Between that, and mixing in the antifreeze I found… it'll probably work."

"Probably?" repeated Horatio.

"This sounds dangerous," said Sarah as she stepped out of the bus. "You're gonna… start a fire under gas tanks?"

"They're diesel tanks," corrected Dilawar. "You know it doesn't burn as easily as gasoline. Hell, we barely can get the bus to start because it's so cold, and it even has an engine warmer."

"Yeah, but we never took a blow torch to it," noted Sarah.

"Look, I'm the firefighter here," retorted Dilawar as he marched over to the semi-truck. "In another life," said Clem under her breath.

"You don't sound convinced yourself," noted Eskiya.

"Yeah this isn't ideal and I might blow myself up or something," admitted Dilawar. "I'll take that chance over waiting to die in this hellhole."

"We still don't know exactly what's wrong with the air here," reminded Sabriya. "To me, it smells a little like sulfur sometimes. Starting a fire might cause an explosion or something."

"What, this whole region is just going to explode when I get a flame going?" mocked Dilawar. "Think that part already happened."

"Starting a fire might create toxic fumes or something," suggested Sarah.

"More toxic than we're already breathing?" mocked Dilawar.

"It could," she retorted, sounding annoyed. "We don't know. There might be some chemical in the air that reacts to fire."

"Then we'll move the bus a little further away," assured an irate Dilawar. "It's got a tiny bit of gas left, we can do that. You guys can stay safely inside it while I just stay here and take all the risk. Okay?"

"None of us want you to risk yourself," assured Sarah. "We—"

"We're all at risk as long as we're still sucking in whatever's in the air, not to mention the lack of… anything we need to survive around here," retorted Dilawar. "Better one of us take more risk now to get us out of here faster, and clearly I'm the only one willing to try thawing out the diesel."

"It's not just that," stated Sabriya. "You don't think it's suspicious someone left a truck full of diesel out here and nothing else?"

"Oh you're right, this is clearly a trap!" Dilawar turned to the woods. "Come on out, we know you're out there!"

"Keep your voice down," ordered an irate Sabriya. "And you know that's not what I meant. The suspicious part is they didn't take it with them. Something could have already been wrong with that diesel and they had to leave it, then it froze. If not, why didn't they do what you're about to do? If it could be salvaged, then they could take the truck with them as well."

"Maybe they just didn't think of it," dismissed Dilawar. "Or maybe they weren't nearly as desperate as we are right now. Either way, what's your point?"

"My point is we don't know if it being frozen is the only thing wrong with it," stated Sabriya. "If someone poured sugar in the truck's gas tanks or whatever, then we put that in the bus, it might stall it out too and then we're stuck here."

"We're already stuck here," reminded Dil. "This is our only way out."

"We don't know that." Sabriya looked over at Clem. "How thoroughly did you two search this area?"

"We came back after I found the frozen diesel," admitted Clem.

"You guys can explore all you want while I try to fix this," said Dilawar as he headed back towards the bus. "I'm gonna get all that paper and get started. This is gonna take a while."

"Dil, just stop!" Sabriya put herself between Dilawar and the bus. "God, none of you ever listen to me!"

"Of course we do, how could we not hear you?" mocked Dilawar.

"Fuck you!" snapped Sabriya. "If we'd gone to Vegas like I said, we wouldn't even be here right now!"

"No, we'd probably be dealing with something even worse right now!" yelled Dilawar. "Or another big ass empty city we'd waste all day in just to find nothing!"

"As opposed to this?" retorted Sabriya as she gestured around. "You never listen, you just do whatever you want, and this happens! If you'd just do what I said, for once, we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"If I did what you said, you'd have put a gun in my hand that I would have used to blow my goddamn brains out!"

A deadly silence fell over the area. Everyone stood speechless. Clem looked at Sabriya. She couldn't see her face, but it was unnerving how still she was. "I'm gonna fix that diesel. The rest of you can do whatever the fuck you want."

Dilawar shoved his way past Sabriya and no one tried to stop him from entering the bus. Clem nervously inched her way up to Sabriya.

"So…" spoke Clem. "Is this why Dilawar doesn't—"

Sabriya walked away, heading towards the building nearest the truck. Dilawar emerged a moment later, arms full of stacks of papers as he headed towards the fuel tanks. Looking over, Clem saw Sarah standing at the top of the bus's steps. She moved up to her, trying to think of something reassuring to say. Nothing came to mind and so Clem just coiled her fingers around Sarah's hand and squeezed it firmly.

Everyone just moved on their own without a word between them after that. Sabriya committed to finding things for Dilawar to burn. Clem found her in the nearby building, ripping empty shelves off the walls. Clem brought her tomahawk and helped in splitting them into smaller pieces. Even tired as she was, it wasn't hard, with the shelves being made of some cheap particle board. Unfortunately, that meant it probably wouldn't burn well.

Eskiya moved the bus as Dilawar suggested. Not far, just a little bit down the road and away from the stalled truck. As he did that, Clem watched as Dilawar worked to start a fire under the first fuel tank. Although he had the torch, he wanted to save it for when the tank is already heating up. Instead, he used the 'spark lighter' that went with his torch, this little handheld tool that made sparks when you squeezed it.

Clem watched as Dilawar clicked the lighter over the kindling a few times. A few sparks collided with the paper but none of them caught fire. Dil then produced a regular, gas lighter from his pocket. She thought they didn't have any working ones left, and Dilawar being unable to produce a flame with it proved her right. Clem then watched as Dil took a knife and started prying at the top of the other lighter.

At first, she was baffled at what he was doing. It seemed like it was tearing apart the lighter out of spite. Around the time he pulled the top off, Clem realized he was trying to get at whatever possible bits of fuel were left inside this lighter. Dilawar tore off a strip of paper and carefully folded it over a few times. He made an effective wick and inserted it into what was left of the lighter.

He twisted it a bit, probably hoping to wipe up any remaining lighter fluid. Pulling it back out, Clem was disappointed the paper didn't appear even the slightest bit damp. It wasn't clear if there had been even a single drop left inside that old lighter, but Dilawar carefully placed it under the shredded paper he was using as kindling. Sabriya was there, and she inched in close, eager as Clem to see if this would work. Dilawar took the spark lighter and started clicking it, showering the wick with sparks.

One of the sparks suddenly expanded as it collided with the wick. A small flame spread across the end of it and Clem felt a tinge of hope. But her stomach dropped as the flame suddenly shrank. It shriveled to the end of the strip of paper. Dilawar carefully edged another bit of paper up to it, practically begging it to catch fire. The dying ember flickered a few times, then it spread to the new strip of paper.

Clem watched as Dilawar expertly maneuvered the new flame into the pile of kindling. He managed to spread the flame to another piece of paper, and not long after that he had the start of a fire as it spread to the bits of fake wood they had brought him. Sabriya got up and hurried into the nearest building, Clem following after her. Without a word between them, they worked together to secure more wood.

The pair worked quickly to break off pieces from a lunch counter inside, then brought the chunks of wood back to Dilawar. Clem breathed a little easier as Dil was able to create two stable fires with what they had. Her relief was short-lived as Clem looked at the fuel tanks above the flames. She had just seen how frail a fire could be, yet couldn't shake the fear of the tank just exploding on them when it got too hot.

Heading to where the bus was parked now, Clem ran into Eskiya. He had planned to explore the surrounding buildings while they waited on Dilawar. Clem had little better to do so she joined him, moving further down the road towards the nearest building. As they walked, Clem noticed a sign with an RV on it and realized the nearby area was a rest stop. Feeling a wave of nostalgia wash over her, Clem eyed the singular parking spaces, hoping to see an RV again, even if it didn't run anymore. There were none; the spaces were all empty.

Looking ahead, Clem saw a long wooden building that had the word 'Inn' on the front just ahead. They had only checked three rooms before it became clear there was nothing worth taking. With how thoroughly everything had been picked clean, Clem concluded this area must have been cleared out before the fire. She couldn't imagine people meticulously peeling the sheets off every bad during a literal disaster.

The revelation wasn't shocking to Clem but it was disheartening. Even if they had found this place before the fire it would have just been another empty stretch of nowhere. Sitting down on the bed, Clem looked around at the dreary, empty room and saw herself as just another piece of refuse in it. Just something left behind to shrivel up and wait for the day they were burnt up with all the other trash littering the land.

With only a charred forest waiting for them further up the road, Clem and Eskiya returned to the bus, nothing to show for their short expedition. Looking out at the semi-truck, Clem could see small clouds of black smoke. The fires were going strong now and Clem watched as Dilawar applied his torch to the fuel tank, slowly going over it like he was carefully cooking a piece of meat, then moving around to the other side of the truck to heat the second tank.

Heading inside the bus, Clem noticed Horatio once again looking at bottles of water. This time he also had soup cans on his bed, along with some plastic straws. She realized he was trying to find a safer way for them to eat. Holding a straw up to his mask, Clem watched as Horatio managed to squeeze it between his face and the plastic without taking the mask off. Clem cursed herself for not thinking to try something so simple and felt a new wave of guilt wash over her; it would have saved Omid from so much pain.

Moving over to Sarah, she was still sitting beside Omid as he remained hidden under the covers. Clem could tell he was suffering. There wasn't any coughing anymore, but she could hear him alternate between wheezing and whimpering. He was in pain, and just hearing it wounded Clem. She wanted to comfort him, but she had no idea how. She couldn't take off her mask, and holding him wouldn't do much good. Clem looked to Sarah for comfort, but all she could see was someone with a gas mask staring back at her.

"All right everybody, listen up," announced Sabriya as she marched back into the bus and sat down in the driver's seat. "Dil's about done with the diesel, and that means we've got a decision to make."

"What you mean?" asked Clem as she moved to the front, Horatio and Eskiya filing in behind her.

"It'll explain in a minute," she said as she turned the key, seemingly surprised the bus actually started without incident for once. "First, we gotta make sure all his hard work doesn't go to waste."

Sabriya put the bus in reserve and backed up to the semi-truck parked outside an abandoned resort, if its sign was to be believed. Shutting off the engine, Sabriya headed out and everyone followed her. The fires were mostly smoldering embers by this point, barely producing a thin line of smoke. Dilawar was using a plastic pipe to awkwardly stir the diesel inside a fuel tank. Moving closer, Clem could see the formally gelled fuel was moving with his motion. It was more of a thick soup now, which felt like an improvement over jelly.

"You… you did it," realized Clem.

"Yeah," he said with a groan as he pulled out the pipe and moved around the front of the truck, briefly pausing to rub his shoulder. "And I'm just touched by the faith you all showed in me today." Dilawar's sarcasm wounded Clem.

"Dil, I'm sorry," said Sarah as she stepped out of the bus. "I—"

"Forget it," he said with a groan as he struggled to insert the pipe in the other tank. "I—"

"You need to take a break," ordered Sabriya.

"I'm fine," he said through gritted teeth.

"You're going to fuck up your arms again." Sabriya turned to Horatio.

"She's right," he said. "Let us finish up for you."

"It's the least we could do," added Clementine.

Dilawar let go of the pipe and fell to his knees. The inside of his goggles were slick with sweat. He started taking deep breaths and Clem was disturbed by how his hands were twitching. Horatio walked over to him and helped him back to his feet.

"Come on," said Horatio as he let Dilawar lean on him. "You've done enough for today."

"Clem." Clem looked over her shoulder to see Sarah holding a fuel can in one hand and the pump in the other. She nodded in response and the pair worked together to pump out the fuel while Sabriya and Eskiya kept stirring the other tank, fearful the cold would freeze it again if they stopped for too long.

The work went slowly, with Sarah struggling to move the pump. Clem tried it herself, thinking it might be easier for her, but she couldn't move it all. Her tired arms couldn't force it a mere inch. Checking the filter they discovered it was clogged with an inky black residue despite the fact they had barely started. Even after clearing it out, Sarah only got a few more pumps before the filter became clogged again, this time with what appeared to be a glob of diesel that refused to return to a liquid state.

Sabriya and Eskiya had to take turns lending their strength to work the pump as it repeatedly became clogged, forcing Clem to scrape out a variety of filth and gunk from the filter. Tossing it onto the pavement a bit at a time, she was becoming fearful at just how much of the diesel was clearly unusable. She was also afraid the pump itself would become clogged up, as there was only so much the filter could do. Gradually. they seemed to clear out most of the bad fuel and the pump started getting easier to work.

After finally filling their first can, Clem screwed a nozzle onto it and picked it up.

"Where are you going?" asked Sabriya suddenly as she put a hand on Clem's shoulder.

"I was going to put this in the bus," said Clem with a shrug.

"Just leave it for now," said Sabriya. "Let's finish getting everything out first, okay?"

"Okay…" Clem put the full can down and got another empty one. The next three cans went much faster, but they ended up draining the first fuel tank before filling another. A lot of the diesel was still caked to the sides of the tank, seemingly beyond salvage. Switching to the other tank meant once again having to alternate between using the pump a few times and clearing out its filter. Between what was sticking to the tank and what Clem was tossing on the ground, she estimated they were only getting half of the available fuel at best.

Eventually, they found themselves maneuvering the pump to every odd angle imaginable to drain every last drop that they could move out of the tanks. In the end, they had about eight and a half cans of fuel. Everything else was either clogging the inside of the tanks or staining the concrete around the truck.

"That's it?" Clem looked over to see Dilawar approaching, Horatio behind him.

"I said—"

"I took a break," insisted Dilawar.

"And I made sure he stopped to hydrate, as much as we can right now," added Horatio.

"Oh, Horatio," said Sarah. "Did—"

"I checked on Omid," he said. "He's…" That pause felt like a kick to Clem's stomach. "His breathing sounds a little shallow. Although, considering the circumstances, he might be avoiding breathing any more than necessary."

"Are you sure you guys got everything?" asked Dilawar as he leaned in to look into one of the truck's fuel tanks.

"Everything we could get with the pump," stated Eskiya.

"Jesus, so much of it is still gelled. I really thought the torch was doing more than this." Dilawar sighed as he looked around. "So, nine cans?"

"More like eight and a half," said Clem.

"Okay, well that's still over forty gallons. That should get us at least a hundred miles. Hopefully that's enough to get us out of here." Dilawar picked up the can with a nozzle on it. He tried carrying it towards the bus only for Sabriya to also grab hold of the same can.

"Sab, my arms are—"

"If there's anything wrong with this fuel, or if freezing it ruined it somehow, and then we put it in the bus, we could wreck our only vehicle," she stated loudly. "I don't think we can risk that, at least not yet."

"Are… are you fucking kidding me?" asked an indignant Dilawar. "What was the point of me doing this if—"

"I'm just saying, let's not be hasty," said Sabriya calmly. "We've got the diesel you found and the air isn't as bad here. We can take our time and look around. Not risk losing the bus by—"

"At the rate we're going we're gonna lose the bus anyway!" declared Dilawar loudly. "It's falling apart and Sarah and I are running out of workarounds for stuff we can't fix or replace."

Clem found herself looking at Sarah after hearing that. She couldn't see her face through the mask but it was telling that she turned away after noticing Clem was staring at her. Turning back to the others, the declaration clearly startled Sabriya, but she looked steadfast in her refusal to release the fuel can just the same.

"Plus, we're gonna run out of diesel eventually, probably sooner than later," continued Dilawar as he tried pulling the fuel can out of Sabriya's hand. "If this works it at least gets us out of this toxic pit, gives us a chance for tomorrow."

"We don't even know if this is enough to get us back to clean air. The wind could be carrying this stuff with it for all we know," said Sabriya as she pulled back. "And this isn't your decision to make."

"Really? You want us to vote on this?"

"Yes."

"Fine, I vote we actually try to leave." Dilawar turned to Eskiya. "You want to leave, right?"

"Yes," he said.

"That's two for—"

"But we shouldn't risk the bus so carelessly," said Eskiya. "We already moved it, we should search further out tomorrow. If we don't find anything, then we can use this diesel."

"By tomorrow it might have frozen again, and I can't thaw it out a second time. I already used up the antifreeze, what's left of my torch and the only lighter with a drop of fuel left in it," listed Dilawar.

"That's two against it, Dil," announced Sabriya.

"Look around!" ordered Dilawar. "Any of you notice this truck stands out compared to everything around it? Barely any ash on it, not so much as a burn anywhere? Someone came here later, wasn't prepared for the winter, fuel iced up and they had to abandon it. We're not gonna find anything else, some other poor bastard had to leave this behind trying to get through here."

"And that could be us next," stated Clem.

"What?" asked Dilawar.

"If we mess up, it'll our bus next sitting right next to this truck," said Clem. "All cause we weren't smart about this."

"That makes three to one, Dil," said Sabriya.

"I don't believe this. What's the alternative?" challenged Dilawar as he stared directly at Clem. "We stop now and… then what? What are you going to find? Nothing, that's what!"

"We don't know that," asserted Clem.

"Come on Clem, you know better than any of us what a lucky break this was," said Dilawar.

"That's why should look around a bit longer," reasoned Clem. "I did notice the truck looked out of place, and someone probably did bring it here after the fire. But why is it the only thing they left behind?"

"What are you getting at?" asked a frustrated Dilawar.

"There's no body, it doesn't look like there was a fight, and they didn't leave anything else behind in the truck. That means they probably had another vehicle to carry everything in, maybe more than one," reasoned Clem. "That could mean there's more to find, or it could mean there are people nearby. Either way, I don't want to risk losing the bus until we know there's not something just up the road."

"And just how long is that going to take?" asked Dilawar. "You're gonna have to use the bikes to explore further, right? That's more work and more time breathing in this shit while using up the tiny bit of food and water we have left. And then if we try the diesel and it doesn't work, we'll have wasted a day we can't spare."

"He's right," stated Sarah. "And he's right about the bus getting worse. There's already a lot of things wrong with it and it'd only take one more thing breaking to stop it entirely. The battery could die or the engine warmer could stop working. If it's a lot colder tomorrow we might not even be able to start the bus. We should just try now while we still can."

"Sarah, you can't be serious," said Clem in disbelief.

"Of course I am," she said plainly.

"That's three to two," announced Sabriya. "Ray, what—"

"Why are you against this Clem?" spoke Sarah over Sabriya.

"I told you why, there might be someone else out there," said Clem.

"I don't think you really believe that."

Clem groaned loudly in response; Sarah was right. "I don't believe there's anyone up the road from here," she admitted. "That truck got here later but it's clearly been abandoned for a long time anyways."

"Then why the hell are you arguing against me?" asked Dilawar.

"Simple: the Vaquero," she said. "They are still out there."

"More the reason to leave then," argued Sarah.

"No, more the reason not to lose the only working vehicle left," retorted Clem. "We can't outrun them on bikes anymore, not with them looking for us now. The bus is our only hope. It's not out of diesel yet. Even if it's only enough to get us a mile away, that still could save our lives."

"The bus can't protect us from toxic fumes," retorted Sarah. "The longer we wait here the worse it's going to get."

"I'll risk that over getting shot in the head," stated Clem in a harsh tone.

"Well I won't," declared Sarah as she raised her voice. "Omid is miserable here."

"Yeah, and he'll be more miserable if the Vaquero come and attack us in our sleep, again!"

"That won't matter if inhaling this gas all night kills him and turns him into a lurker!"

That last declaration gave Clem pause. She hadn't thought of that, and thinking about it now left Clem paralyzed as she felt a new wave of paranoia flooding her mind.

"Three to two." Sabriya took a breath and turned her head. "Well Ray, if you're gonna vote then do it now or—"

"We should use it now."

"You… you can't—"

"I don't know what happened here, but my eyes started stinging when we first drove into that toxic pit back there and we all felt nauseous this morning," said Horatio. "I don't want to risk sleeping here the night either. Even with masks, they're not gonna filter everything. If we can't take the bus now we're gonna have to leave on bikes and try to get out of this area today, before it gets dark."

"So… three to three." Sabriya groaned loudly. "That means it's a tie."

"How do we break a tie?" asked Eskiya.

"Sarah's pregnant and Omid sure as hell doesn't want to stay here," asserted Dilawar as he suddenly yanked the fuel can out of Sabriya's grip. "Between them, that's another vote to leave. So let's go already."

"That's not how it works," announced Eskiya as he put himself between Dilawar and the bus. "It's a tie; we should take no action."

"Oh, is that a new rule you pulled out of your ass?" sneered Dil.

"It makes more sense than yours," retorted Eskiya. "We can always try the fuel later."

"Which is what you wanted to do anyways. How convenient. You know what, we can argue about it later." Dilawar tried to shove past Eskiya but he pushed Dil backwards several steps, causing him to drop the fuel can.

Clem felt nervous as she was afraid the can would tip over but it landed upright. The relief was short-lived as she watched Dilawar suddenly shoot forward, lunging at Eskiya as he pulled something from his coat. A gunshot rang out and everything became very still. Clem looked over to see Dilawar with his hands around Eskiya's throat, and Eskiya with a knife clutched in his hand.

"Eskiya!" yelled Sabriya as she lowered her rifle. "Back the fuck up." Eskiya slid back a few steps as Dil released him, his knife still raised as he moved.

"Dil… are you okay?"

"Yeah," he answered, voice trembling in terror. "I'm… I'm okay."

"We voted," said Eskiya. "They—"

"If a tie means this, then I'm changing my vote," said Sabriya as she cocked her rifle. "And between you and my brother, it's an easy choice." Eskiya didn't move, he just stood there, knife still clutched in his hand.

"I change my vote too," announced Clem suddenly. "Just… stop."

"You heard her Eskiya, it's all of us against you now," announced Sabriya. "If you want back on that bus at all, you'd best take your hand off your knife, and step away."

Clem found her hand going for her own gun as Eskiya continued to stare angrily at Sabriya. Slowly, he lowered his hand, placing his knife back in its sheath and taking several steps away from the bus.

"Dil, do whatever you're gonna do and let's get this over with." Dilawar took the fuel can and threaded its nozzle into the bus. "Eskiya, you and I are going inside where we're going to wait patiently."

Eskiya moved slowly towards the bus's door, Sabriya keeping her rifle aimed at his back as she followed him into the bus. Clem watched as Dilawar hastily fueled the bus while Horatio stowed the remaining tools. Clem walked back into the bus, Sarah right behind her. Coming onto the bus, Clem saw Eskiya sitting on his bed, and Sabriya sitting across from him, her gun pointed square at his chest.

Clem didn't feel like crossing in front of them right now, and neither did Sarah. They stood there awkwardly while Horatio and Dilawar came back into the bus. Clem watched as Dilawar sat down in the driver's seat, his hand hesitating as he reached for the key. Even though his ski mask she could hear him take a deep breath. He turned the key and there was a slight sputtering before silence.

"Dil," said Sabriya.

"Give it a minute!" insisted Dil. "You've all seen it do this before! It did it just earlier today!"

A tense hush filled the bus. Clem found her eyes darting from Eskiya, to Sabriya, then back to Dilawar. The latter tried turning the key again and got an even meeker sputtering before the engine went quiet again.

"Dilawar," said Sarah. "Maybe—"

"Fuel filters!" Dilawar jumped out of his seat suddenly, reaching for a tool kit tucked under the dashboard. He tried to pick it up but dropped it suddenly, rubbing his wrist as the tools spilled out on the floor. "Sarah, give me a hand."

"Um… okay," she said as she knelt down to pick up a wrench. "But… we don't have any more fuel filters."

"I know," he said. "We need to bypass the ones we got."

"But—"

"They're no good if we can't get out of here to find more fuel." rambled Dilawar, sounding crazed. "Ray, you wait for us to tell you to turn the key."

"Um… okay." Horatio sat down in the driver's seat while Dilawar practically raced off the bus, Sarah slowly trailing after him.

"What now?" asked Eskiya the second Sarah stepped off the bus.

"Don't start," warned Sabriya in a harsh tone.

"I'm not starting anything," he answered. "The bus isn't going anywhere, so what now?"

"Tomorrow, we let Sarah and Dil try to fix it while the rest look for anything useful," she clearly explained. "If they can't, maybe we can find a couple of more bikes somewhere further down the road and try to ride out of here… pretty much the same thing we were looking at anyways."

"You didn't want them to do this either." Clem felt a chill shoot down her spine as Eskiya looked at her. "Or you."

"You forced my hand," retorted Sabriya.

"Did I?" challenged Eskiya, a bit of anger rising in his voice. "Dilawar was the one who ignored the votes and forced the outcome they wanted."

"You pulled a knife on him."

"They attacked me."

"You were both wrong."

"But you sided with Dilawar, you made that clear," Eskiya looked over at Clementine. "You both did."

Eskiya's stare sent a chill down her spine. She was afraid, but staring into those cold, judgmental eyes, she felt something else; anger. "Grow up."

"What?" asked Eskiya.

"You heard me," stated Clem. "Grow the fuck up already."

"Me?" Eskiya asked with what seemed like genuine surprise.

"Yeah, both of you," said Clem as she looked over at Sabriya. "Do you have any idea how much bullshit I've had to put up because I'm a kid, and grown-ups think they can just do whatever they want?"

"We—"

"This is the third time I've watched a big argument outside our RV or bus or whatever end with someone pulling a gun, and the second time someone shot it," retorted Clem. "I'm sick of it. The first time, I watched a woman get shot in the head, just cause someone was mad at her… and I just had to go back inside and try not to think about it. Try not to think about how even the people I think are my friends might kill each other over something stupid…"

"He was about to take a knife to my brother," retorted Sabriya.

"He pointed a gun at my head when you sent him out to meet me that day, then you all tied me to that seat," retorted Clem as she gestured to the row in front of them. "Just… stop. Whatever happens we'll deal with it then. For now… put the damn gun down."

"I second that," added Horatio in a meek voice from the driver's seat. "Things are bad enough without us literally killing each other."

Sabriya looked over at Horatio, then Clem, then lowered her rifle. "Dil shouldn't have done that," Sabriya told Eskiya. "But the damage is done."

"That's not very reassuring," said Eskiya.

"What exactly has been lately?"

Eskiya didn't have an answer for that.

"Ray!" called Dilawar from outside. "Try it!"

Horatio turned the key. There was another sputtering, louder this time, but the engine once again fell silent.

"Again! Just keep it turned for a few seconds."

Horatio turned the key again, and again there was a sputtering sound. Clem felt her empty stomach tying itself in a knot as the sputtering continued, refusing to get louder or stop. There was a popping noise, then suddenly the engine finally hummed to life. A wave of relief washed over Clem as everyone breathed a little easier, despite the toxic air. Dilawar and Sarah came back into the bus, the former practically skipping as he did.

"Quick, put it in drive before our luck changes," ordered Dilawar as Horatio released the parking brake. "Here's hoping there's enough to get us out of this death trap."

The bus started moving forward, and with it, a cloud hanging over the group started to move. They weren't out of the woods yet, but for the first time today, Clem felt like she could see a light at the end of this particular tunnel.

Dilawar headed for his bed but stopped to look at Eskiya. "I'm… I'm sorry about before."

Eskiya didn't answer him. Instead, he just took off his glasses and lay down on his bed.

With the initial exhilaration wearing off, Clem now felt overwhelmed by exhaustion. Her muscles went limp as she stumbled towards her bed and her head grew heavy as it felt like the weight of her mask was trying to pull her over. She collapsed onto her bed, Sarah following right beside her. The pair curled up to Omid, who was still whimpering loudly under the covers.

Clem just watched the scenery through what remained of the window as she lay in silence. She could see more burnt trees, passing by like so many crooked fenceposts marking the edge of this wasteland. It felt hypnotizing watching them flying past the window, one blacked, twisted piece of wood after another. Before long it all blurred together into a kind of haze of light behind the fogged lenses of her mask. It felt like the outside world drifted away, and Clem was happy to let it go.

"Wake up!"

Clem found herself jerking herself away from a pair of hands grabbing her. She nearly had reached her gun when she noticed she was looking at Sarah's mask.

"Calm down," spoke Sarah, her voice laced with fear.

"What… what happened?" asked Clem, confused as she tried to look around.

"The bus stopped," said Sarah. "I… I think we're out of gas."

"Already?"

"It's been like two hours," informed Sarah.

"It has?" asked Clem in shock.

"I mean… I think so." Sarah held her wrist up to her mask. "I… I can't read my watch without my glasses."

"Let me see." Sarah offered Clem her wrist. "I think it's past four. What time was it when we left?"

"I… I don't know," realized Sarah. "I just know we've been on the road for a while."

Clem inched over to the window. The trees were still bare but they weren't burnt and blackened anymore. Looking down at the dirt she could see a few bits of dead grass, which is more than she had seen all day. Clem stood up and slowly dragged herself to the front of the bus. Through the windshield she could see a few buildings in the distance.

"You should have pulled over before we ran out of gas," said Sabriya. "Now we're stuck in plain sight in the middle of the road."

"Maybe we didn't run out of fuel," suggested Eskiya. "Maybe the bus is broken."

"Don't start with me," Dilawar warned Eskiya.

"The engine doesn't make a noise when we turn the key now," noted Eskiya.

"Even if it did, the gauge said we got only the slightest bit of gas left," noted Horatio. "We weren't going much further either way."

"He's right," said Sabriya. "It'll be dark before long, we need to figure out what—wait, Clem!"

Clementine hurried off the bus, bracing herself for the cold air as she stepped back outside. The sun was starting to set but the waning light still brought a little welcome warmth. She could see a few houses along the side of the road. The doors and windows were left open, obviously looted but no signs of it being touched by fire. And looking ahead, Clem could see the road running over a stream ahead, the water practically sparkling in the low light.

Slowly, Clem took off her mask. She held her breath for a second then filled her lungs with air. It was cool, almost frigid, but the ominous odor that had hung in the air seemed gone now. There was still a slight hint of it in Clem's nostrils, but taking a few deep breaths finally chased it away for good, and she was left with the scent of fresh air in her lungs and sunlight beaming on her skin.

Turning around, Clem noticed Sarah standing right behind her now. Even with her mask on, she could tell she was staring at her. "What?"

"It just realized… I haven't seen your face all day," said Sarah.

"I haven't seen yours either." Clem watched as Sarah took off her mask next. Clem was disturbed by how haggard she looked, her big brown eyes drooping with fatigue. But seeing Sarah's face again was still a very welcome sight. Clem couldn't stop herself from removing a glove and placing a hand on Sarah's cheek.

"I… I missed you," professed Clem.

"I missed you too," said Sarah.

Clem felt something tugging on her leg and was shocked to see Omid looking up at her with much anticipation. Sarah seemed just as surprised and moved to grab him but Clem stopped her. She knelt down and helped remove the respirator coving his face. He looked very worried, but Clem was happy to see him again.

Removing the respirator, Clem took a minute to adjust the scarf around his neck. They had him in his winter clothes because it was cold even under the blanket, but seeing him standing outside in his little NASA jacket, Clem couldn't stop herself from smiling. Omid seemed to notice her smirk and started looking around, a bit of curiosity surfacing in his eyes as he stared up at the sky.

Turning to the bus, Clem watched as the others came marching out. They seemed to take turns looking around and at each other before removing their masks. Sabriya and Dilawar shared a look of mutual regret before turning away from each other. Eskiya looked irritable as he adjusted his glasses, whereas Horatio was actually smiling.

"Well… even if we could move the bus, we probably shouldn't stay the night in it," spoke Sabriya. "Whatever was back there… it's probably gonna linger for a while."

"I saw a hotel down the road," reported Dilawar.

"Where?" asked Horatio.

"Just… there," said Dilawar as he turned around and pointed at a long building less than a hundred yards away.

"That's a motel," corrected Horatio.

"What's the difference?"

"Hotels are your bigger buildings where people stay for a while; motels are those little rows of rooms whose doors point right at the road because they want people on road trips to see them."

Clem looked at it closely and confirmed what Horatio was saying. It was indeed a motel. A little row of roadside rent-a-shacks not unlike the one she stayed in two years ago.

"Yeah… it's a motel," groaned Clem loudly as she looked at it.

"It's not far," said Sarah. "Should we stay the night there? It'd be nice to sleep in a real bed again."

"We still don't know anything about this area," noted Sabriya.

"Then let's change that before it gets dark," suggested Horatio as he pulled a bike down off the bus's rack. "Eskiya, you and I will go up the road a bit, check things out, make sure there's not an army of the undead or the living just camped out of sight. Sound good?"

Eskiya stared at Horatio for a few seconds. "Sure," he finally answered.

"Dil and Sab, you guys could get us some water from the steam, maybe even some fish."

"I'll try," said Dilawar as he went to the bus's storage compartment.

"I'll handle the water, save some strain on your arms," said Sabriya with barely a breath in her lungs as she reached for a bike. "We're… burning daylight."

"I'll go on ahead and check out the motel," volunteered Clem.

"I'll come with you," said Sarah.

"No, Sarah—"

"Not right behind you, I'll be sure to stay back while you check." Clem found herself a little surprised to hear Sarah say that. She was fully expecting her to say she wanted them to both check it out. "And once it's okay, I'll bring Omid over and we find somewhere to rest."

"That… makes sense." Clem took a deep breath, grateful she could, then put her mask back on. Her feet ached as she walked over to the motel, and she found herself tensing up as she neared the first room. But not long after that her fear gave way to tedium. The rooms had been cleared out a while ago, with some of the drawers in the dressers even missing, likely chopped up for wood.

One room had a bed that still had a sheet on top of it. Clem took a moment to lie down on it. She felt herself nearly melt into it as she did. Even with her clothes, mask and backpack on, the mattress was noticeably more comfortable than the one in the bus. She had told Sabriya they should swap out the beds in the bus for better ones, but there never seemed to be a good moment to actually do it. Maybe she could finally get one good night of sleep again.

Clem groaned as she had to force herself back up and headed for the door, eager to bring Sarah and Omid into the bed's comforting embrace. She went outside and saw Sarah sitting on the road, Omid in her arms. Clem hurried over to them, fearful something was wrong. "You okay?"

"Yeah… I'm…" Sarah's deep breathing betrayed what she was trying to say. "Omid… stopped walking."

"What?" Clem immediately knelt down and looked at Omid. "What's wrong? Did he get hurt or—"

"No," said Sarah. "I mean… he's tired and so I started carrying him. But I'm tired… and hungry… and—"

"I'll carry him." Clem took off her mask. "Hey, it's okay. I got you." Omid looked up at Clem and seemed pleased to see her. He didn't smile but he looked a little less anxious upon laying eyes on her. Clem carefully wrapped her arms around Omid as Sarah stood up. "Go to room seven. Its bed actually has a sheet on it."

"Thanks Clem…" said Sarah as she staggered forward, seemingly limping slightly as she did. Clem took a deep breath and picked up Omid, groaning as she did.

"It's okay," she said, in-between breaths. "Just a little longer… and we can all take a nice break."

Omid was heavier than Clem ever remembered him being. She knew he was getting bigger, even now with what little they had to eat. But she never recalled struggling this much to carry him. She had to take each step slowly, and kept adjusting her grip on him as she moved. As she did, she could hear Omid whimpering ever so slightly.

"It's okay," assured Clem in-between pained breaths as she forced herself forward. "I know… it's been a terrible day… and I'm sorry… but it's gonna be okay. I… found this nice bed… and we can take our… blankets from the bus… and—"

Clem's foot slipped and she suddenly found herself in free fall. The first thing she noticed was a painful bang in her right shoulder as she hit the pavement. She gritted her teeth as suddenly her entire arm was throbbing. The second thing she noticed was Omid screeching. He was yelling in pain as Clem forced herself to sit up, carefully repositioning him into her lap.

"I'm sorry!" proclaimed Clem as she pulled back Omid's scarf, fearful she'd find a bloody mark on his face. "I'm—"

"What happened?" asked a panicked Sarah as she limped over to them in a hurry. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," mumbled a disoriented Clem as she turned to Sarah.

"Did… did you drop him?"

"No! I… I fell," realized Clem. "I hurt my arm but I'm okay, but—"

"Let me see him." Clem just let Sarah pluck Omid from her grip, his crying continuing the entire time. "Let's get inside."

Clem stood up and followed behind Sarah, who even limping while carrying Omid, outpaced her to room seven at the motel. Shortly after going past the door, Sarah hastily sat down on the carpet and helped to sit Omid on the floor.

"It's okay, you're safe now," said Sarah in the most comforting voice she could muster. Omid's crying dimmed but didn't stop. "It'll be all right, just… tell me where it hurts." Clem watched anxiously as Sarah slowly traced her fingers around Omid's face and the back of the head. He whimpered slightly but otherwise didn't object. Sarah kept probing him until she touched his left arm, which received a sudden outburst.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," pleaded Sarah as she tried to calm Omid. "Just… let me see it."

Omid cried softly as Sarah gently pulled his glove off. There was a huge bruise across the top of Omid's left hand. It even extended to some of his fingers as well, which were already swelling from the injury. Clem felt sick to her stomach as Sarah pulled back his jacket sleeve. Her knees wobbled as she caught sight of the massive bruise snaking its way up his entire arm.

"I… I don't see any blood."

Clem swallowed hard upon hearing that. She fell to her knees and crawled over to the pair, ready to beg for forgiveness.

"Hey Omid," said Clem as she inched in close. "I'm—"

Omid turned away and buried himself further in Sarah's arms upon seeing Clem's face.

"I… I think he's afraid of you right now," reported Sarah.

"But it… it was an accident."

"I know that, but he doesn't understand what's happening," explained Sarah. "He's hungry and confused and now he's in pain and… he just knows it happened while you were holding him."

That statement felt like a knife right through Clem's beating heart.

"I… I don't think his arm is broken." Looking at the bruise running across Omid's left arm and down to his hand caused her to shudder in fear. "Just… give him a few minutes. This is all so much for him. But, just give me a little time alone with him. Hopefully he'll calm down so I can get a better look at his arm."

"I… um… yeah," mumbled Clem as she stood up, Omid's pitiful cries ringing in her ears as he did. "I… I… I'll just be in the bathroom… leave you two alone."

Clem wandered into the bathroom and closed the door. She could still hear Omid crying in the other room, and the sound made her sick. She pulled her knees up to her chest as tears started forming in her eyes. She wanted to cry but she couldn't breathe, feeling her chest seize up. She rolled onto her side and buried her face in her own hands, choking back sobs as she lay alone on the cold floor.