Clementine looked out at the Pacific Ocean in disbelief. Sitting on a beach and staring out at where the land ended and the water began was unreal to her. She expected to wake up any second, discover this was just another dream before returning to the unending grind of picking through the trash of yet another abandoned town. But it didn't happen, instead she listened to the gentle rhythm of the waves washing over the sand.
The sun was starting to set, dipping itself gently into the ocean while a gentle orange glow washed over the area. Clem found her feeling content for the first time in days. It had been such a long time since she had just sat down and taken in a sight that filled her with something other than dread. The aches and sores that plagued her body faded from notice and Clem felt her mind go blank.
Turning her gaze slightly, her eyes fell on Sarah and Omid sitting on the beach just ahead of her. Omid was sitting in Sarah's lap and staring at the jar in her hand as she banged against the bottom with her free hand. Clem approached the pair as a single gummy fell out of the jar and landed in the palm of Sarah's hand. The small bit of ease Clem had found was suddenly chased away as she stared at the shriveled vitamin.
"That's… that's the last one, isn't it?" Sarah merely nodded at Clem. "That second jar didn't last long."
"It was all we had yesterday," noted Sarah, her voice and hand trembling. "And… this is literally the only thing we have left to eat." Sarah shuddered as she spoke those words. "We… we should save it. We—"
"For what?" asked a resigned Clem. "We can't split one gummy eight ways, it's not gonna be enough for any of us tomorrow." Clem looked down at Omid, who was looking up at both of them. "At least… he'll be happy for a few seconds."
Sarah let out a weak sigh. Omid was staring at her desperately, clearly very hungry; they all were. She knelt down and carefully fed him their last morsel of food.
"Slowly," said Sarah as she held onto the gummy as Omid started chewing on it. "Savor it."
Omid didn't exactly heed Sarah's advice, but she kept a close grip on the vitamin, making sure he could only eat as much of it as she let slip past her thumb and forefinger. Little by little, Clem watched Omid happily bite off pieces of the stale but still sugary treat. And then, it was gone. They were left with a still-hungry Omid and nothing to feed him. He turned his head and stared at the empty jar.
Clem thought to herself for a moment, then took the jar from Sarah. She sat down on the ground and started scooping sand into it as Sarah guided Omid closer. He watched intently as Clem suddenly flipped the jar over and set it on the sand. She carefully lifted the jar, leaving behind a pile of sand shaped just like it. Omid was awed by this magic and watched with great interest as Clem repeated the trick.
Clementine found herself smiling a little as Omid's eyes went wide with surprise as she created another jar-shaped mound of sand next to the other. Sarah sat down beside Clem and put an arm around her. Together, they built a crude sand castle as the sounds of the ocean soothed their frayed nerves. It was cold, but huddling together for warmth, it was almost enough for Clem to forget her worries again. She just sat there with her family and played in the sand.
Eventually, Omid's interest turned from the sand to the jar itself. Clem noticed him eyeing it and handed it to him. It took both hands for Omid to grasp the jar, and even then he dropped it almost immediately. Clem huddled in close to Sarah as they both watched their boy fiddle with the empty container. He awkwardly grasped at it, eventually grabbing it near the top with one hand. Clem expected him to start shoveling sand into it with the other, but he didn't.
Omid's hand was small enough to fit entirely into the jar. He reached into it as deep as he could, looking for something. Clem sighed as she realized what he wanted; more food. The little tinge of joy she felt faded and all Clem was left with was the cold. Turning to Sarah, she could see the same look of disappointment. Omid was hungry and they had no food.
The pair picked themselves up off the sand and each grabbed Omid by the hand. They led him further down the beach, unsure of where they were actually going. They couldn't leave the beach right now, and it's not like they had anything they could do at this point. Clem noticed Dilawar not far ahead of them and guided Omid and Sarah in his direction. The trio arrived in front of the man as he sat patiently on the ground, a fishing rod in his hands.
"Any luck?" Dilawar barely shook his head in response to Clem's question. "I didn't think so."
"I've never fished in the ocean before," realized Dilawar. "I… I don't know if I need to cast further out or…" Dilawar let go of the fishing rod. "What does it even matter? Even if I caught one we got nothing to start a fire with… which means we couldn't cook it."
"You've still got the spark lighter," reminded Sarah. "You used it to make a fire the day before yesterday."
"Cause we lucked up and found a can with a tiny bit of lighter fluid left at that campground," reminded Dilawar. "Thinking about it, just about every way I know how a fire starts involved people leaving flammable stuff around… I was never trained on how to start fires with a handicap."
Clem sighed wistfully as she looked out at the water and thought about the morning before last. It wasn't as cold and they actually had one good meal. Whiskeytown Lake had plenty of fish to catch and Clem was shocked at how easy it was for her to catch them. Unfortunately, they didn't have the means to cook most of them. Once the fire they started with that lighter fluid went out, they had no way to start another one.
They wasted probably an hour taking turns using the spark lighter on anything they thought was reasonably flammable, but none of it worked. Clem was embarrassed she had spent six months living in the woods and never learned to start a fire herself. Christa had a tool in the fireplace that used a bit of twine to start a fire with friction. Clem never could get it to work, and even if she had, she didn't know how to build one herself.
"Are you okay?"
Clem wasn't sure who Sarah was talking to. Turning to her, Clem saw Sarah was looking at Dilawar, who was staring at Omid.
"What is it?" asked Clem.
"I guess… I never stopped to think about how hard it must have been for you two… raising a baby during the end of the world. You're both kids yourselves, no offense."
"It was… is hard," spoke Sarah, sounding like she was going to cry.
"Even when things weren't dangerous and he had enough to eat, there's so much to do," mused Clem. "We wanted him to be… happy."
"You feeling down little man?" asked Dilawar as he inched closer to Omid. Dil smiled at him, and Omid kind of smiled back. "I… I forget, did you tell us why he never talks?"
Clem just sighed as she covered her face, Sarah putting an arm around her as he did.
"Nevermind, I'm sorry." Dilawar took a breath. "Is… is it okay if I hug him?"
"You want to hug Omid?"
"Yeah, sorry. I'm being weird."
"No, it's okay… we both love hugging him," said Sarah.
"As long as Omid's okay with it, we don't mind," said Clem.
"Before all this started… I wanted to have kids of my own someday. That's never gonna happen now but…"
"It's fine Dilawar," said Clem. "Go ahead."
Dilawar put his arm around Omid and very gently pulled him closer. It was strange seeing Dilawar hug Omid, but not unwelcome. Omid seemed to like it, and Dilawar definitely did. Watching them holding each other, Clem found herself thinking about Lee. She hadn't thought of him in a long time, but she remembered how comforting it was to hug him.
"You both have done such an amazing job," said Dilawar, as he wiped his eyes with his free hand.
"I don't think so," admitted Clem. "We've made so many mistakes."
"Neither of you are old enough to drive and it's the end of the world," noted Dilawar. "I think you did pretty damn good when you factor that in." After letting go of Omid, his attention turned to the fishing rod lying in the sand. "Hey, you want to try to catch fish we can't cook?" Dilawar picked up the rod and gestured to Omid, who approached. Clem and Sarah watched as Omid clumsily grasped at the reel, startled by the sound it made.
"It's fine, it won't hurt." Dilawar demonstrated by reeling in the line a little bit, creating a rhythmic clicking sound. Omid was intrigued by this and mimicked Dilawar's movement, surprised the reel responded to his own motion. He smirked slightly as he realized he could make more noise by moving the reel faster. Clem found herself smiling a little as she watched him. Eventually, the line was reeled in fully and Omid was disappointed he couldn't move it anymore.
"It's fine, I can fix it. Just watch." Dilawar cast out his line into the ocean and then encouraged Omid to start reeling it in again, which he did. "I can watch him for you guys, give you a break until he gets bored with this."
"Thanks Dil," said Sarah as she started moving, Clem following behind her. They walked away from the beach and back to the road where their bikes were parked. She didn't know why they were going back to their bikes, maybe Sarah wanted something from their bags. Looking ahead, Clem noticed Eskiya sitting on the edge of the road. She moved away from Sarah and approached the man.
He looked more sickly than he did yesterday. Clem couldn't tell if he was shivering or twitching weakly. His glasses had slid down to the end of his nose and his eyes were barely half-open. Looking closer, Clem realized he wasn't looking at the beach or the ocean. He just seemed to be staring at a patch of dirt just past the edge of the road. She hadn't known Eskiya that long, but in that short time she'd never seen him so utterly defeated.
"Are… are you okay?" It was several seconds before Eskiya even reacted to what Clementine said. He looked over at her briefly, then turned away. "Are you feeling any better today?" It was still unclear why Eskiya was sick, but it hadn't gotten noticeably worse or spread to any of the others, at least not yet. "Um… hello?"
"Do you believe in God?"
"What?" asked Clem, shocked by that question.
"Do you believe in God?" Eskiya repeated only slightly louder.
"I… I don't know," confessed Clem. "Maybe once before everything got bad. Now… probably not." Eskiya let out a weak laugh in response. "Well, what about you? Do you believe in God?"
Eskiya didn't acknowledge Clem, he just kept staring off into space. Clem left him alone and started heading back towards their bikes. She found them still leaning up against a dilapidated fence. Beside them was Sarah, sitting on the ground. She was rubbing her feet and clearly was in pain. Clem looked over, making sure Horatio and Sabriya were still watching the road, then once she confirmed they were moved over to Sarah.
"What's wrong?" asked an alarmed Clem.
"My ankles are so sore," moaned Sarah in a quiet voice. "God…"
"Is there anything I can do?" asked Clem as she sat down next to her. "Do you want me to rub your feet?"
"No, I don't want to take my shoes off… it's so cold," said Sarah as she adjusted her jacket. "I thought maybe we had some painkillers left, at least some of the over-the-counter stuff." "Do we?"
"No…"
Clem took a breath and rubbed her hands together, trying to chase away the icy sensation crawling across her skin. Her mind drifted as she sat there. There was nothing for them to do but wait. Looking over, Clementine noticed Sarah was staring at her.
"What?" Clem felt her heart skip a beat as Sarah caressed her cheek.
"I… I just wish I could see your face right now."
"You… you can't?"
"I can but… it's all blurry without glasses," lamented Sarah. "Part of me feels like I'm never gonna really see you or Omid again. It's only been a few days and your faces… I feel like I'll forget them if I don't see them clearly soon." Sarah sighed deeply. "We never should have left Tulsa."
"What?" asked Clem.
"The farm, all that… I was stupid," mumbled Sarah. "We should have just enjoyed what we had, like everyone tried to tell me."
"That's not true," said Clem. "The farm worked, it's… we should have killed Pedro."
"Clem—"
"It would have been wrong but… maybe Omid could have had a chance at a real life. Maybe we all could."
"Or maybe those people would have found us anyways like Devlin said."
"Maybe… maybe it didn't matter." Clem sighed deeply. "Maybe we were just doomed from the start, like the rest of the world."
"Clem…" Sarah tried to say something, but instead just looked down at her feet. "Clem," she said again, her voice heavy with dread. "Can… can I ask you something?"
Clem swallowed hard upon hearing that. She didn't know what Sarah was going to ask her, but the tone of her voice made it clear it was something important. Racking her mind for possible questions, Clem realized she couldn't even take a guess after everything that's happened between them.
"What?" spoke an anxious Clem.
"Do… do you—"
"Movement!" Sabriya's voice shot through the air like a bolt of lightning. It surged through their tired bodies and sent them all scurrying in her direction. Dilawar hurried over, setting Omid beside Sarah while Eskiya rushed past them all to the road sign where Horatio and Sabriya were crouched behind. Hurrying into cover, Clem took a breath and peaked. She could see the incredibly tall wooden wall running blocking the road ahead of them. It was flanked by water on one side and a forest on the other.
"You said it looked it abandoned!"
"I said it could be," Clem told Sabriya. "I can barely see it from here, even with binoculars."
The wall was clearly built after the dead returned. Its design was crude but it looked mostly sturdy, with the ends of the poles being sharpened into points. It was that last detail that had led Clem to consider it was abandoned, as several of the points were broken off and some of the poles were leaning out of formation. There was also an abandoned vehicle crudely parked outside, its wheels and one of its doors missing. But eying the simple wooden tower behind the wall, Clem saw something moving far off in the distance.
"Shit, I think they spotted me," announced Sabriya as she swung her rifle around the back of the sign and fully concealed herself.
"Who spotted you?" asked an anxious Horatio as he took cover himself.
"I don't know, someone with a set of binoculars," said Sabriya. "They were aimed right at me."
"Maybe… maybe they didn't notice?" suggested Dilawar.
"That's literally a watchtower," reminded Sabriya. "The whole reason someone goes into one is to notice things!"
"And this road leads right up to that wall," noted Eskiya. "They must know to kept an eye on people coming from this direction."
"Also… the sun is setting," added Sabriya.
"And?" asked a confused Horatio.
"Scopes reflect light, and you were aiming west," realized Clem.
"They know we're here," concluded an uneasy Eskiya. "And if they saw your rifle, they also know we're armed."
"Oh God… I… I can't breathe…" Sarah's panicked declaration caused Omid to start whimpering. Clem hurried over to the pair, carefully wrapping a hand around Omid to try to comfort him while stroking Sarah's back with her other arm.
"It'll be okay. It'll be okay," repeated Clem in a desperate voice as Sarah's breathing got more even frantic. Her eyes were nearly bulging out of her head as she gasped for air. Seeing her sitting there, barely able to breathe, Clem found herself thinking back to Christa in that position and had a horrible thought; Sarah might be having her baby.
Horatio seemed to realize this as well and quickly sat down beside Sarah. Omid's whimpering morphed into a soft crying as Clem pried him away from Sarah.
"Deep breaths," said Horatio in a calm voice. "Think about blowing out birthday candles. Breathe in through your nose, breathe out through your mouth. In and out. In and out."
Everything stopped as the group huddled in close and watched in great anticipation. Clem gripped Omid harder as her stomach tied itself into a knot. They were starving, there could be strangers heading towards them right now, and Sarah might be having a baby. She keep gasping for air as she clutched her knees tightly. Horatio kept repeating 'in and out' and eventually Sarah's breathing slowed.
"I'm… I'm okay." Sarah's voice, hands and knees were all trembling. "I'll be okay."
"One of us needs to go out there," announced Dilawar suddenly. "They know we're here and—"
"No, we—"
"Give me your rifle," Eskiya told Sabriya suddenly.
"What? Why?"
"You said they spotted you because of the reflection on your scope," reminded Eskiya. "So if I show up without a scoped rifle, they'll know there's at least one other person out there."
"Show up?" repeated Sarah. "So… we're going down there?"
"No, just me," stated Eskiya.
"Like hell," said Dilawar. "If we go down there, then it should be at least two of us."
"No," refuted Eskiya. "There could be a whole village down there. If they're hostile, one more of us won't make a difference in there."
"All the more reason we should just leave," said Clem. "The longer we're arguing the more time they have to find us… we're just up the road!"
"We have nothing and nowhere to go," reminded Eskiya in a harsh tone. "Our only hope is down there, which means one of us has to go."
"Why you?" challenged Horatio.
Eskiya hesitated before answering. "I'm the most logical choice."
"Really?" asked a dubious Dilawar. "How do you figure that?"
"I'm a good listener."
"And you think we want you representing all of us?" asked Sabriya.
"I'll use discretion to obfuscate and protect the rest of you," said Eskiya. "But I won't give them any reasons to harm any of us."
"They could just hurt you anyways," noted Sarah.
"Then it's just me, and the rest of you might have a chance elsewhere."
"Why are you doing this?" asked Clem suddenly.
"I'm telling you why."
"Really?" challenged Clem. "How do we know you won't just sell us out to whoever's down there?"
"Clem!" said Sarah.
"What? None of us trust him, not really." Clem looked around for an objection, and she didn't see any. Even Horatio seemed hesitant to speak. "Why do you really want to go down there, alone?"
Eskiya sighed. "Because I'm the only one here with no one to lose."
"What?" Eskiya looked directly at Clem.
"You, Sarah, Omid; you all need each other."
"Eskiya…"
"And you and your brother need each other," Eskiya told Sabriya.
"I don't have anyone," objected Horatio as he took a step forward.
"We both know that's not true," dismissed Eskiya. "You care more for people than any of us. If you were killed, everyone here would mourn your loss, but not mine."
"That's… that's not true," argued Dilawar, sounding like he wasn't sure if he meant that. "And even if it was, we shouldn't send someone based on how much the rest of us like him or not."
"No, we should send the most logical choice."
"Then it should be me," dictated Horatio. "Doctors are a rare commodity now. If it's a big town they'd sooner use me than kill, and I can use that."
"You're needed here if something happens to the rest of them," said Eskiya.
"I'm so sick of that bullshit!" barked Horatio. "I'd rather be stopping a massacre than just waiting here to patch up the bloody aftermath because you did something to piss these people off."
"I will not provoke them," asserted Eskiya.
"I feel like between the two of us, everyone would agree I'm less likely to piss off a group of strangers," stated Horatio.
"He… he has a point," realized Clem.
"Maybe, but you're too trusting," dismissed Eskiya. "If these people would mean us harm, you probably wouldn't know it until it's too late."
"That's… that's not a bad point."
"Clem!" said Sarah.
"It's true," she argued. "This could be another Valkaria. Chilton put on a phony face and told me what I wanted to hear… and I believed it. If there's someone like that at this place, I don't think Horatio would be ready for that."
"I'm right here," reminded Horatio. "And just because I don't take death lightly doesn't mean I'm naive. Hell, when I first met most of you I spent three days chained to a bed wondering if you were just gonna come in and shoot me someday."
"But were you listening in through the wall, taking note of our every word, thinking how best to guide the conversation in a way that might cause someone to divulge something they don't realize is valuable information?" challenged Eskiya.
Sabriya looked at Eskiya suddenly. "Wait, so after I found you and we locked you up, you were spying on us the whole time?"
"I did the same thing," said Clem. "Why shouldn't I go?"
"Because I noticed how you were listening in on every conversation after we found you," said Eskiya.
"And you didn't say anything to the rest of us?" asked an annoyed Sabriya.
"He's lying," said Clementine. "I basically told him I was listening in on you guys,"
"And I pretended to be surprised so as not to agitate you further." Eskiya turned to Sabriya. "We were both suspicious Clementine had been one of the Vaquero back then, so when you sent them out with me that day, and they confronted me about their own suspicions about us, I defused our mutual distrust the best I could while looking for anything that might support our conclusions. It was in all our best interests."
Clementine felt disheartened upon hearing that explanation. She thought she had been careful when she first met the others, but Eskiya not only noticed everything, he took it upon himself to calm her down and he had done exactly that. She went out that day hating the group and came back making small talk with them. She felt so manipulated.
"You… you two thought Clem was one of the Vaquero?" asked Sarah suddenly, shocked to hear that. "Why…" Sarah turned to Clem. "Why didn't you ever tell me this?"
"I…"
"People keep secrets for lots of reasons," Eskiya told Sarah, cutting Clem off, much to her relief. "If this is an active settlement, they wouldn't have survived this long without great care. They'd be guarded against any outsiders, so we need to send someone who not only can listen in and learn as much as they can about them, but who won't be noticed doing so. That person is me."
A short silence followed Eskiya's declaration; no one could refute him.
"We… we need a code phrase," reasoned Sabriya. "Something for if.. when you come back, you can signal us if something is wrong… like they're following you back to find the rest of us, which means it needs to be something that they won't think is suspicious if they're listening in."
"Oh… uh… code green," suggested Dilawar.
"The hell does that mean?" asked Sabriya.
"That everything isn't okay, but it sounds like it's okay if anyone is listening," explained Dilawar.
"How does 'code green' sound like things are okay?"
"It's like… military jargon."
"No it's not, and I would know!" said Sabriya. "Plus, if anyone heard what they thought was military jargon now, you think they're not going to be suspicious of that?"
"It was from an old Star Trek episode, sue me," conceded Dilawar. "How about 'all quiet on the western front," suggested Horatio.
"That can work," said Sabriya. "What does that mean?" asked Eskiya suddenly. "It means everything's okay," said Horatio. "You've never heard anyone say that before?"
"No."
"Just… say it casually so you don't raise suspicion," insisted Sabriya.
"I've never heard that phrase before, how am I supposed to say it casually?
"Well… what if… I don't know, you said a name of someone who isn't here?" suggested Sarah. "Like, how's John?"
"How bout just something we all know they don't," said Clem. "Like picked clean. Just… say that and—"
"I'm fine!" announced Eskiya suddenly.
"What?"
"That's the code phrase if something is wrong: I'm fine," he declared. "If I say anything else when we're in radio contact, then assume the worst and flee while you still can."
"You… you're right. Let's keep it simple." Sabriya took a breath, then handed her rifle to Eskiya. "The rest of us will hold up in that town about a mile back."
"Where exactly?"
"Probably better you don't know that." Eskiya nodded at Sabriya. "Just radio us when you get near it, we'll work it out from there."
"I'll wait five minutes before revealing myself," said Eskiya as he examined the rifle before throwing it over his shoulder.
"Who's got the other working radio?" asked Sabriya as she fiddled with hers.
"I have it." Clem stepped forward and pulled out her radio. She hesitated to hand it to Eskiya, who then took it without asking. There wasn't any time to spare, and everyone started moving towards their bikes as Eskiya waited behind the road sign. Omid was whining softly as Clem strapped him into the seat mounted on her bike, and Sarah was groaning in pain as she put her feet on the pedals. Clem took one last look at Eskiya, then forced herself to move.
It was hard for Clem to keep going, harder than she ever remembered it being before. They had eaten nothing but stale vitamins today and her limbs and stomach were all riddled with pain. Every push of the pedal was agony, as it seemingly pushed back, straining her already frail and trembling legs. But the worst part was hearing Omid whimpering loudly in the seat mounted on the handlebars.
She's had to listen to him suffering every mile of the way for the last three days. It was torture heaped upon the misery that was already trying to bike across a state in the dead of the winter. Hearing him in pain, begging for Clem to stop, and having to just ignore him and keep moving was agony. But the worst part was when he was quiet. Clem felt herself barely holding onto life as they moved, leading her to assume something was wrong anytime Omid stopped crying.
She'd have to stop the bike and check on him. Every time she peeled back his scarf Clem was terrified she'd see a tiny walker looking back at her. Moving her trembling hands and numb fingers towards Omid's face, Clem suddenly heard him whimpering slightly. She breathed a sigh of relief, grimacing as she felt the cold air stabbing at her lungs, then reluctantly got back on her bike and started moving again.
Thankfully they didn't have far to go. After reaching the ocean they headed south and passed through a small town that had been absolutely picked clean. Every house tossed, every car missing its tires, and even every trash can was spotless. It made Clem think about Crawford and she wasn't surprised when they found that wall a little later. She had hoped, like Crawford, this community had fallen to the dead and left them something to salvage. Instead they were trying to find somewhere to hide from them.
Sabriya started pulling away from the rest of the group, prompting the others to try to follow her. Clem wasn't sure where she was going until she spotted something odd on the horizon; a lighthouse. Not long after that, the entire thing came into view. It wasn't a real lighthouse but a wooden structure about thirty feet high sitting in a lot on an intersection. Clem was baffled by its existence until she saw the faded banner attached to it that read 'MINI-GOLF'.
Moving a bit further, Clem saw the other side of the lot did indeed contain a mini-golf course. A miniature church, a water wheel, and figures both big and small decorated the links. If they weren't so tired and hungry, Clem would have been tempted to take Omid on a tour of the plastic sights lining the astroturfed trail. Instead, the group got off their bikes and filed into the lighthouse through the front door. There wasn't much space inside, and very little light coming in the pitifully small windows.
Sabriya immediately climbed up the ladder in the middle of the room which led to an even smaller room at the very top. Everyone waited in silence, with Dilawar guarding the door and Sabriya keeping watch from up high. Horatio slumped over in a corner, gasping for air. He has volunteered to carry more weight on his bike to give the others a break, and clearly it had taken its toll on him. Clem guided Omid towards Sarah, who was sitting by a window, struggling to breathe.
Clem wanted to say something to her, but nothing came to mind. Before long, Sarah had closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. Clem looked to Omid next and noticed he had done the same. She didn't blame them, she was exhausted too, but she refused to close her eyes. Partially because she was afraid of what would happen while she was resting, and partially because she was afraid of what she might do if she had another nightmare.
Instead, Clem resigned herself to keeping awake, her tired eyes darting between the small windows and Omid and Sarah. She didn't know how long she did this routine. Anytime she felt herself drifting off she'd change targets. Eventually, Clem allowed herself about ten seconds of shutting her eyes before having to open them again. She did that a few times before she suddenly heard someone speak.
"Okay… we need to start talking options," said Sabriya as she climbed down from her perch.
"Options?" mumbled a half-awake Horatio.
"I haven't seen anything move and we haven't heard from Eskiya," she dictated.
"It hasn't been that long," noted Clem.
"It's been half an hour," refuted Sabriya.
"It has?" asked Clem, shocked to hear it.
"At least," assured Sabriya.
"How do you know?" challenged Dil. "You're not wearing a watch."
"I can see the fucking sun is setting, that's how."
Clem eyed the nearest window and suddenly noticed there was a lot less light coming in. More time must have passed than she realized. She turned to Sarah and Omid, both of whom were fast asleep now.
"Wake up," said Clem as she gently shook Omid. "Wake up," Clem repeated a little louder as she shook Sarah as well.
"Huh… what's going on?" mumbled Sarah.
"The sun is going down and we haven't heard anything from Eskiya," repeated Sabriya. "So, what are our options?"
"Maybe… we can just stay here for the night?" suggested Dilawar.
"Six of us stay here?" asked Sabriya.
"I mean… we'll go crash at one of the houses nearby," corrected Dilawar.
"You mean the ones on the same road leading to that… place Eskiya hasn't come back from?"
"What the hell else are we supposed to do?" griped Dil.
"Find somewhere else," insisted Sab. "Somewhere further away."
"I can barely move," croaked Dilawar.
"Sabriya," said Horatio. "We're all exhausted."
"The people who took Eskiya are just down the road from us," reminded Sabriya in a harsh tone. "I'm tired too, but we can't stay here."
"We wouldn't get far even if we weren't tired," argued Horatio.
"We're as good as dead if we don't try!"
Clem suddenly felt something squeezing her hand. She almost jumped before she realized it was Sarah. She could hear Sarah breathing heavily, clearly sacred. Clem squeezed her hand back, just as scared as her. They had nowhere to go, nothing to eat, and the sun was going down. Clem tensed up as she could hear the adults arguing more loudly now. The words just blurred together into a string of noises punctuated with occasional shouting.
As Clem felt Omid trembling at the noise that roused him from his sleep, a horrible thought entered her mind. She thought about pulling the pin on the grenade and just ending it all without a word to the others. Clem felt her chest tightening up as she unhooked one of her backpack's straps. She was tired of all the arguing that led nowhere. She just wanted to end it all, and she didn't want to leave Sarah and Omid to suffer.
"Hello?"
That greeting silenced the arguing in an instant. Everyone looked to Sabriya, who seemingly stood there dumbfounded for a moment before she remembered the radio on her belt. She hastily reached for it, causing her to drop it. The radio banged against the wooden floor which echoed throughout the small building, prompting Omid to whimper in response.
"Shit!" Sabriya hastily picked up the radio. "Hello? Eskiya?"
Everyone waited in tense anticipation for a response. Clem had wondered if she was hearing things again, but that couldn't be since everyone became quiet when they heard the radio say hello. There was still no response and now Clem was worried Sabriya and broken the radio when she dropped it. She was about to get up when she heard an electronic crackle.
"Hello… Sabriya?" Clem had never been happier to hear Eskiya's voice.
"Yes, I'm here!" answered Sabriya loudly. "Are… are you okay?"
"Yes." Everyone waited patiently for Eskiya to say 'I'm fine' as he planned. "Where are you?" Clem's heart sank when she heard that.
"You're okay?" repeated Sabriya, clearly prompting Eskiya now. "They didn't hurt you?"
"No." Again everyone waited for the code phrase. "I've got a lot of tell you. Where are you?"
Sabriya sighed deeply before gesturing to the rest of the group to get up. Clem strained to stand up, her ankles trembling as she rose to a stand. Turning her head, she watched as Sarah tried and failed to stand up, landing with a thud as she tried to stand up.
"Come on," plead a desperate Clem as she grabbed Sarah's hands. "We gotta move."
"I… I don't think can…" admitted a trembling Sarah.
"Where are you?" repeated Eskiya from the radio. "It's getting dark and… oh… I'm fine." Everyone froze when they heard that. "I repeat, I'm fine." The group breathed a collective sigh of relief upon hearing that.
"We're at that mini-golf course we passed earlier," explained Sabriya. "Look for the lighthouse, you can't miss it."
"I'll be right there."
A few short minutes later, Clem could hear the clicking of a bike chain followed by approaching footsteps. Sabriya opened the door, glaring at Eskiya as he came inside.
"You forgot your own code phrase?" hissed Sabriya.
"There's a lot going through my mind right now," retorted Eskiya with more than a hint of irritation.
"Are you okay?" asked a nervous Clem.
"They did not hurt me," assured Eskiya.
"What did they do?" asked Sarah.
"After I neared the gate they instructed me to stop moving, keep my hands on my head, and wait for their people to meet me."
"Then what?" asked Horatio.
"They searched me."
"How?" asked Clem.
"They emptied all my pockets, removed my weapons, looked through my backpack, and frisked me." Eskiya removed a rifle and handed it to Sabriya. "Which they returned after I left."
Sabriya checked the rifle, pulling the bolt back. "They also removed the round in the chamber," she noted as she cocked the rifle.
"They called it 'Old West' rules," he said. "People have to surrender anything that can be used as a weapon at their gate. They're given back when you leave, provided you didn't do anything to make them think you'd use them against them. The van by the gate is full of lockers. They even put my name on the one they stored my gun and knife in."
"What happened next?" asked an anxious Sabriya.
"The man introduced himself as Zeke, and asked what my business was."
"What did you say?"
"I told them the truth. I'm seeking shelter for myself and my group. They asked me how many people were with me, I told them I didn't want to answer that. They asked me why, and I told them I didn't know how many people they had and didn't want to risk exposing ourselves as easy targets. They told me they had the same concerns about me."
"This is why I should have gone," said Horatio as he shook his head.
"I was not oblivious Horatio," argued Eskiya. "I explained to them that I respected their concerns and understand the desire to protect themselves, and that I came alone so as not to endanger my own people. I then asked if it was possible for us to stay the night in Fair Haven."
"Fair Haven?" repeated Dilawar. "Is that the name of this place?"
"Yes."
"That sounds nice," commented Sarah.
"Too nice," added Clem. "They want us to think they're fair."
"I did ask them why their town was named Fair Haven."
"And what did they say?" asked Horatio.
"It's apparently the name of the county for the south part of the island, but Zeke said that most of them agreed on it because it sounded more inviting than the other names they considered," said Eskiya. "They also told me it gives them something to strive for."
"So they just told you they're fair?" asked a sarcastic Clem.
"Zeke said they try to be," said Eskiya.
"Try to be?" repeated Sabriya.
"They don't all agree on what is fair, apparently," said Eskiya.
"What do they disagree on?"
"I asked Zeke that and they said I'd be standing there long into the night if they tried to explain it. Zeke then stressed if we wanted to stay inside their town, we'd all have to show ourselves and then it's up to a council to decide if we can stay or not."
"So… it's a maybe?" asked Dilawar. "They could let us in then the people in charge decide we go right back out the door?"
"Effectively… yes," answered Eskiya.
"Uh… this is giving me a headache," groaned Sabriya.
"Honestly, I think all of this is encouraging," said Eskiya in an earnest tone. "That they're not rushing to reassure us or promise us anything means they're probably not trying to deceive us. And if there are disagreements amongst them, that could be advantageous to us."
"Well I don't like it," refuted Clem bluntly. "You say it's not a trick but it could just be they're smarter about tricking people. We're still gonna have to give up all our weapons and be prisoners to get inside, right?"
"Clem…" spoke Sarah in a weak voice.
"You know what that's like," asserted Clem. "We don't want to take Omid into a prison."
"Shaffer's never let people just walk back out," argued Sarah. "This isn't the same."
"No, it's probably more like Valkaria," retorted an angered Clem. "They let us come and go, and they didn't even take our weapons away. They waited before they promised us anything and then when I got what they wanted, they tortured me and made you watch!"
Omid started crying loudly and Clem felt a chill run down her spine as she realized everyone was staring at her. Sarah turned away from Clem and tried comforting Omid, running her hand up and down his back.
"Sarah… I… I'm…" Clem tried to say she was sorry, but Sarah just averted her gaze. Clem sighed deeply in regret.
"For what it's worth Clem, I don't like it either," said Sabriya in a weak voice. "But we don't have any other viable options. We're starving, exhausted, and it's getting colder. All we can do is... throw ourselves on these people's mercy and hope that either they're decent people… or that we can survive whatever comes next if they're not."
"So it's decided then?" asked Eskiya. "We all go to Fair Haven and ask for shelter?"
"Not unless someone has a better idea on how to survive the night." Sabriya looked around for an answer. Clem searched every corner of her weary mind for something to say, but found nothing. "It's settled then. We're burning daylight, so let's get to Fair Haven before nightfall."
Clem turned around and helped Sarah stand, straining to pull her back to her feet. "Sarah, I—"
"I'm sorry Clem," said Sarah suddenly, much to Clem's confusion. Before Clem could ask her what she was apologizing for, Sarah was stumbling towards the door. Clem knelt down to collect Omid, who tried to squirm out of her grip.
"I know, I'm tired too," moaned Clem as she forced herself to pick him up. "Just a little bit more and we'll be…" Clem couldn't tell him they were going somewhere safe, because she didn't believe they were. After strapping Omid to his seat, Clem turned her head and saw the sun had nearly disappeared beyond the horizon now. Her already aching feet trembled as she pushed them against the pedals. The pain was terrible, but an overwhelming sense of exhaustion overtaking Clem quickly became her chief concern.
The pain she could bear a bit longer, but what she couldn't was her body just refusing to move sometimes. She'd push the pedals a couple of times and then her legs would just start wobbling, like they had fallen asleep and weren't listening. Clem had to consciously focus on moving them every few minutes, and each time it got harder. She became worried she'd pass out before they'd even make it to this Fair Haven place.
Clem reached a point she couldn't even keep her eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time. She'd open them long enough to make sure she was still following Sarah, then close them for a while and just focus on moving forward. Her whole body felt like it was wobbling now, along with the bike under her. She could barely hold onto the handlebars anymore and just wanted this all to end. Close her eyes for good and just accept whatever happened next.
"That's far enough!" Clem went from wobbling to quaking in fear as she suddenly skidded her bike to a stop. She didn't recognize the voice she just heard and became terrified the next thing she'd hear was a gunshot. Clem's eyes darted around to see the others, and just out of the corner of her eye she saw Sarah ahead of her. She was slumped over on her bike, visibly shaking and Clem could hear her breathing rapidly. She wanted to run over to her but was too afraid. Clem could also hear Omid crying softly from the basket.
"Get off your bikes while keeping both hands on the handlebars and walk them over to the gate, slowly." Those words, clearly spoken through a megaphone seemed to echo across the air for a few seconds. Clem did as she was told, dismounting the bike while taking great care not to move her hands off the handlebars. Walking it forward, Clem saw the large wooden wall from earlier. It was much taller than she realized, and with every step it loomed larger still.
Slowly, her eyes drifted downward to the gate that was mentioned. It was a large, sturdy set of wooden doors held in place with huge hinges. Clem tried not thinking about it but couldn't stop herself from envisioning Shaffer's. Thrown in a cage, surrounded by walls, and at the mercy of people eager to torment someone weaker than them. As she inched ever closer, Clem had a horrible thought; what could she do to stop these people if they decided to hurt Omid?
"That's close enough." The person was speaking loudly but without a megaphone now. "Leave the bikes and come over here so we can talk." Clem could see two figures by the gate, silhouetted against the light of the lantern one of them was holding. Clem moved to the front of the basket and bent over to pick up Omid. "What are you doing?" Clem froze upon hearing that.
"We… we have a baby," announced Sarah, her voice stricken with fear. "She's just getting him out of his seat."
"I… see that." Clem remained frozen in place. "Can she carry him?"
"He can walk," answered Clem. "If it's not too far."
"Just… take your time." Clem was surprised by what sounded like concern, but refused to let it put her at ease. She very slowly removed Omid from the basket and set him on the ground. She took hold of his hand, and then started walking forward with the others. Clem did her best to control her shaking as she marched herself and Omid to what could be their imprisonment.
Moving close to the gate, Clem finally got a good look at the people standing in front of it. One was a young, clean-shaven brown-haired man with sharp blue eyes and a black wool coat. He did have his hand on a pistol belted to his hip, but his posture was alert, not threatening. She assumed this was Zeke, although he wasn't what Clem had envisioned. She expected an older man with facial hair and maybe thick sunglasses, like Tanner.
The other person was a woman, noticeably younger than the man. She had short dark hair and a darker wide-brimmed hat. A leather eyepatch covered much of the right side of her face. Like the man, she had a gun on her belt but didn't have her hand on it. Her face appeared to be a mix of caution and excitement. It looked like she was trying to stop herself from smiling too much.
"I'm guessing your people decided you'll take your chances with us?" the man asked Eskiya. He then slowly looked over at the group. "Is this everybody?"
"Yes," said Eskiya with a nod. "Everyone, this is Zeke."
"I'm, for lack of a better word, sheriff of the town behind this gate; Fair Haven." Zeke gestured to the woman holding a lantern. "This is one of my deputies, Bart."
"Howdy," she said in a warm voice as she took off her hat.
"Bart?" repeated Clem.
"That's my name, don't wear it out," she said with a smile as she put her hat back on.
"Seven people is a little less than I was expecting," Zeke told Eskiya. "But… you didn't mention you had kids with you."
"Why does that matter?" Clem asked Zeke directly, making no effort to hide her suspicion.
"We never turn children away," stated Zeke in a firm voice.
"Why not?" challenged Clem, only growing more suspicious.
"Because… you're kids," spoke Bart. "And our town is a safe place for kids."
"Really?"
"Clem…" said Sarah in an irate tone.
"No one in there is gonna complain that we're eating their food? Or tell us we're useless?"
"Well, I can't guarantee that," spoke Bart as she knelt down to look Clem in the eye. "But… this?" The woman traced her finger across the side of her face, circling her eyepatch. It took Clem a second to realize she was staring at the scar around her own eye. Looking at Bart's eyepatch, Clem realized if that knife had been a mere inch closer, she'd have an eyepatch too, at best.
"No one is gonna do anything like that to you in here," spoke Bart in a quiet voice. "That I can promise you." Bart took a step back and Clem didn't know how to respond. She wanted to believe she was being sincere but she just couldn't bring herself to trust someone that easily.
"I'm Eskiya, as you already know. This is Horatio," he said, gesturing to Horatio. "They're a doctor."
"You're a doctor?" asked Bart in surprise.
"Technically I never got my degree," he clarified "But only because the world ended right before graduation."
"Well an upside to the end of the world is no one cares that much about medical licenses anymore," said Zeke.
Clem realized Eskiya was purposefully trying to endear themselves to these strangers by telling them Horatio was a doctor; she didn't like it.
"I'm Dilawar," spoke Dil as he stepped forward. "And she's Sabriya."
"She your wife?"
Sabriya groaned loudly to herself as Dilawar sighed. "She's my sister," he corrected.
"Why do people always ask if I'm your wife?" mumbled Sabriya. "No one ever asks if you're my husband."
"He's your brother, got it. No offense intended," spoke Zeke in a calm voice. "Any other relations in this group we should know about?" Silence followed. "Wait… none of the rest of you are related? Then whose kids…"
"No one's," stated an annoyed Clem. "Me, Sarah, and Omid… we're all orphans." Clem felt herself tensing up as she said that.
"But… all from different parents?" asked Bart.
"I… we…" Clem felt Sarah's hand on her shoulder. Sarah leaned in and embraced Clem, which slightly eased her nerves.
"Clem's parents died not long after everything changed." Clem had to stop herself from crying after Sarah said that. "My mom died when I was still a baby, and my dad died not long after I met Clem." Sarah shuddered. "Omid never met his dad, and his mom died right after he was born… Clem and I promised her we'd take care of him." Clem tilted her head and saw Sarah was tearing up as she explained all of this. "And… we've just been looking for somewhere safe to live ever since."
"Jesus Christ…" spoke Bart in a hushed whisper.
"Well, you three can stay in Fair Haven for as long as you need," announced Zeke. "Like I said, we never turn children away."
"Why not?" Clem asked again. "I don't believe it's just because you care about kids. People say they do, but none of them really mean it."
"Some of us do," assured Bart.
"And those who didn't lost to the rest of us," added Zeke. "Believe me, we've had some vocal arguments on this topic, and the short version is some of us wouldn't stay here if we didn't maintain certain standards, one of which is kids can always stay in Fair Haven."
"What about the rest of us though?" asked Sabriya.
"Everyone else we decide on a person-to-person basis," explained Zeke.
"How though?" asked Dilawar.
"What if one of us were their parents?" added Horatio. "Does that mean they might have to choose between staying here or with their parents?"
"What if I just don't want to stay here?" challenged Clem. "You gonna make me."
"Clem!" snapped Sarah.
"Believe me, no is gonna make you stay here. Every other argument lately is looking for reasons to keep people out," informed Zeke. "As for the other questions, those are things better answered inside."
"Why?" said Clem.
"Clem, stop," ordered an annoyed Sarah.
"No, I want to know," refuted Clem. "Why do we have to come in for them to do this stuff? Why can't we do it out here before they take away our weapons and lock us inside?"
"Because that's how we do things here, and I'm not staying out here all night in the cold to argue about it with any of you," said Zeke as he crossed his arms. "Like I said, nobody is gonna force you to stay here. But if you want to come in, you follow our rules; simple as that."
"So if I don't do everything you say you would just leave Omid out here to freeze to death," accused Clem. "You really don't care about kids!"
"Stop it!" Clem was shaken by Sarah suddenly shouting. Looking up, she was terrified to see Sarah glaring at her. Omid started crying softly and Clem noticed everyone was staring at her. Sabriya, Dilawar, Horatio, Eskiya, even Zeke and Bart. Sarah knelt down to take Omid's hand and moved him forward towards the gate.
"I'm sorry about Clem," Sarah told Zeke. "She…" The anger in Sarah's voice evaporated in an instant. "She's been lied to and used and hurt so many times that…" Sarah trailed off as her voice became choked with sadness. She started crying, which caused Omid to start crying louder. Clem hurried over to them and put an arm around each of them.
"I get it," spoke Bart in a sympathetic tone. "This is exactly why I won't turn away children. I've seen too many kids suffer already, and That's not happening in Fair Haven as long as I'm here."
"And one of the reasons we handle things inside is we get a lot of people showing up desperate and tired," added Zeke. "A good night's sleep makes people less inclined towards rash actions. Your friend Eskiya already went through the process once. The sooner the rest of you get it over with the sooner you can get out of the cold."
"Sounds good to me," said Sarah as she took another step forward.
"I'm assuming Eskiya explained how this works," said Zeke. "We'll search you one at a time, and anything that can be used as a weapon will be kept out here until you leave."
"Um, Zeke?" Bart looked down at Omid, who was cowering behind Sarah as Bart approached.
Zeke scratched his head then turned to Sarah. "Does his jacket have pockets?"
"Yes," answered Sarah.
"Just… turn them inside out and that'll be good enough."
Sarah did as she was told, bending down to pull out a pocket.
"NASA?" read Bart off of Omid's jacket. "You guys aren't from Houston, are you?"
"We got it in Florida," said Sarah as she pulled out the other pocket.
"You people have come that far?" Zeke asked the others.
"They have," said Sabriya. "The rest of us are from the Midwest."
"I'm from Wisconsin," corrected Eskiya.
"Wisconsin is part of the Midwest." Sabriya's comment seemed to confuse Eskiya.
"We'll exchange notes on where you've been later," said Zeke. "For now, let's get you out of the cold."
Clem took hold of Omid as Sarah stepped forward to be searched by Bart. It went slowly, with Zeke occasionally giving Bart notes on her technique as he watched over the others. It started with Sarah handing over her machete and rifle, the latter of which Bart confirmed was loaded. Then she dug through Sarah's backpack, which took a while. Finally was a pat down, checking all of Sarah's pockets in the process. Clem couldn't help noticing how much Sarah's stomach was bulging when she lifted her arms.
Once Bart was done searching Sarah she carried the rifle and machete over to the large van parked beside the gate. Turning her head, Clem could see there were metal lockers inside, of which Sarah's weapons were placed inside one. Next was Eskiya's turn, followed by Horatio, Dilawar, and finally Sabriya. Clem felt her stomach tying itself into a knot as she watched Sabriya's rifle be placed inside a locker.
"All right, your turn." Clem felt her stomach drop as Bart turned to her. "Come on, once you're done we all get to go inside." Sarah took a step forward and gestured for Omid to come to her. As she did, Clem's hand found itself on the back of her belt to confirm her makeshift lockpick was still there. After she confirmed it was there, she moved forward and put herself in front of Bart.
First Bart took Clem's pistol from its holster, and when pulling back the slide to check if it was loaded Clem winced as she watched a bullet slide into the chamber. Next was her tomahawk, then the knife on her belt. Clem felt her stomach churning as she surrendered her weapons. She hated the idea of using them but hated more to be deprived of them. Next Clem had to take off her backpack, which she did. Watching Bart paw through her meager belongings just made Clem feel sicker.
"God damn, you're one heavily armed kid." Bart removed the hand grenade from Clem's backpack.
"Wait… I thought that went out the window in Reno." Sabriya turned to Clem suddenly. "You've had that this entire time since then?"
"It's not like we've needed it," said Clem. "Not yet anyways."
"Um… this isn't going to go off… is it?" asked Bart.
"It hasn't so far," commented Clem.
"I'd put her things on the locker farthest from the gate," instructed Zeke. "Just in case."
"All right, arms out." Clem did as Bart instructed, bracing herself for another stranger putting her hands on her. Bart's grip was firm and methodical, sending shivers up Clem's spine as she was searched. Despite Zeke's coaching, Bart seemed quite experienced already. Her hands reached Clem's waist and stopped suddenly.
"What's this?" Clem tensed up as she heard those words. She was afraid Bart had found the paper clip on her belt.
"Do you always carry an extra bullet in your pocket?" Bart's question left Clem speechless as she held out the single round she had found. Clem didn't even realize she had that, and as she pondered its origins it dawned on her it was the bullet she ejected three days ago after nearly shooting Sarah because of a nightmare. "You don't have to answer that but… I can't let you take that inside."
"I… I understand." Clem noticed Sarah was staring at her now, clearly wanting to know more about the bullet. Clem couldn't dwell on it though as she felt Bart's hands on her again, this time grasping one of her wrists. She was tugging on a ring of colorful beads.
"It's just a bracelet," said Clem as Bart stared at it.
"Yeah, I see that," she said as he finally released Clem's hand. "Just… it clashes with the rest of your outfit."
"Sarah gave it to me."
Bart padded down Clem's legs and then quickly stood up.
"We're all good," she told Zeke before turning to the van. Bart moved over to it and placed Clem's weapons in a locker inside. Clem watched as she turned a key and put it in her pocket, then removed a small notepad. She stuck a piece of paper with 'Clementine' written on the locker, then returned to Zeke's side.
"All right then. We'll want to search your bikes so just leave them out here for now." Zeke looked over his shoulder and gestured at the watchtower behind the gate. Clem couldn't see who was up there, but not long afterward there was a loud scraping sound. "Welcome to Fair Haven."
Clem felt herself shaking as the large wooden gate swung open. She shuffled over towards Sarah and grabbed hold of her hand. She was afraid of what she'd see on the other side, only to find little beyond an empty road running past the watchtower she saw early. Clem's eyes drifted upward and she saw a shadowy figure holding something, but it was too dark to see what. Before Clem could get a better look she felt Sarah pulling her forward as they all marched onward.
As they moved, Clementine scanned the area for threats. She didn't find much though, seeing more empty road ahead of them flanked by dead trees on one side and water on the other. The encroaching darkness gradually concealed what little there was for Clem to study. After a few minutes of walking in silence, she began to wonder if they had been tricked. All they had seen was a wall and a watchtower so far, and no other signs of a 'town'. Slowly she turned her head aside to look at Zeke, who was walking behind all of them.
He still had his hand on his gun, and he immediately noticed Clem was looking at him. He didn't say anything, his expression didn't even change, as if he expected this. Clem was unnerved at how alert Zeke appeared to be. She shuddered as she realized if this was a trap, there wasn't much they could do to fight back now. It was getting darker and she had no idea where they were going. Clem tightened her grip on Sarah and Omid's hands, fearing they wouldn't be together much longer. An image of Zeke lifting his gun and shooting them in the back of the head flashed into Clem's mind.
"All right, that's far enough." Clem tensed up as she heard Zeke say that. "Take your pick."
"Our pick of what?" asked a confused Clem.
"Whichever house you want to stay in," said Bart as she turned around to face the group. "They all have fireplaces and wood, should have some water too but you'll probably need to boil it."
Clem slowly turned her head and found a row of small houses on each side of a very narrow road branching off from the main road. She could see this 'street' didn't extend past this single small neighborhood, and there was a yellow sign that read: 'Not A Through Road'. Looking around, Clem found no other structures, just more road and a single short bridge running over the pavement just ahead. One end of the bridge led here, the other went over the water and off into the darkness.
"Not much of a town," noted Sabriya.
"That's cause it's not," said Zeke. "We keep this one neighborhood separated from the rest of Fair Haven so we have somewhere for visitors to stay while we're figuring out if we're gonna make long-term arrangements."
"Where does that bridge go?" asked Eskiya.
"Eureka," answered Zeke. "Much bigger town where a lot of Fair Haven's current residents used to live, myself included."
"Used to?" asked Dilawar.
"We tried holding out for as long as we could but eventually it was too big a space for too few people to defend," explained Zeke. "When Oakes' group found their way here and told us it was only getting worse across the West Coast, we realized we needed to change tactics."
"Who is Oakes?" asked Horatio.
"Mayor… well, ex-mayor, current councilwoman for Fair Haven," answered Zeke. "She led a big group of people out of Los Angeles all the way here."
"And after a lot of arguing, we decided to settle down here," added Bart.
"We all packed up what we had and consolidated it here in Fair Haven. Easier to guard an island than a city. Time permitting, you'll meet Oakes and the council tomorrow." Zeke took a breath. "I don't suppose you have any good news about the rest of the world to tell us, do you?" No one responded to Zeke's question, although Clem noticed Eskiya seemed to be seriously pondering it. "Didn't think so. Why don't you folk turn in for that night?"
"So, we just go inside and… wait until morning?" asked Sarah as she approached the only two-story house in the neighborhood. It had an open porch and a red door.
"Like I said, take your pick," said Zeke.
"Ray, why don't you and the girls take this one and the rest of us can bunk next door?" suggested Sabriya.
"Works for me," said Horatio with a shrug.
"I'll show you all in, get you settled. Bart, you do the same for them." Bart nodded at Zeke, then moved towards the house with a red door. Clem followed closely behind her, still not convinced this wasn't some kind of trap. The house was cluttered with overturned chairs and broken bits of wooden furniture, all of which were coated with a thin layer of dust. Clem struggled to move around the junk to get to what she assumed was a living room. There was a couch but it was covered in stacks of books.
"What is all this?" asked Clem as she realized the books were all copies of the same phone directory.
"Kindling and extra firewood," said Bart. "I's been a while since we had visitors and we've been storing stuff here. Just… push it out of the way."
Clem shoved a stack of phone books off the couch and gestured to Sarah, who immediately sat down. She took a couple of deep breaths as she lifted Omid onto her lap. Clem was disturbed by how labored Sarah's breathing sounded. This morning Clem doubted they'd even make it through another week. Although she doubted the claims that Fair Haven sheltered children without some sort of horrible catch, the possibility was forcing Clem to confront the reality that Sarah would likely give birth soon. Clem tried to come to terms with that, then collapsed onto the floor.
"Clem!"
"I'm… I'm okay," mumbled a drowsy Clem as she tried to stand up.
"I gotcha." Clem felt a hand helping her up. She thought it was Horatio only to look up and find Bart. Horatio shoved more phone books out of the way and helped Clem to sit down.
"What happened?" asked Horatio as he knelt down in front of Clem.
"Nothing… I'm just… really tired," realized Clem.
"This place has two bedrooms." Clem looked over to see Bart pointing at a door past the edge of the living room. "Pretty sure the one upstairs has the bigger bed. Let's get a fire started first though. Horatio?" Horatio nodded. "I'll show you how to do that while the kids dig into this."
Bart held out a small burlap sack, which Sarah took. "What is it?" asked Clem as Sarah opened the sack.
"Some honey, a can of pickled carrots and a jar of tomato jam," explained Bart. "It's not much but—"
"What are you giving us this?" said Clem, more accusing than asking.
"Clem don't," pleaded Sarah.
"I want to know why they're giving us food," demanded Clem.
"Because you're our responsibility while you're in here," said Bart. "Which means we gotta feed you."
"Even though you might kick us out later?" challenged Clem.
"We're not kicking out any children, trust me," said Bart.
"But you might kick our Horatio?" asked Clem. "So you're gonna feed him today but make him leave tomorrow?"
"Clem," spoke an annoyed Sarah.
"It's just how we do things here," stated Bart.
"We appreciate it," said Horatio.
"I don't," blurted out Clem. "Nobody just gives away food unless they want something."
"Look, I get where you're coming from. I was lied to, locked up and a lot worse before I got here. Be as suspicious as you want, I would be, but you still gotta eat and that's what this is for," stated Bart in a stern but not unwelcoming tone. "And like I said, it isn't that much. You're gonna have to make that last until tomorrow, and by then you might think it's not all that generous."
"No, we're very appreciative of everything," said Horatio.
"We'd be out in the cold if you didn't let us in," added Sarah.
Clem didn't feel nearly as gracious as Sarah and Horatio but remained quiet. Having stopped for a while, Clem felt exhaustion overtaking her. Her head felt like it was getting heavier with every minute and the idea of going back outside felt impossible.
"Let me show you how to get a fire started, then you guys can get some sleep." Bart gestured to Horatio, who followed her over to a fireplace across from the couch. While they cleared out the area of old phone books and broken chairs, Sarah emptied out the bag Bart gave her. There were a couple of spoons and three small jars. As Bart said, they were full of honey, small carrots, and a red substance Clem assumed was tomato jam. Before she could finish examining the jars, Sarah took the jam and started unscrewing the cap. "What are you doing?" asked Clem in a quiet voice as she put her hand on top of the jar.
"Eating, what else?" Clem stared at Sarah in response. Sarah sighed and leaned in close. "Clem, if they wanted to kill us they could have done it already," she whispered. "They took our guns and invited us in. Why would do all that if they were just gonna poison us later? What would be the point?"
"It could all be in act."
"Clem…"
"It could," asserted Clem. "This is exactly what that woman did to me in Wyoming. Took my guns, let me in, pretended to be friendly while giving me water that was drugged." Clem could see her own dread seeping into Sarah's eyes now. "We can't—"
"We'll let Omid eat first."
"Sarah!" Clem looked over to make sure Bart wasn't listening in. She seemed busy with showing Horatio how to use the fireplace.
"We're already here. If they wanted to kill us they could do that at any time," whispered Sarah. "If it's something just to put us to sleep… we'd see it pretty quick with Omid."
"What if you're wrong?" whispered Clem. "What if they do want to kill us, and they use poison because they want us to come back as walkers?"
"Then he'll die tonight instead of starving to death tomorrow." Those words cut Clem. She looked down to see Omid, clawing at the jar Sarah was holding with utter desperation. He could see the jam through the glass. Clem could too, and it did look appetizing.
"Let… let me taste it first," suggested Clem. "If it doesn't taste strange, then we'll let him try it."
"Fine." Sarah handed Clem the jar, and immediately after Omid tugged on Clem's hand instead. The anxious look on his eager face made Clem feel all the worse for eating in front of him, but she had to be sure. She tried unscrewing the lid, but her hands refused to cooperate, shaking in defeat anytime Clem attempted to apply any force. Without a word, Sarah grabbed hold of the lid and unscrewed it for Clem.
Clem sat there awkwardly for a second, then moved the jar closer to her face. She sniffed the contents while examining them. The jam had a faint aroma that smelled pleasantly sweet. Clem hesitantly dipped the tip of her finger in the sticky red substance. Slowly, she placed her finger in her mouth.
"Well?" asked Sarah.
"It's… it's a little bitter," reported Clem as used her tongue to move the jam around. "Not much, but—"
"Oh just let me." Sarah took the jar back and immediately sampled it. "It's good!"
"Yeah…" concluded a reluctant Clem as she watched Omid turn his attention back to Sarah.
"Here." Sarah took one of the spoons and offered Omid some jam. Clem watched anxiously as Omid lurched forward, so hungry he couldn't help biting into the spoon. It didn't seem to deter his eagerness in the slightest as Clem heard him practically slurping every last speck of jam off of it.
"Slowly," urged Sarah as she rubbed Omid's back. "Savor it, we don't know when we'll get more… if ever." Clem watched Omid carefully as Sarah fed him a second spoonful, fearful he'd become sick any moment. Instead, he just kept suckling on that spoon, like it was the last thing he'd ever get to eat. Clem was hungry too, and she did like the taste she received, but she refused to ignore the possibility it wasn't safe and decided not to eat more for now.
"All right, there's plenty of kindling if the fire goes out," said Bart as she stood up. "I'll be outside if you need anything. Otherwise, try to get some sleep." Bart left as Horatio moved over to Sarah and Omid.
"How is it?" Horatio asked Sarah.
"Good, have some." Sarah offered Horatio the jam. Watching Horatio eat just made Clem even hungrier, but not hungry enough to try anymore yet. Instead, Clem moved over to the fireplace which she was happy to get warm in front of. Clem also noticed a curved piece of wood with of thin rope strung between the ends of it. It was the same thing Christa used to start fires with, and of which Clem still didn't know the name of.
Clem tried to relax, but couldn't. Seeing Horatio and Sarah feed Omid, she became anxious and moved over to a window by the front door. She peered outside and could see Bart standing on the street, her face lit by only her lantern. Zeke approached her and told her something, which she nodded to, then Zeke left. Clem was almost ready to leave the window when someone new approached Bart.
Their face was wrapped in a scarf, making it hard to learn much about them. They spoke to Bart for a while, much longer than Zeke had before leaving. As they spoke, Clem noticed the new person had a rifle slung over their shoulder. The pair seemed to reach the end of their conversation, and then the new person took up position next to Bart, standing watch. Clem picked up one of the chairs stacked beside the door and set it in front of the window. She then sat down and settled in for a long night.