Three Orphan Pilgrimage (The Alternative to TWDG's Final Season) [Walking Dead]

50. A Happy New Year

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Why not?"

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

"Huh?"

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

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

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

"You didn't know that?"

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