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

99. Original Sin

Omid splashed his stubby arms in the water, awkwardly paddling forward as Clementine carefully held onto him."That's it, one more time!" encouraged Clem as she helped him swim to the end of the pool. "Almost there!" Omid reached the edge of the pool and slapped his hand against it. "You did it again!"

Clem hoisted Omid out of the water in celebration and Omid responded with a big toothy smile. "Who's our special little boy?" Omid giggled in response. "That's right." Clem pulled him in close. "It's you." She held Omid close to her body and sank gently into the water, enjoying its and his warmth. Clem never would have expected a place like this could still exist, and it was certainly the last thing she expected to find after the previous two weeks.

Trudging through snow too thick to drive or bike through, all in hopes of finding enough scraps to last another day, and all the while dreading she'd come back to that horrible sight she had seen after her trip to Denver, of Omid lying dead and Sarah crying over his corpse. And there was Simon now too, whom Clem felt obligated to help. Every day she worried about losing someone, and every night she was afraid to wake up to find someone had become a walker and killed what little good she had left in the world.

Even with the antibiotics and the syringe bulb, Omid spent entire days gasping for air. It was agonizing, and every day they had to go through the same routine of trying to get Omid to eat enough food to keep his strength up, as well as trick him into taking his daily medicine, which didn't even appear to be helping. The rest of Clem's days were spent battling exhaustion in the cold and her nights racked with anxiety until the xanax she swallowed would take effect and put her to sleep.

Only a week after that hellish routine did Omid finally start breathing easier. It was a small miracle but one they were very grateful for. The day after that Omid started eating regularly again. And the day after that he was walking around again. When enough of the snow melted, Clem and Simon went out looking for food and got lucky, finding a locked pantry that the locals must have missed which gave them enough to eat for at least a week.

Only after finally conquering all their immediate crises did their thoughts turn to long term ones. Sarah's pregnancy, Simon's condition, and the never-ending need for more food, water and warmth all loomed on their collective minds. It was enough to nearly drive Clem into a panic attack, but instead she found herself recalling a sign she saw when they first came to Granby. It mentioned a hot spring and so Clem suggested checking it for food next.

The sign led them to a town literally named Hot Sulphur Springs, but further investigation revealed there was an actual hot spring as well. They spent the day clearing out whatever food they could find in this tiny hamlet but the entire time Clem just keeping thinking about that hot spring. When they finally headed home that evening, Clem found herself reading a brochure she took from the actual springs' lobby over and over again just imagining what it would be like.

She spent the entire ride back home formulating a pitch to convince Sarah that they should all go out there together tomorrow; she agreed almost instantly. Clem then spent late into the night trying to think of the right way to ask Simon to take them there; he suggested going the next morning before Clem could even ask them. They all agreed the allure of a hot bath was more than enough to take a risk on.

Clem had worried the springs would be in some state of disrepair from neglect, or that the advertising about them being entirely naturally occurring was a lie, but fortune smiled on them for once. The springs were comprised of a series of small pools behind the main building, with many of them being made private with sturdy tent-like enclosures, most of which were still standing. The water had an unpleasant odor which the brochure claimed was sulfur, but it was a minor inconvenience for such comfort.