Amy looked over the burning town, a smile creeping across her face.
She liked the smell of burning things.
The heat was becoming uncomfortable, but she didn't move. She simply stood there, enjoying the view.
Every walker had been killed, and her people had already gathered all the supplies they could before the town was consumed by flames.
"Madam, what should we do with those people?"
A middle-aged woman pointed toward a group of women and children huddled together in fear.
Some of the children were crying quietly. Even many of the adults were in tears.
Their homes had been burned down. Their people had either been eaten alive or shot to death. Some had suffered an even worse fate—they had burned alive.
Amy felt no pity for them.
If anything, their crying was beginning to annoy her.
'Their leader ran away. The only person they can blame is themselves. They should be grateful I haven't killed them yet.'
Now came the troublesome part.
"Did you find Hope?"
The middle-aged woman shook her head.
Amy frowned.
Her commander wasn't going to like that.
Reporting the same failure month after month was becoming tiresome, but there was nothing she could do about it.
"Did you get any useful information from them?"
She waited patiently for the answer.
"I wrote down everything they told us. One interesting thing came up. There's a prison nearby that they've been trading with. The population is estimated to be around thirty to forty people. There's also a coal mine within their territory."
Amy's eyes lit up.
Coal was an extremely valuable resource.
If she could secure it, her commander would be pleased.
And if her commander was pleased, she would be pleased.
The middle-aged woman noticed Amy's smile and instinctively took a step back.
Amy ignored it.
"Tell them they're all slaves from now on. The only way they'll earn their freedom is by working for Alexandria."
She delivered the order without hesitation.
"Yes, ma'am."
The woman bowed her head and hurried away.
A few moments later, Luna came running toward Amy and stopped in front of her, breathing heavily.
"Madam Amy, I have news. The Saviors and the New Frontier have both been spotted nearby."
Amy's eyes narrowed.
'Are they fighting each other again?'
The thought brought a smile to her face.
If the two groups weakened each other, it would only benefit Alexandria.
Her commander had considered attacking both factions before, but the potential gains had been too small compared to the losses they would suffer. Because of that, they had postponed dealing with them until later.
"Keep an eye on both groups," Amy ordered. "And send people to investigate that prison ahead."
A greedy gleam flashed in her eyes.
Luna quickly nodded before hurrying off to relay the orders.
---
Clementine gently stroked her belly, smiling to herself.
I wonder what our baby will look like.
She tried to imagine it, but the first image that came to mind was a bald baby with Max's face.
Immediately, she reached over and slapped Molly on the shoulder.
"Ow! What the hell was that for, Clem?" Molly rubbed her shoulder and frowned. "And why are you looking at me like that?"
Molly had no idea what she had done wrong, but Clementine ignored her and continued stroking her belly.
A moment later, she quickly leaned out the window and threw up.
After wiping her mouth, she let out a sigh of relief.
It had been three months since she became pregnant, and her growing belly was starting to become noticeable.
The nausea was terrible. She felt exhausted almost all the time, and some of her cravings made absolutely no sense.
The strangest one was chalk.
Even she couldn't understand it.
When she was younger, she used to draw on sidewalks with chalk all the time. She had even tasted it once out of curiosity.
It had tasted awful.
Now, however, she found herself craving it almost every day.
The entire pregnancy experience felt strange to her.
Strange...
But beautiful, too.
"Are you sick?"
The question came from a girl around ten years old sitting beside Clementine. Looked at her with obvious concern, her eyes drifting down to Clementine's stomach.
"Does your stomach hurt?" she asked innocently.
Clementine chuckled at the worried expression on the girl's face.
"No, I'm not sick, Mariana," she replied with a smile.
"Mari, don't bother her. Leave her alone."
The voice came from the back of the vehicle, carrying an annoyed tone.
Clementine looked over.
"But, Gabe, I'm just asking how she's doing. I'm not bothering her."
"You are. Can you just be quiet for a moment? My head already hurts from thinking about Kate, and your constant talking isn't helping."
He shot an irritated look at his sister.
Clementine was about to say something when someone else spoke first.
"Gabe, don't talk to Mari like that. Just like you, we're worried too. The way you're acting right now isn't helping anyone."
Gabe gritted his teeth.
"Uncle Javier, you don't care about Kate. If you did, you would've looked for her where we got separated. We wouldn't be stuck in this car worrying about whether she's alive or dead."
Clementine could clearly see how much those words hurt Javier.
But he didn't argue.
Gabe simply turned away and stared out the window.
"I'm sorry if my niece is bothering you," Javier said apologetically. "And thank you for helping us."
"Don't mention it," Jane replied. "We'll be kicking you out soon enough. Besides, whose brilliant idea was it to cram this many people into one vehicle?"
As she spoke, Jane looked directly at Clementine.
Clementine immediately looked away.
"Hey, family head, your time is up. Let me sit in the front now," Jane shouted toward Molly.
Molly was comfortably sitting in the front seat beside Michonne.
"You illiterate bitch, can you not read a clock? I still have a couple of minutes left."
"See? This is exactly why nobody likes you."
"Oh, shut up."
"Both of you, stop acting like children," Michonne interrupted before another argument could start. "And watch your language."
"Michonne, are you seriously taking her side?" Jane demanded, pointing at Molly.
From the back seat, Clementine watched the two of them bicker over something completely meaningless.
A smile crept onto her face.
Mariana, who seemed upset, looked back at Clementine and spoke in a small voice.
"I'm sorry for bothering you."
Clementine laughed softly.
"No, don't be sorry. You didn't bother me at all. And thank you for asking if I'm okay. But I'm perfectly fine. I'm not sick."
The little girl smiled back.
Relieved that Clementine wasn't upset, Mariana's curiosity immediately returned.
"Then what's wrong with your stomach if you're not sick?"
"Nothing's wrong with it," Clementine replied proudly, resting a hand on her belly. "I'm pregnant."
"WHAT?!"
Both Javier and Gabe shouted in disbelief.
The outburst was so loud that even Jane and Molly stopped arguing.
Mariana blinked several times.
"What does pregnant mean?"
For a moment, the entire vehicle fell silent.
Then—
"AHAHAHAHA!"
Michonne burst out laughing.
Jane nearly choked trying to hold hers in.
Even Molly doubled over laughing.
Meanwhile, Mariana sat there completely confused, wondering what was so funny.