The Fortress St John
Chapter 2 - Barns and Bandits Part I
The group had been walking for about a quarter of an hour, currently down a road that ran through a forest. Ben, Mark and the St. John brothers leading the way with Lee and Doug bringing up the rear. Lee listened to the sounds of the forest, the gentle footsteps of the group and the conversation going on ahead of him. As tranquil as the forest was, after 3 months in the apocalypse Lee was keeping an ear out for any signs of danger, and he was sure the rest of the group was too. Lee had the fire axe with him, and although it weighed a ton he was glad to have a weapon unlike Doug.
"Thanks for coming along, Doug," said Lee.
"Sure!" Doug replied. "I'd like to get a look at that electric fence they talked about, it might give me some ideas of something I can rig up at the motor inn."
"Can an electric fence really stop walkers?"
"Well, as long as the walkers aren't completely dehydrated and the fence has enough juice, yeah, seems plausible," Doug reasoned. "The electricity basically cooks you from the inside out right?"
"I guess so..."
"So if a walker stays in contact with the fence for long enough it'll eventually cook its brain. Probably takes a while, though, and that can't be a good smell. Unless it smells like jerky... I could go for some jerky. Man, I should not have turned down that food you gave me earlier."
Lee laughed, "That is one runaway train of thought Doug!"
"Sorry," Doug chuckled, fiddling with a something in his hand.
"What's that you got there?", Lee asked.
"Oh, nothing. Just a laser pointer I picked up on our last trip to the drugstore."
"What do you need that for?"
"I dunno. I just like fixing things, you know that" Doug chuckled.
"Haha, yes I do." Lee laughed. "We've been quite lucky with those supply runs, though, not too many walkers about. I wouldn't count on that lasting forever."
"No, I wouldn't either. There did seem to be more walkers the last few times we went to Macon."
"Do you think there are any other survivors there?"
"I don't know." Doug sighed. "The drugstores been the same every time we left it right?"
"Yeah, I think so. I didn't see anything moved about or taken."
"I suppose, but the drugstore's just one building, we only see that small section of the town, could be people elsewhere."
"Maybe." Lee sighed. "I just hope if we run into anyone in the town they don't shoot on sight."
"Hey, people are still people, and people don't just turn into murderers, most are decent like us!" Doug reasoned. Lee felt a pang on guilt, he still hadn't told anybody about his past and where he was headed when the dead started to rise.
"You always look for the best in people, but there is some serious shit going on Doug. Apparently, that kid we've picked up-" Lee gestured towards Ben walking ahead, "-well their camp of school kids was attacked by a group of bandits. He said the bandits killed a bunch of them and that's why they were on the run. Who the fuck attacks and kills a bunch of kids?"
"Fuck.. that is messed up man" Doug sighed. "I hope we don't run into those bastards."
"Me too, Doug. Me too.."
The pair continued to follow the group ahead for a while, the thought of fresh food from the dairy cheering Lee up, he was seriously hungry and this hike was starting to take its toll on his body. His legs were beginning to feel like jelly and he felt a little ill. He eavesdropped on the conversation upfront, Mark was regaling the St. Johns with the story of how he met the group when they'd saved him at the air force base.
"So I'm by myself in the base with no weapon but my rifle," Mark had begun, "And I decide that this base is done for. I stuff a suitcase full of food and set off to leave. But on my way to the perimeter fence this one dead guy spots me and starts fucking chasing me across the field, and I can't use my rifle because all the others on the base will come after as well. So I've no choice but to run and I can't even run because of my suitcase of food, best I can do is a quick walk. So I'm quick timing the whole way across this field, with this asshole hot on my heels refusing to let up."
"So what happened?" Danny asks.
"That's when this lot found me, apparently they were checking out the airfield for help from the military, and they ran into me instead. Lee was the one who found me, spotted me hauling ass across the field. He ran over and bashed its brains in with that axe of his, he was the first living person I saw for weeks."
"I can attest for that" Lee called out from behind, joining the conversation. "He stank worse than a sewer!"
"I can imagine." Andy St. John chuckled as the group slowed and waited for the pair to catch up,
"So what happened then?"
"They took me back to the motel. My arrival was much the same as yours kid," Mark said to Ben. "The majority of the group not wanting to let me in, but when I showed them what was in my suitcase they let me stay."
"Hey, for the record I voted in your favour before I even learnt about the food," Doug added.
"That you did Doug," Mark replied. "Lilly and Larry were very against me joining, even with the food, said I couldn't be trusted."
"We soon managed to convince them otherwise, though," Lee added.
"Is that right?" Danny replied. "Sounds like they're not very trusting.".
"Actually they're not too bad", said Lee. "They just don't like new people very much, once they know you they're alright."
"To be fair to them though you can't trust everyone these days" Andy reasoned, the conversation coming to a close, "So Lee, why don't you tell us a little more about yourself?".
"Where you from?", Danny asked.
"Well I've lived in Athens for a few years but I grew up in Macon."
"Right here in the heart o' Georgia!" Andy smiled. "That's what I like to hear! What did you do before all this went down?"
"I was a professor at UGA, taught US history".
"Oh, you a historian?"
"Oh, I live and breathe it, loved it my entire life!"
"Hey Andy, don't we have some civil war memoirs from a great uncle or something?" asked Danny.
"Think so, they're probably in the attic somewhere," Andy replied. "I'm sure mama would lend them to you if you wanted."
"Oh yes please," Lee replied eagerly. "It's hard to find reading material nowadays. I assume he was a confederate?"
"Course, our family's lived in Georgia since they came to America. Would that be a problem?"
"Oh not at all," said Lee. "We can't understand history without hearing from both sides of the story."
"That makes sense," Andy replied.
"Y'all seemed to be settled in pretty tight at that motor inn, who's running things over there anyway?" Danny asked.
"We work as a group, all of us looking out for each other."
"I hear that!" Andy exclaimed. "There are so many dumbasses out there fighting each other for power, it's just stupid."
"How many people you got over there?" asked Danny.
"Nine, including the kids," Lee replied, not wanting to lie.
"You forgot Ben," Doug corrected. "He makes it ten."
"Really?" asked Ben. "I'm a part of the group?"
"I don't see why not," Doug reassured him.
Ben was about to reply when the sound of a heated argument exploded from just off to the right of the path. The group quickly took cover behind some trees and craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the argument. There were two men in a clearing, both armed, cursing their heads off at each other.
"They look like the people who raided my camp," Ben whispered.
"Fucking bandits," swore Danny.
"Who are they?" Lee hissed.
"Fucking assholes is who they are," Andy replied. "Don't worry, me and Danny have got you covered if something happens, but let's just wait this out and hope they move on."
The group watched and waited, listening intently to their argument. Both were wearing balaclavas and one had a shotgun, whilst the other had a crossbow.
"What are you talking about, I never stole no food!" one shouted.
"You and Gary are always pulling this shit. Don't think I haven't noticed!" the other yelled.
"Calm down, your paranoia's pissing everyone off!"
"Fuck you! You knew we were hungry! And you guys were keeping it all for yourself!"
"Yeah, and you know what? We ate it all and we enjoyed it! What are you gonna fucking do about it!"
The other man seemed to pause for a moment as if to consider what to say next. But he didn't say anything. Instead, he kicked him to the ground and emptied his shotgun into the man's stomach.
"FUCK YOU!" he screamed with every shot. "FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!" The man shot until his gun ran dry before turning and leaving. "Asshole...".
With the man gone the group came out of hiding in stunned silence. It was Andy who finally broke it, "The world out here has gone to shit. Come on, let's get to the dairy where it's safe."
Clementine sat at the table in the RV, colouring in the picture book Lee had given her. It was a book of animals, the sort that you'd find in a zoo. There were lions and monkeys and lizards and all sorts of other things. She was colouring in a zebra's stripes when she found to her horror that her black felt tip was running out. She looked up to Duck who sat across from her colouring his own book, he had plenty of pens.
"Hey Duck?" she asked. "Could I borrow some of your felt tips?"
"Why?" he replied.
"My black one is running out."
"Okay, but don't break it."
"How would I break a pen? And anyway you're the one who broke my chalk."
"Hey that's not fair, the chalk breaks too easy"
"Well, it wouldn't if you didn't sit on it. You're too heavy" she giggled.
"That's because I'm strong, my dad says when I'm grown up I'll be strong enough to go fishing with him on his boat."
"Have you been fishing before?"
"I went with dad once on a lake. We sat all day and talked and caught loads of fish"
"Did you catch anything?"
"Yea, I caught one this big!" Duck said, holding his hands far apart.
"There's no way you caught one that big, it's too heavy!"
"Uh huh, I did, isn't that right dad?" Duck asked his father, who had just entered the RV.
"What's this?" Kenny asked.
"When we went fishing, I caught one this big!" holding his hands out again.
"I don't remember it being that big Duck!" Kenny laughed. "More like this big," he said, as he held out his hands well under half the distance that Duck held his.
Duck pouted and stuck out his tongue. "It was!"
"If you say so Duck," Kenny laughed. "Hey Clementine, can you do me a favour?"
"What is it?"
"I need your little hands, I knocked a bolt I had resting on top the battery and it's gone down into a little nook. My hands too big to get it. I can see it I just can't reach it" Kenny explained.
"Oh okay," she replied as she stood up and followed him out and round to the front of the RV.
"Hmmm, wait here. I'm gonna get you a chair to stand on," said Kenny as he walked off into the motel.
Whilst Clementine waited she looked around and saw that the teacher that attacked Lee was gone, a trail of blood ran from the back of the truck to outside the wall. She thought back to what Ben had said, about the fact that no matter how you die you come back as one of those monsters. She couldn't make sense of it, how could you come back as one of those things no matter what way you die? When her grandparents had died they didn't come back as walkers, so what had changed since then? If it was true then beyond the wall must be even more dangerous than she thought, there must be hundreds of those things out there! She felt very worried for Lee. Her train of thought was interrupted by Kenny coming back and placing a chair at the head of the RV.
"Here you go, stand on this"
"What if I fall off?" she asked.
"Don't worry you won't. And I'll catch you if you do!" Kenny replied.
"Okay," she said as she climbed up onto the chair. She looked down into the workings of the RV, she had no idea how anybody could make sense of this complicated mess of machinery.
"You see it?" Kenny asked. He pointed down into the bowels of the RV. "That silver screw thing just there."
"I see it!" Clementine said excitedly. She rolled up the sleeve of her dress, not wanting to get it dirty from the oily RV. She was about to reach down for it when a thought crossed her mind. "Is it hot?" she asked.
"What?"
"My daddy tells me to never touch anything under the hood of a car without making sure if it's hot or not."
"Your daddy's a smart man. No, this thing hasn't been run in months, it's as cool as the air around us."
"Oh okay, I'll have a go then". She squeezed her right hand down into the RV and fumbled around for the bolt but it was ever so slightly out of her reach. She stood on tip toes to give herself a little more room, being careful to keep her balance. After stretching her arm as far as it could go she managed to grab it, she pulled her hand out and gave the bolt to Kenny. "Here you go" she smiled.
"Thanks, Clem!" replied Kenny. "You're a real help".
Clementine jumped down from the chair and saw her arm was covered in grease and muck. "Eww, my arms all dirty" she complained.
"Don't worry, wipe it off with this towel," Kenny said, passing her a clean towel from the motel. "And here's some water too," he said as he poured some water from his bottle onto her arm.
Clementine wiped her arm with it, getting rid of all the oil and grease on her arm. "Kenny, do you think Lee and the others are okay? They've been gone a whole hour."
"I'm sure they're just fine, Clementine," Kenny reassured her. "They know how to handle themselves, they'll be back before you know it I'm sure, with lots of food as well!"
"That's good, I am really hungry. I'm going to go back to colouring with Duck now."
"Okay Clem, thanks for the help," Kenny called out, as Clementine left to climb the steps back aboard the RV.
Half an hour after they left the motel the group finally arrived at the dairy, the first indication of which had been a barbed-wire fence, buzzing with electricity. The two brothers warned them not to touch it as they unlatched a gate and let the group through. The electric fence continued all the way around to the other side of a farmhouse, forming a perimeter a few hundred yards across, within which was contained the entire dairy. As they walked along the driveway Lee took in his surroundings in amazement, as well as the farmhouse there was also a barn with "The St. John Dairy, Free tours!" printed on its roof in great white letters. The path they walked on was flanked on either side by a corn field and bales of hay were scattered all around.
"Here it is, the St. John family dairy," Andy smiled, proudly gesturing to the electric fence. "Y'all can see how we've kept this place so secure!"
"The fence really keeps them out?" Doug said, astonished at the size of it.
"You betcha!" Andy replied, "They fry like bugs on a zapper. We're pushing 4000 volts through that thing, with generators and amps."
"Oh wow!" Doug exclaimed clearly impressed. "You must know a thing or two about running wire?"
"Had a guy that did," said Andy.
"Ever had any accidents?" Lee asked, suspicious of Andy's use of the past tense.
"Nah", Danny replied.
"It's much safer in here than it is out there," Andy told the group.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lee spotted a red-haired woman approaching the group from the farmhouse, she was rather plump and didn't walk very fast. "I thought I saw y'all with company comin' down the drive!" she called out, her accent just as thick as the brothers'.
"Guys, this is our mama," Andy told the group.
"I'm Brenda St. John, and welcome to the St. John Dairy!" she said to them all as she joined them. "Andy, aren't you going to introduce us?"
"Sure thing, mama," Andy replied and soon got to the business of introducing the men to her, Lee was impressed that Andy remembered all their names, even Ben who had said hardly anything on the way there.
"And this is Lee," Andy said as Lee and Brenda shook hands. "He's from Macon."
"Oh, a couple of our old farm hands were from Macon!" Brenda told Lee. "They grow 'em good there!"
"And they've got a few more friends staying at the Travelier Motor Inn," Danny told his mother.
"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed. "That place is pretty vulnerable, have you got someone with survival experience in your group?"
"Well, we've got a few people who were in the military."
"Well that's good to hear, that motel ain't the safest place," she said worryingly. "Well now that y'all are here we can talk trade, I assume y'all are here to trade that gas for some food hmm?" she asked, pointing at the jerry cans they were carrying.
"Yes please, ma'am," Mark replied. "We are really very hungry"
"Well these are for y'all, baked fresh this morning," she smiled, holding out a wicker basket full to the brim with bread and biscuits.
"Holy MOLY!" Doug exclaimed wide eyed. Taking the basket eagerly he stuffed a particularly large biscuit into his mouth. "Oh they're delicious!" he said, mouth full, taking another.
"Slow down Doug, save some for the rest of us," Mark warned.
"Sorry.." Doug apologised, crumbs going everywhere. He held out the basket and the other three took some bread and biscuits.
"I'm glad you like them!" Brenda exclaimed, happy to see her baking being so complemented.
"That's the good stuff!", Danny told them. "Can't get that without a cow for fresh milk and butter that's for sure."
"That's right." Brenda agreed. "Hopefully Maybelle will make it through this bout of whatever she's got and be with us for a good long while."
"Your cow is sick?" Lee asked. "What's she-"
"-we have a vet!" Mark interrupted. "We could bring her here! We can help you folks out"
"A vet! Oh my!" Brenda sang happily, "Our prayers have been answered!"
"Maybe our whole group could come? For the day?" Mark asked eagerly.
"Well how about this, ya'll go get your veterinary friend, and I'll prepare some dinner. A big feast for all you hungry souls!" Brenda offered. "It's been so long since we've seen new faces. Danny, why don't you come help me out in the kitchen?"
"Sure thing mama," Danny replied, as he and Brenda walked into the farmhouse.
"I'll head back with the food and round everyone up for the trip back here," Doug offered.
"You should take someone with you," said Andy. "Those roads can be dangerous."
"No problem, Ben can come with me," Doug replied.
"Sure thing," Ben nodded.
"Take this," Mark said as he gave Doug his rifle, "we won't need it now that we're on this side of the fence."
"Alright, we'll see you later," Doug replied as he and Ben left the group, heading back to the motel.
"Mark, Lee, why don't ya take a look around?" Andy asked the pair. "And once ya get settled in I could use some help securin' the perimeter."
"Is there a problem?" Lee asked apprehensively.
"Sometimes the dead get all tangled up in the fence before they fry and end up knocking over a post. It'd be a big help if you two could walk the perimeter. I'm gonna go top off the generators before they run dry, come get me when you're ready to go."
"You betcha," Mark told Andy as he left, leaving just the pair of them. "This place is incredible!" he said excitedly to Lee. "It's got food! And that fence, oh man that fence! If we play our cards right this might turn out to be a place we can stay, so how do you want to play this?"
"Before we can even think of bringing our whole group here we should make sure this place is as safe as they're telling us," Lee replied.
"Right, obviously they think it's safe, but is it safe enough for the kids? I noticed a broken swing over there." Mark said. He pointed towards the swing, hanging from a tree near the farmhouse. "Not a big deal but maybe there're other things not working that we just can't see yet".
"We'll just have to keep an eye out Mark," replied Lee. "And checking the fence perimeter sounds like a decent way to get a look at their defences.".
"Alright, I'll keep my eyes open, and you find out what you can from Andy," Mark said as he went to check out the barn.
Before talking to Andy, Lee went to assess the swing. The board seemed to have been snapped in two and only one rope was connecting it to a tree branch. The break in the board was sharp and jagged, it was clearly a specific event that had broken it and not general wear and tear. Lee decided that he should do his best to try and fix this swing, not only would Clementine love it but it would prove to the St. Johns that they could pull their weight. He went off in search of some planks of wood, he reasoned there must be some around due to the repairs that electric fence must need. Soon afterwards he found what he was looking for by the small yellow generator Andy was topping up, however, it was far too long and would need cutting down to size.
"Hey, Andy?" called Lee. "You mind if I cut up one of these boards?"
"Already makin' some repairs huh?" Andy quizzed. "I like a guy who takes some initiative! Sure, go right ahead."
Lee placed the plank down and started to cut it right across the middle. Due to him being so weak it took him a little while longer than he would like, his head spun a little and he felt very hungry. Perhaps he should have taken something to eat earlier. After struggling with it for a minute or so the two halves soon pulled apart and Lee had the perfect sized board for the swing.
"Andy, you know where any rope is?" Lee asked as he passed Andy on his way to the swing.
"Can't say I do, Lee. Maybe mama will know?" Andy replied. "What you need a rope and plank of wood for anyway?"
"I'm thinking of fixing that swing over there.".
"Oh that old thing, the kids used to like it more than the tour sometimes!"
"I'll bet!" Lee exclaimed. "I'm sure my Clementine would love it too."
"Clementine? She your daughter?"
"Oh no we're not related - she's just the little girl I've been taking care of since this all started," Lee confided. "How'd that swing break anyway?"
"Got busted the first day those things showed up... thank god no one was on it at the time."
"Thank god indeed. Need any help with that generator there?"
"No, I got it, the bastards always breaking. I seem to be spending half my life fixing this god damn thing."
"I'll leave you to it then Andy, catch you in a sec I'm gonna go looking for that rope"
Lee made his way up to the porch of the farmhouse, it was two stories tall and looked exactly like Lee imagined a farmhouse to look like, quite small but very cosy. Next to the front door was a big display of certificates the dairy had won back in the day, some dating all the way back to the 1980s! As well as the swing down in the yard there was a large rocking bench up here as well which Lee reasoned would become very popular amongst Duck and Clementine. He opened the fly screen and knocked on the door, steps came from within the house and Brenda soon answered the door.
"Oh hi there, Lee!" she said. "What can I do for ya sweetie?"
"Hello Brenda, you wouldn't have a rope lying around I could use would you?"
"I'm sure there's one in the boys' old toy box," she said opening a large chest at one end of the porch, "Ah yes, here you go sweetie! What do you need it for?"
"I'm gonna try fix up that swing of yours," Lee told her.
"Oh my, that's awful kind of you," she exclaimed. "You know I used to push Andy and Danny on that swing every night when they were kids, seems like such a long time ago now.."
"Yeah, it does," agreed Lee. It'd only been about a quarter of a year since it all started but it felt like much much longer. "How's your family been holding up since... you know?"
"Oh my boys have been my saving grace, they both quit their jobs and came home to help out after the attacks started happening," she said smiling. "I think it was hardest on Andy, Dan's always been a bit of a mama's boy, but don't tell him I said that!"
"Don't worry, your secret's safe Brenda. Thanks for the rope I'm gonna try and see if I can fix this swing now, I'll see you later."
Lee headed back down the path towards the broken swing, he loosened the existing rope's grasp on the board and quickly replaced it with his own fresh board. However he couldn't figure out a way to get the other rope over the branch, it was far too high and he was not even going to try to climb it in his starved state. He attempted to throw it but whatever he did the rope either didn't reach or slipped back down, it was then that he had a great idea. He tied the rope to his axe and threw it over the branch, it went up and over and its weight brought the loose end of the rope back down the other side of the branch. Taking the axe off of the rope he then tied the rope to the seat but he didn't know his knots very well, he resigned to leaving it as a bit of a botch job and would ask Kenny to look over it when he got here, his years on the sea should certainly make him an expert with bends and hitches.
Lee decided that now was as good a time as ever to walk the perimeter, he wanted to see how effective it was. If the group was going to come to visit he wanted to make sure they were all as safe as possible.
"Hey Mark," Lee greeted.
"Hey Lee, so what have you found out, is this looking like a good place to stay?"
"I haven't checked out the barn yet, I'll do that when we get back. And the generator might be a problem, Andy said it's tricky to repair and it takes him a while. Still, it's a hell of a lot better than the motor inn."
"Are you ready to go then?" Mark asked.
"Sure am," Lee replied. The pair walked over to Andy to let him know they were ready to start checking the perimeter, he was still working on the generator. As they approached he stood and brushed off his hands.
"Hi Andy," Lee greeted, "I managed to fix the swing.".
"Well I'll be damned, momma's gonna be thrilled to see that old thing all fixed up!" Andy said appreciatively. "Well, I'm glad that you guys decided to help us out."
"We're just glad to get a decent meal in us," said Mark.
"I bet you are," Andy agreed. "I noticed back at the motel you folks are pretty well armed, you been stockpiling huh?"
"Yeah, if you need some extra people to protect the dairy you can count on us," Mark offered.
"Well hopefully it'll never come to that, but thanks!" said Andy.
"An electric fence is really enough to keep out walkers? Lee asked.
"Walkers? Is that what you call them, that's good!" laughed Andy. "The old one wouldn't have but Mac, he was our foreman, he figured out how to amp it up with the generators. We used to sit out here some nights and watch the sons of bitches sizzle and pop when they get too close. Closest thing to entertainment these days I guess."
"Sounds like a morbid kinda entertainment," said Lee. "Well, Mark and I are free to help you with the perimeter now."
"Oh good! The fence will stop a walker in about three or four seconds but it gets overloaded if we leave the husks out there, so all we need to do is just push 'em off."
"You know, Mark and I can clear the fence ourselves if you want to stay here and finish up with the generators?"
"Well, that'd be great!" Andy said appreciatively. "I'll turn off the north-west section and if you guys could strip 'em off and look for any weak points that'd be a big help."
"Sure thing, it sounds easy enough", said Mark.
"Stay attentive, you never know," Andy warned. Lee nodded and the pair headed off and through the gate out into the field. Lee looked at the fence that surrounded them and tried to figure out where they were supposed to go, the hike here had thoroughly disorientated Lee and he had no idea which way north-west was.
"Hey, Mark? Which way is north-west?" Lee asked.
"It's this way, let's go," replied Mark, you could always rely on his keen sense of direction. "So how's the place looking, is it safe enough for us to stay?"
"It's pretty amazing what they've done with this dairy, but let's see what it takes to secure this fence before drawing any conclusions."
"I can't wait until everyone is out here! Well... everyone besides Larry."
"Why the hell did you tell him I thought he was a racist? As if tensions weren't high enough!"
"I'm sorry man, it just... popped out"
"I try to be civil at least!"
"Well hopefully he'll calm down once he's out here." said Mark.
The pair had soon walked the hundred yards to the fence and began to walk along it, the lights on the fence posts were off and Lee reasoned that meant the fence was too. Just beyond the fence was the rest of the forest, a beautiful deep orange now that autumn was in full bloom.
"I can't wait for Clementine to get here, she'll love it!" Lee told Mark.
"I'm sure she will, especially since you fixed that swing."
It was the smell that first alerted the men to a walker corpse. They found it draped over the fence a little further on, a bird pecking at the dead man's flesh.
"There's one. Eeugh!" Mark said, pinching his nose. Lee kicked its foot, checking to see if it was going to suddenly pounce. "Lee, it's dead"
"Come on, let's push it off", grumbled Lee.
"There's no way I'm touching him," Mark exclaimed. "Who do you think he was?".
Lee examined the corpse more closely, it could be anybody. Its clothes were torn in places and there were deep gouges in its neck, presumably where the poor man was bitten. The skin was red and rotten, and the mouth had peeled away to reveal a set of black teeth. "It doesn't matter," he told Mark. "I'm just glad it's not one of us." Lee rested the head of his axe against the corpse's chest and pushed him off the fence; it fell harmlessly to the ground. "Come on, I'm sure there's still a few more."
"Once this fence is patched up this place'll be a fortress!" Mark said as the two continued down the fence line. "God, can you imagine not having to worry about the walkers anymore?"
"Yeah, well it's useless with gas," Lee said ambivalently. "We might need food, but the St Johns need gas too".
"Not many drivers these days Lee, we could scrounge up a year's worth of gas easy. So what's your take on the brothers, they seem to have this place tied down pretty well?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I dunno, they seem decent enough. I just want you to know I've got your back if anything goes down, that's all."
"Well thanks I guess," said Lee, glad to have Mark backing him. Lee spotted another walker on the fence, "Look there's another one."
"I see it, same drill?"
"Sure." Lee rested his axe into the walker's chest again and pushed. But this time the walker slumped backwards with its hands still connected to the fence. "Man, the fence burned right into its hands, it looks like they fused together!"
"Oh man, that is so not cool!" Mark exclaimed. With no other option, Lee raised his axe and brought the axe through the walker's wrists, leaving two disembodied hands clinging to the wire and the rest of the walker in a heap on the floor.
"You're on a roll, that's the second time you've performed an amputation today!" Mark chuckled.
"Seriously Mark?"
"Sorry, poor taste." Mark apologised. "You never get used to the smell do you?"
"Nope," said Lee, the undead stench penetrating his nose. They moved away and were soon able to breathe again.
"Christ, I can't stop thinking about dinner! Thanks for the rations earlier, it's not easy eating in front of the kids but it's all that's keeping me on my feet right now."
"I'm hungry too, Mark."
"Do you think they're gonna be good for it? Dinner for a whole group of people?"
"If they got as much food as they say, I think so."
"Hey, I think I see where they're getting in," Mark said, pointing to a knocked over a section of fence. "This one must have knocked it over trying to get through, he's tangled up in there pretty good. Come on, help me get this thing back in place so we can get Mr Crispy out of there!"
Lee looked at the knocked-over fence, it hadn't fallen inwards but outwards, making it incredibly difficult to pull it back into place from this side. The two of them each grabbed a fence post but struggled to no avail to right it.
"I think we'd getter better leverage from the other side," Lee told Mark.
"Good idea!" Mark said and jumped across. Lee didn't jump but stepped his way carefully across the downed fence, cautious not to trip on the barbed wire. He braced his back against a fence post and heaved upwards, the fence slowly coming back into place.
"Now how do we get Mr Crispy out of there?" Mark asked.
THWIP!
An arrow shot through the air and embedded itself in Mark's back, "OH FUCK!" he screamed. A cacophony of noise and arrow fire erupted from the tree line and rained down upon the two men. Mark doubled over in pain whilst Lee looked for any refuge from the kill zone, he spotted a nearby tractor and practically dragged Mark to take cover behind it. Arrows flew over their heads and bounced off the tractor as an army of men taunted and jeered at them from the treeline.
"WE HAD AN AGREEMENT, NOW YOU'RE FUCKED!"
"WE TOLD YOU WHAT WOULD HAPPEN YOU SONS OF BITCHES!"
"Lee! Who the fuck are these people?" Mark hissed in pain.
"I have no idea!"
"Well, they're pissed off enough to kill us!"
"Are you alright?" Lee asked tensely.
"I should be fine, I don't think it's too deep. We should jump the fence and run back to the St Johns, they've got rifles."
"Are you mad, we can't jump the fence?!"
"Why the hell not? It's not on!"
"It's barbed wire, Mark. You'll rip yourself to shreds trying to scramble over that!" hissed Lee as an arrow clanged dangerously on the metal just above his head.
"Well, how we gonna get back then?"
"I dunno, give me a sec." Lee scanned the fence, looking for a way to get in. He spotted a gate a little down the way, "There, through that gate."
"Hello?! We'll be shot before we even make it halfway!" Mark criticized.
"Hey, this tractor has wheels doesn't it? Let's get it moving!" Lee responded curtly. He braced himself against it and pushed but to no avail, the tractor would not budge. "It's stuck."
"You won't be able to push it whilst its connected to the plough, can you get it off?" Mark asked.
Lee stuck his head around the back of the tractor looking for a way to disconnect the plough. He saw a lever on the coupling and pulled it which, instead of disconnecting the plough, caused the plough's blades to be lifted up out of the ground. A close miss from an arrow drove Lee back into cover, but now that the blades were lifted from the dirt the tractor slowly rolled forth down the gentle slope parallel to the fence. Mark and himself used the tractor as moving cover, keeping away from the whizzing arrows that threatened to spear them both. Suddenly the tractor halted, well short of the gate.
"Shit, it's one of the walkers we pushed down earlier!" Mark hissed.
Lee looked forward and saw the cadaver of a walker under the wheels of the tractor. He grabbed it by its feet and pulled it free from the path of the tractor, which quickly resumed its rolling pace. They continued down the length of the fence when yet another walker blocked their path.
"How many of these things did we push over?" asked Mark, clearly in a lot of pain.
Once again Lee went forth to remove the dead walker, he gripped its arms tight but to his horror the walker gripped back! It came alive and howled at him, pulling his arms towards its snapping teeth. Lee tried desperately to pull his arms away from the walker and as he did the combination of the tractors weight and Lee's struggles pulled the walker apart, leaving it as just a torso and a pair of unmoving legs. Gray intestines spewed forth out on the ground. Lee swung the still living torso out from underneath the tractor's wheels and hurled it far behind them. The tractor once again started to move and the pair followed it closely, taking shelter from the rain of arrows. Lee could hear orders being barked amongst the group in the woods and a steady stream of insults directed at them.
"YOU ASSHOLES DESERVE TO DIE, DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD FUCK WITH US?!"
"YOU CAN'T HIDE FOREVER!"
Lee looked back to see in horror that the torso of a walker was still chasing them, using its arms to crawl along the ground. It left a trail of gore behind as it howled and snapped at them catching up quickly, but was suddenly stopped by a stray arrow piercing its temple, killing it instantly. The tractor soon reached the gate which Lee kicked open, and the pair quickly rushed through.
"YOU LUCKY SONS OF BITCHES, GO AHEAD AND RUN, WE AIN'T GOING NOWHERE!"
