A/N: Not a lot of changes made to this chapter other than a few fixes here and there. Besides, why change something that flowed so smoothly.

Disclaimer: I don't own Walking Dead.

Chapter 6: Dinner Time

The woods were almost completely silent as Jason and Dan picked their way through the underbrush. Making their way toward where the younger St. John believed the bandit camp he had mentioned was located.

It had been almost fifteen minutes since they had left the diary, and each step caused the already unsettling feeling in Jason's gut to amplify. He still couldn't place where it was coming from or why, but he had managed to keep it to himself the entire time he had been out here alone with Dan.

But at he same time, he kept the farmer within his field of vision. Making sure he didn't get behind him as they moved. There may have been an agreement made between the two groups, but along with the feeling, something was telling him not to fully trust the man or his family.

"See anything?" Dan asked as they stepped through a cluster of bushes.

"Nothing yet." Jason replied, tightening his grip on the rifle in his hands as they went farther into the forest. A few birds flew away in the branches above as they made their approach.

"I know it's around here. It's gotta be close." the farmer said lowly, stopping when the fighter knelt down and observed an empty soup can that was laying on the ground. "Very close." he added as they started walking again.

Jason stepped toward a small opening in the treeline, peering around a tree when he located a couple of tents and tables set up no more than 20 meters ahead. "Over here." he called out softly.

Dan joined him and smirked. "Oh shit. You found it." he said as they observed the camp site. Nothing could be seen from where they were standing, so they crouched down low and moved along the brush to get a closer look.

Keeping his breath steady, the fighter crept behind a couple of trees, leaning out with his rifle at the ready now that he had a much clearer view of where the bandits had been setting up shop. The crosshairs before his eye moved along the site, but still nothing moved within the perimeter. "Are they not here?" he wondered looking over at Dan who sent the same questioning look right back.

Lowering the gun. Jason moved forward a little more. Getting behind another tree that was right outside where a table littered with boxes and cans was set up. Leaning out of cover and looking over the camp site again, along with the surrounding area, he was able to pick up that the place was indeed devoid of anything living.

"Place looks empty." he whispered to Dan who was behind the tree next to him.

The farmer moved out from behind his cover and entered the camp, eyes scanning left and right as he approached the closed tent on the opposite side. "Watch my back, Jason. I'm gonna check out that tent."

Hanging back, the younger man kept his rifle braced against his shoulder as he looked for anything that seemed out of the ordinary while Dan stopped in front of the tent. Barrel of his rifle leading, he pulled back the flap, his body tense as he prepared to shoot.

After a moment he relaxed, "Clear." he said over his shoulder as Jason entered the camp as well. "This camp's too small. It can't be their main base."

"Probably an outpost or something. A place where they can watch people away from where they're really held up." offered Jason as he looked at all the empty food boxes and cans sprawled out on the table next to him.

Dan shrugged, "Maybe. Have a look around, there's probably some shit around here they stole from us." he said with a light growl in his tone.

Nodding, Jason began to pick through the various containers that were scattered around the site. But considering the way things were looking, the chances of finding anything useful was on the very slim side.

All the cans looked like someone had been eating out of them recently. A kettle of water was boiling over a low fire in the center of everything but had nothing else in it. And the tent had two sleeping bags, one of them was meant for a kid according to Dan. "This doesn't feel like a bandit camp." he thought thinking back to how the assholes had acted when they saw the two fighting on the way to the farm, and then the ones that attacked him and Mark.

"What's in the boxes?" asked the farmer as he started looking as well.

"Nothing, they all say Save Lots on the sides though. Looks like they were trying to move a lot of stuff from that place." replied Jason.

Dan nodded, "The first few days, they told folks to gather to the Save Lots by the interstate. Is there anything worth taking?"

"Not a damn thing. Whoever was here picked this place clean." The fighter moved a couple of boxes around on a table set up under a tarp and narrowed his eyes. Seeing one of the boxes behind the ones he moved had the name of the St. John's diary on it. "Found a box from the dairy over here." he said opening it up, checking the contents and finding it empty as well.

"Probably the food we've been given' em. Fuckers crossed the line." replied the younger St. John brother while Jason kept moving boxes around and finding something else a bit out of the ordinary.

A digital camera laid on the surface. Completely out of place with everything else around here. "Find something?" asked Dan coming over as he picked up the camera, pressing the power button and not getting anything in response.

"Video camera, but it's dead." he replied.

"Oh, good. What else they got over here? Let's see if we can find anything else and then get a move on." the farmer moved off to the side to check around the back while Jason watched him with narrowed eyes.

It was 'good' that the camera wasn't working? That didn't add up. And Dan was acting a little more skittish the longer they stayed there, and it wasn't from the possibility of the camp site's owners coming back.

Slipping the camera into his back pocket, he backed up a bit before heading toward the tent. Poking his head inside, he saw that Dan had been right about the interior. Two sleeping bags laid side by side on the ground inside, one of them meant for a small child and had a blood soaked rabbit on the top of it.

After looking over his shoulder to see if nothing was coming up from behind, Jason stepped inside and carefully started picking through what little there was. Much like outside, there wasn't anything that was deemed useable. There was a picture of a mother holding her daughter on the smaller sleeping bag and not much else, but something else caught his eye.

A lump at the top of the bigger sleeping bag. Curious, he reached out and moved the padded bed-spread aside-

-His heart nearly stopped...eyes widening beyond belief and his breath hitching in his throat...

Clementine's hat looked right back at him. A little dirt spread out on the bill, but definitely the one she wore everywhere...the same one that went missing days ago..."

"What...the fuck?" he muttered under his breath, picking up the hat and looking it over carefully and discovering that it was indeed his charge's hat.

"Don't you fucking move!" he froze, the enraged woman's voice that had spoken somewhere behind startling him.

"SHIT!" Dan exclaimed raising his weapon. Jason spun around and stood up, rifle in hand facing the woman who stood at the edge of the camp site. Pale, boney-thin frame being covered by dirty clothes, a old red vest with 'Save Lots' on the tag covering her shirt.

The woman's stringy, matted hair fell all over, but her crazed eyes locked on the two of them. A crossbow in hand ready to fire. "Put you guns down!' she demanded swinging her weapon back and forth between them. "I ain't going back. You tell 'em Jolene ain't goin' back!"

"Hey! We had a deal! No shooting as long as we gave you food! What the fuck happened?!" Dan said, his grip on the gun now tight.

"You had a deal with THEM! I ain't THEM." the woman, Jolene stated while looking over at the farmer. "I know you. Oh, I know who you are, and I know what you do!"

"You don't know me." the farmer denied.

"Just who the fuck are you?!" Jason demanded. "Why are you even up here if you're not with the bandits?!"

The woman cackled madly, "Ha ha! Oh...it's a hell of a lot safer up here than down THERE, you best believe." She raised her crossbow again, "Now, maybe you didn't hear me last time when I asked you sweet...put your damn guns down!"

"You think I won't kill you? I'm gonna take this here crossbow, and put a nice sharp arrow, right through your eyeball. And into your goddamn brain! You're not men...you're monsters! All men are monsters! Take what they want and destroy it all! Take a can of beans, take a little girl...it's all the same to you!"

"Where did you get this hat?!" Jason held up Clementine's hat as he gripped the rifle in his hands.

Jolene grinned, showing rotten teeth. "From the little girl." she said causally.

The fighter felt rage course through him, "You STOLE it from her! Why?!"

"So what if I did? You stole her from ME!" the woman exclaimed back.

"What the fuck are you going on about?! Clementine doesn't belong to you, you crazy bitch!"

The woman chuckled to herself, "You know what? I changed my mind...I'm putting this arrow right through your BALLS. Yeah! Right through. String 'em on that tree over there. Then I'm a head down to that farm, and shoot every goddamn person I see!"

"She's out of her fucking mind...but," Jason looked around him briefly before settling back on Jolene. "What the hell's happening around here? And how does she know about the dairy? Does...she know something we don't?" "Put. The crossbow. Down." he stated slowly. "You have no chance of killing us both."

"Maybe," Jolene cackled. "But I'm gonna use this to kill you fuckers!" she looked over at Dan and laughed louder. "Go on, tell him, boy! Tell him what you got in mind for-"

A loud bang echoed through the woods. The woman's left eye and the back of her head exploded in a fountain of blood and bone, her body collapsing face-first to the dirt lifeless.

The fighter was temporarily frozen by the sudden turn of events before looking to his left to see Dan lowering his weapon. "God dammit." he said shaking his head.

"What the fuck was that?!" Jason demanded, whirling on the other man.

"She had a crossbow aimed at our foreheads, boy. I wasn't gonna take no chances." he looked down as blood pooled around the dead woman's head. "It's a clean shot though...right through the eye. That's good shootin' right there. Still, what a waste."

Lowering his own weapon, but keeping his guard up. Jason sighed deeply, "So I take it this counts as a job well done?"

"If they ain't here, I don't know where they are." Dan replied looking at the surrounding trees. "And it ain't a good idea to go tromping through the woods lookin' for 'em. So, yeah, we head back." he walked over to he woman and picked up her weapon before glancing over his shoulder at the fighter.

"Once they see this...they'll get the message."

They began to take their leave, but on their way out Jason looked back at the woman. She was about to say something about Dan and the farm before he shot her. That they were planning something and that it was something bad...

He started moving to catch up with the younger St. John. A small fire being lit in his stomach. "I gotta tell the others when we get back...something's definitely off about all of this."

X

They made it back to the farm just as thunder started to rumble somewhere in the distance. A storm slowly making its way across the sky in their direction.

"Man, that was a hell of a ride, huh?" Dan said, catching the rifle Jason had tossed to him.

"A bit excessive if you ask me." replied the fighter, "She was out of her mind, but she didn't deserve to be executed."

The farmer shook his head, "What? You ain't gettin' soft on them, are ya? Not after what they tried to do to you and your friend earlier."

Both men turned to the screen door of the house opened and Brenda stepped out to greet them. "You're back! What happened?" she asked.

"Handled it, mama." Dan said simply before stepping off to put the guns away.

Jason watched him go before going up to the front of the house as Brenda sat down on the porch. "This isn't what Terry would've wanted..." she said forlornly.

"Terry?" asked the young man, a bit curious.

"My husband. Miss him every day." she explained, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Then screw it up for everybody then, why don't you?!" they turned toward the gazebo where Lilly and Kenny were locked in yet another heated argument.

"Oh calm down, Princess." the fisherman fired back. "I'll do it myself." they stepped away from one another. Lilly going to a bench nearby and Kenny toward the barn.

Jason sighed, "They're going at it again..." he muttered scratching the back of his head.

"There certainly a lot of tension with ya'll, huh?" asked Brenda.

"A bit, it's what happens when you get two people with different ideas trying to run things." he said being as vague as he possibly could.

"It's just tough times, honey." said the matriarch warmly. "Everyone's hungry and people get stir crazy when their tummy's empty." thunder rumbled in the distance. "And Jason," the fighter perked up as she smiled at him, "Don't worry your head about those bandits. I'm sorry that you've seen more violence than I'da thought in your short time, but ya'll are safe here. Don't worry."

If he wasn't so amped up about the possibility of something being amiss about everything, he would have believed the woman's words. But the only thing it really did was make the feeling even more pronounced.

"I think I'm gonna go for a walk, check on everyone else and see what's been going on since I've been out and about." he said heading toward the gate.

"Don't wander too far. Dinner will be ready before you know it. And thank your friend Katjaa for me. She and the kids are in the barn with the cow. That woman is a life saver!" Brenda called after him as he headed toward the barn.

The large doors opened a bit and a familiar face beamed out from the space. "You're back!" Clementine cheered, coming out of the barn and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Hay Clem," he smiled down at her. "Everything been okay since I've been gone?"

"Mmmhmm, we're all in the barn looking after Maybelle. Did everything go okay out there?" asked his charge.

Jason bit his tongue, not wanting to worry her with what had happened out in the woods. "Everything was fine. And look what I found." he reached into his back pocket and unfolded her hat and held it out for her.

"My hat!" Clementine beamed as she took it and put it back on her head. "I knew you'd find it! You said you would!"

The fighter's face turned serious, "Clem, when your hat went missing, did you remember seeing anyone around the motor inn? Someone you didn't recognize?" he asked.

"No." the girl said back confused. "Why?"

"It's probably nothing." her guardian said shaking his head, "Just remember to tell me or someone else in our group if you see something strange like that. Okay?"

"Okay." Clementine agreed as they headed to the barn together. "Hay, Jason?" she asked getting his attention. "Do you think you'll ever have kids?"

The fighter stumbled over one of his footsteps, righting himself quickly and clearing his throat. "Maybe someday. And if I'm lucky enough, I'll have a little girl like you."

"That's nice. You'd be a good daddy." Jason felt his insides warm from her statement. In all honesty, settling down and having a family was the very last thing on his to do list at the moment. There was too much going on for him to even consider things like that. Not to mention that he was responsible for Clementine, and her needs came before his own no matter what.

The duo stepped into the barn and found the others gathered together.

Katjaa, Duck and Andy were all sitting around a white and black spotted cow as it laid in a soft bed of hay on the floor. Clementine approached the animal, a little hesitant when she raised her head and flicked her ears.

"It's okay, Clementine, you can pet her." Katjaa said smiling.

The girl look up at Jason who just smiled and nodded. Reaching out, she ran her hand along the cow's neck. "Whoa..." she said in slight awe. "Katjaa says Maybelle could have her baby tonight."

"Maybe, we'll see." said the vet while smiling at the kids' excitement. The fighter looked toward the back of the building to see Mark and Kenny talking by another set of double doors set up on the far wall. The fisherman looked up and motioned subtly with his head for him to join them.

Making sure the others weren't paying attention, he headed in the direction of the other men. "What's up?" he asked seriously, quiet enough so that no one could notice.

"Take a look." Mark said motioning to the door. A heavy-duty, dead-bolt lock had been installed on it and had a strong padlock set up to make sure that it couldn't be opened.

"That's a lot of security for something being kept on a dairy." said the fighter, thinking about what could possibly be on the other side.

"Jase, they're hiding something." said Kenny while keeping an eye on Andy who still had his back to them on the other side of the barn. "They got boxes of stuff. And something metal and sharp. Especially since that guy over there, Andy? He locked it up real TIGHT the moment we came in here, I definitely heard a noise back there. That feeling you were having before? I'm starting to get it in spades."

"Same here." said Mark in agreement. "I didn't wanna believe it at first, but when Kenny showed me this everything started to make sense."

Jason nodded and looked to the other two men, "It's more complicated than that." he explained to them about what happened in the woods, the camera, finding Clementine's hat at the camp, and the encounter with the woman that somehow knew of the St. Johns. Mark and Kenny slowly became more and more anxious the longer he went on.

"We need to think of something, and fast." said Mark when all the facts were laid out. "Most of our group is here, we have to make sure that it's really safe for everyone, especially if they really are hiding something."

"We gotta know for sure." said Kenny looking over at Jason, "Go find a hammer or something, and I'll have this thing off in a second. You guys back me up in case them farmers come running."

The fighter stopped him quick, "We need to be discreet, Ken. If they find us breaking into their shit we could wind up in a bad spot."

"Alright, mister ninja. What do you have in mind?" asked the fisherman.

Jason looked over the lock assembly carefully. It was a strong system, designed so that people stayed out of where others didn't want them to go. But despite how well built it was, it had a very obvious weakness. "We undo the screws, they're the only weak point on this system. We get them off, look inside, then put it all back up before anyone is any wiser." he said laying out he game plan.

"Sounds good," said Mark liking the idea. "Now all we gotta do is-"

"Can I help you boys with something?" they all snapped their heads to the side and saw Andy looking at them with a stern expression on his face.

Thinking fast, the fighter smiled at him. "Just talking about what we're planning on doing after dinner. If we're allowed to stay we need to figure how we're going to be moving all of our remaining supplies from the motor inn to here."

"It's a good idea to be thinking about somethin' like that." said Andy with a nod, "Hey, uh...do me a favor. Don't fuck around with that door. Just, you know, mama gets nervous."

Jason nodded, though his mind was working in overtime seeing how jumpy the man was for them standing so close to the mystery door. "Andrew! I need your help again!" Katjaa called out from her spot by Maybelle. Andy gave them one last look before heading back over.

"They're definitely hiding something in there." Mark said, keeping an eye on the man before turning back to the door. "We can't get this thing open with him hanging around like that, need to distract him somehow."

"If you got an idea, let us know." said Kenny.

The man thought to himself before perking up, "Got something. Sit tight for a minute, I might have a way to draw Andy's attention." he toward the doors and left the barn. Several minutes passed before he came back through the entrance and went toward the farmer.

"Andy, I think something's wrong with the generator. It stopped working."

"What?" asked Andy concerned as he left the barn in a hurry to deal with the problem. Mark watched him go before approaching Jason and Kenny.

"Do we wanna know?" asked Kenny.

Reaching into his pocket, the man produced a multi-tool. "Used this to cut the belt in the generator outside, that should buy us enough time to check out that room." The sound of a loud ringing could be heard from outside in the direction of the house.

"Mom! Dad! Dinner time! It's dinner time!" Duck shouted as he and Clementine bolted from the barn and toward the house, Katjaa calling after her husband and following after them.

The fisherman looked to the other men, "I'll make an excuse for you...find out what's in there." he whispered before heading out as well.

"I'll keep an eye on Andy," Mark said heading out as well. "If he starts coming this way, I'll stall him for as long as I can."

Now alone, Jason flipped open the multi-tool Mark had handed to him and pulled out a Philip's head screwdriver. Putting the tool into the screws holding the lock in place, he undid the four on the left side quickly, catching each one as they came out and pocketing them until the door was loose enough to open.

Slipping the tool in his back pocket, the fighter grabbed the door handle and slowly pulled it open. In an instant, his nose was bombarded with the smell or raw meat and blood. His eyes widening when he saw what was hidden behind the sealed door.

It was a room filled with sharp instruments, metal tables and tiled floors. Blood was stained on almost every surface and on every blade that could be seen, including a huge circular saw that was set up on the table right across from the door.

A large, white-tiled bath was on the immediate left, the interior stained dark-crimson and still wet from the shine giving off from the small lights above. There was a refrigerator door in the back right-corner looking to be some kind of meat locker.

It was a slaughter house...on a dairy farm.

"What the fuck...?" he whispered to himself as he surveyed the room. His gaze drawn to a table where a bunch of bear traps were being kept. "Bear traps? Why would they-" he paused in mid-thought. Memories of the trap in the woods that caught Ben's teacher, forcing him to cut the man's leg off.

"...No...could that have come from here?" He heard voices outside and immediately jumped into action. Closing the doors and twisting the screws back into place as quickly as he could, slipping the multi-tool back into his pocket before heading toward the barn's entrance.

The doors opening as he reached out to grab the handle.

"Boy. Didn't you hear the bell?" Andy asked with a raised eyebrow. Mark behind him physically relaxing seeing that the door Jason had surveying was back to the way it was before.

"Yeah, sorry bout that. Took a moment to myself after everything that's happened in the last day." replied Jason keeping a straight face through he lie.

The farmer searched his eyes for a few moments before nodding, "Alright then, can't blame ya after everything that went on. Well, come on now, dinner time." he said motioning with his hand toward the outside.

Stepping out into the heavy air, Jason looked up and saw that the skies had darkened considerably. The smell of wet dirt wafting through the air promising the coming rain while the thunder claps in the distance grew in frequency. All three men walked along the path, through the gates in the fences and up into the house where everyone had started gathering around the large dinner table talking animatedly with one another.

"Excuse the mess. We had to block the back door after a walker got upstairs." said Andy as he went into the dining room with Mark right behind him. Jason looked around briefly before standing in the doorway and looking to everyone as they all started sitting down.

Taking a quick head count, he found one of their group missing. "Lilly? Where's your dad?" the fighter asked not seeing the man anywhere in sight.

"He wasn't feeling well." replied the woman after taking her seat.

"Poor man was all worn out, I brought him up to the spare room upstairs to rest. Not to worry, I'll take a plate up to him a bit later after he's rested." Explained Brenda, "Now everybody sit down and I'll go get the meal! Ooh, this is a delight!"

Jason nodded, "Mind if I wash up before dinner?"

"Bathroom's right outside in the hall. And be sure to get under your nails, you've been muckin' around in the dirt all day." said the matriarch. The fighter followed her directions, heading back out into the hall and going into the room at the base of the stairs.

Turning on the sink and washing his hands quick, splashing some water on his face. He turned the knob and reached for the towel on the nearby rack when he heard a couple of soft thumps come from the ceiling above his head.

Looking up, he narrowed his eyes wondering what that could have been. "Probably Larry moving around." he thought wiping his face off. He headed for the door and stopped when there were more thumps from up above, the noise from the dining room blocking it out from everyone else but making it as clear as day to him.

The strange feeling in his stomach that he'd been feeling all day came back. And after what he had seen in the barn he started to feel very tense at the moment with what the St. Johns might be hiding from them.

After a quick mental debate, Jason decided to head upstairs and check on the old man. He may not have been on good terms with him, but that didn't mean that his life didn't have any meaning.

Approaching the stairs, the fighter slowly began to tread his way up the steps. Feet causing the boards to creak softly under his weight with each step the farther he went up, keeping as quiet as he possibly could while keeping an ear out for anyone else coming into the hall.

He reached the top of the steps in no time at all, the wind howling against the window in front of him as he looked around the second floor landing. There was only one doorway to his left, and another a few feet away that looked like a closet.

Jason looked down at the floor and felt puzzled when he saw a long, orange extension cord coming up from the stairs he just came up. Going through the wood bars of the banister and across the floor into the closet. Curious, he followed the cord and opened the door revealing all the shelves inside filled to the brim with medical supplies.

Morphine, rags, bandages, tubes, IV bags and syringes all neatly sorted before him making his mind whirl at what simple dairy farmers could possibly need with so many supplies like this.

At the very bottom was a small trash can filled with medical waste, with the orange cord feeding past it and through the wall behind everything, the center disconnected on the floor. "Where the hell is this going?" he wondered, kneeling down and plugging the two ends together and causing a small light to shine through the small hole behind the shelves.

"Must be something on the other side." he mumbled while looking toward the bedroom door. Heading that way, he grasped the door knob. Taking a deep breath as he turned it and pushed inward before stepping inside.

He was greeted with a dark room and an empty bed.

Larry wasn't there.

"This doesn't make sense." he thought looking around for the old veteran. "Brenda said he was up here...but where could he be?" Slivers of light shined through the darkness drawing his attention toward a bookshelf against the wall on his left. The outer edges lit up brightly from something on the other side.

Moving toward the shelf, he ran his hand along the edges and felt a door frame being blocked. The fighter pressed his shoulder against the surface and pushed, moving the barrier aside until the door it had been placed in front of was revealed. The moment he stopped he heard thumping coming from the other side.

Dread filled his being, his throat suddenly dry as he reached for the knob and pulled the door open. Causing light to spill into the room temporarily blinding him.

When his eyes adjusted...he wished that they hadn't...

It was a small bathroom...and blood was everywhere! In the sink, the tub, the toilet, the floor...it covered ever surface. Worse than the small slaughter-house he had found in the barn. And laying in a huge pool of the crimson fluid on the floor at his feet was Larry.

The man's clothes stained dark with his legs missing at mid-thigh, the stumps tied off with IV tubes but continued to spurt out causing the pool beneath him to continue to grow.

"Oh...god..." Jason said in complete horror. His face losing all color seeing such a disgusting display. He saw Larry shift, the man slowly raising his head and opening bleary eyes to look at him.

"Ja...son..." he said in a low, drunken voice.

"Larry?! What the fuck happened to you?!" the fighter whisper/yelled. His foot accidentally knocking over a small trash bin that had multiple stained rags and a several sharp pieces of surgical equipment.

"...those...fucking brothers...they did this...to me..." he groaned out. His weak gaze looked up at him, his jaw quivering, his next words knocked what little wind there was left in the younger man's body.

"Don't...eat...the food..."

The whole world seemed to come to a stop, the disturbing revelation of everything that had happened up to that point coming back like an uncontrollable flood. Everything made sense now, and at that moment the situation just took a very dire and revolting turn.

The St. Johns were fucking cannibals! And they were going to make them eat-

"Jason, did ya fall in?!" Brenda's voice drifted up the stairs bringing him back to the present like a slap of reality. "Dinner's on the table and everyone's havin' at it!"

His stomach did a horrible twist when he realized that fact. "CLEMENTINE!" he was moving before he even realized it. Bolting from the bedroom and practically jumping down the flight of steps, feet hitting the floorboards on the ground floor as he ran to the entrance to the dining room.

Eyes ignoring everything as they locked on to his charge who had just gotten her plate, her first bite on a fork on its way to her mouth.

"DON'T EAT THAT!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. Everyone jumped, Clementine's fork clattering to her plate as all attention locked on to the pale fighter as he stood breathing heavily in the doorway.

"Jase? Jesus, man! Did you find something?" asked Kenny more than a little startled.

"Yeah Jason, what's gotten into you?" asked Lilly crossly.

"YOU'RE EATING YOUR FATHER!" Jason shouted at her. "HE'S UPSTAIRS WITHOUT HIS FUCKING LEGS! THESE CRAZY FUCKERS CUT THEM OFF AND ARE SERVING THEM TO US!"

Everyone save for the St. Johns paled. Katjaa slapped Duck's fork from his hand as he tried to keep eating. Andy and Brenda were sending emotionless looks Jason's way. "What are you talking about?" Lilly demanded.

Jason glared at Brenda, "Tell them the truth. Tell them what they're eating Brenda!"

The group looked at the matriarch who looked down at her hands in her lap. "It's true." she said causing everyone to gasp in horror.

Dan kept eating, his back to the fighter as he spoke. "It didn't have to be this way..." he said before taking another bite. "Everything could have turned out okay for you folks."

"He woulda' died anyway!" said Andy. "We gotta think about LIVIN'!"

"Settle down, honey." said his mother before turning to everyone else. "In rural Georgia, you're taught not to waste. It's how I was raised and how I raised my boys. Now, you got monsters roamin' around that do nothin' but eat people. And for what? To continue to rot til' they eat some more! We think we can put that meat to better use."

The fighter clenched his fists, teeth gritted feeling nothing but disgust for these people. "You people...are fucking SICK! Trading people like cattle, how the hell can you even look at yourselves?!"

"Andy is right," Brenda started. "We go after folks who were gonna die anyways, one way or another."

Dan swallowed a mouthful before glancing up at him, "Like ya'll."

Jason moved fast, snatching up the rifle the younger St. John had behind his chair. Dan getting up to stop him only for the butt of the weapon to smash against his face and knocking him to the floor. "CLEMENTINE RUN!" he shouted aiming the barrel at the man's head and tightened his finger around the trigger.

"Don't do it boy!" a loud yelp pierced the room catching the fighter's attention. Andy had gotten up, hand gripping the back of Clementine's hair keeping her in place with a revolver pressed to the back of her head. "Let my brother go, or somethin' bad might happen to this little peach right here." he said with his face devoid of any emotion.

Everything fell into a tense silence, no one could find the strength to stand given the sudden turn of events. "...Jason...!" Clementine whimpered to her guardian as the farmer pulled her hair a little harder.

"Let her go, or I'll BLOW HIS FUCKING BRAINS OUT!" Jason demanded, the barrel of the rifle digging hard into Dan's forehead.

The tension in the dining room was broken by a loud clatter out in the hall. All present looked toward the opening as the sound of something being dragged across the floor could be heard moving along the floorboards.

A moment later Larry appeared, pulling himself along on his arms leaving a streak of blood in his wake. "SOMEONE...HELP...! he screamed reaching out to them.

The distraction allowed Dan to yank the rifle from Jason's hands and kick him hard in the stomach, knocking him back a few steps. He barely had a chance to put his hands up to defend when the stock was slammed against his forehead. The whole world going on its side as people started shouting just as darkness took over his vision.

X

Making up had felt like that time back in the woods when he first came to this universe. Head pounding, vision blurry, but as things started coming back into focus it was a lot worse than it had been back then.

He could hear someone yelling and someone puking. Cracking his eyes open, his vision swam for a moment before coming back into focus revealing the interior of some kind of meat locker.

"Jason?" he saw something move into his field of vision that quickly shifted into Clementine's worried face. "Jason? Are you awake? Say something!"

"C-Clem?" he asked sitting up slowly. His head feeling like it had been bashed in with a hammer. "Are...are you okay?" he asked as he came back to full awareness.

The girl nodded, "It-It was a person! They tried to make us eat a person!" she exclaimed.

"I know, sweetheart." Jason looked around the room. Mark, Kenny and Lilly were with them. The two men trying to find a way through the door while Lilly was throwing up in the corner, on her knees looking as pale as a ghost.

"Open this fucking door! Give me back my family!" he heard Kenny shouting as he pounded his fists on the only way in or out of the room.

"We gotta find another way out of here." Mark said looking around the rest of the room before he caught sight of Jason. "Jase! Thank god you're awake!" he said kneeling down next to him.

Shaking his head, the fighter staggered to his feet as the last of the dizziness left him. "What...What happened?"

"Bastards knocked you out, then restrained the rest of us before we even had a chance." said Mark, a few bruises on his face proving that he had fought back at one point. "But we got a bigger problem at the moment."

"Those psychos have my family!" Kenny shouted while turning to them. "And we're stuck here in this damn meat locker! We've gotta get the fuck outta here!"

Looking around them, Jason nodded. "Agreed. There's gotta be a way to get out of here. Keep looking for something; a vent, exposed screws, bolts, loose panels, anything that we can pry open and escape through." the other two nodded and spread out.

"I'm scared." Clementine whimpered getting his attention, rubbing her arms to stave off the cold.

Jason knelt down and looked her in the eye, "Everything's going to be alright, we'll get out of this. I'll make sure of it." he said seriously. Looking over at Lilly, he saw that she was slumped against the wall, knees drawn up to her chest as she heaved in slow breaths.

"Lilly?" he asked moving over and crouching down next to her. "Lilly, we need to work together to get out of here."

She said nothing, head bowed with her brow pressed against her knees.

"I can't imagine what you're going through. The situation is beyond fucked up. But we need everyone on board if we want to have any kind of chance to survive this." At first, it looked like what he was saying had no effect. Until her head slowly rose and looked up at him, eyes dull and empty while her complexion looked white like a sheet.

It wasn't a surprise, the poor woman had just been forced to eat part of her father by a bunch of cannibals. Nobody would be in a good state of mind after something like that.

Jason put his hand on her shoulder, "Do it for your dad...let's get back at these fuckers for what they've done."

Lilly's eyes narrowed, her face turning into that of a snarl, "Fuck off, Jason. You didn't..." she held her mouth, seeming to throw up again. "Just...leave me alone." Jason sighed, he knew she'd be in no condition to move at the moment...things were just too fresh.

"Jase! Over here!" Kenny called out while motioning to the air vent system hooked up to the right of the door. The unit was roughly six and a half feet above the ground and seemed to be the only ventilation system for the locker.

"If we had something to remove the screws on the mount, we could take this down and crawl out of here." said the fisherman.

Checking his pockets, the fighter discovered that the multi-tool had been taken off him. "Fuck. Anyone got something we can use to take the screws out?"

Mark checked his pockets and perked up, "I do!" he pulled out his hand revealing two quarters and a dime. "Back at the motor inn, these were given to me as part of a joke. By..." he looked at Lilly and went quiet, not wanting to make her any more upset then what she already was.

"These could work." Jason said taking one of the quarters. Holding it between his thumb and forefinger as he slipped it into the notch of the screw and twisting to the left.

There was a soft creak, and the screw gave way as he began to turn it until it popped out completely. He repeated the same process with a couple of others before he and Kenny grabbed the unit and pulled it down from the mount. Revealing a shaft that had been on the other side.

"There's our way out." said Kenny looking up at it. "Looks like it could probably led into that back room."

"No way in hell any of us can fit through that." said Mark after seeing the size of the opening.

"I can do it." they all turned to Clementine who was doing her best to put on a brave face.

Jason wanted to say no, to try and find another way. But there wasn't enough time to consider other options at the moment. "Are you sure?" he asked his charge, getting a nod in return. "Okay. Be careful, be silent, and at the first sign of trouble you run, understand?"

"Okay." he put his hands on her waist and picked her up high enough so that she could slip into the vent. "What do I do when I get out?" she asked looking back.

"Try and find the lock that seals the door and open it from that side." he explained. She turned and started making her way through the shaft.

Seconds ticked by, the group of four waited with bated breath as they heard the girl banging around inside the shaft. The fighter winced every time one noise would be louder than the others. Soon the banging stopped, a loud gasp echoed out making them all jump.

"Clem?" Jason called after her, worried that she had been discovered.

A moment later the door to the locker clicked, swinging open to reveal the little girl with a freaked out expression on her face.

"You okay, baby-girl? Did anyone catch you?" her guardian asked.

She shook her head, "No. But there's a man outside."

The fighter nodded, "Okay." he looked over at Lilly who still hadn't moved. "Stay here with Lilly, look after her, she's not doing too good right now. Mark, Kenny and I are going to find Duck and Katjaa."

"Okay, please be careful out there." Clementine said heading over to the woman and sitting down next to her.

Looking toward the other two, Jason nodded seriously as they headed into the small slaughter room he had uncovered earlier. The sound of heavy rain hitting the roof above drowning out almost every sound that they made as they traversed the room.

"Fuck..." Mark said in disgust seeing all of the bloodied equipment surrounding them. "It's a damn human slaughter-house."

"I should have trusted my instincts. I knew there was something fucked up about this place." The fighter said clenching his fists. "Look around, find anything that can be used as a weapon. We're getting the hell out of here." he reached out and picked up a bloody sickle from the nearby table.

Kenny picked up a small cleaver, while Mark settled for a small cattle-prod that was laying on the edge of the drainage tub. All three men then headed toward the door leading out, pulling it open a crack and looking out into the barn.

The main entrance was also open a bit, with Dan sitting on a hay-bail in front of it with his rifle leaned up against the side as he looked out into the rain outside. "Do we have a plan?" asked Mark, gripping the taser in his hand.

"The rain should cover footsteps pretty well." Jason said looking around the barn's interior. "We sneak up on the fucker, take him out, take his gun, then head for the house. Duck and Katjaa are probably being kept there."

Kenny nodded, "Sounds good. Let's get this fucker."

"Mark, stay back here and provide back up if things take a bad turn." the fighter said turning to him. The other man nodded as he and Kenny opened the door a little wider, slipping through and gently treading their way across the floor boards.

Breath held, the two slowly made their approach. "...Who wants some?" Dan called out into the dark making them pause a moment. "I DARE some dead assholes to try to cross my fence tonight!" Realizing that he wasn't talking about them they kept moving, drawing ever so closer to his unguarded back.

"Dan, what are you doing outside the barn?" Jason and Kenny froze, the fighter pushing the older man into a nearby stall and closing the door just as Andy came up to the opening to the barn and began talking to his brother.

"Just guardin' the place, like you said." replied the younger brother.

"Well, quit sittin' out in the rain like a damn weirdo. Mama says we can't keep that many folks alive and not expect any trouble." said Andy. "Pick one to keep...and kill the rest."

"Can I pick the one to keep alive?" asked Dan.

"Not the kid. Not enough meat on her to trade."

Jason gritted his teeth, rage filling him like a blaze from hell "These assholes are going to pay for this! They'll regret not taking me out when they had the chance." He opened the stall just enough to peer out, seeing the brothers exchange a few more words before Andy walked off. Dan came into the barn, taking out a bear trap and setting it up close to the door, most likely in the off chance one of them tried to escape.

"What's going on?" Kenny whispered.

"He's setting up traps so we can't get away." Jason whispered back, closing the door when the farmer turned around and headed toward the barn door. The sound of the entrance closing quickly following as he looked at the fisherman. "Dammit, lost him."

Kenny tensed, "Take another look, find out where he went."

The fighter slowly pushed the door open-

-And found the barrel of a rifle aimed right in his face. "Mistake, boy." Dan said with a sadistic grin on his face.

Jason grabbed the rifle and torqued it to the side just as it went off. The sound deafening him for a few moments, but he recovered enough to pull out the sickle and stab it into the man's collar as he reached to take out more rounds.

Dan screamed in pain, blood gushing down his front as the fighter drove the blade in deeper. He swung the stock of the rifle out, but Jason blocked the man's arm from getting too close and delivering a powerful right-cross that snapped his jaw to the side. He stumbled back, dropping the weapon as Kenny burst from the stall, the cleaver in his hand slashing a wide gash in the man's side before he could recover.

Falling back, the farmer's leg fell into the bear trap that quickly snapped shut. The sound of it closing and the sudden crack of the man's ankle breaking could be heard over the ran. He shouted in agony, clutching at his leg as blood began to seep out from where it had closed.

"Where's my family asshole?!" Kenny demanded, ready to tear the man apart if he didn't start talking.

Dan glared up at him. "You can't have 'em! We need the vet!" a foot connected with his side, breaking a rib and sending him crashing to the floor.

"Start talking you sick fuck!" Jason shouted while placing his foot on the man's chest to keep him pinned, grabbing a pitchfork from one of the nearby bails and raised it close to his throat.

The farmer laughed insanely. Mark, Lilly and Clementine coming out from the back as he started speaking. "You see?!" he groaned in pain, holding his side. "You understand now, don't you?! You can have me! It's how the world works now! Give part of yourself...so others can live!"

"That ISN'T how things are suppose to be!" the fighter shouted back. "You and you're fucking family are worse than the walkers! At least they a just mindless killing machines! You lure people in and turn them into food to trade!"

It was here he remembered the woman in the woods, the one that had Clementine's hat. Her words now making sense. "That woman...she was trying to warn me about you and your family...You fucking killed her so your damn secret wouldn't be blown! All of you are nothing but sick, twisted fucking animals and I'm done with you're shit!"

He raised the pitchfork a little higher, "Now were are Duck and Katjaa! We won't ask again!"

"NOOOOO!" Katjaa screamed from somewhere outside.

"KAT!" Kenny shouted looking out into the storm.

"Go Kenny! I'll be right behind you!" Jason told the fisherman, keeping his gaze on Dan as his friend bolted out of the barn to find his family.

The farmer started chuckling. "Remember, Jason. You gotta keep me alive! If you kill me, the meat gets tainted! You can't eat it!"

"You're already fucking tainted..." The fighter growled, hands tightening around the shaft of the tool he was holding. "You and that whole family of yours are nothing but a plague in what's left around here." He brought the pitchfork up and stabbed it down.

Dan shouted, clenching his eyes and waited for the pain to come as the pitchfork came toward him...

...stabbing into the hay bail on his right.

"I am NOTHING like you." Jason said stepping back. "This world, won't turn me into a monster that preys on others. I won't kill you...but that doesn't mean I have to save you." He turned and looked at the three that were watching him with wide eyes. Clementine looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears as he gazed back at her.

"Oh god! Don't hurt him!" Katjaa's voice pierced through he storm snapping them back to the present.

"Mark! Lilly! Keep Clementine safe!" the fighter said before bolting out of the barn and into the pouring rain. Lightning flashing in the distance and lighting up the dark sky above as he looked around for anyone else.

"Kenny!" he called out not seeing the fisherman anywhere in sight. Looking up toward the farm-house, the lights from the windows cutting through the night. Eye narrowed, he began to head up that way when he heard rustling from the nearby cornfield.

Through the crops, he could make out a hunched, groaning form stumbling forward toward the fence. Jason put one leg behind the other, preparing to take down the coming walker when something swept up behind it and cut its head in half.

A moment later, two familiar forms crept out of the shadows and up to the barbed wire fence.

"Carley? Ben?" Jason asked, relieved to see the two of them.

"Jason? Is everything okay? We heard screams coming up to the house." said the reporter worried.

The fighter shook his head, "These fuckers are crazy! They killed Larry and tried to feed him to us!" he said over the rain.

"Dammit, I knew we shouldn't have trusted them." Ben said shaking his head.

"Shit." growled Carley, "How many of them are there?"

"Only two, we disabled one of them back in the barn. The other two are up in the house, they have Duck and Katjaa." Jason explained looking back up toward the house. "Kenny went up there to look for them, but I haven't seen him yet."

"What do you need us to do?" asked Ben more than willing to help anywhere he could.

Looking around a moment, Jason turned back to them. "Main gates a bad idea, go around back and find another way in. If you run into either of the remaining St. Johns don't let them escape! Do what ever it takes!"

"What are you going to do?" asked Carley taking out her pistol.

He looked up toward the house, "I'm getting into the house. Be careful guys, these people are off their fucking rockers."

Nodding, Carley motioned for Ben to move. Sending a worried look Jason's way before they disappeared into the field again. Jason looked at his target and began to make his way forward. Another scream from Katjaa from inside had him on his feet and running up toward the door.

A form appeared in the screen door and Brenda's voice drifted outside. "Andy? Danny? Is that you? What's going on out there?" she asked not seeing mush of anything.

"Danny's in the barn...regretting everything you've done to us!" Jason called out as he stomped up toward the porch.

Brenda backpeddled from the door and vanished just as he reached it. The sound of a struggle from within followed by another scream. He could make out the St. John matriarch holding Katjaa in front of her with a revolver pressed to her temple.

"JASON! THEY HAVE DUCKIE! PLEASE!" the woman pleaded.

"Shut up!" Brenda demanded before looking at the fighter. "Get back! Don't come in here!"

His heart beating in his ears, throat dry and clothes soaked all the way through from the rain. Jason grabbed the handle and pulled the door open slightly. Looking into the dark interior of the house's main hallway and looked toward the woman holding his friend hostage.

Brenda shook, holding her weapon to Katjaa's head as she glared at him. "You just HAD to go snooping around, didn't you?!"

"Let her go Brenda." he said stepping into the house. "It's over now, no one else has to get hurt."

The woman took a step back on to the stairs. "Jason, don't you take another step!" she shouted aiming her weapon on him making him pause. "Just go away and leave us be!"

Jason shook his head, "I can't do that. Let Katjaa and Duck go, then we'll leave." he took another step or two forward, Brenda moving back slowly keeping the distance between them the same while maintaining her hold on her hostage.

"Stop right there! I mean it!" she screamed aiming the revolver back at him.

Raising his hands, the fighter spoke, "Think about Terry, Brenda. Would he have wanted his farm turned into a slaughterhouse?! His family into cannibals when they could be helping people?!"

She ignored him and continued moving back, "I'll kill her, Jason." she said, her voice quivering. "Just stay back, don't do anything stupid!"

"Brenda...please..." Katjaa pleaded the farther up the stairs they went. The fighter saw movement up by the banister when the lightning flashed outside. A pair of pale, grabbing arms reaching through the bars at the woman's back that she was completely unaware of.

He realized that it was Larry's zombified remains. He must have bled to death after they had all been rounded up in the barn and had turned as a result. "Gotta keep her talking, gotta keep her moving, it's Kat's only chance." "Brenda...there's been too much death already. It doesn't have to end like this, you can redeem yourself."

She kept moving back, "I don't want to kill you, Jason!" her aim shook as they stood only three meters apart.

"Look around you!" he shouted up at her, "You've turned this beautiful place into a fucking nightmare! How could you have let this happen?!"

"You don't understand!" she said back, continuing up the steps oblivious to the danger. "We had to do what we did! It was the only way to -AH!" She screamed when Larry's dead hands grabbed the back of her neck. Releasing Katjaa and sending her down the steps forcing Jason to catch her as the old veteran's teeth sank into the matriarch's neck, flesh tearing free as he began to feed.

"Kat?! You okay?!" the fighter asked over the dying woman's screams.

"I'm fine, but they still have Duck! Where's Kenny?" she asked in fear.

"I said don't move asshole!" they heard Andy shout from outside.

The two of them ran out of the house and out into the yard to see Kenny facing the farmer who was holding Duck before him. A hunting rifle pressed to the back of his head with his finger hovering over the trigger. "Let him go god dammit!" the fisherman raged bolting forward.

The gun fired. Kenny fell to the ground holding his side while Katjaa screamed, the woman going to her husband's side. "DAAAD!" Duck cried as the man holding him turned his weapon on Jason.

"Who the fuck fo you people think you are?!" Andy shouted. "Look at what you've done!"

"You brought this on yourself. You and you're whole damn family! You promised us safety and food, not THIS!" the fighter shouted back. "Let the boy go, it's over! We're walking out of here!"

The farmer shook his head, "No way! We had a deal! And you're keeping your end of the bargain!" whatever else could have been said was swallowed up by another gunshot. Andy shouted, grabbing his ear as a bullet blew right through it.

Carley stood at the top of the hill behind Jason. Ben, Mark, Clementine and Lilly all with her as they stood united.

Seeing his chance, Jason let loose a battle cry as he charged forward. Moving Duck out of the way as he slammed his shoulder into Andy's middle, making his next shot go wide and sending them both pitching over the side of the hill.

"JASON!" Clementine screamed as the two men smashed through the wooden fence at the bottom of the slope.

Shaking off the daze, Jason rolled back to his feet in time to block a kick that had been aimed for his head. Lashing his other hand out, he sucker-punched the farmer in the lower stomach and knocking the wind out of him.

Getting to his feet, he took a stance as Andy came at him again. Blocking a haymaker that would have cracked his jaw, he sent out his own right-cross that connected with the man's temple and making him stagger. A left jab followed making the farmer's head snap back and allowing the younger man to land a spin kick to his solar plexus that sent him crashing to the dirt.

The fighter wasn't done, rage and adrenaline coursed through him like a drug. He wanted this man to suffer for everything he put his group through, what he put his FRIENDS through.

He wanted him to feel PAIN.

"GET UP!" he shouted, grabbing Andy by the front of his shirt and dragging him up. His fist connected with the man's cheek with a loud crack, sending him crashing to the mud. Jason straddled him, knees pinning his arms down as he began raining punch after punch down on the farmer's face.

Each strike that landed was met with a satisfying 'smack'. Teeth jarring, cartilage cracking as bruises began to already take shape. Blood dripped out from Andy's nose and mouth as the younger man kept up the relentless assault.

The group had gathered behind them, looking on as the one they came to know as a friend continued to beat the deranged farmer into the dirt. Clementine watched wide-eyed, hand grasping on to Carley's as she watched her guardian lose himself to his fury.

Sensing the girl's distress, Carley passed her over to Katjaa who was tending to Kenny's wound before moving forward. "Jason! Jason stop!" she grabbed his shoulder making him snap up to look at her, his eyes projecting the amount of anger within them.

"Just, stop. He's had enough." she said gripping his arm a little more, her own eyes pleading with him to stop this. The look in her brown orbs managing to pierce through the haze of fury that clouded his mind.

Looking back down at his opponent, Jason saw Andy's face was a bloody and bruised mess. His nose completely shattered and gushing blood, jaw visibly dislocated and his right eye swollen shut.

Taking several deep breaths to calm himself, his anger fading as he looked down at his blood covered knuckles. Everything coming down on him in that moment as the rain continued to pour, dripping down his face and falling off his nose and jaw.

A soft hand touched his face and made him look back up at Carley's warm brown eyes locked on to his conflicted blue ones. "Come on...let's just go home." she said gently while helping him to his feet.

They began to walk back toward their group when they heard a slurred voice speak behind them. "Is that...all ya got, Jason?" Andy pulled himself up into a sitting position, attempting to stand only to fall to his knees. "You ain't...shit!" he raged, spitting out a couple of teeth and a glob of blood.

Jason tensed, turning to face the man who still wanted to fight. "It's OVER!" he roared. "You! Your family! This farm! It's DONE!"

Andy chuckled weakly, managing to get himself into a slumped-standing position. "F-Fuck you! As soon as...Dan and mama get out here...you're all fucked!"

The fighter shook his head, "They're not coming, Andy." he spoke in a grim tone.

"W-What do you mean?" the farmer asked, his lone eye widening. "Jason, what the fuck do you mean?!"

They stood there facing one another silently for a few seconds before Jason turned and began walking back to the group with Carley. "Don't you DARE walk away from me, JASON!" Andy shouted after them, but they just kept walking.

Falling to his knees, the last St. John continued to rant and rave. "Get back here and finish this!"

Jason paused in mid-step. Part of him wanting to go back and put the man down for good, ending this madness once and for all. He looked toward his group, all of them looking on with hitched breath as they waited for his decision. Seeing Clementine gaze catch his own, her head slowly shaking from side to side, telling him to walk away with them.

Carley held his hand with hers, "He's not worth it..." she said softly. Her words, and his charge's eyes being the only things he needed to make his choice as he continued forward.

"Get back here and fight me like a man, BOY!" Andy shouted when he refused to come back.

All around the farm, walkers began to come out of the surrounding woods. The generators around the farm began to smoke before shutting down, cutting all power to the fences as the undead began to converge on the property.

"They're getting in!" Clementine shouted as the walkers began to tear their way through the fences.

"Come on, we're leaving!" Jason called out to everyone as they all gathered together and started moving.

"JASON!" Andy shouted out as the creatures came toward him. Lilly was the last to leave, sending one final scathing look toward the broken man before following after the rest of the group. Leaving the St. Johns and their farm to their fate as they began to make their way back toward the motor inn.

The young fighter leading them, Clementine coming up to stand on his right as they all left the horrid place behind them. Thunder and lightning crashing in the sky as the storm raged on.

A/N: Like I said at the top, not a whole lot of changes. Though that's going to change very soon.