A/N: Hello all, welcome to the new chapter! I hope you enjoy and I have a surprise announcement at the end so stay tuned for that!
Disclaimer I don't own the Walking Dead Game.
It Just Happened
Daisyfan5534
Chapter 16
"Thank you all for coming." Don started as he sat down at the head of the meeting table. "Now that we all have a clear head-"
"Clear head? I didn't sleep a wink last night!" Someone interrupted.
After the announcement of a walker herd coming their way, Don asked for everyone to go back to work and they'd all talk about the issue the next day.
"I understand that this is a shock to us all-"
"A shock? Shocked my ass! There is a herd of walkers coming our way!"
"What are we going to do?!"
"Everyone, please!" Don tried to calm. "We have a while before the walkers hit if they even hit."
"And if they hit us when will it be? Two days? Two weeks? How will we prepare?"
"We'll figure something out!"
The meeting was a mess; everyone was a mess and panicking over it which didn't help the situation at all.
"All we have to do is talk everything out and calm down! There is a herd coming this way and if it hits us we need to be prepared so what do we need to protect?" Don said thankful no one has yelled back in anger yet.
"The farm. It's our main source of food."
"The children. They can't be walker chow!"
"Our medicine, what if we get raided during the herd?"
"Okay, that's a start. Now the question is how."
"Hold on! I doubt we'll get raided. The only threat to us is dead, the kids took care of them."
"Still what if someone else raids us?"
"Like who?"
"Hey, we all get it! None of us want to get raided while we deal with the fucking lurkers. But right now it's not our main concern."
"Thank you, Luke." Don said. "Let's start with if the herd shows."
"That's another thing. What if the herd doesn't show and we waste all that time for nothing?"
"Then we'll be prepared for when a herd does show." Don responded.
The leader rubbed his temple. He knew that this was stressing everyone out, and he could only wish that his son would come back with good news.
"Don, what's your plan?"
"At the moment, my son and his friends are inspecting a pit filled with walkers to see if we could guide the herd in there."
"And you think that will work?"
"I don't know, it's a thought."
Everyone was displeased and continued to grabble as the leader leaned back in his chair trying to calm himself down from this stressful mess.
Twenty-eight. That's how many walkers the group has killed from the pit… so far. It was Clementine, Andie, and Tyrone at the construction site with the walker pit. Rodney and Tad left to go grab a wheelbarrow from the farm. Tyrone used a pool hook to pull out the walkers one by one while Clem and Andie took turns killing them. The walker pit was overflowing and the walkers were climbing on top of each other and getting out. Not to mention Rodney suggested that they clean out the pit for the herd that might hit them so they could guide the herd to the pit. Either way, they were stuck with cleaning out the pit.
"This fucking sucks." Tyrone said aloud.
"Killing walkers or the potential herd coming?" Clementine asked.
"Both."
"Out of curiosity, what are herds like?" Andie asked. "I traveled here from Oregon and I haven't run into one."
"They suck, they smell, and they are terrifying when you're in the middle of a big one." Clementine informed her.
"Experience?"
"Yeah, a couple times. What about you Ty?"
"Once with Tad, but it wasn't that big. It was about… fifteen, maybe twenty walkers."
"How many walkers make a herd?" Andie asked.
"I don't know, it's just some number of them that go in the same direction." Clementine explained.
Tyrone fished another walker out of the pit. Andie stepped on it to hold it down while Clementine killed it with her knife. Once it was dead, the two girls dragged it to the pile of dead walkers before coming back to the pit to kill the next one.
"Hey, guys."
The girls and Tyrone turned towards the voice to see Tad.
"We got the wheelbarrow." Tad said. Rodney was walking behind him pushing the wheelbarrow along.
"You okay, Rodney?" Clementine asked. He looked so down.
"I've been better." Rodney responded as he set the wheelbarrow down and walked around the walker pit.
"We overheard the council in the barn. They're losing it." Tad explained.
"Everything's bad, I just wish there was something more I could." Rodney said.
"What about us?" Tyrone asked.
"What about us?" Rodney said.
"Aren't we a council?" Tyrone continued.
"Well, yes, but not officially."
"But we are one?"
"Yes."
"So why don't we come up with something?"
"Ty does have a point." Tad supported. "Seeing how your dad's council is doing, by the time they come up with something, we'll all be overrun."
"I know that and I want to, but… what if we screw up? What if I'm not cut out to be a leader and I fail you guys again."
"Fail? Is this about the cannibals?" Rodney, that wasn't your fault." Clementine told him. "You know it as well as I do."
"Rod, you are your father's son. You want to take leadership, I know you do, it was your idea for our own council, you're level-headed, you're smart, and a great guy. All you need to do is take that first step." Andie added.
"Dude, we got your back. Had it back at the hospital and we still have it now." Tad said.
Rodney sighed. "Thanks, guys. Really."
Friendship is a great thing to have during all this hell. The five of them were glad they could all talk to each other and live somewhat like kids. It was hard, considering all the responsibilities they had and the constant worry of death knocking, but it still was nice to have people around your age.
Rodney looked at the walker pit, seeing that it was pretty full, and noisy. He knew that Tyrone, Andie, and Clementine were cleaning it out, but it still looked packed.
"How many did you guys clear out?" Rodney asked.
"Almost thirty." Andie responded. "They shouldn't be able to climb on top of each other and get out of the hole now."
"Well, that's good, for now at least." Rodney sighed. "Do you guys want to stay here and have the meeting or go to our clubhouse?"
"Anywhere that doesn't smell." Tyrone said.
"Clubhouse it is then."
The five of them walked from the construction site to their private house. They gathered around the small coffee table near the far corner of the room and sat on the chairs and the floor. Rodney pulled out a map of the city, the one he stole from the drawer in his kitchen that had the dotted line connecting the farm to the hospital.
"Okay, I now officially call this meeting to order." Rodney said aloud. "So… walker herd."
"Great start." Tad snickered.
"Thanks." Rodney responded. "Andie, I think there's a notebook or something in the other room, can you take notes?"
"Yeah, of course." Andie stood up to get the stuff.
"Out of the five of us, who has the most experience with walkers?" Rodney asked.
"I guess that's me." Clementine spoke up. "I've been in a couple huge herds and I know how to kill them efficiently."
"Great, you're our walker expert." Rodney said.
Clementine nodded as Andie came back, flipping a notebook open as she sat down.
"If I recall, I believe the main council was most worried about the farm, the kids, and the medical supplies, right?" Tad began.
"Yeah, I think so. Might as well start with that." Rodney said.
"Let's do farm first." Andie said, writing 'farm' down on her notes.
"Obviously we want to keep it safe. It's our source of food, and we'd be in trouble if the walkers tore it up." Tyrone said.
"If we're going to keep it safe, we have to improve the fence. Luke told me how it's too low and how walkers would trip over it and get in." Clementine told them.
"We could build a better fence." Rodney suggested. "But the farmland is fucking huge. Not to mention the time it would take to do so would be long, we could get hit before it's done."
"I've seen people electrocute walkers with an electric fence, could we do that?" Clementine asked.
"That'd be cool." Tyrone added.
"If we have an electrician here, then maybe, and even if we did we might not have the supplies or find the supplies to make it." Tad mentioned.
"We could have people patrol the farm or have stations and we could kill the walkers then." Andie suggested.
"I don't know… I like the idea, but I'd feel safer if it wasn't at the farm." Rodney said.
"What if… Nah, it wouldn't… Maybe…" Clementine sighed.
"Spit it out, walker genius." Tad told her.
"This might sound crazy, but bear with me. When I had to get through a large herd, I would cut a walker open and cover myself with its guts. When you're covered in walker guts, they can't tell you from them, and you can walk right through them." Clementine paused seeing that her friends had a disgusted and shocked look on their face. "What?"
"Gross." Andie said with an amused smile.
"It works. So what if we surround the farm with walker bodies. I've also seen a wall of walkers barricading off a section of a town. If they can't smell you when you're covered in their guts, why wouldn't it work the same for a house or the whole farm?" Clementine finished.
"We can use the walkers from the pit. We kill them and use the bodies to create a wall or barricade or something." Andie suggested.
"I like it. Smart, smelly, but it's good." Rodney said. He grabbed a sharpie off of the floor and drew lines around the farm to outline the walker wall. "Okay next is the kids."
"Already figured that out." Andie said. "Since we're already barricading the farm with walker bodies, why not put all the kids in your house, Rod? They'd probably be safest there."
"We could do the same to the meds, too. Put them all in your house." Tad added.
"We'll do that." Rodney huffed. "Why do I get the feeling we're doing better than the main council?"
"At this rate, we probably are." Tad said.
"You know we could put the patrol thing to use. We won't fight the herd by the farm but the patrols would be good if some stragglers got past the fight and broke in." Tyrone mentioned.
"Okay, walker barricade, kids and meds in the house, and farm patrols." Andie repeated as she wrote them down.
"Now that we've figured out the main issue, we can focus on actually dealing with the walker herd." Rodney said as he leaned over the map. "The newbies who were running from it came from the highway. Here."
Rodney circled the highway on the map.
"We could keep the original plan. Clean out the pit and guide the herd in it." Tyrone said.
"If the herd is a big as the newbies said it was, then it won't fit all of those walkers." Clementine pointed out. "We're talking more than a hundred walkers. Even if we do manage to fit them all in the pit, they'll just start climbing on top of each other to get out."
"We could make the hole bigger. After we clean it out I mean. Then it could fit more of them." Tyrone said.
"We could risk screwing up the hole completely. I don't think we should." Tad said.
"You said walkers can't smell you if you're covered in guts right? So what if we do that and split everyone into groups. One guides the herd to the pit, while the other is covered in guts and kills them from behind." Andie suggested.
"So some walkers will end up in the pit and others will be killed as they go to the pit. I mean, as long as the people from behind are careful then that would work." Clementine said as she looked down at the map that Rodney was drawing on. "What are you doing, Rod?"
"I'm mapping out the best route from the highway to the construction site. We have to mark the streets and create a path so the walkers don't stray." Rodney explained. "There are tons of cars on the streets we could use them to line the path."
"We need to have lookouts by the highway so we know when the walkers are coming." Tad added. "I'm sure there's an abandoned building we could use to keep an eye out."
"We could send a couple people out there and have them monitor the highway for the herd and have shifts for that, too." Tyrone said.
"Sounds good, we'll do that." Rodney smiled. "Is there anything else that we need to worry about regarding the herd?"
The five of them looked at each other and said nothing in response; they covered it all, there wasn't anything else to talk about, it was all figured out.
"Alright, let's go present this to the council." As Rodney stood up he breathed out a sigh of relief.
"How do you feel, Rod?" Andie asked.
"I feel good." He responded. "Come on, let's go."
Rodney led the way out of the house and towards the farm. The entire fate of their home rested on their shoulders. As the five of them near the barn, they were getting more and more nervous; how the hell were they supposed to present it? What if they tell them to leave because this is a situation for the 'adults' to handle? Or what if they completely disregard their entire plan? The kids stopped in front of the closed barn doors, knowing that the council was still in there discussing the walker crisis at hand. Other than night time, the doors are only closed when the council is having a meeting, and the five of them could still hear them bickering from behind the closed doors.
"So, should we knock or…?" Tad asked.
"I feel like we're going to the principal's office." Tyrone said aloud. Truth be told, that's what everyone was feeling. The barn looked so tall now that the five of them stood in front of it.
"Are you sure we can just walk in, Rodney?" Clementine asked.
"Yeah, we can, just…" They were all nervous as if the confidence they had moments ago ditched out. Dealing with walkers, a piece of cake. Lock them in a building with psychopaths, no problem. But this, standing outside the doors to the people they were going to help, they lacked the courage to open the door.
"Fuck, it." Andie took a deep breath. "Okay, one, two, three." She walked up to the barn door, and before Rodney could stop her the door was already open and all the council members inside were looking at them.
It was too late to turn back now. Rodney lead the way inside the barn and his four friends followed, shutting the barn door on the way in.
"Rodney," his dad started. "You know you're not-"
"I know just…" he panicked momentarily then relaxed in the comfort that his friends were there to back him up. "We figured it out."
"Figured what out?" Don asked.
"The walker herd. We've got a plan on how to deal with them." Rodney told him and every council member in the room.
There was a silence in the room then the leader spoke. "We're all ears."
"Don, we can't waste time listening to this." one of the council members spoke out.
"We barely have anything. If they've figured it out then why not listen?" Another council member argued.
"Rodney, the floor is yours." Don said.
Rodney nodded before he started. "Afternoon, council members. In news of the herd, my friends and I came together to form our own council. In order of arrival, it's me, Andie, Tad, Tyrone, and Clementine." the four of them stepped forward as their names were called. "After the five of us put our heads together, we came up with a plan to protect the farm, protect our supplies, protect our most vulnerable, and get rid of the herd."
"There are tall buildings by the highway, where the herd is coming from. Now that we have walkie-talkies, small groups of two or three will take the highway shift to monitor it for the herd and notify everyone when it comes to town. While that is going on, we will construct a path from the highway to the construction site." Tad began to explain.
"Why the construction site?" Someone asked.
"For those who don't know there is a pit filled with walkers at the construction site. The pit is large and may hold all the walkers from the herd. We'll clean it out and if and when the herd comes into town, we will have a path in the streets lined with cars to guide them out to the site and have them fall into the pit where they can't hurt anyone." Tyrone answered.
"What if the walkers climb over the cars or bypass the path in general and head towards the farm. What then?" a council membered asked.
"When the walker herd hits, everyone will be divided into three groups. Two groups will deal with the herd while one stays at the farm. We figured that it would be best to keep the kids and the medical supplies at Rodney's house since that's where the farm is. While the other two groups are fighting the herd head-on, the farm group will have patrols around the perimeter of the farm and keep an eye on the kids to make sure if any walker manages to slip from the herd, they will kill the walker." Andie responded. "The other two groups who will be dealing with the herd have different jobs. One will guide them to the pit, while the other is behind the herd to silently kill walkers to ensure that the rest of the herd fits into the hole."
"And why won't the walkers turn around and attack the group from behind?"
"A big difference from the two herd groups is that the one killing the walkers from behind will be covered in walker guts. Walkers are stupid, if you cover yourself in their guts they can't tell you from them. On top of that, the walkers we clean out from the pit to prepare for the herd will be used to surround the farm perimeter to make the farm safer during the herd and hopefully prevent any further walker break-ins at the farm. If it works to cover yourself in guts, why wouldn't it work to protect the farm?" Clementine spoke out, seeing the same reactions when she told her friends about the walker gut trick, only more disbelief. "And if you don't believe me when I say it works to cover yourself in their guts, you can ask one of your own members. Luke's done it before, too."
The entire council turned to Luke, putting him on the spot thanks to her. "Does it work?" Don asked.
"Yes, it works. It's how I got through a herd with my old group. And Clementine, you're doing dishes tonight." Luke said to her.
Clementine smiled back at him before continuing. "All we have to do is lead the herd to the pit and if the herd is too big for them all to fit, then that's what the group from behind will do: kill the rest of them on the way there so they will fit. While all the younger children are safe at a house where walkers won't get to them because they're being guarded by a group at the farm."
"If there are any other questions please feel free to ask. We understand that this is a stressful time, but we believe that this can work." Rodney finished.
The council members looked at each other in silence. No one said anything for a while; the council was taking in their plan and the five friends were anxiously waiting for someone to say something. The leader stood up and stepped towards his son. "Rodney, do you have full confidence that this plan will work?"
Rodney was nervous, did his dad not approve? Maybe it wasn't good enough, but he was ready to face any criticism his father had to say. "I stand behind this plan one hundred percent."
Don nodded. "Good, because I want you and your friends to spearhead this."
"What?"
Did they do it? Did the leader just approve their plan to save the town?
"It's a solid plan, and I want you- the five of you- to see this through."
"Are you serious?" Rodney asked, he was shocked, he braced himself for the worst.
"Yes, so what do we need to do?" Don asked his son.
They did it! Their plan was going to be what saves the town. Relief and accomplishment rushed over the five of them, they were so happy that it worked.
Rodney took a deep breath to relax from the achievement before he spoke. "Um… We need to start the shifts by the highway and making the path from there to the construction site. Tad, Ty, can you both take some guys and begin doing that?"
The twins agreed to Rodney's request and called for some of the council members to follow them to get started.
"Andie, Clem, can you and the rest start working on clearing out the walker pit and taking the bodies to the farm for protection?"
The two girls agreed and began leading the rest of the council to work on the walker pit.
"Dad, we can work on splitting everyone into groups."
"Alright."
The father and son sat down at the table. Rodney pulled out a piece of paper and wrote the names down of every member of the community.
"Rodney," the teen looked up to his dad at his name being called. "I'm very proud of you."
"Thanks, dad." And that was Rodney's greatest accomplishment.
The week was long and more stressful as they knew the herd drew closer and closer. They were able to clean out the walker pit and surround the farm with the bodies in one day, then it took them nearly three more days to line up the cars on streets to create the path to the construction site. It wasn't until the end of the week when everyone was got on edge when the highway patrol could see the herd coming their way. Even though it was through a pair of binoculars, the herd was on its way.
As the days went on, the herd got closer. As of today, the people at the highway patrol predicted that the herd would hit in the next day or two. Don and Rodney gave everyone their jobs for when the herd hits. Luke ended up becoming the leader of the group that's taking out the walkers from behind because he has been covered in walker guts before.
Clementine hasn't gotten her job yet, she's been busy making sure everything's in place with her other friends. She was hoping to be in Luke's group and she expected to be because she's been covered in walker guts before, too. Rodney was always busy like she was, so she never asked to make sure.
Luke had already finished his jobs for the day and he was home waiting for Clem. It was weird, considering she normally gets home before him. But since she wasn't home yet, he had time to prepare for what he was going to say to her. Luke started a fire and began to make stew for the both of them. As he waited, the nagging feeling from when Clem and her friends were kidnapped played around in her mind. He pushed it down, Clem was fine but the feeling lingered. The front door opened and the feeling left, seeing Clementine walk into the house.
"Hey." she greeted as she closed the door behind her, Boots already at her feet so she could pet her. "I had to do some extra work with moving all the medical supplies to Rodney's. Sorry, I didn't tell you." She quickly gave the cat a scratch behind the ears before she went to the kitchen to get out the cat food.
"Nah, it's fine, kid. Dinner's almost ready."
"Great! I'm starving." She said before scooping out a cup of cat food for her kitten.
Luke stirred the pot of stew a couple more times before pulling it off the fire. He turned to look at Clementine who was now setting the table. He walked over to the table with the pot in hand and set it down on the pot holder they had in the middle.
Clementine muttered a swear as she went back to the kitchen to grab a ladle that she forgot. When she came back, she began pouring the stew into her bowl, adhering Luke's warning that it was hot. After she poured enough for herself she gave the ladle to Luke so he could pour his stew. They ate in silence. As Luke ate he was thinking about what he had to tell her.
"Are you nervous about the herd?" Luke asked.
Clementine swallowed her food before she spoke. "A little bit, I guess. I just can't wait to fight it and get it over with."
Luke paused, she wanted to fight the herd, she expected she would. "Have you been told what you were doing yet."
"Not yet, but I think I'm going to be with you."
"Clementine."
The tween looked up at Luke before she put another spoonful of stew in her mouth. She knew that tone. Clementine put the spoon in the bowl and stared at him, confused.
"You're not fighting with me."
"I'm not?"
Luke shook his head.
She thought about what he told her. They weren't in the same group. She didn't understand why; other than Luke she's had experience with being covered in guts so wouldn't it make sense to put her in that group? She knew where the pit was, so maybe she's leading the herd to the pit? That had to be it.
"So I'm helping lead the herd to-"
"No." Luke interrupted quickly before heaving a long sigh. "Clem, you're not fighting the herd at all."
"What the fuck do you mean I'm not fighting the herd?"
"You, your friends, and Andie's grandmother will be at the farm during the herd." Luke explained.
She was in that group? She and her friends came up with a plan, they put it into action, they were in charge of preparing for it, and they get put into that group.
"So after everything we've done, we don't even get to fight?"
"I don't want you fighting this!"
"This is bullshit!"
"Will you calm down and just listen?" Luke asked. Clementine sat back in her chair and crossed her arms, huffing as she did so. "You and your friends are being put at the farm because you five will be in charge of the farm. Especially if things go south with the herd."
She remembered how Rodney mentioned that they would be running the place when his dad can't. She didn't fully believe it, well she did, but she figured it would just be Rodney.
"You doubt the plan?"
"No, I don't doubt the plan."
"Still, I'm not going to be leading this place, Rodney is."
"When his dad passes the reigns to him, yeah, but what do you think Rodney will do with you and your other friends. You think I'll still be on the council when that time comes? Most likely it'll just be the five of you."
Rodney hasn't gone into them helping him lead, he's just been focused on them being kids before that time comes. For good reason, too, she didn't want to think about having the entire town in her hands when she's older, and Rodney already has that pressure from being the son of the leader.
"I almost lost you once ever since we got here, Clem. I'm not losing you again. I want to finish fighting the herd knowing that you're safe."
It sucked knowing that she wasn't going to be fighting the herd like she planned to, but if it meant that she was going to be safe like Luke wanted, then she'd do it even though she doesn't really have a choice.
"Just promise you'll come back." Clementine said to him. Even though she's safe, he's not.
Luke gave her a smile. "I promise, sissy."
Clementine rolled her eyes at the nickname before the two continued eating. She ignored the knot in her stomach that made her worry about Luke. Clem's not going to be there to watch his back, and if she's in another location, not knowing if he's going to be okay is going to suck.
Two days went by and the herd still wasn't here yet. It was late, everyone's off to bed except for the highway patrol that was keeping track of the herd and Luke. Clementine was asleep on his chest while he was lost in thought. She's been cuddly since she found out that she wasn't fighting the herd with him, not that he minded, he knew why. Clem wanted to be with him in case things went south with the herd. Luke sighed as he rubbed her arm gently. A part of him missed being in the truck with her; when it was just them and not anyone else, how their bond grew and grew each day, even when they wouldn't talk, to just not be alone was amazing. Clementine unconsciously cuddled closer to him, her head moving to a familiar spot on his chest. It's where she'd usually rest her head when they would sleep in the truck. Luke smiled slightly then his eyes grew heavy. He should get some rest, it would be nice considering that the herd's coming soon. And like that he closed his eyes ready for sleep.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
His eyes snapped open at the noise. A frantic knock at the door at this time of night? Luke slid Clem off his chest and went to the door. He was exhausted, and his mind blanked on why anyone would do this so late.
Luke gave out a grunt as he opened the door, he was too tired for this.
"Herd's here!" Rodney exclaimed, about ready to run.
"Wait, what?" He was more alert now.
"Herd's getting close, we don't have a lot of time before it's on us! Everyone reports to the barn!" And like that the teen was off to the next house.
Herd. Herd!
"Shit!" he muttered before ran to the bedroom. "Clem! Clem, get up!" he exclaimed as he shook her awake.
"Huh? Luke, what's-?" she asked a bit groggy.
"Herd's here! Come on, we got to go!"
Clementine was awake now, she scooped up her little kitten from the spot next to her and quickly put her in the other room and closed the door behind her. She wanted her to be safe in case a walker strayed from the herd and broke into the house. Luke tried to usher the kid out as fast as he could; they didn't have a lot of time. The two of them ran out of the house, Luke shutting the door behind them, and they made their way to Rodney's house as fast as they can.
The farm was surrounded by frantic people running around, getting ready to fight the herd. Parents dropping off their kids inside the house, some people were already putting walker guts on themselves, others were getting their guns and other weapons ready. The leader was constantly checking in with the highway patrol to keep tabs on the herd.
"Clem! You have to help with the kids!"
"Luke! Get your ass covered, we need you to help double check we're good!"
The two of them looked at each other and Luke bent down to her height. They wrapped their arms around each other in a tight hug before Clementine pressed her forehead against his.
"Stay safe, okay?"
Luke kissed the top of her head. "I will." He stood up with a smile. "Love ya, kid."
"Love you, too."
They took in the words for a brief second, then they both ran off to do their jobs. Clementine met up with her friends, only short of Rodney who was getting everyone up. She began checking on the kids, making sure that they were all here, including the newborn baby who was safely secured in Andie's grandma's arms. Andie was helping some of the kids get to bed and the twins were trying to make room for some kids so they could go back to bed. Once Rodney got back, he began putting everyone into shifts: Two of them would circle the farm clockwise, two would circle counterclockwise, and one of them would stay at the farm with Andie's grandma and the kids. Once the two groups come back from circling the perimeter, they'd take a break before they switch places and a new shift would begin.
It didn't take long to split everyone up, Rodney's dad came to check on him before he left to go fight the herd. They said their goodbyes and the adults were off. It's now or never, this is the moment where their hard work will hopefully pay off. Rodney, wanting to take his mind off the herd, volunteered to walk the perimeter the first shift and he chose Clementine to go with him, Tad and Andie would go the other way, and Tyrone would stay at the house. They didn't wait long after everyone left, Rodney wanted to start now. Walkers wouldn't be around yet, but it was to make sure the perimeter was secure. The five of them were all nervously calm about the situation. They knew their plan was solid, but there was a lingering feeling of worry that it wouldn't be successful or someone would die. Rodney was a bit slow now that it was just him and Clem doing their shift, a part of her wanted to believe it was because he tired himself out from getting everybody up for the herd, but she knew that wasn't it.
"Nice night, isn't it?" Clem said aloud while she ignored the stench of dead walker bodies surrounding the fence line.
Rodney looked up at the night sky above him. "Yeah… I guess so…" he grunted.
"Are you doing okay?"
He thought about the question in his head. "Not entirely." He said before he chuckled. "It's funny. With the adults, I can lie to them so easily, even to my dad at times. But with you, and Andie, and the twins, I can't."
Distant gunshots fired off. They were fighting the herd now.
"I'm just glad that you guys are here. Makes the world less shitty."
"We're glad to be here." Clem told him.
They didn't say anything more after that, they just continued walking along the fence line.
"I'm worried." Rodney said suddenly.
Clementine glanced over her shoulder to the noise of the gunshots before looking at him. "I'm worried, too. About Luke mostly, but-"
"That's not what I meant." He interrupted. "I don't give two shits about the herd, our plan will work. It's after it that worries me. People are going to start looking up to me, but I'm not my dad, I can't lead everyone."
"Rodney…"
"For my sixteenth birthday, my dad started bringing me along to check up on things on the farm, he let me help divide rations, he told me every bit and piece about this place. I'm still a kid, I'm not ready for that big of a leap."
"We're all still kids, Rodney. You know we won't let you do this alone, especially if you're not ready."
"Would you be ready?"
Clementine's gaze pulled down to her feet. "I guess not."
"Sometimes I just want to tell my dad to pause on the whole leadership thing, as much as I want to do it, I'm not ready. I missed out on being a kid, so that's what I want to do, and I want you guys to do that too."
"You lead our group."
"It's different with you guys, you guys don't put pressure on me or worry that I'm not good enough."
"I think you're good enough. You're more than good enough, I know you are."
"Thanks, Clem… but still-"
"Rodney, you can't keep doubting yourself. I get that you have a lot of pressure and the fucking hospital didn't make it any easier, but you've got it in you, and you know it."
Rodney stayed silent for a moment.
"I'm not going to tell you what to do, but if you still feel like you aren't ready, then go tell your dad, he'll understand. Then when you are ready, you go for it."
He smiled lightly down at Clem, then pulled her into a hug. It shocked her at first but she accepted it, wrapping her arms around him. It felt so warm, and it was so nice in the cool summer night. Rodney pulled away and pulled Clem's hat down over her eyes. Though slightly annoyed, she felt her cheeks heat up.
"You're the best, Clem." He said to her.
"Wait, you're sixteen? Since when?" Clementine asked as she fixed her hat.
"It was before Sheila had her baby, I think. It's at the beginning of summer, that's what I know."
"Well, happy birthday."
"I don't like to make birthdays into a big fuss. There's not really a point now other than to keep track of how old you are. I only care about my friends and family's birthdays. My dad's at the end of summer. Yours is in fall, the twins have theirs at the beginning of winter, and Andie has hers mid-spring."
"I know was here when the twins turned thirteen, though it was before I met them. But... that means Andie is fifteen now? Shit…"
"Yeah, I'm surprised she didn't tell you."
Andie miscarried in spring. That's why she never told her. She probably had a lot on her mind then that the thought of her birthday just slipped right by her.
"Sorry that you're the runt, but at least you'll be a teenager soon."
She smiled at that. Clementine looked over into the forest beyond the fence line, and her smile faded. Something felt… off.
"Clem."
The girl turned back to her friend, seeing that he got ahead of her.
"I'm coming." She said, shaking off the weird feeling.
As the night went on, so did the shifts on the farm. They all took turns watching over the house and the farm patrols. They didn't say much other than little bits of small talk, they were too focused on keeping the farm safe while ignoring the gunshots from everyone else fighting the herd. Only a few walkers actually made it to the farm, but they didn't think they came from the herd. Not that it mattered, they killed them silently and added them to the walker body barrier around the perimeter.
They were on the fourth shift now. Rodney was at the house, the twins teamed up together, and the girls teamed up for their patrols. By the time the two teams came back, they found Rodney sitting on the front steps of his house watching the sun come up. It was already dawn. The five of them were all exhausted, the worry of the herd was eating them up. The four friends joined Rodney on the steps. The distant gunshots had stopped soon after, all they could do now was wait. The adults didn't bring walkie-talkies because it was unnecessary, there was no way to know if they won or not. They don't know who is alive or dead, they just sat there on the steps, the dread killing them slowly.
At least the morning was peaceful. The sky was fading to pink and yellow, birds were chirping, the cold air slowly becoming warm. Calming, yet haunting. The five of them wait and they wait and keep waiting for what felt like an eternity. They don't know how long they've been sitting there, the patrols and the shifts thrown out the window as they waited. Then Rodney slowly stands up squinting his eyes into the distance, he breathes out a smile then begins to run, just as his friends see what he was running to. The townspeople. They were okay!
Rodney immediately hugged his dad. Some of the parents run towards the house, looking forward to seeing their children safe and sound, others congratulated each other for a job well done. Clementine stood up on her toes on the step she was on, scanning the crowd for one person. Where is he? Then she spotted him, tall, dark hair, covered in guts. Her face lit up when he locked eyes with her and she ran straight for him.
"Luke!" She exclaimed before trying to hug him.
Luke dodged it. "Hey, calm down, kid. I'm covered in guts."
"Don't care!" Clementine hugged him anyway, not worried about the smell or how the guts were getting on her. She only cared about him. Luke returned the hug, he was happy she was okay. Not that she was the one in immediate danger, but he's glad she and her friends didn't run into any problems.
"You have to tell me everything!" she said to him as she pulled away, wiping the guts off her chest.
"I will, don't worry." he said as he rubbed a hand on her head.
"Everyone! May I have your attention please!" the townsfolk turned to the town leader who was standing on his front steps. "We've made history today! Against all odds, we fought a herd and we defeated it without any complication. This is all thanks to our dedication, trust in our people, how we stand together to defeat a greater evil. Not one life was lost. I am proud of all of you, and you all should be proud of yourselves, for when everything may look like it's grim, especially in our world now, I know we can persevere and achieve great things because we are great people."
The crowd cheered, celebrating their win. Don raised his hand to silence the people.
"Now I know that we are all exhausted, and from what we've done today we deserve a break. Everyone has the day off. Please take the time to spend time with your loved ones, and we'll pick up work tomorrow."
After the crowd did more celebrating, they all dispersed to enjoy their day off. Once Luke cleaned himself of the walker guts, he and Clem spent the day at home with their cat. He immediately collapsed to the couch, getting some well-needed rest. Soon after he got comfortable, Clem's kitted hopped up on his chest and curled up right there then Clementine lifted his head up so she could sit with his head in her lap. Her golden eyes shined down on him and he couldn't help but smile. She began to rub his forehead, her fingers combing his hair.
"I'm glad you're safe." she said to him.
"I'm glad you're okay, too." he said back. "I'm just going to fall asleep here if you don't mind.
"As long as you tell me what happened when you wake up."
"Deal."
Clementine watched his eyes close, her head rub sending him right to sleep. She was so happy that everything was okay. It was okay.
A/N: And it is complete. The herd is no more! YES! Now for the surprise announcement, I've been working on ANF story that might come out soon, I think you'll like it, in fact, the first chapter is almost done. So keep your eyes peeled for that. Please rate and review and I'll see you next time:)
