Chapter 3
Break a Leg
"Hey, get up kid."
Percy's eyes snapped open and he scowled as he looked at the man. He was tall, about the same height as Lee, wearing a white t-shirt, and jeans. He had a bushy mustache and shaggy black hair with some gray in it, he looked to be in his early to mid forties if Percy had to guess.
He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and stood, noticing that both Lee and Clementine were already standing next to each other. Said girl started scratching her skin furiously, a small look of alarm on her young face.
"I'm itchy." She said and Percy chuckled, to which the little girl gave him a little glare.
"Well, you slept in a barn, little lady. Lucky you don't have spiders in your hair." The southern drawl in his voice was easy to notice.
Clementine gasped, her eyes widening drastically and she tried to look up, as if she were able to see her own hair. Percy chuckled some more, to which Clementine pouted at him.
The man continued. "But I bet your daddy scared 'em all away, huh?" Percy raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not her dad. Name's Lee." Lee said quickly.
"I'm Kenny." His eyes trailed to Percy, as if almost wary of him. He bit back a growl in irritation.
"Percy." He said.
"Odd group." Kenny surmised as he looked at the three of them. His brown eyes looked between them. "How'd ya meet?" He asked curiously.
"Just ran into them yesterday actually, at a house. Shawn picked us up and here we are." Clementine sidled up next to Percy and gripped his left hand. While Percy had his right hand on Riptide's hilt.
"Seem pretty close for meeting yesterday." Kenny said, his eyes glanced at Percy's sword warily.
"What are you, a detective?" Percy snapped sarcastically, Kenny raised his hands in surrender. Just at that moment a young boy peaked in through the barn doors. Looking like a miniature version of Kenny with a flannel and jeans on as well.
The irritating prepubescent boy's voice nearly caused Percy to grimace as the young boy hollered. "Dad! We're gonna build a fence! There's a tractor and everything!" He ran off just quickly as he came, Percy saw the smile on Kenny's face and could at least tell the man was a caring father. More than Percy ever got, he thought bitterly.
"We better get going or we won't hear the end of it." The four of them walked out of the barn together, Clementine continuing to hold Percy's hand as they walked. "That's my boy, Ken Junior. We call him Duck, though."
Duck? Percy thought with a scoff, that was a terrible thing to call their kid. Lee's voice quickly echoed Percy's thoughts as they trailed behind them.
"Duck?" Lee said with a hint of surprise in his tone, although it was subdued. Watered down even, as if he was pushing down his emotions. From what Percy could gather, Lee seemed to be an even tempered man, almost forcing himself to be. It was strange, as if something had snapped inside of him and he wanted to keep that from happening again. A sadness bubbled around him.
"Yeah. Nothing bothers him. Like water off a duck's back, y'know."
"That's a valuable trait lately." Percy rolled his eyes. Just because a parent thought that it didn't bother them, didn't mean anything. For all Kenny and Lee knew, Duck could have been terrified and suppressing everything, especially as people were eating people. He gently squeezed Clementine's hand, she gave a small shy smile up to him and squeezed back.
"No kidding. But frankly, I think it's because he's dumb as a bag of hammers." Percy chuckled at that though.
"Dad!" Duck squealed again.
"But he makes up for it with enthusiasm."
They ended up making their way to the front porch, where a woman around the same age as Kenny sat on top of some bays of hale. She had shoulder cut blonde hair, pale skin, wearing an ugly yellow shirt with pink flowers on it. Judging by the way she touched Duck's shoulder and whispered to him, Percy guessed it was his mother.
A pang of sadness rippled through him as he thought about his own mom, and how she was handling all of this. If she was still alive, a dark voice in his head whispered to him. He was shaken from his depressing thoughts as Clementine squeezed his hand again, he looked down at her to see concern etched on her face. Percy gave her a reassuring smile that made the little girl smile back at him brightly. He couldn't let his own troubles affect Clementine, the young girl needed his support and help.
"The word is you were on your way to Macon." Kenny said after a moment, to which Percy raised an eyebrow. Lee could go to Macon all he wanted, but Percy and Clementine would come to a decision together. Lee was far from being in charge of the two of them.
"My family is from there." Lee said after a moment, but didn't agree or disagree with the man.
"Well, Macon's on the way and, personally, I'd appreciate the company of a guy who can knock a couple of heads together if he has to." His eyes flickered to Percy and his sword. Percy merely shrugged in reply, he wasn't going to dissuade Kenny of the notion that he could take care of himself. It would keep the man from trying to fuck with him.
Lee turned to Percy as he tilted his head to the side. "Maybe, we'll see how things shake out with this Hershel guy and what they both think." He nodded at Percy and Clementine.
"Group decision, I respect that and all. Good luck with Herschel though, he's a hardass." Kenny turned to his presumed wife and son. "Honey, Duck, this is Lee, Percy and, uh, what's the girl's name?" He asked uncomfortably.
Instead of responding, Clementine hid behind Percy's leg. To which Percy gave her a bright smile. "Her name is Clementine." Percy replied to the family.
"That is a very pretty name, I'm Katjaa." The woman responded, Clementine smiled at her while peeking out slightly.
"Thanks."
Katjaa suddenly frowned and looked at the blade at Percy's hip. "You think it's smart to carry such a dangerous thing around children?" The disapproving frown on her face made Percy feel irritation and anger. Although it was a little unfair to judge her, considering she wasn't a half-blood and didn't know the danger lurking around every corner.
"Well, with the dead walking around, I think it's a pretty good idea. Won't risk Clementine or I's life because I've got nothing to protect us with." Katjaa pursed her lips and gave him a hard look, the disapproval still clearly showing on her face, but she said nothing more.
"Relax honey, I'm sure the boy knows how to use it." Kenny tried to reassure his wife. Percy glared at Kenny.
"Don't call me boy." He practically growled, his mind going back to his step-father Gabe. "My name is Percy, please use it." Kenny looked sheepish and apologetic, which made Percy regret the animosity he was showing. But, he had bad memories of being called that. He closed his eyes tightly. "I'm sorry," He said after a moment. "Bad memories." He got some looks of pity from the group of adults, while the two children looked confused. "But yes, I am a master swordsman, there's not many, if any, who could beat me in a swordfight." He tried not to be too boastful, but it was true. Even Jason and Reyna could barely touch him when it came to a swordfight.
Judging by the faces of all of the adults, Percy wasn't sure any of them believed him. But he didn't particularly care, it wasn't a lie and he had nothing to prove to anyone. The only concern he had was staying alive and keeping Clementine alive as well. Before anyone else could say anything else, Shawn approached them.
"Well, we should get to work. We've all seen what those things can do out there so the faster we get this fence up, the better." He said, his gaze looking at each of them for a moment.
"I wanna build a fence." Duck squealed.
Instead of being irritated, Shawn smiled and turned to the young boy. "Yeah? Well, I need a good foreman. You can sit on the tractor and yell at me whenever I take a water break." He said kindly.
"On the tractor? Cool!" He turned to his mother with a wide smile. Katjaa looked at Duck with a soft smile before nodding appreciatively at Shawn.
"Duck and I will hop to it. Feel free to come help when you have some time." He said before turning away.
"I can keep an eye on your little girl here on the porch. We can visit." Katjaa said, looking directly at Lee, even though the little girl was still clutching Percy like he might disappear. Lee turned to him and shrugged. Percy felt irritation bubble within him at the woman's attitude but decided to push it away for now.
Clementine looked up at him and he nodded reassuringly at her. "Go ahead Clem." He ushered her.
Percy gestured to Lee to go the other direction. The two of them needed to talk either way, Percy thought the man was a good guy and all, but he was obviously hiding something. Percy also would do what's best for both Clementine and himself.
Lee stepped up next to him, placing both of his hands on the wooden fence overlooking a large field of land. "What's the plan?" The man asked him curiously.
Percy turned and raised an eyebrow at him. The surprise must have been evident on his face, because Lee chuckled quietly. "It's obvious that you and Clem are a pair, and you're taking responsibility for her. I respect that, show's what kind of man you are. But with how dangerous it is out there, I'm not going to let either of you go at it alone. You both could use some help, and I could as well. I'll follow you both wherever you go." Percy felt a surge of warmth spread through him at Lee's words, not only was Percy not expecting it at all, but it was rare for Percy to meet an adult that was actually responsible.
"That's good Lee, I really appreciate it. I was hoping to convince Herschel to let us stay." He said after a moment, Lee looked contemplative. "The wide area of land, the fence around the whole property." He gestured to it as he spoke. "It would be safe here."
"I agree with you, but Kenny made it seem like Herschel was adamant against that idea, and I'm not sure the old man is fond of me." He made a face and Percy reminded himself quickly that Lee was hiding something. What, he still didn't know. But he wasn't going to demand answers, everyone had secrets. Percy's instincts screamed at him that Lee was a good guy, and his instincts were almost always right. He wasn't going to doubt himself at this point.
"Who knows, maybe he'll let us stay. We can hope, if not..." Percy paused for a moment. "I guess we can take a trip with Kenny and his family." Percy wrinkled his nose, not exactly hoping for that to happen.
The two of them stood at the fence in silence for a moment. When Lee broke it.
"Senatus Populusque Romanus."
Percy jumped in surprise, his free hand immediately jumping to his tattoo. Lee looked at him with a bit of concern at the reaction, but continued speaking. "That's the symbol of Neptune, right?"
Percy felt the hairs on his arms stand up for a moment, with how disconnected he felt to everything divine right now. It made him wary and nervous. "How'd you know that?" He asked, his tone cold.
Lee shuffled nervously, obviously not understanding why Percy was reacting this way. "Sorry if it made you uncomfortable, but I was a history teacher at the University of Georgia. Sort of into that type of stuff. You into Ancient Roman history?" He asked curiously. Percy felt the blood flow back to his body for a moment. Lee was trying to be friendly with him, make a connection with him. Of course that's what it was. He shook his head, clearing all of his thoughts.
"No, sorry. Yea, sometimes it seemed like that was my entire life. I was a big fan of Neptune, I've always loved the ocean and water." Percy gave him a small smile.
Lee smirked at him. "Although your sword is more Greek than Roman. You know that?"
Percy chuckled. "Yup." He said popping the p. "Roman swords never felt quite right in my hands, this sword is really all that feels balanced."
Lee looked at him with curiosity, almost like he wanted to ask a question but was afraid too. "What is it?" Percy asked.
"Are you really that good with a sword?" He asked curiously.
Percy flashed him with a smile. "Trust me, you don't want to mess with me."
Lee gave a hearty laugh. "Don't worry, I can tell. I'll try to stay on your good side." The conversation fizzled out and Lee excused himself to go help with the fence.
Percy knew he should have been helping, and he would. But something was itching in his mind. "Hey there stranger." The familiar feminine twang sounded right next to him, and he felt someone lean against him slightly.
He looked at her, now that he could see her properly in the light, Percy had to admit she was a lot better looking than he thought. One of the more beautiful women he had seen, creamy white skin, shiny brown hair and curves in all the right places. He shook his head and looked up at her to see a wide smile on her face, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Maggie." He replied in greeting to which she pouted.
"I thought we made a connection last night." She said, her lips getting close to his ear. He chuckled and leaned away from her.
"More like you were trying to put your claws in me." He retorted. She smiled prettily at him again before shrugging.
"If you could see yourself, you'd understand. And those green eyes, sweetheart." She licked her lips to which Percy just shook his head in amusement. She then suddenly frowned. "I'm not sure I was able to convince my daddy. He doesn't particularly trust the man you arrived with and well..." She looked sheepishly at him for a moment, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.
He raised an eyebrow at her and made a gesture for her to go on. "Well, he thinks we slept together, so he's not too happy about that. I tried to tell him we didn't..." She trailed off.
Percy just shook his head, he could understand why Herschel would think that. He frowned, perhaps that wasn't the best way to go about it. He made a face and Maggie looked at him sadly.
"I'm sorry." She said guiltily.
Percy quickly shook his head. "No, no." He raised his hands slightly. "It's not your fault, don't feel bad whatsoever. I'm really appreciative that you tried in the first place."
"Maybe stick around the area, if things get even worse, who knows, maybe he'll change his mind." She shrugged helplessly and gave him a small sad smile before politely excusing herself. He felt a pang, disappointed that that might have been the last interaction he would ever have with her. She was certainly an interesting character, and despite the fact she was openly trying to seduce him, Percy got the sense she was a good person.
He turned his gaze to see Lee walk out of the barn, he looked slightly distressed and disappointed. Frowning, Percy walked toward the barn and saw Herschel, there was a scowl on his face and a pitchfork in his hands.
Curiously, Percy stepped inside and the old man turned to see him. The scowl on his face came more profound and he drove his pitchfork into the hale bale with some force behind it.
He grunted, his eyes glaring at Percy harshly. "Stay away from Maggie, I don't appreciate you sleeping with and manipulating her to try and get her to convince me to let you stay. I will kick you out under the barrel of my shotgun." He snapped at him.
Percy scowled at the man's attitude. "First of all, your daughter's a big girl, she can make her own decisions. Second of all, I didn't sleep with her. I asked so I can look out for what's best for Clementine, and right now that's staying put on this farm.Third..." He raised his hand to show Herschel he was raising three fingers. "Threaten me again and you won't like what happens," He gestured toward his sword. "I've had too many adults try to boss me around and fuck me over my entire life." He finished his rant slightly out of breath. He had no idea where that came from, and it was probably not good to say if he was trying to get him to let them stay. But it sure felt good.
The two remained in a tight deadlock of gazes before Herschel gave a small smirk. "You've got some courage kid, I'll give you that. But ultimately, my farm, my decision." He set his pitchfork to the side and crossed his arms over your chest. "I've got a big family, and just like you have to look out for that little girl, I've got to look out after them."
Percy nodded at him, "I understand that, I really do. I've got my family up in New York and there's nothing I wouldn't do for them." Herschel looked at him with some sympathy.
"But now you got this little girl, and she takes precedence over that doesn't she. You and Lee are going to look out for her?" He raised an eyebrow.
Percy nodded. "The plan is for me to look out for her specifically, but I won't argue against some help." Herschel gave him an impressed look.
"Well, at least you've got a good head on your shoulders. If things don't get better quickly, and they stay like this, you're prepared to watch out for her that long?"
Percy gave the man a confident and assured look, his head held high. "I am." He said confidently.
Percy flinched as the loud sound of an engine roared in the distance, followed just a few seconds by a scream of absolute pain. Without a second thought he pulled Riptide free from his belt loop as Herschel and him locked eyes. They rushed out of the barn shoulder to shoulder, the old man's eyes were wide with fear.
"Go! I'll get my gun!" Herschel practically ordered him, Percy didn't register anything as he rushed toward the sound of the engine and the whimpers of pain in the distance. His legs carried him, a fear gripping his heart as he didn't see Clementine. He sprinted by the house and breathed in a sigh of relief as he saw Clementine standing unharmed. But then he observed what was actually happening and winced, his legs still carrying him toward the disturbance. He was too far away right now.
Shawn was stuck beneath the tractor, his one leg was completely crushed, blood oozing from underneath it. The young man's eyes were rolled back in his head as he continued to whimper in pain. Two of the walking dead were pushing against the weak part of the fence that already looked like it was going to collapse. Leaving Shawn in an incredibly vulnerable position. Another one had grabbed Duck and was desperately trying to take a bite out of his neck, the height of the tractor and the fence the only reason the young boy hadn't been ripped to shreds.
Percy watched as Lee tried to desperately pull Shawn out from under the tractor, but with the state of the man's leg and the rush of blood that appeared as he strained, Percy realized that it would be nearly impossible while the dead were against the fence. Kenny was standing off to the side, completely immobile, his body slumped in shock. Percy bit back a curse.
"Lee! Kenny!." Shawn screamed desperately. "Help me, please!" Clementine gasped audibly and was sniffling, Percy could tell the young girl was crying.
Lee punched one of the dead, and then the other, it didn't do anything. Both were back against the fence within seconds, the man had nothing to kill or fend them off with.
Percy grit his teeth. "KENNY." He barked so loudly everyone jumped in surprise. "GET YOUR SON." He roared. Finally broken out of his trance, Kenny rushed forward and grabbed Duck, desperately pulling his son away from the monster.
Percy was still too far away to help, his legs churning as fast as he could as Kenny finally got Duck from the dead man's hands and turned to Shawn. Instead of setting Duck down and helping, he ran in the opposite direction. Percy cursed, there was only one option at this point.
"Lee, duck." Percy yelled again, raising his blade. He watched Lee hit the ground next to Shawn without a word, the immediate decisiveness causing Percy to actually respect the man more. Changing his run until he hurled Riptide like he was using a javelin, praying to gods he no longer was sure existed while simultaneously thanking the Romans for teaching him how to throw a pila. His sword soared through the air.
It was almost like slow motion, the blade flew true. Piercing straight through the middle of the monster's head that was closest to Shawn, a sickening squelch followed by a flash of dark red flew through the air.
As Riptide killed the dead corpse instantaneously, the fence crumbled, causing it's lifeless body to land on Shawn while the other one reached for him. Lee jumped up, pulling Riptide free from the one corpse and slicing through the head of the other. The corpse collapsed to the ground dead. Percy watched wide eyed, surprised that Lee could touch his sword. Although he shouldn't have been, since all of them could see Riptide somehow. The other one turned toward the opening but the cocking of a shotgun, and a loud blast ripped through the air. Disintegrating the corpse's skull to a red paste, and causing Percy to flinch in surprise.
Ignoring that for a moment he got to the tractor and strained as he grabbed under the front bumper of it. If this was before, he probably would have been able to easily lift it. But all godly traces seemed to be gone, but he was still stronger than the average human it seemed as he felt the vein in his neck and head about to burst.
"That's impossible." A feminine voice gasped, through the haze of his strength Percy was unable to identify the voice but he picked the trailer up a full foot from the ground, releasing Shawn's leg from being trapped under it.
Lee pulled Shawn free from the tractor and Percy gasped as he dropped it with a thud. He stretched involuntarily as his muscles screamed, dark spots danced in his vision. When his vision finally cleared he saw everyone staring at him in a frozen surprise, but he paid them no mind as he turned his attention to Shawn and nearly gagged at the sight. His leg had almost been torn clean off, the skin was ripped to shreds and Percy could see his bone in several places.
He jumped forward and placed as much pressure on the wound that was flowing blood at rapid speed. He barked for help as Herschel jumped kneeled beside him, Percy barely recognized a blonde girl handing Herschel rolls of gauze and a first aid kit.
Percy turned and saw Clementine shivering alone and whimpering, tears were streaming down her face.
Shawn groaned and looked at his father. "It hurts, pop." He gasped out. His face contorted into a grimace. "Percy..." He choked. "He saved me."
Herschel gently shushed him. "I know, son." He said as he gently took over the pressure Percy had been applying. Whatever Herschel was doing it clearly helped, as the blood flow lessened slightly and he wrapped it with gauze. Despite that, within a few moments the fresh white cloth had been stained to a darkened thick crimson. Percy winced, hoping that Shawn's femoral artery hadn't been severed.
Percy turned his attention toward Kenny, who was hugging his son and wife. He looked extremely sad and devastated, his attention turned to Lee who was immobile and frozen. Percy continued his gaze to see Maggie standing a slight distance away, her hand was over her mouth as tears poured down her eyes. Another, even younger girl was standing next to her. She was much louder with her devastated sobs, her blonde hair flowing in the wind, and her blue eyes sparkled with tears.
Percy looked down at his crimson stained hands and rose, walking to Clementine without another word while Herschel continued to try and help his son. Without a word she wrapped her arms around his midsection and started to bawl. Percy himself sniffled, horrified by what had happened and Clementine's reaction to it. He had no idea how long he held the young girl when he heard a gasp of shock.
"Shawn!" Herschel gasped, Percy guessed he had passed away.
"Fuck you." He roared so loudly Clementine squealed and jumped away from Percy. Percy pushed the terrified young girl behind him and turned toward Herschel who was retrieving his shotgun. Without a word Herschel turned and pointed the barrel at Kenny.
Percy stepped in front of Herschel's sight of Kenny, the old man stepped forward. "Get the fuck out of my way. You tried to save him, but this piece of shit let him die." Herschel snarled. He heard more gasps of fear but he paid them no mind and just raised his hands in surrender. He didn't feel any fear, nor did he feel any anger. Herschel was grieving for his son, it was only right. Percy wasn't going to get angry or judge him for that, but he also wasn't going to let him kill Kenny.
"If you don't move in three seconds, I'll blast a hole straight through your chest." Herschel snarled, his eyes sparkling with tears and rage. He cocked the shotgun and placed the end of the barrel straight against Percy's chest.
"Daddy, stop..." Maggie's voice pleaded, but Percy waved her off.
"Herschel, please don't do something you'll regret later. You know the boy didn't do it on purpose." Percy whispered, his hand slowly reaching out toward the barrel of the shotgun. Herschel didn't move a single inch, but allowed Percy to grab the barrel and gently pried it from his hands. Without a word the old man fell to his knees and gasped out a sob of tears.
Percy gently laid his gun next to him. "Get the fuck out, all of you." He snapped through the tears, a sob separating his words. "This never would have happened if any of you hadn't shown up." He said in denial.
"Daddy, that's not true." Maggie whispered through her own sob's.
"It's okay, Maggie. We'll go, your dad needs to grieve." Percy said.
Clementine grabbed his leg, unable to grab his hands due to the blood. Lee stepped up next to him as Kenny and his family walked up to him. "You've got that ride to Macon if you want it." Kenny didn't wait for an answer before he stepped away from all of them and walked up to Herschel.
"I'm sorry." Kenny said.
Herschel looked up and glared at the man. "Sorry, sorry!" he growled. "You don't get to be sorry, your son killed my son." Kenny looked down at the ground and nodded his head, seemingly ashamed before he turned around and walked back toward his family.
Maggie stepped up to him. One of her hands grabbed his bicep, her eyes red and raw from crying.
"Thank you." She croaked. "For trying to..." Her words choked up in a sob.
Percy gave her a small sad smile. "It's okay, I understand." Without another word she stepped up and placed a kiss on Percy's cheek that warmed him to his toes.
"Maybe we'll meet again." She said softly with a watery smile, Percy gave her another grin.
"I hope so." He said as she walked away.
Lee walked up to him. "You alright." He asked Percy quietly as he gazed at Clementine clutching Percy's leg like a lifeline.
"Yea, I guess." Percy felt uncomfortable, it was clear that none of these people had dealt with death. Not like he had, so while he was sad for everyone, he wasn't completely torn up about it. Sometimes there was just nothing you could do. He had experienced that plenty of times, he had lost so many people that he cared about.
"I couldn't save him." Lee said after a moment of silence, the three of them started walking toward Kenny's vehicle.
"You can't always save everyone." Percy told him. "It hurts, but you have to move on."
"You talk like you've dealt with this before." Lee noticed.
Percy nodded. "I have." Lee opened his mouth to say more but Percy continued. "Come on, let's get out of here before Herschel shoots us all." He clapped Lee on the back with his blood stained hands as Lee handed him Riptide.
Percy wondered where they would go next.
