Wings
A New Day Part 2
It was night-time when the group reached the farm. Lee and Clementine were sitting next to Shawn with Chet behind them. Lee looked down and spotted Clementine looking back up at him as the car stopped. The truck came to slow stop as it parked at the farm. The group slowly got out of the truck, with Chet stretching his arms.
"Hey, Shawn," Said Chet, rubbing the back of his head, "I'm'a run on home. My mama's gonna be in a snit."
"No sweat, man. I'll catch you tomorrow night." Dismissed Shawn, making Chet turn to Lee and Clementine.
"It was nice to meet ya both." Said Chet, as Lee noticed something on Chet's arm.
"What's that?" Lee pointed to the mark, making Chet freeze.
"I think one'a them things bit me." Answered Chet, "It don' hurt or nothin'."
Lee frowned as he waved goodbye as Chet left. The front door opened and a man, that Lee assumed to be Shawn's father, walked out.
"Thank god you're okay." Said Shawn's father, sighing with relief at the sight of Shawn.
"I was worried it'd be bad here, too." Said Shawn, hugging his father.
"Been quiet as usual the past couple days." Said Shawn's father, "Ol' Breckon down the way thinks his mare's gone lame but that ain't nothing new."
"I wouldn't have made it back without Chet." Shawn seemingly ignored what his father was saying.
"Well, I'm glad you took him with you then." Said Shawn's father, before turning and spotting Lee and Clementine, making him put his hands on his hips, "You've brought a couple guests."
"Your boy's a lifesaver." Said Lee, stretching his wings out.
"Glad he could be of help to somebody." Smiled Shawn's father, "So, it's just you and your daughter then?"
"Oh, not his daughter," Interrupted Shawn, glancing at Lee "he's... well... Just some guy who found her alone."
Shawn's father frowned, before kneeling down in front of Clementine, "Honey, do you know this man?"
"Yes." Nodded Clementine, her wings jerking with the movement.
"Okay, then." Nodded Shawn's father, getting up and looking at Lee, "Well, looks like you hurt your leg pretty bad there."
"Yeah, it's not doing so good." Winced Lee, the pain in his leg coming back at him with full force.
"I can help you out." Said Shawn's father, before turning to Shawn, "Shawn, run on in and check on your sister. You, take a seat up on the porch and I'll go see what I have."
Shawn and his father entered the house, as Lee took a seat on the bench on the porch, with Clementine standing near the top of the stairs, her little wings appearing to have a mind of their own. Shawn's father returned holding a roll of bandages. He knelt down and inspected Lee's leg.
"Let's have a look." Muttered Shawn's father, "Yeah, this is swollen to hell."
"Could be worse." Shrugged Lee, trying not to wince.
"That's what it sounds like." Muttered Shawn's father, "Seems like things got awful bad in the cities."
"What'd you say your name was?" Asked Shawn's father, looking up at Lee.
"It's Lee."
"Nice to meet you, Lee. I'm Hershel Greene." Smiled Hershel as he bandaged the wound on Lee's leg, making him wince in pain, "How'd this happen?"
"Car accident." Answered Lee, internally debating on what he should tell Hershel.
"That so?" Asked Hershel, looking up at Lee, "Where were you headed? Before the car accident?"
"I was getting out of Atlanta." Responded Lee, deciding to tell Hershel the truth.
"The news says stay."
"Yeah, well, that's a mistake." Muttered Lee, thinking back to the police car, "We hit a guy, one of those things you've been hearing about, on the road."
"Who were you with, the girl?" Questioned Hershel, frowning.
"I was with a police officer. He was giving me a ride." Said Lee, looking at the deck.
"Awful nice of him."
"He was taking me to jail." Said Lee, deciding to give Hershel the full truth, "I…"
"Say no more," Said Hershel, standing up, "if you want to tell me, you can find me in the morning. House is full up with mine. We've got another displaced family of three sleeping in the barn. You and your daughter are welcome to rest there, when we're done here."
"She's not my daughter." Responded Lee, getting a small frown from Hershel.
"If she was alone, with those things out there, you're about the closest thing to a parent she's gonna have." Hershel then frowned and turned to Clementine, "I didn't catch your name, darlin'."
"Clem... Clementine." Answered Clementine, looking up at Hershel.
"Can't imagine what you've been through, Clementine." Murmured Hershel, glancing at Lee.
"I'm looking after her until we find her parents." Said Lee, making Hershel's frown deepen.
They were interrupted when Shawn walked onto the porch, "Hey, Dad, so I'm thinking, first thing tomorrow, we gotta reinforce the fence around the farm."
"That doesn't seem necessary." Dismissed Hershel
"I don't know what you saw on TV, or heard on the radio, but there's some serious..." Shawn paused, looking at Clementine, "S-H-I-T hitting the fan. I don't think anyone knows how big it is yet."
"Your son's right. You're gonna wanna fortify this place." Lee warned, thinking back to that group they left behind in Clementine's neighbourhood.
"Stuff like that doesn't happen around here, Shawn." Responded Hershel.
"Dad, I'm serious." Insisted Shawn, before turning to Lee, "Lee, come on, tell him what you saw out there, man."
"I watched a man let himself get run over without blinking an eye." Said Lee, frowning, "Then a cop, the one that was driving me out of Atlanta, came back from the dead, he hit that guy in the road and crashed, something dragged him out of the car, but he was dead when I woke up. Then, there was a girl that had her guts spilled out. And that not even starting on the dead people walking."
Hershel stared at Lee, before looking back at Shawn, "Well, do what you think you should. We've got plenty of chores as it is."
"Lee and those folks in the barn can help out in the morning." Suggested Shawn, "We gotta do it, really.
"I already said okay." Said Hershel, looking at Shawn.
Shawn froze, before taking that as his que to go back inside.
"Well, I'm all done here. It should start to feel better tomorrow." Said Hershel, finishing up with Lee's leg.
"Thanks." Said Lee, as Hershel got up.
"If your leg gets hot or the swelling doesn't go down, you're probably dealing with an infection." Continued Hershel, folding his arms across his chest.
"What do we do then?" Asked Lee, suddenly feeling apprehensive.
"We'll probably just have to shoot you." Smirked Hershel, making Lee's wings suddenly flare out in surprise.
"We'll clean it, re-dress it and you'll be fine." Chuckled Hershel, Lee's wings drooped in relief.
"Okay, that'd be preferable." Confessed Lee, his wings relaxing.
"There's blankets and such in the barn." Hershel informed him, "We'll be seeing you bright and early. Come tomorrow, which way you think you're headed?"
"Towards Macon, I suppose." Answered Lee, making Hershel nod, before turning to Clementine and smiling at her and going inside leaving the two outside, "Alright then." Said Lee, before guiding Clementine towards the barn.
Lee and Clementine lied down on makeshift beds in the hay-covered floor of the barn. The family of three was already asleep on the upper floor of the barn.
Clementine grimaced and wrinkled her nose in disgust, "It smells like..."
"Shit." Supplied Lee, making Clementine gasp and glare at him, making him apologise, "I'm sorry. Shouldn't talk like that."
"That was a swear." Said Clementine, before going quiet, "I miss my mom and dad."
"I bet, Clem." Murmured Lee, adjusting his wings beneath him.
"How far is Savannah?" Asked Clementine, curling up on her side with her little wings stretched out behind her.
"Pretty far." Answered Lee, closing his eyes.
"Oh." Said Clementine, "Okay."
Clementine and Lee fell asleep, with Lee beginning to dream.
"I love you, baby." Lee recognised his ex-wife's voice, she laughed, only for something shatter, and making her laugh turn into a scream.
Lee gasped, bolting awake. He breathed heavily for a few moments before reluctantly lying back down and falling back asleep. When he woke the next morning, he woke to a man with a moustache speaking to him.
"Hey, get up." Said the man, stepping back as Lee stretched his wings out.
Lee felt something tucked under one of his wing, before getting up. Clementine was curled up with her wings now wrapped around her, Lee gently shook her, waking her up.
"I'm itchy." Mumbled Clementine, rubbing her eyes.
"Well, you slept in a barn, little lady." Laughed the man, "Lucky you don't have spiders in your hair."
Clementine gasped and grabbed her head.
"But I bet your daddy scared 'em all away, huh?" Chuckled the man, getting a frown from Lee.
"I'm not her dad." Said Lee, "Name's Lee."
"I'm Kenny." Responded Kenny, as a boy ran up to the entrance of the barn.
"Dad! We're gonna build a fence! There's a tractor and everything!" Yelled the boy, a pair of dark brown wings flapping excitedly, sending a gust of wind toward Lee, Clementine and Kenny, before running off.
"We better get going or we won't hear the end of it." Sighed Kenny, as he and Lee walked out of the barn, with Clementine walking along with them, holding Lee's hand.
"That's my boy, Ken Junior." Explained Kenny, "We call him Duck, though."
"Duck?" Questioned Lee, frowning at the strange nickname.
"Yeah. Nothing bothers him. Like water off a duck's back, y'know." Responded Kenny, shrugging.
"That's a valuable trait lately." Mused Lee, thinking back to the creature they left behind in Clementine's neighbourhood.
"No kidding." Agreed Kenny, "But frankly, I think it's because he's dumb as a bag of hammers."
"Dad!" Yelled Duck, making the small group look at him.
"But he makes up for it with enthusiasm." Finished Kenny, as the group of three walked up to Duck and his mother, who was sitting on some bales of hay in front of the porch of the house.
"The word is you were on your way to Macon." Said Kenny, glancing at Lee.
"My family is from there." Responded Lee, tucking his wings against his back.
"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." Offered Kenny, getting a strange look from Lee.
"Sure, we'll...tag along." Said Lee, frowning at Kenny insinuation.
"It's a plan, then." Smiled Kenny, before turning to his wife and Duck, "Honey, Duck, this is Lee and, uh, what's the girl's name?"
Clementine hid behind Lee, peeking out at the group, "Clementine." Supplied Lee.
"Clementine." Finished Kenny, nodding.
"That is a very pretty name." Said Kenny's wife, "My name's Katjaa."
"Thanks." Mumbled Clementine, as Shawn approached the group.
"Well, we should get to work." Said Shawn, "We've all seen what those things can do out there so the faster we get this fence up, the better."
"I wanna build a fence." Gasped Duck, his wings flapping as he stared up at Shawn.
"Yeah? Well, I need a good foreman." Smiled Shawn, "You can sit on the tractor and yell at me whenever I take a water break."
"On the tractor?" Gasped Duck, his eyes lighting up, "Cool!"
"Duck and I will hop to it." Said Shawn, before he and Duck left.
"I can keep an eye on your little girl here on the porch. We can visit." Offered Katjaa, getting a smile and nod from Lee. Clementine sat on a bale of hay next to Katjaa and Kenny began working on his truck nearby.
Lee walked off to help Shawn, leaving Clementine with Katjaa.
"You have such pretty hair!" Complimented Katjaa, getting a small from Clementine.
"It gets lots of tangles." Said Clementine, feeling her hair.
"Did your daddy give you that hat?" Asked Katjaa, looking at Clementine's hat.
"Mm-hmm." Hummed Clementine.
"Do you have any pets?" Asked Katjaa, curious.
"I have a goldfish named Peanut." Answered Clementine, "Mom doesn't like dogs."
"Oh, well, we have a lab named Franklin back in Fort Lauderdale." Said Katjaa, frowning, "What's your favourite colour?"
"Purple." Answered Clementine, glancing down.
"Ooh, I like your shoes!" Said Katjaa, making Clementine look at her shoes.
"They're my favourite." Smiled Clementine, looking up at Katjaa.
Lee walked around, before stopping by Shawn.
"Hey, Lee." Greeted Shawn, glancing up from his work.
"Need a hand?" Offered Lee, gesturing to the fence.
"That'd be great." Responded Shawn, "If you could cut those two-bys to length, that'd sure speed things up."
Lee walked up the bench and started cutting the planks in half with a saw.
"My dad doesn't know how bad it is." Said Shawn, breaking the brief silence.
"No, he doesn't." Agreed Lee.
"I saw a guy in Atlanta kill a kid." Said Shawn, "A boy. Just shot him right in the face."
"Damn."
"No shit, damn." Said Shawn, "He didn't even hesitate. He just turned, put the barrel of the gun right between this kid's eyes and pulled the trigger. You don't see things like that. It's not like in the movies."
"They don't fall like you think." Retorted Lee, grabbing another plank.
"Did you have to do it?" Asked Shawn, stopping and looking at Lee.
"Do what?"
"Kill." Stated Shawn, as if it was the most obvious thing, "Have you had to off one yet?"
"Oh, uh..." Lee froze, did he tell Shawn that he was convicted of murder, that he had to shoot the officer driving him to the prison? "I had to shoot one." Said Lee, after a moment.
"I could shoot one, maybe. If it were far away." Said Shawn, shrugging off Lee's hesitation, "I'm just glad we're getting this fence built. Dad just wants to keep the family safe and thinks inviting people in is a bigger threat than whatever's out there. How about yours? How's your family?"
"My brother and parents are in Macon, I hope." Said Lee, his wings folding tight against his back at the thought of his family being in danger.
"Oh, man, I hope so too. Maybe it's not too bad there." Said Shawn, "That's probably all I need cut for now. Thanks."
"And, Shawn, thanks again for the ride." Thanked Lee, thinking back to Clementine's neighbourhood.
"No problem, Lee. Couldn't leave you behind." Dismissed Shawn, "Anyway, when you see my dad around, he might want some help in the barn."
Lee turned and spotted Hershel entering the barn, he bid Shawn goodbye, before walking over to and entering the barn, where Hershel was scattering hay with a pitchfork.
Hershel stared at Lee before speaking, "How'd you get out of Atlanta?"
"I got a ride and then I was in a wreck. I walked until your boy found me."
"Hmm." Responded Hershel "Well, you're no worse for wear."
"This farm's a nice plot of land." Said Lee, looking around.
"Heh, had you told me twenty years ago I'd still be doing this, I woulda told you that you were full of crap." Huffed Hershel, "Never was the plan, having a place like this. It was in the family, and I guess so was I. Family's important; it's all that matters. You agree with that?"
"Was brought up to, yes." Responded Lee, before glancing down.
"Where's your family now? Parents? Wife? Girlfriend?" Asked Hershel, noticing Lee's glance.
"My parents are in Macon, with my brother." Answered Lee, frowning, he hoped they were safe.
"Well, I hope they're alright." Said Hershel, before looking Lee in the eye, "But now you've got this little girl to take care of. Clementine, is it? You just stumbled up on her?"
"I was being attacked and she came to my rescue." Lee told him.
Hershel said nothing for a few moments, continuing to shovel hay.
"You said you were being taken to jail," Said Hershel, levelling Lee with a look, "Why?"
"I found out my wife was having an affair, after I came home early." Said Lee, "I got into a fight with the guy, I ended up punching him and sending him into a coffee table."
"You were jailed for assault?" Asked Hershel, getting a sigh from Lee.
"No, he broke his neck when he hit the table," Admitted Lee, "I was convicted of murder. Everything I told you was true, I was with a police officer, he crashed into one of those things and I was knocked out and he was dead when I woke up. I ended up having to slicing part of his head off because he started to move and take chunks out of me. I stumbled across Clementine, met her dead babysitter and ran into your boy."
"You were on your way to get your wings cut." Stated Hershel, glancing at the feathered appendages, "I've been in that situation, got too angry, lost control of myself. Lost ten years because of it. I'd be a hypocrite-"
Hershel was cut off by the noise of an engine and a loud yell.
"What the-?" Gasped Lee, as he and Hershel left the barn.
"Go! I'll get my gun!" Said Hershel running to retrieve his weapon, Katjaa left the house, and Lee ran toward the noise. The screaming continued, along with the growling of the monsters. Lee reached the fence, Shawn's leg was trapped under the tractor with Duck sitting on it. The creatures clawed through the fence trying to reach Shawn. Clementine stood nearby, looking on, terrified. A creature grabbed Duck's leg and pulled him down, then grabbed his shoulders making Duck scream and violently flap his wings.
"My leg is stuck!" Yelled Shawn, as Lee ran up to Duck.
"Aagh! No!" Yelled Duck, as his wings flailed wildly, before they suddenly sliced through the creature.
Lee takes the board and attempts to hit the zombie.
Kenny ran over scooped Duck into his arms, "I got you."
"They're almost through!" Cried Shawn, making Lee arch his wing and slice through the tractor. Lee grabbed Shawn's arm and hauled him up. The fence then broke, knocking Lee and Shawn over, one of the creatures grappled with Shawn, while another advanced towards Lee.
Clementine whimpered and a gunshot rang out, hitting the creature grappling with Shawn. Hershel aimed and shot the creature approaching Lee in the head.
"Everyone okay?" Asked Hershel, as Lee slowly got to his feet.
"For the most part." Said Lee, as Shawn rubbed his arm.
"One of them bit me." Said Shawn, wincing at the wound, "Must've happened when they broke the fence."
"Well," Sighed Hershel, "at least you're okay."
"Sorry," Said Lee, glancing at the tractor, "about the tractor."
"It's a thing," Shrugged Hershel, "if you hadn't, those things might've got Shawn."
Kenny and Lee exchanged glances and Katjaa looked at Clementine.
"Well, not to sound ungrateful or nothin'" Said Kenny, "but I think we're about wearing out our welcome." He looked at Lee, "You've got that ride to Macon if you want it."
Lee smiled and nodded, as Kenny, Katjaa, and Duck walked away.
"Lee," Said Hershel, making Lee look at him, "stay safe, and watch out for that girl."
Lee nodded, before guiding Clementine towards Kenny's truck.