Chapter 2: A New Day

Jay's Log.

Day 2: I just woke up. I was hoping for things to be a bad dream and I was back in my room, waking up to Mom making grits and bacon on the side, but that didn't happen. I'm still on the Greene's farm with Lee and Clementine. They seem like good people, though I can't help but feel like I've heard about Lee somewhere before. I dunno. I'm not too worried about it. Survival is the most important thing right now. My snacks aren't gonna last long if I keep sharing them with someone so I'm gonna have to find more food soon... Lee told Hershel we'll likely be heading out to Macon. But I don't know how we'll get there. Maybe Shawn will drive us?

I don't know how bad things are out there yet... but I'm gonna survive for as long as I can. Today we're probably gonna help out around the farm before heading out. This place seems like a safe spot to be in and hunker down, but good things don't last forever in this type of apocalypse, and even though Hershel is a nice guy, I can tell he doesn't fully grasp the situation. He isn't taking things seriously.

It's only a matter of time before things go south. I'm praying that doesn't happen to them, though... Mom said that words have power. Prayers can bring good things if you believe in your words and God... but that also means you can spread bad omens with your words, too. Cursing people, spreading negativity... I don't wanna do that.

So I'll try to keep a positive attitude. That's all for now.

...

"Hey, kiddo."

I perked up, looking into the eyes of Kenny. He was a man around the same age as Lee, maybe a little older with greying shaggy hair and a bushy mustache. He had a bit of a belly but he still looked to be in good shape. He and his wife, Katjaa, and his son Duck, were the other family that was sleeping in the barn. I'd met them early... I still had issues sleeping so I woke up at the crack of dawn. They were up not long after.

They're good people. Kenny came from Florida. They were visiting family out in Georgia when the outbreak went down, they got out of the city, and their car started breaking down, and they stumbled upon Hershel's farm. He let them hunker down until Kenny could fix his truck back up, and we arrived not long after that.

Katjaa was nice... Duck was... eccentric, I guess. He had a lot of energy but it more than I could handle. He was funny, though.

I snapped my journal shut and smiled at the man. "Hey, Mr. Kenny..."

"What're you doin' sittin' here all alone?" he raised a brow at me, and I smiled sheepishly. "Thought you were playing with Duck?"

"Uh... yeah. I got tired so I was taking a break. Decided to write some stuff in my logbook,"

"Logbook?" Kenny's eyes widened in surprise and he chuckled. "Well, I'll be, taking this stuff mighty serious are n'tcha, kid?"

"Yeah... just a feeling that things could get worse," I mumbled. "It also helps me gather my thoughts... I guess? Mr. Eller was one of my teachers, he said writing was a way to express yourself. Just... pouring your thoughts out onto a piece of paper helps calm you down."

Kenny blinked, scratching his chin with a hum. "How old did 'ya say you were again, Jay?"

"9," I answered.

Kenny smiled, patting me on the head. "You've got a fine head on your shoulders. I'm sure yer Pops is mighty proud. I was gonna go ahead and wake him up, wanna join me?"

"Oh - sure," I hopped off the front porch and followed after Kenny with a confused look on my face... then I realized he was talking about Lee. "Also... Lee isn't my dad. Not Clem's either. He's... looking after us until we find Clementine's parents."

The Southerner stumbled a bit in surprise, turning to me. "Then where in God's name are your parents?"

"My Mom is dead," I said blankly, turning away from the man's stunned expression. "I had to kill her because she turned into one of those things. My Dad lived down in Atlanta but the big cities are the first places that get infected quickly. I dunno if he's dead or alive. Can't contact him either, so... I'm just gonna stick with Lee."

"Christ..." Kenny muttered in shock, shaking his head and creasing his brows. "What is this world comin' to?"

I didn't respond to that. I was tempted to say the world was ending but... nobody needed that negativity. Even if it was the reality of the situation. They were gonna have to accept it, eventually, though.

I'm starting to...

"Up and at 'em!" Kenny walked in with a booming voice, rousing Lee and Clementine from their sleep. "Got a long day ahead of us."

Lee groaned as he pushed himself up to his feet. Clementine started scratching at her arms with a frown, whining. "I'm itchy..."

"Well that's 'cause you slept in a barn little lady," Kenny quipped with a smirk. "You're lucky you don't get any spiders in your hair!"

Clementine gasped in fright, digging through her curly locks. I chuckled but shut up immediately when she shot me a glare, whistling off to the side. Kenny chuckled. "Bet Lee here scared 'em all away, huh?"

Lee chuckled, holding a hand out to Kenny. "Guess Jay over here already told you about me. Nice to meet you...?"

"The name's Kenny." Kenny grinned, shaking the man's hand in a strong grip.

"Dad! Dad!" Kenny's son, Duck, peeked into the barn with an excited grin. "We're gonna build a fence! There's a tractor and everything! C'mon!"

As he ran off, Kenny sighed with a smile and started leaving. "Come on, if we don't move now we'll never leave the end of it."

Clementine reached out for Lee's hand as we followed Kenny outside. He and Lee began to converse and I started tuning them out, turning to Clementine instead. "Sleep any good?"

"I'm still itchy..." she mumbled with furrowed brows. "But I slept okay... I think."

"Probably 'cause you're just wearing a sundress," I quipped with a smirk, earning a pout from her. I untied my jacket from my waist and patted off any wheat that clung to the fabric. "Here."

Clementine blinked in surprise, taking the jacket and unfurling it. It was prominently black with grey sleeves and a hoodie with a fluffy interior. The logo of Dragon Ball Z was stitched nearly on the arms and back of the jacket, further completing the look. She stared at it before looking at me. "Isn't this yours?"

"Yeah... you'll need it more than me. Protection from the weather, y'know?" I shrugged. Then I smiled. "Plus, you won't have to worry about getting itchy, again."

Clementine looked at me in surprise and smiled slightly, hugging the jacket. "... thanks."

I shrugged again, looking off to the side. "Eh, you can pay me back by keeping it in one piece... and maybe giving it back when we get our hands on some more clothes."

"..."

"And don't get blood on it."

She gave me a pouty look. "If you're gonna be so pushy about it, you can have it back..."

"Sorry, sorry..." I huffed and crossed my arms. "It's... never mind."

I heard some giggling off to the side and whirled around to see Maggie and Beth smirking at me from a distance. I squinted my eyes at them and blew a raspberry, my cheeks warming up. I already had a feeling I knew what they were insinuating... it was NOT like that! I was just being nice!

... Besides I'm pretty sure girls have cooties. blegh.

. . .

I want my jacket back now...

"Heard you were heading over to Macon," I tuned back into reality to catch more tidbits of Lee and Kenny's conversation.

"My family's from there." Lee smiled with a nod, then frowned a bit. "Hoping to check in, see if they're okay... and with any luck, we can hunker down at our home for a bit, and see if we can get into contact with Clem's parents."

Clementine perked up at that. Kenny hummed, rubbing his chin. "Macon, huh? That ain't too far... it's on the way where we're headin'. And, I'd appreciate the company of a guy that can knock a couple of heads."

Lee crossed his arms, nodding. "Sure, we'll tag along. Didn't have much of a plan for how we were gonna get over there, anyways."

Kenny smirked. "Well alright, then." turning to his wife and son, he gestured to us. "Katjaa, Duck, this is Lee and Clementine. You've already met Jay."

Katjaa smiled kindly at Clementine. "That is a very pretty name,"

Clementine scooted behind Lee a bit. "...thanks."

"I see you guys are finally up," we turned to see Shawn walk over. "That's good. We can finally get to work on fortifying this place. The sooner the better."

Duck pumped his fists. "I wanna build a fence!"

"Yeah?" Shawn smirked in amusement. "Well, I could use a good foreman. You can sit on the tractor and yell at me whenever I take a water break."

Everyone but Duck knew that was a code word for keeping him out of trouble.

"On the tractor?!" Duck gasped, beaming. "Cool!"

As Duck followed after Shawn. Katjaa looked over at Lee and nodded. "I can look after Clementine and Jay for you."

"Oh... okay, then." Lee looked at us. "You two gonna be alright? Need anything?"

"I'm good," I shook my head, looking around with a frown. "I'm... gonna look around, see if anyone needs any help with anything."

I walked off before anyone could get a word in, stuffing my hands into my pockets with a soft huff.

...

Lee

Lee watched Jay walk off with a soft frown. "... well alright then." he turned to Clementine. "What about you?"

"I think I'm okay," Clementine wrenched her gaze away from Jay's retreating form to look up at Lee.

The man nodded with a sigh and backed off. He heard Katjaa begin to make conversation with Clementine in the background. Looking around, he spotted Kenny working on his truck and made his way over. "Need any help?"

Kenny lifted his head to meet Lee's gaze, then shook his head. "Nah, I think I got it."

Lee clicked his mouth shut and blinked, standing there awkwardly. He turned to leave but Kenny spoke up again. "Do you need help?"

"Huh?" Lee turned to the man, confused.

"I mean do you need help with those kids?" Kenny elaborated, taking his attention off his vehicle for a moment. "You know what you're doing? Got kids of your own...?"

"... Ain't have no kids but I think I got it handled okay," Lee replied, scratching his chin. "As long as I keep them both safe... I think I'm doing alright."

"Well, yeah, I guess that's enough with those things out there... but you gotta ask yourself if you're the type of person that can take care of them if you can't find their parents. Or what's left of them." Kenny frowned, shaking his head and lifting his hat to run a hand through his hair. "That boy... Jay. Told me straight up he killed his momma 'cause she became one of those monsters. Didn't even hesitate for a moment. He's doing a solid job hiding it, I'll admit, but it's eating him up."

Kenny sighed. "This situation...? It's no place for a kid, man, especially one so young. Can't even begin to imagine what's going through his head right now. Putting down your mother... monster or not?" he grimaced deeply. "I can't even imagine Duck being put into that kind of situation, and I pray it never comes to that."

Lee frowned and nodded slowly. "I talked to Jay about it the other night. Looks like he's adjusting fine but... I'll check up on him some more. Get to the bottom of it when I have the chance." he clenched his fists. "I don't want him or Clementine having to do that type of shit if I can help it... but from how he described things... it could get a lot worse."

Kenny paused in his work, glancing at Lee in confusion. "Whaddya mean?"

"Jay... he says this is some kind of zombie virus. Like in those old movies. The dead rising and all that, you know?" Lee shook his head, sighing. "Adds up the more I look at things. That kid knows his stuff for sure. Probably more than any of us do. All I'm saying is things could get a whole lot worse... and we gotta prepare for it."

Kenny frowned again, furrowing his brows. "We were visiting Katjaa's sister up in Memphis when things hit the fan. We were at a gas station and then this guy came out of nowhere and grabbed Duck. I was on his ass in 2 seconds. Thought he was tryna kidnap my boy, but..." he closed his eyes and shuddered, shaking his head. "There were a lotta bodies, Lee. I killed that guy. Grabbed the cash register next to me and busted his skull right open, didn't even think about it."

"We gotta outta there and stumbled upon Hershel's farm when my truck started acting up. Was hoping to get back down to Lauderdale and let this mess sort itself out. The government handing out shots and the National Guard does its thing. Let it all blow over... and if it got too bad, take my family on my boat and hit the seas."

Lee blinked. "You got a boat?"

"I'm a commercial fisherman." Kenny chuckled. "Catching mackerel, dolphins... whatever's biting and paying. Katjaa wouldn't be wild about it but the boat's not that bad." he shrugged, tapping the hood of his car. "Don't know how much of that kid's words hold any merit. But if he's speaking the truth and not just babbling... that boat plan might have to become a top priority."

"Seems like you got it figured out." Lee nodded with a small smile. "I'm gonna see if I can help out around the farm. Let me know if you need anything, alright?"

Kenny nodded, smirking a bit. "You got it."

Lee nodded, backing away and walking back over to Katja and Clementine. He wanted to check up on the girl again. That talk with Kenny put things into perspective a bit.

"You ladies doing okay over here?" Lee asked with a small smile.

Katja replied warmly "We're doing just fine. Clementine was just telling me about the first grade..."

"Oh, yeah?" the professor turned to the girl and raised a brow. "How's that been?"

Clementine shrugged. "Easy,"

"Well, yeah," Lee chuckled, placing a hand on her head and tussling it. "You've got a good head on your shoulders, so I ain't surprised by that."

Clementine giggled, smiling.

"It's almost like we didn't see people eating each other... it's peaceful here, no?" Katja said, earning a nod from the professor.

"Yeah... Kenny told me about that. How did you handle it? Getting through the city?" Lee frowned.

"Kenny just... drove," Katja's expression became saddened as she sighed. "We passed by so many people that needed help... and we just passed them, along with so many others. Just... just..." She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"You don't have to say anymore," Lee said solemnly, raising a hand. He didn't mean to bring any unpleasant memories.

Katja shuddered. "I want to go back tomorrow but even then I can't take back the things, Ken, Duck, and I, went through." she looked up into his eyes. "Don't you just want to go back? To the day before this all started?"

"Anyone with common sense would..." Lee muttered. "But sometimes we've got to deal with the cards we're dealt and keep moving forward."

Katja smiled a bit, arching a brow. "Sounding a bit philosophical there, hm?"

"Just some words of wisdom my old man imparted onto me and my brother." Lee chuckled, shaking his head. "Plus... I was a history professor. I'd like to think that's par for the course."

Lee sighed, crouching down in front of Clementine. "I'll be back in a bit, gonna see if Shawn needs any help with that fence... let me know if you need anything?"

Clementine nodded, "Well... I am a bit hungry..."

Lee smiled. "I'll see if Jay is willing to share another one of his snacks with you, alright?"

Clementine grinned. "Okay!"

He pats the girl on the leg before getting up and walking around the back.

...

Clementine

Clementine kicked her legs back and forth, watching Lee walk away. Her gaze drifted to the grass, recalling Lee and Katja's conversation, and what happened yesterday. A lot happened very fast... she remembered her parents going on a... honeymoon, she thought it was called, over at Savannah. Her babysitter, Sandra, was taking care of her before everything went down. It was nice... she even saw a baby raccoon in her treehouse! Although she wasn't allowed to go get a closer look...

A few days after that, she was drawing in her treehouse when she heard screaming. It was scary. She initially went down and checked to see if Sandra was alright, but Sandra was gone. There was a monster there that tried to attack her... so she ran back out shut the back door and holed herself up in her treehouse. Things got really bad quickly, then.

Lots of those monsters popped up... and then Lee showed up. She thought her parents finally came home but they were still in Savannah. Clementine didn't know how to feel about him, but he seemed nice and promised to get her to her parents... so she'd trust him. He protected her from the monster, too.

She rubbed her thumb along the fabric of Jay's jacket, pursing her lips. Then there was Jay... he was nice too. He shared some of his snacks and water with her and even gave her his jacket when she said she was itchy. But she could tell he was... tired? Or something was weighing down on him. She saw similar looks from her Dad always came home from work...

... She remembered him mentioning his mom becoming one of the monsters. And that he had to... do what Lee did to the monster in her house. Maybe that's why he looked the way he did.

Clementine frowned. She didn't know how she'd feel if she found out her parents became one of those monsters. She didn't think she could... kill.

"Clementine, sweetie, are you alright? You got quiet?" she looked up at Katjaa, who was looking at her with concern.

She blinked and nodded meekly, looking at the ground. "M-Mhm."

"Now, honey... I can tell when someone is lying." Katjaa softly replied. She smiled a bit. "I've been around Duck long enough to know."

"... I'm thinking about my parents. I miss them a lot." Clementine said for what felt like the 100th time. Then her brows furrowed. "But... I'm also thinking... about other kids out there. They must be scared like me, right...?"

She chewed her bottom lip, gripping onto her jacket with wet eyes. "I-It's okay to be scared, right...?"

"Oh, sweetie..." Katja sighed, wrapping an arm around Clementine and rubbing her shoulders reassuringly. "Of course, it's okay to be scared. We're all scared... not knowing what will happen out there. The thing we fear the most is the unknown... but you have to have hope."

Clementine blinked. "... hope?"

Katja nodded. "Hope is a powerful thing. It can give you strength you didn't know you had in the most dire of situations... so long as you have hope for a better future. Well, then I think you'll be alright."

Clementine sniffled and smiled, rubbing at her growing tears and nodding. "H-Hope for a better future..." she reiterated to herself softly, looking up at the sky.

She hoped... her parents were okay.

-Meanwhile-

I looked around the farm in a daze, looking for something... anything to make myself useful. I didn't like being alone with my thoughts when I got in a sour mood. It made me think of bad things... and I didn't want to be in a bad headspace right now.

... I still couldn't get the thought of my Mom out of my head. And what that meant for my Dad... it just made me wonder...

Who sent me here? Why? Was I always... here and I didn't know? All these conflicting memories... mixing. Born in Los Angeles California, born in Atlanta Georgia... some things stayed the same, like my love for baseball, but there was other stuff too...

It made my head all fuzzy and numb trying to think of it and sort it all out... so I was better off just not thinking about it.

"Hey there, sugar."

I blinked owlishly and looked up, nearly bumping into Maggie. The woman looked at me with... concern. "You feeling alright? Lookin' a little woozy there."

"I-I'm okay," I mumbled in embarrassment, rubbing at my temples. I squinted at her, "You're Shawn's sister, right?"

"That's right," Maggie nodded with a smile. "Maggie, nice 'ta meetcha,"

"Jay, and same..." I glanced around before looking up at her. "... do you need any help with anything?"

"Hmm?" Maggie blinked in confusion and laughed softly. "Unfortunately not, Squirt. Just got done with my portion of the chores for the day. Beth's washin' up right now. We're gonna go visit our neighbors soon, so we're readying up the horses."

My eyes widened in surprise. "You have horses?"

"Yup," Maggie smirked at me, quirking one of her brows. "Wanna see?"

"Yeah!"

Maggie giggled, blowing some hair out of her face and gesturing for me to follow. "C'mon, then."

I followed her eagerly as we walked to the other side of the barn. She pushed the doors open to the stables and I coughed, grimacing at the light smell in the air. I groaned, vocalizing my distaste. "Bleh... it smells like crap in here..."

Maggie chuckled. "We just cleaned out the manure, we've gotta air the stables out."

"You're telling me..." I scratched my nose before my eyes landed on a massive stallion with a midnight black coat and grey mane. The majestic creature snorted explosively as it locked eyes with me. "... woah."

"That there is Jessie," Maggie said with a smile, her brow furrowing a bit. "He's Pa's horse, a bit of a grumpy 'ol fellow. He doesn't warm up to..."

Her words fell on deaf ears as I walked up to the large stallion. It snorted at me, billowing a gust of air into my face. I slowly raised my hand to it. It stared at me, and it felt like... I could understand how it was feeling. It's like having something click within you. Or forming a connection with a pet...

Jessie lowered its head towards me and I smiled, placing a hand on the stallion's snout and rubbing it gently, "Cool..."

"Well, I'll be..." Maggie muttered in shock, walking over with wide eyes. "I haven't seen Jessie warm up to anyone so fast since... ever! The first time I tried pettin' him as a kid he tried biting my hand off!"

I laughed, stroking his head. "Maybe I'm just that awesome?"

Maggie rolled her eyes, smirking. "Sure, kiddo... let's go with that."

"Can I feed him?"

"Hmm, sure. Why not?" Maggie looked around, walking over to one of the nearby buckets containing food. "How are you holding up by the way? Genuinely?"

"Mm?"

"My brother told me about what's going on out there. Sounds awful terrible..." Maggie muttered, carrying the bucket over. "I just wanna know if you're okay. I know that nice man Lee is looking after you, but still..."

"... Manageable?" I muttered. "Doesn't matter if I'm a kid or not. They're gonna try and eat me either way. And well..." I huffed, glancing off to the side. "There's the bad guys too."

Maggie furrowed her brows. "Bad guys, mm?"

"Well, yeah. Apocalypse trope 101. The people are usually more dangerous than the monsters... the bad guys, anyway." I shrugged, looking at the bucket.

Maggie smirked. "We're sure glad you aren't one of the bad guys then, huh?"

I puffed my chest out. "Yeah! I mean, do I look like a bad guy to you?"

Maggie laughed as I smiled. "I guess not. Alright," digging through the bucket, she pulled out a dried carrot and placed it in my hand. "Jessie might've warmed up 'ta you, but you still gotta be careful. What you wanna do is hold it out to 'em with your palm flat."

I nodded, opening my palm and hesitantly holding it out to the stallion. It sniffed the vegetable briefly and scooped it up in its mouth. I smiled, watching as it quietly munched away at the carrot. Maggie chuckled softly and stroked its mane gently. "Nice work. For a second there I thought he would bite your hand right off!"

I paled slightly, clutching onto the offending hand. "T-That can happen? You were serious?!"

Maggie smirked at me. "Maybe~ you want to find out?"

"NO!"

Maggie laughed again and I pouted, kicking a nearby pebble. "I'm just joshin' you, Squirt!"

"Whatever..."

I puffed my cheeks out as she laughed harder. The good atmosphere was cut off by a loud mechanical roar and a pained scream. Our eyes widened, with Maggie gasping in horror. "Shawn?"

I sprinted out of the stables immediately, running as fast as my small legs could carry me. I could hear Maggie rushing out from behind but ignored that in favor of checking out what was going on. Shawn was screaming and engines were flaring, so something happened near the fence. I stumbled over myself, watching Lee rush past me and Katjaa and Clementine hurry out of the house. I snatched my bat and followed after the man.

"What's going on?!" I heard Kenny shout from behind.

"Something happened at the fence!"

"SHIT, DUCK!"

We arrived at the scene to see Shawn's leg crushed under the tractor tire. Duck must have set it off by accident... and-

Zombies.

"Oh, no," I muttered.

A couple was shambling towards the fence, attracted by the noise. One of them reached out and grabbed Duck, trying to pull him off the tractor and devour him alive. Three other undead were trying to reach Shawn through the fence. Both Shawn and Duck were panicking and screaming. Duck gripping onto the tractor as the zombie holding onto him snapped its jaws at his neck. Rotting hands clawed at Shawn but failed to reach him. But from how the fence looked, it wouldn't hold much longer...

"Oh my God!" Maggie gasped in horror. I turned around to see Beth turn the corner.

"SHAWN!"

"L-Lee! Get this thing off me!"

"HELP! HEEELP! DON'T LET IT EAT ME!"

Lee looked at the situation with wide eyes, trying to decide who to save. The question was - who?

I blinked. "LEE!"

He turned to me. I dug into my pocket and pulled out my Mom's gun. Tossing it to him, he caught it with a look of surprise. "Where did you-?"

"It belonged to my Mom! Hurry and shoot them! And aim for the head! That's the only way to kill them!"

Lee shook his head and turned off the safety, taking in a sharp breath and aiming at the three walkers clawing at Shawn. Two shots to the head killed the two upfront, knocking them back and blowing their brains out. He clipped the other's shoulder, causing it to stumble back. Another shot to the head downed it. I grinned. "Yes!"

Lee focused on the one grabbing Duck, shifting around, and firing another round into his skull. The decaying corpse collapsed to the ground and Duck pulled away with a panicked gasp. "Ken!" Kenny rushed forward and scooped his son into his arms, rubbing comforting circles around his back. "I got you, it's okay... you're okay."

Lee sighed in relief, shaking his head and rushing over to the tractor. The professor grunted and slowly pushed the tractor off of Shane. The young man groaned in pain as the wheel rolled off his mangled leg. Beth and Maggie rushed over and helped their brother stand. "Ugh... t-thanks, Lee... saved my life back there..."

"Couldn't just sit there and watch you die..." Lee shook his head with a smile. "Shit, don't think I would've been able to get you both so fast without this gun."

"Thank you, Lee, thank you..." Beth muttered with teary eyes, sniffling.

I sighed in relief, closing my eyes and huffing. "Phew..."

"LEE!!"

I heard several shrieks. Clementine was the most vocal. My eyes snapped open to see Lee tumble to the ground as a zombie breached through the fence and latched onto Lee's neck. The professor started wrestling with the corpse as it tried to take a bite out of his neck. Mom's gun fell to the ground out of reach. Clementine stepped back with horror. Kenny dropped Duck and went to help.

... I was faster.

Lee growled and punched the undead, snapping its head to the side and dislocating its jaw, sending a few teeth flying. That of course didn't slow it down as it turned towards him. I closed the distance in a few seconds, running like a man possessed and crashing my bat against its skull. It's body slammed against the ground and I swung it down again. There was a crack and a sickening squelch as blood burst from its eye sockets. Each swing came down at full force, cracking the corpse's skull open and splattering brain matter and blood across the grass.

It was already dead after four swings... but I didn't stop. I kept swinging, splattering blood across my face. It felt like my world was surrounded by red... Lee almost died. The man who saved me almost died... I wouldn't let it happen again, I wouldn't-!

"Woah, woah! Hey! Easy!" I snapped out of my haze as Lee snatched my wrists and tugged me back. I stumbled, staring at the mutilated head of the zombie that had attacked him. The man frowned, squeezing my shoulders. "It's dead. You got it."

I shuddered, shakily dropping my bat as tears swelled in my eyes. W-What was I even doing... what was... what was...?!

"H-Hey, hey... it's okay..." Lee pulled me close as I broke out into hysterical sobs, covering my mouth to prevent myself from vomiting again. "It's alright... it's over now."

"Lee!" the man grunted as Clementine slammed into us, instinctively wrapping the two of us in a hug. Clementine let out a muffled whimper as she buried her face into his shirt.

Lee sighed softly. "... I'm alright."

"Lord..."

We pulled our attention away to see Hershel arrive with his rifle in his hand, staring at the grizzly scene with wide eyes. Shawn tore his eyes away from the crushed skull of the walker and looked at his father with a tired smile. "It's... it's alright, Dad. Lee saved us..."

Hershel's gaze snapped down towards Shawn's mangled leg. He turned to his daughters. "Get your brother inside and get him comfortable, I'm gonna patch him up."

They nodded and helped Shawn hobble back to the house. Maggie peered over her shoulder and mouthed one final 'thank you' to Lee before they disappeared around the front. Hershel turned to the professor and nodded at him. "Thank you. You saved my boy's life..."

Lee raised a hand, cutting him off. "Don't worry about it. Just doing the right thing."

Hershel nodded, looking between everyone. "I'm going to make sure Shawn is alright. Y'all rest up... you deserve it after all this."

Hershel walked away, and Lee let out a breath, pulling away from Clementine and me. "Jay... you alright?"

I frowned, clenching my fists and biting my lip. "... I hate doing this. Even though it's necessary, I hate it."

Lee glanced over at the body and nodded slowly. He rested a hand on my head and sighed. "... I know. I know."

I blinked as Clementine placed her hand on top of mine in a reassuring gesture. I looked between her and Lee and smiled tiredly. "You can keep Mom's gun... don't even know how to use it."

Lee stepped back, reaching for the firearm and inspecting it. His expression softened as he looked at me. "I'll take good care of it."

I nodded.

Kenny and his family walked over. Lee turned around just in time for Kenny to pull him into a bone-crushing hug. The man grunted in discomfort, his eyes widening in surprise. "Urgh-"

"You've gotten a lot of it lately, but I gotta thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my boy," Kenny said, pulling back and clapping the professor on the shoulder with a smile. "If you still need that ride to Macon, you've got it."

Lee blinked again and smiled, tucking Mom's Glock into his waistbelt. "Thanks, Kenny."

I reached out for my bat, shakily picking it up and swiping it through the air to flick the blood off. My face scrunching up in discomfort. "... You okay?"

I turned to Clementine, my lips parting as I tried to answer, but I couldn't muster the words. Eventually, I shrugged my shoulders and eyed the corpse I brutalized. "Mmph."

'...This sucks...'

Those were the thoughts running through my head. The fence was completely broken, and the tractor hummed a low rumbling tune as we sat there and collected ourselves.

X-X-X-X-X-X

I cracked open a lemon-lime Gatorade and sipped it quietly as we passed through the streets of Macon.

Hershel let us stay another night at the farm and invited us to dinner. We finally got some proper food in our stomachs that night. The good atmosphere and smiles all around made the disaster that happened worth it in my eyes. It was going to take a few months for Shawn's leg to properly heal... in that time Hershel vowed to reinforce the defenses around the farm himself. He didn't want to make the same mistake again, nearly losing his son due to his shortsightedness.

It was good to know he was finally taking this seriously...

Our plans didn't stop, though. After what happened I wasn't particularly keen on staying on the form. While it could act as a haven we don't know how long that will last, but I didn't want to stick around to find out... the best thing to do in an apocalypse was to always stay on the move. Never stick in one place for too long.

... I hope that's the right course of action, anyway.

Hershel and his family saw us off, going as far as to give us some food for the road. Clementine held the basket in her lap, my jacket neatly worn over her sundress. I heard Kenny hum, his eyes narrowing. "This place is a complete ghost town."

".. yeah," Lee replied, tense.

"Probably got overrun," I mumbled, peering out the window. "This place looks banged up."

Lee grimaced as he looked around. Kenny tapped his steering wheel and sighed. "Well... we've gotten this far. Can't turn back now."

"We can probably loot some supplies if we're careful enough," I said, eyeing the rundown buildings we passed by. "So long as we stick together, will be fine... the issue with outbreaks like this is that the zombies have the advantage in numbers. They don't feel pain, or exhaustion... just hunger. They eat and spread the infection like a disease - that scares people. And scared people do drastic things."

Everyone's eyes were on me. I kicked my legs back and forth, shrugging my shoulders. "That's why we've got to stick together... they may have numbers, but if we work together as a team we'll be okay."

"Heh..." Kenny chuckled, focusing on the road. "You know your stuff, Jay. I ain't got no problems with that, though. If I'm gonna be stuck in this hellhole, I'd rather be stuck in it with my family and a good friend who can watch my back."

Lee nodded, patting my shoulder. "Can say that again."

I smiled, shrugging again. "Spent a lot of time watching zombie movies and reading apocalypse stories with my cousins. Didn't ever think I was gonna put this stuff to good use..."

Any further conversation was cut off by the sputtering engine. The car began to slow to a halt as we stopped in the middle of town. Everyone's faces fell and Kenny sighed in exasperation. "Welp. This is as far as this bucket of bolts is gonna go."

Lee pushed the door open and stepped out, pulling out Mom's gun and checking how much ammo he had left. "Maybe we can find a place to siphon some gas... there should be a gas station nearby. But it's pretty far on foot."

I helped Clementine out of the car, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and grasping my baseball bat. "Well I don't think we should be sitting here out in the open... more zombies be lurking around the corner."

"Yeah. Sooner we find a place to hunker down the sooner we can think about getting gas safely." Kenny nodded in agreement.

"Well, where do we go?" Katjaa asked with furrowed brows.

"Lee?" Kenny turned to the man with a raised brow.

Oh, right. Lee said he came from Macon, didn't he?

"Let's take a look around," Lee muttered. With no other choice, we all began walking down the street. This place looked like a warzone... or the afterresults of one. Empty, desolate, and devoid of life. Some buildings were boarded up, others completely ransacked and destroyed, and several busted-up cars littered the streets alongside makeshift barricades...

The outbreak only started a few days ago, didn't it? How did things get so bad so quickly...?

I noticed Lee eyeing the drugstore we passed by. I couldn't see his face from behind but he was focusing on it hard...

"This place is scary..." I heard Clementine mumbled under her breath, gripping the food basket shakily.

"Yeah." I nodded and mustered up a smile. "But we've got Lee, so it's not too bad, right?"

She glanced at me and smiled a bit, nodding. "Mhm."

"Hey, look!" we all turned to Duck, who was pointing at a man in the distance, crouching down over something. I narrowed my eyes at their rugged appearance and posture. Kenny stepped forward to get their attention.

"Hey! Are you friendly? We're out of gas and could use some--"

"That's not a person." I cut Kenny off, hissing in alarm.

The warning came too late. The zombie had already taken notice of us, feasting on the entrails of an unfortunate survivor. It craned its head in our direction. Clementine and Duck screamed in alarm and Kenny cursed loudly. "Fuck!"

The noise alerted the nearby undead we failed to catch wind of. Breathy growls and groans filled the air as they appeared in droves. We began backing away and I tugged on Kenny's pants leg with wide eyes, unzipping my bag and pulling out the kitchen knife I'd kept with me. The fisherman was quick to take it as Lee aimed at them, ready to shoot any shambling corpse that got too close to us.

I sucked in hurried breaths, memories of my Mom and the zombie I'd killed yesterday coming back. It almost made me lose my nerve as I gripped onto my bloodied weapon.

'Stop shaking! You've already killed several by this point...' I yelled to myself, grimacing deeply as the horde began to close in on us.

"We're trapped...!" Katjaa hissed in fear.

We heard Duck scream as a zombie pounced on him. Kenny cursed under his breath and rushed in to save his son. A gunshot blasted through the air and tore through its head, splattering blood and gore across a stunned Duck who scrambled back and ran into his parent's arms. A woman with short-cut brown hair in a white button-up shirt and black pencil skirt stepped forward. Armed with a pistol. Lee took action, and the two of them began, mowing through the undead that circled us.

"Run! This way!" an Asian man called out to us, gesturing to the drugstore. I snatched Clementine by the wrist and rushed inside with the others as Lee and the woman continued to fire. I heard the distinct clicking sound of ammo running out, followed by Lee cursing under his breath before running after us.

The Asian man was quick to slam the gates shut and hastily put a lock on it just in time. They clawed at the gates as we shut the doors. Everyone let out sighs of relief and I looked around, noticing a dorky-looking Caucasian man with blonde hair peer out the window, while two other Caucasians, a young woman in a black shirt with long brown hair and a large grumpy old man with massive arms walk over.

The woman scowled at the reporter. "What the hell are you doing?! You should know we shouldn't be taking risks like that!"

She crossed her arms in offense, glaring. "Well, we can't just let people die, either!"

"When I say the door stays shut I fucking mean it! We don't know who these people are! They could be dangerous!"

I already don't like her.

The old man added to the young woman's statement. "Worse, they could have led them right to us!"

"Where is your humanity?! They could have died out there!"

"I say we let 'em."

Clementine fearfully hid next to Lee, shuffling on her feet awkwardly. I gripped my bat harder. The professor narrowed his eyes. "We have kids with us! You'd let some children die?!"

The old man glared at Lee. "I see one little girl and one boy."

I glared at the man silently.

"L-Lee..." Clementine tugged on Lee's hand.

"What is it...?!"

"I have to pee..."

Lee sighed harshly. "In a minute, Clem...!"

"They've got kids, Lilly!" the Asian man spoke up. "Have a heart!"

"Those things outside don't care." the brunette, Lilly, scoffed. "Man, woman, child? It doesn't matter. They'd kill us all the same!"

"Then maybe you should go out there and join them!" Kenny snapped, glaring at the woman. "You'd have something in common."

I noticed Katjaa carrying Duck over to the counter while Clementine wandered off silently. I began to back away from the arguing adults as I jogged after the girl. "What're you doing? Lee said to wait..."

"But I have to go really bad...!" Clementine argued, looking around and spotting the bathroom door. She set the food basket on the floor and dashed over to it. I sighed and shook my head, picking it up and walking over to the counter to place it there.

I glanced at Duck. The boy was staring off into space as Katjaa started cleaning the blood off of him. "Duck, are you okay...?"

He didn't respond to me. Katjaa spoke up softly. "He's shocked by the experience. This is the first time he's ever gotten so... so close to one." she sighed shakily. "And the blood..."

I grimaced. "Ah... yeah, that."

"Holy fucking shit... one of them's been bitten!" I heard the old man shout in alarm. Katja's eyes widened in shock and we shared a glance, looking at Duck intently.

There didn't seem to be any bite. Just a lot of blood. They didn't know that, though. Katjaa began cleaning the boy with urgency.

Lee started to frown. "He wasn't bitten."

"Like hell, he wasn't!" the old man growled and walked over to us. "We have to end this. Now."

"Larry!"

"What the hell, man?!"

I stepped in front of Katjaa and Duck, trembling and holding my bat up in defense as I glared up at the man. "Leave him alone...!"

Larry scoffed, narrowing his eyes at me. "Move."

"He isn't going anywhere." Kenny scowled, marching in front of me and flashing the knife I gave him, much to the old man's shock as he took an involuntary step back. "I suggest you back the fuck up... or else."

"He has a weapon! And you let him in here?!"

The reporter in the back snapped. "You're threatening his son, what else are you going to expect jackass?!"

Katjaa hissed. "I'm cleaning him up! There's no bite! He's fine!"

I gulped, stepping back. Everybody was starting to crowd around. Things were slowly beginning to get out of hand... and if things didn't stop a fight was going to break out. From the corner of my eye, I could see Clementine fiddling with the bathroom door. But it wouldn't budge.

"Don't you all GET IT?! We let someone with a bite stay and we all end up bitten as well!"

"Shut up!" Kenny growled.

"We've got to throw them out! It's the only way! Or smash his head in!"

"KENNY! STOP HIM!"

"Lee, what do we do about this guy?!"

"Dad, he's just a boy-"

"Lilly. Let me handle this."

"Your heart, Dad! You know you can't handle too much stress...!"

"Kenny, calm down. We need to reason with him." Lee tried to placate the fisherman. It didn't work out.

"The bloody hell I am! He threatened to kill Duck! He probably would have put his hands on your boy if he didn't get out of the way!" Lee paused with a frown at Kenny's words. "NOBODY threatens my family!"

The reporter walked over, glowering. "Everybody chill the fuck out! Arguing isn't going to fix anything!?"

"Nobody is doing anything-"

"Shut up. Lilly!" Larry snapped and whirled around to face the reporter who stepped back in shock. "And you shut the fuck up! They will find us, and they will get in here... and none of this will fucking matter. But right now, we've got one of them in here with US! And if we don't take care of it now, we'll all die!"

"He's not bitten!" Katjaa sobbed, "Kenny, Lee, stop this! It's upsetting him!"

I closed my eyes and dropped my baseball bat, covering my ears to tune the argument out and backing away. 'Stop... stop. Everybody needs to stop...! It's just going to get worse...!'

"Jay...!"

I cracked an eye open, peering over at Clementine. "The door won't budge, I think someone's in there..."

I lowered my hands, shivering. "It's probably locked. These places usually have a key..."

She whined. "Where's the key?!"

I glowered at her. "Why didn't you go when we were at Hershel's?!"

She glared at me. "Because I didn't have to go, then...!"

I sighed. "Lee!"

"Yeah?!"

"The bathroom door is locked!"

"... There should be a key behind the counter! Probably."

Clementine and I shared a glance and I shrugged. I made my way over to the counter and looked around, using the chair to reach the drawers and cabinets. I searched through them all, hearing Larry's rants about how we'd all turn or something, while everyone tried to defuse the situation as Kenny got angrier by the second. I ignored the commotion and found a ring with several keys. I grabbed it and hopped off the chair, jogging over to Clementine.

"Which key is it?" she muttered, shifting on her feet and clutching the hem of her dress.

"Uh..." I blinked, staring at all the keys and shifting through them. They had signatures written in sharpie to differentiate them all. I found the key to the bathroom quickly. "This one."

"Hurry...! I'm about to go...!"

"You don't need to tell me that!" I cringed and inserted the key, twisting the door. I paused before opening it, narrowing my eyes at the sound of scraping and growling from the other side. "... Do you hear that?"

"Hear what...?!"

I stared at the door and went to pull it open... "RauuuRGH!!" a zombie burst out, swinging the door open. I stumbled back in shock as it flopped to the floor. Clementine screamed in shock and I grasped at empty air, my eyes widened in horror...

'I dropped my bat...!'

"JAY!!!"

It lunged at me.

A/N.

He'll be aight.

Told y'all it'd come out in either a few hours or the next day! Pretty easy to write since the canon episodes are basically a blueprint.

I didn't want to copy and paste the episodes back to back though. So I skip past some dialogue or switch things up, or skip them entirely altogether. For those not aware, I'm following the storyline of the games. How close remains to be seen. I've already got ideas for where everything will go, but I don't want it to just be the games with an OC inserted in. At that point... just play the games or watch playthroughs.

So there will be original stuff. Changes can be drastic or small depending on Jay's interference - examples being Shawn's survival. Something small in the grand scheme of things, but it lessens the trauan some of the characters face early on.

Not saying NOBODY is dying, either.

Also wanna clarify that Jay is nine. He's a kid, mature for his age, but still a kid. I'm doing my best to portray that. Not trying to make him some badass that kills everything and saves everyone in scenarios where he shouldn't be able to. Yeah, he's killed some walkers, but even with his knowledge, he's still woefully unprepared for the apocalypse emotionally and mentally.

We'll see him grow as a person as the story progresses, though~

Thought I should clarify that ahead of time even though I feel like I shouldn't, but I know that may be a gripe some people will have. lol.

I don't like my notes being super long, so we'll end this off here. Hope you guys enjoyed, I'll see you all next time!