Chapter 8

That Totally Counts as a Cheat Meal

Percy immediately stepped up beside Carley to get a good look at who she was talking to. "Whoa, lady, relax! Me and my brother, we...we just wanna know if y'all can help us out." The one on the left said.

"I said back off." Carley snarled.

Percy put a hand on Carley's shoulder and she instantly relaxed, dropping her pistol so it wasn't pointed directly at the two men. Percy made himself closest to the two as he scanned both of them quickly. He instantly had a bad feeling about both of them, but he wasn't so sure why. Neither of them looked particularly terrible. The one on the left was tall, with dark hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a long sleeved polo and jeans. In his left hand was a gas can. On the right, the man looked a little creepy, a short sleeved blue polo and khakis. He too had dark hair and dark eyes.

Percy's hand was on Riptide, and he noticed quickly the others were looking at him. "What do you want?" He asked cautiously. His instincts were driving him wild, which was odd.

"We're just looking for some gas. Would you happen to have some?"

"Why do you need gas?" He asked curiously.

"Our place is protected by an electric fence. Generators provide the electricity…" The one on the right said. Percy turned and could see many of his group looking at them suspiciously, in his opinion, he wasn't particularly a fan of that. With two little kids? An electric fence seemed like a disaster waiting to happen.

"Our generators run on gas. Look, we own a dairy farm a few miles up the road. If y'all be willing to lower your guns, we can talk about some kinda trade." The one on the left said. Percy narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He wanted to send these two packing, he didn't trust either of them.

"How y'all doing on food? We got plenty at the dairy." The other said.

"Percy, why don't you and Mark check the place out? See if it's legit." Lilly said. He raised his hand and gave her a look.

"I don't like this, I have a feeling we shouldn't." He said, lowering his tone so the two wouldn't hear. He watched Larry's face flicker with rage really quick.

"Who gives a shit what you like? They have food and defenses, asshole." Larry snarled. Percy narrowed his eyes at the old man.

"I hate to say this, but I agree with Larry." Kenny said, crossing his arms as he looked at Percy. Mark quickly agreed with them. Percy cursed internally, of course the first time everyone agreed was when his instincts were screaming at him to tell these two to fuck off. Carley quickly agreed as well. Percy turned to Lee who was looking at him curiously.

"Fine." He bit out against his will. "But I'm taking Lee as well," He turned to Clementine. "Stay by Carley, honey." She nodded emphatically at him. She quickly hugged him before running to Carley's side.

"Alright, we'll go. Kenny get some gas together." Percy said, his gut telling him this was going to be a complete and utter disaster.

They were walking down the road moments later, the bigger brother had introduced himself as Andy, while the other creepier brother's name was Danny. Percy still didn't trust or like the looks of this. Mark was walking next to them and they were idly chatting, he was getting excited at the prospect of food.

Meanwhile, he and Lee followed a few ways back. "What's wrong?" Lee asked him quietly, so the others wouldn't hear.

"I don't like this one bit, my instincts are driving me wild. Telling me these guys are bad news." Percy replied just as quietly.

Lee looked thoughtful, "Your instincts are usually right." He admitted before looking a little sceptical. "Neither of them look like bad guys, sure Danny's got a creepy vibe to him…" He trailed off.

"Would you want Clementine next to an electric fence? I for one don't think it's a good idea with kids." Percy argued.

Lee sighed. "I see your point, but is that the only reason?"

"I don't have anything other than my gut." Percy responded.

"Well, we need food. And a better place." Lee said.

"Come on Lee, you need to trust me. We can't trust them, we can't risk this. Not with Clem…" Lee cut him off.

"We have no reason not to trust them, other than your gut. That's not enough." Lee sped up his pace to start talking with them and Mark. Completely ignoring Percy's next response.

Percy scowled.

Percy trailed behind, observing the two as they all talked. "Thank God Percy showed up when he did." Mark said.

They suddenly turned to him. "Why don't you tell us about yourself, Percy?" Andy said with a big, what Percy would describe as a fake smile on his face.

Percy raised an eyebrow at them but gave them nothing. "Quiet guy, huh?" Danny said. "Where ya from?"

"New York." He said quickly. The two brothers turned to each other and gave each other faces.

"New York, huh? You're a long way from home?" Andy said. Percy merely gave him an unamused look and didn't respond. Andy frowned at him, a look crossed his face quickly, one of irritation and anger? It was there and gone so quickly Percy almost thought he imagined it. Almost.

"Y'all seem pretty settled in at that motor inn. Who's running things over there?" Andy said, Percy saw right through it. He was quickly trying to gauge them, it made Percy on edge.

"It's a democracy." He replied tightly.

"I hear that! There are so many dumbasses out there fighting each other these days...it's just stupid." Andy said.

"How many people ya got over there anyway?" Danny asked.

Mark opened his mouth to speak but Percy glared at him so harshly the man flinched. "Enough to defend ourselves."

"Well, that's good! It's getting dangerous out there, well, you guys know. Well, we'd love to get ya all out to the dairy. Like I said, we got plenty of food, and quite frankly, we could always use an extra helping hand." Andy said excitedly, Percy figured they had an ulterior motive.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Percy said quickly.

Before anyone else could reply, Percy caught the sound of some voices from nearby. He instantly crouched down and peered over a small hill that was nearby to see two men arguing loudly with each other.

"You think you're gonna cut me outta this?" One snarled.

"Get down." Percy hissed to the rest of them, they all instantly responded by coming up near him. Both men were wearing masks that covered their faces as they stood inches apart. Yelling at each other.

"No one is trying to cut you outta anything!" The other responded heatedly.

"You and Gary are always pulling this shit! Don't think I haven't noticed!" He growled back.

"Fuckin' bandits." Danny hissed.

"Calm down, your paranoia is pissing everyone off!" the other replied.

"Who are they?" Lee asked. God, they all really needed to shut up.

"Shh. Fucking assholes is who they are." Andy growled.

Well, if Danny and Andy knew who these people were. They had clearly dealt with them before, that just added to the danger this farm was posing to them. It made Percy like this situation even less.

"Fuck you! You knew we were hungry, and you guys were keeping it all to yourselves!"

"What should we do?" Mark asked.

"Nothing." Percy snapped. "Quiet."

"Yeah, and you know what? We ate it all! What are you gonna fucking do about it?"

"Fuck you." The one snarled before he kicked the other and shot him in the head with his shotgun.

"What the fuck?" Mark gasped while Percy narrowed his eyes at the sight.

The bandit then proceeded to kick the dead body. "Fuck you, fuck you." He snarled before blasting the body several more times with his gun. "Asshole." He snarled before walking away.

Percy grit his teeth as he watched the scene. Such a callous loss of life.

"The world out here has gone to shit. Come on, let's get to the dairy where it's safe." Andy said.

"Is it safe?" Percy asked.

Andy frowned. "What do ya mean?"

They began walking, he could see the farm close in the distance. "You've clearly dealt with them before."

"They're not a problem." Andy responded defensively.

They walked up moments later, Percy could see the electric fence on either side of them. "Here it is. St. John's family dairy. Y'all can see how we've kept this place so safe."

"The fence keeps them out?" Mark asked.

"You betcha. They fry like bugs in a zapper. We're pushing 4,000 volts through that thing, with generators and amps." Andy replied.

Percy looked ahead to see a woman looking out the window of the house on the top of the hill to the right. To his left were rows of corn, with a red barn just a little ways ahead on the left. On either side the electric fence ran around what seemed to be the entirety of the property. Straight ahead was a large iron gate, with a gazebo a few dozen feet behind that.

Percy definitely saw the appeal with the farm, after all, he had wanted to stay on Herschel's farm. It was serene, safe and a good spot to keep Clementine safe. On the other hand, Percy felt that Herschel was a good man, for whatever reason he just couldn't shake the feeling that Andy and Danny were not.

"We've got kids in our group, doesn't seem safe to have them near a lethal fence." Percy said. He could see Lee nod his head in agreement while Mark looked at him curiously.

"Oh, don't worry about that. We got plenty to keep 'em entertained." Andy said cheerily.

Percy watched as a slightly portly woman with short red hair, and warm brown eyes walked toward them. In her hand was a picnic basket, she had a smile on her face. Although once again Percy felt as though it was fake, as if something was lying underneath.

"I thought I saw y'all with company comin' down the drive!" She said exuberantly.

"Guys, this is our mama." Andy said. Percy's chest constricted at the sight, reminding him of his own mom. Perhaps he was overreacting, he thought to himself. Maybe, just maybe the others were right.

"I'm Brenda St. John, and welcome to the St. John Dairy!"

Andy gestured to him. "This is Percy, he's from New York."

"New York?" Brenda asked rhetorically. "Been a long time since I've seen a New Yorker way down here in the sticks. Watcha down here for?" She asked curiously.

Percy shrugged idly. "Was down here on a trip when shit hit the fan."

A curious look crossed her face but she didn't comment on anything further. "They got a few more friends staying at the old motel." Danny added.

"Oh, my goodness, that place is pretty vulnerable. Have you got someone with survival experience to lead your group?" Brenda asked, and she genuinely seemed worried.

"We all work together. Plus, we've got plenty of people with military experience." Lee chipped in.

"Well, that's good to hear. That motel ain't the safest place." Percy had to agree, but he wasn't going too verbally. "Now that y'all are here, we'll make sure you're safe and comfortable." It really made Percy wonder why they wanted all of them to move there so much. Percy could understand wanting to help people, but for some reason this seemed different.

"Does that offer apply to the rest of us?" Lee asked, ignoring Percy's look at the response. He could tell that the woman was easily convincing Lee and Mark.

"We're all so hungry." Mark added, there was a gleam in his eyes.

"These are for y'all. Baked fresh this morning." Brenda said with a bright smile as she raised the basket to show off the bread to them all.

"Holy cow." Mark said, he was practically drooling at the sight of the bread. Percy grabbed the basket before Mark could tear the woman's arm off.

"Can't get stuff like that anymore, not without a cow for milk and butter, that's for sure." Danny added.

"That's right. Hopefully Maybelle will make it through this bout of whatever she's got and be with us for a good long while."

Percy gave them a look. "What's wrong with your…" He was cut off by an exuberant Mark.

"We have a vet! We could bring her here! We can help you folks out! Maybe our whole group could come for the day!"

"Mark." He hissed angrily. The man in question flinched as he turned to Percy. Just giving away free information before they had completely vetted the place and the people. It gave them the advantage, whether they needed it or not. He definitely wasn't going to bring Clementine here without looking around.

"Sorry." He said, rubbing his arm sheepishly.

"A vet? Oh, my! Our prayers have been answered! Well, how about this? Y'all go get your veterinary friend and I prepare some dinner. A big feast for all you hungry souls. It'll be nice to have some folks to help out around here again. Danny, why don't you come help me out in the kitchen?" Brenda said, with both her and Danny turning and leaving back toward the house.

"Andy, would you give us a minute?" Percy asked.

"Sure thang." He replied before walking away.

"What's your problem?" Mark immediately asked Percy. "They're offering us food and…"

Percy cut off his retort quickly. "We haven't even made sure this place is safe. We have kids." He snarled. "We don't know these people."

Lee crossed his arms. "I think you're overreacting, they haven't done anything wrong. There's no reason not to trust them."

Percy grit his teeth. He was surprised and a tad betrayed that Lee wasn't even listening to him. "Fine, I'll go back and get the others, you guys check the place out."

As he finished Andy walked back up. "You might wanna take someone with you. Remember, those roads can be dangerous."

"I'll be fine." Percy muttered. He let Lee and Mark each take some bread before he began the trek back to the motel. His thoughts were swirling, no one wanted to hear his concerns. He didn't want to risk taking Clementine there without anyone. He clenched his fist, how could they not understand? He understood wanting to help people, Hades, he always wanted to.

He idly took a bite out of a roll as he continued his walk. Keeping his ears out for anything, such as walkers or the bandits. He still had his pistol tucked into the back of his waistband and Riptide, as always, was at his side.

This might be the perfect time, have all of them go to the farm, then he and Clementine could just leave. He knew the girl wouldn't want to, and he didn't really want to leave Lee and Carley. But he would protect Clem, no matter what.

He finally reached the motel. Immediately he was surrounded by nearly everyone, Kenny was the first one to speak.

"Well?" He asked curiously.

"I've got some bread for you all to share." He could see everyone eyeing the basket hungrily. "Lee and Mark wanted to bring the rest of you out there, they wanted to make dinner for you all." He replied, making sure to word himself carefully. He didn't want to take any part of this.

"I notice you said Lee and Mark wanted us to go." She crossed her arms and glared at him. He could see Larry glaring at him as well, preparing to say something.

"I don't trust them, but you all can make your own decisions." He replied as he passed the basket around to each of them. He made sure that Clementine got some first, as he was planning on keeping her behind.

"They want to make us dinner and you don't trust them, you fucking dumb fuck." Larry raged. Clementine's eyes widened at the words and Percy rolled his eyes.

"Dad." Lilly sighed.

"I'm not going to keep my family from having a good meal just because you have a bad feeling." Kenny said. He looked at Percy cautiously, as if he understood why Percy was behaving the way he did. Was this how the entire group was going to actually pull together? He thought tiredly. All against him?

"I already said you could make your own decisions, someone needs to watch the motel anyways. I'll stay behind, and Clem will stay with me." Percy said.

"But Percy…" Clementine started, but Percy raised his hands.

"My decision is final, they can bring back some food. But I don't feel comfortable letting you out of my sight, not at the motel." Clementine frowned deeply, and her eyes welled with tears. It made Percy's heart wrench and he felt bad, but right now he didn't currently trust them. She immediately ran off, sniffling the entire way.

"I'll sock you, you pansy ass.." Larry growled angrily.

"Dad, that's enough." Lilly snapped at him and Larry recoiled in surprise. She turned and glared at him, "You really think that's smart?"

Percy looked at her as seriously as he could. "I do, you're not changing my mind. The rest of you can go for all I care, you're all adults. I'm telling you something is up with them." He could see the unapproving looks from all of the adults, including Carley. But he didn't care.

"Fine." Kenny gruffed. "Just tell us where to go."

Percy told them the directions and made sure there was plenty of bread left for Clementine to continue eating. As the entire group began to leave, he turned to go look for Clementine but was stopped by Carley. "I really wished you would change your mind." She said, putting a hand on his arm. Her touch was warm, but her look was disapproving.

Percy raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm trusting my gut, and my gut says that place is not what it seems."

"You're going to deny Clementine an actual meal based on your gut?" She looked at him surprised. Her hand retracted and she crossed her arms.

Percy looked straight into her warm brown eyes. "I don't want her out of my sight."

"You don't trust me to look after her?" She said, a look of hurt was etched onto her face.

"Carley, I'm telling you, that place is bad news." Carley looked at him sceptically. He grabbed her hands, wrapping his own much larger ones around them. "Trust me." He emphasized. Her eyes softened, and her cheeks tinged pink. "Please, trust me."

"I trust you. I'll stay." Percy looked at her surprised, but she turned away. "You guys go," She waved them off as they were waiting for her. "I'm going to stay and help watch the place. No one responded, but the group immediately began walking down the road toward the St. John farm.

He sighed deeply. "Thank you. I'm going to go find Clementine real quick."

She smiled at him as he turned away.

He found the little girl in his motel room on the bed. Her face was pushed down into his pillow, and he could hear the young girl sniffling. He sat down on the edge of the bed and her crying ceased immediately, she sat up and looked at him with the sadness of a baby seal. His heart utterly broke at that, but he felt he was making the right decision.

She sniffled, before crawling up and leaning into him. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. "Why?" She asked, her voice cracking.

He looked into her watery eyes. "Look, I'm just worried. Okay? I want to make sure you're safe. While it may seem unfair, I promise you, I'm looking out for you."

"Because you don't trust them?" She asked.

"Partly yes, my gut is telling me something bad is happening there." He told her.

"Your gut?" She asked curiously, the sheen of tears in her eyes was slowly going away.

"Yes honey, one thing you'll learn about survival is that your gut is rarely wrong. Relying on your instincts will help you, remember that." What he didn't say was that his ingrained demigod instincts made his gut even louder than the average person.

"Oh, okay." She said innocently. He ruffled her hair and she pouted cutely. "Plus, I told them to bring back some dinner for you if things go alright." She nodded eagerly. "Why don't you go eat some more rolls? Make sure you're within Carley's sightline. Okay?" He told her.

"Okay, Percy." She hugged him quickly before leaving his room.

"Alright," He muttered to himself. He tore his clothes off that still had the stranger's blood on them. Before he put on his only remaining set, a pair of jeans, light blue shirt and a brown bomber jacket that had some rips in it. He no longer had his old Camp Half-Blood shirt on as it was covered in blood and torn from many of their trips. But he still kept it.

He thought for a moment before he made his decision, he was going to leave and take Clementine with him. Hopefully he could convince Carley as well. He grabbed his backpack and started to put his stuff inside.

"What are you doing?" He jumped at the sound of Carley's voice.

He spun around and saw her with her arms crossed as she looked at him. "You're supposed to be watching Clem." He tried to change the subject.

"She's fine, she's in the RV playing. Now, what are you doing?" She asked again.

Percy sighed. "Alright, I was packing up my stuff."

"You're leaving?" She asked incredulously, she stepped closer to him so they were only a few steps apart.

"I was going to ask you to come with us." He said.

She looked at him stunned. "Abandon everyone else?"

"They would be fine," He argued. "Kenny and Lilly can continue bickering with Lee watching from the sidelines…"

"Where would we even go?" Carley cut him off, taking another step closer so they were almost touching. Her question made it seem like she was almost in agreement with him, but not completely convinced.

He deflated slightly. "I don't know. There was this farm we were at in the first few days, nice, helpful people, but…" He trailed off.

"You don't even know if it's still there. I'm not saying I don't agree, that the others can make it feel unsafe, that you especially might be better off on your own. But we have a place here, you would risk Clementine all for a chance? What if you don't find anywhere else?" She argued passionately, her warm brown eyes flaring.

He nodded his head. "I know. I know. But…" He trailed off and looked down, he felt defeated. She honestly made an excellent point, was it worth risking Clementine when they weren't even sure where to go. "You're right." He said sadly.

Her hand grabbed his cheek and pulled his gaze to hers.

Looking into her eyes she suddenly leaned up and planted her lips on his. It took a moment before he responded, kissing her back when he suddenly lurched away. He took a step back as she looked at him. "I have a…"

"Girlfriend, I know. You told me." Her eyes were alight with a fire he had never seen in her, her cheeks were burning red. "But we can die at any moment, and you're thousands of miles away with no plans on getting back anytime soon, and she could be dead." He flinched at her words, although inwardly he agreed. Cruel and blunt? Maybe. Did he need to hear that? Also maybe. "We deserve some happiness in this terrible word, don't you think?"

He nodded, although it still felt like a betrayal to Annabeth. She was right, he probably was never going to see her again. Regardless, he knew she would want him to move on and vice versa, did it make it right? He wasn't entirely sure, his loyalty burned within him. "We do." He raised his gaze back up to her as she shrugged her purple vest off and stepped closer.

Without a word she pushed his jacket off and grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling it up over him effortlessly. She pressed her lips to his and pushed him backward on the bed. She moaned softly into his lips as he helped take her shirt off.

Percy idly traced circles on Carley's naked hip as she curled into him. She was breathing faintly, clearly asleep. He could have joined her, however his thoughts swirled. The only other woman he had ever been with was Annabeth, he frowned. It was eating him up inside, as there was a good chance that he would never see Annabeth again. He loved her still, and probably always would. But Carley was right. At one point he had thought about taking the trek north toward New York with Clementine in tow. But that would needlessly put her in extreme danger, and he wasn't guaranteed to find anything if they even made it there.

He really needed to get up anyway, he didn't like Clementine not having adult supervision. He looked out toward the window, where the light had barely gotten dimmer. He frowned, shouldn't they have been back by now? He wondered idly.

He shifted to try and slip out, but Carley grabbed him tighter. "No." She whined. "You're warm." Her eyes blearily flickering as she looked at him.

Smiling at her softly, "I need to check on Clem, and I have a feeling the others should be back by now." He told her.

She groaned, sitting up. Percy couldn't keep his eyes from traveling downward to her breasts. Her cheeks instantly turned pink and she raised the sheets to cover them. She began slightly shakily from being embarrassed. "I'm sure they're fine, it's not even dark yet. Once it's dark I think we can start to worry." He shook his head.

"I think I should go check it out." He told her seriously, while he wanted nothing to do with the farm and they were all capable of making their own decisions, he still didn't want anything to happen to them.

"Alright," Her face turned serious, clearly trusting him again. "I'm coming too, I won't let you go alone."

"I need you to watch Clem." That wasn't entirely the reason, he didn't want to put Carley in any unnecessary danger either.

She shook her head vigorously. "We're taking her, if you really believe something bad has happened then I'm going and we're taking Clem with us." She said strongly.

"But…" He argued but she cut him off.

"No!" Her eyes stared deeply into his. "I'm going and you're going to suck it up."

He nodded his head. "Okay, get dressed while I go get Clem. Then we'll head out." She smiled prettily at him again, before pecking his cheek as he dressed himself. He walked out of the door and gazed around the parking lot of the motel. Clementine wasn't out in the open, which was good. But he really shouldn't have taken his eyes off of her.

He walked toward the RV that Kenny hadn't yet fixed and stepped inside. Sighing somewhat relieved to see Clementine sitting at the table. Idly drawing, she looked up at him and smiled brightly. "Hey, Percy!"

He smiled back. "Hey, kiddo. We're going to go to the farm and check on the others."

She frowned. "Are they okay?"

"I'm not sure, it's getting late so I want to check on them." He responded.

"I'm coming with you."

He nodded at her. "Okay, honey. Make sure you stay close though, promise?" He told her, lowering himself so she was at her line of sight.

She smiled brightly. "Okay! I promise." She practically squealed.

Percy watched the sun begin to set as they made their way toward the farm. He was definitely getting more concerned now, the feeling in his gut was beginning to anchor in his stomach. Making him feel like he was going to puke. If something actually had gone wrong… He should have pushed harder. This was his fault, he knew that.

The sun had completely set by the time they reached the farm, near pitch black outside as the thick clouds were covering the moon. Distant rumbles alerted him to a possible storm incoming. He frowned as he gazed up at the main pathway. He pulled Riptide free, the blade still glowed bronze in the night as if it had retained its magical properties. It begged another question that Percy didn't know the answer to. Riptide worked on walkers, but would it work on mortals now? He shook his head, pushing that thought out of his mind for the time being before gesturing to Clementine and Carley to follow him closely through the thick rows of corn. It would provide them cover if something had indeed happened.

He could feel Clementine's hand on the back of his leg as they traversed through as quietly as they could. He could faintly see the red barn up ahead getting closer and closer, as they trekked through the corn he frowned as he felt droplets begin to hit his head. He shared a look with Carley as she held her pistol out in front of her.

They reached the edge of the corn and Percy frowned seeing the faint light above the entrance. Right below it, sitting on a hay bale, with a rifle propped up next to him was Danny. He had a lecherous look on his face. The alarm bells were ringing in his ears. Something was definitely wrong.

Carley raised her pistol and pointed it at him, but Percy quickly grabbed her wrist and pushed it down. He shook his head vigorously, he raised a finger to his lips and gestured for them to stay there. He looked at the electric fence separating them both, was it on? He wondered, he raised Riptide and touched the blade to the electric fence. The blade sliced through the wire and steel like butter, both sides dropping to the ground. He quickly looked at Danny to see the man had not reacted.

Thankfully, the rain had begun to pick up and thunder rumbled overhead. Masking the sound as he sliced through the two remaining lines. "Wait here." He mouthed to Carley and Clementine. Both of them nodded at him as he crept up to the side of the barn. Placing his free hand on the wood.

Just a couple feet away from Danny, the man must have sensed something was wrong. He jumped up, his hand reaching for his rifle, but he was too slow for Percy. He had his blade at the man's throat instantly. Danny's eyes widened dramatically and raised his hands in surrender.

"Where are my people?" He snarled. Danny gave a creepy smile, before he gestured at the barn behind him. "Go, slowly. I won't hesitate to drive this blade through your spine." He grabbed the rifle as he passed, slinging it over his shoulder.

Danny led him to the back of the barn, they stepped into the backroom and Percy's stomach churned violently. It looked like a workshop, except everything was covered in blood. There was a noose hanging over what looked to be a shower area. The entire inside of the tub was covered in blood. In front to the left was a miter saw sitting on a workbench, that too was covered in blood. He wanted to throw up. "What the Hades is this?" He asked Danny. All of the tools and benches were covered in blood.

Danny turned and smiled at him, one of the most sickening and disgusting smiles he had ever seen, but he didn't answer. "Are they in there?" He asked, gesturing to the freezer door. Danny gave a nod. "Open it. Now." He demanded.

Danny slowly reached and opened the door. All of the people inside froze immediately, except for Lilly. Who was on the ground, giving CPR to her dad. Begging and pleading frantically with Lee to help her. Meanwhile, Kenny currently had a giant salt lick in his hands. Appearing like he was going to drop it on the old man's head.

Kenny and him made eye contact, before his eyes drifted down to Percy's sword. "Kenny, what the fuck?" He snapped at the man. Kenny set the salt lick aside and gave Percy an angry look.

"We were about to be trapped in here with one of those things, I had no other…" He was cut off at that moment as Larry's chest heaved, a gasp of air escaped from his mouth and he grabbed Lilly tightly before he slumped back over.

His eyes snapped open and he looked around wildly, clearly disoriented. "Dad, oh my God! You're okay!" Lilly said happily before engulfing the man in a hug. Larry's breathing was labored, and his face was pale and gaunt. His eyes were unfocused and tired, but he was alive.

Kenny turned white immediately, giving Percy a terrified look. Kenny had been about to kill the man, despite the fact that Lilly had saved him just seconds later. Lee, who was on the ground next to Larry, breathed a huge sigh of relief before glaring at Kenny.

Ben and Travis were both in the corner, staring in a horrified awe at everything that was transpiring.

Kenny shook his head and Lee rose. "Kenny…" Lee started.

"I don't want to fucking hear it, Lee." Kenny brushed him aside. "What are we going to do with this piece of shit?" Kenny growled, glaring at Danny.

"What is going on?" Percy asked, Riptide was still at Danny's throat. The man just looked at the scene with a quiet happiness.

"They're fucking eating people Percy, these sick fucks, they cut off Mark's legs and tried to feed them to us." Kenny snarled, pointing at him. Percy looked at the man horrified, he had a gut feeling something was wrong. But eating people? What kind of sick twisted people would do such a thing? His hand shook violently. Mark? They killed Mark. He was the reason Mark was gone.

"Where's my family, asshole?" Kenny snarled at him, Danny smiled again.

"You can't have 'em! We need the vet." Danny chuckled.

Percy's eyebrows furrowed in rage. "Shut the fuck up." He snapped and kicked him in the back of the knees. Danny grunted and fell to the ground. "Kenny, Lee. Go. I'll be right behind you." Percy told them.

"It's the only way now, it's the only way to survive. You'll see! You'll see." Danny said hysterically to Percy, his gaze was so unhinged Percy wanted to look away, but he forced himself to keep looking.

"Shut up!" Percy growled, but Danny just smirked wildly and kept going.

"You see? You understand now, don't ya?! You can have me! It's how the world works now! Give part of yourself... so others can live!" Percy looked at him horrified. He didn't want to, but he couldn't just let cannibals keep roaming around. What if someone else ran into them? Percy brought his free hand up to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had never done this before, killed an unarmed man in cold blood. But he had too, for anyone else out there. What if a kid stumbled across them like Clem, all alone? Percy raised Riptide and Danny's eyes widened. "You gotta keep me alive! If you kill me, the meat gets tainted! You can't eat it!"

Percy grimaced. "You're already tainted, we won't become like you."

"Wait, no!" Danny roared.

Percy took Riptide pulled across Danny's throat. Flinching at the sound of flesh ripping, blood splattered across him and he grimaced as he wiped his face with his free hand, covering it in blood. He had just killed a man, was he going to become some terrible person. No, he reasoned to himself. They were eating people, they deserved it. But…

He shook his head and looked at the haunted expression on Danny's face. Wait, he was going to turn. That's what Ben and Travis had said, you turned no matter what. He frowned and drove Riptide up through his neck and into the brain.

Quickly, he turned and walked out of the barn. Thankful that Clementine and Carley hadn't seen that.

"God, no!" He heard a scream, through the rain pour. Vaguely recognizing it was Katjaa. His eyes widened and he sprinted out of the barn. He stepped out into the pouring rain, a bright flash of lightning lit up the night sky directly overhead, before a large blast of thunder rocked the world. Was Zeus still there? Was he showing his displeasure at that moment? He shook his head. He had no time to dwell on his old life at the moment, he needed to save his people.

He turned to his right to see a walker walking out the cornfield. Before its head was smashed to a pulp by Carley. He saw Clementine next to her and gave a sigh of relief that she was safe. Carley gave him a weird look, perhaps it was because of the blood that covered him? He wasn't sure.

"Did you see where Kenny and Lee went?" He asked.

Carley shook her head no.

"Wait here, watch the barn but don't go inside." He didn't want Clementine to see Danny's dead body. To see what he had done. "Wait for the others to come out and then you can follow me. I need you to make sure no walkers get in there while Lilly helps her dad and the boys." He turned toward the house at their nods of confirmation "Okay," He breathed to himself. He crept up toward the house. "Where the fuck did Kenny and Lee go?" He thought to himself.

"No, no, please, God, no, no!" He heard Katjaa scream. Shit, he thought to himself and moved faster.

"Just shut up and he'll be fine!" He could hear Brenda's voice ringing out.

"Something's up. I'm gonna take the boy and check around back." He heard Andy say.

"No, please, don't take my boy!" Katjaa pleaded, and Percy felt heartbroken listening to her. This was his fault, he reminded himself. He should have pushed harder, he knew it.

"Let go, woman!" Andy snarled.

"Settle down! I don't wanna hurt y'all!" Brenda said.

Percy was close to the house as he saw a faint outline through the screen in the door, he grit his teeth. Hoping that she couldn't see him.

"Andy? Danny, is that you? What's going on out there?" She asked.

She could clearly see something. But she must not be able to make out who it was through the rain. Should Percy say something? He wondered to himself. He didn't say anything.
"Oh God!" Brenda said before scurrying away from the door. She must have sensed something was up.

"No, no!" Katjaa screamed and Percy decided sneaking up was no longer working. He sprinted to the door and shoved it open. Stepping inside he saw Brenda holding a revolver to Katjaa's struggling form. "Percy." Katjaa cried out to him. He could see tears pouring down her cheeks as she struggled.

"Let her go." Percy growled, his patented wolf glare coming onto his face. Brenda shrieked in surprise and shook violently from it, but she didn't let go of Katjaa or the gun at her head.

"Get back," She pulled the gun away from Katjaa and pointed it at Percy. Percy had stared down guns before, he had blocked them with Riptide. But could he still do that now? He wondered briefly. Percy took another step forward. "Stop right there! I mean it. I'll shoot you Percy." She growled.

Percy didn't say a word, regardless, this woman had to die. They couldn't have cannibals running around. Percy took another step closer as Brenda backed up the stairs with Katjaa in tow. A flash of lightning revealed what looked to be Mark, clearly a walker now, reaching through the railing trying to grab Brenda. He needed to get her to back up, he wasn't confident in his abilities to block bullets still. Nor did he want to put Katjaa in danger.

He took another step forward, she backed up the stairs more. Almost there, he thought to himself. "Just let her go." Percy said as he stepped forward.

"No, I wo…" She was cut off as she backed up another step. Her screams filled the house as Mark latched onto her and latched his mouth onto Brenda's neck. Muffling her cries as he tore the flesh from her throat. Blood poured thickly from the wound and she let go of Katjaa. Percy quickly rushed forward and grabbed the woman, pulling her away as Brenda was feasted on by Mark.

He looked at the scene sadly, even in death. Mark still helped the group. Percy looked down, he had failed the man. It was his fault Mark was gone.

Katjaa hugged Percy, tears and sobs coming from her. "They took Duck! Where's Kenny?!" Percy shook his head, he still wasn't quite sure where Kenny and Lee had gone.

"I said don't move, asshole!" Andy snarled.

"Don't you fucking hurt him!" Kenny roared, clearly distressed.

"Oh, my God!" Katjaa gasped, her hand reaching up and covering her mouth.

Percy rushed out of the house with Katjaa in tow to see Andy holding a rifle to the back of Duck's head, his left hand was gripping the back of Duck's neck tightly. Kenny and Lee stood back and watched the scene with horror.

Kenny suddenly rushed forward and without a word Andy moved the rifle away from Duck and pulled the trigger. The bullet luckily hit Kenny's side but the man fell to the ground. Katjaa screamed and ran to Kenny's side as Duck screamed out in fear. "Dad!"

Percy stepped closer. "Andy, stop this." He growled, pointing Riptide at him.

Andy turned to look at him with rage. He was grinding his teeth so hard Percy thought he was going to break them. "Who the fuck do you people think you are?! Look at what you've done!" Andy roared.

"You brought this on yourself." Percy said as he took another step forward. Lightning flashed overhead.

"No! Uh-uh! You did this! All we wanted was a little gas to keep ourselves safe!" Andy growled.

A gunshot rang out through the darkness, "Agh!" Andy roared as he grabbed his ear in pain. Percy grimaced as he turned to see Carley taking aim at him. The bullet must have hit him in the ear. Duck immediately ran away toward his family.

Percy sprinted at him and brought Riptide down toward Andy's neck, but the man reacted quickly, bringing his rifle up and intercepting the strike. He held him there for a moment, but Percy was stronger than him. He forced the rifle down and spun it out of Andy's hands. The man in return tried to punch him, but Percy swept Riptide up and severed his hand from his body.

Andy's eyes widened as blood squirted out, he let loose a scream of pure agony before falling backward down the hill and through the fence. Percy quickly and carefully jumped down the hill to see Andy whimpering and holding his bleeding stump close.

He looked up at Percy, "Fuck you! As soon as Dan and Mama get out here, you're... you're all fucked!" He choked out in pain.

"They're dead." Percy told him as he shook.

"What did you do? What the fuck did you do?!" Andy roared in rage, bringing himself to his knees despite the blood that spewed from his stump.

"I did what I had too, you sick fuck." He put Riptide on Andy's shoulder.

"Do it then." Andy cried out. "Please." Percy turned and looked to see the entire group looking at him. Clementine was buried into Carley's side, her face not looking at him. He frowned, he hadn't wanted this. But he couldn't let any one of these people live. Everyone stared at him with various looks. He took Riptide and effortlessly drove it up through Andy's throat and into his brain. Blood spewed but Percy ignored it and watched with a sick satisfaction as the light left the cannibals eyes. Under no circumstances would he take pleasure in taking a human's life, but these people? They had to go, there was no if ands or buts about it.

Percy flicked the blood off Riptide before turning to the group, Larry was leaning on Lilly and Ben for support, each of them looked at him stoically. Clementine was burying her head into Carley's side. Hopefully the young girl wasn't mad at him or hated him now.

Kenny rose, holding his side that had a fair amount of blood dripping from the wound. But that man seemed alright, he looked at Percy impressed. Lee looked at him with an expression that Percy couldn't quite understand.

"They're getting in!" Travis cried out.

"Come on, let's go." Percy said and they all quickly left the farm.

The group walked through the forest on their way back from the farm. Percy led the way with Riptide's light. So far, everything was quiet.

He felt a light touch on his free arm. He turned to see Carley, the expression on her face was unreadable. He thought she was going to go off on him for killing them, especially in front of Clementine. But she didn't. "Are you okay?" She asked softly.

Percy's thoughts were swirling inside him. But he nodded. "Yes, I am. How's Clem?" He asked, figuring that the little girl was upset with him. She had stayed back with Lee rather than walking by him.

"She's a little shaken up, rightfully so. So am I, those people…" She trailed off, they made eye contact and Carley's face softened. "She's not mad at you or scared, if that's what you're worried about." She told him.

"I killed someone in cold blood right in front of her, how could she not be?" He asked sceptically.

"They were eating people, Percy, that was hardly cold blood." She reasoned. "Clem's a smart girl, she knows what's going on. Regardless she's still young, she was just scared."

"He was already down and out, it was cold blood. Just like Danny, I…" Percy trailed off.

"What if someone else ran into them? Who knows how many people they have done this too already. They had to die." Carley said, her hand slid into his bloodied one.

"But…" He started.
"No! I'm not going to let you beat yourself up over doing the right thing. Clem knows you did the right thing, she loves you Percy. I've never seen anything like the bond you two have, especially for neither of you being family." He opened his mouth but she gave him a look. "You asked me to trust you, now it's your turn to trust me. You did the right thing, and Clem loves you. So stop sulking." She said passionately.

"Thanks Carley." He smiled at her, her cheeks turned pink and she looked away.

Kenny suddenly hunched over in pain and grunted, his right hand was covered in blood. "How are you doing?" Katjaa asked worriedly. The group all stopped to look at Kenny.

"I'll be fine. I'm just not as young as I used to be."

They began walking again when Percy heard Duck's voice through the night. "Hey, Dad, what's that noise?"

"Sounds like a car." Kenny said.

"Oh, God, not more strangers." Ben said.

Percy led them toward the sound, sneaking up quietly to see an abandoned station wagon. The lights were on and the doors were all open. Percy raised his fingers to his lips toward everyone and he slowly crouched toward the car. His eyes looked through the inky blackness but couldn't see anyone. As he reached the car, he noticed there was no one in it.

He saw that there was no gas in the car.

"Oh, crap! Baby, you gotta see this! There's a shitload of food and supplies back here!" Kenny hollered excitedly. He turned to see everyone running up to the car. His eyes peered into the backseat to see that the car was indeed stockpiled with food.

"This food could save all of us!" Katjaa said with a smile.

"Look, we don't know if these people are dead." Ben said.

"If they come back, then we're just monsters who came out of the woods and ruined their lives." Lilly argued, while she continued to have her dad lean on her.

"Lilly," Larry started. "We need this food," His voice was still weak but he seemed to be getting back to normal quickly. "We'll die without it."

"This stuff isn't ours." Clementine spoke softly, he looked at the little girl to see her face determined.

"Dad, whose car is it?" Duck asked.

"Don't worry about that, Duck. It's ours now." Kenny spoke as he opened the trunk.

"It's abandoned, Ducky. Don't worry." Katjaa agreed.

"Well, what if it's not? What if it's not abandoned? What if it is someone's?" His heart fluttered at Clementine's kind words.

"We're not taking this." Percy's voice thundered throughout the clearing, everyone's eyes snapped to him.

"What? Did you get some meal back there the rest of us missed out on? We have to take this stuff!" Kenny growled fiercely. He reached in and grabbed a box of food.

Larry stepped up beside the station wagon, breaking free from Lilly helping him. "Dad, you need to…"

"Enough Lilly." Larry growled. "I'm fine. Kenny's right." Kenny and Larry shared a look as Kenny handed him a box of food. He turned toward Percy.

"Put that back." Percy demanded.

"What the fuck are you going to do about it?" Larry growled, stepping up to him so they were only standing a foot apart.

"I should have pushed harder, I knew that place was bad news. I told all of you, now you are all going to listen to me. I'm in charge now, so put the fucking food down. I'm trying to save you fucking people." He growled, his grip on Riptide tightening. Larry looked at him with a glare, but the angry look on his face faded and was replaced by one of surprise. He quickly gazed around to see everyone looking at him with various expressions on their faces.

He turned back to Larry to see the man's face. "Okay," Larry said, his face softening. Was Larry actually going to stand down and listen to him? This was a miracle! Maybe he could actually get all of these people to live. "I'll…"

A blast lit up the night cutting Larry off, Percy's ears began ringing as he watched the front of Larry's face explode outward, he flinched as pieces of brain, blood and bone splattered all over him. A sharp pain appeared at the top of his forehead as well. Percy wobbled back as the group around him screamed, but to Percy it was all a dull echo compared to the ringing in his ears and the pain in his head. The box of food dropped from Larry's hands and the man fell forward, taking Percy with him. Landing on him roughly, Percy dully felt something crack inside him as the world turned black.