Elijah
The two brothers, whom we now know as Andy and Danny, lead the way to their family dairy. I'm honestly just relieved I get to be away from that damned Motor Inn for another few hours. Larry is getting on my last nerve, that's obvious seeing how I knocked that old man on his ass. I don't really know where that came from, but...it kind of felt good.
I'm not sure why Lilly insisted that the new kid should come along with us, maybe she wanted to see if he could pull his weight or something like that. At least he got some food... I know I said I was fine, but I haven't had a bite of food in two days. Well, let's see i this 'deal' of their's actually goes well.
Mark, Doug, and Ben walk ahead as Lee, Carley, and I lag behind. I don't really know what to expect at this dairy of theirs, but I know that there are a lot better places than that Motor Inn. Lilly may say it's a good spot, but I think we'll have to move on eventually. No way in hell are we gonna last through the winter in that place. It's already cold and we're barely managing, I don't want Clem or Sandy in that place when it falls. At least Kenny has a plan and was kind enough to have the four of us come with him.
"Thanks for coming along, guys."
I nod. "It's no problem, Lee."
"Honestly, it's nice to get away from that motel for a while. This Lilly/Kenny thing is starting to get ridiculous."
"No kidding," I add but Carley gives me a disappointing glance.
"You didn't exactly help things, Elijah."
"I know, but can you really blame me? That crotchety old bag of bones has been pushing us around like we're the deadweight and I barely even see that guy lift a finger to help."
Carley sighs. "Look, I know, and I understand that, but doing something like that might've just cost you a few day's worth of food. I'm sure Lilly didn't like what you did."
"Like I care what she thinks," I retort. "go ahead and let her starve me for standing up to someone who brings nothing but constant insults and complaining, she'll just be proving my point."
"And what point might that be?" Lee looked to me with an eyebrow raised.
"That she's not fit to be what a leader needs to be."
"Personally," Carley looks to Lee. "I'd be happier if you started to take charge more." Lee is slightly surprised by this, I'm not. Carley has been warming up to Lee ever since he saved her back in the drugstore.
"You think they'd want me for a leader?"
"Sure." Carley smiles.
"We all look up to you, Lee," I add.
"Well, not everyone thinks I'm so trustworthy."
"Because of your past?" Carley looks over to me, remembering that I know as well. "Does anyone besides the three of us know?"
"...Larry knows."
"Great, that can't be easy."
"No shit..."
"Clementine knows," Lee goes on. "She was there when we were talking in the drugstore and asked me about it... I couldn't lie to her, Carley."
"What exactly did happen with the senator?"
Lee shakes his head. "Now is not the time..."
"Well, I'm here whenever you wanna talk."
"Same here, Lee."
"Thanks, you two. Sometimes I wonder if I should talk to the group about it..."
"You don't have to," said Carley. "Whatever happened before things went to hell doesn't matter anymore."
"Not sure everyone would see it that way."
"Maybe you're right. Listen, over the years, I've reported on some pretty messed up shit. I've seen situations like yours a hundred times, it doesn't have to make you a bad man."
"She's right, Lee," I add. "We've all done bad things in our lives. In some cases, that's just who people are," I shake off a rising anger at the sudden reminder of what...my father was. "In most, it doesn't define who we are as people."
"...I really appreciate that, guys."
The three of us catch up with the group ahead, hearing Mark as we get close. "I mean, thank God, Lee showed up when he did. Right, Lee?"
"Yeah, why don't you tell us a little more about yourself, Lee?" Andy asked.
"Where are ya from?" Danny's vernacular kinda creeps me out but I keep that to myself.
"I grew up in Macon."
Andy smiles at Lee's answer. "Right here in the heart'a Georgia, that's what I like to hear! Y'all seem pretty settled in at the Motor Inn. Who's running things over there?"
"...I am," I look to Lee in slight confusion, yet a little pride...so I smile. "If you guys have any questions, you come to me." And it looks like I'm not the only one, Carley is smiling too.
"How many people ya git over there anyway?"
Okay, they are already asking way too many questions. We don't know anything about these guys so they shouldn't know too much about us.
"Enough to defend ourselves," Lee answered vaguely.
"Well, that's good!" Andy seems all right with that answer. "It's getting dangerous out there, well, you guys know."
"No shit..." I mutter.
"Well," Andy goes on. "we'd love to get y'all out to the dairy. Like I said, we got plenty of food, and quite frankly, we could always use an extra helping hand."
"In the summers," Ben speaks up. "I used to help out on a goat farm."
"Yeah, that's great," Said Danny. "Everything helps!"
"Momma's been runnin' the dairy...well, for as long as I can remember, but now it's gettin'-"
"You think you're gonna cut me out of this?!"
A sharp and rough voice comes from near the group, I instinctively set my hand on my gun. "Shit! get down!" The rest of us crouch at Andy's command and move forward to see...two guys arguing. I can't see their faces thanks to one wearing a bandanna on the lower half of his face and the other having a full balaclava.
"No one is trying to cut you outta anything!"
"You and Gary are always pulling this shit! Don't think I haven't noticed!"
"Fuckin' bandits..."
"Who?" Mark asked Andy.
"Those look like the people who raided my camp..." Ben whispered to me and Lee.
"Calm down," The Bandana one shouted at Ski Mask. "your paranoia is pissing everyone off!"
"Who are they?" Lee asks but Andy shushes him.
"Fuckin' assholes is who they are"
Doesn't really answer the question, dude...
"Fuck you!" Ski Mask yelled at Bandana. "You knew we were hungry, and you guys were keeping it all to yourselves!"
"What should we do?" Doug whispered.
"There's only two of them," said Carley with her gun already drawn.
"We can get rid of them and their friends won't bat an eye," I agree, pulling out my 1911.
"Oh, no," Andy says. "there's a lot more. You bring them down, you'll bring more."
"Yeah, and you know what?" Bandana taunted Ski mask. "We ate it all! What are you gonna fucking do about it?"
"Don't worry. Danny and I got ya covered if something happens, but let's just wait this out and hope they move on."
"Fuck you!"
BANG!
My eyes widen when we see Ski Mask kick Bandana and shoot him with his shotgun, his body falls to the forest ground.
BANG!
"Fuck!"
BLAM!
"You!"
BANG!
"Fuck!"
BAM!
"You!"
"Oh, shit!"
"Jesus!"
After shooting his...'friend's' corpse a few more times, Bandit just walks away and muttered, "Asshole..."
"The world out here has gone to shit..." Andy says as he looks to the ground. He stands and starts walking again. "Come on, let's get to the dairy where it's safe." We walk away from the scene. As I do, I can't help but think that...that this won't be the last time we see those guys...or their friends.
The group spends a few more minutes walking down the path until we eventually come upon a house settled on top of a small yet steep hill. A red barn stands from the left of it, I assume that's where they would keep a cow...if the dead hadn't gotten to them all, first. The path leading up to the house has a wire fence on each side, laced with what I can see is some sort of wiring. So, this is what their fence is like? Does it really stop Walkers?
"Here it is. St. John's Family Dairy," Andy proudly says before he gestures to the fence. "Y'all can see how we've kept this place so safe." Doung kneels down to inspect the fence before moving on.
"The fence keeps them out?"
"You betcha," Said Andy to Mark. "They fry like bugs in a zapper. We're pushing four thousand volts through that thing with generators and amps."
"I'm going to assume that's a lot." Said Carley.
"Oh, trust me, it is," Doug confirmed. "You guys must know a thing or two about running wire!"
"Had a guy who did, yeah." Said Danny.
Had? And where exactly did they go? I glance up at the house, seeing what I think might be a woman, she sees us approach and backs away from the window. I let the group walk ahead for a moment and swing my bag from over my shoulder. I grab my trusty camera and take a quick photo of the house with the group walking down the path to the front gate. I put my new photo and my camera in my bag and throw it over my shoulder, catching up to the others.
"Ever have any accidents?" Lee asked.
"Nah."
"It's safer here than out there."
"This place looks untouched!" Carley exclaimed. "You'd never know the rest of the world is in ruins."
"It's worth protecting," Andy added. "hence all the juice."
"I thought I saw y'all with company comin' down the drive!" The woman I saw from the window appears from the house, holding a wooden basket in her hands.
"Guys, this is our mama." Andy introduces her.
"I'm Brenda St. John, and welcome to the St. John Dairy!" She says to us in a sweet southern voice. It reminds me of my mother in a way, at least I know she was kind, I know nothing of these people.
"This here's Lee," Andy gestures to him. "He's from Macon."
"A couple of our old farmhands were from Macon. They grow 'em good there."
"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?"
"I've got things under control over there," Lee states.
"Well, I hope you know what you're doing. That place isn't safe like it is here. Now that y'all are here, we'll make sure you're safe and comfortable." I sniff the air, my nostrils are filled with the fresh scent of...flour, butter, and just a hint of sugar? This draws my eyes to the basket that Brenda is holding.
"We're awful hungry," Lee stated before I could ask.
"These are for y'all," The mother of the St. John brothers holds up the basket, showing... Oh, my god...are those biscuits?! There's gotta be at least two dozen in there! "Baked fresh this mornin'!"
"Amazing!"
"Holy moly!"
"..." It may be the fact that I haven't eaten in two days, but I can't stop my mouth from watering. "...Woah." I'm soon broken out of my trance at the sound of someone chewing. Everyone turns to Doug who's holding the basket and has a biscuit already eaten. He pauses at being caught. "Jeez, man. At least savor it, don't just hork it down."
"...Too late," He says with a mouth still full.
"Can't get stuff like that anymore," Danny smirked. "not without a cow for milk and butter that's for sure."
"That's right," Brenda agrees with her son. "Hopefully Maybelle will make it through this bout of whatever she's got and be with us for a good long while."
"Your cow is sick?" Lee asked, my curiosity peaked as well.
"What's she-"
"We have a vet!" Mark cuts me off. "We could bring her here! We can help you folks out!"
"A vet?" Brenda looks amazed at this. "Oh, my! Our prayers have been answered!"
"Maybe our whole group could come...for the day!"
"Mark..." I warn. We're already overstaying our welcome as is.
"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'da be nice to have some folks to help out around here again," The heavy-set woman looks to her youngest son. "Danny, why don't you come help me out in the kitchen?" They leave for the house.
Carley takes the basket of biscuits from Doug before he can take another. "Why don't I head back with the food and round up everyone for the trip over here?"
"You might wanna take someone with you," Andy advised. "Remember, those roads can be dangerous."
"I can handle myself." She says.
"Still, I'll go back with you," Doug said. "Ben can come too."
"Here," Mark removes his rifle from over his shoulder, handing it to Carley. "Take this."
"Take care of yourselves, you two," Carley looks at me and Lee before turning to walk away. "See ya in a while." She, Doug, and Ben leave.
"Mark, Lee, and...what was your name again, boy?"
I already don't like how he called me that. "It's Elijah."
Andy nods. "How about you three take a look around? Once ya get settled in, I could use some help securin' the perimeter."
"Is there a problem?" Asked Lee.
"Sometimes, the dead get tangled up in the fence before they fry and end up knocking over a post. It'd be a BIG help if you could walk the perimeter. You can learn a li'l something about our fence. I'm gonna go top off the generators before they run dry. Come get me when you're ready."
"You betcha," Mark says before Andy leaves the three of us. He turns to me and Lee with a wide smile. "This place is incredible! It's got food! And that fence... Oh, man, that fence! If we play our cards right, this might turn out to be a place we can stay. So how do you two want to play this?"
"Slow the fuck down, Mark," I say, getting a bit agitated. "Just because they say it's safe doesn't mean that it is."
"He's right," Lee agrees. "Before we can even think about bringing our whole group here to stay, we need to figure out if this place is as safe as they're telling us."
"...Yeah, you're right. Obviously, they think it's safe, but is it safe enough for the kids? I noticed a broken swing over there," Mark looks to a nearby tree, a rope hangs from a strong branch and has a broken plank on the end of it. "Not a big deal, but maybe there's other things not working that we just can't see yet."
Lee nods. "And checking the fence perimeter sounds like a decent way to get a good look at their defenses."
"Alright, I'll keep my eyes open and you find out what you can from Andy. Elijah can see if he can talk to Brenda."
"I will?" Mark leaves before he can answer me. Damn it, even he still treats me like some defenseless kid. I sigh to myself
"You okay?"
I nod. "I'm fine, just tired of being treated like I can't pull my own weight."
"What do you mean?"
"I know that's not what most of you guys think of me, but I can contribute so much. It already took me nearly a week to convince you, Kenny, and Mark to have me tag along when y'all go hunting."
"...I know, I'm sorry if that's what we made you feel, Elijah. You know we're just looking out for you, right?"
I nod. "I know, Lee. But I can look after you guys, too. I want to help as much as I can. Hell, I already do more than that old man does."
Lee chuckles. "Still have no clue how you made him fall on his ass."
"Me neither," I chuckle. "Come on, let's go check around this place."
Lee and I enter the gate. The first thing I want to check out is that swing Mark told us about. Lee follows closely. Upon further inspection, it doesn't even look that bad. Just needs some more rope and a new plank. I bet the kids would love to have something like this back at the Motor Inn.
"Too bad it's broken," Lee calls over to Andy who's working on one of his generators. "I'll bet Clementine and Duck would have loved something like this to play on."
"Kids used to like that old swing even more than the tour sometimes!"
"ha, I'll bet!"
"What are you thinking?" I whisper to Lee.
"We could fix it for them, make it safe for Clem and Duck, and let the St. Johns know we can pull our weight around here."
I nod. "Not too bad of an idea," I look over to Andy. "Mind if Lee and I fix it?"
"Sure! That'd be great! Momma sure does appreciate you all helping out."
We nod to him. Lee goes to converse with him some more, I walk up to the house. The first thing I notice is the vast amount of awards and ribbons hanging beside the door. I guess this dairy was famous in its day. There's also a small shoe box on the edge of the porch, I take a look inside and find some rope. I take a good amount. This is perfect for the swing. I was just about to leave the porch when I remembered what Mark said I should do. I just hope that guy doesn't answer the door when I knock, Danny gives me the creeps for some odd reason. I can't really put my finger on it just yet. I open the screen door and knock on the wooden door to the house. Thankfully, Brenda opens the door and greets me with a smile.
"Well, hi there, darlin'! I didn't quite catch your name."
I do my best to smile back. "It's Elijah, Ma'am."
She laughs. "Such nice manners for a young man. What can I do for ya, sweetie?"
"...Anything I can do around the house for you?"
I think with Danny's help I've got things pretty well squared away in the kitchen, but I appreciate the kind offer. I think Andy needs all the help he can get, he's got a lot of weight on his shoulders these days so I'm sure he'd love any help he can get."
I nod. "Your family has done a good job keeping this place up."
"Well, now, ain't you sweet, thank you, Elijah. The boys and I have tried to adapt as best we can, but we still keep some of our old routines to help remind us of better times."
I think of a decent but not strange question to ask her. "What happened to the rest of your staff?"
She sighs at that. "We've had our share of tragedy here... just like everyone else, I'm sure. Some of our staff took off to find their families soon as they heard the news. The few that stuck around... well, we lost most of 'em the first night those things showed up here. It was... a tough night."
"...I'm sorry to hear that."
Brenda shakes her head. "Don't you worry your little head about that, darlin'. It's just... how things are now, I reckon."
Well, looks like I brought the mood down. Good job, me. "Well, I better get back to my friends, feel free to lt me know if there's anything I can do to help."
"Well, Elijah, I sure appreciate it."
"It's no trouble."
I turn and head down the hill, seeing Lee hold a cut two-by-four. Looks like he found a good replacement for the seat of the swing. I pull the spare rope I have from my bag, showing Lee. He nods and we both head over to the tree.
"Okay," I look to him. "This shouldn't be too hard, right?"
"Let's hope so..."
After trial and error, Lee and I finally managed to fix the swing. I stand in the seat to make sure the weight can be handled. Thankfully, it's a sturdy piece of wood that Lee chose. I step off and Lee looks to me with pride in his eyes.
"We did pretty good, didn't we?"
"Couldn't have said it better myself." I hold my hand up, going for a high five. Lee claps my hand, I feel awesome about it.
"Well, I'll be damned," I hear Andy say as he approaches. "Momma's gonna be thrilled to see that old swing all fixed up."
"Hopefully our kids will like it, too," Lee added.
"Did you say somethin' Darlin'?" Speak of the devil. Brenda comes from the house and stands on the front porch, I have no idea how she heard Andy. Must be a mom sense or something. "Oh, my goodness. Did you two do that?"
"Just...trying to help out a bit around here," I say.
"You know, I used to push Andy and his brother out here on that swing every night when they were kids. Seems like such a long time ago now."
"Yeah...it does," said Lee.
Couldn't have said it better...
"Well, we got that finished," Lee says to me. "Think we better go help Andy with the perimeter?"
I nod. "Yeah, might as well."
Lee and I go over to where Andy went back to working on his generator. Leed nods to Mark who's been inspecting their electrified fence the entirety we've been here and he follows us. "Hey, Andy. We can help you with that perimeter now."
"Oh, good," Andy stands with a grateful smile. "The fence'll stop a walker in about three or four seconds, but gets overloaded if we leave the husks out there."
"Well, Mark, Elijah, and I can clear the fence ourselves if you wanna stay here and finish up the generators."
"Well, that'd be great! I'll turn off the northwest section, and if you guys could strip 'em off and look for any weak points, that'd be a big help."
"Sounds easy enough," I say.
"Stay attentive, ya never know."
The three of us walk alongside the northwest part of the fence. So far we've seen no walkers trapped in the fence or any openings. At least Andy had the decency to turn off the fence so we don't accidentally become human jerky.
"So how's the place looking?" Mark asks us. "Is it safe enough to stay...if we can?"
"From what I've seen, there doesn't seem to be much wrong with the place. The fence supposedly keeps those walkers back, and the surrounding foliage can keep a lot from sneaking up on folk."
"Yeah," Lee agrees. "it's pretty amazing what they've done with this dairy. But let's see what it takes to secure this fence before drawing any conclusions."
"I can't wait until everyone's out here. Everyone besides Larry..."
Lee scowls at Mark. "What's up with you telling him what I said about him thinking I'm dangerous?"
"Look, you said it. You even admitted it right to him!"
"At least Lee tries to be civil about things," I add. "if you ask me, he's just an old racist son of a bitch."
"You're still hung up on that?"
"He still calls Sandy that behind our backs! Yes, I'm still upset about this!"
"Well, you're not exactly helping with his attitude, kid."
"No one is, not even Lilly. She may as well be encouraging it. And stop calling me a fucking 'kid'!"
"Guys," Lee speaks up. "That's enough, both of you. Let's just get this fence checked out."
I just keep quiet as we keep walking along the fence. Eventually, we see a crow pecking at a dead Walker's head, it got stuck on the fence and it has an arrow in its head. The crow flies away when we get in front of them. I kick it in the shin, making sure it won't get back up.
"Kid, it's dead."
"What did I say, earlier? And you can never be too careful around these things."
"He's got a point," Lee says as I pull the arrow out of his head. I hold onto it for now. "Disgusting." Lee uses his axe to push the walker off of the fence and it falls to the ground. "Come on, I'm sure there's still a few more."
We continue walking along. "Once this fence is patched up, this place'll be a fortress! God, can you imagine not having to worry about the Walkers anymore?"
"It's useless without gas," Lee remarked. "We might need food, but the St. Johns need gas too."
"Not many drivers these days, Lee. We could scrounge up a year's worth of gas, easy."
"And what about a herd of them?" I ask. "I'm pretty sure an entire group of over twenty walkers could collapse any part of this fence."
"Have you ever even seen that many in one place?"
"No. But that doesn't mean it can't happen."
Mark just rolls his eyes at me. "Anyway, what's your guy's take on the brothers? They seem to have this place tied down well."
"These folks are just delaying the inevitable. This place is gonna fall apart, just like everywhere else."
"I wouldn't be surprised," I add before another walker corpse catches my eye. "There's another one."
"I see it."
We approach the Walker, Lee uses his axe to push the walker off the fence, but its hands are still connected to the wiring. "Damn, its hands are fried to it." Lee severs the Walker's wrists and its body falls while its hands remain fused to the fence.
"You never get used to the smell, do ya?"
Lee chuckles. "Nope."
"Hell no." We continue walking.
"Christ, I can't stop thinking about dinner. Woulda been nice to get some of those rations. I get hungry too, ya know." I can feel his side glare.
"I'm hungry too, Mark," Lee says.
"I haven't had a bite in two days..."
"Do you guys think they're gonna be good for it? Dinner for a whole group of people?"
"If they got as much food as they say, I think so."
"What would dairy farmers serve as a feast?" I ask. "Perhaps a smorgasbord of baked goods?"
My joke earns a light chuckle from Lee but Mark just rolled his eyes. We come upon a section of the fence where a Walker had managed to get himself tangled in it, causing the fence to fall over. Nearby, outside the fence, is a silo and old-looking tractor.
"I think we see where the Walkers are getting in," I state the obvious.
"He's tangled up pretty good. Guess we better get this thing back in place so we can get Mr. Crispy off of here."
"I think we'd get better leverage from the other side," Lee advised.
"Good idea," Mark jumps over the fallen fence to the other side, I follow and we grab onto one of the fence posts. Lee follows our lead and he grabs the other one. The three of us carefully push the fence back up and back into place. As soon as we let go, one of the lights on the posts turns on, and I can hear the faint buzzing sound of the electric wire. "Holy fuck! What just happened?"
"The fences are on!"
"Why the hell would he turn the fence on?! He knows we're out here! AUGH!" From the woods behind us, an arrow pierces Mark's shoulder and he cries out in pain, grabbing his shoulder.
"I told you what would happen, you son of a bitch!" A voice yelled from the forest.
"Shit!" More arrows fly at us from the woods. "Ambush!"
"Get to the gate!" The three of us try to run along the fence to reach the gate, but arrows are fired in front of our path, narrowly missing us. "Get down!" Lee looks to the tractor and the three of us take cover.
"You assholes!"
"Targets! Left side! Left side!" I call out. Lee peeks over the tractor, ducking down as an arrow flies at him.
"We had an agreement! Now you're fucked!"
"Who the fuck is that?!"
"No idea!"
"Fuck! Now what?!"
"With the fence on, that gate is our only way out!"
Shit... Alright Elijah, think...
"I already got one of ya!"
Got it! "Lee! We use the tractor for cover and roll it all the way to the gate!"
He nods. "On it!"
Lee moves to the front of the tractor, removing a chock blocking the front wheel. I move to the back, seeing the plow connected to the back. The blades are stuck in the dirt. I get out from cover so I can pull the lever and raise the blades. An arrow flies from the woods, just barely missing my hand as I finish raising the plow. The tractor starts rolling forward and the three of us move along with it.
"Coem on, if we can reach the gate, we can get through this fence and back to the house!"
"They're on the move!"
"Behind the tractor!"
"Give us the food!"
What the fuck is with these guys? Do they have some kind of arrangement with the St. Johns?
The tractor comes to a stop, I look over Lee's shoulder to see that a dead walker had gotten in its way. "What happened?"
"Shit. It's one of the dead we pushed down earlier. I'm gonna have to move it."
"I'll cover you!" I grab my gun, loading the chamber. Lee grabs the walker's arms and pulls it out from the tractor's path as I fire three shots toward the woods. The farm vehicle continues to roll along as we follow it.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
Getting away from you mother fuckers!
The tractor stops again, and another Walker's corpse has blocked its path again. I groan in annoyance. "Another one?"
Mark shares my sentiment. "How many of those things did we push down?!"
"Lee! Same plan! You move, I shoot!" Lee grabs onto one of the Walker's arms and tries to pull him away as I fire more shots, but the walker is still alive. It grabs Lee's hand with both hands and pulls him toward itself.
"Shit!"
"Lee!"
He stomps on Walker's head a few times, I want to shoot it but I can't with Lee in the way. He pulls back from its grip, only to have the top half of its body torn from its legs. Lee drags it and throws the walker aside, leaving a trail of its blood behind us. We continue moving along the tractor.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Lee answers Mark. "Barely."
"Keep going!" I say. I hear the sound of the half Walker crawling after us, I turn around and shoot it in the head, killing it. The Tractor collides with the silo, the gate now just a run ahead of us.
"They're getting away!"
"Let's get outta here!" Lee runs over and kicks the fence gate open, Mark and I follow and run away. I hear one of the people from the woods call out, it reminds me of that guy we saw earlier that killed his buddy.
"You lucky sons of bitches, go ahead and run! We ain't goin' nowhere!"