The Trotting Dead: VG

Episode 2 Chapter 3: The Dairy
Written by: bobby ray
Proofread/Edited by: KJay

The brothers lead Lee and the others down a dirt road to their Dairy. It would have been too dangerous to take the main road, especially considering the fact that it would take them into Macon. There was always some threat of the dead attacking at any given moment, no matter where you went, but the brothers rarely had that problem on this path. As they began to lead their soon-to-be guest to the Dairy, the siblings introduced themselves. The older brother was Andy; and the younger, slightly creepier brother, was Danny.

Lee gave everyone's names to the siblings, Danny was a bit amused by the ponies name. Before long Andy and Danny began to ask Applejack questions, the first few revolving around how she could talk, and now she was trotting next to the two brothers: answering almost every question they had for her. Mark and Ben walked close behind them while Lee, Carley and Doug stayed behind about two or so yards. Carley, following Lee's advice, took the time to talk with Doug. She was edgy, Doug was a wreck, and Lee was the only one to notice to notice they were both nervous. They were getting to know each other better, but for most of the walk a nerve bending silence was washing over them. 'They would make an interesting couple', Lee thought to himself.

"...and it's all ruled by the princesses, Celestia and Luna, who raise the sun to begin the day and the moon to bring the night." Applejack finished her basic summary of Equestria. The brothers endless drive of questions had eventually forced the farm pony to tell them what her home world was like. She told them of the different races of ponies, the wild creatures that roamed free, what everyday life is like, etc.

"Wow." Ben, who was close enough to hear Applejack's story, said to himself. The whole place sounded A LOT better than the world he was currently living in. Heck, it even sounds nicer than the world he used to live in.

"Well, your homeland sounds..." Andy couldn't find the right word, "...interesting." He looked at Applejack, "How did you and your friends get here in the first place?"

This was the first question they had asked that Applejack didn't want to answer. She didn't know who these men were, just because they seemed nice doesn't mean she should trust them completely. Who knows what would happen if they were to find out that Twilight was working on a machine with the capability to transport someone to a different universe? She made an excuse, "It wasn't Twi's fault, me and Rainbow pushed her into trying a, uh," She paused for a split second, "New teleportation spell. It was more powerful than any of us figured, brought us straight here on accident."

"That's a real shame." Danny chimed in, believing her story, "Hope ya'll get home soon."

When it seemed that the brothers were done asking Applejack questions, Mark grabbed their attention, "So you guys really have food?"

Andy turned towards the man that Lee had introduced earlier as Mark, "Sure do. We lost most of the cattle, but we still got lots of milk, butter, and cheese stocked up."

"And with the vegetables we grow," Danny added, "We've got plenty of food."

Mark got next to the brothers, continuing his conversation with them. Applejack began to slow down, keeping a slow pace, until she was trotting next to Lee. She looked up at him, "How ya doin', Lee? That wasn't a pleasant experience you just went through back there."

"I'm doing alright, I guess. It's been a tough morning." In less than twenty minutes; Lee was attacked, heard the worse news possible, and now was following two strangers to their home. Not exactly a usual, crappy Monday.

The orange pony continued to speak, "I wanted to ask ya somethin' earlier, but with all the craziness at the Motor Inn I didn't get a chance."

Lee raised a brow at the mare, "What did you want to ask?"

Applejack glanced at Mark and the others up ahead, who were having their own conversation. She then turned towards Carley and Doug, who were failing at their attempt for small talk. Finally Applejack went back to Lee, "It's about yer past. Have ya told any of the others yet?"

He sighed; it's been months since anyone, other than Larry, had brought up the subject, "No. But there are a few people who know."

"Who knows?"

"Carley knows. She confronted me about it back at the drugstore, but after some explaining she promised to keep it a secret. And I trust her."

Applejack let out a breath, relieved, "Well, that's not so bad."

"Larry knows." Lee's voice was more cold then usual as he spoke.

"Haha..." She let out a weak laugh, "...oh that's gotta be a real pain in the flank."

Lee wasn't too proud about this one, "Clementine knows. She and Rainbow were there when Carley told me she knew, which is how Dash found out as well. Anyway, I couldn't lie to her."

Though she spent most of her time with Kenny and his family, Applejack made sure she had gotten to know everybody in the group. If there was one thing she knew about Clementine it was just how much she admired Lee, "Don't worry, sugarcube. She adores ya too much, no way that's affected her opinion of you."

Lee was uncertain if she was correct, yet still found comfort in her words, "Thank you, Applejack."

"Don't mention it." They walked for a bit before she spoke again, "So are you taking sides?"

He was confused at first, "What do you mean?"

"At the motor Inn, when Kenny and Lilly fought, ya did the right thing by not encouraging Kenny or Lilly. I'm just wonderin' if you only did that to try and calm them down or if you aren't siding with either of them."

"I'm not taking sides. I don't care who you put in charge; they'd get so overwhelmed that there wouldn't be any other change. We can't fight amongst ourselves, there are plenty of problems we already have to deal with ever day." Applejack did not respond to this, she instead went deep into thought. Lee could tell she never really thought of it like that before.

"I mean, thank god Lee and Rainbow showed up when they did!" Mark was telling Andy and Danny about how Lee and the others had saved him from the Air Force Base. Mark turned his head towards the people who were walking a ways behind him, "Right Lee?"

Andy turned his head as well, "Yeah, why don't you tell us a little bit more about yourself, Lee?" He and Danny slowed their pace, just as Applejack had done, until they were walking next to Lee; Andy to his right and Danny to the left. Applejack willingly moved off to the side so that they could get a chance to talk.

Danny spoke after they matched their pace to Lee's, "Where are ya from?"

Lee saw no reason to lie about this, "I grew up in Macon."

"Right here in the heart of Georgia," Andy stated with enthusiasm, "that's what I like to hear!" He looked at Lee as a new question rose, "Ya'll seem pretty settled in at that Motor Inn. Whose running things over there?"

"We work as a group, all of us working out for each other." Lee didn't want to say that either Lilly or Kenny were in charge.

Andy agreed with Lee's answer, "I hear that. There are so many dumbasses fighting each other these days, it's just stupid!"

"How many people ya got over there anyway?" Danny asked, something about his voice didn't sit right with Lee or Applejack.

Lee glanced at Applejack, who had a firm look on her face. He could tell she didn't want him to give an exact number. Understanding this, Lee gave a mental nod of agreement and turned towards Danny, "Enough to defend ourselves."

"Well, that's good!" Andy rejoined, "It's getting dangerous out there and, well, you guys know." He began to speak to all of the people who came with Lee, "Well, we'd love to get ya'll out to the dairy. Like I said we've got plenty of food and, well, quite frankly, we could always use a helping hand."

Applejack looked at the brothers, "I told ya both 'bout my work at Sweet Apple Acres, didn't I? Maybe a Dairy farm isn't that far of a stretch from applebuckin', ya know?"

Danny shrugged, "I'm sure anything you know will come in handy."

Andy continued to speak, "Momma's been running the Dairy for as long as I can remember but now it's..." He was cut off.

"You think you're going to cut me out of this?!" An unfamiliar voice from nearby demanded, disrupting the calmed minds of Lee and everyone else.

"Shit!" Andy knew exactly what was going on, "Get down!" He ordered as he and everyone else crouched down. Andy and Danny lead everyone off the path and into the trees. They stopped when two men came into view. The two men, who were wearing ski mask over their heads and whose clothes were dirty and ragged, were standing on a separate path from the one Lee and the others had just been on. One of the men held a shotgun and the other had a crossbow.

"No one is trying to cut you out of anything!" The one with the crossbow said in defense. The other man didn't believe him for a second and continued his accusation.

"Fuckin' bandits." Danny whispered to himself.

"Who?" Mark asked as he grabbed hold of his rifle. Carley pulled out her pistol and leaned against a tree as she watched the two men fight.

"Those look like the people who raided my camp!" Ben told the others while he laid his stomach on the ground.

Lee turned towards Andy, "Who are they?"

Andy shushed him, "Fucking assholes is who they are."

"What do these bandits do, exactly?" Applejack asked Danny as she crouched next to him.

He continued to watch them, "You don't wanna know."

Doug gazed around, "I only see two."

Carley gripped her gun, "We can take them."

Danny gave them both a stern look, "Oh, no! There's a LOT more."

The crossbow bandit got in the other's face, "Yeah, and you know what, we ate it all! What are you gonna fucking do about it?!" The shotgun bandit tensed up as if he was going to explode.

Andy looked at everyone, "Don't worry. Danny and I have ya covered if something happens, but let's just wait this out and hope they move on."

"FUCK YOU!!" Without warning the bandit with the gun kicked the other in the chest, catching him off guard and causing him to stagger. The bandit then aimed his shotgun and shot the man, killing him instantly. Ben gasped at the sudden attack as the dead bandit fell. The assaulting bandit approached his former comrades body and fired three more shots into his corpse, yelling while he did so, "Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!"

Applejack was appalled, she could barely utter out these two words, "Sweet Celestia!" With all she had witnessed in the last few months, Applejack never thought she'd this. That man took another's life without hesitation!

The bandit turned and walked away. He quickly glanced back at the dead man that laid in the middle of the path, "Asshole."

Andy shook his head, "World out here has gone to shit. Come on, let's get to the Dairy where it's safe." He turned towards their path to his home; Danny, Mark, Carley, and Doug followed close behind. Ben was a bit shaky as he got off the ground and followed behind them. Lee looked at Applejack, who starred in disbelief at the dead man mere yards away.

"You alright?" Lee asked, his voice in a soft tone.

She continued her stare for a few seconds before shaking it away, "Yeah, I'm good." Applejack turned to trot after the others, "Let's just go." Lee stayed close behind the mare, keeping a close eye on her for the rest of the trip. She hadn't gone this quiet since that girl shot herself months ago, and Applejack never truly got over that. Lee could only hope the ponies got home soon before they witnessed something truly horrifying.

"It has been three months, we must find her!" Shining Armor stated furiously. He was in the presence of Princess Celestia in her castle in the city of Canterlot. Also in the room was Princess Luna, who had been awakened by the yelling, and Princess Cadence, who could only watch as her husband continued with his blind fury. There were guards in the room as well but Celestia had ordered them not to intervene.

"I already told you, Shining armor, I have had the royal guard search to the ends of Equestria and beyond even that. Not a single sign of My pupil, your sister, and her friends. You were the leader of those search parties, you know this better than anyone!"

"Then have us search again! We can not rest until she is safe!"

"Good Captain," Luna made her way into the discussion, "you must calm yourself. My sister and I are doing everything within our power to find Twilight Sparkle..."

"I AM CALM!!" His voice by now was loud enough to rival the royal Canterlot voice.

Celestia tried to reason with him, "Shining Armor, please. We are doing everything that can be done. I can not create a mental link with my student no matter how hard I try. She can no longer be within Equestria or else I would have sensed the energy from her magic. I've spent many days, even weeks within her basement: studying and learning everything I can from the device that made her vanish." The captain was still in his blind rage and would not calm anytime soon, "Now I must ask you get some rest, please."

Shining Armor wished to continue, but he knew better and held his tongue. He turned and exited the room, shoving the doors open with his magic, followed by his wife who used hers to close them behind her. Celestia sighed after the scene was over and made her way out of the room as well through a different exit. Luna followed with haste until she was moving just left of her sibling, "Are you alright, Tia? Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm..." She was looking halfway down, halfway forward, "...I'm fine."

Luna knew better, "Those nightmares have been plaguing you again. Haven't they, sister."

The sun goddess sighed again, "Every night." She stopped and faced her younger sister, "It is hard for me to have all my attention on my missing subjects when the humans are in such troubling times."

"Have you discovered yet what is destroying the human world?" Luna asked.

She shook her head, "No. If they appear in my dreams they are hazy, too distorted for me to make out. The most I can say is they appear to be bipedal, just as the humans, and they have come to greatly outnumber man." She began to think of how such problems could occur to them. Though Celestia worried for Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack's safety every day; her greatest fear was whatever was destroying the race of man, and the thought of such a thing happening to her people.

Luna grabbed her sister's wandering attention, "Tia, please relax. You have more than a right to be worried but that does not mean you should let your mind get away from you. I shall address any matters that come for the rest of the day; now please go and get some rest."

Not too long after the trouble along the road, the group finally reached the Dairy. Everyone except for Andy and Danny were awestruck when the farm first came into view. It was magnificent, like a beautiful painting. There was a white farmhouse on a small hill; a well kept red barn, a silo several yards from the front yard; even a fully grown, healthy corn field near the main property. They all soaked in the beautiful landscape, this was the most peaceful place they'd been to since this whole mess started.

"Here it is." Andy declared as they continued towards the gate on the inner fence, "St. John's family Dairy."

"It's really beautiful here." Applejack commented, looking at every small detail of the glorious scenery. It reminded her a bit of home: her home.

Danny allowed a grin to emerge, "Thank you, we've done what we could."

As they continued along; Doug stopped next to the electric fence to examine it. Andy stopped momentarily to look at it as well, "Ya'll can see how we kept this place so safe." Doug continued to investigate the fence until he noticed the others were continuing on.

Mark glanced at the wires that stretched from one post to the next, "The fence keeps them out?"

"You betcha. They fry like bugs in a zapper." Andy boasted, "We're pushing 4000 volts through that thing, with generators and amps."

"I'm going to assume that's a lot..." Carley guessed.

"Oh, trust me." Doug got her attention, "It is."

From a first floor window of the house a woman watched her sons return with a large number of guest: one of which was a small, orange pony. She turned to grab something from the kitchen.

The group stopped once they were inside the front yard. Lee took a quick check on the inner property. The fence seemed effective, from what he'd been told at least, which is what raised this next question, "Ever have any accidents?"

Danny shook his head as he and his brother stood before their new guest, "Nah."

"It's safer here than out there." Andy added, making a fine point.

"This place looks untouched!" Carley declared while she gazed around, "You'd never know the rest of the world is in ruins."

It's worth protecting," Andy told them as his mother approached from the house, "hence all the juice."

"I thought I saw ya'll with company comin' down the drive!" Brenda made her presence clear to her two boys and the newcomers; her perky southern accent more clear in her voice then in her children's.

Andy smile as he turned towards his mother, then towards their new friends, "Guys, this is our mama."

She stepped in front of the odd group of six, "I'm Brenda St. John and welcome to the St. John Dairy!" Almost everyone by now noticed she was carrying a wooden basket, what was inside was not obvious yet.

Andy began introducing them, "This here's Lee, he's from Macon."

"A couple of our old farm hands were from Macon!" Brenda told Lee, "They grow 'em good there."

Danny looked at his mother, "They've got a couple more friends staying at the old motel."

Brenda gave a worried expression, "Oh my goodness, that place is pretty vulnerable. Have you got someone with survival experience to lead your group?"

Lee gave her the same answer he gave to her son's, "We all work together. Plus, we've got plenty of people with military experience."

"Well, that's good to hear." She declared, "That motel ain't the safest place." She finally gave Applejack a look over, "How've ya'll kept an animal alive at the motel all this time?"

"I'm not an animal," Applejack informed Brenda, successfully disposing her irritation towards the remark, "I'm a pony."

Brenda was surprised to, say the least. Sure the world had become a crazy place but the last thing she thought she'd ever see was a talking pony. Andy saw the confusion on her face, "Mama, this is Applejack. She's, well, she ain't from around here. Her friends and her have been with Lee and them since all this started."

She was still confused, "How can ya talk?"

"Where she comes from," Mark answered for her, "the whole place is inhabited by talking ponies. To them it isn't any stranger to speak then it is for you and me."

Applejack tilted her hat to the kind woman, "Nice ta meet ya, by the way."

Brenda finally shrugged off her puzzled state and returned the greeting to the friendly pony, "Nice ta meet you too, Applejack." She looked at the rest of the newcomers, returning to her previous greeting to the whole group, "Now that ya'll are here, we'll make sure you're safe and comfortable."

"Thanks for having us," Lee said to Brenda, "we brought some gasoline on good faith."

The gasoline in Andy's hands brought up another matter. Carley was the one to mention it, "We're all incredibly hungry."

Brenda replied by handing the basket over to Doug, "These are for ya'll. Baked fresh this morning."

Carley and everyone else looked inside the basket; inside was at least a dozen homemade biscuits. To Applejack they looked fine: to her four friends, and Ben, they looked Marvelous, "Amazing!"

Lee, Mark and Applejack all gave Doug a stern look. He had grabbed one of the biscuits and scarfed it all down. Doug looked at them with his mouth full, "What?"

Danny smiled at the man who more than enjoyed his momma's food, "Yep, can't get stuff like that anymore. Not without a cow for milk and butter, that's for sure."

Brenda nodded, "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."

"Yer cow ain't feelin' well?" Applejack inquired, "I'm terribly sorry."

Mark's eyes grew wide as he remembered something, "We have a vet!" He stepped forward a bit, "We could bring her here! We can help you folks out."

"A vet?" Brenda was overcome with glee, "Oh, my! Our prayers have been answered!"

"Maybe our whole GROUP could come..." Lee and Applejack looked at Mark as he continued. They knew what he was getting at, "For the day..."

Brenda thought for a moment, "Well how about this, ya'll go get your veterinary friend, and I'll prepare some dinner. A big feast for all you hungry souls." Though Mark was excited; Lee was unsure. A dinner sounded nice but it wasn't the best idea to have everyone come down here yet, "It'll be nice to have some folks to help out around here again." She continued before turning towards her youngest, "Danny, why don't you come help me out in the kitchen."

Carley grabbed everyone else's attention while Brenda and Danny started towards the house, "Why don't I go back and round up everyone for the trip over here."

"Ya might want to take someone with ya." Andy chimed in, "Remember, those roads can be dangerous."

Mark nodded in agreement. He handed his rifle over to Carley, "Here, take this." He glanced at a few people in the group, "Why don't you bring Ben with you."

"I could go too." Doug added.

Carley shook her head, "No, I think two is enough." She wasn't up for another attempt to talk with Doug at the moment.

Doug just slightly nodded his head. He took one more biscuit before handing the basket to Ben, "You two be safe."

"We will, see you soon." They turned and went outside the gate. Doug watched as they went through the drive before turning back towards the others.

Andy waited until he had all four of them paying attention, "Why don't ya'll make yourselves at home. Once you've settled in I could use your help with something."

"Is something wrong?" Lee asked.

"Nah, just a problem with the fence. Nothing major." Lee wasn't completely satisfied with this answer, "Come tell me when you're ready to head out." Andy made his way towards, what appeared to Lee as, one of the generators they needed gas for.

"Alright, see you." Mark turned towards the others, "Guys, this place is INCREDIBLE! They've got food! And that fence, aw man that fence!" He was abundant with excitement, "If we play our cards right this could be a place we could stay. So how should we play this?"

Applejack spoke first, "Now, just hold on. We can't just bring everyone here to stay when we barely know the place." Applejack had another reason for them not to stay here, but did not want to mention near the St. Johns.

"She's right." Lee agreed, "We should take a look around, see if this place is as safe as they're telling us."

Mark thought about it for a moment, "Yeah, I guess you're right." He turned towards something he had seen when they got here: A tree in the corner of the yard. Hanging from the branches was a rope with a broken plank of wood tied at the end, "I noticed that broken swing. Not a big deal, but maybe there are other things around here not working that we just can't see yet."

"If Andy has us check out the fence," Doug informed them, "It would be an opportune chance to check out their defenses."

"So what do we do for now?" Mark asked.

"Have a look around," Lee told everyone, "let me know if you turn up anything strange."

"Got it." They dispersed across the yard, each one doing their own thing. Lee took the time too investigate that swing, see if there was any way he could fix it up for Clementine and Duck when they got here. Applejack, for the moment, let the joy of being back on a farm soak in. Mark began to check the electric fence around the front yard.

Doug made his way towards Andy and the generator. He was filling the generator with the gasoline they had given him. Doug stopped next to both of them and began to make conversation, "It's quite impressive that you have enough of these generators to power a whole fence, especially considering how big yours is."

Andy let out a short half-laugh, half-sigh, "Impressive as it may be, it's not easy. These things are tricky and takes me a while ta fix." Doug nodded in understanding, "I'm glad ya'll are here to help us out, with all the work around here I haven't been able to deal with that damn fence."

"What's wrong with the fence, anyway?"

"Nothing, I hope. Sometimes the dead tangle 'emselves up in the wires before they fry and end up knockin' over a couple of post. I haven't been able to walk the perimeter as much as I'd like, just need ya'll ta have a look."

"Sounds simple, I guess."

Lee, who was searching for parts needed to fix the swing, was now a yard away from Andy and Doug. He was standing near the work table, a saw and some ply wood. He turned towards Andy, "Mind if I use one of these boards?"

Andy turned towards him "Already making some repairs, huh?! like a guy who takes some initiative. Yeah, go right ahead!"

While Lee began to cut the board, Applejack entered the white picket fence at the base of the hill that the house was on. She made her way up the hill and onto the front porch. The mare had a quick look around, admiring the awards this Dairy had won and the herbs which grew on the window box, before knocking her hoof on the front door. Not long after the door opened, on the other side was Brenda with a warming smile, "Well hi there, Applejack! What can I do for ya?"

"I'm alright, do ya need any help 'round the house?"

"I think with Danny's help I got things pretty well squared away in the kitchen, but feel free to check with Andy. He's got a lot of weight on his shoulders these days and would appreciate any help you can offer."

Applejack took a quick glance around at the Dairy again "Ya know, I think your family has done an amazing job of keepin' this place together."

Brenda stayed as modest as she could, "Well now aren't you sweet, thank you. 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 remember you saying something about having 'farmhands' around here, where did they go?"

Brenda's expression and voice became saddened, at least when compared to what they were a minute ago, "Oh we've had our share of tragedy here... just like everyone else I'm sure." It was difficult for her to think back to those first two weeks, "Some of our staff took off to find their families soon as they heard the news. We... lost most of the rest of 'em the first night those things attacked. It was..." She paused, "A tough night."

"I'm..." Applejack tried not to imagine the massacre that took place here, "I'm truly sorry for yer losses."

"Thank you, Applejack. I try not to think about it if I can." She held back tears.

She decided to try and change the subject, "How's yer family been holdin' up?"

Brenda slowly recovered, "Oh my boys have been my saving grace. They both left their jobs and came home after the attacks started."

Applejack admired how selfless Andy and Danny were in returning home, "They sound like some real good children ta just leave their jobs for ya."

"The best I could ask for." She glanced at her oldest, he was currently talking with the man whom Danny had told her was Doug, "I think it was hardest on Andy. Dan was always more of a mama's boy, but don't tell him I said that!" She smirked and giggled at her own remark.

The mare shared a laugh with Brenda, enjoying her good spirits. Andy, who was in the same spot, got to his feet before Applejack could continue, "I'll be damned!" Brenda and Applejack looked at him, both Andy and Doug were looking across the yard. They followed the men's gaze until they found Lee, who was standing next to the old swing while whipping his brow. The swing was repaired and looked as good as new.

"Oh my goodness!" Brenda gawked at what Lee had just finished, "Lee, did you do that?"

Lee smiled at the kind, middle aged woman, "Sure did!"

Brenda thought back to around twenty years ago, when both of her boys were just little children. They loved that thing to death, "I used to push Andy and Dan on that thing when they were kids. Seems like such a long time ago now."

He nodded in agreement, "Sure does."

"Well," Brenda spoke to Applejack again, "Better get back inside and work on dinner."

"Are ya sure you don't need any help in the kitchen?"

"Nah, I've got it. Just need to be in there." She leaned forward a bit and whispered, "I still don't trust Dan being alone in the kitchen." She laughed again at her own words as she returned inside the house. Applejack left the porch and made her way down to the yard. After she closed the gate Applejack looked around. Mark was still inspecting the fence, he stood near the main gate.

Applejack approached him, "Howdy, Mark. How ya doin'?"

"Just fine," He turned towards the mare, "Thanks."

She took a quick peak at the fence, "Turn up anything interestin'?"

"Nah, not much. From what I can tell this fence is untouchable..." He paused for a second, "quite literally. How about you?"

She shook her head, "Just finished a discussion with Brenda. She seems like a nice one, at least."

Mark raised a brow, "Is there something off about her?"

"Can't tell, all we really talked about was how they've coped since this began. I'm probably just bein' paranoid." She went into her thought while her eyes went to the grass beneath her.

Mark was getting worried, "Are you alright? You haven't been quite yourself since we got here."

"I've been thinking about those bandits along the road." She gazed up at him, "Why would someone just kill another person like that? He didn't even flinch."

"That's what bandits do." Mark wasn't surprised in the least that murder disturbed her, it didn't sit well with him either. Applejack's eyes became heavy and they fell back to the ground. Mark got to his knee, "Try not to think about it, Applejack. Just be glad that he didn't hurt anyone innocent."

Applejack did what she could to forget, or at least push it aside, she never truly got over things like this. Shawn and that woman both were stuck in her mind, grieving her every now and then. When she was finished Applejack looked up at Mark again, "Wanna check out the barn, see if anything is up over there?"

Mark smiled, happy to see her better at least, "Sure thing." He got off his knee and both made their way to the gate between the yard and the barn. By now Doug had begun his own inspection of the fence, he stood near an outlet on one of the fence post that made it obvious the St. Johns built it themselves.

Andy looked up as mark reached over to open the gate. He got to his feet, "Hey, what ya both fixin' to do around the barn?" His face was stern.

Applejack quickly responded, "Just checkin' things out. Wanna see if the fence is workin' properly over there."

"Don't worry about that, checked that out myself this morning. Why don't ya wait until after ya'll get back if you wanna check for yourselves."

"Alright, sounds good." Mark lied as they walked away. Andy returned to his work on the generator.

Doug, who overheard the discussion, followed and caught up with them, "What was that about?" He asked as they continued to walk.

"I don't know." Applejack kept trying to think of a reason why Andy didn't want them over there yet, "He probably just wants us to deal with the fence before we do anything over there."

"Sounded like he doesn't want us near the barn." Mark told her.

The three stopped when they reached Lee. He was standing over and investigating the picket fence. The one thing the others noticed early on about Lee was his eye for small details, he was very good at spotting things that were interesting or out of place. Lee turned when he heard them, "Hey guys. How's the place looking, anything worth mentioning?"

"The fence is really impressive considering it's completely homemade. The generators might be troubling, but I doubt they can get to a point that I can't deal with them."

"Then it's still a lot safer than the motor inn." Mark commented.

Applejack was next, "We didn't get a chance to check out the barn. Andy doesn't want us over there yet, we'll have ta do that later."

"Why doesn't he want you near the barn?" Lee asked.

"Didn't say," Mark told him, "just said he wants us to check the perimeter."

"Well then I guess that's what we're doing next." Lee was growing curious but let it stay inside for the time being. The others followed him as he made his way towards Andy.

"So does anyone know what Andy wants us ta do exactly?" Applejack asked the three men she was trotting along side.

Doug was the only one who could answer, "He just wants us to walk the perimeter and see if it's secure, nothing major."

Andy stood up as the four approached him. Lee spoke once they were close enough, "We're ready to help out with the fence."

"Good, the sooner you're done the safer this place will be." He got ready to explain exactly what he wanted them to do, "Now the fence will stop a, what'd you call 'em Doug? Walkers? Yeah, it'll stop a walker in about three or four seconds. However, the thing gets overloaded if we leave the husk out. While you're walkin' the perimeter I need ya to knock over any that are still next to the wire."

"Wont we get shocked if we touch that thing?" Applejack asked.

"Don't worry about that. I'll turn off the northwest section of the fence while you're out there. Holler when you've finished so I can turn it back on, and be careful out there."

"Do you see anything yet?" Twilight asked timidly.

"No, I don't see them yet." Lilly replied as she sat atop the RV.

Twilight continued to pace back and forth, worried, "Where are they? Shouldn't they be back by now?"

"I already told you, it's only a problem if they've been gone for a long time. It's only been about an hour, they are probably still at this Dairy." Twilight wasn't satisfied with this answer and continued to pace back and forth.

Rainbow trotted up to her, "Twilight, calm down. I'm sure everything is fine."

"But what if everything isn't alright?" She stopped in front of her friend, "What if they're lost? What if Applejack is hurt? What if they got attacked by walkers? What..."

Kenny, who not long ago helped Larry dispose of Mr. Parker's body, shook his head at the nervous unicorn as he worked on the RV's engine. Rainbow stopped Twilight as she went to continue on with her long list of possibilities, "They didn't get lost, Applejack wouldn't do anything to get herself hurt, and I'm sure Lee and the others can handle a few walkers."

"It only took one to nearly kill Lee AND Katjaa!" Twilight became hysterical, which Kenny noticed happened more with her than everyone else here combined.

"For god's sake, Twilight, just calm down." Kenny glanced at them, "That was different."

"How was that in any way different?!" Her voice began to carry across the entire motel, "We nearly lost two people in thirty seconds to ONE WALKER!!"

"Would you just shut up already?!" Larry demanded as he continued to reinforce the wall, "I'm trying to work!"

"It's different, Twilight," Rainbow ignored Larry as best she could and got her friends attention again, "because nobody was expecting that to happen. They won't let anything get the jump on them again."

"Hang on," Lilly spoke to everyone on the ground, "I think I see them." On the road, down some ways, she caught sight of at least two people. One had a rifle over their shoulder and the other was carrying something. Lilly could swear that the woman, with the rifle, was Carley.

Things were going smoothly so far for Lee and the rest. There wasn't a single problem with the fence yet, other than a burnt walker hanging on here and there. Lee and Doug were in front while Mark and Applejack were in the back. Lee carried his axe so that he could use it to pry any dead from the fence, and to kill any that objected to this. Luckily they only came upon the crispy ones so far. Doug was silent for the most part, thinking about something. Applejack and Mark were talking to each other.

"It truly is amazing what they've done with this place." Applejack commented on their handiwork, "They've got this here fence surroundin' the entire Dairy!"

"Yeah," Mark agreed, "I can't wait until everyone's out here. Everyone besides Larry..."

Upon hearing this name Lee turned back towards Mark, "What's up with you telling him what I said about him thinking I'm dangerous?"

Applejack looked at them , "What are ya both talkin' about?"

Mark glanced at her, "Larry thinks Lee is dangerous. I accidently brought it up back at the Motor Inn and it got Larry worked up." This did not surprise Applejack one bit, considering what Larry knew and the way he was. Mark faced Lee again, "Anyway, you're the one who said it. You even admitted it right to his face!"

Lee turned his gaze forward, "I try to be civil, at least."

Mark spoke with a grin, "He's too busy being cranky to notice."

Applejack suppressed a giggle, "Too true."

They approached a burnt corpse leaning against a fence post, an arrow through it's neck. A crow was feasting on it until the group got close, forcing it to fly away. Mark was first to point it out, "Here's another one."

They stopped in front of the corpse, deciding to have a look at him before Lee pushed it off. Applejack turned towards the others, "Who do you think this man was before they turned?"

"No idea." Mark thought back for a moment, "I never really think about that. Usually I'm too busy avoiding them."

Lee shook his head at the decaying, electrified body, "Hope he wasn't like this long before the fence finished him off."

Doug examined the arrow that jutted out from its neck, "Who do you guys think did this?"

"Maybe it was the St. John boys, using him for target practice." Lee said before proceeding to pull it out. There was a sickening pop of some kind as it came out, Applejack cringed and Doug covered his mouth for a moment. The tip of the arrow was covered in blackened blood, Lee threw it aside, "Disgusting." He got a grip on his axe, put the top of the bladed end against the walker's shoulder, and pushed until the body fell to the ground.

"Let's go," Mark said, "there's probably still a few more." Once they were on the move he began to think about the Dairy's setup again, "Man, once we know the fence is all good this place will be a fortress! God, can you imagine not having to worry about the walkers anymore?"

Applejack knew she had to bring this up now. There was one problem with the whole idea of moving everyone down here to the Dairy, if that was even on the table. The only reason she didn't bring it up earlier was that she did not want the St. Johns aware of this yet, "I don't think we should move here, Mark. Twilight's almost done with her invention and we can't just leave it there."

Mark thought about it, "Well, she could still work on it if we move here, it's only about half an hour away. And besides, there's no guarantee that we'll even get to stay here anyway."

"Twilight needs to be there, we all do!" Applejack was going to make sure she made this clear, "She told me and Rainbow that her machine is fragile, we all need to be at the Motor Inn until it's finished."

Doug turned towards Mark, momentarily exiting his thoughts, "And she's right. The thing is exposed until we apply the outer shell."

"Either way, Mark." Lee joined in, "I doubt these people want us moving onto their farm. At least not right now."

Mark gave a sigh in defeat, "Yeah, you're all right. Hopefully they'll be good on their offer for dinner."

"If they've got as much food as they say then that shouldn't be an issue." They stopped once agian as they came upon another walker. This one was female and medium-rare, she leaned onto the fence while her hands gripped onto the wire.

Lee pushed her off with the axe, her hands still gripped the wire tightly. Mark examined both of them equally, "Lee, I think her hands melted onto the fence." The thought of this made Applejack feel sick. Lee proceeded to raise his axe his axe and bring it down, severing the right hand from its arm. Without warning, Applejack wanted to hurl while Doug actually did. Mark glanced at them both, "You never get used to the smell, huh?"

Applejack tried to breath, "Nah, never." Lee raised his axe again and brought it down again, severing the left hand from its arm. without anything keeping it up the corpse collapsed to the ground.

"Come on." Lee urged as Doug emptied his stomach, "Let's go before we lose our appetite." As the four walked along in their usual formation, Lee glanced at Doug every now and then. Though Doug wasn't a very social person, he'd never gone this quiet before. He seemed to be more closed off from Lee than Mark and Applejack. Lee decided to try and start a conversation, "So I guess you and Carley are becoming good friends, huh?"

"You could say that." Doug didn't even look at him, he just kept gazing forward.

"Did you two find anything in common with each other?" Lee continued to try, Doug continued to look forward.

"No, we're two completely different people." His voice grew cold.

Lee was confused as to why he was acting this way, usually Doug was more than willing to make small talk. Something was obviously bothering him, "You feeling alright, Doug? Is there someth..."

Doug suddenly stopped, causing everyone else to as well, and gave Lee an icy stare. Applejack and Mark had been engaged in their own conversation, they had no idea what was going on or if they should say something. Doug turned towards them, "Could you guys go on ahead, I need a minute to talk with Lee."

They looked at Lee, who was almost as unsure as they were, "Go on ahead, we'll catch up." Mark and Applejack glanced from Lee to Doug, then back to Lee, before they began walking. They went around the two and continued along the fence. Both of them kept glancing back at Lee and Doug until they began speaking to each other.

"What was that about?" Applejack asked.

"Don't know. I've never seen Doug act like that before."

Lee turned towards Doug when Applejack and Mark were a reasonable distance away, "What do you want to talk about?" Somehow, Lee felt that he might already know the answer to that.

Doug stared at Lee for about six seconds before replying, "Lee, I need to know right now. Where do you stand with Carley?"

"We're good friends."

"Are you sure that's it? Because I've seen the way she looks at you, and how you look at her. The way she laughs at your jokes, how you always agree with her..." He was growing hysterical, just like Twilight often does.

"Doug, just calm down..."

"You calm down!" By now Doug was yelling, nowhere near as loudly as Rainbow and Larry are when they fight but still, "You two like one another, I know it! At the drugstore you saved her from being eaten, and that is the only reason she likes you! You're her knight in shining armor!" Lee tried to speak but Doug cut him off, "Don't talk, just listen! You saved her life! I was being grabbed through a window, if that didn't happen I could have done what you did in half the time!" As he continued to rant Lee grew irritated, "I can NOT take watching you two make each other happy anymore!! So..."

Lee held his ground and spoke, making sure he was louder than Doug so he could get this through to him, "Doug, I thought you were one of the smartest I know! Are you seriously lacking so much common sense that you can't tell when somebody actually likes you?!"

"AND..." Doug stopped as the words struck him. He gave Lee a confused look, "wait, what?"

Once he had Doug's attention Lee continued, "Man, come on! Open your damn eyes! Carley had feelings for you even before I got to the drugstore, she told me so this morning! And you saved her from that news van, remember?! Why do you think Carley has an easier time talking to me? Because she can't think straight when speaking with you, Carley goes dumb just like you do when you're just thinking about her! WAKE THE FUCK UP, DOUG!!"

Lee's statement was followed by silence. Doug was at a loss for words, he couldn't begin to imagine Carley actully feeling the same way about him. He spoke as soon as he could, "Carley... really likes me?"

"Of course she does! Carley isn't exactly subtle about it either, the way she stares at you. Hell, almost everyone knew before she admitted it!" Doug, again, couldn't muster a response. He felt like kicking himself for not realizing the truth. Lee loosened his stance and softened his tone, "Let's just finish the fence, ok? We'll talk about this later."

As they walked along to catch up with Mark and Applejack, Doug kept looking at Lee. He felt like such an ass, yelling at Lee because he didn't notice the obvious, "I'm really sorry, Lee. I..."

"Just drop it for now, alright. We're too hungry to talk about it."

After a minute or so Lee and Doug found the other two. Mark and Applejack were on the outside of the fence, trying to prop up two fence post with a crispy walker tangled in the wires between. Applejack couldn't buck the post up properly without turning it into toothpicks so it was difficult for them to make any progress. Doug looked at the weak spot in the fence, "What happened here?"

Applejack glanced at them, "This feller knocked over these post tryin' ta get through. It's a good thing Andy had us come and check."

"Could you guys come and help us with this?" Mark asked, "The fence needs to be up before we can get Mr. Crispy out."

"Alright." Lee was the first over the fence, followed by Doug. Applejack and Lee pushed on the left post while Mark and Doug pushed on the right. With all of them pushing the fence was up in no time at all. As they put it back into place the lights on multiple post flickered to life, there was a sizzling sound as smoke came off of the still entangled walker.

Everyone reeled away when this happened, Doug nearly jumped a foot back. Mark, who almost got electrocuted, felt his heart race, "Holy fuck! What just happened?!"

Lee looked at him, "The fences are on!"

Applejack was beyond worried, "Why the hay would Andy turn the fence on?! We're still out here!"

Suddenly, without any warning, there was a yelp of pain. Lee turned towards his friend as he gripped onto his shoulder in agony, "The fuck?!"

Applejack looked at him as well, and saw the wound, "What in..."

Mark gawked at the arrow now sticking out of Doug's shoulder, "What the hell?!"

Another arrow flew by as someone yelled at them from the woods, "I told you what would happen, you son of a bitch!" Everyone grew terrified as another arrow whistled by, inches away from Mark's face.

"What's going on?!" Doug asked frantically as he tried to fight back the pain.

Lee quickly looked around until his eyes met with the way out. He spoke to everyone, "Get to the gate!!" As they ran for it two more arrows struck the ground and the fence before them, signaling that running was not an option. Lee thought quickly and spotted the tractor close by, "Get down!"

They all followed Lee to the tractor as more and more arrows soared at them. The man in the woods taunted them, "You assholes!"

Mark could feel the air strike him as another arrow flew by, causing him to duck, "JESUS!!"

They all tried to catch their breath once behind the heavy metal machine. Lee glanced over the top of the tractor, he could make out at least four figures in the woods firing crossbows at them. The same one who spoke before, the leader most likely, spoke again to Lee once he spotted him, "We had an agreement!" He fired again, forcing Lee to get back down, "Now you're fucked!" The arrow flew by overhead.

Applejack wasn't scared, exactly, but she was freaking out, "What in tarnation is going on?!"

"No idea!"

"Fuck!" Mark swore, "Now what?!"

Lee glanced from the fence to the gate, which laid multiple yards away with no cover between here and there, "With the fence on that gate is our only way out!"

While Lee evaluated the situation, checking any and all possibilities, Applejack and Mark checked on Doug. The arrow was likely two or three inches in, the area on his shirt around the wound was already stained with blood, "You alright there, Doug?!" Applejack didn't want to think about how much that hurt, "That doesn't look so good."

"It's nothing," Doug lied through his teeth, he was in searing pain, "I'm alright."

"No, you're not." Mark countered, "You just got shot in the shoulder with a fucking arrow!"

"Don't worry, it looks worse..." He groaned from the pain, "than it actually is."

Lee spotted something, he turned towards Mark and handed him the axe, "Hold this!" When Mark grabbed hold of the axe Lee went in front of the tractor and quickly removed the chock from in front of the tire. Lee got next to the tractor again pushed on it, it didn't budge.

Applejack saw that it was still stuck. She looked around the tractor as well, and spotted the plow attached to the back, "Lee, those blades are stuck in the dirt!"

Lee acted quickly and went to the back. He pulled the lever, lifting the plow's blades of the ground. He got back in cover quickly as an arrow struck the plow. Without anything keeping it in place the tractor began to roll forward at a steady pace, "Come on," Lee told everyone as they kept up with the tractor, "If we reach the gate we can get through this fence and back to the house!"

Doug groaned in pain, "...this stings..." As they went on the attackers continued to taunt them, calling them assholes and many other names.

Without warning the tractor stopped. Applejack looked at Lee and Mark, who were right in front of her and Doug, "Why did it stop?"

"One of the dead we pushed out is blocking it." Mark told her as Lee pulled it out of the way. Soon the tractor was moving again and they continued to stay next to it. Even up to this point arrows were still flying at them, most flew by overhead while some struck the tractor and bounced off harmlessly. Soon the tractor came to a stop again, another walker in front of the tires, "Another one?! How many of those things did we push out?"

Lee grabbed onto the walker and began to pull. Before he could make progress with moving it, the walker came to life and grabbed onto him. Lee tried to make it let go but it held on tight. Applejack looked at Mark, who had possession of the axe, "Kill it, Mark!"

"I can't!" He told her, "There isn't enough space to swing this thing!" Lee began to kick the walker in the face, which did little. The walker pulled Lee's hand close to it's face and prepared to bite. Lee mustered all of his strength and pulled his arm away from its mouth. He pulled so hard that, with the tractor pinning its lower body down hard, the walker was torn in half at the waist. Everyone's face dropped in shock and disgust, and even with half of it missing the walker still tried to attack them. Lee pulled it to the side, allowing Mark enough room to bring down the axe and kill the beast. They had to move again as the tractor was rolling. Mark looked at his friend, "Lee, you alright?"

"I'm fine, let's just keep moving." The tractor kept on rolling until it hit the side of a silo, luckily this time they were only two steps from the fence. Lee got up and kicked it open, "Let's go!"

They followed Lee inside the fence and to safety, a few more arrows flew at them as they escaped. The man yelled at them as they ran, "You lucky sons of bitches, go ahead and run! We ain't going nowhere!"