The Trotting Dead: VG

The Trotting Dead: VG
Episode 2 Chapter 2: Rough Day
Written by bobby ray
Proofread/edited by KJay

The Motor Inn was quiet at the moment. Nothing exciting was happening, thankfully. This place was as safe as Lee and the others could make it. What was once the entrance to the motel's parking lot, a major gap in their defenses, was now replaced with a low wooden wall. Though it wasn't exactly 'military standard' it was the best they could do for now. Large, blue dumpsters took up certain parts of the wall. They made great gates as they were heavy enough to hold back brain dead walkers, yet it was easy enough for the group to move them when they had to go out and hunt or scavenge.

There wasn't much to do when Lee and the others were out other than their daily routines. Applejack and Larry were working on reinforcing the wall, each one on opposite ends as she couldn't help but dislike the short tempered old man. Twilight spent most of her time working on the replica of her machine, with Doug as her active assistant. She had Rainbow and Lee keep an eye out for anything she might find useful when they went into Macon. Her hard work paid off as it was nearing completion, Doug was a great help as he was the only other person here who could understand the concept of the device. He reminded Twilight of Spike in some ways; one of which was the way Doug obviously had feelings for someone she knew.

Speaking of Carley, the gun wielding news reporter, her job was to take shifts in keeping watch with Lilly. Lilly was currently on watch, she sat in a lawn chair on top of the RV with a rifle laying on her lap. Katjaa, having been a veterinarian, acted as the group's doctor. When Kat wasn't tending to somebody's injuries she watched over her son and Clementine, who were usual doing whatever they could to pass the time. They were both coloring, or at least Duck was. Clem had taken a break from that to kick a soccer ball into two metal barrels over and over again.

Lilly watched Clem for a minute before gazing over at her father, Larry, who was using a rock as a hammer. The group was low when it came to actual tools. Larry stopped working long enough to glance up at his daughter, who forced herself to smile when the two were looking at each other. He continued to look at Lilly, the only person left in this world he cared about. He knew she was the only one in this group who could lead, and if anyone didn't agree with that then to hell with them.

There was a rustling in the bushes that grabbed Lilly's attention. She stood up and grabbed her rifle, ready to shoot at a moment's notice. Applejack was the only other person to hear this, so everyone else was still going on with their activities. Lilly grew more tense every second, and the clanking of the soccer ball striking the bins didn't help. Everyone got down as Lilly whistled to them, a signal to get quiet. The last sound was the ball hitting the barrel one more time, then everything was silent. Larry looked over the wooden barrier as Lilly turned back towards the road and the forest that lay beyond.

Without any warning Lee burst out of the vegetation, followed by some teenage kid Lilly didn't recognize. Lee shouted up at her, "Get the gates open! We've got wounded."

Lilly lowered the rifle, her expression going from confused to irritated, "Shit. What the hell are they doing?" Lilly asked herself as she proceeded to get down from the RV. Kenny came into view next, followed by Mark and Rainbow. Mark carried a man over his shoulder as Rainbow kept a watch from six feet above. Applejack and Doug, who had arrived moments ago, pushed open the gate as Ben slid past them inside. Everyone began asking questions as Mark carried the one legged man inside, followed closely by Rainbow and Lee.

"We don't have time to explain right now." Rainbow told them as she entered the safety of the Motor Inn. Clem tried to ask her and Lee if they were ok but her voice was barley audible over everyone else's.

Katjaa held onto her son and looked at the injured man, "Get him into the truck," she told Mark and Ben as they laid Mr. Parker inside the bed of the old truck, "I'll see what I can do."

Kenny entered last as Lee, Applejack and Doug closed the gate behind them, "Kat, can you fix him?" He asked his wife.

She looked at him, "Jesus, Ken! I... I don't know!"

Twilight finally reached the gathering around the entrance. She grew pale when her eyes caught the man with his foot cut off. Twilight looked at Rainbow, "What happened?" She didn't get an answer as Lilly, who had reached the crowd only moments before the unicorn, repeated Lee's name until she was the only one talking. Lilly wasn't surprised or worried, she was angry.

When she had his attention Lilly looked at him and Kenny, "What the hell?!" she demanded, "You can't just be bringing new people here! what are you thinking?!" Kenny and Rainbow both looked at her furiously.

"Hey, you want to calm down for a fucking minute?!" Kenny asked her, much to Larry's displeasure.

He pointed his finger at Kenny, "Hey! Watch your mouth!"

Lilly answered Kenny with the same angry tone she had before, "No, I don't!" She turned back towards Lee, "I want to know why you thought bringing more mouths to feed was a good idea?!"

Rainbow floated forward before Lee could answer, "This man would be dead if it weren't for Lee!" Applejack could tell she wasn't exaggerating. Though Lee did save that man from whatever trouble he was in, Apple couldn't help but think about the fact that he was missing part of his leg.

Larry shrugged his shoulders as he looked at the Pegasus, "So? Who cares?" Rainbow gazed at him with intense anger. 'Why don't you just have another heart attack already?!' she thought to herself as Lilly continued to speak.

"We are NOT responsible for every struggling survivor we come across!" she told Lee and Dash, "WE have to focus on OUR group! Right here, right now."

Applejack took a step forward, "Now, just hang on a second. Ya can't just throw these fellers out."

"Applejack's right!" Carley joined in, "We haven't even talked to these people yet! They might be useful!" She tried to make her case but Lilly just looked at her and Apple, making it clear that she didn't care if they could be helpful or not.

Mark was next to speak up, "Come on, Lilly. These are people! People trying to survive just like us. We've go to stick together to survive!"

Twilight admired Mark's words but Lilly didn't share her opinion, "The only reason you're here is because you had food, enough for ALL of us." she informed Mark, this wasn't the first time she'd brought this matter up, "But that food is almost gone, we've got maybe a week's worth left, and I don't suppose you guys are carrying any groceries," Lilly directed the question to Ben, "are you?!"

Ben was in an awkward position and wasn't sure what to say, "um... no."

"Fine. You guys fight it out, then." Mark let out a sigh, defeated in this matter. He looked at Ben as he walked away, "Welcome to the family, kid."

Clementine walked up next to Ben as he stood there, "Come over here and see what I drew." she tugged on his jacket's sleeve.

Ben was reluctant to follow at first, "What? No, I..."

"Just come on, okay?" She pulled a bit harder, forcing him to follow. Clem knew, just like everyone else, that Lilly, Kenny, Rainbow, and Larry were always fighting. Kenny and Lilly were always arguing about how things should be run and who should be in charge. However far their disputes went, though, they were nothing compared to how heated Rainbow and Larry's fights became. Lilly and Twilight were the only one's who could prevent the two from physically harming one another. One time they had gotten so loud that it actually drew in a few walkers. It was best for the new people to not get involved. Duck followed them while Katjaa went to work on the stranger's decapitated limb.

Kenny walked up, getting in Lilly's face, "You know, you like to think you're the leader of this little group, but we can make our own goddamn decisions! This isn't your own personal dictatorship!" Lee, Twilight and Apple grew worried as Kenny went in to start ANOTHER argument. Rainbow let a slight grin grow across her face, which Larry took notice of immediately.

"Wipe that dumb look off your face before I rip it off!" Larry threatened Rainbow, making her even more furious.

Carley looked at the four of them, "God, all you ever do is fight!" she looked at Kenny and Lilly, who both looked back at her, "Everything always turns into a power struggle between you two," Rainbow and Larry weren't even paying attention to her as they looked at each other, the deathly stare they always had whenever one was tired of the other beyond belief, "And you two can't go an HOUR without finding something to fight about!" she walked away, glancing at them one more time, "Why don't you all just give it a rest?!"

"She's right, you know." Twilight looked at all four of them, "There is no need to fight over every little thing." She tried to calm things down but met with no success, as always.

"Hey, I didn't ask to lead this group and I'm not the one who is always complaining!" Lilly stated to both Kenny and Twilight, "Everyone was happy to have me handing out the rations when there was enough to go around. But now that it's running out, suddenly I'm a goddamn Nazi!"

Applejack got Lee's attention, she silently whispered, "Lee, ya gotta say somethin'." In truth Apple believed Kenny should be in charge even more than Dash did, and she obviously didn't like Larry at all. But every time he and Lilly fought it took both of them, as hungry as they are, one step closer to losing what was left of their sanity.

Lee knew this as well. Sure he was Kenny's friend, and Lee didn't like Larry either, but he wasn't taking sides. If he were to support Kenny it would cause more problems than it would solve. Lee spoke up before Kenny or Lilly could continue, "It doesn't matter who's in charge! Those people are here now. I guess we just have to decide what happens next."

Kenny turned towards him, "No, Lee, it does matter! ONE person can't be in charge of EVERYTHING!" Twilight was happy with Lee for not taking sides, "You know, it might feel safe for you to sit on the fence, but sooner or later you're going to have to decide whose side you're on." Kenny walked away on that note. Rainbow wasn't mad at Lee or anything like that, but she knew Kenny was better than Lilly when it came to being a leader. She flew over to were Clementine was and sat down next to her.

Larry was angry with all of them by this point, "I don't see any of you stepping up to make the hard decisions! My girl's got more balls than all of you combined!"

Lilly didn't want her father to get overworked again, she knew that the next heart attack could be his last. She grabbed her father's attention, "Dad, please. Why don't you go help Mark with the wall?" Larry calmed himself down, his anger didn't recede. He shot Lee a dirty look before he made his way to were Mark was working. Apple felt like bucking Larry in the leg when he bumped his shoulder into Doug.

She glanced at Twilight, who just shook her head at the small display of violence. Apple never understood how she kept herself from standing up to Larry, even Lee sometimes lost his temper around the large man. When Larry went back to work, far on the other end of the wall, she did the same on her end.

"You think this is easy for me?" Lilly asked Lee once her dad was out of hearing range, "Everyone's starting to hate me because I'm the one who rations the food. But NOBODY else wants to!" she walked towards a blue backpack that rested next to the tire of the RV. Lee and Twilight followed her while Doug took a seat next to the wall. Lilly opened the bag, once she had what she needed she sealed it back up, "You know what? I'm not doing it tonight." She turned towards Lee, in her out stretched hands were two packets of cheese and crackers, a piece of jerky, and half of a red apple, "You do it. There's today's food rations, but there's not enough for everyone. Good luck."

Lee reluctantly grabbed the food from Lilly's hands, once he had the food she returned to her position on watch. Lee looked down at the food, at what they had been reduced to. These four snacks were the only meals for today. Lee could feel multiple eyes fall on him, he looked up to see most of the survivors looking at him. Some of there eyes were filled with pity, some with remorse, most with hunger. Lee let out a soft sigh once their eyes receded.

Although Twilight and her friends were not involved with the food situation, them being able to eat grass and all, she still knew how heavy the burden Lee now carried was. She stood next to him "I'm sorry, Lee."

"Don't be, Twilight. This isn't your problem."

"If you want me to, I could hand those out for you..."

"Thanks, but it would be better if I did it. We don't want somebody to be mad with you because they didn't get anything." Twilight just nodded her head. She trotted over to Doug, leaving Lee to do his thing. Lee put the rations in his back pockets before he approached Clementine and Dash. When she heard him approach, Clem quickly rose of the ground and ran towards Lee. Rainbow trotted nearly as quickly as the young girl, halting next to Clem once she stopped. Lee smiled at them, "How ya doing, Clementine?"

"Okay."

Lee quickly looked her over, soon realizing that something was missing, "Where's your hat?"

"I just asked her that a minute ago," Rainbow informed him, "says she lost it."

Clem nodded yes before looking at both of her friends, "Can you both help me find it?" She had a look on her face that even Larry could never say no to.

Rainbow made sure there was a surplus of enthusiasm in her answer, "Sure thing, Clem!"

Lee smiled once more at the Pegasus before turning back towards Clementine, "We'll both look for your hat. When did you lose it?"

Clementine did her best to contain her joy, "I had it a couple days ago."

"I promise if we find it, we'll let you know." Lee assured her.

"Thank you." She glanced over at the piece of paper she was coloring on. Clem wanted desperately to spend some time with Lee and Dash, considering they spent most hours out searching for food or parts for Twilight, "Do you want to see what I'm working on?"

"Of course." Lee answered as they followed Clementine back to were she and Duck were playing.

Applejack, who had begun again to work on reinforcing the wall, paused when she heard Katjaa grunt in frustration. She glanced over to see Kat desperately trying to stop the main artery of the man's leg from bleeding long enough for her to sew it up. This effort met with no success, however, as it would spray out blood like a faucet every time she began to work. Apple put away the nail she held in her mouth before approaching her friend, "Need any help here, Kat?" Katjaa and Applejack became great friends after what happened back at the drugstore; besides Kenny and Katjaa, Apple was the most concerned and protective when it came to Duck and his well being. She was also supportive of Kenny's decisions when the man wasn't being plain stuborn, was always there when Kat needed someone to talk with, and was more than willing to lend a helping hoof at any and all hours.

"I would appreciate that." She glanced at the farm pony while giving her response. Katjaa notioned for Apple to jump onto the back of the truck, once the mare was up Katjaa continued, "Could you apply pressure here so that I can close this up?"

"Sure, no problem." Apple rested her two front hooves upon the stump which used to be a full leg, and, with as much force as she could find, pushed down. Though the bleeding did not stop it lessened enough for Katjaa to finally begin her work. It surprised Apple how much blood there was, there was a coat of red all over Katjaa's hands and part of her clothes. She looked up, "Do ya think this guy'll be alright?"

Kat felt that she already knew the answer to this, but did not wish to worry the young mare about it, "I don't know, hopefully." A silence crept over them, but was dismissed as Katjaa began to make some progress in closing up the stranger's wound, "You know, I thought I was starting to get used to this... sewing up people's injuries..." She paused for a moment, "But I mean, cuts and bruises are one thing, this man has no leg!" Her voice made it clear she was in disbelief about this matter.

Apple could understand why this upset her. What kind of fix was this guy in, and why did Lee and Rainbow have to cut off his leg? She shrugged off the question, "Now, I'm sure Kenny and them did what they thought was right. Rainbow said Lee did what he had to, and I trust her."

"I know, Applejack." she sighed, "Hopefully nothing like this will happen again"

Lee noticed Clementine's walkie-talkie lying near her, it was one of the few inanimate objects she was protective of. Both he and Rainbow knew why it was so important to her. Almost every day before she went to sleep, Clementine would talk into the busted device; pretending she was speaking to her mom and dad. Rainbow held out hope that Clem's parents were still alive, that they would find their little girl, but Lee wasn't so sure. He didn't tell Clem or Dash that, though; life is hard enough as it is with what hope one holds. What good would it do to destroy that hope for somebody else? Lee's thoughts on the matter were interrupted as Clem's stomach called out in distress, Rainbow was caught off guard by this, "What was that?" She was a tad worried, without knowing what made that sound her mind could have mistaken it for a walker's growl.

Lee, for one, knew exactly what that was. He reached into his pocket and presented the half apple to the young eight year old, "Here Clem, you need something to eat."

Dash watched as Lee handed her the food. Though she would never, under any circumstances, admit it, Rainbow felt a little embarrassed that she didn't realize what had made the noise sooner. Clem held the apple in her hand, "I love apples. Thank you. Are there more?"

Her protector shook his head, "No, this is the last one."

Clem wasn't sure if she should take it now, "Oh... um..."

Lee stopped her, "Enjoy it. You deserve it."

Rainbow was grateful to him for feeding Clementine, but there was something slightly out of the ordinary, "Hey, Lee. What are you doing with the food?"

Lee didn't seem happy about the answer he was giving, "Lilly has me handing out today's rations."

"Seriously?" Dash couldn't believe Lilly was having somebody else do her work for her, she and Larry were surely the worst people at the motel. Rainbow shook her head slightly, "What, she doesn't have the guts to do it herself today?"

"I can't exactly blame her, she's under a lot of stress with people hounding her pretty much every day. Doesn't make it any easier for me to do this, though. A lot of people are going to be angry about not getting a meal."

Rainbow took a moment to decide on what she should say, "Well, at least this way you can make sure Duck gets something."

Lee nodded, "Yeah, I can." He got to his feet. Lee looked over at Duck, who laid on his stomach, coloring, a mere six inches to Dash's right. Lee reached into his pocket again and pulled out another one of the rations, the single piece of jerky. Duck looked up as Lee approached. The energetic child grew excited as he noticed the food, he rose to his knees, "Here, want something to eat?" Lee asked as he presented the ration to Duck.

Duck didn't even need to think about it, eagerly he grabbed the snack from Lee's hand, "Yeah! Oh, man, I'm so hungry!" Lee and Rainbow both smiled at his undying enthusiasm. It mattered not what you threw at him, sooner or later Duck would just shrug it off and be his loveable self again. Even when he had almost met death in Macon he was back to normal before they reached the Inn.

Lee looked at Rainbow, whose face was beaming with gratitude. She was satisfied now that the kids had gotten their food, even if it wasn't a whole lot, "Thank you, Lee."

"Don't mention it." Lee's gaze went from Dash to, whom the other kid had referred to as, Ben. The tall, skinny teenager was sitting on the ground, next to Clementine, on her left. Ben had his head lowered, he was obviously deep in thought. Lee decided to talk with him while he had the opportunity.

When Ben noticed Lee, he looked up at the man who had saved his last friend's life. Or, at least, Ben hoped the stranger had saved his life. He immediately asked the question which had been on his mind since they got here, "Hey, is my friend going to make it?"

Lee answered this as honestly as he could, "I don't know, but Katjaa will do her best, I promise."

Ben's voice was more unsettled than before as he continued, "I can't believe you chopped off his leg!"

"There was no other way."

His next question didn't involve his friend, but it didn't surprise Lee one bit that he was curious about it, "So, um... what's the deal with the, uh..."

Lee crossed his arms and spoke plainly, "The ponies?"

"Yeah." Ben glanced around at the multiple short, colored ponies who apparently lived here. Even with all the wild things he'd seen over the last few months, most of which involved the undead eating the living, Ben never thought he would find talking animals living alongside other survivors. And if that wasn't odd enough, Ben noticed that one of them had wings, and another, if he wasn't mistaken, had a single horn sticking out of the center of their forehead. One of them was wearing a hat, which he found kind of ridiculous, "Why do you have three ponies living here, and how can they talk?"

"They're not from around here, obviously. There was an accident and we're letting them stay here until they are able to go back home. And where they come from, there are no humans. Just talking ponies."

Ben was surprised, "Really?" the man nodded his head. Ben glanced again at the three ponies. He couldn't imagine a world full of colorful, talking ponies. Ben went on to his next question, for this one he gestured towards Rainbow, "Alright, why does that one have wings?"

Dash, who was close enough that she'd heard the entire conversation, was irritated about being referred to as 'that one'. She glared at the teenager, "I have a name, you know. I'm not some animal you'd find in the woods."

The kid receded, "Sorry."

Lee looked at dash, "Calm down, he didn't mean anything by it. And just so you know," He turned towards Ben, "Her name is Rainbow Dash, and she's a pegasus."

"For real?!" Ben was never into myths much, but he knew what a pegasus was as much as the next guy. To see one in real life was incredible, Ben was gawking at her for a few minutes. When it was clear she was growing uncomfortable he receded again, "Sorry." He glanced at Twilight again, if Rainbow was a real live pegasus then Ben wouldn't feel stupid about his first guess, "Is she a unicorn?"

"Yes." Dash told him, "And her name is Twilight." Rainbow nodded her head towards the orange pony with apples on her flank, "Her name is Applejack, and before you ask she is just an earth pony."

Ben had multiple more questions, but before he could ask a single one Lee spoke again, "Our turn to ask. Who are you people?"

"I'm Ben. Ben Paul. The man you saved is Mr. Parker, the band director at my school. We all came down from stone mountain for the playoffs when..." His tone became upset, "when everything happened." Ben didn't like thinking back to those first few weeks. All the people he had seen die, all that he had lost.

Lee could see this, "Relax, we'll have your friend back to normal in no time." Lee tried to reassure him, Ben just continued to think. He could tell Ben wasn't doing so well. Lee remembered them mentioning something in the woods about their camp being attacked, this kid could actually be hungrier than they were. He presented Ben with one of the cracker packets, "If your camp got raided, probably means you haven't eaten in a while."

Ben hesitantly grabbed the food from him, "I AM really hungry. Thanks." Having fed Clementine, Duck and Ben meant Lee was down to one ration. Before deciding who should get it, Lee needed to talk with a few people. First on his list was Kenny, who was working on the RV. Lee made his way towards him immediately.

Twilight and Doug were outside of Twilight's room, where the machine was placed. It was kept inside her room as a way to shield it from rain, cold wind, morning frost which would soon arrive, etc. With all the excitement mere minutes ago, Twilight and Doug had taken a break from the device to have a discussion about their progress, "...and then it'll be complete." Twi finished. Though there was much left to do, but above all the contraption was coming along great.

"So you really think it'll be ready in a couple of weeks?" Doug never doubted the genius unicorn, but it was hard to believe they were nearly done with all of their hard work.

"Absolutely! As long as we keep on schedule, it should be rather easy. Rainbow has brought me many useful parts from the trips to Macon. And of course with your help there shouldn't be any trouble."

Doug smiled with the knowledge that Twilight and her friends would soon return home. He always thought it was wrong that they ever got mixed up in this mess. He gave his simple response, "Awesome!"

Twilight took a moment to think about the machines imminent completion. Soon she and her friends would be able to return home, back to the life she cherished so dearly. Back to Spike, Princess Celestia, Shining Armor, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and all of the other ponies they cared about. The thought was enough to make her cry. She regained herself and wiped away her tears, doing her best to avoid making a scene. When Twilight turned back towards Doug to speak she stopped, he had his eyes locked on something. Twi followed his gaze and found Carley who was sitting in her lawn chair near Clem, Duck, Dash and the new person. Twilight turned back towards Doug, "Is there something on your mind? Anything you want to talk about?"

"No." He answered plainly, still looking at Carley.

"Are you sure?"

Doug looked at the ground for five seconds, "Well..." he turned towards Twi and paused before continuing, "...for the past few months, I've grown to... how do I say it?" He thought about it, "I guess you could say I, uh, really like Carley."

"I like Carley, too. She's a really nice person." Twilight commented. She was completely aware about Doug's feelings for Carley yet was somehow oblivious to what he was trying to tell her.

"Yeah, Twi. She is. But, the thing is, I..." he leaned in closer and whispered, "...really like her. You know, like the way Kenny likes Katjaa." It still took Twilight a moment to process this, and when she did there were multiple mental facehooves.

She felt a little stupid, "Oh." Twi looked at him, "Well, why don't you just tell her that, Doug? She's right over there."

As if on cue Lee finished his conversation with Kenny. Doug and Twi watched him walk up to Carley. Ever since the drugstore Doug and Twi had become good friends, the same thing could be said for Lee and Carley. They couldn't quite hear what Lee said, but they had to assume it was a wisecrack as it made Carley snicker. She said something in response that made Lee shake his head with a grin on his face. Doug sighed and went into his own room, Twilight wanted to say something but couldn't find the right words. She entered her room to continue working on the machine.

Carley and Lee took a break from their playful jabs at each other. It's easy for them to point out a small flaw in the other, in a joking manor to lighten the mood every now and then, without the worry of offending the other. Lee planned on talking to Mark as well, but he felt that Carley should have the last ration. After all she didn't get much to eat as of late. He presented her with the second packet of crackers, "Here, want something to eat?"

She glanced hungrily at the snack before forcing her gaze up, "Me? How about you? You look like crap, Lee. When was the last time you ate?"

A weak rumble erupted from Lee's stomach, barely audible, "I'm ok." He lied

Carley wasn't fooled, 'I want you to have this, ok? In case you or Clementine starts feeling weak." Lee looked at the ration, thinking about whether or not to keep it for himself. Seeing as Lee could stand one more day without food, and the fact that Clem had already been given something, Lee decided that it would be selfish to keep it for himself. He decided that Mark should get the food, seeing as he didn't get anything yesterday. When Lee began to leave Carley spoke again, "Hey, Lee," her voice was rather timid, "can I ask you something?"

"Sure," He turned back and walked over to her, "is something wrong?"

"No, it's..." She quickly looked away, "Never mind, it's nothing."

He bent down and got on his right knee, trying to catch her eye, "Carley, what's on your mind? You can tell me."

Carley was lost in thought for what seemed like hours. She glanced at Lee, who had a reassuring smile on his face, before looking at the concrete of the motel parking lot. After some consideration Carley decided to just say it quickly, she looked at Lee, "I think I'm in love with Doug."

The response Lee gave was not what Carley had expected, "I know."

"You... know? How do you know?"

Lee gave a small smirk, "To be completely honest with you, Carley, you aren't always subtle about it." He was telling the truth. The only few people who hadn't noticed Carley's feelings yet were Twilight, Doug himself, and a few others. Carley felt embarrassed, Lee quickly acted on that, "Don't feel bad, anyone who knows just doesn't care or doesn't want to say anything."

"Anyway," She continued, still mildly blushing, "the reason I'm telling you Lee is because, well, I need your advice. It's been three months and I feel like I should tell him, but how do I? Do I just tell him, or should I wait, or..."

He stopped her and gave his response, "Why don't you talk to Doug, get to know him better. I'm sure it'll be easier to tell him once you two have been friends for some time." The thing is, Lee knows how both Carley and Doug feel. Neither of them are subtle about it and sometimes one can be caught starring at the other. Lee is only surprised that they haven't realized this about each other.

She thought it over, "Alright, Lee. Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Lee got off his knee and walked towards Mark and Larry, who were both working on the same section of wall.

After she finished helping Katjaa, Applejack went over to talk with Kenny. He was on the opposite side of the RV from Kat, taking a break from his work as he rested on a couch he'd taken from his room. In his hand he was fiddling with a rusted, dark metal scrap. As Kenny saw the young mare approach he greeted her welcomely, "Hey, Applejack."

"Howdy there, Kenny. How's life been treating ya?"

His face went sour, "Well, besides the fact that my family is hungry and the dead are up n' walking around, everything is just peachy."

She ignored his sarcasm, "I wanted to talk with you."

Kenny looked at her questioningly, "About what?"

"'Bout you and Lilly." she got less than a foot in front of him, "Ya need to stop getting her all riled up, things are tense enough as they are."

He sighed, "Now, Applejack, you and I both know that somebody has to stand up and take charge, 'cause it's obvious that Lilly isn't capable."

"I agree that you would make a good leader, Kenny. Ya showed that back at the drugstore. But for now, at least until this food situation is under control, we all need you ta not start somethin' with her unless it's necessary. She's really edgy and there's no reason for her to get pushed off the wrong end."

Ken continued to fiddle with the scrap, "I don't start something unless it IS necessary."

After finishing Lilly's would-be duty, Lee stuck around to offer help.

"Need any help with the wall?" Lee asked Mark and Larry after he gave away the last ration.

Larry turned towards him, "Nope."

Mark had a different response, "Actually, we could use your axe. Mind if we take it?"

"Yeah, give us that thing for a bit" Larry agreed. Lee looked at both of them as he grabbed his fire axe. Giving a large, sharp weapon to Larry wasn't a great idea in Lee's mind.

He handed the axe over, "Here, Mark. This should help."

Mark took the weapon, "Thanks."

Larry glanced at Mark and the blade, "Hey, I'm the one doing all the work! You didn't think to give me the axe?" He asked, scolding Lee.

Mark looked at the short tempered man, "Come on, Larry, give it a rest. I'm sure Lee is getting tired of you thinking he's a danger to the group."

The scold on Lee became worse, "Is that what you told him?"

Lee looked at him, his response influenced by his hunger and mood, but mostly his hunger, "Yeah, that's right!"

Larry gave the impression that he was about to tear Lee apart as he got up in his face, "And what are you going to do about it?!"

"Look," Mark intervened, "I don't care what it is, but you two have got to start getting along!"

"The only thing I have to do is protect my daughter!" Larry told Mark before turning his back towards both of the, "And right now that means getting this damn wall fixed. So I would appreciate it if you two would shut up and let me get back to work!" Lee gave Mark a disapproving glare for bringing the subject up before walking away. Mark was going to say something but just let it go for now.

Rainbow had watched the whole thing, Lee and Larry almost getting into a fight, from were she sat with Clementine. When Lee walked away she turned towards Clem, "I'll be back soon, kid." Dash said to her before she flew to the other side of the motor inn. When she reached Mark and Larry she used her wings to keep herself elevated at their level, "Mark, what was all that about?"

Larry turned towards her before mark could speak, "None of your damn business, you oversized rodent!"

"Did I ask you? No! So why don't you go back to your work, grandpa?!"

"There's no need to get angry, Rainbow." Mark tried to cool her down, and, as usual, it didn't work.

"I've had enough of you freaks." Larry continued to taunt her, "You, that hick with the ten gallon, and the worm who spends all her time on that oversized coffeemaker! All of you are nothing but a bunch of freeloaders!" Larry knew their names well, he just rarely ever used them if ever.

"Don't you DARE talk about my friends like that!" She got in his face just as Larry had gotten in Lee's, "And how are we freeloaders?! We don't eat any of the food and WE do a lot more around here than YOU!" Before anyone could say or do anything, one of Dash and Larry's well know fights had begun. They sometimes got so loud that a nearby walker was drawn in by the yelling.

Lee watched alongside with Kenny and Applejack as Rainbow and Larry went at it. They pretty much always sided with Rainbow since Larry usually starts the fight. Well, that and the fact that they couldn't help but hate the old bastard. While most people tried to ignore them, Lilly had to get off the RV and attempt to settle them down. Kenny turned towards Apple, "You sure HE isn't the one who needs to stop driving people mad?" After the first month everyone learned there was no point in trying to end their disputes. Lilly only tried since she was bent on keeping her father calm.

"Ken, Lee," Katjaa called for them, "come here please." They made their way around the RV, Applejack followed close behind. When the three saw Kat she was no longer working on Mr. Parker, even though she hadn't finished his leg. It didn't take more than three seconds to process why.

"He didn't make it, did he?" Kenny asked in a cold tone.

Katjaa's voice shared that same emotionless feel, "He lost to much blood." Applejack looked at the dead man who laid in the bed of the yellow truck. This wasn't the first time she'd seen someone die, Shawn and the woman who shot herself were far more disturbing experiences. Still, the death of anyone isn't easy for her to accept.

Kenny openly expressed his feelings, "God dammit!" He stormed off, throwing his metal scrap to the ground, "I'm getting sick of this shit!"

Apple went after him, she could hear Kat and Lee begin to speak as she galloped, "Ken, come back! There's nothing..."

"Let him go, Katjaa..." their voices faded out.

She got in front of Ken, "Kenny, what's wrong?"

"Besides the fact that that man is dead?! Nothing, nothing at all!" Applejack retreated from his sudden outburst, he regained himself, "I'm sorry, Applejack. It's just been a bad day."

"It's alright." She confirmed as she got herself back up, "I'm just tryin' ta see if there was anything..." she was cut off by Katjaa's loud call of distress.

"Shit, Katjaa!" They heard Lee yell as they ran back to the scene.

Rainbow, Larry, Lilly and Mark all turned from their escalating dispute as Katjaa and Lee both yelled something out. They all turned as Lee pried her from the grasp of the former Mr. Parker, Kenny and Applejack quickly ran to her aid. Lee turned towards the four, "Mark, the Axe! Hurry!" He called out before the walker spun him around and pulled him onto the truck.

Mark, Rainbow and Lilly all acted quickly while Larry just watched. Mark ran towards Lee and the walker, a firm grip on the axe. Lilly ran towards the RV to grab her rifle. Rainbow originally flew towards the walker and Lee, until she realized her knife wasn't on her. She flew towards Clem, Duck and Ben, who didn't know what was happening.

"Rainbow," Clem began, mildly frightened, as the pegasus got her knife from the table she had rested it on, "what's going on?"

"Nothing!" Dash lied as she fastened the knife to her hoof, "Just stay here!"

Lee pushed the walker off of him as Mark swung, missing his target as the walker lowered its head. He instead hit the back of the truck, shattering a window and getting the axe wedged between metal, "Shit, it's stuck!" the walker crawled towards Lee and grabbed a hold of his leg, at least until a burst of bright purple energy knocked it away from him. Twilight was outside of her room now, not sure what all the fuss was about as it had been quiet moments ago. She saw the man Lee had saved attacking his savior. Without much hesitation she let out the blast of magic that struck the attacker's chest. It wasn't powerful enough to kill him as she didn't realize yet that he was a walker.

With the opportunity now his, Lee backed away until he fell out of the truck, landing on his size. When he rolled onto his back the walker landed on top of him and went for his neck. A quick flying spectrum of colors, however, rammed into the ghoul before it could bite him. Rainbow, after attaching the knife to herself, flew in and had knocked the beast away from Lee. She then got on top of it and drove the knife into it's head, killing it immediately. She got off of the corpse and trotted to Lee, who was breathing heavily, "You alright, Lee?" She asked, genuinely concerned.

He took a deep breath, "I am." Lee looked at her, "Thanks." Everyone except for Clem and Duck, who stood out of the way, converged on the scene. Lee got to his feet, moving rather sluggishly after the whole ordeal. Kenny and Applejack both comforted Katjaa, who was still processing what had happened.

Larry was furious beyond belief, "Why'd you bring him here in the first place?! Asshole!"

Lilly ran to her dad as soon as she arrived, the rifle in one hand, "Dad, please, calm down."

He ignored her, "You're going to get us all killed!"

"Oh just shut up, will you?!" Rainbow couldn't believe Larry would yell at Lee after he was just attacked. Until, of course, she remembered who she was talking to.

When Kenny saw Ben approach he got nearly as furious as Larry, "Why didn't you tell us he was bitten?!" he demanded.

Ben raised his arms defensively, "What?"

"He was bitten and you didn't say a god damn word!!" Kenny was ripe with red hot anger.

Ben's voice was a mixture of confusion and concern as he still didn't know what just happened, "But he wasn't bitten, I swear!"

Applejack could tell he wasn't lying, which made her truly confused and irritated, "Well then how do you reckon this feller came back from the dead and attacked one of ours?!"

"What?!" at first Ben was worried that someone was hurt AND that his teacher was dead, but he soon realized something else, "Wait, you all don't know?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kenny asked, by now everyone had their eyes on the tall, skinny teenage kid.

He could hardly believe they hadn't learned it by now, so he just came out with it, "It's not the bite that does it!" He received mixed expressions, all of which had the core of confusion. These people, and ponies, had no idea what he was saying. Ben pitied himself for having to be the one to tell them, "You come back no matter how you die. If you don't destroy the brain that's just what happens. It's going to happen to all of us."

Whatever mood everyone was just in previously was replaced with shock now. Kenny stared at Ben with wide eyes, Katjaa put a hand to her mouth and Apple removed her hat. Lilly and Larry exchanged worried glances, Doug sat himself on the ground while Carley put her head in her hands. Duck and Clementine weren't sure what to make of it, Rainbow tried to speak but no words came out, Mark shook his head in disbelief and Twilight merely looked at the ground as she pondered on this new information. Lee was the first to respond with words, his voice nearly cracking, "We're all infected? Everyone?"

Ben gave him a slightly unsure look, "I-I guess so. I don't know. All I know is I've seen people turn who I know were NEVER bitten." He again looked at the whole group in general, "When I first saw it happen, we were all hiding out in a Gym and everyone thought we were finally safe. But one of the girls, Jenny Pitcher, I think, I guess she couldn't take it. She took some pills. A lot of them. Someone went into the girl's room the next morning and, God..."

Sorrow filled everyone for seconds more until Carley yelled out, "Back off!" everyone looked at her, she now held her gun in her hands and had it aimed at two strangers. Both men stood on the other side of the street. One raised his arms while the other held onto a gas canister.

The one with the canister, the taller and more athletic of the two by the looks of it, protested to the gun trained on them, "Whoa, lady, relax!" The slightly shorter one lowered his hands to his sides as the other spoke, "Me and my brother, we... we just want to know if ya'll could spare some gas, that's all."

Carley kept the gun trained on them, her finger on the trigger, "I said back off!"

Lilly got behind her, "...Carley..."

Lee asked the strangers the first good question that came to mind, "Are you armed?!"

The younger looking brother, the shorter one, answered first, "Yeah... for protection... dead could be anywhere."

The older brother spoke up ,"But, uh, I think you've got the upper hand here."

Twilight joined in, "What do you need gas for?"

As the brothers did not see any of the ponies, they assumed it was just another woman. The shorter brother answered first again, "Our place is protected by an electric fence. Generators provide the electricity..." As he spoke Larry's eyes grew a bit at the idea that they were really protected by an electric fence. Sounded better than the wooden wall he had just been working on.

"our generators run on gas." The older brother finished for his younger sibling, "Look, we own a Dairy farm a few miles up the road. If ya'll be willing to lower your guns we could talk about some kind of trade."

The younger brother chipped in again, "How are ya'll doing on food? We got plenty at the Dairy." The mention of a trade for food was enough to make everyone put aside the horrible news they had received a minute previous.

Lilly thought for a moment, "Lee, why don't you, Mark and Ben check the place out, see if it's legit." Ben surprisingly did not protest about being volunteered.

"I'm coming with you." Carley told him as she put away her pistol, "I've got your back if anything seems fishy."

"I'll come as well," Doug stated as he got off the ground, "I want to check out this fence of theirs."

"Me to," Applejack stepped forward, "I'd like to see what this Dairy is like."

"I'll come too." Rainbow began to towards the wall.

Lee stopped her, "No, six is more than enough. Besides, I need for you to stay with Clementine."

Dash began to argue about it until Lee gave her a stern look, she knew better than to object. Rainbow got back to the ground, "Fine."

Both of the brothers stood there, waiting for a response. The older brother looked at the group past the wall, "So what are ya'll thinking?"

Lee glanced at Lilly one more time to confirm, when she nodded yes he looked back to the brothers, "You've got a deal. We'll bring some gas to your Dairy. In exchange, you'll give us some food to bring back. We'll see how it goes from there."

"Sounds fair." The taller brother said, happy to have some deal so far, "Couple of gallons should power one of our generators for a while."

The small group going to the Dairy opened the gate and walked towards the brothers as Kenny and Larry closed it behind them. Lee, Applejack, Mark, Carley, Ben and Doug stopped in front of the two strangers, waiting for them to lead. They both looked at the small, orange mare that accompanied them. Aside from the big eyes, orange coat and large western hat there was nothing THAT odd about her, "Aw," the younger brother exclaimed slightly, "Isn't that cute. They got her wearing a hat."

"Pardon me," Applejack began, straightening her ten gallon, "but I wear this here by my own free will." Her voice showed clear indications that his statement had offended her, "Ya don't see me saying 'your brothers got you wearing a blue shirt', do ya?"

Both of the brothers were shocked. The younger one hung his mouth open and th older one leaned away slightly while his eyes bulged at the talking pony. He opened his mouth to ask but Lee stopped him immediately, "Don't ask." He, again, spoke plainly, "We'll explain on the way."