Chapter 4: Rock and a Hard Place

11:15 P.M.

The car ride to the countryside was silent, as nobody had much to say. Travis gazed out the window, listening to the car's hum and watching the trees pass by until he dozed off. Rachel soon followed, finding the moving car more comfortable than the treehouse floor. They were awakened when the car came to a stop in front of an old farmhouse. Clementine tapped Rachel's shoulder, signaling their arrival, and Rachel nudged Travis's neck, causing him to stir. He glared at her, but she only shrugged.

Lee, Shawn, and the kids got out of the police car and gathered around it. "Say hi to your dad for me," Officer Mitchell said through the passenger car window.

Shawn leaned and nodded, looking downcast. "Yeah..."

"I'm sorry, Shawn. Chet was a good dude," Officer Mitchell said.

"One of the best." Shawn replied, visibly grieving. Lee and the others noticed and expressed their condolences, even Clementine and Rachel understanding that he had lost a friend.

"Take care, y'all." Officer Mitchell said before driving away. As he departed, the front door of the farmhouse opened, and an older man walked out. He had silver hair with a beard to match, and his clothes suggested that he was a farmer. Lee assumed that he was the owner of the property.

The old man approached Shawn and greeted him warmly. "Thank God, you're okay," he says.

Shawn embraced the old man, relieved to see him alive and well. "I was worried it'd be bad here, too," he said, referring to the chaos and destruction he had witnessed on his trip back to their farm.

The old man responded with a nonchalant shrug. "Been quiet as usual the past couple days. Ol' Breckon down the way thinks his mare's gone lame, but that ain't nothing new."

Their relief was short-lived as he revealed the tragic news of his friend's death. "I ran into Andre outside of Atlanta. And, uh ... Chet... he got killed," he said with a heavy heart.

"No... You're kidding...!"

Shawn shook his head. "Those things got him," he said with vexation. "Dad, I don't know what's going on."

"I'm sorry, Shawn." said the old man. There wasn't much he could do or say to make him feel better, and especially not in these strange, strange times. It was then that the old man noticed the four newcomers standing idly by next to the dirt path behind Shawn.

"You've brought a quite a few guests." he remarked, taking in their weary and disheveled appearance.

Lee spoke up, deciding to express his gratitude for Shawn's assistance. "Your boy's a lifesaver,"

The old man nodded, a sense of pride swelling in his chest. "Glad he could be of help to somebody," he said warmly.

"And we're sorry for imposing. We just need a little... help. We won't stay long."

He welcomed them, but with a caveat. "You're very welcome. And y'all are welcome to stay here, but just for the night. I don't run a bed and breakfast," he said, eyeing the three youngsters in the group. A boy and two girls. Didn't really look related as far as he could tell, but adoption was very much a thing so he decided not to ignorantly input on that. "So, it's just you and your kids then?" he asked, only to be corrected by Shawn.

"Oh, not his kids, he's... well... just some guy who found them alone." Shawn said. Mr. Greene casted another look toward the kids once more, this time deciding to ask for their answer. He wouldn't feel right if there's something afoot happening on his property.

"Kids, do you know this man?"

"Yes," "Yep," " Mhm ."

"Okay then," he said, accepting their response for the time being. His eyes wander over to Lee's now infamously injured leg. "Well, looks like you hurt your leg pretty bad there."

"Yeah, it's not doing so good." Lee grimaced in response, clearly in a good deal of pain.

"I can help you out. Shawn, run on in and check on your sister. You, take a seat up on the porch and I'll go see what I have." The old man offered, instructing his son to check on his daughter while he went to retrieve his medical supplies.

Lee climbed the steps and took a seat, while Clementine and Rachel hung on to the step banister and Travis dozed off again on the steps. Mr. Greene returned and passed a glance at the kids, although none of them really picked up on it. He went over to Lee and knelt down to inspect his leg.

"Let's have a look... Yeah, this is swollen to hell," said Mr. Greene as he inspects Lee's leg.

"Could be worse," Lee replied.

"That's what it sounds like. Seems like things got awful bad in the cities," Mr. Greene asked, dabbling antiseptic on Lee's wound. "What did you say your name was?"

"It's Lee."

"Well, nice to meet you, Lee. I'm Hershel Greene," the older man formally introduced himself as he wrapped Lee's leg with bandages. Lee winces; that stung a bit more than the antiseptic.

"How'd this happen?" Hershel inquired, referring to the wound.

Lee wracked his mind on how to answer without accidentally revealing his "situation" as a convicted murderer. He couldn't exactly afford to be thrown out or taken away in handcuffs, not when he had essentially promised to safeguard the kids he barely knew. He couldn't help but feel responsible for their safety. What would happen to them if he were to be kicked out, or worse?

On the other hand, he wasn't too keen on lying, either. He'd been honest with the Greene's so far, it wouldn't be right to start completely lying to them now. More so, in front of the kids that he had no clue how long they'd be in his company for. They'd already started asking question before they arrived, and he only briefly gave them an actual answer.

"Car accident," Lee finally admitted.

"That so..." Hershel nodded, silently acknowledging his response. "Where were you head? Before the car accident?"

"I was getting out of Atlanta," Lee answered. Hershel looked up, seemingly skeptical of his response.

"The news says stay ."

"Yeah, well that's a mistake." Lee responded firmly. "We hit a guy, one of those things you've been hearing about, on the road."

"Who were you with, the kids?" Hershel questioned further.

"I was with a police officer. He was giving me a ride," Lee told him. Though he'd been telling the truth, he stayed vague with his answers to protect himself and the kids.

"Awful nice of him," Hershel remarked as he finished tying off the bandage.

"I'm an awful nice guy," Lee quipped with a wry smile.

"House is full up with mine. We've got another displaced family of three in the barn. You and your children are welcomed to rest there, when we're done here." Hershel turned around and regarded the three kids behind him. "I didn't catch your names, kids?"

The first to respond is Clementine, who introduced herself with a shy smile. "Clem- Clementine..."

Rachel is quick to follow, offering her own name with a bit more confidence. "Rachel." Hershel nods his head over to Travis, who is essentially sleeping on the steps. "This is Travis."

"Can't imagine what you kids've been through."

Lee spoke up. "I'm looking after them until we, er... find their parents."

Just then, Shawn stepped out and joins them at the front doorway. "Hey dad, so I'm thinking... first thing tomorrow, we gotta reinforce the fence around the farm."

"With what happened with your friend, maybe that's not a bad idea."

**********************************

Travis is rudely awoken by a kick to the hip and the group head toward the barn, with Hershel informing them that he only had two sleeping bags to spare. Rachel quickly called dibs and shared the sleeping bag with Clementine, leaving Travis to (undesirably) sleep against a haystack. Exhaustion took over Travis and he fell asleep in no time with fairly little complaints.

As the girls settled in, they took in their new, odd surroundings. Sleeping in a barn is definitely a first for them, and while it's not necessarily uncomfortable, it's a strange and foreign concept to the two girls who were more accustomed to sleep in houses, with air conditioning. Rachel personally thought it was still a step above the hard wooden floor of the treehouse, but Clementine, on the other hand, couldn't exactly make herself entirely comfortable in the new place.

"It smells like..." Clementine trailed off, at a loss for words.

"Shit," Lee muttered subconsciously, causing Rachel to snicker as Clementine gasped. "I'm sorry; shouldn't talk like that."

"That was a swear...!" Clementine glared at him, surprised. Her parents never used those kinds of words around her, always telling her they were inappropriate and unkind.

"My mom says I'm not allowed to swear until I pay someone called 'Bill'," Rachel recalled tiredly.

"I think she means bills, you know, like the kind you pay for your house," Lee explained with a soft chuckle. Rachel looked even more confused, and soon curled into herself, yawning.

...

"I miss my mom and dad..." Clementine whispered sadly. Rachel nodded silently into her side, joining with her friend's lonesomeness. Lee gave them a nod, completely understanding that they were all missing their families, just like him. A part of him wondered if their parents were still even alive . If they were trapped in a building with those things .

Lee couldn't help but to recall about those recordings he'd heard earlier, which didn't bode well with him, at all. Yet still, quietly, he hoped against all odds that he was wrong, that they will find their loved ones safe and sound.

That they would all find their loved ones safe and sound.

"How far is Savannah?" Clementine asked.

"It's pretty far," Lee admitted.

"Oh. Okay," Clementine yawned, drifting off. "I'm glad I'm not in the treehouse tonight..." The girls had finally settled into the sleeping bag, and lulled off to sleep.

As Lee drifted off to sleep, he reflected on the events of the day. He never could have predicted that his commute to his new life in prison would lead up to him running from man-eating dead people and taking care of three lost kids. It all seemed so surreal , like a bad dream within a bad dream that he couldn't quite wake up from.

He began to consider their next move, already knowing they couldn't stay at the farm for more than one night. They needed to keep moving, but he had no idea where to go. The city was probably teeming with the dead or no people at all, and he hadn't a clue of, or if any safe areas or checkpoints were set up by the government. Lee almost instantly thought of his family's pharmacy down in rural Macon, but hesitated on entertaining the thought just as instantly as he wasn't even sure that they would welcome him home. Still, he wanted to know if they were okay, at the very least, and it might even be a good place to take the kids. They were good people, great even. Lee knew that even if they didn't welcome him home, they would still help the kids on way or another.

Lee was interrupted by Clementine's sleep-talking. He could tell she was dreaming, and whispered gently to her to calm her down. Lee couldn't imagine what she was going through, what any of these kids were going through. Not having the comfort of your parents and suddenly being thrusted into this even more dangerous version of the world.

As Lee finally drifted off to sleep, the only sound in the barn was the soft rustling of hay and the occasional snore from Travis.

...

...

...

Lee awoke suddenly, his breaths coming in heavy pants as he surveyed his surroundings. His eyes landed on a small figure in the dim light of the barn, and as his vision adjusted, he recognized the figure as Rachel, who was holding out the stuffed animal she had been carrying with her throughout their journey.

"Here," Rachel yawned, offering him the toy. "This is Captain Yellowbear. He's my friend, and he helps keep all the bad things away."

Lee looks at the rabbit for a moment before accepting it, feeling a sudden pang of gratitude towards the young girl. Rachel flopped back down and fell asleep without another word, leaving Lee alone with his thoughts. He knew that the toy may not do much to alleviate his own nightmares, but appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

**********************************

July 22nd, Day 4

"Hey. Get up."

Lee stirred from his sleep, feeling groggy as he tried to shake off the drowsiness. Morning had arrived too soon for his liking. He noticed a man with a thick mustache standing nearby, eyeing the yellow stuffed toy in Lee's hand that Rachel had given him to "keep the bad things away".

"Nice bear." The mustachioed man gestured to the stuffed animal in Lee's hand and he returned the toy to its owner.

"Did he keep the bad dreams away?" Rachel asked curiously. It was, after all, Captain's best skill.

Lee affirmed that it did the trick. "It did. Thank you."

Clementine, on the other hand, seems to be in a less than pleasant state. She scratched at her arms, feeling the aftermath of having slept in a barn. It felt like hair and feathers had fallen all over her while she slept.

"I'm itchy." She grumbled.

"Well you slept in a barn, little lady. Lucky you don't have spiders in your hair." The mustached man joked, causing Clementine to jump and paw at her curls. "But I bet your daddy scared 'em all away, huh?"

"I'm, uh , not their dad. Name's Lee."

"I'm Kenny."

A boy, appearing to be around Clementine and Rachel's age ran up to the entrance of the barn, smiling ear to ear.

"Dad! We're gonna build a fence! There's a tractor and everything!" The boy spouted before running off.

Kenny sighed. "We better get going, or we won't hear the end of it."

The group walked out side-by-side from the barn and into the sun, the iconic Georgia summer heat beaming down on them, the sound of crows and bugs filled the summer air. Clementine holding Lee's hand, and Rachel holding hers.

"That's my boy, Ken Junior. We call him Duck, though."

Lee cocked his brow at the strange moniker. "Duck?"

"Yeah. Nothing bothers him. Like water off a ducks back, y'know?"

"That's a valuable trait lately."

"No kidding. But frankly I think it's because he's dumb as a bag of hammers."

"Daaad!"

"But he makes up for it with enthusiasm." Lee and his group stopped next to Duck and his mother, who were sitting on hay bales in front of the porch. "The word is you were on your way to Macon," Kenny said to Lee.

Lee confirmed it, "My family's from there."

"Well, Macon's on the way and, personally, I'd appreciate the company of a guy who can "knock a couple of heads together" if he has to," Kenny said.

Lee looked to the kids for their approval. Travis nodded, and the girls quietly agree. Lee turned back to Kenny, "Sure, we'll tag along."

"It's a plan, then." Kenny introduced Lee to his wife and son. "Honey, Duck, this is Lee and, uh , what're the kids' names?"

Clementine lets go of Rachel's hand and hides behind Lee. "Clementine," he points the other two. "Rachel, and that's Travis over there."

Rachel waves, but Clementine remains hidden. Kenny's wife smiles kindly to the hidden girl. "That is a very pretty name." she said, hoping to ease the girl's shyness.

"Thanks..." Clementine said, a bashful smile forming on her face.

Shawn came over from the side of the house, dusting his hands. "Well, we should get to work. We've all seen what those things can do out there so the faster we get this fence up, the better."

"I wanna build a fence!" Duck proclaimed excitedly.

Shawn grinned, "Yeah? Well I need a good foreman. You can sit on the tractor and yell at me whenever I take a water break." He joked.

"On the tractor? Cool! "

"Duck and I will hop to it."

Rachel's eyes lit up with excitement. "Ooo, a real tractor? Like Superman's parents had? Can I come?" she asked, looking up at Shawn with eager anticipation. Shawn turned to Lee, seeking his approval.

Lee nodded with a reassuring smile. "Sure. Just be careful," he says to Rachel, who jumped with joy before thanking Lee and rushing off with Shawn and Duck to see the tractor.

Meanwhile, Kenny's wife offered to keep an eye on Clementine while they work around the farm. "I can keep an eye on your little girl here on the porch. We can visit." she suggested kindly.

Travis, feeling a bit useless, asked what he can do to help.

"You know how to fix a car?" Kenny asked, as he lifted the hood of his truck.

Travis nodded in confirmation. "My dad taught me a few things."

Kenny welcomed him with open arms. "Well then, the more the merrier," he said with a grin, motioning Travis over to help with the repairs.

**********************************

Rachel giggled as she perched on the front of the tractor, imagination running wild. She pretended that she was straddling the nose of a powerful mechanical dragon, with General Foreman Duck in charge of the controls behind her.

"Full steam ahead! Fix the magic gate, already, Shawn!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah! Lift with your back, Shawn!" chimed in Duck, who was starting to feel like he was actually on a mission.

Shawn let out a long sigh, starting to feel the strain of their impatience. Almost immediately he was beginning to regret enlisting the company of two hyperactive kids.

Rachel pressed Captain Yellowbear up to her ears, pretending he was speaking to her. "What's that, Captain? He says we have to fix the magic anti-monster gate before the army of monsters and their robo-raptors show up! Drive faster, Duck!" she urged, completely absorbed in her imaginary adventure.

As Rachel and Duck continued their wild tractor adventure, Lee walked around to the back of the house to find Shawn working on the fence.

Shawn glanced behind him. "Hey, Lee."

"Need a hand?" Lee asked, taking in the nice view of the backyard. Plains, trees, it was really serene. The open field in the distance give a sense of peace and normality to the scene.

"That'd be great," Shawn stood up. He motioned to a stack on wooden planks by a saw. "If you could cut those two-bys to length, that'd sure speed things up."

Lee moved over to the saw and wood and began cutting the wooden planks as Shawn continued to hammer away and reinforce the fence, the two started to converse.

"My dad doesn't know how bad it is," Shawn started.

"He knows what happened to your friend out there." Lee replied.

"Yeah, but I'm not really talking about those things . I saw a guy in Atlanta kill a kid. A boy. Just shot him right in the face."

Lee grimaced. "Damn..." was all he could really say to that. That was horrible.

"No shit, damn," Shawn stared at his handiwork for a moment before continuing. "He did even hesitate. He just turned, put the barrel of the gun right between this kid's eyes, and pulled the trigger."

Shawn's memory was crystal clear, like it had happened just minutes ago. He and Chet had been in Atlanta that afternoon, searching for something he couldn't quite recall. They were downtown when shit hit the fan. Shawn spotted a few of those things lurking in the streets, which quickly multiplied into a horde. They took refuge in an old shop for a couple of hours until the number of creatures dwindled, allowing them to make their way to Chet's truck. Shawn remembered staring out of the window for what felt like an eternity.

On the third glance, he saw it - a young boy, dressed like any other, approached the Man. Shawn couldn't hear what was said, or if anything was said at all, because in less than two seconds after the Man turned around the boy was laid out, blood spurting from his skull.

"You don't see things like that. It—It's not like in the movies."

Lee could agree to that all too well now. "They don't fall like you think."

"Did you have to do it?"

"Do what?"

"Kill," Shawn said. "Have you had to off one yet?"

Lee paused, his eyes drifting to the saw as he remembered the two he had killed, or rather, dispatched. He had taken out the cop who was taking him to prison, and then the babysitter who had attacked the girls at Clementine's house. But he couldn't exactly tell Shawn about the cop, so he parroted what he had told him before. "I bashed a poor girl's brains in."

"Whoa," Shawn muttered. "I couldn't do that. I could shoot one, maybe, if it were far away. I'm just glad we're getting this fence built. Dad just wants to keep the family safe... and thinks inviting people in is a bigger threat than whatever's out there. How about yours? How's your family?"

"My brother and parents are in Macon," Lee said, before brief flash of what-ifs cross his mind. "I hope ."

"Oh , man, I hope so too. Maybe it's not too bad there." Shawn said, trying to offer some much needed optimism.

Lee finished cutting the two-bys and Shawn thanked him.

"And Shawn, I'm sorry about your friend."

"Thanks, Lee. I appreciate it. Anyway, when you see my dad around, he might want some help in the barn." As Lee turned to leave, he caught a glimpse of Hershel walking into the barn. He waved to the kids and set out to help the older man.

Rachel looked up as Lee walked away. She didn't know about Duck, but she'd at least overheard a bit of Lee and Shawn's conversation.

It sounded scary, and Rachel had snuck and watched scary movies with her brother and Travis before, so she had seen some scary stuff . But Shawn had said it was scarier than any scary movie she had ever seen.

Rachel had seen Lee kill, or "get rid of," Monster Sandra, and that was scary, because she had been a monster that Rachel knew before she turned into one.

She had a dream last night in the barn, where she saw Sandra turn into a monster in front of her. But even so, it wasn't as scary as it should've been. Instead, Rachel just assume as if her dream was telling her something. That monsters could turn other people into monsters. It would explain why she turned into one after getting attacked by one a few days ago.

That's probably what happened to Shawn's friend, too.

"Hey, Shawn?"

"Yeah?"

"Do... monsters turn other people into more monsters?"

Shawn's hammering came to a halt as he looked up. "I think so. Yeah. That'd... probably explain why there's so many of them."

She didn't need to ask him if his friend had turned into a monster. Rachel already knew the answer. After a beat, she returned to playing with Duck.

"General Foreman Duck! Captain says there's a bunch of robo-raptors... uh ... that way?" she pointed behind Shawn. Duck had shrugged in response.

"I'm bored. I don't wanna be a general. I wanna run a farm!" Duck said.

"Can it be a dinosaur farm?"

"Cool!" Rachel smiled, turning her head to see Clementine walk around the corner. She waved at her.

"Hey, Clem! We're playing dinosaur farmers, you wanna play?"

"No thanks... I can watch you, though." Rachel bounced before she held Captain Yellowbear to hear ear once again.

"Farmer Captain Yellowbear says we have to go over there and plant a bunch of prehistoric stuff. Onward!" She shouts.

Duck give one good pull of the lever next to the steering wheel and it actually moved.

...It actually moved?

It moved...

And...

The tractor suddenly turned on, and it quickly moved over what was probably not a rock. Rachel heard a sickening crack and squelch underneath as Shawn screamed out in agony.

"AHHHH!"

Shawn's bone-chilling hollering shot past the roar of the tractor engine. Duck and Rachel froze in horror as they watched first-hand the result of their horse-playing. Rachel jumped off the trunk of the tractor and rushes over to grab Shawn's flailing left arm, pulling with all her might and apologizing profusely. She couldn't tell if she was making it worse or if she even moved herself, but she definitely moved when she heard Duck's terrified shriek.

Meanwhile, Lee, Kenny, and Travis rush over from the front yard, their faces covered with something akin to pure panic. Lee raced to Duck's side, while Travis hurried to assist Shawn. Lee delivered a harsh swing to the corpse's head, causing it to stumble and loosen its grip on Duck. Taking advantage of the moment, Kenny rushed over and tried to pry Duck away from the monster's decayed grip.

With one final blow to the walker's face, the monster released its hold on Duck, causing it to fall back onto the ground. Kenny quickly scooped Duck up and carried him away to safety. Travis, on the other hand, strained to pull Shawn free from the tire, as the man's leg remained trapped.

Shawn's panicked voice echoed across the yard. "Get this tractor off of me!" Kenny hesitated for a moment, torn between helping Shawn and protecting his son. Ultimately, he chose the latter and ran back to safety with Duck in his arms. "LEE, HELP ME PLEASE! " Travis swung an uncut two-by and smashed one of the walkers pushing against the fragile fence.

"Push that tractor back!"

Lee sprang into action, scrambling onto the tractor and frantically searching for a way to reverse it. "How do I reverse this thing?!" he yelled over the chaos.

"P-Pull the steering lever in the opposite direction and mash that pedal!" Shawn shouted back. Lee followed the instructions and the tractor shuddered to life Lee follows Shawn's instructions and pulls the steering lever in the opposite direction while mashing the pedal, sending the tractor in reverse and freeing Shawn's trapped foot. It was too late however as the fence collapsed due to the dead weight of the corpses. The creatures fall on top of Shawn, seeking their teeth into his flesh and chewing out chunks. Travis jumped back and scooted away. Hershel arrived on the scene, rifle in hand, and took aim at the approaching walkers. One of the undead stumbled forward into down the already weakened fence. Hershel took it out with a single shot. Another walker, the one that had attacked Duck, rose to its feet again. Hershel wasted no time in firing another round, putting the dead down for good.

Shawn's form twitched as he reached for his throat, the excruciating pain forced him to pull away. His foot was twisted in a grotesque angle, and Travis was certain he saw bone amidst the bloody mess.

The group congregated, their eyes transfixed on the massacre. Katjaa stepped forward, using her body to shield the younger kids from the gory scene.

Hershel hurried to his son's side, examining his life-threatening injuries. After a brief moment, he realized that Shawn's neck was chewed open, and leg is more than severely wounded—it was barely hanging on. The sight of his son in agony hanging on death's step fueled his anger, compounded by the realization that these strangers have caused chaos in his once-peaceful home.

"Get out," Hershel's voice dripped with anger as he rose to his feet, facing the group. "Get the fuck out of here!"

"I'm okay, Pop... I'm okay," Shawn managed to grit through his teeth.

"I know, son. Don't worry, we'll stitch you up." Hershel's voice softens slightly as he reassures his son.

Shawn gasped for air as he surveyed the crowd around him. "It almost... it almost got me, man. They tried to save me..." he managed to say, his voice quieting until he was gone.

Kenny's head drooped low, clearly feeling guilty for what had happened. "I'm sorry..." he muttered.

"Sorry? " Hershel's voice was laced with venom. "Your son's alive. You don't get to be "sorry" ." He turned to Lee and Travis. "I thank you boys. You helped him, but this piece of shit left him to die ."

Lee nodded slightly, but he remained silent. Hershel turned away from them, his sadness and anger palpable.

"Please, just go," Hershel said somberly. "Get out and never come back." He returned to tending to his son's body.

Kenny regarded Lee. "You've got that ride to Macon if you want it." he and his family made their way back to their truck. The group exchanged glances.

That brief farm invitation had been thoroughly rescinded.