Episode 1 - Chapter 4 part 1 - Hershel's Farm

When the next scene began, Kenny found himself very nervous. He couldn't help it. It was only the next day on the screen that Shawn would be killed. And he felt that it was all his fault. Silently, he wished for the footage to just stop...to just disappear into thin air so that he won't have to relive the moment. Before, he hadn't seen Shawn die since he ran away. Would it show his death this time around?

It's nighttime when the group reaches Shawn's family's farm.

Everyone gets out of the truck. Chet stretches his arms.

Chet: Hey, Shawn... I'm'a run on home. My mama's gonna be in a snit.

Shawn: No sweat, man. I'll catch you tomorrow night.

"If only that were true" Kenny grumbled under his breath. If only the person who had brought them here picked them from further back in time then they would be able to save Shawn. Maybe he would even be in this very room?

Chet turns to Lee and Clementine.

Chet: It was nice to meet ya both.

Lee waves goodbye and Chet leaves.

The front door opens and Shawn's father, Hershel, emerges.

Hershel: Thank god you're okay.

Shawn: I was worried it'd be bad here, too.

Shawn hugs his father.

Hershel: 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.

Shawn: I wouldn't have made it back without Chet.

Hershel: Well, I'm glad you took him with you then.

Hershel turns to Lee and Clementine and puts his hands on his hips.

Hershel: You've brought a couple guests.

Lee: Your boy's a lifesaver.

Hershel: Glad he could be of help to somebody.

A few people chuckled to this.

Hershel: So it's just you and your daughter then.

Shawn: Oh, not his daughter, he's...well... Just some guy who found her alone.

Lee nodded his head at how Carley stated that saying he was just some guy sounded suspicious. He really needed to become a better lier or maybe bad things would start to happen.
"For once, Carley, you make a good point" Larry uttered. Carley and Doug both glared at him which made him roll his eyes and face the screen again.
"Larry, what exactly is your problem with Lee and Carley?" Glenn inquired as he noticed that Larry was picking on Lee and Carley the most.
"None of your business, kid!" Larry snapped which caused Glenn to frown.
"Larry, if I were you, I'd watch my mouth." Lee stated. Before anything could get heated, the screen started to play again.

Hershel kneels down in front of Clementine.

Hershel: Honey, do you know this man?

Clementine: Yes.

Hershel: Okay, then.

Hershel gets up.

Hershel: Well, looks like you hurt your leg pretty bad there.

Lee: Yeah, it's not doing so good.

Hershel: 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.

Shawn and Hershel enter the house, Lee takes a seat on the bench on the porch, and Clementine stands near the top of the stairs. Hershel returns shortly, holding a roll of bandages. He kneels down and inspects Lee's leg.

Glenn grimaces at the sight of Lee's fresh wound. It's weird that he doesn't like gore yet he is perfectly fine with killing walkers. Strange right?

Hershel: Let's have a look. Yeah, this is swollen to hell.

Lee: It HURTS like hell.

Hershel: I bet it does.

Hershel: What'd you say your name was?

Lee: It's Lee.

Hershel: Nice to meet you, Lee. I'm Hershel Greene.

Hershel bandages Lee's wound and he winces in pain.

"That's one terrible Doctor" Katjaa muttered to herself.
"Why is that?" Kenny asked when he heard her muttering.
"Hershel didn't even use antiseptic before wrapping Lee's wound" Katjaa answered. Lee heard this but luckily he calmed them down.
"Don't worry, it's better than back then" He said.

Hershel: How'd this happen?

Lee: Car accident.

Hershel: That so? Where were you headed? Before the car accident?

Lee: Home.

Hershel: Where's home?

Lee: I grew up in Macon.

Lee: We hit a guy, one of those things you've been hearing about, on the road.

Hershel: Who were you with, the girl?

Lee: Nobody.

"Why did you lie?" Doug asked and turned to Lee. Lee sighed and started to explain.
"People May turn on me if they find out who I once was. It may cause drama in the group which could leave us exposed. And that is the last thing I need on my mind" Lee stated. Carley nodded to herself at that explanation. Especially since she knows who Lee was because she had payed attention to his trail.

Hershel: Is that so?

Lee: Yeah, it is.

Hershel: You said "we," that's all.

Hershel: House is full up with mine. We've got another displaced family of three sleeping in the barn. You and your daughter are welcome to rest there, when we're done here.

"Uh, Shawn already mentioned that Clementine is not Lee's daughter" Glenn pointed out. Lee just shrugged his shoulders at that statement.

Hershel turns to Clementine.

Hershel: I didn't catch your name, darlin'.

Clementine: Clem--Clementine.

Hershel: Can't imagine what you've been through, Clementine.

Lee: I'm looking after her until we find her parents.

Shawn walks onto the porch.

Shawn: Hey, Dad, so I'm thinking, first thing tomorrow, we gotta reinforce the fence around the farm.

Hershel: That doesn't seem necessary.

Larry looked unimpressed. 'If that man thinks that a fragile picket fence is going to stop a legion of the dead then he should've died a long time ago' He thought to himself. Meanwhile Kenny wished that the fence Shawn was working on was more reinforced when the walkers attacked. Hershel would've managed to shoot the walkers well before they bit into Shawn.

Shawn: I don't know what you saw on TV, or heard on the radio, but there's some serious...(looks at Clementine) SHIT hitting the fan. I don't think anyone knows how big it is yet.

Lee: Your son's right. You're gonna wanna fortify this place.

Hershel: Stuff like that doesn't happen around here, Shawn.

Shawn: Dad, I'm serious. Lee, come on, tell him what you saw out there, man.

Lee: Teenage girl with her guts spilled out on the floor stood up from the dead and tried to bite me.

"That's a bit dramatic" Lily murmured. Lee looked her way and glared at her.

Hershel: Well, do what you think you should. We've got plenty of chores as it is.

Shawn: Lee and those folks in the barn can help out in the morning. We gotta do it, really.

Hershel: I already said okay.

Shawn goes back inside.

Hershel: Well, I'm all done here. It should start to feel better tomorrow.

Lee: Thanks.

Hershel gets up.

Hershel: If your leg gets hot or the swelling doesn't go down, you're probably dealing with an infection.

Lee: What do we do then?

Hershel: We'll probably just have to shoot you.

'That's a good idea' Larry thought to himself and smirked at the thought.
"That's not funny!" Doug yelled only to shut up when everyone gave him blank stairs.

Lee looks surprised.

Hershel: We'll clean it, re-dress it and you'll be fine.

Lee: Okay, that'd be preferable.

Hershel: There's blankets and such in the barn. We'll be seeing you bright and early. Come tomorrow, which way you think you're headed?

Lee: Towards Macon, I suppose.

Hershel nods. He turns to Clementine and smiles at her before going back inside.

Lee: Alright then.

Lee and Clementine lie down on makeshift beds in the hay-covered barn. The family of three is already asleep on the upper floor of the barn.

Glenn raised an eyebrow at the bedding. "Um. Why didn't you use the bed covers?" He asked and gazed at Lee for and answer. Lee was about to answer but Kenny beat him to it.
"There were probably spiders crawling inside the bedding" He answers. Clementine momentarily checked her hair to see if any spiders were in it.

Clementine: It smells like...

Lee: Manure.

Clementine: Manure? Like when a horse...plops?

Lee: Just like that.

Clementine: I miss my mom and dad.

Lee: I bet, Clem.

Clementine: How far is Savannah?

Lee: Pretty far.

Clementine: Oh. Okay.

Clementine and Lee fall asleep. Lee begins dreaming.

Lee's Ex-Wife: I love you, baby.

Everyone raised their heads when the voice of this woman appeared out of nowhere. "Who's this voice belong to?" Glenn asked.
"My ex wife" Lee replied. 'What the hell is this?!' He thought.

Lee's wife laughs. Something shatters, and she screams.

Everyone except Larry flinched when they heard the glass shatter in the background.
"What happened?" Clementine asked when Lee's dream was over.
"I think it's best if we don't know" Carley replied. Lee smiled at her which made Carley smile back.

Lee is disturbed by the dream, and wakes up suddenly. He breathes heavily for a few moments before falling back asleep. When he wakes up the next morning, he sees a mustachioed man speaking to him.

Kenny grins when he sees himself on screen. However that grin immediately vanishes after he realises that just in a few moments, the walker attack will happen.

Kenny: Hey, get up.

Lee gets up. Clementine is already awake and standing nearby.

Clementine: (scratching her arm) I'm itchy.

Kenny: Well, you slept in a barn, little lady. Lucky you don't have spiders in your hair.

Clementine gasps and looks up at her hair.

"Lee, were there actually spiders in that barn?" Clementine asks.
"No clem" Lee replied. But it was lie and he was not going to tell her that there was a spider on him when he woke up.

Kenny: But I bet your daddy scared 'em all away, huh?

Lee: I'm not her dad. Name's Lee.

Kenny: I'm Kenny.

Duck runs up to the entrance of the barn.

"Mom, Dad it's me!" Duck yelled and pointed to his on screen self.
"We know son" Katjaa replied and smiled at her son. Larry however just rolled his eyes at Duck.

Duck: Dad! We're gonna build a fence! There's a tractor and everything!

Duck runs off.

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

Kenny and Lee walk out of the barn, and Clementine walks along with them, holding Lee's hand.

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

Lee: Where do parents name their kids Duck?

Kenny: We're from Fort Lauderdale. We were on our way back before things up and went bananas.

Doug's eyebrows shot up. "It's bad over there too?!" He inquired and put a hand to his forehead because of this surprise. He originally thought the zombie virus was just in Atlanta and Macon. Just how bad is this virus?! Has it reached to other cities? Is it global?
"...Unfortunately, yes. I don't even want to get into what we saw back there" Katjaa replied, even though Doug didn't want an answer. Meanwhile, Glenn silently wished that his friends who were still in Atlanta were safe.

Lee, Kenny, and Clementine walk up to Duck and his mother, the latter of which is sitting on some bales of hay in front of the porch.

Kenny: The word is you were on your way to Macon.

Lee: My family is from there.

Kenny: 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.

Lee: Sure, we'll...tag along.

Kenny: It's a plan, then.

Kenny turns to his wife and son.

Kenny: Honey, Duck, this is Lee and, uh, what's the girl's name?

Clementine hides behind Lee.

Lee: Clementine.

Kenny: Clementine.

Katjaa: That is a very pretty name.

Clementine smiled again at Katjaa's words, only this time less shyly.

Clementine: Thanks.

Shawn approaches the group.

Shawn: 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.

Once again, Kenny got reminded of Shawn's death. Damn! Give this man a break!

Duck: I wanna build a fence.

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

Duck frowned when Shawn said this. Believe it or not, Duck actually blames himself for Shawn's death. If he hadn't had gotten on that tractor then Shawn's leg wouldn't have gotten stuck and he could have gotten out of harms way. It was a scary situation for Duck with Shawn dying. He hoped he wouldn't get anyone else killed.

Duck: On the tractor? Cool!

Shawn: Duck and I will hop to it.

Shawn and Duck leave.

Katjaa: I can keep an eye on your little girl here on the porch. We can visit.

Clementine sits on a bale of hay next to Katjaa and Kenny begins working on his truck nearby.

Lee walks over to Kenny.

Lee: Hey, there, uh, Kenny.

Lee: Need any help?

Kenny: Naw, I think I got it. Do YOU need any help?

Lee: What do you mean?

Kenny: I mean, in taking care of that little girl. You know what you're doing? You got kids of your own?

Lee: Nah, nah. No...no kids.

Kenny: Woulda liked one then.

Lee: (shrugs) You know.

Lee: How's your son doing?

Kenny: Good, I think. Katjaa's got a sister up in Memphis; we were coming back from visiting her. We were in a gas station and some guy grabbed my boy. I thought he was kidnapping him. I was on the fucker in about two seconds and... Christ. Just lucky I was there. We saw a lot of bodies before we stumbled upon Hershel's. But we're a tough family, Lee. Ain't nothing gonna faze us.

When Doug heard about the man grabbing Duck, he sighed. Were people growing unstable because of the walkers? He hoped not. He hoped that everything could go back to normal. People going crazy would definitely stop that from happening.

Lee: So what's your family's plan?

Kenny: Get back on down to Lauderdale and let this mess get sorted out. Government'll start handing out shots and the national guard'll do its thing. On the odd chance things got too bad, we could hop on my boat, I guess.

Lee: You've got a boat?

Kenny: I'm a commercial fisherman, catching mackerel, dolphin, whatever's biting and paying. Katjaa wouldn't be wild about it, but the boat's not that bad.

"Wait, you hunt dolphin?" Doug asked with a frown.
"Like my screen self said "whatever's biting and paying" Kenny replied with a shrug.

Lee then looks at Kenny's truck.

Kenny: It's not the most reliable pickup in the world, but it gets the job done.

Lee: See ya.

Lee walk over to Katjaa and Clementine who are talking to each other.

Lee: Hey, there, girls.

Lee: So, uhh, what do you do when...corpses aren't walking around?

Katjaa: I am a veterinarian back in Fort Lauderdale--like Hershel here, except more with dogs and cats and not horses. What is it that you do, Lee?

Lee: I used to teach up at the University of Georgia.

Katjaa: We need to HOPE that we can go back to our jobs soon, Lee. Back to normal. It can't stay like this.

Doug nodded at Katjaa's word.

Lee remains silent.

Katjaa: We'll all be home soon.

Lee: How did you handle getting through the city?

Katjaa: Kenny just...drove. We passed so many people that needed help. And...we just...passed people, over some. Just...just...

"I think it would be best if we avoided the cities. Who knows how many people have turned there" Lee stated. Surprisingly everyone agreed with his logic.

Lee: It's okay. It's fine, you don't have to say any more.

Katjaa: I want to go home tomorrow, but even then I can't take away the things we--the things Duck--went through. Don't you want to go back to the moment before you knew about all of this?

Lee: Anybody in their right mind would. Families and barbecues and beers with good friends.

Katjaa: All of those things.

Lee: Those are the things we live for, right? With those gone, what's the point?

Lee: Back in a bit.

Katjaa: Okay, Lee.

Lee walks over to the fence that Shawn is building. Duck is sitting on the tractor nearby, pretending to drive it.

Shawn: Hey, Lee.

Lee: Need a hand?

Shawn: That'd be great. If you could cut those two-bys to length, that'd sure speed things up.

Lee approaches the bench nearby and cuts the two-by-fours in half with a saw.

Shawn: My dad doesn't know how bad it is.

Lee: No, he doesn't.

Shawn: I saw a guy in Atlanta kill a kid. A boy. Just shot him right in the face.

"Jesus..." Carley gasped. How could someone just kill a kid?! Even she knew that she couldn't kill a kid even if they were attacking her!

Lee: Was the boy one of the walkers?

Shawn: I don't even know. He was either attacking the guy or asking for help.

Shawn: He didn't even hesitate. He just turned, put the barrel of the gun right between this kid's eyes and pulled the trigger. You don't see things like that. It's not like in the movies.

Lee: They don't fall like you think.

Shawn: Did you have to do it?

Lee: Do what?

Shawn: Kill. Have you had to off one yet?

Lee: Oh, uh...

Lee: I bashed a poor girl's brains in.

Shawn: Whoa, I couldn't do that.

Shawn: 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?

Lee: My brother and parents are in Macon, I hope.

It is unfortunate that they were taken from the drug store. Lee already knew his family were dead since he knew that his parents would not leave the store and his brother would always protect them. Plus the drugstore group had never said anything about being with other survivors. Lee just hoped that their deaths had been quick.

Shawn: Oh, man, I hope so too. Maybe it's not too bad there.

Shawn: That's probably all I need cut for now. Thanks.

Lee: And, Shawn, thanks again for the ride.

Shawn: No problem, Lee. Couldn't leave you behind.

Shawn: Anyway, when you see my dad around, he might want some help in the barn.

Lee looks at Hershel entering the barn.

Lee walks over and enters the barn, where Hershel is scattering hay with a pitchfork.

Hershel: You should know that if you weren't leaving with Kenny today, I wouldn't stand for your lack of honesty last night.

Kenny grimaced at the fact that Hershel would have kicked Lee and Clementine out just because of a simple lie! Lee has his own reasons to keep secrets to himself. It was none of Hershal's business to even know about Lee's past! Sure, Lee had killed a guy, but it must've been an accident. Kenny gazed at Lee and saw a man who would do anything to protect his daughter, not a murderer.

Lee: I'm not sure I follow.

Hershel: I ain't dumb. I caught you in that lie last night, about who you were with in that car. And honestly, I don't even want to know.

Hershel: How'd you get out of Atlanta?

Lee: I got a ride and then I was in a wreck. I walked until your boy found me.

Hershel: Hmm. Well, you're no worse for wear.

Lee: This farm's a nice plot of land.

Hershel: Heh, had you told me twenty years ago I'd still be doing this, I woulda told you that you were full of crap. Never was the plan, having a place like this. It was in the family, and I guess so was I. Family's important; it's all that matters. You agree with that?

Lee: Was brought up to, yes.

Hershel: Where's your family now? Parents? Wife? Girlfriend?

Lee: My parents are in Macon, with my brother.

Hershel: Well, I hope they're alright.

Hershel: But now you've got this little girl to take care of. Clementine, is it? You just stumbled up on her?

Lee: I was being attacked and she came to my rescue.

Hershel says nothing for a few moments, continuing to shovel hay.

Hershel: Hmmph.

Hershel plants the pitchfork in the ground and walks closer to Lee.

Hershel: Can I give you a piece of advice?

Lee: Sure.

Hershel: I don't know who you are or what you did. But you better become a better liar, and fast. Let's say things don't get better back in the cities. Or they get worse before they do. You're gonna have to depend on the honesty of strangers if you're gonna make it. And if those same people get to questioning yours, you're gonna be in trouble. So whoever you are, and whatever you did, keep it to your damn self.

Hershel: But at least you have the common sense to listen to a man giving you advice.

In the distance there's the noise of an engine and a loud yell.

Most of the room's occupants jumped at the loud yell. However the people who were present at the farm; eye's widened when they realised that this was when the walker attack happened! Kenny was also wide eyed but he had also gone a little pale. 'This is it' Kenny thought and tried to stop himself from hyperventilating.

Lee: What the--?!

Lee and Hershel leave the barn.

Hershel: GO! I'll get my gun.

The screen then goes black.

"What the hell was that?!" Glenn yelled. Lee looked towards the people who were there at the attack and when he realised they weren't going to reply he decided to do it himself.
"The reason we left the farm and came to Macon was because an... accident happened on the farm" Lee replied.
"Accident?" Carley questioned. Doug had a feeling he knew what sort of accident happened.
"You mean...?" Doug didn't need a reply when he saw Lee evert his eyes and expression fall slightly.
The screen then quickly came back on to show the next scene.

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