Open up, Survivors Inside

Chapter 9

Rain started to poor down, and all Puffer could do was wait for a chance. This chance came when he saw Lee and Kenny trap Danny in one of his modified bear traps. While Kenny left to find Duck, Lee stabbed Danny with a pitchfork, killing him. Puffer hopped the fence, and he moved to the front of the barn where he saw Lee, Lilly, and Clementine. "Puffer!" Lee sighed in relief.

"Where the fuck is Larry?!" Puffer questioned.

"That monster killed him," Lilly spoke coldly.

"He had a heart attack, we had to make sure he didn't turn," Lee explained.

"And Mark?" Puffer asked.

"...He came down stairs with the last of his strength," Lee answered, and Puffer's heart dropped. These cannibals needed to be put down.

"Stay with Lilly and Clementine," Lee said, and headed out to find Kenny and his family. The three waited inside the barn, with Lee heading into the house. Katjaa and Kenny ran out not long after, while Andy held Duck at gun point.

The two argued, with Kenny being shot in his side. A shot rang out, hitting Andy in the ear. Lee lunged forward and the two scuffled, although Andy quickly got the upper hand and dragged Lee to the electric fence, trying to push Lee into said fence. "Shoot him!" Puffer hissed at Lilly, but she didn't budge, glaring at Lee with Contempt, "Fucking bitch." Puffer snatched the gun from Lilly and took aim, firing a bullet into Andy's shoulder.

That's all it took for Lee to get away from the fence and pin Andy down, punching him into submission. Everyone managed to regroup, and it was then that Puffer saw that the shot came from Carley, as she, Ben, and Travis were present. But someone was missing...where was Doug? He got his answer when he saw Doug stumble out of the house, a bullet wound in his shoulder. Well that explained the gun shot he heard from inside the house.

Lee got up, leaving Andy alone. "Is that all you got Lee?!" Andy spat, slowly sitting up, "You ain't shit!"

"It's over!" Lee shouted.

"Fuck you!" Andy shouted back, "As soon as Dan and Mama get out here you're all done!"

"They're not coming," Lee stated.

"What do you mean?!" Andy growled, then paused when he realized, "Lee, what the fuck do you mean?" As Lee turned away, Andy continued, "Don't you dare walk away from me Lee! Get back here and finish this!" But Lee ignored him, walking back to the group. Everyone turned away, walking away from the dairy farm.

As they walked, Carley chatted with Doug to make sure he was okay. Puffer meanwhile caught up to the teens, "What made you guys come here?"

"You never came back," Travis answered, "So we went to see what was taking you so long. What happened?"

"You were right," Puffer replied, "It was too good to be true. Those fuckers were cannibals."

"W-What?!" Ben gulped.

"Hey, look!" Duck said, pointing to a light in the distance. As the group approached, the light turned out to be a car. In the trunk was so much supplies that it could last a few weeks.

"This food could save all of us," Katjaa said once she got a good look.

"Not all of us," Lilly said bitterly.

"We don't know if these people are dead," Ben said.

"This stuff isn't ours," Clementine piped up.

"It's ours now," Kenny said. Another argument broke out between Lilly and Kenny at this.

After everything he had been through tonight, Puffer was not dealing with this bullshit. Fuck Lilly and Kenny's decision making, and fuck Lee's neutrality, it was his turn to make a decision for the group. With a loud whistle, everyone went silent and looked at Puffer, "We're not taking shit! We are waiting for the owners to get back!"

"Puffer-" Kenny started, but Puffer cut him off.

"We will be no better than that damn family! You wanna be a bunch of petty thieves?!" Puffer snapped, moving between the group and the trunk of the car, "We are waiting and seeing if we can bargain, got it?!"

There was silence until Lee spoke up, "That sounds like a better plan. This is a family car, they could be friendly. And we can defend ourselves."

Kenny frowned, but then sighed, "Fine, we wait." At first, it seemed the wait could take hours. It was only ten minutes before the sound of an arguing couple could be heard.

"Mom, there's strangers by the car!" A little girl said. At this, a man and woman ran into view, shocked at the group of survivors.

"We're hoping you trade some supplies, we need medical equipment especially right now," Puffer explained, pointing his cane to Kenny and Doug.

The woman paused, "You can have it all, but we go with you."

Lilly was about to object, but Puffer spoke first, "That's fine."

"This is great, we should-" the man started.

"Not you!" The woman spat, "Our son is dead because of you! I told you he was too young to be out hunting! You'll get Elizabeth killed!"

"Tess-"

"Go!!" The woman, Tess, shouted, grabbing a hunting rifle from her back and aiming it at the stranger, "Now! Stay away from us you monster!" Well that escalated quickly. The man backed away before running into the bushes, disappearing into the forest.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss," Katjaa said as Tess lowered her weapon, the little girl hiding behind her mother.

"We should get this stuff back to the motor inn, it's late enough as is," Kenny said.

"I'll help," Tess spoke, then she looked to Puffer, "And thank you."

"Good people need to stick together more than ever," Puffer replied, remembering the dairy farm. As everyone began to carry the supplies, Puffer spotted Elizabeth giving Clementine a small red hoodie, the two giggling. The group had lost two people, but gained two more and a lot of supplies. There was hope for them yet.