The Walking Dead: Blood

Chapter 22: The Back Room

Chapter 22: The Back Room

Danny and I approached the gate to the house. The shadows of the trees were long because of the sun going down. "That was a hell of a ride, huh?"

"C'mon, Danny!" I threw my gun to him and he caught it one handed.

"What?" He squinted his eyes at me. "You ain't gettin' soft on 'em are ya? Not after what they did to your friend!"

Brenda was sitting on her porch listening to our conversation. "You're back! What happened?" There was a sort of edge to her voice.

"Handled it, mama." He told her.

She sat back down and Danny walked over to my right to place his guns somewhere. I opened the gate up to the house and approached the stairs where Brenda was sitting. She had a lot of the same motherly qualities that Katjaa had, except hers seemed a little bit gruff and self-serving. "This isn't what Terry would have wanted." She told me sadly, staring deeply into the ground.

"Terry?" I asked her, exploring a bit into her personal life.

"My husband. Miss him every day." She looked back up to me for a moment, then looked back at the ground.

We paused for a moment to listen to two figures at the gazebo arguing intently. Lilly pointed her accusing finger at Kenny, "Then screw it up for everybody, why don't you?!" She screamed at him.

Kenny knocked her finger away from his face. "Oh, calm down, princess. I'll do it myself!"

Lilly's face of rage lessened a little bit, as Kenny walked through the door to the barn. "What's goin' on with them?" I asked Brenda.

She looked back up to me with her kind eyes. She smiled. "Dunno. Squabbling, looks like. A lotta tension with y'all, huh?"

"Yeah, you could say that." I replied. "They don't exactly see eye to eye on how we should be doing things."

Brenda shrugged. "Well, that's probably the hunger talking." I looked up from her weathered face and into the house through its screen door. There was a hallway inside. The kitchen was on the right through an open door, and there were stairs on the left side of the hall leading up to the second story. "And Lee?" I directed my attention back to the old lady. "Don't you worry your head bout them bandits. I'm sorry you've seen more violence then I'da thought in your short time, but y'all are safe here. Don't worry."

I decided my conversation with Brenda was over. "I think I'll have a look around your barn."

"Don't wander too far. Dinner'll be ready before you know it." She looked down at her barn where the rest of the group was. "And thank your friend Katjaa again for me. She and the kids are in the barn with the cow. That woman is a life saver."

As I walked down the hill, I noticed Clementine inside the barn. She seemed to see me as well and she waved hello. I looked down at the ball cap I had shoved in my pocket for her. I thought about what her expression would be when she saw my gift for her. I smiled and walked towards the barn.

As I pulled the door open and entered, I could find Katjaa, Andy and the kids all huddled around a tired looking cow. She was very thin and was laying on the ground groaning in pain. Duck sat there petting her head. The four of them looked happy.

The cow shook its ears and lifted its head towards Clementine. She backed away a little bit. "It's okay, Clementine." Katjaa said warmly. "You can pet her."

Clementine then looked up to me with an expression of fear and excitement. "It's okay." I told her. "Go ahead."

She inched toward the cow and extending her arm toward her back. Clementine let out a sigh. She looked back to me. "Katjaa says Maybelle may have her baby tonight!"