Stray leaves crunched underfoot as Lee and Sarah set out.

Lee had figured out how to use the branch as a walking stick, and was now covering a lot more ground. Sarah, despite still being slightly wary of this mysteriously helpful man, walked close to him, glancing nervously about every so often.

Sarah had informed Lee that this was the direction she had come from, and Lee had figured all he could do was go this way until hopefully some more concrete information presented itself. The two pressed on.

All of a sudden, Sarah darted off the path towards the trees.

"Sarah! Wait!" Lee cried.

However, Sarah stopped at the edge, bending down to pick something up from the ground. She ran back to Lee, showing him the large stick she had found.

"Like yours!" she said, beaming.

Lee didn't know whether to reprimand her for running off like that or not. In a dangerous situation, that sort of behavior could get her killed.

"Good idea," said Lee approvingly. "At least now you have a chance to protect yourself," he said, though inwardly thinking that a stick probably wouldn't aid her too much in a walker attack. "But, uh, next time, tell me first before you run off like that. It's dangerous out here."

"Oh...sorry, Lee. I wasn't thinking."

"That's okay, Sarah. But you never can be too careful."

The two of them had just emerged from the trees when they noticed two men by a truck in the otherwise empty road.

"Lee, look! There's people!" Sarah exclaimed, pointing.

"Yeah," Lee answered. "We should see if they can help us. But be careful, and stay close to me, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Here, Sarah nodded.

Lee walked forward, slowly, hesitating for a moment before calling out: "Hey! You two!"

The bigger man jumped back in fright, and the short man whipped around.

"Holy shit, don't eat us!" he cried, waving his arms around.

"We're not gonna hurt you," Lee assured them, while Sarah backed away. "We just need some help."

A few moments later, Lee and Sarah were sitting in the truck with the two men, Chet and Shawn, on the way to Shawn's family farm.

"You sure we'll be welcome there, Shawn?" asked Lee. "I don't mean to intrude."

"Don't worry, Lee," Shawn said in a friendly manner. "There are so many of us up there that two more won't make a difference. You should speak to my dad, Hershel, first. He may be able to do something about that leg. Then there's my brothers, Arnold and Billy, and my sisters, Lacey, Susie, Rachel, and Maggie. And then there's Otis and his girlfriend Patricia. But I have a feeling you'd be more interested in Kenny. He and his wife and son are staying as guests just like you two."

"I really appreciate your hospitality, Shawn," said Lee. "It's hard to believe people can be this welcoming when the dead are walking around."

"No sweat, Lee. I'm just happy to help."

Chet gave Sarah a wide smile, causing her to giggle slightly and turn away.

"Here we are," announced Shawn as they pulled up. "The Greene farm."

"It's pretty," Sarah mused, looking up at the house.

"Yeah?" Shawn inquired, smiling slightly. "When you've been farming your whole life, it's something you get used to seeing."

They stepped out of the car, and Chet said his good-byes to Shawn, Lee, and Sarah.

"Imma run on home, Mama gets worried," he pointed out. He turned to Lee and Sarah. "It was nice to meet you both." Then, he walked off.

No sooner than that, out stepped an elderly looking man, who approached Shawn. This had to be Hershel.

"Thank God you're okay," he said, as he and Shawn hugged.

"I was worried it would be bad here, too," Shawn replied as he let go.

"You've brought some guests," Hershel noted. This made Sarah back away shyly, looking to the ground. Worry was still evident in her eyes; her father could be anywhere at this point.

Lee laid back on a mound of hay, Sarah nestling down close by. Hershel had seemed like a nice guy, though far too probing for Lee's taste. There were some things he just couldn't share. He had patched up Lee's leg though, so he wasn't all bad, and he seemed to show genuine concern for their well-being, despite allotting them a barn to spend the night in.

"Lee?" piped up Sarah quietly.

Lee jerked awake, half-asleep already. "What is it?"

"Do you think we'll find my dad?"

"I won't lie to you, Sarah, there's a possibility we won't," Lee admitted.

Sarah gasped loudly, and Lee hastily finished his statement. "But...I think we will. Your dad loves you and he'll be doing anything he can right now to find you and keep you safe. Sooner or later, we will find him."

Sarah sighed, relieved.

"I can't wait until we do find him."

"Me too, Sarah. But I want you to know that however long it takes, I'll keep you safe. I won't let anything or anyone hurt you."

Sarah smiled sweetly.

They both closed their eyes.

As they fell asleep, Sarah mumbled, "It smells funny in here."

And there they lay in the surprisingly tranquil barn until morning.

"Hey, get up."

Lee opened his eyes to find a man with a mustache and cap standing over him. Turning his head, he noticed that Sarah was standing up, rubbing her eyes and yawning. She adjusted her glasses.

"Shawn wants our help around here, better get a move on," the man continued. He watched as Lee stood up. "Name's Kenny. Who are you?"

"Lee. This is Sarah."

Sarah smiled just a bit, then looked to the ground, her cheeks flushing. "Hi."

"Nice to meet y'all."

"Dad, we're gonna build a fence!" a little boy piped up from the front of the barn. He looked to be about two or so years younger than Sarah. "There's a tractor and everything!"

Sarah lifted her head up, watching as the boy disappeared. "Who's that?"

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

Kenny then introduced them to his wife, Katjaa. She seemed very kindhearted and friendly, and she appeared to take a quick liking to Sarah. Lee left her to shyly converse with Katjaa as he struck up a conversation with Kenny. He soon learned that he was a fisherman from Fort Lauderdale, staying at Hershel's farm as guests just like Lee and Sarah.

"So, uh, who's the girl?" Kenny inquired.

"I found her hiding out in a house just yesterday. She'd been traveling with her dad but they got separated. I figured if I didn't help her, she probably wouldn't survive," responded Lee.

"Well, that's admirable, Lee. I know my boy Duck wouldn't have a clue what to do if he found himself alone," said Kenny. "This girl's dad..."

"We've been out looking for him," informed Lee.

"Do you really think you'll find him?" Kenny lowered his voice. "He's probably one of them by now."

"I don't know, Kenny." Lee sighed. "But from the way she talks, it sounds like he was real protective of her. There's no way to tell if he'd be alive or not, but if he is, he'll be out there somewhere trying to find her. I can't help but feel sure we'll come across each other eventually."

"Well, I hope so, Lee," Kenny said, looking at his engine. "Do you need help?"

"With what?" Lee questioned.

"In takin' care of her, should you have to. You got a family, kids of your own?"

"Nah, nah. No kids."

"Would've liked one, then."

"...you know."

Before Kenny could say anything, the engine suddenly came to life. He laughed victoriously. "Yes! Goddamn!"

"You got it?" Lee asked with a smile.

"Sure seems like it," Kenny replied. "With the gas she's got, I'd say we'll be able to make a good distance."

Katjaa, having heard the truck, stood up and approached the two men, Sarah in tow. Duck could be seem jumping excitedly from the tractor and running over to them as well.

"Is it fixed?" Katjaa asked.

"Yup." Kenny nodded. He turned to Lee. "So, you still up for that ride to Macon? It's a couple hours or so away."

Lee frowned, looking down at Sarah, who looked up at him worriedly.

"Lee, w-what about my dad?" she asked softly.

 "Don't worry, Sarah," Lee comforted her. "We'll find your dad."

"We'd be happy to help out along the way," said Katjaa. "I can't imagine how horrible it must be for such a sweet, young girl to be going through this. Ducky would never be able to get through this the way you are."

"Aw!" Duck complained loudly.

Sarah smiled, blushing.

"Thanks, you guys. This really means a lot," said Lee appreciatively.

"No problem, Lee," replied Kenny warmly. "Well, everything's ready. Let's get going."

"I take it you guys are going now?" Shawn asked, he and Hershel approaching. "Well, it's been nice having you all."

"Thanks for lettin' us stay," Kenny said, shaking both Hershel and Shawn's hands. Lee did the same. "We all appreciate it."

"Y'all best stay safe," Hershel replied. "If it's bad as things are saying, it may get dangerous."

"We'll keep that in mind," Lee told him. Then, he turned to the others. "We should go."