The Walking Dead

Chapter 16

"Here it is. St. John's family dairy." Andy expressed with the pride of a parent showing off an extremely gifted child.

The dairy seemed quite cosy for a post-apocalypse world. It was nice and open, with plenty of crops and scenery. The group walked past a large hand-crafted sign, it was white and shaped like a shield that had been stretched horizontally. In big, green letters it read, ST. JOHN DAIRY. Underneath this title was a picture of a cow and three stars. There were also white letters underneath the shield that displayed a phone number, 555-0199, and the words, DAILY FARM TOURS.

Andy gestured towards the electric fence that surrounded the perimeter of the farm, "Ya'll can see how we've kept this place so safe."

Mark questioned, "The fence keeps them out?"

"You betcha. They fry like bugs in a zapper. We're pushing 4000 volts through that thing, with generators and amps."

"I'm going to assume that's a lot…"Carley said, not one at all for technical things.

The fence didn't seem too complex. It was wooden beams every meter or so and in between them was thin and long metal wires.

Lee commented positively, "This is a really brilliant set up."

Andy replied, with a smile on his face, "Suits us just fine."

Carley also gave her opinion, "This place looks untouched! You'd never know the rest of the world is in ruins."

"It's worth protecting, hence all the juice."

A woman with bright, vibrant, short, red hair joined the party, "I thought I saw ya'll with company comin' down the drive!" In her hands, she lightly swung a basket from side to side.

Andy introduced the group to the new woman, "Guys, this is our mama."

"I'm Brenda St. John and welcome to the St. John Dairy!"

Brenda was roughly around the same body size as Katjaa. There was a large resemblance in the expressions of the St. Johns. They all had dark bags underneath their eyes and on all their faces were an uncanny and big smile. She wore a purple plaid shirt with a white collar and her sleeves were slightly rolled up.

"This here's Lee. He's from Macon." Andy explained with a chuckle.

"A couple of our old farm hands were from Macon. They grow 'em good there."

Danny spoke to his mother, "They've got a few more friends staying at the old motel."

"Oh my goodness, that place is pretty vulnerable. Have you got someone with survival experience to lead your group?"
Lee reassured her, "I've got things under control over there."

"Well, I hope you know what you're doing. That place isn't safe like it is here. Now that y'all are here, we'll make sure you're safe and comfortable." She replied with a friendly grin.

Lee mumbled, "We're awful hungry."

Brenda gestured to her basket and offered it to the hungry group, "These are for ya'll. Baked fresh this morning." Inside the basket were a huge amount of bread that looked tasty to the eye. It was strange how Brenda seemed to know that their group would be coming but the sight of delicious food to eat clouded their judgement.

"Amazing!" Carley expressed, obvious hunger in her eyes.

Danny chuckled, "Can't get stuff like that anymore, not without a cow for milk and butter, that's for sure."

Brenda agreed, "That's right. Hopefully Maybelle will make it through this bout of whatever she's got and be with us for a good-long while."

Lee wondered worriedly, "Your cow is sick? What's she—"