Aug. 30 - The Greene Farm
Title: The Greene Farm
Author: 3am_moonlight
Crossover: BtVS / The Walking Dead (TV)
Rating: Gen / Teen.
Word Count: 1,384.
Timeline: Post-Chosen / TWD: 02x02 - Bloodletting.
Disclaimer: The Buffyverse belongs to Joss and TWD belongs to whoever holds the copyright.
Summary: Buffy and Rick follow Otis to the Greene Farm.Author's Note: Follows ' Turn of Events', ' Let's Talk', ' Difficult Decisions', ' The Second Herd', ' Church Bells', and ' Another Hunter'.
In the end, Otis agreed to let Buffy and Rick come to his home base and meet the rest of his group. He insisted he was not in charge of the group, but rather a man named Hershel Greene had the final say since it was his home. It was fair enough and the three of them began the long trek to what turned out to be a farm further into the countryside.
It proved to be a sprawling and cozy-looking farm, but an entirely unprotected piece of land. Pre-apocalypse it had most likely been their own little paradise. Buffy heard chickens, cows, and even a few horses. There were large fields all around the house and the barn. If it hadn't been for the lack of thick protective walls it would've been sort-of perfect.
A man in 70's met them on the porch with two young women by his side. One was a brunette in her early twenties and the other was a blonde in her mid-teens. Only the youngest of the three didn't look suspicious of them, and that was both good and bad for her. Regardless, they smiled. Or at least Buffy did. She knew she looked harmless and people would dismiss her as a threat. It was a camouflage which had served her well as a Slayer, and it proved to be even more useful post-apocalypse. Being underestimated was a huge advantage at this point, at least as far as anyone threatening them went.
Otis made the introductions; the elder gentleman was the aforementioned Hershel Greene and the owner of the farm. The two young women by his side were his daughters Maggie and Beth. Hershel reluctantly invited them inside for a talk. His entire body language said they were not wanted there and he would rather they leave. It was a point for good manners, she supposed, or they would've been rejected before they got on the steps.
Before they went inside Buffy took a second look around, there were walkers nearby - she could hear them, but there was no one in sight. Dead or alive. Normally they would've gone directly for the sound of voices, and the sound of groaning and shuffling feet would've gotten louder, but they didn't come closer to the house. It sounded as if they were inside somewhere. Maybe the barn? But why would they keep the undead in there?
They were lead into a sitting room and instructed to take a seat, which they did. Otis disappeared further into the house, but a teenage boy came in with a tray full of glasses and a jug full of iced tea. After serving everyone he retreated to a chair next to the blonde girl and took her hand. She wasn't really a tea person, coffee was much more her thing, but a decade and a half, give or take a few years, of Giles and his obsession with tea and she'd gotten used to it. Her inner Giles made sure to remind her that iced tea wasn't proper tea, just like tea bags wasn't proper tea either. She shushed the voice and enjoyed a drink that wasn't water for a change.
She could hear Otis talking to a woman further into the house, telling her what had happened and who they were. Information sharing was good, and hopefully, Mr. Greene would be the same way.
Rick started off the conversation by explaining why they were in the area, what happened to the RV, and about the church bells. He kept it short and to the point, which she approved of. Oversharing wouldn't help.
"Are you asking to stay here?" The question came from the teenage boy who appeared to be impatient to get past the preliminaries. Mr. Greence gave him a look and the boy closed his mouth and backed off a little.
It was Buffy's turn to talk, "No, this place is a death trap. There are no protections against the walkers. Sooner or later a herd is going to pass through the area and they're going to come straight for this farm. Depending on how large it is anyone here may or may not survive the encounter." She turned to Hershel and made sure she had eye-contact, "It's a risk we're not willing to take." The man clearly disagreed with her statement but kept quiet.
Beside her, Rick spoke up again. "We don't want to stay here long-term, but a few days to trade some fresh vegetables and anything else you might have would be appreciated. A day or two, three at the most. Because Buffy is right, this place isn't safe and we need to find somewhere we can fortify properly."
It was good to know Rick had finally caught on to what she was trying to do. He was still partially set on how the world had been Before, but he was moving along well and adjusting. It gave her good hopes for the future. She would rather not have stayed on the farm at all, but contradicting him now would look bad so she kept her own counsel.
"This is not a hotel, we don't rent out to strangers. No matter the situation." The old man was polite but determined. They had nothing to bargain with, nothing these people didn't already have. By the looks of them, they had plenty of food and water. Even enough water to shower given how they smelt of soap rather than weeks or even months worth of sweat and dirt. Goddess, how she missed her daily shower! And just the sense of being clean and the smell of fragrance afterward...
"A compromise then?" Buffy suggested. "Could we park our cars in front of the house for, say, a day and a half?"
All four of them looked suspicious of that, so she kept up her thought process. "We could help out with whatever you need in exchange for fresh produce. We'd be on your property but sleep in our own vehicles. Two nights and we'll be gone early in the morning on the second day." She'd rather keep driving, but the thought of something that wasn't crackers or didn't originate from a can sounded heavenly.
Rick and Mr. Greene haggled over what and where for a while but in the end, he agreed. They would drive over the next morning and stay for 24 hours and then leave. During the day they would help out wherever they were needed and in exchange, they would be allowed to share all meals for the day with the Greene Family. They would also be allowed to attend breakfast before the left.
It wasn't what Buffy had expected, but fresh food was worth it. The next day would also consist of many attempts to get the family to leave for somewhere safer, or at the very least to start building some durable and secure walls around their property. It was unlikely to work but she had to try. They seemed like good people even if they appeared to be under the false impression the walkers were merely sick and there would be some miraculous cure down the line and they would return to normal.
The walkers she was sure were in the barn didn't help either, and she wasn't sure if they attracted others of their kind or if they simply gave the inhabitants of the farm false hope. Either way, they needed to be put out of their own misery. For everyone's safety.
The walk back to the rest of their group was mostly silent, only a few words were exchanged here and there. They would need to pack up the rest of what they'd found and then retrace their route back to the sideroad which led to the Green Farm. They needed medication and there had been a total lack of that in any of the cars in the traffic snarl. It was strange, at least one of the cars should've had a first aid kit, a band-aid, or something for a common headache but there was nothing. Combined with all the canned food and the water truck they had found and it was even stranger.
But that was a problem for another day, tonight they had news for the group and cars to pack.
Author: 3am_moonlight
Crossover: BtVS / The Walking Dead (TV)
Rating: Gen / Teen.
Word Count: 1,384.
Timeline: Post-Chosen / TWD: 02x02 - Bloodletting.
Disclaimer: The Buffyverse belongs to Joss and TWD belongs to whoever holds the copyright.
Summary: Buffy and Rick follow Otis to the Greene Farm.Author's Note: Follows ' Turn of Events', ' Let's Talk', ' Difficult Decisions', ' The Second Herd', ' Church Bells', and ' Another Hunter'.
In the end, Otis agreed to let Buffy and Rick come to his home base and meet the rest of his group. He insisted he was not in charge of the group, but rather a man named Hershel Greene had the final say since it was his home. It was fair enough and the three of them began the long trek to what turned out to be a farm further into the countryside.
It proved to be a sprawling and cozy-looking farm, but an entirely unprotected piece of land. Pre-apocalypse it had most likely been their own little paradise. Buffy heard chickens, cows, and even a few horses. There were large fields all around the house and the barn. If it hadn't been for the lack of thick protective walls it would've been sort-of perfect.
A man in 70's met them on the porch with two young women by his side. One was a brunette in her early twenties and the other was a blonde in her mid-teens. Only the youngest of the three didn't look suspicious of them, and that was both good and bad for her. Regardless, they smiled. Or at least Buffy did. She knew she looked harmless and people would dismiss her as a threat. It was a camouflage which had served her well as a Slayer, and it proved to be even more useful post-apocalypse. Being underestimated was a huge advantage at this point, at least as far as anyone threatening them went.
Otis made the introductions; the elder gentleman was the aforementioned Hershel Greene and the owner of the farm. The two young women by his side were his daughters Maggie and Beth. Hershel reluctantly invited them inside for a talk. His entire body language said they were not wanted there and he would rather they leave. It was a point for good manners, she supposed, or they would've been rejected before they got on the steps.
Before they went inside Buffy took a second look around, there were walkers nearby - she could hear them, but there was no one in sight. Dead or alive. Normally they would've gone directly for the sound of voices, and the sound of groaning and shuffling feet would've gotten louder, but they didn't come closer to the house. It sounded as if they were inside somewhere. Maybe the barn? But why would they keep the undead in there?
They were lead into a sitting room and instructed to take a seat, which they did. Otis disappeared further into the house, but a teenage boy came in with a tray full of glasses and a jug full of iced tea. After serving everyone he retreated to a chair next to the blonde girl and took her hand. She wasn't really a tea person, coffee was much more her thing, but a decade and a half, give or take a few years, of Giles and his obsession with tea and she'd gotten used to it. Her inner Giles made sure to remind her that iced tea wasn't proper tea, just like tea bags wasn't proper tea either. She shushed the voice and enjoyed a drink that wasn't water for a change.
She could hear Otis talking to a woman further into the house, telling her what had happened and who they were. Information sharing was good, and hopefully, Mr. Greene would be the same way.
Rick started off the conversation by explaining why they were in the area, what happened to the RV, and about the church bells. He kept it short and to the point, which she approved of. Oversharing wouldn't help.
"Are you asking to stay here?" The question came from the teenage boy who appeared to be impatient to get past the preliminaries. Mr. Greence gave him a look and the boy closed his mouth and backed off a little.
It was Buffy's turn to talk, "No, this place is a death trap. There are no protections against the walkers. Sooner or later a herd is going to pass through the area and they're going to come straight for this farm. Depending on how large it is anyone here may or may not survive the encounter." She turned to Hershel and made sure she had eye-contact, "It's a risk we're not willing to take." The man clearly disagreed with her statement but kept quiet.
Beside her, Rick spoke up again. "We don't want to stay here long-term, but a few days to trade some fresh vegetables and anything else you might have would be appreciated. A day or two, three at the most. Because Buffy is right, this place isn't safe and we need to find somewhere we can fortify properly."
It was good to know Rick had finally caught on to what she was trying to do. He was still partially set on how the world had been Before, but he was moving along well and adjusting. It gave her good hopes for the future. She would rather not have stayed on the farm at all, but contradicting him now would look bad so she kept her own counsel.
"This is not a hotel, we don't rent out to strangers. No matter the situation." The old man was polite but determined. They had nothing to bargain with, nothing these people didn't already have. By the looks of them, they had plenty of food and water. Even enough water to shower given how they smelt of soap rather than weeks or even months worth of sweat and dirt. Goddess, how she missed her daily shower! And just the sense of being clean and the smell of fragrance afterward...
"A compromise then?" Buffy suggested. "Could we park our cars in front of the house for, say, a day and a half?"
All four of them looked suspicious of that, so she kept up her thought process. "We could help out with whatever you need in exchange for fresh produce. We'd be on your property but sleep in our own vehicles. Two nights and we'll be gone early in the morning on the second day." She'd rather keep driving, but the thought of something that wasn't crackers or didn't originate from a can sounded heavenly.
Rick and Mr. Greene haggled over what and where for a while but in the end, he agreed. They would drive over the next morning and stay for 24 hours and then leave. During the day they would help out wherever they were needed and in exchange, they would be allowed to share all meals for the day with the Greene Family. They would also be allowed to attend breakfast before the left.
It wasn't what Buffy had expected, but fresh food was worth it. The next day would also consist of many attempts to get the family to leave for somewhere safer, or at the very least to start building some durable and secure walls around their property. It was unlikely to work but she had to try. They seemed like good people even if they appeared to be under the false impression the walkers were merely sick and there would be some miraculous cure down the line and they would return to normal.
The walkers she was sure were in the barn didn't help either, and she wasn't sure if they attracted others of their kind or if they simply gave the inhabitants of the farm false hope. Either way, they needed to be put out of their own misery. For everyone's safety.
The walk back to the rest of their group was mostly silent, only a few words were exchanged here and there. They would need to pack up the rest of what they'd found and then retrace their route back to the sideroad which led to the Green Farm. They needed medication and there had been a total lack of that in any of the cars in the traffic snarl. It was strange, at least one of the cars should've had a first aid kit, a band-aid, or something for a common headache but there was nothing. Combined with all the canned food and the water truck they had found and it was even stranger.
But that was a problem for another day, tonight they had news for the group and cars to pack.