Harry wandered over to the fire pit they had going, it was small and barely lit, night was falling fast and they never risked the fire being bright enough to have walkers stumbling upon them. Sighing softly, he took a seat next to Merle, who was quiet and actually joining them for a change. Normally he just ate in his tent, too out of it to join them at the pit, he and Daryl usually ate beside their tents, occasionally joining them, but it was only when it got really cold. Another thing that amazed Harry, this weather, even at night, it was hotter than it was at home in the UK yet he felt cold, he'd acclimated to the change in weather quite quickly. Carol was passing the bowls of pasta around, giving the children food first, judging by how quickly they began eating they were hungry, but who wasn't?
"Thank you, Carol," Harry said accepting his, giving her a nod, absently eating it listening to the others asking questions here and there. He'd never been one for small talk, except with those he was closest to, it used to be Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna, now it was two guys who were just as reserved as him.
"Do you think this will ever be over?" Amy asked everyone, gazing off into the distance.
"No," Harry stated, speaking for the first time, not looking at Amy but the fire, his pasta bowl clutched in his left hand. "Not in our lifetime, whatever it is, it spread fast and furiously all over the world. Got everywhere real quickly, it was worldwide within days, no virus I've heard of was ever able to do that it's probably wiped out half the world's population in two months. All we can do is hope that they come up with a cure, or this virus could spell our extinction event." giving them the truth. The wizards had tried to contain it before it spilled out into their world, nobody was safe.
"Worldwide? Do you truly believe that?" Rick asked, looking a little pale at the thought. The others were the same; they didn't want to believe it had hit everywhere.
"The virus was hitting Britain before I came here," Harry revealed, picking up a stick and poking the fire, a haunted look on his face. "Wasn't as bad then obviously, but I have no doubt in two months the damage is probably same as it is here."
"You left your family?" Shane said disapproval written over his face.
"Shane!" the women said shaking their heads, very much aware that he had no family.
"I don't have a family," Harry stated, uncaring about Shane's disapproval, he didn't get along with him.
"I'm so sorry," Carol said sombrely.
"Don't be, it happened a long time ago," Harry replied shrugging his shoulders, he was used to people knowing that already; it was a refreshing change that he actually had to tell them.
"How did it happen?" Andrea asked anything to keep her mind off what was out there.
Harry looked up for the first time, his gaze finding Andrea's, before he spoke again, "They were murdered when I was a baby," Harry revealed, he'd spoken more tonight than he had in a while he realized. He ignored the apologies and gasps of shock at his revelation.
"Did they catch the killer?" Rick asked sitting forward.
Harry chuckled humourlessly, "There's no doubt you're a cop, is there?" it was just something an officer of the law would ask.
Rick just smiled a tad.
Harry stood up, making his way back towards his camp, the others watching him as he disappeared into the woods. Harry would have been surprised at the concern written in some of their faces, unfortunately for him he didn't see it.
"I think it's time for the kids to go to bed," Carol said, holding out her hand for her daughter to take.
"Five more minutes please!" Sophia begged "It's warmer over here!" playing to her mothers worries of not being warm enough. She would never have done such a thing if her father was there, but he wasn't so she did.
"Five more minutes," Carol agreed, unable to deny her daughter, it was the happiest Carol had ever seen her daughter.
"Where are you going?" Andrea asked as Amy stood up, concern for her written across her features, worried that Harry's words had upset her.
"I'm just going to the toilet," Amy grumbled, the lack of privacy was annoying to say the least, with that she swiftly made her way to the RV in desperate need of a pee.
Harry was in the middle of relieving himself when the spells he had up around camp went off. It was the only ward he could think of that would help them. Since Muggle repelling charms were out of the question, and there wasn't a Walker repelling charm he'd put up a ward that was used for the wellbeing of someone. It was usually put on a patient, but Harry had put it around the front of the camp just on the off chance it would work. The monitoring charm was telling him someone was dead, and since the Walkers were dead, he suspected it was one. The ward switched off, which worried him, perhaps that's what happened? He didn't know he wasn't a Healer or Medi-wizard. Quickly finishing and righting himself he took off to the area he'd set the wards up, his dagger in hand already, but it was too dark to see anything - not that it was needed. The rattling breaths told him there was more than one; if he had to guess he would say there were at least eight or nine.
"Lumos!" Harry murmured lighting up the area in the woods with a soft glow, "Aww shit. Nox!" there were far too many for him to deal with on his own, not without using Fiendfyre but that could backfire and consume the camp. Bolting back through the trees, keeping an eye on the ground so he didn't end up falling, he didn't want to be a free meal for the walkers. Sliding his wand back into his pocket as adrenaline coursed through him, jumping effortlessly over a large fallen tree he skidded to a halt by their campsite, grabbing Daryl's crossbow and Merle's weapon of choice a sword, he didn't hesitate to throw the weapons, knowing the guys would catch them when he got close enough.
Unsurprisingly Daryl and Merle had gotten to their feet the second they saw Harry running out of the woods, and became tense when he grabbed their weapons. Glancing at each other, before back to Harry, snatching their weapons out of the air as Harry joined them.
"Get the kids into the RV NOW!" Harry shouted, grabbing his gun from its holster now that his hands were free again, well one of them anyway since he still had his dagger in his hands. "Keep your eye on the woods, they caught my scent." he told them, but nobody was moving. "CAROL! Get them into the safety of the RV! Keep watch and hit them in the head if they get close!" he hissed unsheathing her knife and forcing her to grip it in her hands. By then they were already swarming around the camp, the prospect of fresh meat was pushing them on quicker.
Daryl was the first to fire off a shot at the oncoming horde judging by the arrow wedged in one of its skulls. "Nice shot," Harry said over the shouting, firing off his gun which was a lot more silent than the others that was making enough noise to raise the dead...well so to speak he thought with wry amusement. Harry lost all sense of what was happening after that, as he fired off shot after shot, ignoring all screams, yells and shouting.
Jim panicked, backing away from the walker advancing on him, yanking his knife out of the head of the walker he'd just killed only to trip up, his knife clattering noisily out of reach. Scrambling over to try and get it, only for the walker to fall on him, he froze, terrified yet at the same time accepting his fate. This was what he deserved, he had failed his wife and two sons, watched them eaten and he'd ran away unable to do anything, it had haunted him ever since.
Harry noticed out of the corner of his eye that one of the camp members were down, and a Walker was leaning over prepared to bite, firing off a shot, killing it for good this time he turned back around and began firing off again. It was thinning now, only a few more to go, he fired off his last round hearing Merle laughing which caused him to shake his head, only he would find amusement in such a situation.
An arrow flew passed him, causing Harry to turn around immediately on the defensive, to find a walker a few feet from him. Harry nodded his thanks as he raided his pocket and reloaded his weapon, moving around, hearing more growing and ripping flesh, he fired off the gun killing another walker that was eating someone, but Harry didn't know who it was. Kneeling down, he grimaced there was no going back, he brought his gun to their forehead and fired off a shot, killing them mercifully. There was no point to seeing them in agony for hours then watching them turn to kill them, best to end it now.
"Were you bitten?" Harry asked as he helped Jim to his feet, he was much like himself; he didn't speak very often to the others, kept himself to himself.
"No, thanks to you," Jim replied breathlessly, his heart still pounding away, he wiped the disgusting congealed black blood from his face, it was a futile effort.
"Good." Harry replied, bending down he retrieved the knife, pressing it back into his hands, "Don't lose it again." he warned him.
Jim just nodded at him.
"How long do you think it will be before another group of walkers passes by?" Harry asked his eyes narrowed, still very much on the defensive.
"Not long," Merle murmured, "They've run out of food in the cities, might not be so lucky next time,"
"Lucky? Our people died!" Shane snapped angrily, decidedly still on edge by the amount of Walkers that had come across their camps especially at night when they were vulnerable. The only thing he was thankful for was the fact Lori and Carl had survived.
"And you can blame that on yourself, the alarm system we had up would have alerted us before they got close enough to camp," Harry hissed out between gritted teeth, "It was just pure luck that I heard them."
"Alarm system?" Rick asked, getting between Shane and Harry and Merle not wanting a fight to break out. "Calm down brother," Rick warned Shane, there had been too much death without fights.
"Bells," Harry stated sharply, "We had bells with string at each end of the camp, but your partner just rolled on up and dismantled them, claiming they made too much noise and that they would attract the walkers." there was no disguising the disgust in his voice. "We should never have stayed," they'd put them there just in case his spell didn't work, just in case he wasn't there with them when something happened.
Daryl didn't comment, merely began to yank his new arrows that Harry had given him out of the dead walkers heads until he had every single one back in his hands. Shifting his crossbow across his back, he began to wipe them with a rag, and once they were cleaned sufficiently, he placed them in his quiver. Staying within his brothers and Harry's sight, keeping an eye on them.
"We obviously can't stay here," Rick said coming to Harry's side, wanting his opinion.
"Obviously," Harry said wryly, gazing into the darkness, noticing Carol sobbing by the RV but without actually making a sound. Her shoulders were bobbing up and down at the intensity of her crying; Amy and Andrea were trying their best to comfort her. His eyes automatically went to the window of the RV and sighed in relief, Sophia was alright, so it must mean her pathetic excuse for a husband had been killed in the attack. Merle had gone back to his seat in front of his tent, cleaning his sword looking on edge.
"We should head to the CDC," Rick declared firmly.
"And you honestly think its still standing?" Harry asked cocking his head to the side, wondering if he was deluded or just plain hopeful.
"If anywhere has the best protection it would be there," Rick urged, "An answer, a cure even,"
"Have you seen it out there in Atlanta?" Harry queried, Rick was a decent guy, there was no doubt, a leader, and second he came on the scene everyone had looked to him instead of Shane. The shift in things had to wind Shane up; the man was a dictator not a leader.
"Of course," Rick said confused by the question.
"You know what they did?" Harry pushed.
"What do you mean?" Rick asked exasperated.
"They began to blow everything up, surely you realize that was the last option, the army, the marines everything...it's probably all gone, they never stood a chance." Harry answered, "They were gunning people down in public, rounding anyone up with a single sight of a fever, families hiding those that had been bitten in fear of them being persecuted, only for entire families to be taken out like that," Harry clicked his fingers. "Those that weren't found out began to kill themselves and their families to escape this nightmare we've found ourselves in."
Rick winced; vividly reminded of the family he'd found, a man and woman, shot guns to the head, and blood on their walls with may god forgive us written on it. He didn't like to think there were more families who had killed themselves, but he knew they probably had.
"If anywhere is safe it's Fort Benning," Shane argued.
Harry huffed out a sardonic chuckle, why did he bother speaking? It wasn't as if anything he said seemed to matter. Shaking off his thoughts, he moved to sit beside Merle, groaning tiredly, he was glad he hadn't gone hunting today; otherwise he would have been even more exhausted.
"You never answered whether the psycho who killed your parents was caught," Merle pointed out, opening his blue eyes suspicion of what really happened burning in his gaze.
Harry looked around seeing that everyone else was otherwise occupied, "That's because I killed him myself, it was kill or be killed, so I did what I had to. Saved the lives of hundreds of others at the same time, not that they spared any gratitude of course." they preferred to gossip about him, as if he wasn't a person just someone on a pedestal for them to point out all his flaws. Well except the people he'd known. Not that it mattered now, since the world had gone to shit most of them were probably dead now.
Merle just grunted before settling down again. His thoughts turning to the first time they'd ever set eyes on Harry, he'd been high of course, thought he was seeing things.
-0 Flash Back 0-
Daryl crouched down, his fingers brushing over the ground, they were getting closer, the tracks were fresh, and the buck had to be nearby. The thrill of the hunt never ceased to excite him, not that it showed of course. Straightening up, he didn't make a single sound as he began moving again in the direction of the tracks, grumbling at his brother who was making enough noise to scare away the game from behind him.
Still he continued on not saying a word, leaving his brother to do whatever he wanted, but knowing he would follow him anyway. Occasionally kneeling to make sure he was going in the right direction. Signalling his brother with hand gestures now and again, then they saw it, Daryl crouched again aiming his crossbow at the deer, going for the kill, aiming for the heart, it would take it down and quick so it didn't get away. The deer had stopped to graze at the patch of grass, its ears twitching every few seconds.
Then Daryl hit the trigger, his arrow zoomed out, then out of nowhere a man appeared, the arrow went into him. The sound of a car backfiring caused the deer to look up and bolt, sensing danger before Daryl could even think of reloading his crossbow, not that he thought anything, he was just staring completely stunned, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"...the hell?" Daryl muttered, moving closer to see whoever it was, they were unconscious, still not believing it he touched him. "He's real,"
"As real as your chupacabra," Merle snorted in amusement, not believing his brother, things didn't just appear out of thin air especially not people - he must be higher than he thought.
"Get your ugly ass over here and help me get him up!" Daryl insisted trying to get the guy up himself was in no way possible, despite his small stature. "And I know what I saw!" he added indignantly.
Merle almost tripped up, taking a double take when his brother actually sat him up. Squinting slightly, he moved forward and poked it, expecting his finger to go through this hallucination he was having. Only that didn't happen, the person get let out an agonizing groan. Cursing under his breath, grumbling foully he grasped a hold of the man and hoisted him up until each brother had him shoulder to shoulder.
Both brothers looked at each other, both of them wondering what the hell had happened and more importantly how it had happened.
-0 End Flashback 0-
"I'll take the first watch," Harry stated sharply, moving away to the top of the RV, he knew nobody would be sleeping tonight, and if they did it would be sheer exhaustion dragging them under.