Everyone was gathered around the fire, eating the fish that Amy and Andrea had caught while out on their fishing excursion. They were all happy to be eating something other than canned food and squirrels for once.
There was polite chit-chat and jokes being thrown out into the conversation almost effortlessly and everyone seemed to join in at one point or another, even Harley cracked a few jokes and had some input on the conversation.
Anna tugged at Harley's old leather jacket sleeve, "I'm going to bed." Harley gave her a nod and a pat on the head.
"Go straight to the tent." Harley told the younger girl before she took another bite of the fish. Anna nodded and scurried off in the direction of the tent she shared with Harley.
Meanwhile, Harley couldn't help, but feel as though something odd had swept over the camp, a sort of peaceful feeling that none of the survivors had felt since the outbreak. She looked around, seeing everyone smiling and laughing as though they were a group of friends out on a camping trip together.
Amy got up from her seat only to have Andrea immediately question where she was going, "I'm going to the bathroom. You try to be discreet around here..." She grumbled as she stalked off towards the RV.
Within a few seconds of Amy disappearing into the RV, she reappeared, "Anyone got any toilet paper?"
It happened very suddenly.
Amy shrieked as a walker bit into her arm and she desperately tried to fight it off. Panic struck and everyone fled in different directions, but Harley was left standing near the fire, looking around desperately, "Anna?!" When there was no answer, she grabbed her bat which was leaning up against her chair and her gun which was tucked into the back of her jeans and headed in the direction of their tent, "Anna, where are you?!"
Gun shots sounded off as Shane opened fire on the walkers. When she reached the tent, she lifted the flap hoping to find Anna safely sitting inside, but the tent was empty.
"ANNA?!" Harley shouted, panic finally taking hold of her.
She faintly heard Shane yell something about heading to the RV in the background of her mind, but she ignored it, taking out any walkers in her path with a bullet to the skull as she searched for Anna amidst the chaos.
Shots rang off as she put a bullet in a walker's head who was about to attack Jacqui as she tried to make her way to the RV, following Shane's orders.
"Go." Harley muttered, shooting another walker who was blocking Jacqui's path.
Upon hearing her name being called out she turned to find Anna running towards her, "Harley!"
There was a wave of relief that washed over her as she started to make her way to Anna, but then all at once that relief turned into horror. Her breath hitched up into her throat as she saw a walker appear behind Anna, grabbing her by the arm before biting down on her shoulder.
"Oh God..." Harley choked out and tears welled up in her eyes as she shakily aimed her gun and shot the walker, nearly missing, "No..." She bolted over to where Anna lay bleeding, struggling to breathe, "Oh god no." She mumbled as she clamped a hand down on Anna's bleeding shoulder, "Anna..." She grabbed the girl's hand within her own which was covered in blood and pressed it to her forehead, "I'm so sorry, Anna... I'm so, so sorry."
A small voice spoke up, "It's okay."
Harley looked up, tears coating her eyes, "I told you I'd protect you."
"It's okay." Anna repeated as she smiled weakly, her vision beginning to fade in and out as she lost more and more blood, "It's okay." More tears filled her eyes, but Harley refused to let them fall as she clung to Anna, her breathing slowing down as she whispered again and again, "It's okay", to Harley as Harley hugged her tightly, rocking her gently back and forth.
"I'm so sorry." Harley's voice cracked as Anna exhaled once more, her murmuring coming to a painful stop. Harley's firm grip on her did not relent as her throat tightened, "Please..." She begged quietly, "Please don't leave me."
More gun shots rang out, signaling that Rick and the others had finally come back and not long after they arrived did the gunshots stop completely, the only noises ringing in the air were the sounds of anguish and sorrow.
The sun had risen, but everyone was already wide awake. No one had been able to sleep that night, not with Andrea's sobs echoing through the air or with little Carl crying into his father's shirt.
Harley remained at Anna's side, still holding the girl's tiny hand within her own.
Daryl had come over sometime during the night to see how she was doing, but her face was like a stone; unmoving and unchanging. He didn't say anything to her, merely placing a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to ease some of her pain, but he knew that it wouldn't help much.
So, he sat next to her as she grieved, his hand never leaving her shoulder and he never said a word, he simply let her mourn her loss.
By morning Daryl had left her side to go help with the disposal of the bodies, leaving Harley alone with Anna's body which had gone cold and pale.
It was a few hours before Lori made her way over to Harley, who spoke before Lori could even say anything, "I know..." Her voice was hoarse from crying and barely above a whisper, "Just give me a bit more time."
Lori nodded solemnly, "Alright," She said, "If that's what you need."
"What're we gonna do 'bout them?" Rick asked, noting that neither Harley nor Andrea had moved the entire night.
"Andrea won't even talk to us." Lori said, "She's been there all night."
"We can't just leave Amy like that..." Shane piped up, "We need to deal with it... with both of them." He said motioning to where Harley sat with Anna as well.
"Has Harley said anything?" Rick asked Lori who had gone over to talk with Harley just a few minutes ago.
Lori sighed, "She knows what needs to be done."
Rick was silent for a moment, "I'm gonna go talk to Andrea."
Lori watched as he approached Andrea, knowing that it would not end well.
Harley ran her finger down the barrel of the gun, "One bullet left." She observed, "Seems kind of fittin', donnit?"
"Christ," Harley grumbled, "Didn't realize the place would be crawlin' wit these fuckers." She stepped over the unmoving body of the walker she had just taken out and she checked her gun, frowning when she noticed she only had one bullet remaining, "Dangit."
She was pretty much out of ammo and was almost positive that she wouldn't find any extra bullets lying around this particular house which seemed to be unoccupied upon first inspection. While the shutters were hanging by a screw and the windows and doors were broken in, there didn't seem to be any movement within the house which was one of the reasons Harley decided to see if there were any supplies to scavenge.
It had been a few weeks since the entire country succumbed to this new, incurable disease and already the towns that she had been to seemed like they hadn't been inhabited in months, needless to say, supplies were hard to come by.
However, Harley found out that her assumption was wrong and that this particular house was very much occupied and not just by the few walkers she had killed.
There was a noise that she heard as she rummaged through the kitchen cabinets, hoping to find even just a box of cereal to appease her screaming stomach.
It was a bit of a foreign noise, something she hadn't heard for quite some time now; the sound of a child crying. Harley immediately stopped her search and stayed still, listening closely to find the source of the crying.
The floor creaked with each footstep she took and when she was in front of the cupboard, the muffled crying coming from beyond the door stopped abruptly. She looked down at the doorknob, noticing a key locking the cupboard and she found that a bit odd.
With much hesitance, unlocked the door and as she opened it, she was unsure of what she would find.
There, gathered on the floor in a sobbing mess, was a small blonde haired girl whose big blue eyes were red from crying and nose was full of snot. She was a sight for sore eyes if anything else. Her eyes widened with fear as she sunk back into the empty shelf behind her, trying to inch away from Harley who simply stood in the doorway with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"The hell are you doin' in a pantry, kid?" Harley asked.
The girl didn't say anything, she only started to cry once more and even louder than before.
"Hey, hey," Harley said gently, kneeling down in front of the girl, "Ya gotta be quiet, okay? We don't wanna attract any unwanted attention, ya got that?"
The girl's cries muted themselves as she wiped her nose on the sleeve of her dirty sweatshirt, "I don't know where my parents are." Was the first thing she said.
Harley frowned, "Not here, kid. I'm sorry."
The girl was silent and Harley wasn't sure what to do. She was never any good with kids, let alone crying kids and there was a sudden realization of the problem that was now at her hands.
Was she going to take the kid with her or leave her here to fend for herself? Her instincts were telling her to just cut her losses now because trying to take care of herself as well as a child would only lead to them both getting killed, however, her conscious was urging her to take the child with her. She couldn't just leave a little girl all on her own in a house that may still have walkers in it.
Harley bit her lip and her eyes locked with the child's as she formed a decision, "Your name?"
"What?" The girl looked confused.
"Your name. What is it?"
The girl was quiet for a moment, probably contemplating what her parents once told her about not talking to strangers, but she wasn't quite sure that rule applied to this situation, "Anna."
"Alright, Anna." Harley held her hand out for Anna to take, "I'm Harley." Anna took her hand and Harley helped pull her off the ground with ease, "Listen, I got one bullet left in this gun." Harley waved the gun slightly and Anna seemed unaffected by it, probably used to them due to her father being a hunter or something, "Gotta make it count, alright?" She gave the girl a playful wink.
Almost on cue, there was a loud groaning that resonated through the house that came from above them and Harley knew what was coming for them. Anna cowered behind her, looking at the staircase in front of them expectantly.
"I'm gonna protect you, don't worry."
The sound of a gun going off startled everyone, "The hell was that?" Shane asked about to get in a tizzy.
Their eyes turned to Harley who was walking over to them, carrying Anna as though she were a toddler. Anna's legs swayed with each step Harley took and they could see Harley's hands clenching at Anna as she tried hard not to cry, especially not in front of them.
"Here." Harley said as she gently placed Anna's body down near the rest of the dead which allowed the group to see the bullet wound that went straight through her forehead, "I took care of it. She won't be comin' back."
No one said anything as she hurried over to her tent before anyone could see the tears that were streaming down her face. She'd have to move on, she knew that better than anyone, but she needed time to mourn.
They all did.
Wow, look at me posting two chapters in a day like I'm a driven individual. Ha. T_T
Think of this as an apology for my shitty updating habits. Hope you guys enjoy this one! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and added this story to their story alerts! I appreciate it 3
