Inspired by "Rebuilt" written by Terrific Lunacy.
I will apologize in advance, because I wanted to prepared at least ten chapters before publishing it but sadly I didn't have time to progress on this story. I didn't want it to rot in a corner of my computer, so...
Anyway. Before reading, I want you to be aware that there will be gore blood and violence. As well as sex scenes (not excessively explicit) later on. If it's fine by you then please be my guest and I hope you'll enjoy the story!
/\The ages of some characters are different from the original story./\
It was hot as hell. The skin of his arms was burning, sweat was dripping down his spine in a very uncomfortable line. Perched above the entire city, the periphery of the area below was a sight both stunning and grim. Most of the facades were crumbled among other ruins. There were cars left everywhere, some were squashed against a pole, a wall, sometimes a shopping window, but most of them were simply abandoned in the middle of the street with doors wide open and cracked glass panes scattered with holes.
Shops were quite the sight too. When still undamaged and standing, they were totally raided and emptied of all their products. It was fascinating in a sense, to see how humans think in those moments of despair, strived by the undisclosed will to survive. They are the ones who liked to compare themselves to animals, drawing a line between the two species built on intelligence and thinking and yet, the moment Death came near their existence, this line just exploded into oblivion. Every species merged with the others, all thoughts and moves driven by the innate mechanism called Instinct. They ran, stole, pillaged, fought. And mostly killed. They were ready to get rid of their own family if it meant living another day. Rage in the eyes, humans became beasts.
The most ominous thing about this disturbing scenery was the constant silence. The streets were deserted, as well as the entire city drowned into the nothingness caused by the absence of life. It took time to become used to it, and despite all these years this calmness still came with a dreading feeling tied into their guts. This silence was louder than anything they've ever known. It condemned them to be aware of absolutely everything. Emptiness, wind, hunger… and death.
Death was everywhere. During the day when hunger and exhaustion took many of them away. And at night, when the new greatest fear of men since a decade ago appeared and fed their worst nightmares all the while feeding on their flesh.
Them. The unnatural creatures created by something no one could ever imagine, completely dead inside while their bodies continued to rise and hunt without any satiation.
Grey skin, dark purple veins, rotten flesh, with that vile smell they all carried with them wherever they were, mixed with dry blood and decaying intestines.
The dark haired teen adjusted his binoculars to zoom in the misshapen silhouette coming out from the shadows. Well, this one did have his guts hanging out his open belly… Barely grimacing at the sight, he watched the moving corpse slowly wandering around the deserted alleys purposelessly. He's long since stopped feeling sorry for them, even though he never ceased regretting their pitiful becoming. Nobody should have to suffer this fate, never finding spiritual peace in death while they were never going to live again.
His hand grabbed the weapon beside the lawn chair he was sitting on. Letting go of the binoculars, he aimed at the wobbling silhouette and waited. Sweat slid down his forehead, reaching his jaw to finally fall over the warm ground of the rooftop. He held his breath for what seemed to be ten seconds, then shot.
He didn't see the small plastic projectile go off. But he knew he hit the target he was aiming for when a soft thud from the metal bar not too far away from the creature echoed back to him, catching its attention as the living corpse turned around and started walking toward the sound. A grim smile lifted Harry's dry lips.
"'Sup Harry? Anything new?"
He put the airsoft gun on the backpack next to the chair and sighed, wiping the wetness of his face with the back of his forearm.
"Nothing but a lonely Dementor wandering around the area," Harry replied, looking up at the familiar shape of his friend. Green eyes came across bright, reddish hair emphasized by the clarity of the sunlight, which he recognized as one of the twin's. "What are you doing here?"
"Your shift finished minutes ago. I came to switch with you."
"Oh. It's time already?" Harry began to gather his backpack before removing the binoculars around the neck.
Fred -or George?- smirked and gladly took the item Harry handed to him. "You could have stay out of the sun and watch from the 11th floor you know. You're the only one crazy enough to face the scorching heat of August for ages. It's a wonder you haven't got sunburns since then."
He helped Harry to stand on his feet.
"I like summer. Makes me feel alive."
"Covered in sweat? Man, you're a mystery."
"I will take it as a compliment," he grinned. Harry stretched until his back bones cracked. He hadn't noticed how much sore his body was till the moment he stood. He winced when his numb feet began to ache as he tried to get used to moving again.
"We didn't see many Dementors these past few days," the twin commented.
"Yeah, I figured. Do you think they left the city or something? Where could they have gone anyway?"
"I have no clue. It happened last year too. And the previous ones. I'm starting to believe our crazy theory turns out to be real…"
"Yeah…" His gaze swept across the building below them unemotionally. "They are more and more affected by heat. Who'd have thought?" Harry put the backpack on his shoulder and started to walk toward the door.
"Well, if it's really true we just have to pray for the next summer to annihilate those hideous human-like hyenas for our sake."
Harry stopped at that, turning to George -or Fred- who against all odds, sat on the lawn chair exposed in the sun instead of going in the freshness of the old office building. The dark haired teen raised a brow.
"I don't think this is something a natural system can solve. If so then we would be in our home right now, being pissed drunk since the end of June because we would have graduated from high school by then."
"That would definitely be us," the other approved. "I bet Ron would be totally wasted and snoring in a corner while George and I would take pictures after drawing dicks here and there over his dumb face…"
Harry didn't have to look at him to know Fred had a devilish smirk on his lips while saying that. He rolled his eyes but couldn't keep the small grin on his face either. "You're not going inside?"
Fred waved a lazy hand. "Nah, I'm gonna follow your wise example and feel alive in this natural sauna while watching over the Undead loitering around the streets like hungry stray dogs. Oh, wow- Look at that! I'm already radiating solar power!"
"Careful there, if I didn't knew better I'd think you're mocking me."
"Me? I would never!" Fred gasped dramatically and Harry snorted, giving him the finger before stepping into the stairs and entering a wave of delightful freshness he didn't think he'd missed that bad.
There was no air conditioner in the building. The only source of fresh air came from the many broken windows in the abandoned offices. They were localised in a deserted company apparently specializing in insurance, by the look of the advertisement posters placed on the walls, although most of them were practically unreadable now. Their group didn't camp in a place for too long. They settled in safe locations to rest, find some source of food and have a semblance of normal life. Then they departed again in another village or city, travelling by foot in the entire United Kingdom until they found a secured colony or a way to live without fearing the Dementors anymore.
Until they can find a definite place to live , and not just survive.
He arrived at the corridor of the 10th floor. He entered a huge room and was greeted by the sight of thirteen teens gathered inside, half of them sitting in circle in the middle of the office playing cards. Most of the desks were removed from the office to make space. This was the 'common room' where they ate and slept, spending the majority of their time here for those who couldn't go outside with the others.
As soon as Harry appeared in the doorway, another redhead came into his line of vision. It was another shade of red, a bit darker than the twins. Harry gave Ron a tired smile when the other boy greeted him.
"Hey mate."
"Awake at last," Harry snickered, earning a low growl from the other.
"I opened my eyes all wet and panicked. The first thing I saw was Fred and his bloody smirk."
"It could have been worse."
On that remark, Ron looked at him as if he'd just cursed every of his ancestors since the firstborn Weasley of History. "You want to know what's worse? It wasn't until I ran after my stupid brothers and dried myself off that I realized it was expired milk! The smell lasted for hours until I had to take a shower!"
Harry couldn't control it this time, he burst out of laugher, catching the attention of everyone in the room. Ignoring the affronted look of his mate, he walked toward the girl who called out to him from across of the room.
"Harry!"
He joined the corner where older teens around his age where gathered, all focused on the giant map unfolded over the only desk in the former office. Well, they were focused until they noticed Harry coming their way with Ron sulking on his heels. He took Hermione in a small, affectionate embrace as she hugged him back.
"You look tired."
"Long night," Hermione replied and Harry saw the slight shrug of her tensed shoulder, sole clue speaking volume of the numerous sleepless nights she spent analysing the safest place to stay next for when they were going to depart from their actual camp.
"We told you we had all the time. Didn't you sleep at all since I left for my watch?" he sighed and Hermione quickly brushed him off.
"Better ready than sorry. We can't wander outside without precise destination in mind! One mistake could be our downfall, you know. I want to make sure everything's going to be okay."
"Stop exhausting yourself when we need you so badly, idiot. Why you guys didn't knock her out?" he asked the others who all looked sheepish for a second.
"I was busy fighting a pink Dementor who wanted to stole my barbecued meat."
"What?"
"A very frightening nightmare if you ask me. I bet it was because of the giant advertising displayed at the supermarket last time we were exploring."
"Shut up George, you're talking nonsense," Ron grunted at his brother.
"I'm not lying! I miss barbecues so bad I'm going crazy!"
"Anyway," a tall boy interrupted. He did his best to look serious although his gentle gaze hid a certain mirth. "I should have checked to make sure she wasn't overheating her brain cells all night and fulfil my role as the father of our little gang. I won't be lenient next time Hermione."
"Stop treating me like a child," she mumbled.
"We are simply treating you as a human being who needs rest and energy, 'Mione," Harry let out a sigh. "And Cedric, you don't have to get involved in the twin's jokes about that parenting crap…"
George decided to take offence for this. Like his brother earlier, his face transformed into an expression of shock and the boy put a hand on his chest dramatically.
"Hey, what do you mean parenting crap? You wound me Harry! This is the most accurate term for our dear Daddy Ced who's always taking care of the poor, unsafe babies we are!"
"He's right you know," Ron intervened with equal taunt in his voice. "Especially when the mother is as caring as the husband. We all need a Mummy Harry by our side."
"Ron…"
"We talked about it already. Cedric is the oldest of us, thus making him the wise dad of the group. Come on, the kids like it!"
Cedric chuckled as he observed Harry shot a glare towards his best friend. He shrugged, "I don't really mind-" "You should, " Harry grunted, "-Although I have to admit I nearly choked when Axel called me Daddy Ced yesterday…"
The Weasley brothers' laugh rose throughout the entire room while Harry's face took a darker shade of pink. If the others already adopted George's stupid idea of parental figure, it wouldn't be long before someone call him 'Mum.' He would never heard the end of it. The noise they made caught the attention of the other half of the group. Another redhead perked at them, brown shining eyes immediately spotting Harry.
"You're back!" She let go of the cards to stand up, leaving the game to join the small gathering.
All of the siblings were assembled together, barring Fred doing his watch on the rooftop. Ginny was the youngest of the four, preceded by Ron who had the same age as Harry and then the twins, a year and half older. If one redhead was around, another one was never far away. Neville once compared them to human checkpoints. Harry couldn't agree more.
"Ron told me you were going to count the supplies and I wanted to help."
"Thank you," he smiled and missed the beam passing through her eyes when he did. "You guys didn't have to wait for me, I'd have joined you in the meantime." Harry let his eyes wander around the room.
"Where is Zacharias?"
"Out."
"…What?"
"He said he wanted to 'explore' the neighbourhood in case we missed something. Didn't see him or Jacob since then." Cedric explained. Harry could see the faintest annoyance displayed on the boy's expression.
"And you just… let him?"
"Of course not," Ron interrupted. Harry noticed the boy display the same annoyance than Cedric's. "But that twat can be a pain in the ass when he wants to."
"Anyway, back to the subject," George interrupted as things were subtly getting out of hands. "Let's get to work so we can finish this quickly!"
Harry and the others except Hermione who finally accepted to go rest- silently agreed. They went into another room, closely followed by the youngest Weasley and minutes later, they were sitting on the floor surrounded by piles of cans stacked up everywhere.
Taking stock of the supplies became necessary over the years when the group has began to grow in numbers. They were only six at the very beginning, The Weasley family, Neville and Harry. There has been many periods when they have been on an empty stomach for days due to lack of food. More than once, they thought they were going to starve to death, only to miraculously find some edible cans among trashes on their way. If Harry'd been Christian at that time he'd have thanked God multiple times back then.
Now that he was thinking back, if the Weasleys hadn't been there six years ago he would have probably not made it to this day. He had been walking the streets alone since the disaster struck. Not even his aunt's family had been at home when he came back to check on them. They just disappeared in the chaos without a word or a message from them. He'll never know if they ran away or if they ever had a chance to get somewhere safe alive.
That is how an eleven year old boy went wandering alone into the turmoil of the world. He had nearly lost his life more than once during the year he's been left on his own. A year of hiding, of fear, of running away. A year of pure loneliness when he didn't come across some kind of psychos, armed with knives and disgusting looks fed by the madness and excitement of a world in which rules and morals no longer existed.
He was quite surprised that their group has managed to last till now, and a little proud too. This epidemic created destructive cynicism along with Dementors. People became fast bitter and selfish, more than they originally were, especially grown-ups. A lot of children were left behind and most often than not they didn't live long in the wild, hence Harry's bewilderment about them surviving another year.
"Damn it. My pile won't even be enough for half of us." Cedric's voice pulled Harry from his thoughts.
"Same here," a hand shot up from behind a mountain of dried fruits boxes. Harry recognized the voice as Ron's.
In the end everyone finished counting their part and came to realize they were going to run out of food very soon.
"Okay, so when is our little exploration in town scheduled?" George asked, hands playing with a can of soup.
"Who's on duty?"
"Fred, Ron, George, Zacharias, Neville and I," Harry replied and stowed a bag of crisps in a box. "But Neville's injury hasn't completely healed so we're one man short this time-"
"I can go with you."
Four pairs of eyes landed on Ginny at once, blinking comically. They had forgotten the newest addition to their little party for a moment. Her brothers reacted on the spot.
"What?"
"Go where?" Ron's face almost had a look of outrage. Ginny made a flick of the shoulder.
"Shopping."
"What for?!"
"Are you really asking me this question? We need to restock the supplies or-"
"I know perfectly well what the excursion is for!" The youngest Weasley male's cheeks burned with annoyance. "And no, you're not going anywhere."
This time, it was Ginny who appeared scandalized. Having Weasley blood in her veins, the youngest member of the redhead family did not escape her genes. Her emotions were immediately transmitted to her cheeks in the form of intense redness. When she was about to speak, Harry knew there would be no way to prevent the following argument.
"You have no right to tell me what I can or cannot do!"
"Yes I have, because I'm your brother and you have to listen to me!"
"This is not fair. You're still treating me like a five years old. Do I need to remind you I'm sixteen?"
"It doesn't change the fact I'm older than you."
Ginny snorted. "You went scouting at 14 and I didn't see anyone complaining."
"It's not the same thing!"
"Oh? Then please, tell me what's the difference. Go ahead, I'm listening."
"Well, for one you're obviously a gir-"
"Oh wow! Congratulations Ronald Weasley, for the most sexist and cliché example of all times! Can't you be any more pathetic?! Hermione is a girl too. She helps a lot and even goes with you when you're short of manpower! Why can't I do the same?"
Ron stopped as though he's been slapped. He looked like he wanted to retort although nothing but stutters came out of his mouth. The teenage girl turned to her second brother who until now has been watching their quarrel like an intense tennis game, as did the rest of them.
"Do you agree with him too?"
"Um…"
He now had the attention of both redheads in the room. One was murderous while the other seemed almost like pleading. "I'd agree with Ron on this one…"
His brother's glare softened for a second by contrast of Ginny's saddening expression. George cleared his throat, "But now that I think about it, we may have coddled our precious little sister too much while trying to survive the new world."
The tension shifted again between the two youngest Weasleys. It was like George was refereeing the game to decide who gets the point. It seemed like Ginny was going to be the winner.
"She is right," he conceded with a final sigh, "Alright, you can go with us."
"You can't be serious!" Ron exclaimed, voice soaring few octaves up in utter disbelief.
"I have conditions of course," George interrupted and gave her a warning gaze. "You'll have to listen to absolutely everything you're told, and most importantly you're going to stick to us until we're back to the camp. No wandering alone, no complaints, no disobedience."
"I promise," she vividly nodded, too excited to refuse anything. Ron's face was priceless. Harry wanted to laugh but refrained from doing so, lest it make his best friend's mood worsen.
"And when I say stick to us, I mean me, Fred or Ron."
"What-"
"You either accept it or stay here to watch over the children."
Harry could see the girl was torn between revolting and negotiating the last condition. But he and she knew the two would only cause the end of the deal.
"… Fine," she let out a dejected moan.
Harry and Cedric sent each other a silent look, not knowing what to do as everything abruptly settled down between the three siblings. Harry raised an impressed brow. George's seriousness was really uncommon. The twins were known to be the clowns of the group, always making jokes and enlightening everyone's mood. It was quite relieving to know that despite their carefree nature, everyone could count on them if needed.
"We should go back," Cedric proposed before nodding in Harry's direction, "We'll need a lot of workforce for this expedition, we better be prepared soon." Emerald eyes shone with gratefulness at the brilliant diversion.
Walking back to the common room, Harry spot blond hair at the end of the corridor. He called for Zacharias as soon as he and his henchman of a friend were within earshot. "Hey!"
He heard the boy click his tongue while turning to them. "What do you want?"
"What were you doing outside?" Ron spat. The bastard really was getting on his nerves these days.
"I told you we were exploring a little bit."
They would have all rolled their eyes if the situation was not to be taken seriously. Jacob snickered behind him. Their attitude spoke volumes about what they've really been doing, without mentioning the dark, purple fluids smeared all over them.
"Yeah… you must have found something really interesting seeing the poor state of your clothes," Harry sneered bitterly. "Or should I say someone?" His response had the effect of sending a wave of tension between the two groups. Zacharias' smile was replaced by a grimace full of acerbity. He took a step towards the dark haired teen, blue eyes clashing with emerald.
"What is your problem Potter? Are you going to lecture me again about those bloody monsters that are already dead?"
"No, I'm not. We've been past that already and I don't like wasting my saliva when it comes to talking to you. However I want to know how you got to be that close with a Dementor. Surely you didn't approached it without being armed?"
"Not your fucking business."
"It is our business if you're using the guns meant to defend us," George cut him off. He saw Jacob nervously shift on his feet, hands automatically touching the rectangular bump under his jacket. Cedric must have noticed too, because a second later he walked to the teen to take the item from him.
"These weapons are not for fun, you morons. They are what kept you alive until now, and all you think about is recklessly shoot harmless Dementors using it as a toy without minding the recharges."
Jacob growled, "We were just practising shooting, what's wrong with that?"
"Shooting wouldn't have you all covered in their blood. You were massacring them for your own damn pleasure," Ron spat at the duo. Zacharias gritted his teeth.
"So what? We've got nothing else to do anyway! I'm not gonna be stuck in here twiddling my thumbs and cuddle with the damn brats all day."
"We are a group. We have rules and the first one we all agreed with was not go outside without valid reasons and endanger the entire crew!" Harry shot back at the blond with a slight huff.
"I didn't know you were so scared. Heat makes them weak, that's what you said last time."
"Technically it's still a hypothesis…" Ginny retorted but was ignored by the blond as he went on, "And I have enough of cowering in fear because of those fucking zombies. I'd rather show them what we're made of than cry and tremble for the rest of our lives!"
"This is not about being scared! This is about the safety of everyone-"
A snort escaped Zacharias's lips as he glared at Harry, looking down on him from his annoying height. Harry being one of the shortest male among them didn't help. "Spare me your bullshit Potter. You're only irritated I took the initiative without your consent. We all know how much you love to act like a leader."
"Excuse me?"
"But guess what? You're not the boss of me. I will never accept your leadership as long as you're going to remain a coward."
"Where did you get the idea that I wanted to be the leader?" Harry was sincerely astonished to hear Zacharias thinking such a role would interest him. He hated responsibilities as much as the execrable task of giving orders.
They all accepted the fact that there would be no chief in the group, only the older ones would get the right to decide for everyone as long as they all agreed with each other. Zacharias knew it too and went along with it even though he wasn't part of the oldest at that time.
Instead of answering, the blond snarled and turned in the opposite direction with no further comments but, "Now leave me the hell alone, all that shite is giving me a bloody headache."
He missed the finger Ron gave him behind his back and the eyes-rolling sigh from Cedric as he disappeared in the corner, Jacob scooting on his heels.
By the time they reached the common room, everyone had finished playing cards but didn't move from the circle in the middle of the floor. Harry saw Neville extirpated himself from the group, grimacing when he clumsily put height on the injured limb when he stood. He bravely ignored the glare he got from the Asian girl by his side; she kept telling him to move as little as possible but the boy possessed a solid stubbornness even matching Harry's.
"How did it go?"
"Terrible," George drawled in fake severity. When Neville's blank face transformed into growing concern, he shook his head. "I'm afraid, my dear friends, that in less than twenty-four hours we'll be bound to… oh God. I can't say it."
"W-What's going on?!" one of the youngster asked, eyes shining with alarm.
He put a hand over Harry's shoulder like he was in need for support to break the news. "I didn't want it to come to this… We're so sorry guys. We will… oh my god, we will…!"
"We will what? Spit it out!"
"We'll be bound to… fight to death for the remaining food. The stock is empty."
The following silence sent a wave of torpor through everyone's bones before George wiped out his tragic expression and let out a loud laugh echoing in the entire place. It seemed to shake all of them out of their horrified state. While half of them relaxed in utter relief for a moment, another young boy yelled at the twin, his face totally humourless.
"Son of a bitch! You freaked the shit out of me!"
"Bahaha- ow-!" George yelped when a blow hit his head. He covered the back of his skull while retreating away from Cedric's fist and Seamus' retribution. "Come on guys it was so funny! Did you see their faces? I'M A GENIUS- Ow- Aoutch!"
"Go to hell!"
"I… kind of want to beat him too," Neville admitted with a small pout.
Well, wasn't it a surprise. Neville, the nicest, sweetest, and most innocent guy in the camp who would gladly be eaten by enraged dogs than make them suffer to save his life, was thinking about hitting a friend. Harry wanted to laugh but found himself unable to do so. Neville had all the rights to lash out at the twins, considering his tragic past with those horrendous pranksters.
He'd been their lab rat for a very long time and even now, even though they started seeking their favourite victim brother for some of their tests, Neville sometimes still suffered the effects of their newly invented gadgets. It was kind of amazing that he hadn't gone ballistic yet…
"You'll have to wait, Seamus has yet to beat the crap out of him before you... Ah. Seems like your turn will come sooner than expected."
"He's down already?"
"Dean tripped him down."
"Great."
Smirking, Harry waited. And waited. And waited again until he realized that Neville wasn't going to move. Eyebrow raised, he looked at his friend, slightly puzzled even though he knew the answer to this lack of action.
"Not going, then?"
"I think…" he coughed, "He's had enough… for now."
Oh, boy. Still too violent for him, Harry thought while trying unsuccessfully to suppress a chuckle.
"Right," Harry had an obvious smile on the lips. Neville's face turned redder and he coughed once more. "Make sure you remind him of that favour," he said before turning to the whole room, catching their attention.
"Okay guys, time out! Seamus, let the poor guy breathe. We still need his brain, sadly— Dean, what did I just say? Stop kicking him. Don't cry Nina, it was just a joke, really. Remember the time Fred told you Dementors would bring you presents instead of Santa Claus because his reindeers were ill with the virus? Yeah, it was a prank. Just like now. I promise no one's gonna die, otherwise George will go first, that I can assure you."
"I second that," Ginny vehemently nodded.
"Third," Ron followed without a blink.
"We're siblings!" George cried in outrage, his voice croaked as though Seamus had really tried to strangle him. Seeing the smug face the other boy was displaying, Harry's doubts became a reality.
"Anyway," Cedric cut in, "although George exaggerated things, it's true that we're starting to become short on supplies. We were supposed to go "shopping" by the end of the week. However, we will need to go tomorrow instead. Fred, George, Harry, Ron and Zacharias will go in the expedition, and exceptionally Ginny will accompany us during our little journey."
"Ginny?" Neville blurted.
"Yes, she wants to replace you in order to let your leg heal properly."
"But- No, it's too dangerous. I can't accept it. Never mind my injury guys, it's practically healed anyway. I can go-"
"Continue this sentence Neville, and I will put you to sleep with the help of my medical encyclopedia."
And here was the demonic apprentice medic in all her glory, fuming and glaring at the unfortunate injured boy who shrivelled under the blazing eyes fixed on his trembling form. His head remembered the weight of the weapon-like volume the day it fell from the bookshelf Cho had discovered in an abandoned old shack. Since then, Neville always saw the item of knowledge as an enemy.
"Does anyone have questions or suggestions? Do you have anything in mind that could be useful for the crew?"
A camel-haired girl raised her hand. Harry sent her a knowing glance. "Anything that is not make-up, heels, jewellery, erotic books-" he stared at Dean whose hand went suddenly up, "-and porn magazines."
The hands dropped down.
Cedric continued from there, "As always, there will be a list accessible to everyone to note potentially necessary purchases other than food. Fill it in before midnight, or you'll have to wait another exploration."
When the report was finished, the big office reverted to a cacophony of chuckling and shouting, louder than before. Fred came back from his watch a moment later. When he saw his twin assaulted by Dean and Seamus on the ground, he didn't even hesitate once and went to jump on the human pile yelling "Geronimo!" before landing on top of Dean.
Harry and the others watched them wriggled like some kind of human worms. He couldn't stop laughing in front of this ridiculous picture. It was one of these moments that could make him relax a little, all thoughts about the outside world vanishing in the back of his mind. There was just them, him, and nothing else.
Behind the windows, another day was closing. A palette of gradient colours adorned the sky, painting it with orange, mauve and then shades of dark blue heralding the night ahead. They will need a lot of sleep tonight. Shopping in this era of apocalypse with hundred of Dementors outside was considered rather suicidal nowadays.
He just hoped that everything was going to be alright.
The air was as hot as the day before, maybe even hotter. The scouting squad had left the building an hour before noon, stuffed with backpacks and duffel bags, weapons like baseball bats, metal rods and BB guns collected from some sports shop during their previous outings. Ron and Harry had hugged Hermione, barely awake that morning but still up to see them off. Nothing on her face betrayed her worry about their excursion, but Ron and he knew better; she had the bad habit of lips-chewing when anxious. They promised to come back in one piece and protect Ginny at the cost of their lives.
Zacharias had given them his favourite death glare but said nothing and went along with them, probably excited in his heart to finally be able to go berserk a bit more freely.
They've been out for one hour now. They checked every corners, every dark alleys and everywhere around them to avoid a face-to-face meeting with an undead. They walked slowly and carefully, they had to make several detours when their path was obstructed by all kinds of obstacles. They only crossed five Dementors since their depart and the twins quickly took care of them.
They had to be as little noisy as possible. Being around countless Dementors the previous years, they quickly learnt that, albeit dead, the senses of those monsters were still highly functioning. They could see you with their eyes, smell you were they to have a nose still attached to their faces. But most importantly, Dementors were relying on their hearing. They were so sensible, some of them were able to hear you sneeze from hundred of meters afar. Ron could still remember the long chase between him and one of those walking corpses on the day he went scouting with a cold. Now, he never set foot outside again if he ever had an itchy nose.
"Dementor!" Zacharias called, pointing one coming out from behind a truck.
"Leave it to me."
Fred got into position fast. He crouched down while taking out a small device from his backpack, a blue plastic globe with little bells on the end of the wire attached to it. He aimed the road next to the Undead and throw it as far as he could. The globe bounced on the bitumen, the bells creating a tinkling echo in the area.
The Dementor grunted, his senses on growing alert. Eyes blurred and unfocused, its body walked towards the small device that kept rolling in straight line down the road. It began to chase it slowly, its skeletal leg bones clattering at every step. In the corner of his eyes Harry, saw Ron release a breath.
They were lucky to have George and Fred in the camp. They were gifted with technological acknowledge since they've learned how to walk. Their father was a toy technology engineer for a long time before the company went out of business. He had innovated thousands of toys with more and more inventiveness every day, thinking only about the happiness of children all over the world. He once showed his kids the processing of a simple microchip and since then, the twins had been immensely curious about the wonders of technology, constantly seeking to create their own trinkets in the footsteps of the Weasley family's patriarch.
Too bad their success led them to perfect their innumerable pranks instead of letting their genius lead them on the road to glory. For these two prodigies could have largely been capable of surpassing their father, if they had not already done so.
"How many of these things do you have left?" Harry asked.
"Enough to start worrying when it's time to go back."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "You have a knack for reassuring people."
"I know darling."
He winked and Harry mockingly huffed, following the others as they entered a small grocery store. They separated right away. Half of the shelves were looted but there were enough leftovers to replenish some of the stock. Harry's eyes lingered over the line of white rice packets. He glanced around in case a lonely Dementor would be wandering around with a sudden craving for starch. Relaxed, he took his backpack off his shoulder and started stuffing it.
Shopping was extremely dangerous. They had to be aware not only of Dementors popping out of nowhere, but bandits and gangs as well. They were even more threatening than the undead as human beings, because their brains were not preset solely to walk and eat. They had kept characteristics of their humanity, involving the vices and horrors to which they all tended to give in to. Unlike Dementors, humans could think. They could kill, not only out of instinct — also out of pleasure and madness.
"Did you find anything?" a voice rose from the back of the grocery store.
"There are some cans here. But I don't see any powdered food product," said Ron.
Harry heard Zacharias growling from the shelf behind him. "They took all the Cookie Crisps!"
"Hey, Ginny's found expired sandwich breads! Wanna see? They're all green and mossy, it looks like genetically modified broccoli."
"Yuck. I'll pass."
"You sure Ronnikins? It smells as bad as yesterday's goat's milk. Might as well jog a few memories."
"Fuck you Fred!"
"I'm George."
"Shut up— Ugh. Why do I have to put up with you two everyday of my life?! Go die already."
"We know you love us!" the second twin's voice exclaimed from the opposite corner.
Harry missed another curse from the youngest Weasley male as he spotted a second shelf of instant noodles. Since they did not have functioning factories to prepare fresh dishes, they were obliged to prioritize almost non-perishable dried products such as pasta and cereals. When lucky, they could find rare freeze-dried cereal bars in cottages that once belonged to ex-military owners, thus allowing them from time to time a little snack they hadn't tasted in months.
Filling the last instant noodles boxes in the bag, Harry joined the others as they all finished checking the remaining edible food.
"Where to go next?" Ginny questioned. Her bag seemed well filled, judging by its width and the uncomfortable way she carried it on her shoulder.
"Hermione indicated a supermarket three miles and half from here."
"Where?" Zacharias leant over the map Fred was holding.
"A little more to the East. We have to go halfway down town before we get there."
"Fuck. Can't we go somewhere else closer than this? The heat is killing me."
"Yeah fine, let's rummage each of these houses one by one to find chewing gums stuck to the bottom of garbage cans and the remains of mould-ridden porridge. We have enough time to waste after all, hadn't we?"
"Shut up Potter. At least we're less likely to run into these freaks in this neighbourhood than we are through the god damn city centre."
"We are here to refill our stocks. We go where we'll have a better chance of finding food."
"As you wish, Boss."
Fred, Ron and George tensed at once. Harry could even heard one of them hold a breath for a second but his attention was fixed on Zacharias.
"What did you call me?"
"Tch. Nevermind."
It was damn hot like the blond had said earlier, Harry was pressured and tired from all the miles they've travelled, and the constant taunts Zacharias was inexplicably giving him lately was slowly getting on his nerves. He knew he should have wave it off and start walking but it was too much. His last streak of patience just snapped.
"No, no, I do mind. Please voice your thoughts, I'm curious."
"Mate—" Harry stopped Ron with his palm. "I want to know."
"There's nothing to say," the blond snarled with an annoying grimace on his face that Harry found uglier and uglier as time went by.
"I tend to disagree. There has to be something because if not, I'd be torn between believing you're fucking paranoid or that you've never come out of your teenage crisis so far, and that would be a real concern considering you're about to be seventeen in two months."
"Shut your mouth! You don't know what you're talking about."
"Then tell me! That is all I'm asking for!"
"Hey, stop. Both of you," Fred and George appeared between the two to pull them away from each other. "This is absolutely not the time to fight, so please just… I don't know—"
"Maybe try to imagine both of you bursting your head open by a big bad Dementor for a second—"
"—Like neither Harry nor Zacharias was alive at the present time, no one to throw your anger at—"
"—And then relax and just—"
"Breathe," they finished together.
Harry and Zacharias continued to stare at each other like madmen, blue eyes glaring into emerald ones, still cold despite that they were progressively losing their furious glow. He wanted to say something, jolt Zacharias like a plum tree until he got some senses back into that damn empty head.
Ron was standing apart not too far from Harry, watching him with tense anticipation in case he decided to pounce on the blond. The dark haired boy was the first to break eye-contact, sighing heavily with restrained exasperation.
"Alright. You're right, let's keep walking."
"That's the spirit," George and Fred cheerfully chorused and placed themselves on his sides, lightly pushing him in the back to drag him with them. "So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
On their way to the supermarket when everybody started to move forwards after the little fight, Fred leant over Harry to whisper.
"I admit I prefer picturing Zacharias getting his jugular ripped off by a Dementor than our dear Mum Harry." Harry's mouth twitched at the mocking -but not insincere- statement.
George imitated his twin, "Definitely."
Less than an hour later, the small group was crossing the parking of the huge supermarket. They didn't waste time to make their way to the automatic doors at standstill.
"Shit, electricity doesn't work here. You guys got torches?"
"I've mine" Ginny replied, looking unsure at the sight of the gigantic structure plunged into darkness.
"And we got some of our small lamps here." George took a little rectangular casing out of his pocket. One side was entirely covered with a plastic screen. Yet another one of their ingenious inventions.
"Who doesn't have light?"
"I don't."
Zacharias and Ron shot each other a glare. Because of that, they missed the twins devious smirks forming on their lips. It was the same smirk they usually had before someone got in trouble.
"Great, so how about this: we form two groups of three. One will go search in the storehouse while the other will roam over the shop and see if they can find as much food as possible."
"Ron, Ginny, Zachy, you take the main store. Harry, George and I will go to the storehouse."
"You're joking!"
"What?!"
"I'm not going with these two!"
You could always count on the identical Weasleys to drop a bomb like that and feed off the confusion to satiate their inner malignancy. The three of them got stuck with an expression of utter revulsion.
"Ron and Zachy don't have torches, and we only have three with us so…"
"One of you can go with the prat and Ginny so that I can stay far away from him and-"
"Nah-uh. Remember? You said you hated your dear brothers. There's just no way that we'd put you in such an emotional pain by forcing you to stick with us."
"I didn't—"
"Aaaand," Fred went on, dramatical poise similar to his clone, "We certainly can't put Harry and Zachy together again after that little fight earlier… No no no!"
"Simply inconceivable."
Ginny looked as desperate as Harry's best friend. "Why do I have to be with Ron and Zacharias?!"
George tutted, "We already talked about this. You stay with one of us, and I have the honour to announce that the 'one of us' title goes to…"
"The almighty Ronald Bilius Weasley! Congratulations!"
Before one of them could add their resentment, Fred and George pulled Harry inside the supermarket, away from the improbable trio that already began to argue viciously between each other. He felt like a piece of salad between two loaves of bread.
"Look out for Dementors! If problems occur, there's a walkie-talkie in Ginny's bag!"
"What? When did you—"
"Have fun~"
The rest of their outcries went unheard by the redheads (plus Harry) as they began to hum joyfully as though they hadn't just abandoned their siblings with the least pleasant member of the group. When they passed the cash desks in the direction of the storehouse, Harry raised a suspicious eyebrow at the duo.
"You have more than three lamps, haven't you?"
"Of course not."
"Who are you taking us for?"
But harry kept staring at them impassively and the twins were forced to drop their masks. Soon, the whole structure was filled with unstoppable laughter until they passed the big sectional door of the storage room, already half open. Harry could clearly feel the torment the other trio was surely put into. He felt a little bad for Ginny though, but he knew it was a kind of punishment for trying to act like an adult when she still had so much to learn.
They didn't waste time to search every corner of the warehouse. The room was so huge they had to separate in the end. The most tiring part was unpacking all the remaining boxes, and Harry and the twins weren't even halfway through. It was too dark on top of that. Only aided with small makeshift torches made from car headlights diodes, it was so hard to see their contents.
The stocks didn't look like they've been too much raided. Harry was led to believe the local folks had just fled when their town was attacked and only few had managed to take some supplies in their haste.
That, or more than half the town didn't make it alive that day…
"It's time to get a bloody truck," he muttered as he opened his seventeenth box of pet food.
It was harder and harder to go outside to bring tons of food for a dozen of people. The youngest ones in the group ate more and more as they were growing. Food was getting scarcer and scarcer after all these years, not to mention they were not the only ones roaming every stores in the country. Despite the enormous amount of help a truck could provide them they'd have to search for oil, make sure that the vehicle had no problems and they'd have to know how to manipulate the mechanical system as well as having all sorts of garage equipments in case a problem suddenly surged.
So basically, it would cost a lot of means and energy.
He grabbed a box, unpacked it with the help of a cutter and opened it clumsily. Great, another cat food can. They didn't really mind pet food- they no longer had the opportunity to be choosy- it was still food anyway; but Harry always found cat food to be too smelly for his taste. Well, Alex and Lavender will be ecstatic about it. He zipped the second bag shut after he finished filling it, then let it drop on the ground. A thud resonated near the entry of the storehouse at the same time the bag collided with the floor. Confused, Harry scanned the area with the hand-made torch George gave him an hour ago.
"Fred?"
Maybe the other group had finished earlier than planned? He carried his two now massive bags over his shoulders, ignoring the pain of his muscles under their weight. Another sound echoed, much closer this time. Instinctively his hands brushed against the side of his jeans where a Swiss army knife was pocketed.
"Ginny?"
Harry wasn't easily frightened. But it was true that the atmosphere of this place was making him extremely uncomfortable. Dark, immense, deserted, with noises coming from nowhere when you least expected it…
Harry felt like a horror movie character, waiting for something horrible to come out of the shadows and drag him into an endless nightmare. Well, this world already became a kind of tragic movie anyway. It's not as if it would change anything in the daily routine he grew up in. Although, being eaten alive was not what he expected when he thought about death. If at all possible, he'd rather die shot in the head or drowned than devoured alive by a freaking Dementor.
"C'mon guys, it's not funny."
It was almost time to go. Walking outside at night would be far too risky for them to waste any more minutes. Dementors were even more horrendous when the sun was down. They still had no way to confirm if it was due to the heat or the light, but Harry wasn't inclined to wait until nightfall to be sure. It was without to say that with their ten-tons charges they were going to carry to the camp, they'll be heavily slowed down on their way back.
His bag caught on one of the metal bars on the shelf he was walking past. Harry startled as the tugging knocked down some boxes to the ground. He nearly got hit by one of them and cursed when the open carton spilled its entire contents in a deafening ruckus.
His eyes followed one of the cans rolling three meters ahead of him. He went to pick it up but went still when the cylindrical item stopped in front of a pair of huge black rangers that made Harry immediately grow tense. Slowly, the dark haired male directed his lamp on the combat trousers, then up to the heavy body armour, and then…
Harry met the shocked gaze of the stranger man standing only five steps away from his position. He was pointing a semi-automatic at him.
Fucking hell.