Chapter 9: Who Will Walk Away pt1

I have no idea where this one came from. It just popped into my head, but from what I saw of the first season, well, I can see this happening.

Thanks for all the reviews and comments. My health is improving, but still not quite to where I can sit for long and write. So a bit at a time.

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"I have an idea for the dogs," Sophia said, tugging Harry's shirt. They and all the newcomers were walking out of the meal tent.

"Oh?" he said, wondering if it was a good one.

"Yeah, train them. I mean some can chase pests away, or for hunting," she said, like it was obvious.

"I can see that," the teen said, looking towards Sirius. "What about the cats? And other pets?"

"Make people take them in, like part of the rent or something," she suggested with a shrug.

"You don't want them animals to go feral," Daryl said, as caught up with them, backpack and crossbow over his shoulders. Now, he walked next to Sirius. "They'll attack anything if they get that far. You might want to look into what the girly said, and give them homes, and train them up. Put down the bad ones and use the good ones."

The CDC group looked amazed at the number of helpful words coming out of the redneck's mouth. In all the time they had known him and his brother, bar Rick, the rednecks only grunted or said something derogatory. They had helped out around the camp, but it seemed to be grudgingly. Never once did they have a nice thing to say.

"Good plan, both of you. I'll see about setting up a tent or two just to feed and train the animals," Sirius agreed, not noting the looks Daryl was getting. He waved someone over, a magical, and commented on the suggestion. The man looked thoughtful and nodded, then ran off to set it up. It would make more work for the residents of the campgrounds, so that was good. They were running out of things to do with a lot of the unskilled workers. The greenhouse could only be weeded so many times. Though, there was still sorting to get through.

Just then Remus ran up with two backpacks. "These are magical. They'll hold a lot more then they look like they will. Right now, they have water and food. Not much, we have people to feed, but enough to last a week. There's a tent and an axe," he added, handing them off to Sirius.

"You'll be giving one of these to Shane?" Rick asked, moving to the front.

"If we find him," Sirius answered. "We have other things to do in the city today. That's why Rachel will be joining us," he added, waving to a short blonde woman, who was dressed like a nurse from the first world war. "She's the mediwitch that treated you yesterday. She wants to see the old people you told me about."

"Sirius, we also need to check in on Jessi," Harry said, having not heard from her yet.

"I'll send Sam. He can set up a few wards," was the answer.

"Do you think he can help the old folks? With the wards, I mean," Glenn asked, worry in his tone. "I mean, yeah the Vatos are scary, but those old folk are good people, and they are helping them. They don't deserve to have to fight the dead off all day."

"I'll have to talk to them first. Jenner already knows we're taking over his building," the dogman replied, thinking about what to do with the old people. Perhaps they could do story time for the kids when it was their downtime. they might be able to craft or teach too. He would have to talk to them and find out what they can do. Still there might be a new law about the infirmed and disabled. He wasn't one to discriminate.

"Who's all going with you?" Harry asked, looking at the large crowd of newbies and CDC people.

"I'll take Daryl and Rick, you guys help the rest settle in," was the polite order. He waved Rachel to join him. "And Rachel too, of course."

"That sounds like a really good idea. I'd like to stay here anyway," the teen said, glad that he didn't have to deal with any drama. Hopefully.

"Will you go get Sam for me?" Sirius asked as he headed towards the ward line.

"Sure," Harry said and took off running.

"Those of you staying, stick with Remus. He'll explain everything to you," Sirius said to the newbies. The others had followed them out and were now glad to be told something.

"Rick," his wife said, clutching his arm, "be careful. Remember Shane is our friend. What happened was just comfort, nothing more." Her eyes pleading with him to agree.

"That may be so, however, I'll play it by ear," was his curt answer.

"Come on," Remus said, waving the group to follow him. He started at the supply tent and explained how they could get some via work. Then he introduced them to the head house elf, who would ask what they can do and give them their job for the day.

Sam came running up to Sirius, while Harry joined Remus. He took the kids to the runners, and they would show them how to hide and get away. It wasn't regular hide-and-seek, it was much more important. There were also little chores the kids could do, like picking up litter that blew in, or helping the house elves count. Not that the house elves needed help, but it kept the kids busy and made them feel useful.

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"Come on, kids, I'll take you to where the rest are," Harry said, waving the kids to follow him.

They looked to their moms, who reluctantly nodded, and moved to where Harry was.

"Don't worry, we'll have them back before lunch," Harry said as he walked away kids in tow.

"What are we going to do?" Sophia asked, looking around at the grounds and seeing many happy people.

"We're going to teach you how to play hide-and-run," was the answer.

"You mean hide-and-seek?" Carl questioned, he too taking in the sights.

"No, I mean, hide-and-run. We want you to be able to hide and get away, or at least not be found. We're going to teach you how to hide from the Walkers," Harry explained, coming up to a larger group of kids. Sue, Peggy and Mike were there with them.

"Okay," Sue said, "now that everyone is here, we're going to do what we did yesterday."

"Yay!" some of the children said excitedly.

"Is it fun?" Carl asked, looking perkier at the prospect.

"Yes, but scary too," one girl said, pulling her hair a bit.

"Listen up," Peggy said, putting her hands on her hips. "You guys need to hide. If you hear one of us coming, run and hide again. Try not to let us see you," she stated, waving the kids off.

"How will we know it's you?" Sophia wanted to know as she watched the more experienced kids take off.

"We're going to look and moan like Walkers," Harry explained, seeing her eyes widen.

"Oh," was all the girl could get out as if just realizing how hard this was going to be.

"Skedaddle," Harry said, waving her and Carl off. He knew what they were going to do was harsh, but it was necessary.

That day the kids learned that hide-and-run was a lot different than hide-and-seek. Harry used magic to make him, and his friends, look like zombies. It was to emphasize the point. It worked. The runners made sure to praise the kids that weren't found or that were good at sneaking. They gave tips and tricks to the children, who were more than happy to learn them.

There were many bad dreams, but better to be wary and scared then dead. They hoped to instill confidence in the kids as time went on. The parents weren't happy, but they were made to understand that this was to help not to hinder.

The healers had a mild, child friendly, version of Dreamless Sleep. It would take the edge off the nightmares, but not stop them. The reason given was that the lesson had to be learned.

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"What's up?" Sam asked, stopping next to the de facto leader. He watched the rest of the group leave and the kids follow Harry.

"Can you go see what the progress is at the CDC? Also, if they're ready for them, set up wards. Call a house elf to take and store the supplies they have, see if there's a spare room for that. If not grab a tent and set it up somewhere," Sirius rambled off, trying to get it all covered in one breath.

"Sure, I can do that," Sam said, walking with them to the ward line.

"Okay, we'll split up here," Sirius said as they got to the highway. He took two cars out of his pocket and put them on the road. Then he waved his wand and returned them to their proper size. "I'll take this one," he said, pointing at the Hummer.

"That's fine, I'm Apparating," Sam said, and did just that. Rachel took the second car. She would just follow along until she was needed.

"Arse," Sirius grumbled good naturally. He put his wand in his hand and asked Rick what Shane's last name was. "Point me Shane Walsh," he intoned once he had the name. the wand twirled a few times and then settled on south towards the city. "Well, get in, and we'll see if we can find him," he ordered, following words with action.

It took them an hour when they came across Shane. He looked to be fine, like he had found a safe place to hole up.

"Walsh," Sirius greeted the man, "we brought provisions for you. Only enough for a week, but you might find somewhere to get to by then. I have a car if you want," he added as an afterthought, which to a magical, it was. He held the bag out to the other man.

"I don't want your pity," the man said, his pride speaking. He smacked the bag to the ground.

"This ain't no time for your stubborn pride, Shane," Rick said, picking up the pack and handing it to his friend. "I know you were only looking out for Lori and Carl, but Shane, she's pregnant. She can't leave safety; it wouldn't be right."

"You stayed," was the rebuttal.

"She's my wife," he argued.

"She jumped into my bed fast enough. Look, man, all I'm saying is you two had problems before the world ended. You can walk away now, knowing that she and the boy are safe," Shane argued, as if not wanting to be alone in this. "I need you, man." He broke out the puppy dog eyes, which Sirius thought was unfair.

He didn't like this guy, making someone chose between him and his wife. Both had done Rick wrong, and if was Sirius he'd leave them both hanging, but he could tell Rick wasn't going to do that.

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"I need to be there for the group," was the week rejoinder.

"Not really," Daryl butted in. "We don't need you, Officer Friendly." He sneered at the law officers, like they were dirt.

"They're all going to look at you like that," Shane said, eyeballing the redneck. "You know they don't like cops," he added.

"That's not true, Shane. I know some good folk who do like the law," Rick said, thinking of the father and son team who saved his life.

"Come with me, Rick, we can go to the station, hole up there and see if the radio's picking up anything. You can go back to Lori anytime but help me first." He was getting desperate.

Rick knew there was still power at the station. It would be a good place to hold up and get information. "You said you had a car for us?" he asked, turning to the quiet Sirius.

"You can have the Hummer," the wizard said, waving to the still running vehicle.

"Will you tell Lori I'll be back in a few days?" he asked, looking almost desperate.

"Sure, but you realize that he was left out because of his anger towards you, right?" Sirius asked, a look of confusion on his face.

Rick looked at Shane, his best friend for years. "I have to help," was his answer.

"Okay, it's your life," Sirius said, waving them off.

"Alright, let's go," Rick said to Shane as they ran for the off-road vehicle.

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"I never liked them," Daryl said, spitting on the ground after the retreating truck. "Leaving his wife at a time like this."

"He'll be back," Sirius said, knowing the man wouldn't stay gone long. Well, if he didn't get eaten, but for some reason he felt he'd be seeing them again. It was just a matter how and when. He only hoped it was on friendly terms.