Walking Dead Wizard
Chapter 40
"Can they be trusted? What if they try and take over everything we've built?" Carol insisted her eyes filled with worry and fear that their little safe heaven could come crumbling down around them. The three folders were spread out between them, showing their criminal histories, Harry had summoned them before going back to the group, they'd been told to sleep on it and that they would discuss it in the morning.
"What would you do to them if we say no?" Dale enquired, from where he was sat up at the top rail, along with Andrea. They had to stay away from the main group, they were feeling under the weather, and in such close quarters well it was best to keep some safe distance not wanting the others to catch what they had. Thankfully Harry had some remedies for them to take, aspirin for the fever and cough sweets and he'd even reassured them that he had antibiotics if it was needed. He understandably just didn't want to use them unless there was a real need. He seemed to have everything at hand, very well prepared for anything and Dale was honestly grateful he'd came, as much as Rick or Shane tried, they didn't have Harry's level of level-headed preparedness for anything.
"I'm not going to kill them, Dale," Harry said dryly, staring at the man. "They've done nothing to deserve it; they aren't a threat to those surviving on the outside either. If we don't want them here then that's fine, majority rules though, although I would prefer it to be something we all agree to together. The last thing I want is to create strife in the group right now. If its no, we'll give them some supplies and a knife, send them on their way, if its yes, then we give them an opportunity to prove themselves useful."
Dale unconsciously relaxed, realizing that this wasn't going to be another Randall situation. "I'm all for giving them the opportunity to prove themselves." Dale said.
"And Carol, I don't think they will try and take over, they stood apart from the two who attacked us, they're scared, bewildered they've lived in a cafeteria cut off from understanding what the hell is happening. That's not to say they don't have the potential to be a problem. They survived that alone tells us how dangerous they can be. We have too, and we could be considered dangerous, we'll do whatever it takes to survive." Luna spoke, being honest.
"Meet em and decide," Daryl suggested, arms crossed where he stood in the corner carefully observing everyone and everything.
Harry nodded thoughtfully, that would probably help them make up their minds. "Good idea," he said, "Although it's best if Andrea and Dale don't go, we can't risk everyone coming down with the cold."
Andrea only groaned, she hated being sick, stuck doing nothing until she got better - it was the worst.
"There's a library we'll be clearing out today on the list, I'll bring you some books if you like?" Luna suggested, she had nothing the girl could read, it was all magical things but surely a prison library would have plenty for her to read while she recovered.
"That would be great," Andrea said giving Luna a grateful smile.
"I'll even bring something for you, Sophia would you like that?" Luna added, grinning widely at the younger girl. They'd barely spoken, Sophia preferred being with her mum or oddly enough Harry, well not as odd as one would assume, Harry had saved Sophia after all and that created a deep eternal bond between two people.
"Yes, please!" Sophia said from inside her cell, smiling winningly at Luna as she tied her boots on.
"It will only be a few more days before she'll be able to go to the library herself." Harry commented easily.
"Really? A few days?" Andrea asked, coughing behind her tissues. She wouldn't be better in time to help them at all, that was so unfair.
"Yeah, but I also notice a few are lingering outside the front, someone needs to go out and deal with those too, just yank your dragger through the fence and into their brain will do the trick." Harry said trying to give Andrea something she knew she could do.
"We'll still have to go outside and get 'em, the smell of the dead will attract more." Merle grunted.
"That they will, just load them into a truck and burn their bodies away from the prison." Harry replied, sighing softly as he brushed his hair back, he'd left it down today. "I best take some food to the three of them," it wasn't contested, after all the prison cafeteria was budging with food, they weren't going to have to worry a while, at least until the prison was secured and they were hunting and scavenging again. "After that we'll be gone for a few hours until we get more of the prison cleared."
"What if there are more prisoners?" Amy asked.
"There might be, but I doubt it, the ones locked in the cafeteria were lucky, anywhere else they would have been trapped without food or water and the body can only go three weeks without one and a week without the other." Harry replied simple math really.
"When will you train me again, Harry?" Sophia asked as she finally came out of the cell.
"Very soon, I promise, I just need to make sure nothing can surprise us in here," Harry promised her. She was getting impatient but she understood that she couldn't just go out and help, that was the most important thing. Her almost being bitten had driven that well and truly home. Too bad the same couldn't be said for Andrea, he didn't want anything to happen to her. At least they had a point of exit where they could get out without any walkers getting near due to the two closed gates. Which meant the others could go back and forth outside; they'd emptied the van so the plants and trees could get sunlight exposure not wanting them to die.
Daryl whistled for Anubis who quickly bound over, Harry grabbed the three bowls of food for the prisoners, while Luna grabbed the bottled water. They'd only put two in for the three of them last night they were bound to be finished by now. Merle grabbed the keys and the four of them quickly left, with renewed determination they hadn't even had yesterday. Maybe it was the knowledge that they were going to have it done quickly.
Merle made quick work on the door, opening it with the keys this time before entering the cafeteria showing a united front.
"Why did you lock us in here? You said we were free to go!" Oscar demanded, evidently the most volatile of the three remaining prisoners.
"Do you actually want to go so desperately? I have no problem releasing you if that is what you wish," Harry said smoothly, "The reason you were put in here is obvious, we cannot trust you as of yet, and its up to the entire group on whether you can stay, which is what I believe the three of you wanted?" Harry opened the hatch at the bottom and put the food and drink through, his nose twitching at the pale yellow liquid in the water bottle, damn he wasn't using that again even if he could disinfect it.
"You can't keep us in this small cage! Big tiny can't even stand up!" Oscar protested.
"Can't you do something?" Axel asked, sounding desperate.
"Fine, after we're finished for the night I'll put you in one of the cell blocks we aren't using," Harry replied, seeing Oscars point, Big tiny did look absolutely squashed in the cage sitting up. Taking the reply as consent that they actually did want to remain in the prison and not risk it outside. He was slightly surprised that it shut them up; if it had been him he would have been cursing up a storm. Then again they were used to being locked up, ignored and more importantly basically forgotten. Harry grimaced when he realized just how damn like them he was; with the exception they actually got three meals a day, whereas he'd be lucky to get scraps. "It won't be long until a decision is made." it was meant to be a comfort, but really all it did was worry the prisoners more.
"Let's go," Harry said, turning away from them and leaving the room, the others followed.
"If you think it's bad here, you ain't gonna like it out there," Daryl said, before he disappeared out the door, Anubis had obviously chosen him to follow today as he stayed next to the hunter.
That statement might be a throwaway to most people, but to Harry it said Daryl actually wanted to give them a chance. As tough as those three were, it was true, they wouldn't like it out there, it was a whole different world to what they were used to. Those that survived were either told how to kill the walkers or killed their first one themselves by sheer dumb luck. As hunters it was instinctive for Daryl and Merle to aim for the head or heart, so they'd figured it out themselves real quick.
"Where to first? Where we left off?" Luna enquired, unrolling a copy of the map.
"If we can get to it yes," Harry said, they'd run nearly the entire way back from the place where the walkers had attacked them. It was time to get to work in cleaning up their temporary abode.
"Carol, open the gate," Luna called from down the corridor, as the exhausted four made their weary way back to the cell block. She at least had something to lean on, the cart she'd removed from the library - which by the way had been completely untouched by the carnage, obviously nobody had thought wait lets hide in the library. She quirked her eyebrows when she saw the chairs table, not that she was going to complain, she really wanted to rest her tired body and think, something she'd refused to do while in dark tunnels. The locks turned and the gate was opened allowing them to all pile in.
Luna went straight to her cell and grabbed her sleeping bag and the ipod Merle had gifted her before going back through. She laid it out and quickly snuggled into it, putting her ear buds in and quite happily listened to the tunes. She had her favourite songs already picked out amongst the many on the device.
"I'll do that," Carol said, trying to shoo Harry away when it became obvious he was going to make dinner. He'd already been out all morning and afternoon making the prison secure for them all. All she'd done was heat up water and made some honey and lemon hot drinks for Dale and Andrea.
"I've got it, but would you do me a favour? Can you get the potatoes we brought with us? If we don't use them soon they're going to go rotten. Keep at least one so it can grow roots so that we can plant more when the times right. Some onions as well, if there's any left." Harry said as he dug through the bag of stuff they had, bringing out the cans of sausages, gravy granules and the beef stock cubes, the salt (which was getting low), and the small pot of pepper nodding idly. It wouldn't taste right without the onion though so he'd have to make sure there was any before beginning the preparations. "Oh and take Anubis with you, he's not been out since this morning."
Harry groaned in agony as he stood up, damn it to hell his back was killing him, at least his leg was no longer a problem. "Carol," he added, giving her a look when he noticed her ready to leave without even a small amount of protection, well there would have been a time where Anubis would have been considered protection but against Walkers? Nope, even a beautiful big boy like that was vulnerable. "Gun and knife, at all times." turning back he refilled Anubis' water bowl and then proceeded to scoop up the kibble. It was a seriously good job they'd gotten it when they did, they hadn't hunted once, Anubis would have been living off scraps or as much food they could spare.
"How's your sister doing?" Harry asked Amy, as he sat back down, ignoring the look Luna gave him, he knew without reading her mind what she wanted him to do. Most of the bruising was probably gone; it was just aches in his muscles.
"She's doing alright, she's sleeping right now," Amy said, giving Harry a small smile in thanks for his concern for her sister. "She hates being sick," she added with a laugh.
"I think everyone does," Harry admitted ruefully.
"Yeah," Amy agreed grinning, she kept forgetting there were a few others in the group her age, but she missed being able to talk to Beth, they'd grown close at the farm. Despite the fact Luna and Harry were the same age as her physically, they weren't mentally, and they'd been through something even before the dead started coming back. Something that made them unable to connect like friends did. Instead she saw them as adults, people to look up to, who would save her and her sister in this horrible world. She'd hated the truth Harry used to tell them, while the others comforted her; she was beginning to realize the wisdom in his actions. It was the only way they would survive. She knew that now.
All noise completely stopped when they heard singing. Luna singing quietly.
"Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Ah,
Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high
Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I'm dreaming,
I can hear them say
Carry on my wayward son,
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man,
Well, it surely means that I don't know
On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about, I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune,
But I hear the voices say.
Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more no!
Carry on,
You will always remember
Carry on,
Nothing equals the splendour
Now your life's no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you
Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry,
Don't you cry no more,
No more!
Harry watched everyone's reactions; he'd heard Luna sing before so it wasn't much of a surprise. She hadn't sung for years though, the war kind of takes that out of you. She was happy, surrounded by all this, for some reason she was happy. They definitely needed to talk, away from the rest. Carol had returned and just stood listening to the song, Merle's blue eyes were still flashing with surprise, and as always Daryl was impossible to interpret, he wasn't looking directly at Luna though, but rather gazing at the corner of the cell block, Daryl rarely looked anyone in the eye.
Luna was busy flicking the ipod to another song and failed to realize everyone was staring at her. Her mind was a million miles away anyway, she'd only had a few boyfriends, both times they'd asked her out, but they hadn't stayed around long. She was too 'damaged' to put up with long term; she'd heard her 'then' boyfriend tell his best friend. She'd gone out on a lot of dates that didn't amount to much, but that was only because they'd asked about Harry nearly the entire time it was nearly right after the war. She'd hardened herself against people, or she thought she had.
Merle's quiet presence had somehow shattered something inside of her. He definitely wasn't someone she had seen herself going out with, he was a lewd prejudice man. The lewd actually made her laugh; he was never shy in saying what he wanted. It was the prejudice she had trouble with, she'd dealt with people like that…Death Eaters, Merle wasn't like them not really, he wasn't a murderer. Nobody was perfect though, she couldn't just like parts of someone, and it wasn't how life worked. She also knew people could change, Draco was the biggest example. He was working along side Hermione now for Merlin's sake. Draco had learned all his prejudice from his father…who had made Merle the way he was? What the hell did you do at the end of the world? It wasn't as if she could ask him out on a date!
She really liked spending time with him; even more when he actually spoke to her, the Dixons were extremely quiet by nature when they were in a group. Alone or just with Harry and her they were more talkative, if that could be used to describe how they were. He made her feel happy even with all this happening. He was being odd today though, he hadn't spoken a word to her, at all. Sighing softly, she could have misread the signs she supposed, he might not even be interested. She definitely didn't want to screw up their friendship if that is all he felt; she was really young compared to him after all.
It wasn't long before her exhaustion carried her into Morpheus' arms.
"Did you get injured out there today?" Carol asked, his movement was severely restricted, it reminded her of the times she'd been too sore to move around. Usually after Ed had shoved her into the walls or down the stairs.
"It's just a sore back," Harry replied, dismissing his injuries as if it was nothing.
"Maybe you should just rest tomorrow," Carol suggested.
"We've only got one area left to cover then we're done, except the fence at the back of the prison, it will need fixed, it's a closed in area though so the walkers can't get to us so its safe, we'll just need to find a way to fix it, hit a hardware store if that's what you guys call them." Harry explained, "Two hours tops is all we need to cover the rest of the prison."
"That's dinner ready," Carol said, staring down at the…stew? She'd never seen anything like it.
"Should we wake Luna up?" Amy asked her tone quiet as not to wake her.
"No, let her sleep," Harry said immediately, "She needs it, she'll be on duty tonight," getting the runes prepared for them to put in each corner of the prison tomorrow at some point. They were better off getting as much done as possible while a few of them were sick, that way it would be less likely for anyone to see anything especially when it came to the magical aspect of things.
"What is this?" Amy asked staring at the bowl of food she'd been given.
"Stovies, a Scottish dish, I've had it every winter since I was eleven," Harry said with a wistful look on his face. Dobby had made the best stovies he'd ever tasted. Unfortunately his hyperactive little House-elf was no longer amongst the living. He hated the fact he hadn't been able to save him, by Merlin it had been hard to let go. He'd died a hero though, a free elf. "It might not look that appetising but I've always enjoyed it. Plus it has a lot of potato in it which will fill you up for longer." he was good at that, knowing his food that would keep the hunger at bay for longer. Potato and pasta were primary foods that did just that.
"I'll take these up to Dale and Andrea," Amy suggested, picking up another bowl.
Carol was quick to plate up a few more before getting up and giving the bowls to Merle and Daryl, knowing they wouldn't come forward for them on their own. They'd been hard at work all day; the least she could do was take their food to them. "Here, you need to eat." she told them, before moving back to her place before either could say anything.
"Hunting tomorrow?" Harry asked Daryl, he nodded once in reply.
"Thought so," Harry replied giving him a smirk.
Finally I can have them going outside the prison now and getting the story back into something more exciting :D hopefully! so how quickly will they end up running into people? Will they bring them back? Or will Harry keep the prison just there's? if so what kind of questions should Harry ask - I'm not going with Rick's one (How many walkers, people have you killed and the why question) I'll really need to think it through apparently LOL that's if they do go through with it...I'm still considering bringing Michonne's son into the story its guaranteed way to get her out of her shell and into the prison with the others...it just means coming across them first and foremost what do you think? R&R please