NOTE: Expect chapters to get lengthier as this story progresses, starting after this chapter. This may also mean it may take a while for a new chapter to be posted. I apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.

Chapter Four:

Red Water (2012)

It took Gendry a day, but he managed to reach White Harbor with the minivan after leaving Barrowton with the others. Arya, still sitting up front, noticed the city of White Harbor begin to come into view.

"There," she said, pointing forward while facing Gendry. "Do you see it?"

"Yes," he answered.

"Are we actually there?" Hot Pie asked curiously.

"Yes," Arya answered. "Gendry's getting close."

They'd been driving nearly nonstop since leaving Barrowton, and now that White Harbor was starting to appear off in the distance, Arya realized how fortunate they all were that they avoided another mass traffic backup like when they left Winterfell. She knew they'd be forced to abandon the minivan if that were the case, and they'd be on foot again.

"When will we have to fill the gas back up?" Lommy asked.

Gendry peered beyond the front wheel to see how much gas was left. "Probably when we get to White Harbor, or when we're about to leave."

"So are we just going to scavenge around again?" Arya asked.

"Maybe, maybe not," Gendry answered. "We could find a home there. White Harbor has docks, so we could fish if we need to."

"Fish?" Hot Pie said.

"Yes," Gendry replied. "Have you ever eaten fish?"

"Yeah," Hot Pie answered, bobbing his head.

They were closing in on White Harbor now. Gendry pulled into the city and made his way to the main road. While this was going on, Arya looked over and saw that the car was nearly out of gas. Lommy must have noticed the same thing, evident by him saying, "Gendry, we need to pull over. You're almost out of gas."

Gendry turned onto the main road of White Harbor after entering the city. "I know, Lommy. I'm pulling over anyway."

Gendry then pulled the minivan to the nearest curb and shut it off. "Everyone out," he instructed. "We'll scout around, and if we don't find somewhere to stay, we'll scavenge and leave to go somewhere else."

Arya didn't like the sound of "somewhere else". To her, it confirmed that Gendry had no set goal in mind other than the group supporting themselves somehow somewhere away from any and all wights. She was not sure if the other three in the group felt the same way, but she didn't doubt that they'd realize this if they thought about it for a lengthy period of time. She wanted to get away from the wights permanently, but she didn't know where "away" was located.

The five of them piled out of the car, weapons in hand.

"Are we going to refuel first?" Arya asked.

"When we leave," Gendry answered.

The group advanced down the street together in one big cluster. They found no wights around, much to Arya's surprise, even though the streets were mostly abandoned. This made her think that White Harbor wasn't entirely deserted. Lommy must have had the same train of thought, evident by him saying, "I don't think White Harbor is abandoned like the others."

"How do you know?" Hot Pie asked.

"There are no abandoned cars anywhere like in the other towns we've been through," Lommy explained. "I think someone's using them for some purpose."

"What purpose?" Hot Pie pushed. "And where are they?"

Lommy stopped, then looked and pointed to his right. "Probably in there."

Everyone halted and looked to where he was pointing. Arya looked over and saw a massive wall (likely nineteen feet high) made out of different sheets of metal vertically stacked in layers. Arya could clearly make out the smoke billowing out from beyond. "See the smoke?" she said when she noticed it, pointing. "There's people. Where there's smoke, there's fire."

"Then let's find a way in," Gendry said, leading the group towards the wall. They followed him, and when they got close, they began to look around for an entrance or a way to at the very least look inside beyond the wall. After a while of silent searching, Arya began getting frustrated when she couldn't see any way to look in.

Hot Pie must have felt the same way. "I think we should give up on getting in there. I don't see a way to get into here."

"What do you lot want with White Harbor?" a loud voice boomed from nearby. Arya and everyone else, all on edge, immediately looked over to the source of the noise. Standing before them was a fat man in makeshift armor. He was armed with a rifle, and on either side were two armed men, each with rifles of their own.

"We were just looking," Lommy tried to explain. Gendry noticed and walked up to him and nudges him in the ribs with his left shoulder to get him to not shoot himself (and the rest of the group) in the foot. "We weren't trying to rob– OOF!"

"Sir, we don't mean you any trouble," Gendry explained. Lommy looked irritated. "We just found this wall and got curious."

The fat man's eyes narrowed. "Hmph. You all look like you're scavengers. You part of a larger group?"

"No," Arya said. "Just us."

"Come with me."

Arya and the others sat in the back of a horse drawn cart as the fat man they'd encountered, who they learned was named Wendel Manderly, moved through the walled-off portion of White Harbor which, much to Arya's surprise, was bustling with people, reminding her of what life was like before the outbreak.

Currently, Wendel was in the process of taking the group to see Wyman Manderly, his father and the head of White Harbor. Apparently, Wyman had been the city mayor before the apocalypse, and he kept this title even after the dead began walking. After a while, Wendel pulled the cart up to the front of a tall government building. The guards who'd accompanied Wendel escorted the five in Gendry's group out of the cart and into the building, Wendel leading the way inside. He led them up a flight of stairs, and they wound up in an office.

Arya was the first inside after Wendel, and sitting behind a mahogany desk was the fattest man she'd ever seen. Mayor Wyman Manderly observed the five walk in, curiously eyeing them all. When everyone was inside, Wyman started talking as soon as the office door was closed. "Wendel, who are these people?"

"I found them outside peeking around at the wall," Wendel explained. "I brought them here for you to see."

Wyman eyed the group. From right to left, they were standing in the order of Hot Pie, Weasel, Arya, Gendry, and then Lommy. "Starting with you," Wyman said, pointing at Hot Pie. "Tell me who you are."

"Hot Pie," Hot Pie answered. Wyman looked at Weasel. Weasel shrunk back and tightly gripped Arya's hand. She was quiet as always. Arya did not want Weasel to feel uncomfortable by being asked questions by Wyman Manderly, so she answered for her. "That's Weasel. She doesn't talk much."

"And you are?"

"Arya."

When the introductions were finished after Gendry and Lommy introduced themselves, Wyman spoke again, saying, "Can I do anything for you?"

"Yes," Gendry answered. "We'd like food and shelter."

Wyman tapped his chin in thought before answering. "We can provide some food, but only temporary shelter."

Lommy's face twisted into one of aggravated surprise. "Temporary? Why?!"

"Because we're having a problem with rationing right now. The five of you can stay for a week before we cut you loose. That's it."

Lommy frowned, but he didn't say anything. Instead, Gendry spoke next as he crossed his arms. "Where can we stay?"

"The large hotel on Merman Street is where many of my people are kept," Wyman explained. "You'll be staying there for the week. When the seventh day has passed, you will leave White Harbor with a small amount of supplies we will provide you. While you are staying here, all of you will be expected to work in some capacity, and your little girl is not exempt. We need all the hands we can get right now."

That night, Arya sat up listening to the noises from the room next door. Every now and then, Lommy would screech, followed by a loud thud and loud laughter which sounded like a donkey braying. It made Arya wonder what was going on in that next room, but she was sure Gendry would try to put a stop to it–whatever stupid thing he was doing–if he were trying to sleep. It was likely that Hot Pie was egging Lommy on, but Arya didn't know for sure.

In the hotel, Arya and Weasel had been given a room to themselves while Hot Pie, Gendry, and Lommy had the other right next to theirs. Arya, focused on the noise, had her attention drawn away from it when Weasel tugged on her shirt. "Arya?"

Arya looked down at her. "Yes?"

"Where are we going to go after the week is over?"

"I don't know. That's up to Gendry."

Weasel was silent for a moment. "That makes me scared. Does he know what he's doing?"

Now Arya herself was silent. It seemed as if she and Weasel had the same train of thought regarding Gendry's lackluster leadership skills. "Weasel, don't be afraid," she said, ruffling the small girl's hair. "Let's think about something else. Have you practiced your reading?"

Weasel paused to think. "Not recently."

"Then let's find something," Arya said, beginning to search around the room to find something for Weasel to read. A while earlier, Arya had decided to teach Weasel how to read and write because she figured she needed to learn, and they had been making slow process at doing so. Eventually, Arya found a small book on a shelf in the room.

"Let's try this," Arya said, taking the book over to Weasel.

Throughout the previous two days, Arya and the others had gone on fishing trips and supply runs with Wyman Manderly's people. During the previous two days, Weasel had been on fishing excursions, but on this day, she accompanied Arya and Hot Pie on a supply run to the docks in White Harbor, which were widely unexplored. Arya knew that this likely meant they were infested with wights. Accompanying them were three inhabitants of White Harbor: Mikken, Bartimus, and Osha. Mikken had with him a machete, Bartimus a pistol, and Osha a spear. Elsewhere, Gendry and Lommy were busy helping others who lived in White Harbor fish.

"How far are the docks from the rest of town?" Hot Pie asked as the group of six proceeded to make their way to the water.

"Not that far," Mikken answered, tightly gripping his machete. "Be on guard. Those wights are everywhere around here."

This comment made Weasel grip Arya's hand harder. Weasel had been holding on to Arya's hand tightly before, but now it felt like an iron force grip. In the girl's other hand, she had a dagger. Arya knew that Weasel hated wights, and she also knew that Weasel did not really trust anyone outside of their own group of five as well.

As they walked, moving beyond what was considered White Harbor's "safe area", Arya began looking around for wights.

"We'll head towards the water first," Mikken said. "We'll spread out and search for supplies White Harbor can use."

They continued down to the water, and they stopped to talk when they were right next to it. It was agreed that the group would split into two groups: one consisting of Arya, Weasel, and Mikken, and another consisting of Hot Pie, Osha, and Bartimus.

"So it's settled, then," Bartimus said after the discussion about the two groups was finalized. "It'll be me and Osha and Hot P–aargh!"

Everyone else jumped back when Bartimus was suddenly pulled into the water by two wights who'd emerged from the water, each covered in moss and decaying. Bartimus fired off two shots, but it was no use. Osha ran to grab him, but it was too late; a large red spot began growing in the water almost immediately after he was pulled under the water.

"There are more of them!" Hot Pie shrieked. Arya swiveled around and noticed that there were indeed more wights quickly approaching. They were surrounded, and Arya knew that everyone else knew that they'd have to fight their way out.

"Stay here," Arya instructed Weasel as she drew each of her blades and charged at a wight, stabbing it in the knee with her kitchen knife before putting the cleaver through its skull. Nearby her, the others who were still alive struggled with doing battle with the wights in the area. Hot Pie smashed his pipe over one's head as Mikken tore off one's arm with his machete.

"This was a bad idea to come out this far!" Mikken shouted as he swung again and bore his machete through the same wight's skull.

"You THINK?!" Osha shouted as she speared a wight through the belly and flung the decaying thing back into the water where it'd just come out, ripping her spear out of its rotting body in the process. "We're getting eaten alive out here!" She paused from the conversation to spear two more wights through the head. Nearby, Arya had stabbed another wight's brain through the eye. Hot Pie was furiously beating down on another's head with his pipe. Weasel just watched, shaking with fear.

After Arya put down another wight, she turned and saw Mikken beginning to get swarmed. He was trying to fend off one wight while two more were approaching from behind. Wanting to prevent Mikken from winding up like Bartimus, Arya ran over to the wights approaching him, leapt into the air, and used her weight and momentum to tackle them both. Knocking them both over, Arya stabbed one in the skull while the other got right up and growled as it crawled over to her.

As it moved, Arya struggled to pull the kitchen knife out of the wight. After a short while, she gave it one more hard jerk before the blade snapped off of the handle, much to her dismay. However, she still had her cleaver, and she brought it down in a downward swing as Mikken finished off the wight he was focused on. He noticed what Arya was doing and was about to open his mouth to say something, but a shriek cut him off.

Arya looked over to where the noise was coming from and saw a wight biting into Osha's neck. Immediately, she ran over and tackled the wight like what she'd done before, pulling it away from Osha. She cut into its head with the cleaver and left it embedded in the thing's head as she heard Osha gurgling. Arya crawled over to her and looked her over. All around, the remaining wights were put down by the others.

"Osha! Osha, you…"

"No, no, Arya…" Osha said through coughs of blood choking her. Her eyes then widened, as if she'd just then recalled something important. "You… y…"

Another round of choking cut her off.

"What?!" Arya shouted.

"Your brother… Rickon, he…"

Arya's eyed widened. Had Rickon been in White Harbor? Was he still present somewhere? However, before Osha could provide an answer, she died of her wound. Arya looked down at Osha's body for a second before Osha lunged back to life as a wight, grabbing Arya. The latter shouted in surprise and fell back, recalling that she'd left her cleaver in the other wight's skull. It was too far away for her to reach, but she didn't have to; after struggling with fending off the undead Osha, the latter stopped moving when Weasel of all people suddenly gained a burst of courage, ran up from behind, and put her dagger in the back of Osha's head.

Arya flung Osha off of herself, and she climbed to her feet, looking down at Weasel. The latter looked up at Arya, and the two locked eyes for a moment. Weasel was quietly crying, and her hands were shaking. Before Arya could console Weasel, Mikken began yelling.

"WE NEED TO GO! NOW!"

Arya, Hot Pie, and Weasel didn't need to be told twice; all of them–Mikken included–turned to run back the way they came.

"What do you mean 'leave'?!" Lommy shrieked, his hands balled into fists. It'd been a day since Weasel saved Arya's life, and now the latter and the others were rounded up into the office of an irate Wyman Manderly.

"Our agreement has ended," Wyman hissed, then pointed an accusing finger at Arya, Weasel, and Hot Pie. "These three did nothing to prevent the deaths of two of White Harbor's citizens! There should be no reason as to why I continue to let you all reside here for the rest of the week! You all must leave my walls immediately, and you're not getting any of our supplies, either!"

The five left then, leaving Wyman's building to go and find the minivan, if it hadn't been stolen or destroyed by then. After they left the building, the group was stopped by a familiar face.

"Arya!"

Arya turned and saw Mikken approaching, holding his machete. At first, Arya thought he was going to yell at the group, but she was surprised when he actually held his machete out for her to take.

"Take this as a token of my gratitude for saving my neck earlier," he said. "It's yours now."

Eyebrows raised in surprise, Arya gripped the handle and observed the machete, bringing it closer to herself. With her free hand, she poked the tip of the machete with her right index finger. "Sharp," she commented in approval. "Like a needle."

After leaving White Harbor's front gate, the group of five made their way back to the minivan. On the way over, they talked.

Hot Pie looked over at Gendry. "Where are we going now?"

"Somewhere else," Gendry answered.

Wow, Arya thought. Way to go, Gendry. Awesome. Great answer.

"What exactly happened at the docks?" Lommy asked.

"We got attacked by wights," Arya answered. "Those two people died, we didn't."

Arya omitted the details about Osha mentioning Rickon. Where did she know Rickon? When? Where was he now? She figured that dwelling on this would bother her for a while, so she tried forcing it out of mind.

"And Wyman blamed you three?" Lommy said.

"Yes," Arya answered. "Idiocy, if you ask me."

Lommy laughed in his braying donkey laugh. "Yeah."

"So who's refilling the gas?" Hot Pie asked. At this point, they were nearing the street where they'd left the minivan a few days earlier. "None of us ever bothered to talk about–"

"No, wait! This minivan is probably rigged to explode or something!"

That made everyone stop. Someone else had found the minivan before they could get back to it.

"Maybe, Elmar, but it's definitely bait. Who'd just leave something like this out in the open?"

Us, Arya thought.

"Who's talking to them?" Lommy asked quietly.

"I will," Arya said with a tone of confidence in her voice.

"So will I," Gendry added, tightly gripping his sledgehammer as Arya drew her machete. They both turned on to the road where the minivan was located while the other three stayed behind. When Arya was sure that she and Gendry were close enough to the minivan for the two scavengers to hear, she shouted, "WHO ARE YOU?!"

The two scavengers, who turned out to be boys around Arya's age, shrieked and pulled back from the minivan. Arya's eyes widened. She recognized them. In fact, the two of them, Elmar Frey and Edric Dayne, were former classmates of hers back in Winterfell. She was sure they'd both been on the bus with her the day everything began, but she wasn't too sure.

Elmar and Edric each paused and looked her over. Arya and the two observed each other in a moment of odd silence. Gendry raised an eyebrow and looked over at Arya. "Do you know them?"

"Yes," she said, then looked them over. "Elmar? Edric? Do you remember me?"

Edric was the first to take a step forward. "Arya? Arya Stark?"

After the minivan's gas tank had been filled again, the group set off to go south, towards Moat Cailin. Now in the group were Elmar Frey and Edric Dayne. They'd introduced themselves to everyone else, and Gendry had reluctantly let them into the group. The minivan was now full of people, and Arya knew that there would be problems with food with two new mouthes to feed. However, she was at least content that these were people she knew. However, she was way more familiar with Edric than Elmar.

Arya hoped that the others would get along with them well. She suspected that it would take a while for Gendry and the others to warm up to them, especially Weasel.

"When should we reach Moat Cailin?" Hot Pie asked.

"Not for a while," Gendry answered as he pulled onto the highway, away from White Harbor. "It's a long ways off."