I own nothing except my delusions.
Seeing Emma about to rise to go after her son, Killian quickly placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her back down.
"Swan, you can't just barge in there," he whispered urgently. "I promise you, we'll get him back. But we don't know exactly what we're up against. I know they're just boys, but they were able to drag Henry off in the first place."
Conflicted, she looked at him for a second before nodding, ceasing in fighting him.
Glancing around at the trees, he saw some were sturdy around them that would offer good vantage points while keeping them covered.
"Can you climb?" he asked her.
Nodding, she snorted. "I worked in bail bonds. Of course I can climb."
Smirking, he kept an eye on the camp as he lead them to the nearest tree to the camp while still keeping them hidden that would serve their purpose. He offered to give her a leg up, only to be met with a roll of her eyes as she began to scale the tree on her own.
He quickly followed after her, easily reaching an area where the leaves covered them while still allowing for them to see the camp as they settled on some of the thick branches.
Just to be safe, they both drew their guns, keeping them close.
"He looks scared," she whispered, longing plain in her voice as she stared at her son.
"I know," Killian whispered.
As if seeming to know he was being watched, Henry discreetly looked up, directly at their tree.
"Come on, you lot," one of the boys, clearly the leader of the group, called.
The leader was taller than the rest, but smaller than the one that carried the club. Something about his features reminded him of a mouse, even if the boy carried a haughty expression. Though the boy was no more than sixteen and wasn't physically imposing, but something about him made Killian uneasy.
The rest of the boys all began looking toward their leader, clearly waiting for instructions.
"What do you all saw we get our newest lost boy acquainted with how we run out little camp?" he asked, looking around at the enraptured faces.
"I think that's a good idea," one of the boys replied before looking at another boy who was clearly his twin. "What do you think, Twin?"
The other boy nodded. "I think so, too. What do you think, Rufio?"
"I agree," another boy, Rufio, nodded. He looked at the largest boy with the club. "What do you think, Felix?"
"I think you should all do as Malcolm tells you to do," the tall blond said slowly before looking over at their leader. "What are your orders?"
Before the leader, Malcolm, could respond, a groan came through the trees, a single walker entering the camp from the east.
Killian noticed in shock how the boys just looked at it curiously, none with any traces of fear on their faces except Henry.
"Ah, here's a new friend for us," Malcolm smiled. "Felix, take care of him."
Felix quickly rose up, grabbing a leash typically used for stray dogs and passing it over the walker's head, completely unconcerned with its snapping teeth.
"What are you doing?" Henry asked in shock. "That thing's dangerous!"
The surrounding boys laughed.
Shaking his head in amusement, Malcolm looked down at Henry, speaking to him as if he were slow. "Henry, our friends aren't dangerous. They protect us from the bad people out here. They don't want to hurt us, they want to protect us."
Deciding to turn his back on Henry, he smirked at the rest of the boys. "One group heads north to make sure no one has harmed our protectors. Another group goes to the south. Felix and I will stay here with our newest recruit, and get to know him better. No food, you're all fine."
"This guy's a little sociopath," Emma whispered as the boys scattered, ready to jump down to the ground to go after her son. "And those boys are just creepy."
Killian nodded in agreement. "I know. I don't like this. None of those boys even seem to be the slightest bit concerned that a walker is less than ten feet from them."
"Kill that thing!" Henry yelled, backing away from his spot on the ground.
"Why?" Malcolm asked, chuckling.
"They kill and eat people," Henry said plainly. "Anyone they can get, they kill."
Both Malcolm and Felix laughed. "They can do so much more. Did you know that just the smell of them can camoflouge your scent from other- walkers, I believe you called them? And of course, if you have enough, you can use them as your very own security system. I must say, they've been of great service to us in the past. It's difficult to put them in the traps, but well worth it."
His hand landing on one of the discarded daggers, Henry quickly grasped it, jumping up to stab the walker.
Emma tensed, obvious fear running through her.
Killian felt himself tense, knowing the boy had never fought before.
Surprising them both, Henry sunk the blade into the walker's skull, making it collapse.
Knowing he was to teach Henry, Killian couldn't help but feel a rush of satisfaction at seeing the boy's potential.
Henry stepped away, looking shaky and pale, his eyes wide.
"Looks like we've got a fighter," Felix said in his slow, monotone voice, releasing the leash and letting the walker collapse.
"Yes, we do, Felix," Malcolm replied, his smile absolutely demonic.
Killian started slightly as he felt something hit him, quickly noticing a fat drop of water had fallen. Glancing back out, he saw that rain had began to fall, the drops coming hard and fast.
"My family is looking for me," Henry threatened. "They won't be happy that you took me, and they will come."
Malcolm snorted. "You mean that man that left you alone as he went down the ravine? I'm pretty sure he's the one leading the search."
"No, my mom will be," Henry replied coolly. "And she's the one you don't want to mess with."
Despite the situation, Killian couldn't help smiling, seeing so much of Emma in Henry, along with the surety he had as he spoke of his mother finding him.
"We'll see about that," Malcolm said, his smile widening.
Before any of them could say anything else, some of the boys came rushing back, looking frantic.
Killian smirked, knowing they had come from where he and Emma had taken out their trap.
"Someone killed our friends," one of the younger boys cried.
His expression furious, Malcolm turned to them. "What?"
"They were all in their thinking trees, but they were all dead," one of the older boys replied as the other group of boys returned.
Enraged, Malcolm's face reddened. "Search the area!"
Just as the boys scrambled, Henry smirked. "Told you."
Waiting for another couple moments for the boys to disperse, some crossing right beneath them, Killian and Emma tensed, readying themselves to grab Henry.
"You know they won't find you," Malcolm taunted Henry. "They'll forget about you soon enough. Adults do that. Then you'll have to learn to take care of yourself. We can help you do that."
Just as Henry backed away from him slightly, both Emma and Killian jumped and sprinted toward Henry on the rain slicked ground. The boys looked in surprise at the adults before Henry grinned widely.
"Mom!" he shouted, tearing away from Malcolm and Felix.
Emma grabbed onto his arm, quickly pulling him back towards her before quickly turning.
"C'mon, Henry," she said quickly, keeping his hand in hers as she ran. "We have to get you out of here."
Instead of responding, he began running, keeping pace with her and Killian as they began to navigate the forest back in the direction of which they came.
Taking up the rear to protect Emma and Henry, Killian glanced behind them, seeing the sudden rail fall had begun to wash away their tracks.
Satisfied, he smiled, knowing they had at least some semblance of protection.
A loud crowing sound drifted from the trees, making them nearly stop.
"It's him," Henry explained quickly. "He's calling the others back."
"Then we need to be careful," Emma said.
"How did you find me?" Henry asked.
"We've been tracking you all night, lad," Killian responded, keeping close to him and Emma. "Your mother refused to wait, and wanted to find you as soon as possible."
Despite his exhaustion, Henry grinned.
"Killian helped," Emma added. "He helped me get out of the camp and track to where those boys took you."
His smile widened before it disappeared. "Mom, those boys- they aren't all bad. It's just the two, Malcolm and Felix. They have the boys thinking the walkers aren't dangerous."
"We know," Emma replied. "We watched you and the camp for a bit from that tree waiting for a chance to grab you. The one- Malcolm- is crazy."
"Crazy and dangerous," Killian said. "I have a feeling that he's not going to just let this go."
"Right now, we just have to get away," she responded.
They continued to run, the forest looking different as light filtered through, though dimmed from the rain.
Emma suddenly stopped, nearly making Henry and Killian run into her.
Craning his head, Killian saw what she saw, one of the boys heading toward them with a spear in hand.
"Bloody hell," he muttered.
Even if they took Emma's son, they were children, people Killian couldn't abide by senselessly killing.
Deciding to only do it for show, Killian drew his gun, making the boy stop in his tracks. He knew he had to protect Emma and Henry.
"Go back, and forget about the boy," he instructed.
The boy quickly ran off back toward the camp, leaving them.
Touching her arm, Killian urged Emma forward.
She nodded once before taking off again, he and Henry right behind her.
"How much farther back?" Henry asked.
"I don't know," Emma said. "It was dark when we were here last. I don't know how far the camp is."
Looking slightly worried, he continued to run beside his mother.
"Walkers," Killian warned, seeing some dead a short distance through the trees.
Hearing them, the walkers turned towards them, slipping on the forest floor as they began stumbling towards them.
"Great," he heard Emma mutter.
"We can outrun them," he said, glancing back over.
She didn't answer, instead pushing forward.
He saw the ravine in the distance, that they were approaching where Henry had originally been taken.
They kept up, pushing themselves until they could make it back to the safety of their group.
Plowing through the alarm system, they were met with multiple weapons drawn on them, seeing the group had been studying a map of the area, clearly setting up search parties.
"Emma," David said in shock before his eyes landed on Henry. "Henry!"
Mary Margaret beside him, they rushed to the boy, pulling him into their arms.
Both of Killian's brothers approached him, clapping him on his shoulders.
"We have to get out of here," Emma said, pulling away from Mary Margaret and David's hug. "The group that took Henry is a group of teenage boys, but they're dangerous."
Neal snorted. "You're afraid of a bunch of little boys? Is this a joke? If they come back, we can beat them easy."
Blowing out a hard breath, Emma forced herself to remain calm. "Their leader is a little sociopath. Those boys are completely wild."
"You would almost think that this life is all they've known," Killian added, pushing rain soaked hair out of his eyes. "They're completely loyal to their leader, Malcolm. He has them convinced that walkers aren't dangerous, and has them actually using them as traps."
"They're gonna come," Henry said, the slightest hint of fear in his voice. "Malcolm said when he finds someone to join his group, he won't stop until he gets them."
"We need to leave then," Mulan said. "Now. I don't want to attack a bunch of kids. I can't do that, even if their leader is crazy."
"So we just run then?" Neal asked in disbelief.
"When our other option is fighting against some young boys?" Liam countered. "I know which of those options I can live with. I won't have that blood on my hands."
Killian couldn't help smirking at Neal's furious expression.
"We pack up camp," Lance said, not leaving any room for argument. "We're to be back on the road within an hour."
Everyone dispersed, all going to their tents to gather their belongings.
Killian noticed Henry shadowing Emma, clearly not wanting to stray away from her.
Going to his brothers, he pitched his voice low, not wanting the others to hear him. "I told Emma we would help to teach her boy to fight. His father clearly isn't doing anything, and we could teach him easily. He already took down a walker at the other camp. The lad is potential, he just needs instruction."
Liam nodded, a small grin stretching his lips. "We can put that military training to use. Tell Emma I'll be happy to teach Henry."
Ian nodded. "I'll help him, too. I may not have the training, but that doesn't mean I don't know my way around weapons and how to fight."
Nodding, Killian grinned at his brothers.
Thankful that he hadn't unpacked much of his possessions, he was able to quickly gather his things, stuffing them in his bag. He knew that they didn't have the luxury of time, leading against neatly packing as he normally would.
Slinging his pack onto his back, he quickly helped Liam and Ian to collapse their tent, packing it and their bags into the back of their Jeep.
He glanced around, seeing Emma and David struggling to collapse one of the tents, prompting him to approach to help.
They both nodded in thanks.
"There's still room in the Jeep," he told them, offering to take the folded tent and bags.
Emma nodded, knowing there wasn't time to pack like they usually did. "Okay, thanks."
He led her to the dark gray vehicle, helping her deposit the luggage and tent, Henry shadowing them closely.
"Is the lad okay?" Killian asked Emma in a low tone, not wanting to he overheard.
She shrugged, her brow pinched as she spoke in a low voice that matched his. "As well as can be expected. I think he's mostly scared, between being taken in the first place and them threatening to get him again."
He nodded sympathetically, furtively glancing at the boy.
"That's it," David called, seeing everyone had loaded everything. "Everyone move out. We're getting as far away as possible from here."
Author's note: Just to let everyone know, I will be changing my username to Daryah so that my name will match on both and Ao3. It will be changed before the next chapter of Red Skies is up, and after the next chapter of Safe Harbor is posted. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
Review?