A/N: Yes. I know I suck for taking FOREVER to update this story but to be honest, school has really kept me busy :(
Unfortuantely, the next update wont be in a while and I hope everyone can be patient with me as I try to balance writing with school.
There really were times where I could have worked on this story but I was either: to tired, to distracted (i.e. trying to write on the bus and having people talk loudly on their cell phones or blast their music really loud), or just uninspired. I really want to dedicate the time to make each chapter as wonderful as I can.
Be assured though that this story will be compeleted and I already have planned out the entire script. I want to say it'll be around 15 chapter but honestly i thought we would cover more in this chapter and the other previous chapters but there's still a long way to go ;)
Anywhoo, hope u guys enjoy :D
If anyone has tumblr you can follow me at xxsupernaturalgalxx
Again I know I say this a lot BUT i would really like to stress that I do thank all of you for reading. The reviews, likes, favourites, comments, kudoos and follows are just a bonus, Also, as always a big thank you to my lovely beta for sticking with me even though it took me forever to complete this chapter
Now onwards with the story!
The red viscous liquid dripped down from her body; there was blood on her hands, in her hair, soaked in her clothing. The blood flowed down her cheeks and she could taste the tangy iron on her tongue, as it seeped through her lips. The red substance stained the ground, marking the once peaceful land as a graveyard. There was just so much blood. None of it was hers though. There was no scratch nor wound on her. Even all the scratches, scabs and scars she had accumulated over the years were now healed, leaving her as flawless as a newborn.
She could not suppress the shivers that ran through her body. Her entire body was shaking so violently that there was no hope in stabling herself. She had a vice grip on the shotgun she was still holding, leaving a light indent of the gun visible on her small white palms. She stared down at Lommy's corpse, laying supine, a mere two inches from her feet. His eyes were left open and his mouth was slightly agape, allowing a trickle of saliva to fall down his chin. His skin was as white as a sheet; he was paler than she had ever seen, possibly because, she was wearing half of his blood.
Arya sunk down on her knees beside her friend. She moved to close his eyes when suddenly his greasy blonde hair turned into messy auburn locks. His pale green eyes into a beautiful dark blue. And pretty soon Arya was looking at Rickon's dead body.
She screamed.
Her voice caught in her throat as she sucked in a large mouthful of icy cold air. Her throat burned at the intrusion of the harsh temperature, eliciting a soft gasp from her lips. Arya immediately jolted out of bed and turned to the body beside her. She light out a soft sigh of relief, when she saw Rickon sleeping soundly to her left. For a while, Arya just watched the steady rhythm of his breathing to prove to herself that he was indeed still alive. His shaggy auburn hair (which was now grown to his shoulders) concealed most of his face and his lips were slightly parted in an "o."
It was a dream. Arya said to herself, just a dream. No, not a dream; a nightmare. Arya disregarded her blanket and let wind cool her skin. She knew it wasn't the smartest thing to do, she would no doubt catch a cold from leaving her body vulnerable to the cool weather but, Arya liked the cold. She was born and lived most of her life in Winterfell, a beautiful city in Northern Canada. It snowed ten months a year and Arya was used to the cold climate. She liked the cold climate. If she closed her eyes she could almost imagine that she was in Winterfell right now, where her parents and siblings were sleeping in the rooms next door and Nymeria was out roaming their mansion. They were so happy back then but, then her father accepted a job offer by Robert Baratheon and they were forced to move to King's Landing; where the weather was unnaturally hot and the city was vile and polluted. Then this happened: the pandemic, the Walkers, the misery.
Arya could not suppress a shiver, as an unexpected breeze blew by. Perhaps her body wasn't made for winter after all. She considered wrapping the discarded blanket around her lithe form but decided against it. The warmth of her furs would only lull her back to sleep and Arya did not think she was psychologically prepared to handle two nightmares in one night.
Arya looked around the campsite. Though the night sky was pitch black, she could make everyone's forms, with the help of the light emitted from the fire. The flames cast a shadowy glow over everyone's bodies. Taking in the group's vast diversity in size, it was pretty simple to equate each shadow with a face. Everyone was fast asleep on the ground, curled in their blankets for warmth. During their journey, Arya did not fail to notice how miserable and tired everyone looked; she could clearly see the dark circles etched around their eyes. Their grim facial expressions never failed to elicit Arya with guilt, making her stomach churn. She knew this was her fault.
Shooting one bullet was bad, shooting two was suicide but, shooting three was just pure stupidity. The Walkers were not intelligent creatures but firing a gun three times in less than three days had been a sure fire tipoff to their whereabouts. Arya might as well have drenched her entire body in blood and guts while waving a large neon flag, screaming, 'here I am! Come get me!'
No one doubted Arya once she fed them the false story of Lommy's death. She simply told the others that a Walker had scratched the poor boy and Arya did what anyone else in her situation would have done; she put Lommy's suffering to an end. If her story had been factual, then Lommy's death would have been inevitable, there would be no hope in saving their old friend and all Arya had done was put a quick end to his suffering. It was the same thing that Yoren had done for Weasel's mom and Bran, and it was the same thing Arya had done for her father; almost the same. Arya's story had not been factual at all; just a fabrication of the truth, so she would not have to admit to the others that she had just committed a murder.
Arya still did not know how she felt about killing her former companion; possibly because she didn't feel anything. There was no remorse, anger, fear, nor any guilt consuming her. She neither regretted nor relished the fact that she had killed the gangly teenager. It didn't really feel like she was the one who killed him. It was as if there was a demon living inside of her, which took over her body in that one moment of weakness. She gave herself up to the darkness, letting the evil posses her. In that state of mind she felt nothing, so she chose emptiness over the pain she constantly dealt with; from the loss of her family and most recently, Bran.
As Arya looked around the campsite she saw Hot Pie (who was currently meant to be keeping guard, alongside Gendry) had fallen asleep. He clutched a stale half eaten granola bar in his right hand as he drooled over his ratty old t-shirt.
Gendry was awake, staring into the bellows of the fire. His baseball bat was kept strategically in his lap and his fingers curled over the object, ready to strike when needed to. He didn't seem to notice that she was awake. His eyes were filled with grief and sorrow as he stared into the flames. Arya knew he was still upset with their last minute decision of leaving Lommy's body to the Walkers. No one wanted to abandon their old friend's body but, they had no choice. They simply did not have time to dig a grave for him. To stay in their location for even a moment longer would compromise the safety of the rest of the group. Gendry initially tried carrying his corpse but, Lommy's dead weight only slowed him down and the smell of rotting flesh - emitted from Lommy's body - attracted more Walkers to their whereabouts. So they had no choice but to dump his body, conceal it in a patch of shrubs, and pray that no Walker would find it and feast on his flesh- though everyone knew the later hope was highly unlikely. The foul stench emitted from Lommy's body would most certainly attract a large sum of Walkers. Though everyone wished for their friend's body to be respected and pertain from being violated, Lommy was dead and no matter how harsh it sounded, everyone knew their priority right now was to tend to the living.
Arya moved to sit beside Gendry. She must have startled him because, his body tensed and his grip on the baseball bat tightened violently. He cocked his head to the side and once he was able to make out her face in the darkness, he immediately relaxed and his expression softened.
"Can't sleep" Arya admitted, as she stared into the fire as well.
"You can never sleep" Gendry retorted. He pulled away a part of his blanket, motioning for her to come join him. She scooted over to his side and he wrapped the large fluffy blanket over both their forms.
Arya was content. Though the blanket was itchy and rough against her skin, it was warm. And more importantly, Gendry was warm. Arya's body was like winter itself; white as snow and just as icy as well. Gendry on the other hand was different. Where Arya was ice, he was fire. His body was always warm like a furnace. Perhaps it was because, he was from the South where everything and everyone was always warm. Regardless of the reason, Arya only desired to seek out some of that heat for herself. She wrapped her tiny hands around his large bicep, to warm her palms. Gendry flinched from the cold touch but, he did not pull away nor did he hesitate to wrap an arm over her waist, drawing her much closer to him. Arya was halfway on top of his lap, when she buried her face in his neck. He smelled musky; of sweat, smoke and boy. She inhaled his scent; tasting it, relishing it. Arya could not describe how good it was to smell something, anything apart from death and Walkers. She ran her hands over his torso -desperately seeking the appropriate amount of friction to warm herself up- and snuggled in close to him. He was just so warm and even though Arya did not generally like the heat, her body seemed to crave his warmth. She felt Gendry's body go stiff beneath her and Arya immediately felt guilty. Arya knew she should not be depriving Gendry of his body heat, especially on a night like this but, she was just so cold.
She quickly pressed her palms on his chest, so she could push her body away from his but, she found that she was trapped by his arms. Arya struggled to free herself but his arms were placed firmly around her waist. She looked up, so that she could apologize to him but, her words caught in her throat once she noticed how intensely he was looking at her. Arya never noticed how blue his eyes actually where. The Tully's always had dark blue eyes. that appeared to look a dark brown from a distance but, Gendry's was so light. Not pale but, a beautiful baby blue that reminded Arya of the Northern skies. She had seen those eyes before, Robert Baratheon had eyes like that except his were always bloodshot and unfocused from his drinking and illicit drug use. They sort of resembled Stannis Baratheon's eyes as well, except where his were always hostile and unwelcoming, Gendry's eyes looked kind. His eyes were similar to Renly's except where Renly's eyes always sparkled, you could see the pain and misery behind Gendry's. Arya did not even realise that her lips were slightly parted as she was mesmerized by his stare. They were both entranced in each other before Yoren let out a rather loud and gruff snore. Arya turned to look at Yoren before shifting her attention back to Gendry. He had a small smile on his lips and Arya finally scooted off him, but still rested her head on his shoulder.
"Hot Pie is the worst guard ever" Arya remarked.
Gendry snorted, "he was annoying me so much; complaining that he was hungry and his feet were sore. I had enough and told him to shut up and go to sleep."
"But what if you accidently dose off?" Arya asked, "wouldn't it be safer if two people keep guard?"
"I won't dose off" Gendry stated rather confidently.
"But what if-"
"I won't" Gendry interrupted. Arya could not help but flinch from his harsh tone and Gendry's face automatically softened. "Sorry" he mumbled.
Arya let out a yawn as she stretched out her sore muscles. She then proceeded to crack her fingers - a bad habit always reprimanded by her nanny, Mrs. Mordane. She couldn't help it, her body was just so sore from fighting Walkers and sleeping on the cold uneven ground. "You should go to sleep" Gendry announced.
Arya shook her head as she cracked the remainder of her fingers. "Mm, not tired" she lied, though her body betrayed her with yet another yawn. It wasn't that she wasn't tired, she just didn't want to have another nightmare again. Gendry did not scold her like she expected. He merely shook his head and let out a soft chuckle.
Arya continued to rest her head on his shoulder and she found her eye lids growing heavier. Gendry started tracing comforting patterns on her back with the tips of his fingers. His touch was so soothing, that Arya slowly allowed her eyes to drift close. Everything was quiet except for the soft crackle of twigs, burning in the fire. She did not know when it happened but, soon sleep had taken her once more.
Arya woke up to the sound of twigs cracking and the sound of leaves crunching under the sole of someone's foot. Arya whined in dismay, she wasn't ready to wake up just yet, though she knew Yoren would probably wake everyone from their sleep soon. She shifted her head on the ground beneath her. Arya frowned, it was lumpy. Too lumpy. And was it... moving? Arya could have sworn the ground was slightly rising and falling. Hmm... that was strange.
Arya rubbed the crust out of her eyes before gingerly opening them. When her eyes finally came into focus, it took her a while to realise that she was sleeping on Gendry's chest. How did that even happen? Arya racked her brain, in an attempt to recall her last memory before falling asleep. The last thing Arya remembered was talking to Gendry while staring into the fire. She must have fallen asleep on his shoulder and he must have carried her to bed with him once his shift was over.
Arya looked up at the man before her. One hand was tucked under his head, while the other arm was wrapped loosely over her back. She looked up at his face and noticed he was still sleeping. His inky black bangs were covering his face, so Arya took her hand to sweep the bangs away from his eyes so she could get a better look at them. Well not his eyes, for they were still closed but, his eye lashes. She didn't realise how long they were, as they swept against his cheek as he slept. There was so much stubble covering his hard sharp jaw that he had practically grown out a semi-beard.
Arya felt her stomach flip and suddenly she felt really queasy. Shit. Was she sick? She knew throwing off her blanket in the middle of the night would come back to haunt her. It was strange, the stomach ache wasn't unpleasant at all. It almost felt... nice. Like the feeling you'd get when riding a roller coaster, except 100x intensified. The woozy feeling was also accompanied by a warmth deep inside her belly. She felt the warmth spread to her chest when she saw that Gendry was stirring. Suddenly Arya grew nervous and panicked. She quickly closed her eyes, not knowing the reason why she did not want Gendry to know that she was awake.
Arya tried to even her breathing in an attempt to make it believable that she was actually asleep. Gosh what was wrong with her?
Arya's breath caught in her throat when she felt a large, warm callused hand, brush the bangs away from her face. Arya decided to keep up the charade that she was still asleep. She felt Gendry tuck a lock of loose hair behind her ears. Her skin tingled from where he touched her and Arya could feel her stomach performing summersaults. Seriously, what was wrong with her? She couldn`t get sick. Not now. Not when they were in the middle of the wilderness and were already down one person. She would have to find some medicine in Yoren`s bag; perhaps some Pepto Bismal and some Tylenol would do the trick.
"Alright! Up you sorry sons of whores!" Yoren shouted, startling both her and Gendry.
Arya groaned. She stretched her sore muscles and slowly opened her eyes, meeting Gendry`s blue gaze.
"Morning." He greeted her with a wide smile.
"Morning" Arya mumbled back.
"Alright! Enough of your dilly dallying!" Yoren called out, as opposed to his usual, `there are Walkers out there that want to rape your corpses.'
Arya whined in complaint but, she got up nonetheless, putting some distance between herself and Gendry.
She walked up to Rickon, who was huddled by the fire. She muzzled his hair as she took her usual seat beside her little brother. Weasel met her gaze and Arya gave her a soft smile, indicating that she was sorry for her actions but, Weasel quickly avoided her gaze and looked down at her plate of breakfast. Arya sighed, she did not know when Weasel would forgive her, if she would forgive her but, right now Arya was too tired to make an effort to apologize. Weasel would come to her when she was ready. Instead, Arya shifted her attention to the plate of breakfast in front of her- Oatmeal... again.
Arya scooped up a large spoonful of the slimy liquid and shoved it in her mouth. The texture itself was off putting and the taste was simply awful but, Arya knew she needed to finish up the entire bowl if she hoped to regain her strength. It's a big bowl of melted ice cream Arya said to herself, in hopes of disguising the taste of the foul concoction. Though no matter how many times she said it, Arya found herself gagging with each bite.
It was amazing how many things she had taken for granted. She would give her left arm for a extra large box of meat lovers Pizza Hut's pizza or even a large box of Purdy's chocolate truffles. Arya hated their scarce resources.
Though Arya was whining to herself in her head, Hot Pie was the first to address the issue out loud. "We need to find some real food." He stated quite bitterly, "can't we set up some snares? I thought of a new way to cook some squirrel. You see if we boil it first-"
"We can't set up no snares" Yoren interrupted. By the tone of his voice, you could tell that Yoren was annoyed with Hot Pie and his constant belly aching. "The point of setting up snares is coming back to get 'em critters and we 'aint ever coming back ter this shit hole again."
"B-But. Why can't we just stay here?" Rickon asked.
"'Cuz lad, we need to find us a shelter. Now the rest of us fat arses aren't like you 'n yer sister. We can't climb no trees and live up there like squirrels." Yoren stated.
"Or fishes" Gendry snorted, "if Walkers can't climb, I bet they can't swim either."
Arya abruptly stopped eating and stared at Gendry in shock. She knew his comment was implied to be taken as a joke but, his words registered something embedded deep inside her mind. She could practically hear the gears grinding in her head, taking in the words Gendry had just spoken. Walkers can't swim. "Of course!" Arya blurted out.
Everyone stopped eating and turned to face Arya, perplexed by her realisation.
"If Walkers can't climb, then they probably can't swim either!" Arya explained. Well, not really explained, she just sort of repeated what Gendry was saying though everything made perfect sense in her head.
"You want us to be fishes?" Gendry arched an eyebrow at her.
Arya ignored his snide comment, she could not believe that she had never thought of this solution before. "No stupid!" Arya explained, "we need to go live in the water! Like Gendry said, Walkers can't swim. We might need to leave some days, to go on the occasional raid but, we never need to lock down our shelter and we don't have to panic about being outside after dark. We don't need to fight or run from the Walkers, we just need to go somewhere they can't."
Everyone was staring at her like she was stupid except for Yoren who was actually considering her suggestion. "You mean like on a boat or a ship?" That might work but we'd need a ton of fuel or maybe we can grab a couple of paddle boats to travel-"
"Or like an island" Arya interrupted.
Rickon's eyes widened as he came to the same conclusion as her. "The Red Keep?" he asked.
"The Red Keep." Arya repeated, confirming his answer.
Now everyone was staring at her like she and Rickon were speaking another language so Arya had to elaborate. The Red Keep was a private island owned by her father's best friend, Robert Baratheon. He would constantly invite her father and their family to the Red Keep on summer vacations.
Sansa loved going there. The island had beautiful scenery and the weather was scorching in the summer. It gave Sansa the opportunity to wear her stupid bikinis and flimsy summer clothes so she could show off for the stupid, Joffery Baratheon. Sansa was infatuated with his stupid blonde hair, his pale green eyes and his stupid weasel-like face. As far as Arya was concerned, Joffery was a dick. She hated leaving her home in Winterfell to be confined in a stupid place with the drunk Robert Baratheon and his vile, pretentious, bitch of a wife, Ceresi Baratheon-Lannister. The trip to the Red Keep was a long and tiring one and she was forced to listen to Sansa prattle on about Joffery this and Joffery that.
Arya couldn't understand what Sansa saw in that twat. He was rude, selfish and downright cruel at times. He was a spoiled little brat that got whatever he wanted or else he'd run to his stupid mommy for help, and Ceresi would do anything for her little Joffery. On top of that his physical characteristics were putrid. Arya had to admit that Joffery wasn't ugly but, he definitely wasn't what any girl should want in a man. He was puny and almost as slim as Sansa. He had no muscle to speak of, he cared about his hair more than any girl did and he smelled like roses and other sweet things. Men shouldn't look like that, be like that and definitely not smell like that. Sansa should date someone more masculine; someone with muscles, someone strong, someone with a kind heart and someone who didn't smell like fucking flowers! She should date a man, not a boy. Her sister could be annoying at times but, she deserved better than Joffery.
The pandemic occurred sometime in the late fall or early winter, meaning no one would have inhabited the island at the time of the attack. They would probably need to conduct a thorough search of the island, once they shored but, the likely-hood of any Walkers inhabiting the place was zero to one.
She couldn't tell the others the truth about how she came to know of the island. The last thing Arya wanted was for Yoren, Gendry, Weasel and Hot Pie to know she was posh. Even though it was the end of the world, she did not want the others to be intimidated by her high-status or think of her as some snooty spoiled brat. Prior to the pandemic, everyone treated her differently just because, she was rich and was technically "a lady." She did not want her pack to think of her that way. They treated her like everyone else and Arya enjoyed being thought of as an equal rather than having others praise the ground she walked on and cater to her every will. She enjoyed her independence, her freedom and Arya would be damned if anyone took that away. So she lied. She told the others of the private island, where her mother was employed as a maid. Truthfully her mom hadn't cleaned anything her entire life. The only housework Catelyn Tully had ever done was cook because, she had a fondness for baking when she was a little girl and her mother expanded that hobby into cooking. Even then, it wasn't like her mother cooked for the family. Yes, Catelyn would make the occasional snack or meal every now or then but, their main courses were prepared by the family chef, Roderick Cassel - or as Arya liked to refer to him, sir Roderick.
Rickon eyed her oddly. He was the only other person who knew that she was lying about her knowledge of the island but, he did not call her out on it.
The others were captivated by her every word and smiled at the thought of salvation. There could finally be a place where they didn't have to cower in fear with the thought that every day could be their last. They could finally roam the land freely after nightfall and look up at the stars. They could finally build some sort of civilization.
There was a large amount of fruit trees and Ceresi kept a greenhouse where the gardener grew a variety of different plants but, a large sum of those plants consisted of vegetables. Provided these resources were still available and had not dwindled away and died, they may never have to leave the island. Many critters roamed the island as well. Arya remembered that she and Bran once encountered a deer and they tried to pet it but, it ran off the moment they took their first step towards the creature. Arya felt a sudden ache in her heart at the thought of Bran. She choked back her tears and saved them for another time, when Yoren, Gendry and the others weren't around.
"This is perfect!" Yoren called out merrily. "Now how do we get to this island?"
Arya's heart sank. Shit. She didn't think about that before she opened her big mouth. Unfortunately, Arya never paid attention to how her family actually arrived at the island. She knew that they took a plane from Winterfell to King's Landing and then they boarded a ship in a large port at Kings Landing that took them to the island. Arya knew exactly where the port was but, she had no idea on how to get to the island from boat. She was ashamed to admit rather than watching their journey to the Red Keep, Arya would usually just plug in her I-pod and slump into a corner in the ship, trying to ignore the vile company of the Lannisters and Baratheons.
"I-I- I don't know." Arya shamefully admitted.
"What do ya mean yer don't know?" Yoren exclaimed angrily.
"I mean, I know where the port is. It's in the midst of King's Landing but, I don't know how to get to the Red Keep by ship. I wasn't really paying attention when we were on the boat but, it can't be that hard." Arya quickly added, "Can it?" She asked, unsure.
Yoren sighed, "suppose it's better than nothin'. Lead the way Stark."
"Well where are we know?" Arya inquired.
"Probably around Harrenhal" Gendry replied, "somewhere north of King's Landing."
"Okay" Arya began, "so we just need to go south."
"And how do we know where south is, m'lady?" Gendry asked, "It's only dawn and I can't see the sun through these blasted trees."
"Do not call me m'lady!" Arya scolded. She pushed Gendry with all the force she could muster but, he barely even moved. He laughed at her attempt at violence and Arya huffed in annoyance.
Yoren ignored their bickering, "perhaps we should wait a couple hours, until we can actually see the sun. Or perhaps we should find a way out of this blasted forest."
Arya shook her head, "we don't need to. We just follow the moss."
"The moss?" Hot Pie inquired.
"Yes" she confirmed. Arya walked up to a tree, to illustrate her point. She ran her fingertips over the green substance coating the rough bark. "My father taught me that moss grows on the south side of the tree. So all we have to do is follow the moss and that should lead us to King`s Landing, that is if we are actually in Harrenhall."
"Aye, now I knew I kept yer for a good reason. Come on lads!" Yoren announced.
He began packing their stuff when Gendry stopped him. "Wait a minute. That tree has no moss at all" Gendry announced, as he pointed to a tree to his left. "And that tree has moss growing from three sides. How do you know we won`t go the wrong way and get lost?"
"Because stupid, we follow the direction where most of the moss is growing. Look at all these trees here" Arya explained, gesturing to a large sum of plants. "They all have moss growing from the same direction, which means that way is south" Arya exclaimed, pointing at the correct direction.
It was settled, the majority of the group seemed to agree with Arya, and Gendry reluctantly followed. Arya led the way but, had to pause a couple of times, to examine the trees in order to ensure they were still going the right way.
"Pretty soon we`ll have moss growing out of our ears" Gendry whispered to Hot Pie, none to quietly.
"Only our south ear!" Arya declared adamantly. She stuck her lip out and pouted, though her face was fierce and her eyes unyielding. Gendry was starting to piss her off with his stupid remarks.
Teasingly, he shoved her lightly with his hand and she staggered five paces to the left. Arya clenched her fists and punched him in the arm, hard once she regained her balance but, Gendry only laughed at the blow. It was a hard hit and he didn't even wince, just another reason why he was stupid. There was something about the sound of his laughter that caused her stomach to flip again. Arya placed her hand lightly across her abdomen to settle her stomach. Perhaps some food would make her feel better. The oatmeal she ate earlier hardly counted.
She let Yoren momentarily lead the way, as she dug into one of their shopping carts for a treat. Arya came across some old beef jerky and grabbed a stick for herself. She gnawed on the salty meat, thinking it would be atrocious. In truth, it actually wasn`t that bad. It was kind of spicy, though typically, she did not usually favour spicy food because she could not stomach them. She also grabbed a kool-aid jammers juice box to wash down the dry meat with. Arya sunk her teeth into the meat stick and began chewing. The jerky was quite hard and rough in texture but, the taste was much better than oatmeal or a stale granola bar. The juice was much better, it was as if she was drinking syrup, so sweet and fruity. Arya sucked the juice box dry and licked off all the salt from her fingers. She was tempted to take another snack but, she did not want to be selfish. That food was for everyone not just for her. Despite the fact that she was so skinny, Arya actually had a healthy appetite. She would generally eat more than her brothers and Robb would often joke about where she put it all.
The others followed her lead and began rummaging through the carts for a treat. Yoren decided that this would be the perfect time to take a break and everyone else quickly agreed. As the others decided to take this moment to relieve themselves, Hot Pie quickly cooked up some lunch for the group.
The rest of the day was uneventful. King's Landing was still a long journey from Harrenhall, that would take them at least a week on foot. When the horizon darkened and Arya could no longer see anything through the bleak darkness she decided to call it a day. Everyone gathered their belongings and began making preparations for bed while Arya and Rickon attempted to start a fire. As usual, Arya and her little brother held the first shift.
It was incredible how tired Arya actually felt when she was meant to be keeping guard, though it took an effort for her to fall asleep when her shift was over. No Walkers intruded their camp that night, so it wasn't as if there was any adrenaline in her bloodstream, keeping her awake. Rickon was just as tired as well. He would yawn every now and then and Arya was fearful to see how his eyelids were growing heavy like her own. Just as she was considering waking someone to relive her and Rickon from their shift, Gendry stirred and woke Hot Pie by giving him a light kick on the hip. The poor boy nearly pissed his pants because he was so startled but, got up without complaint and relived Arya and Rickon from their duty.
Arya quickly settled herself on a soft patch of grass and beckoned Rickon to sleep next to her. Her brother awkwardly positioned his body so that he was clutching onto her hand, even though Arya was facing the other direction. Arya sighed and turned to face Rickon, grasping his hand firmly in her own. She would not have to wait long, Rickon would soon fall asleep and then she could free her hand, so she could lay on her side once more.
She let memories of her family intrude her thoughts as Rickon slowly drifted off to sleep. She could not help but wonder if they were docked on the island as well. It would make sense. Her siblings were much smarter than she was and they would probably have thought about living in the Red Keep long before she did. No. Arya would not let herself think like that. She refused to harbour any false hope pertaining to her siblings. It was much easier to accept that they were dead and to diminish any hope of their survival. In Arya's opinion, it would be worse to think they were alive, just to run into their Walker corpses in the future. At least now, if she ever discovered her siblings death, it would be much easier to accept- or at least, that's what she told herself.
When Arya was positive that Rickon was asleep, she slowly released her hand from his grasp and turned to her side. She just laid there for what seemed like hours before she was finally able to fall asleep. Her last thoughts before falling asleep, were various memories pertaining to her siblings. That night she dreamt wonderful dreams about the time when Robb, Jon, Bran, Rickon and herself decided to take up archery. Arya clearly remembered besting Bran and Rickon though Robb and Jon were far more skillful than her. She was smiling and laughing throughout the dream, as happiness consumed her. That feeling didn't last long though. Just as Arya found comfort in her dreams, that was when the nightmares began.
Sansa was always beautiful. Even in death she was a sight to behold. Her skin was fair, much whiter than she remembered - not pale but white - compared to her usual flawless golden skin. There was a large gash, marked elegantly on the side of her neck. Even then she was beautiful. Her auburn hair fell blissfully around her shoulders, in perfect red ringlets. Her eyes were closed, inhibiting Arya from seeing those perfect Tully blue eyes, though she could imagine them right now. Her cheeks were rosy and her lips a bright red. Her body was lain gracefully across the field of flowers. Petals fell from the sky, gently caressing Sansa's soft skin. She was dressed in a simple white dress and she looked like one of God's most treasured angels.
Arya sat beside her sister, though it seemed inappropriate for her to be anywhere near her. Everything looked so beautiful- except for her. Arya was caked in mud and dirt. Her hair was greasy, her body covered in blood and filth, emitting a foul stench. Though it was cliché, a large group of flies buzzed around her filthy form, marking her as an outsider. She did not belong in the same world as her sister; she wasn't beautiful, she was disgusting.
As on cue, Sansa's eyes opened and she got up to face her sister. Arya gasped. Her eyes weren't the beautiful dark Tully blue eyes that she remembered. No, they were a light electric blue colour, filled with emptiness, concealing her entire pupil. They were Walker eyes. Sansa lunged and attacked Arya, sinking her pearly white teeth into Arya's neck. Arya shrieked and squirmed but, Walker Sansa was too powerful for her. She dragged her teeth along the column of her throat and Arya could feel the liquid gushing down her body.
The blood choked her as her screams turned into gurgles. Her eyes slowly drifted close and when she opened them once more, they matched that of her sisters.
Arya jolted out of bed, heavily panting in an attempt to regain her breath. She moved her hand to her damp throat and was relieved to find that it was intact. She still had a hard time in differentiating a nightmare from reality. Everything just looked and felt so real, and she did not know if the events were actually happening or if it was all a cruel jape from her subconscious until the moment she woke up.
It was almost dawn. Yoren and Weasel were cooking breakfast, while the others lay asleep, curled in their blankets. She figured that she had only about an hour of sleep before Yoren woke up the others. Rather than going back to bed, she got up and helped Yoren and Weasel make preparations for camp.
As she predicted, it took them a week to get to King's Landing. The smell of rotting flesh assaulted her nostrils, so Arya knew they were close to the city. The forest ended miles back and they were now walking on an empty freeway. There were a couple of stranded cars on the road but their gas tanks were empty and apart from the occasional first aid kit, none were stocked with any useful supplies.
The closer they got to the city, the more Walkers they encountered. Some even came in groups of eight to ten. Yoren and Gendry joked about getting in a good work out but, Arya was consumed in fear. If they encountered this many Walkers before they even got to the city, how many would they meet in King's Landing? Worse than that, how many would they meet should they make it to the docks after sunrise?
Her arms were burning as she struck down one of the Walkers. Gendry, Yoren and even Hot Pie had their hands full with the creatures, and Rickon and Weasel were helpless in defending themselves. So Arya gritted her teeth against the pain and continued swinging her machete until the Walker was dead.
"We can't keep going like this" Arya announced, once the boys had tended to their share of Walkers.
"What else can we do?" Gendry asked, "this is the only way to King's Landing."
"We could go through the sewers" Hot Pie suggested.
Everyone whirled their heads around to look at Hot Pie. He was clutching one of the shopping carts, bent over his knees in exhaustion. His face was bright red and puffy, and he was sweating profusely. He let his weapon drop to the floor, while he was panting heavily. When everyone was silent for a while, Hot Pie looked up from his withered state, to find everyone staring at him; wide eyed and jaws dropped. "What?" he questioned.
"Th-that`s that`s-" Arya stuttered.
"That`s brilliant!" Yoren shouted merrily. He clamped his hand on Hot Pie`s back affectionately, and it hit him with a loud thwack. Hot Pie looked like he was going to double over in pain. Instead, he rubbed his back soothingly over the area that Yoren just hit.
"Thanks" he muttered, "but next time try not killing me, yeah?"
"Where do we find a manhole?" Rickon asked.
"There`s one about five hundred yards from here." Gendry announced, "from there we`ll go east, take our second right, which will take us north all the way to the ports."
Everyone now turned around to look at Gendry with a questioning look in their eyes.
"Used to work for the city" Gendry answered the unasked question, nonchalantly, "had to work on the sewers from time to time. I know the pathway like the back of my hand."
"Are they the same in every city?" Rickon asked.
Gendry shook his head, "I worked here. I was born and raised in King`s Landing."
Arya had to bite her lip to stop herself from gasping. If Gendry was born in King`s Landing then he had to know about Robert Baratheon. Though Mr. Baratheon was one of the wealthiest men in the world, he was just a business tycoon, so he was not known by most people. But, his headquarters were located in King's Landing; so if Gendry was born there then he had to know about Robert... and if he knew about Robert, did he know about her father to? Did he recognize the name Stark? Did he know who she truly was? Is that why he always called her milady? Arya stared at Gendry for a long moment but, the stupid bull-headed idiot didn`t even seem to notice. No, he couldn`t possibly know about her. Surely he would have mentioned it before. Wouldn't he?
"Alright boy, lead the way" Yoren announced.
Gendry nodded and led the others to the manhole. It wasn`t a long journey but, they still ran into several more Walkers along the way. Arya could not wait until they got to the sewers. After killing a couple of Walkers and trudging along the filthy dirt road, they finally arrived at their destination. Arya noticed the large circular slab of concrete and frowned at the size of the hole. "The shopping carts won`t fit" she announced.
Gendry nodded, "we`ll just have to leave them behind."
"Alright lads, let`s unload the supplies" Yoren instructed.
Space wasn`t an issue. They had enough bags to store all the supplies, carrying it was the problem. Arya tried lifting three bags and the weight was strenuous against her back. Her arms were already sore from fighting all the Walkers, she wasn`t sure how long she could keep this up. Hopefully the ports wouldn`t be too far. She let the bags drop to the floor as she waited for the others to finish packing their things. There was no point in straining her back just standing there and waiting.
Arya walked to the manhole. It looked to be made of concrete and had large holes in the middle. It didn`t look too heavy. Arya placed her fingers in the holes and proceeded to lift the cover, when suddenly she felt a pair of strong arms around her waist.
"Whoa there little lady" Gendry teased, lifting her in the air and away from the manhole. "That thing weighs more than you do" he chuckled.
"Shut up" Arya scolded, crossing her arms over her chest. "I`m stronger than I look" she declared stubbornly. Arya tried pushing Gendry aside so she could lift the cover but, Gendry did not cower from her intimidation.
"Arya" he stated rather seriously, "that thing weighs over 200 lbs."
Arya gulped. That was more than double her body weight. "I`m not saying you`re not strong" Gendry assured her, "but just leave the lifting to me, yeah?" Arya nodded and watched Gendry intently, as he strode over to the manhole.
"Need help there lad?" Yoren offered but, Gendry just shook his head. Was he really about to carry a 200 lbs weight by himself?
Gendry stretched his muscles and cracked his fingers. He was staring intently at the cover beneath him. Slowly he took a deep breath and squatted. He didn`t place his fingers through the holes like she expected but, carried the object from the side. Slowly he lifted the cover and shifted his hands, to get a better hold. Gendry pursed his lips and began heavily breathing in and out. His face was a bright red and his hair was already damp with sweat. Arya moved her eyes from his face and caught herself staring at his biceps. She knew Gendry was muscular but, she wasn`t aware of how built he actually was until this moment. He was wearing a tight black shirt, so she could clearly see the outline of his muscles, even through the sleeves. She could see his muscles rippling from beneath the cotton, as he strained against the weight. Droplets of sweat began pouring from his body and she watched as one particular drop, slipped down from his forehead and fell onto his arm, outlining all the ridges and muscles of his bicep.
Arya gulped, her throat felt dry.
Gendry slowly slid the cover away and let it drop to the floor where it landed with a dull thud. He sucked in a breath of relief and wiped the sweat away from his forehead. Arya still could not believe that he had carried a 200 lbs weight all by himself. She watched Gendry as he stretched out his muscles once more. While stretching, his shirt rode up and Arya caught a glimpse of his abs. She had seen him without his shirt before, but she had never once stared this intensely at the muscles coating his abdomen. She could just make out the six pack from the inch of exposed flesh. He`s strong, she thought.
"Alright" Gendry announced, startling Arya out of her thoughts. She hadn`t even noticed that he stopped stretching and had walked over to the manhole. "There`s a ladder over here." Gendry said, signaling to the ladder by the side of the manhole. "Yoren and I will go down first and make sure the coast is clear. I doubt we`ll find any Walkers down there but, you can never be too sure. We`ll tell you when the coast is clear and then Arya and Hot Pie will throw down the bags, one at a time. Weasel and Rickon will keep guard while this is all going on. If you see a Walker, don`t handle them on your own, tell Arya and Hot... tell Arya and she`ll handle it."
"Hey" Hot Pie interjected, feeling offended. Arya kept her smile to herself.
"That was directed at you boy" Yoren said to Rickon, ignoring Hot Pie`s outburst. "Now we know yer strong and all but, we can`t risk anyone getting hurt. If you see a Walker, tell Arya. And you," Yoren stated, turning to face Arya now, "if there are too many of them for you and Hot Pie to handle, call me and Gendry and we`ll climb up as quick as we can. Don`t be stupid and think ye can handle all those creatures on yer own."
Yoren waited until Arya and Rickon nodded in approval but, he still eyed Rickon and Arya warily. "Aye boy" Yoren said turning to Gendry, "you were saying?"
"Right. If there are too many of them, call me and Yoren." Gendry elaborated, "when you are done tossing all the bags, climb down. Oh and if you`re going to toss your weapon, give us fair warning first." Gendry stated rather annoyed, as he turned to look at Hot Pie.
"Hey man. That was one time and you lived" Hot Pie stated, jumping to his defense.
Arya didn`t bother to ask them what they were talking about and nor did she care. She just wanted to get to the Red Keep as soon as possible. She was glad that Yoren had put a quick end to their bickering. They had to get to the ships before night fall; it was either that or sleep in the sewers. Quickly, Yoren and Gendry shimmied down the manhole. They managed to procure two flashlights from their supplies; both of which Gendry and Yoren took down with them.
She heard a splash, footsteps and a couple of groans elicited from the two men. "Are you guys alright?" Arya shouted, "do you see any Walkers?"
"Nah girl" Yoren replied, "No Walkers but, you`d probably expect there to be some in this shit hole. Now just throw down them bags, so we can get the fuck out of here."
One by one, Arya and Hot Pie began tossing down the bags. They waited for Yoren and Gendry`s call before tossing down another. It was tedious work but long before she knew it, Arya was tossing down the last bag.
"All right! I`m tossing down my bat now!" Hot Pie shouted. "If this one hits you in the face Waters, don`t start bitching at me!"
Arya heard Gendry mutter something from the sewers but she could not make it out. Hot Pie threw the baseball bat down the manhole and then made his decent down the ladder. It took him almost twice as long as it did Gendry and Yoren but, he got down eventually and hollered for the next person to go.
Arya turned to face Weasel and Rickon, "all right Weasel you go first, then Rickon."
The little girl seemed startled when she realised that Arya was addressing her but nodded and scaled down the sewers, Rickon followed quickly after. Arya took a quick look behind her, there were no Walkers insight so she fastened her machete into her belt loop and scaled down the ladder.
Arya thought the smell of Walkers was the worst thing she had to encounter but, the reek in the sewage set a new record. She almost gagged from the smell. She tried breathing through her mouth but, the scent was so powerful that she could taste it on her tongue. The sooner they were out of the sewers, the better. She did not think she would survive sleeping here for the night.
Everyone else was complaining about the smell too. Even Yoren, who usually kept his opinions to himself, seemed distraught with their travels in the sewers. "Think after I've been spending years hunting down them fucking Walkers and travelling with this lot I'd get used ter the smell of shit."
Hot Pie turned a furious shade of crimson but, Gendry seemed nonplussed by Yoren's comment. In fact, the rotting smell of sewage didn't seem to bother him either. He led the others through the tunnels and patiently waited when one of them had to stop and catch their breath.
"Doesn't the smell bother you?" Arya inquired, sprinting a bit to catch up to Gendry.
He shook his head, "it's been a while since I worked here but, I guess I'm just used to it."
"You didn't wear masks or any protective equipment?" she asked curiously.
"No, we did. But, the smell would linger on your clothes and after a while you got used to it. Plus, trust me when I say this wasn't the worst job I had." Gendry took longer strides and Arya found it difficult to catch up to him. This wasn't the worst job for him? She couldn't help but, feel a little sad for Gendry. What other jobs did he work that could possibly be worse than sewage?
Every minute felt like an hour in the sewers. Her arms were aching from carrying the three bags and she was still not used to the smell. As they continued walking, the awful stench emitted from the sewage was accompanied by another scent; the salty smell of seawater.
"Are we here?" Arya asked hopefully.
"Almost" Gendry replied, "about another ten to fifteen more minutes and we should be at the docks."
Alright another ten to fifteen minutes. She could do that. Arya rearranged the weight she was carrying on her back. She had to bite her lip to keep herself from crying out in pain. Her muscles were screaming in agony but, she would not give in. Only fifteen more minutes, you can do this Stark. Just as Arya was giving herself a little pep talk she felt some of the weight she was carrying get lifted from her shoulders; literally. Arya turned to see Yoren snatch one of the bigger bags she was holding and place the loop around his shoulders, adding another bag to the five he was already carrying.
"You need to learn when to ask for help, Stark. I aint a fucking mind reader" he announced gruffly yet still kind, before striding past her, giving her no time to come up with a retort. Though Arya was mad at Yoren for helping her, she was relived to be free of some of the weight. Now she also had a free hand, so she could lift up part of her shirt to block her nose. Her shirt smelled like sweat, blood and death but, frankly Arya found the smell better than that of the sewages.
Suddenly everyone stopped dead in their tracks. Arya wasn't paying much attention and collided into Hot Pie, who went tumbling down the floor with her. It wasn't enough that her shoes were ruined, soaked in the dirty sewage water but, now Arya's entire body was soaking wet.
Yoren watched the site of Arya and Hot Pie, sprawled across the murky sewage water and began guffawing. Hot Pie was just as wet as she was and shot her a death glare for bumping into him. "Why did we stop, stupid?" Arya yelled at Gendry, directing the heat off her and onto him.
"Because, we're here m'lady" he replied with a grin.
Arya scowled and got back up her on her feet, wringing the water out of her hair and bits of her clothing.
This time Yoren helped Gendry remove the cover and together they managed to push the large slab of concrete to the side. Arya heard the sound of metal crushing bone and some grunts from Yoren and Gendry above. It was pretty obvious that they were taking care of the Walkers from above.
"Need help?" Arya shouted from the sewers.
Yoren peaked his head through the manhole. His hair was already stained in blood, the red liquid drying on the end of his curlicues. "Nah girl. Weren't too many of them. Pass up them bags now, so we can get the fuck outta here before more of them bloody Walkers show up."
The task was much harder going up then down. Before Arya merely had to toss the bags down the manhole but, this time she had to carry the bags on her back as she scaled the ladder. Yoren and Gendry came to assist her, as Hot Pie was utterly useless in this task. Eventually Gendry and Yoren ushered her away, as they began bringing up the remaining bags. While Arya was only able to scale the ladder with one bag at a time, Yoren was able to carry three at a time and she had witnessed Gendry coming up with four.
Arya mentally cursed her physique. If she had been born just a bit larger than she would have been more assistance to Yoren and Gendry. Right now she felt just as useless as Hot Pie. No one could blame Rickon and Weasel for their lack of effort as they were still children but, Arya was practically an adult, she felt like she needed to be contributing more to the group.
As Gendry and Yoren were bringing up the few remaining bags, Arya quickly glanced around the docks. There were a couple of paddle boats and canoes on the shore but, that would not do. There was no way they would be able to carry all their supplies on those tiny boats and only two people could fit on each boat at a time. There were a few motor boats around as well but, to her dismay none were filled with fuel. Arya supposed she would just have to settle for a sail boat as there was no other option. She had taken sail boats to the Red Keep before but, all were filled with fuel. It was much too risky going out to sea with only a sail but, what other choice did they have? She would just have to pray that the wind was in their favor.
"What you lookin' at girl?" Yoren called out.
Arya jumped, startled by the proximity of his voice. She turned around to see that Yoren was right behind her. Gendry was just making his way out of the manhole while Hot Pie, Weasel and Rickon began gathering some of their luggage.
"There's no fuel." Arya replied bitterly.
Yoren sighed, "aye, I suppose there wouldn't be. Thinking about taking a sail boat then?" he asked.
"What other choice do we have?" Arya inquired, "we have no fuel but if we were to take a sail boat... Yoren there could be no wind for weeks and what if we get lost a sea?"
"Well we got us enough food to last us months. Besides, I don't know about you but, I didn't spend three hours in that shit hole for nothing. Now my brother and I would go sailing all the time as lads. Right now we do have some wind blowing north-east" Yoren said, as he pointed towards the opposite direction of the sun, "but, then we have to wonder how long that wind will last. It's not too strong either but, I think we can work with it. We should also get some oars from them other boats. It might take us a shit load of time but, at least with oars we'll never get stranded."
Arya stared up at Yoren as he continued to share his knowledge about boating. She remembered that her father would take Robb, Jon and Bran on boating trips all the time. One day Arya asked if she could tag along but, her mother merely shook her head. Apparently the sea was no place for a lady. Rickon had never gone either, he was only a babe at the time of their last boating trip. It seemed that Arya had to solely rely on Yoren's expertise of boats and pray that they would make it to the Red Keep.
They made their way over to a large sail boat and Yoren started inspecting the boat. "Seems alright. Again I wish we had some fuel, but it'll do."
"Walkers?" Arya inquired. She wasn't stupid. Though the boat looked safe enough, they had to inspect the boat to ensure there were no Walker stowaways. She and Gendry began inspecting the boat while the others waited outside. It wasn't a large boat but, it wasn't particularly small either. For the most part, they could see the entire surface without even setting foot onto the boat but, there were a couple of doors and compartments that still required checking.
"Ugh" Gendry exclaimed in disgust.
"What is it?" Arya inquired as she made her way over to Gendry.
He held up a disembodied hand. The flesh was a pale grey and there was a large yellow lesion across the palm, filled with pus and other debris. Though there was no body attached to the hand, the fingers were still moving. The dirty yellow fingernails, desperately trying to scratch Gendry from afar.
"Where did the actual Walker go?" Arya inquired.
Gendry shrugged his shoulder, "just found his blasted hand." Gendry explained, as he tossed the Walker's hand into the ocean. As Gendry predicted Walkers couldn't swim, well at least a single Walker hand couldn't, and the retched limb sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Arya and Gendry continued their search but, found no other Walkers on the boat. They found some old moldy cans of tuna ,which they also threw overboard and an old broken radio that Gendry insisted on keeping.
Once their search was complete, Gendry and Arya summoned the others to the boat. Everyone quickly unloaded the supplies and then set sail. Arya was glad that they had Yoren. He was able to tell where the wind was coming from - though Arya could not even feel a light breeze - and set the sails accordingly. He began to shout out instructions but, no one really understood what he was trying to say, so Yoren performed those tasks himself, all the while muttering about being stuck in a group of useless cunts.
Once they were far enough from the shore, Arya settled herself into a comfortable position at the corner of the ship. She looked down at the waves, lightly rocking the ship back and forth. Arya took a deep breath, to breathe in the salty smell of the water. For once things did not smell like blood and death. For the first time in a long time, Arya actually felt safe. For the first time in a long time, Arya actually had hope. She was exhausted from their perilous journey and soon she found herself drifting off to sleep. For the first time in a long time Arya didn't have any nightmares.
Tonight she dreamt about home.