Chapter 13
Harry hears the fighting well before he sees the cause.
The remainder of Hilltop's residents are very clearly, physically divided. On one side, Paul stands with five people standing around him. On the other, Natalia is surrounded by four. The remainder are teenagers that watch the proceedings with varying degrees of unease and glee at the drama unfolding before them.
Natalia and Paul are arguing. Well, Natalia is arguing very loudly and Paul is taking it silently. It's the people around Paul that are arguing back. Only two of Natalia's supporters are actively part of the aggressive conversation, the remaining two stoic and watchful. Negan stands between the two groups watching their argument unfold, prompting Harry to wonder why he isn't stopping it.
Harry goes to do so himself but Sirius grabs his shoulder, “Nope, you stay out of it.”
“Sir’-!”
Sirius shakes his head and firmly pulls Harry back to his side, “You have no business getting between them.”
“But they're fighting!” Zoey pipes up, grabbing the arm holding Harry's shoulder. “We need to do something!”
“No, we don't,” Sirius states adamantly, using his free hand to remove hers. “This is Hilltop, not Sanctuary. We have no right to interfere.”
Harry doesn't want to admit it but Sirius is right. Harry is so used to being in the centre of the conflict that he automatically tried to do something to smooth things over. Negan has the right of things, standing there and watching. He's probably ensuring things don't get violent.
“-ings are gonna be, we're fucking leaving!” Natalia's voice is thick and angry.
Paul finally responds, spreading his arms out a little, “Natalia, please-”
“Fuck you!” Natalia screams, aggressively stepping forward with a pointed finger only to be held back by one of her stoic friends. Natalia tries to get out of his hold even as she continues, “You killed him! You killed all of them you fucking piece of shit!”
Paul doesn't deny it. He simply frowns and allows Natalia to rage at him.
“Come on, Nat,” one of her friends says soothingly, pulling Natalia back away from Paul's group. “It's not worth it. We gotta lay Travis to rest.”
Natalia's angry countenance collapses in on itself. She bows under her grief and allows her friends to pull her away, one arm hugging another, shorter woman. Paul watches them go just long enough to catch sight of them.
Paul turns to direct his remaining people - all of which nod respectfully as they obey. Negan sighs as he approaches, rubbing the back of his neck and grimacing at the crap they stepped into.
“This place crashed hard,” Negan tells them, his tone distinctly unamused. “All because that useless buttscab holed up in that sorry excuse for a mansion. What a fuckin’ mess.”
“We heard,” Sirius replies dryly. “What are we going to do about it?”
“Nothin’ we can do,” Negan shrugs. “They're adamant about staying here, even though they have no weapons and barely any supplies. They definitely don't have enough people to guard the walls and gate full time.”
“Not to mention, they wouldn't be able to watch their own backs at the same time,” Sirius thumbs the mansion, now much more menacing and ominous. “Wanna make a bet as to when those losers will decide the mansion’s too small?”
“Fuck, hadn't thought of that. We don't have the fire power or the manpower to take it, either.”
“We can't let them keep it, either,” Sirius ponders openly, almost prompting Negan to respond in a certain way.
Zoey huffs as the two fall into debate, elbowing Harry to gain his attention, “I'm bored. Let's explore.”
Harry definitely doesn't feel like sticking around, either. He's positive that Sirius and Negan would keep him and Zoey from anything they plan to do anyway. So there isn't much point in staying and listening. “Sure,” he replies quietly, urging her away from the two, who are now in deep discussion. Harry has no doubt Sirius can hear them but it's not like they'll be out of sight at all.
Harry glances back once, finding Sirius’ sharp gaze on him but otherwise still talking amicably.
Zoey immediately darts towards the teens, who are congregated at the back left corner of the grounds. Harry meanders along at his own pace, taking in the scant, neglected gardens and few chickens free ranging for bugs to eat. The grounds are pretty massive, bigger than what Sanctuary offers at ground level, anyway. It's great for a larger number of people but near impossible to maintain with so few.
“Come on, Harry!” Zoey calls impatiently, waving from the group of teens she somehow befriended in the scant minutes Harry was in his own head.
Harry waves but keeps a steady pace. It clearly annoys Zoey, which is a plus but more of a negative, seeing the teens rolling their eyes. There are two girls, brunette and raven, and a guy, blond. All are older than Zoey but debatable if they were older than Harry. Why they decided to meet up in the empty corner of the community is yet to be clear.
Harry pauses a moment to look at the mansion. He senses a flare of Will at one window on the second floor. If there are actually more people inside, they are beyond his range of sense. From what Harry can see, the curtain doesn't move but the Will he senses does fade away. It makes Harry feel uneasy.
“Hey,” Harry greets with a wave once he's close enough.
“Finally,” the guy rolls his eyes, looking Harry up and down. “Somethin’ wrong with your legs?”
Harry looks down at his own legs and shrugs, “Probably. They have issues listening sometimes.” Which is technically true, since they often rush into dangerous situations before his brain can catch up.
Zoey snorts, “Ignore him. He's a little special.”
Both of the girls giggle. The brunette replies with, “Hey, I'm Felicity.”
“Sam,” the raven gives a little wave.
Harry nods at both of them with a smile, “Harry but I suspect you already knew that.” He looks at the only other guy.
The blond catches on and straightens, “Rory.”
“Are you guys moving here or something?” Felicity asks curiously.
Zoey shakes her head, “Nope.”
“What are you doing here, then? If it isn't obvious, we're dealing with a lot of shit right now,” Rory asks aggressively.
Zoey hesitates, sharing a look with Harry before answering, “Didn't… Jesus tell you guys what the Summit was about?” Part of the vaccination agreement is full disclosure to their respective communities about the offer. It's the only part of the Summit each Leader was allowed to share for now. Once Sanctuary has gained a more solid, spacious foothold, will they begin near full transparency (as Zoey's secret will remain on the kitchen table like a noticeable, off colour stain that reminds them but baffles others).
Rory scoffs, “You mean that vaccination bullshit? Nobody but Jesus believes in that crap. Especially not now with everything going on.”
“Everyone knows Jesus made that up to get rid of Greg,” Felicity states confidently.
“Are you guys from Sanctuary?” Sam asks.
“Of course they are,” Felicity rolls her eyes at her friend. “We both saw Negan. Don't be dumb.”
“Who is that other guy that came with you?” Sam asks, ignoring her friend.
Zoey tilts her head, confused, “What guy? I'm like, one of two girls.”
“The-” Sam starts but Rory cuts her off, “It doesn't matter.”
“Hey!” Sam snaps, crossing her arms.
“It's not why we're here, Sam!” Rory exclaims with his hands emphasizing his point. He gives both of them a conspicuous look that they both quiet down at.
“Why are you here?” Zoey asks curiously.
“‘cause-” Sam goes to say but again, Rory cuts her off with, “None of your business.”
“Rory!” Sam hisses, stomping up to Rory, who flinches back with a terrified expression on his face. “Stop talking over me!”
“Sorry!” Rory yelps, dodging out of the way of the slap aimed at him. “Whoa!” he laughs nervously. “C'mon Sam-”
“Stop being a jerk, Rores,” Felicity says, crossing her own arms. “There's a secret entrance to the wine cellar where Greg keeps the alcohol. We're gonna sneak in and steal some. You guys seem cool, wanna come?”
“You guys are gonna sneak in to steal it?” Zoey asks, incredulous excitement leaking into her voice. “That's so cool!”
“And something you aren't going to have any part of,” Harry states, his hand on the side of her head and lightly pushing her off balance.
“Aw! By why!” Zoey almost whines but catches herself with a quick glance at the others. “I wanna sneak inside too!”
“And?” Harry prompts blandly.
“Come on, man,” Rory tempts boldly. “Stop being a coward.”
Sam and Felicity smirk, watching gleefully. Harry levels Rory with a flat look, “Don't drag others into your stupidity.” Harry is a hypocrite in this lifetime. His friends were more than happy to jump into stupid situations with Harry in his previous life, in school and after. However, the differences between then and now are many; namely, his friends had magic to defend themselves with and were well trained in using it. Harry highly doubts any of these teens can even survive out there for very long. At Rory's offended expression, Harry clarifies, “You guys do know everyone in there is armed, right?”
Rory rolls his eyes, “Yeah, we know. That's why we're sneaking in, duh.”
Somehow, Harry doesn't feel any faith in Rory's ability to sneak anywhere. Not to mention, there's no way Gregory isn't aware of the ‘secret’ entrance. Harry replies, “So I assume you have an actual plan?”
Rory perks up as if Harry agreed, nodding in excitement, “Well, yeah! So the cellar door is hidden behind the house in some bushes-”
“How do you know that?” Harry asks curiously.
Rory flushes, the pale of his skin going completely red as he glances shyly at Felicity. The brunette is half turned, face hidden behind her bangs. Sam's leer gives Felicity’s flustered state away.
“Anyway-” Rory's voice cracks and he flushes deeper, clearing his throat and over-deepening his voice to cover it up. “Like I was saying, in some bushes. No one else knows it's there.”
“Hm, how do you know it goes to the cellar?” Zoey asks, cleanly stepping out of Harry's reach as he tries to poke her. She gives him a haughty side eye for the attempt.
Both Felicity and Rory fail to not look at the other. They immediately turn away from the other as if burned. Rory, face flushing darker, scratches the back of his head as he laughs nervously, “Trust me. I know.”
Well, a hidden stairwell isn't the worst place to do that kind of stuff, Harry guesses. It's private and probably soundproof to an extent.
Sam is snickering and Felicity looks around as if to find a way to escape the embarrassing situation. Harry tries not to let his grossed out amusement show through and replies, “I see. I still don't think you should go in-”
“Argh! Just nevermind then, chicken!” Rory throws up his arms in contempt.
“Rory, I was going to say that you should show me where it is anyway.”
“Your makeup is so nice…” Harry hears Zoey tell the girls. “How do you even have any?”
Rory lights up again, “So? You in?”
“Oh, thanks! Uh, R-Rory found some for us the last time he went out,” Felicity replies.
Hearing an opportunity, Harry nods a lie and then turns to the girls, “Zoey's never had the chance to do her makeup.” She looks at him with wide, confused eyes as he gently pushes her forward. “Maybe you could show her?”
“Really?” Sam gasps, hand on her chest.
Her tone draws Zoey's attention, “What?”
Felicity's face brightens for an instant, then sobering. She winks at Sam and says, “That won't do, will it, Sam?”
Zoey glances between the two like she's tracking a ping-pong ball. Harry could almost see the cogs in her brain trying to make the connection between Harry's out of nowhere comment and their reaction.
Sam sighs and shakes her head, “No, it wont, Fe.”
“Okay, Shortie. Come on,” Felicity boldly reaches out and manhandles the suddenly terrified Zoey into turning around. Hands plant themselves over her shoulder blades and start pushing. Gently, as Zoey's shock disallows her the will to resist and she goes placidly. As Sam marches after them, Zoey's adorable, confused expression nearly cracks Harry right up. His poor sister doesn't know what just happened.
Rory frowns after them, “Hey! Where are you guys going? I thought we were gonna-”
“It's a girl thing!” Felicity calls back.
“Yeah, you’d never understand!” Sam supplies with a laugh.
Rory's offended expression draws a snicker from Harry. He remembers Ginny and Lily bonding over make-up. Harry doesn't know why it seems to bring girls together but it works. Though Harry is sure Felicity is just taking the chance to escape an awkward situation, now Zoey will be busy with making friends. Which is much better than sneaking into a basement of a building filled with armed men for some alcohol. Rory frowns at Harry.
“Hey! Wait a minute-!” Zoey's voice comes moments later, actually making Harry crack up laughing. His amusement reluctantly draws out a few chuckles from Rory, despite his earlier ire.
“Okay, whatever, I guess. Come on,” Rory shakes his head and turns. Harry looks over his shoulder, almost immediately finding Sirius still watching him. Harry subtly jerks his head and follows Rory around the back of the house.
Harry senses five Will's inside, three upstairs - one is flickering dangerously - and two down as they creep close to the mansion wall to keep from being seen. The bushes are lined up about ten feet from the back, so as soon as Rory peeks around to give the all clear, they book it to the bush line. Rory keeps going but Harry stops, crouching down to hide and looking back towards the mansion. A third Will joins the two in the same room, with a fourth on the way.
“Come on!” Rory whispers harshly.
Harry turns away, the unease increasing. It feels like-Rory grabs Harry's arm and whispers, “Don't fuck this up for me, man.”
“What are you talking about?” Harry asks, bewildered and utterly distracted by Rory's apropos of nothing. He gestures impatiently, breaking Rory's grip on his arm, “We don't have time for this! Go on!”
Rory huffs, “No, man. I'm telling you, this is probably gonna get me laid tonight. Don't you try to fuck shit up for me.”
Harry pauses, tilting his head at Rory, “Are you seriously sneaking down there for a chance to shag? Are you bloody kidding me?”
Rory scowls, scoffing as he looks Harry up and down, “Says the virgin.”
Harry flushes horribly against his will, “What does that-I don't-why are we talking about this? Can we please focus on finding the bloody thing-door-entrance thing and not-not whatever the hell we somehow got to?” Seriously, what the bloody hell are Americans made of? Why are they all so blunt and strange?
“I'm just sayin’,” Rory throws up his hands, smirking meanly. He waves Harry along as he heads into the thin bush, “Come on.”
Harry follows, trying to will the heat from his face. They hit the fence rather quickly, the wall having been erected through bush land because there wasn't time to cut it all away. The windows on the back of the mansion would have been a major security risk for invasion of any kind had they built the fence differently.
“It's around here somewhere!” Rory states confidently while unsurely examining the bush floor.
“I thought you said you knew where it was?” Harry asks, now doubting the teen.
“I do! Okay?” Rory insists, scratching his arm and resolutely not looking at Harry. “It-Fe and I were… look, it was just the once, okay? We were hanging out, then making out and then we stumbled over this… this-this-I don't know! Manhole? Thing? In the ground? We went down and…” Rory shrugs.
“So we have to stumble over it again?” Harry asks sarcastically.
Rory huffs, “It's not like we were paying attention to our surroundings okay? It's safe here!”
“That’s comforting,” Harry quips, shaking his head. “Well, where did you guys walk from?”
Rory lights up, raising a finger to point at Harry, “Genius! Following my own footsteps. Let's do that. Uh… so we came from over there,” Rory points in a vague direction. Harry wonders how accurate this guy is going to be. Rory looks around some more and grins, “Oh! I remember! Come on! Over there is where we started making out!”
Harry makes a face, “How romantic.”
“Shut up,” Rory shoots back, rolling his eyes. “It's not like we have much privacy in this tiny place. Greg didn't like anyone in his house. I just wanted to be with my girlfriend, alright?”
Harry raises his hands in surrender, “Alright, mate, you made your point. Can we get on with it?”
Rory shrugs but does, letting the matter drop, “Fine. Come on, I think I remember where we ended up.” Rory turns away, heading along the wall.
Harry shakes his head and goes to follow when he's suddenly grabbed from behind. A hand covers his mouth before he could call out. Harry immediately begins struggling, feeling a bolt of pure terror and adrenaline as he's lifted off his feet. Harry kicks and grunts, straining against his much larger captor. A bald man passes them to go after Rory. Harry yells a muffled warning into the hand covering his mouth. Another man comes around to Harry's front and, after a brief fight with Harry's flailing legs, manages to immobilize them. Harry is promptly carted back through the bush, wriggling like a worm.
Where the bloody fuck did they come from?!
Immediately, Harry senses their bright Wills. How had he missed them? They can't know how to hide it because they don't even know it exists! So how did they slip beneath his notice? Harry's mind flashes back to the window, where he had felt the Wills congregating. That familiar unease-
Rory had distracted him.
Bloody hell, Sir’ is going to kill me!
Harry yelps as he is hoisted up, where hands grab him and quickly pull him up. Harry passes through a window - shite, they're bringing me inside! Harry experiences an abrupt panic attack that allows him renewed fervour to escape.
“Let me go!” Harry yells, his training taking over. He punches one hand at an off angle. His right arm and leg hits the floor, the second man slipping and grunting at the unintended drag. Harry whips his leg up and nails the man in the cheek with the tip of his shoe. Harry hits the floor entirely and scrambles to his feet, narrowly avoiding being grabbed by the first. The second man hits the floor unconscious, ignored by the first as he tries to grab Harry again.
“Come here!” The scraggly man lunges but as Harry dodges, he realizes it's a feint as he stumbles right into someone else. Harry had had his back to the window and didn't see the others climb back in.
“Ha! Got you!”
“No!” Harry grunts ferally, shaking in fear and exhaustion as he tries to get away again. However, he's easily immobilized and they tie his hands with a long strip carelessly torn cloth from the curtains. “What do you guys want?” Harry asks, panting. His fists are clenched, trying to contain the panic attack threatening to overwhelm him again.
“Shut up, let's go!”
Two men haul Harry up by his arms and as they drag him from the room, he realizes they have Rory, too. The other teen is unconscious, limp in their uncaring grip. What are they doing with him?
“Wait!” Harry gasps, his vision blurring. Not another fancy hallway, the Commune had too many, it was too clean - He digs his heels into the white floor. “Please wait! Let me go!” The click of heels on immaculate floors echoes so loudly that Harry can't tell where it's coming from.
The Matron is coming-
The men hoist him up higher, carrying him to a set of stairs. He's put back on his feet for a second before his legs are grabbed and he's hauled up the stairs like a skinny sack of potatoes. Harry struggles, yelling. “No! I won't go! No!”
“Would you like to do this the easy way or the hard way?”
“Shut up, kid!” One grunts, sounding aggravated. They reach the top of the stairs, where Harry twists harshly in a bid to escape. Their grips fumble and Harry falls to the hard floor. Instantly, he scrambles to his feet, making a break for it.
He doesn't get far. Harry shouts as he's grabbed again, nearly wrenching his own shoulder out in his blind panic. This can't be happening again! No, no, no, no, no-
“-nonononono-” Harry hyperventilates, his lungs burning. He starts sagging in exhaustion.
“Calm the fuck down!”
Harry's face whips to the side, the sting accentuating the sound of a palm meeting cheek. Static fuzzes the edges of his eyes as the panic abruptly recedes, mute terror and helplessness bolting through his veins. Harry's heart is hammering in his chest, threatening to jump right out and tap dance on the floor in front of him.
“You with me now, Harry?”
Confusion has Harry looking up. The man before him is… somewhat familiar, though Harry can't put his finger on it. Their Will is nonexistent. “Who-?”
The man's face darkens and he scoffs, “The Quarry?”
Harry pales. Merlin, how many times will the Quarry come back to bite him in the arse? Harry probably vaccinated more than three dozen people and more than half of those he never got properly acquainted with. Did the man even introduce himself before blindly trusting Harry's word?
“So he does remember. Swell,” the man snaps coldly. He looks at the two holding Harry, “Take him to the boss. He's waiting.”
Harry's breath stutters, “Wait-!”
He's ignored. They take him down the hall to a door on the right. The flickering Will Harry had sensed is beyond the door, with a solid Will right behind it and another off to the side.
***
As soon as the door opens and Harry sees what's beyond, he instantly recoils. Grunts and pants waft over from the couch in the middle of the room. They force Harry through the door and the two dragging Rory's unconscious body follow after. Then, the door is closed and locked. Harry studiously keeps his eyes on the floor, horrified for the poor woman bent over the back of the couch. Her arms are tied behind her back, wrists raw and blood soaking the cloth. She's staring at the man tied up in the corner, who is silently crying and glaring. The man thrusting into the woman sighs in disappointment as he pulls out, smacking her ass. She just flinches, not moving.
***
“Finally. For fuck sakes, bring him here,” the man gestures impatiently. His Will is strong and very bright, if feeling tainted. As Harry is pushed forward, he feels sick when he sees the blood on the man's lower abdomen and genitals. Sirius had been right. The naked man studies Harry closely, “Johnson told me about you. Heal her, now.”
The woman's Will goes out.
“No,” Harry states firmly.
The man, whom Harry assumes is the Boss, tilts his head dramatically at Harry. He has curly, wild brown hair and a thick neckbeard. His eyes are squinting, as if trying to see something that isn't there. Then, he shrugs and nods, “Fair. Okay then, bring the kid.”
Harry grits his teeth as Rory is thrown into view, the impact with the floor waking him up. He rouses with a groan as the Boss grabs a gun. It's a handgun with a homemade muffler secured with time-worn duck tape.
“Let's start again,” the Boss says casually as he checks the mag. Harry can see that it's loaded. “My name is Don. I'm in charge here. If I say jump, you don't say how high, you just jump. And if you don’t,” Don pops the mag back in, cocks the gun and points it at Rory's terrified face. “People will start dying. Do I make myself clear?”
Harry grimaces, cut between what’s in store for him and Rory’s safety.
Don glares at Harry and then shoots. Rory cries out in terror and throws his arms up to cover his face as the floor next to his head blows up. The woman flinches and whimpers but doesn’t move from her bent position.
“I said,” Don snarls, deliberately shifting his aim. “Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes,” Harry answers succinctly through his teeth. Rory is whimpering and cowering, trying in vain to plead for his life.
“Heal her,” Don’s aim doesn’t waver.
Wishing the man would at least put on a pair of shorts, Harry steps closer to the woman. She flinches and begins trembling, her Will still snuffed. Harry fists his hands and says, “My powers don't work if she doesn't want it.”
“What the fuck kinda shit lie is that?” Don asks derisively. “You think I'm gonna believe that?”
“I can't,” Harry emphasizes, trying to keep his tone placid. It's hard, his heart is pounding and if his hands weren't so tightly clenched, he would be trembling. This is what he feared when it came to those bikers; being made to heal people for their sick, nasty pleasure. “She wants to die.”
The woman twists her head to look at Harry in shock. So does the man tied in the corner.
“What are you doing, man?!” Rory demands, his voice thin and reedy. “Just fucking-”
“Shut up!” Don pulls the trigger.
Rory gasps, clutching his chest where blood blooms and spurts forth like a flowery fountain. Harry lunges to heal him but he's grabbed by the forgotten men behind him. He yells, “No! Let me heal him!”
“Heal her!!” Don demands harshly, gesturing with his head. Harry is thrown back towards the trembling woman. Harry recovers in moments and when he looks back-
"You remind me of a mouse…"
Gene lay still, head turned towards Harry, a line of blood dripping from the neat hole in his forehead.
“... I don't like mice.”
“She doesn't want to live! I can't! Please!” Harry pleads, desperately making another attempt to save Eugene. He probably doesn't have the magic for it but he's sure going to try. This wasn't supposed to happen!
Don growls, aiming the gun. Eugene whimpers in terror and pain.
“No!” Harry lunges, getting caught again. They slam him to the floor roughly. Eugene's movements begin slowing down. Harry breaks down and begs, “Please, please! He doesn't need to die!”
“He doesn't need to die.”
Matron shrugs her delicate shoulders, “And?”
“He wouldn't be dying right now if you healed her.”
“I can't!” Harry snaps desperately, sagging into the floor. It disgusts him how weak he is, how easy it is for him to be overpowered. Helpless; it gnaws at him like rats on fresh carrion. “Eugene!”
Eugene's face is turned down, wide, terrified eyes locked onto Harry. He's becoming ghostly white, no longer moving in fear but still with a deathly rattle to his breath. His chest bleeds sluggishly… Harry can practically feel the seconds counting down.
Matron steps in front of Harry and takes a knee. She reaches out and the sensation of a large meaty hand grabbing a handful of his hair shatters the memory. The overwhelming scent of copper and sex makes Harry's stomach roil dangerously as his head is wrenched up. He gasps in breathless pain, feeling something rip in his hip.
The door bursts open at the same time Don speaks and his words, whatever they may have been, are cut off. A sudden bang. Everyone freezes; Don's hand loosens, dropping on his side. Harry just narrowly avoids braining himself on the floor.
“Unhand my Godson,” Sirius states, each word dripping deadly, poisonous promises. When no one moves, he grits out impatiently, “Now.”
Both of the men holding Harry down back off. Harry scrambles to his feet and practically flies over the corpse to Rory, who is barely hanging on.
“Stay with me, Rory!” Harry pleads, placing his hands on Rory's chest. Uncaring of the strain on his reserves, Harry pushes to heal the damage before Rory can succumb.
“Over here! I will shoot your dicks if you try anything.” Sirius sounds deranged, Harry has to admit but the threat is effective. “Please, please do this the hard way.”
Harry flinches, his concentration wavering. Rory groans, his life fluttering on a thin strand. Harry shakes his head and focuses, unwilling to lose the teen because of some distraction.
I'm not at the Commune! Focus!
It quickly becomes known to Harry that even if he does heal the wound, Rory wouldn't have enough blood for his heart to pump. He doesn't have enough magic to heal the wound and force the body to make more blood now. With his waning magic, he pushes Rory's body into producing more blood, hoping to give Rory time for more help to arrive.
“Hey! In here!” One suddenly yells. Harry flinches again when the gun goes off. The man begins screaming; Sirius must have fulfilled his promise.
“Oh, there's no need for that~!” Sirius sings songs. “No one is coming!”
No one is-
Harry faintly wonders if Sirius left any survivors.
“Are you going to behave now? Yes? Good. Here, put these on. Nuh! Don't you look at him. I bloody warned you!”
The impact of steel on flesh and the resulting grunt is ignored.
The wall of his limit came up hard and fast. Even expecting it, it was a surprise. Harry just barely cuts off his magic in time to stop himself from passing out. He feels absolutely exhausted and knows he's going to crash soon. He's surprised he's still awake, with how hard he pushed himself. Unfortunately, he just doesn't have enough in him to even close the wound. He hopes-
“Harry,” Sirius pulls the unresisting teen into a desperate hug. “Thank Merlin you're alright.” Harry can feel Sirius’ heart pounding and how his Godfather's limbs shake, even as they squeeze him. Harry barely registers it, still reeling.
“Harry?” Sirius pulls back and kneels in front of him, hunching down to look into Harry's eyes intently, “You okay, Pup?”
“Rory-”
“He's fine, help is coming. Are you okay?”
Harry feels an unexpected surge of emotion that he wasn't ready for. He didn't want any of this. He had agreed to go with Rory because he wanted to hand the problem off to someone else to deal with. Namely, Sirius because it's been clear that his Godfather wanted to do something about it. Harry very nearly lived through one of his personal nightmares. He had nearly become an instrument to hurt people…
… And how close Zoey was to being dragged in to see this, for his sister to be-
Harry throws up. It's so sudden that Sirius is splashed with the foul smelling liquid. Chunks of undigested junk food spills out, piling with wet, disgusting squelches just barely audible beneath Harry's retching. Sirius sighs, placing a bracing hand on Harry's back and slowly beginning to rub, “Let it out, Pup. You're okay, now.”
Thundering footsteps are heard seconds before the door slams open again. Harry flinches, nearly choking on his own spew as Negan makes a loud, dramatic entrance. His face is screwed up in deep anger, his sledgehammer dripping with blood.
“Finally,” Negan states, lowering his hammer in relief. He steps into the room, a Savior stepping in with him. Negan starts barking orders, “Grab the kid, get him to Harlan, yesterday. You and you, take them to the others. Apply just enough first aid to that fucker to keep him alive. Sirius, are there any more?”
Sirius shakes his head, pulling Harry up and away from his sickness. Harry spies the woman and man cuddling into each other, both still bound but clearly relieved.
“Is Zoey in here?” Negan demands shortly.
Harry shakes his head, relieved for that at least. Negan sets his hammer head down, leaving the handle to stand straight as he approaches Harry.
“Thank God,” Negan breathes, wrapping Harry in a tight embrace. Harry had been expecting it but-
Negan's hugs feel different than Sirius’. Harry unconsciously relaxes, tucking his face into Negan's chest. His arms come up on their own volition to hug the older man back. The comfort from that single hug was enough to centre Harry back to the present. He's in Hilltop, not the Commune. Hilltop. He's fine. Zoey's fine.
Negan pulls back a little, a hand coming up to cup the side of Harry's head, “Please don't do that to me, Harry. I was starting to get nightmares about Lucille killing me for this.”
Sirius snorts. Harry chuckles weakly, pulling away entirely and discreetly wiping his cheeks, “You won't be dying today, Negan.”
“Thank fuck for that,” Negan grins, going back to his hammer. The blood had congealed some in those few moments, so when he picks it up, it makes a sticky sound. “We're missing a few, probably hiding around in one of the rooms. We're going to do a more thorough check. Sirius, you take Harry out of here.”
“Yes, sir,” Sirius salutes sarcastically and then motions to the two near the wall, who have been released from their binds. “You might want to question them before you go parading around the house.”
Negan glances at them and nods, “Good idea. You, make sure the others are secure.”
Sirius pulls Harry forward enough for the teen to start walking for the door. Negan takes off his jacket and approaches the two fearfully huddled together. Harry looks at the man and woman, who stare back, their gazes following him until the door cuts them off.
Harry's ears ring. He blinks sluggishly, his surroundings greying out like static. Barely a few feet down the hall, Harry's legs give out and consciousness flees.