Similar Shadows

“What is your full name?” The pale woman with a tight bun said. They have had this same conversation every day for the past 14 days. Harry knew people had bad memories but he’d never met someone with this bad of one. The woman who was allowed to ask a 13-year-old boy the same questions every day had glaring eyes that Harry thought would bulge out of her head if that bun was any tighter.
“I don’t know, I think bloody child prisoner might be a good fit for me, you agree?” Harry said back, articulating the “bloody child prisoner” part.
“Count backward from ten for me.”
The woman said in response. Her eyes rolled at Harry, half out of annoyance and other from the exhaust.
“I thought you guys were child-kidnapping perverts, not my fucking math teacher?” Harry spat back.
He had gotten ridiculously sick of this interview each day, making sure he was not some crank. Harry was pretty positive he was not eating people or had fungi growing from his balls. Whoever these people here were (Harry assumed they were phoenix members) they seemed stumped about how he was bitten and not foaming at the mouth. Harry thought it was a pretty simple problem, he got bitten and he didn’t go batshit crazy which means he’s either the antichrist or immune. Seemed like a really easy problem right? Not, because he had been chained to a window and asked the colors and numbers like he was 5 every 6 hours for the past two weeks.. Either Harry was a genius or the brain cells of the overall not-infected population was below zero. Harry thought both were pretty equally probable.
“Answer the question appropriately or we will continue to ask you.” The woman stated after releasing a long sigh, she was not a fan of Harry.
“I’m gonna be here either way, Jennifer? You look like Jennifer or maybe Victoria. Both are pretentious names for very pretentious women.” Harry snarky said back, trying to entertain himself.
“Looks like our baby is learning some big words, who taught you that big vocabulary sweetheart?” The women mocked back, seemingly tired of being verbally attacked by a 13-year-old. They had had these back-and-forth verbal showdowns every day. It was the one not-boring part of Harry's day.

“Hogwarts, a lovely military school that teaches you how to fire a bullet into assholes' foreheads.” Harry retorted back. Half of what he just said to her was true, he did go to Hogwarts but he was not capable of knowing how to aim a gun, even fire it.
“That’s real nice, maybe if you make it out of here they might let you get shot by one.” She said back, mocking him before turning her back and walking to the door but before she left she turned to Harry and said,
“Also Harry, my names is Alice, not Victoria just so you know”

She smiled and walked out and then whispered to one of the guards a mouthful of words Harry didn’t bother trying to understand.
Alice. Huh, Harry didn’t originally see her as Alice but now it made sense he supposed.

Her name reminded him of that one book he used to read. At one of his residentials, there was a woman there named Mary and she always read the best books. She read books about cats and a book with a girl named Alice, just like the guard. Except for this Alice was much more interesting. Mary was always nice to Harry too. He didn’t call her Mary though, not until years later. At this residential, he called her Miss. Mcdonald and that was where he met Ron and Hermione. He missed them very much. They were his best friends. The only friends he's known for more than a few months.

No, Harry shouldn't think about them. He couldn’t afford to think about them right now. It would just make him worry if they had been bitten or shot down or never even made it to the first safe spot. The worst part about it was all those possibilities were probably true. Ron and Hermione were tough but nobody lasts forever out there without outside help.
Harry needed to get out of there.
–
The sky was darkening and Harry was anticipating the daily scrutiny of his intelligence but it never came. Usually, when Harry thinks it's about time he gets poked and prodded, Alice storms in and investigates what he has been doing which again Harry must point out is so fucking pointless. He has been doing so much while being CHAINED TO WINDOW, really living a wildlife looking at the sky changing colors, and counting the gunshots in the walls. What Harry didn’t think about while being holed up in there was that the walls might look a lot nicer with a few more bullets in them. The gang that attacked them did. They had a whole interior design plan of wrecking the place.
Bullets fired until they found a person to lodge themselves into and nobody stopped firing until all the bullets had found a home, inside somebody else or themselves. Harry groaned. Great! This is where he dies, in a run-down building chained to a floral-printed window sill. Lovely.

“Hey, they got some fucking kid in here!” Harry shot up to look at a man, standing in the doorway, pointing his gun straight at Harry.
“Oh fuck.” Harry muttered, this was the end. He would die in a disgusting motel surrounded by dust mites and ugly floral wallpaper. What did he ever do to deserve this?
“Well, get over with it and shoot him? We gotta get out of here before FEDRA tears the place down!” A distant deep voice shouts back.
“How about we don’t shoot the unarmed 13-year-old? Just like a thought, maybe he’d like to live?” Harry nervously said back. He knew his argument didn’t look so good but maybe some charismatic charm might prevent a bullet in between his eyes.
“I’m sorry kid,” The man in the doorway said before aiming his gun.

Shit, shit, shit, shit.
A gunshot echoed down the hall and propelled itself straight into the man's skull, causing him to hit the floor with a thud.
Harry quickly stood up,hands reaching for the gun that layed in front of him. The man after being fortunately shot had the gun in his hands fall out and slid across the floor right across from Harry. Harry slowly tip-toed as far as he could before trying to move the gun toward him without alerting the very dangerous shooter in the hallway. Bullets were firing in the background and Harry knew soon enough they’d find him. He didn’t know how to shoot a gun but he was a quick learner when it depends on whether he dying or not.

The shooting suddenly stopped,w hich means either everyone is dead, or Harry is next on the psychotic shooter's list. Harry tried to quietly slide the gun just a little bit more to the right. He could almost grasp it, just one more inch.
“Harry, put your hands up, right now.” a familiar voice said, it was Alice. Really? Out of all the people that could have lived, it had to be her. Right, because the universe just really hates him.
Harry had two options, put his hands up and maybe get sho,t or grab the gun and risk the chance of getting shot and also shooting Alice and the other psychotic shooter.
“Heard you loud and clear Alice. Just one second I’ve got like an awful back, you’ll understand you're pretty old right?” Harry replied. Alice sighed.
He slowly lifted himself to. Was he gonna do this? Yes, yes he was.

Harry kicked the gun, then ducked and grabbed it in his hands aiming it at Alice and the man beside her. Harry wasn’t expecting the crazy shooter to look like a disheveled young man. The man had black hair in a ponytail with strands of white here and there. He had dark gray eyes that stared down at Harry and a long scar across the right side of his face. There w as also a tall woman next to him. She had long braids and dark skin. She was dressed in protective black gear and had a tattoo along her collarbone and neck. It looked to be an assortment of flowers but it was so faded Harry couldn’t tell.

“You said he was smart,” The woman with the tattoo muttered to Alice as she seemed to examine Harry.
“He is Dorcas, just frightened for right now,” Alice replied, turning back to look at Harry. Alice just called the woman Dorcas. The name felt familiar like he had heard it a few times before but he couldn’t place it. Harry looked back and forth between Alice and Dorcas, trying to decide his next plan.
“Harry put the gun down. I know you have no clue how to shoot it so don’t even try.” Alice said to Harry, saying it as if he was a 3-year-old who found a lighter.
“You don’t know that! I could shoot a bullet between all of your foreheads right now!” Harry shouted back, trying to seem confident but he knew he was failing miserably.
“Yeah, you can try to do that as soon as you flip the fire switch on and just a tip, the red dot coming out of the gun is where the bullet goes and right now the bullet is going to go straight in that poppy print behind us,” Dorcas said, correcting Harry.
“I know how this works, I put my gun down, you have to put your guns down too,” Harry replied. All the military officers that bossed him around words were ringing in his ears, “Don’t surrender, show you have control!” Harry wished he had paid a little more attention to those lessons and the athletic activities they offered. “Don’t surrender, show you have control,” Harry muttered to himself like a prayer.
“ They're not here to hurt you, Harry. We both know there's something special about you that could save us all so please put the gun down and I’ll have them put theirs down too. Trust me Harry” Alice said back.
Harry knew he shouldn’t surrender but he also knew that Alice wouldn’t feed him and waste resources healing him if she didn’t have a plan for him that wasn’t killing him. What did she mean by him ”saving us all”? Did she really think he could stop the infection because he was immune? Harry had thought about it but then again a cure seemed out of the question in his mind. The world had only ever existed to Harry as dangerous and full of infected. He had only ever dreamed of living before the infection but it never crossed his mind as a possibility.
“On the count of three” Harry spoke back, “three,” Their not lowering their guns, “two,” why aren’t they lowering their guns? “One,” After Harry said “one” many things took place, one of them was Harry dropping his gun and lunging at Dorcas and the strange man with his pocket knife in hand. The second event that took place was Dorcas grabbing and twisting his arm til the pocket knife slipped from his grasp as Harry collapsed to the floor.
‘“He’s gonna save us all Alice”’ Dorcas sarcastically said, mocking Alice’s previous statements as she peered down at Harry who was still trying to make sure his arm wasn’t detached from his body.
“Oh bloody hell, give me a break Cas! All you have to do is get him to the Phoenix group down North so stop complaining.” Alice annoyingly replied. North? Why were they taking him North? And why did Alice decide that these two were the perfect pair for delivering a very delicate child?
“Hold up! I didn’t agree with this, not once was it brought up that I would be kidnapped from my kidnappers and then taken to another group of kidnappers, also c’mon Alice, them? Did you just find the first two assholes with guns and gave them the job?” Harry complained as he sat himself up and rubbed his arm to just check if it hadn’t turned purple. Harry now knew to never try to run away from her or he’ll run out of limbs quickly.
“Oh quit your whining Harry! I didn’t get you some random hobos!” Alice said, grimacing back at the two, said, “They might look like it, but they're the best out there that can make sure you get there alive, and right now that's the goal.”
“Gee thanks Alice, it was great knowing you thought we looked like hobos for the last 20 years,” Dorcas snarkily said.
“Don’t even, if you don’t wanna be confused for hobos, don’t dress like it, and anyways that comment was mainly directed at Reg,” Alice retorted back, still gazing down at Harry.
Harry slowly picked himself up and lifted his hands. Harry assumed Reg was the man next to Dorcas. Reg was pretty fitting for him, Harry thought. He had yet to speak whatsoever and had his eyes pinned on Harry ever since he appeared in the doorway.
“The quiet ones Reg?” Harry questioned Alice as he motioned his head over to the man next to her.
“Regulus. You don’t call me Reg,” the dark-haired man finally said. His voice was rough and not necessarily deep but when you heard it, you could almost hear all the things that happened to him that made him this way. It made a shiver go up Harry’s spine as he looked into Regulus’ eyes.
“Reg,” Dorcas whispered to him, jabbing him in the arm with her elbow as she looked similar to a disappointed older sister. Regulus just shoved her and her disappointment off and muttered a few curses to himself as he seemed to be revising the life decisions that brought him here.

“Regulus got it,” Harry finally said, his eyes still staring at Regulus.
“Okay, since we're all on,” Alice faltered, not wanting each other dead terms and that at any moment FEDRA will break in and try to kill us. I say it's time for you guys to get going.” Alice said, seeming to be rushing the two.
“Give us one second Alice” Regulus said before grabbing Dorcas by the shoulders and leading her aside,”
Alice rolled her eyes as Harry and she listened to their whispered bickering.
“Dorcas? I’m not-” Regulus argued but was interrupted by Dorcas arguing back “Reg, I know why you don’t want to do this and we’re doing it anyway, all we have to do is get him down near the museum and then we get all the supplies we need to go North, think about it. This is our only chance and we both know it,” then there was a long pause before Regulus and Dorcas appeared in the doorway.
“We’ll do it,” Dorcas said, staring down at Harry.
“Then you guys better leave, FEDRA is closing in. There's a door down the staircase to the left, it will lead you out to the back, go through the back alley and you’ll find a hole in the wall on the south. If you get past the patrols, you’ll be fine, most of FEDRA will be trying to kill Alice Longbottom.” Alice said as shooting started to fire against the building's structure.

“Harry, grab your bag, I packed a few supplies in there,” Alice directed to Harry as she tossed the set of keys that fit into his handcuff lock. Harry snatched the keys midair and scrambled to jam the key into the lock. He had forgotten the feeling of having a free right hand and desperately wanted it back. As soon as was free he crawled over to the green bag Alice had dropped down across from him the day before. He threw the bag on his back as he stood up, eager to get the hell out of his prison.

Bullets and tank weaponry started to shake the building which was the red flare to get out.
“We need to leave now,” Dorcas commanded as she grabbed the black bag she left next to her feet and ushered Harry behind her.
Harry rushed over but before he followed Dorcas, Alice stopped him.
“And Harry, stay safe. Don’t pull any stubborn heroic shit okay?” Alice said. Harry wouldn’t have believed it 30 minutes ago but Alice was crying over him. He didn’t think she cared about him, he thought she was just stuck assessing because of her boss.
“Got it Victoria,” Harry said back, staring back into Alice’s watery eyes.
“We gotta go,” Dorcas shouted to the two of them as she fired at the FEDRA soldiers who were trying to break into one of the staircases. The walls were shaking and constant firing and fighting filled the once lonely yet familiar quiet of the motel.
“Go Harry,” Alice whispered into his ear as she wrapped her arms around him.
And just like that, Harry followed Dorcas down the far stairwell as bullets flew past him. He looked behind and saw Regulus at the top of the stairs shooting back at the soldiers as a bomb flew by him, destroying the room he was just trapped in.
“Harry! Move!” Dorcas shouted at him, as she stood against the building's back exit, opening it for him.
Two weeks, Harry spent here and for all that time he wanted to leave but what he never thought to realize is the reason why he might leave. He didn’t think that he’d leave the building by escaping FEDRA agents with two strangers who Alice trusts with his life. He never thought that Alice actually cared about him either.
Harry, for the first time in a while, stepped into the sun’s light and even though he was being chased by FEDRA and was cooped up in a moldy motel, he was glad to be alive.
He was glad he was able to step through the dismantled door and run behind Dorcas as they raced to hide behind a stack of destroyed vehicles. He was glad he wasn’t the masked man in the doorway that tried to kill him because that man would never be able to escape from that room, but Harry could and Harry did.
—
“I’ve spent the last 7 years here with you Reg, please I never asked you to leave or move on and help with the order. This is the one thing I’m asking you to do” Dorcas said, her eyes pleading.
She knew what she was asking him to do and she knew he could do it.
Regulus closed his eyes and ran his hands down his face before surrendering and muttering, “fine,”
Dorcas softly smiled before leaning toward Regulus.
“One last time,” She whispered into his ear, “One last time,” he whispered back before pulling away and walking toward the door.
“We do it,” Dorcas said, turning toward Alice.
Dorcas turned to look at Regulus, could they do it? Dorcas didn’t doubt that they’d get Harry to the phoenix safe spot but would both Dorcas and Regulus make it there alive? They had made the trip before in previous years but the infection population surrounding Boston had grown and they were out of practice. Was it even a question? Dorcas deep down knew both of them weren’t making it there alive and when she looked into Regulus’ eyes, she knew he thought the same. One last time. They can do it one last time.

Bullets started to shake the building's foundation which was their signal to leave.
“We need to leave now!” Dorcas shouted at Alice and Harry as she motioned to Reg to block the center stairwell. Dorcas joined Regulus in firing at the soldiers in the staircase but that would only buy them a few seconds. FEDRa was now firing shock bombs on the building. They needed to get out.
“We gotta go!” Dorcas shouted again, turning back to Harry and readying to cover him. Alice looked up and stared at Dorcas before mouthing to her, “keep him safe” before pulling the machine gun off her back and firing back at the FEDRA agents armed outside.
“Goodbye Alice,” Dorcas whispered before pulling Harry down the hall.

The curly-haired boy quickly followed behind Dorcas as she propped the far staircase open. The structure was still shaking and was bound to collapse at any moment. They needed to leave now.
Dorcas quickly raced down the stairwell’s steps and found the dismantled exit door Alice mentioned. She pushed herself against it and opened it just enough to be able to crawl through.
“Harry! Move!” Dorcas shouted back at the boy.

He was standing there, seemingly shocked at the idea of meeting the real world again. Dorcas knew the look on his face, Marlene had the same look when Dorcas rescued her. It was one of the last memories of her in Dorcas’ mind and she held onto it like a lost child holding onto their stuffed animal. She couldn't help but notice the similarities between her and Harry. Their snarky sarcasm and uneven smirks. Dorcas refused to search for any more besides those two. She needed to make sure he was safe first.

Dorcas slipped through the door after Harry and then helped Regulus, who ran down the stairs as well before dashing toward an abandoned pile of cars.
FEDRA was gaining on them and they had little time before they would catch up. Dorcas looked through the possible options, The sun was setting so they would be able to get over without waiting. Alice was right, going down through the alleys was the safest option for right now.
“Stay low and quiet, we're going to go down through the alleys, that’ll lead us to the hole in the south wall,”Dorcas whispered to Harry and Reg as they huddled behind the cars. Regulus looked taken back by the route but didn’t disagree so it was a go.
“Follow my lead Harry and stay quiet,” Dorcas said, reminding Harry.
“Heard you loud and clear” He loudly whispered back, adjusting his glasses with his sleeve.
“Oh for fucks sake, who taught you to be quiet?” Dorcas whispered back at the fumbling 13-year-old.
Dorcas slowly tip-toed over to the edge of the car pile before pointing at the alley across from them. Reg nodded back and set up to cover them as they crossed.
Slowly Dorcas stood and checked behind her to make sure Harry was ready. He smiled and thumbs upped her, signaling he was ready to go. Dorcas rolled her eyes at the boy's genuine innocence.
Quickly Dorcas ducked and ran to the alley's first wall, leaning her back on it as she propped her gun up ready to cover Harry. She signaled Harry to come over and nodded at Reg. The boy ran straight toward Dorcas before flopping against the wall.
Dorcas turned to lean over the building's wall, several soldiers were making a b line toward them. Dorcas quickly started shooting back, waving over at Reg to go. Reg ducked and shot a few bullets before quickly dashing over against the wall.
They needed to leave before the FEDRA soldiers figured out their route.
“Follow me, we have to hurry,” Dorcas said, turning towards the both of them.
Dorcas started running down the alley and stopping at every opening to check for soldiers before waving at Reg to Hary that it was safe.

The alleys were notorious for border deals and only inhabited by homeless or people buying illegally brought-over supplies. Dorcas and Regulus after retiring from Phoenix had started doing border deals to get by since they already had the experience.
It had been a while since Dorcas went in the alleys with the goal of border crossing so she was a little uneasy bringing a 13-year-old who had no coordination or formal training to one of the city's most dangerous areas. She knew Reg felt the same but for vastly different reasons.
If she was being honest, she thought Reg would refuse to go on this mission. Dorcas knew he would never be okay with what happened and she knew that Harry was just another painful reminder of it.

Slowly and carefully the group made their way through the thicker parts of the alley and made it securely to the south wall’s hole. At the hole, they stopped for a brief few minutes to secure the plan.
“Should we go down the main street or go the south route, the south will take longer but we haven’t been through the main street in years and there's a chance it's swarming with infection,” Dorcas whispered to Reg, but she knew it was a hopeless cause. He still had his eyes glued to the young boy, every noise set him off reaching for his gun.
“South,” Regulus replied to Dorcas stiffly.
“Reg,” Dorcas said quietly. It seemed to get his attention slightly.
“Cas,” Reg replied, his eyes locking with Dorcas’
The two stared at each other, not needing words to discuss what they were both thinking.
“Dorcas, I”m gonna talk a wild guess and say the giant trucks up there are FEDRA workers right?”
Dorcas and Regulus both turned to look at Harry, who was eating what looked to be a sandwich and pointing at a group of trucks outside of the wall.
“shit,” Dorcas muttered.
“Harry, we need to go grab your bag,” Dorcas directed to the boy after coming up with a quick getaway plan.
“If we wanna make it out of here, we need to leave now. Harry follow me, stay quiet,” Dorcas said before helping Harry out of the hole.
Dorcas looked back and met Regulus’ eyes. She didn't need to say anything, he knew what to do.
Dorcas crawled through the south walls opening before helping Regulus through as well. She motioned Harry to hide behind a pile of unused cinder blocks as she and Regulus caught up to him.
After they all were hidden behind the blocks, Dorcas surveyed the area to find a safe route out. FEDRA was everywhere, probably already searching the alleys for them. The south route was still mostly open, they could probably make it without getting seen.
Dorcas slowly stood and then pointed to a strip on the side of the surrounding roads that would be safe to walk on. She turned to Harry and Regulus to make sure they knew where to go before she ducked and dashed over to a rock beside the strip without alerting the guards.
Dorcas turned towards the block and readied her gun, looking away for any officers. After she checked, making sure no officers were around, she motioned to Harry to follow her. The boy looked right and left before dashing over to Dorcas.
“How are we-,” Harry started to say before stopping to take a few gasps of air, “going to get out of here without alerting the FEDRA people?” the curly long-haired boy asked.
“We will, don’t worry,” Dorcas muttered back as she surveyed the area to make sure Reg could cross.
Again, when the view was clear, Dorcas waved Regulus over. He took it when stepping in front of the block before slowly ducking and walking over towards the two of them, gun still aimed.
After they had all made it, they started walking south through an abandoned highway. Cars were piled along the sides, no doubt moved when the city was formed. Dorcas had always imagined who those people frantically trying to escape were, where they worked, and who they loved. Was her family one of those cars that never made it off a highway? Could she have been one of those skeletons in their own car shot by FEDRA? She shivered at the thought of all times she could have ended up like these people.
Dorcas, trying to distract herself, looked over at Harry. He was trying to balance on top of one of the highway dividers.
“So, any people who might come looking for you while you're with us?” Dorcas questioned him, “Sister? Mom?... girlfriend?” She guessed.
The boy seemed to flinch at the question. Dorcas realized her mistake too late.
“Yeah, uh no. No family and-,” Harry said, seemingly paused at the girlfriend question, “no girlfriend,” he finally answered. The girlfriend question seemed to throw him off. The boy had been shot at, captured, and nearly blown up but the first thing that truly made him uneasy was a girlfriend. Dorcas pieced it together but decided not to let Harry know she had. She’d rather have him tell her when he wants to if he ever does. Dorcas, trying to pretend like she didn’t know, nodded in response.
Slowly, the three made their way down the highway with only abandoned cars and overgrown grass.
Harry walked beside Dorcas as he hummed some song Dorcas couldn’t fully recognize. Dorcas turned to look back at Regulus and she saw that he was staring off behind Harry. Dorcas followed the direction his eyes were, and it hit her what he was so entrapped in.
Their shadows. It was undeniable, the similarities between the two, and this one was yet another Dorcas knew Reg couldn’t ignore. The curls seemed to part the same way when the moon or sun met him, just like they did 16 years ago. Even the way they walked, Dorcas was sure if they were ever alive at the same time, their shadows would’ve aligned perfectly. Dorcas turned her attention off of it. She had to stop looking for the little similarities in the boy or she too would become attached like Regulus unknowingly had. She knew he would deny it too. He wouldn't be able to accept that there was another little kid that somehow found their way to him. She knew who needed to walk out of this trip alive with Harry, she knew it was Regulus. She knew it from the start, but now she has accepted it. This was her “last time” before she’d meet Marlene again, if there even was an after to all this bullshit. They both totally would be hell, Dorcas thought. God, the thought of it made her smile because she knew everybody she knows and loved will be down there with her.