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Mercy On Me

A New Beginning

May 16, 2010

"Come on, Harper; let's GO!" Shane could be heard shouting from downstairs.

"I'm trying!" I called back, shoving as much stuff as I could into a small shoulder-bag.

My head snapped towards her bedroom door at the sound of the house's deadbolt being jammed into place, making me rush even more. I could feel shivers race up my spine; I was terrified.

"Harper, I mean it! Hurry the fuck up!".

I ran a hand through my dark brown hair as I scanned the room, making sure I hadn't missed anything that I couldn't afford to forget. There was a loud thump against our front door, which led to Shane cursing loudly under his breath. No matter how close Shane and I were, I knew that he wouldn't wait for much longer.

Taking one more quick glance around the room, I grabbed a framed photo of me and Shane taken a few weeks back at the police station embracing each other in a giant bear hug.

"I'm coming, Shane!" I shouted.

I shoved the frame into her bag and headed for the bedroom room. Making sure to lock the door to my room, I bounded down the stairs to meet my frazzled brother, who was peeking out the window.

"Shane, let's go," I urged him. Shane jumped at my voice, not noticing my arrival.

"Bout damn time, sis. Take this," Shane shook his head and passed me a steel bat. I felt my throat get caught as I stared at it in shock.

"And what do you want me to do with this, exactly?". Shane turned to look into my scared eyes as he ran his tongue over his lower lip.

"Wanna survive out there?" he asked, me nodding. "Then if one of those hellish things comes at you and I'm busy, swing at its head," Shane explained, shoving a pistol into the waistband of his pants before grabbing a bat as well. I stood frozen, gripping on to the steel in my hands.

"You want me to kill those people?" I asked, her voice shaking.

"They aren't people no more; they're dead. The fricken walking dead. Now let's go, we have to get Rick from the hospital," Shane urged, heading for the garage.

There was another thump against the door, and we could both hear moaning from outside. Our brother and sister duo headed for the garage, but a thought made me confused was confused.

"Wait, Shane.. We're going to get Rick? What happened to going to get Mom? She's sick!" I squeaked, not liking where this was going.

Shane stopped his path to turn and face his sister. He took in his my fierce grey eyes and dark brown hair before cupping my face in the palm of his hand.

"Mom is too far away, we won't make it in time,". I slapped his hand away in anger.

"She is our MOTHER. Dad's away on business, Shane; there's no one to protect her!".

"Dad is probably dead already! Mom's tough; she knows how to be a survivor," Shane tried reassuring me, but it didn't really work.

It was true, our mom was tough; she had recently gotten past breast cancer, but that was a completely different type of illness. When it came to turning into a zombie, you couldn't stop it. After a while, I shook her head in disbelief, stray locks of hair fanning over my face.

"Unbelievable. Can I at least call her?" I asked him sadly, knowing that I wasn't going to win this fight with Shane. Were we really never going to see our parents ever again? I wasn't sure if I could deal with that; maybe taking Shane up on his offer to move in with him hadn't been such a good idea.

"Fine. But if she doesn't answer the first time, that's it," Shane ordered, making hand gestures as he spoke.

I grabbed my cell phone and phone charger off of the kitchen counter that I would probably never see again and followed my older brother, Shane Walsh, into the garage; our last few moments of pure safety.

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June 17, 2010

Footsteps outside of my tent woke me up, but I didn't stir. As usual, I had to check to see if the footsteps belonged to a beating heart or a still one.

I listened to the footsteps, quickly figuring that they were from a breathing person. A Walker's footsteps are slow and jagged, unlike any human's. Plus, I hadn't heard any moaning.

Grabbing my trusty steel bat, I quietly unzipped my tent and poked my head out to see Lori Grimes tip-toeing back to her tent, which happened to be about two tents away from mine. I rolled my eyes and stepped out of the tent. The sun was just starting to come up, but once I get up, I'm up.

Ever since Rick's death, Lori and Shane had formed some kind of relationship. Rick was Lori's deceased husband and Shane's co-worker 'slash' best friend. Not only had Shane, Rick, and I all grew up together, but the two boys had joined the police force together in an attempt to make good names for themselves after a troublesome high-school career.

The two had been out on patrol together when a runaway shot Rick, putting him into a deep coma. At the start of the zombie outbreak, Shane and I had raced to the hospital to save Rick, but Shane had told me that Rick had passed and that getting his body out of the walker-infested hospital was nothing but a suicide mission.

After growing up with Rick, I've always been jealous of Lori—I'll admit, I did have a little crush on the man. I always used to dream of having a guy like Rick for myself, but I know that finding one in an apocalypse is a crazy thought.

"Back from Shane's tent?" I asked Lori, surprising the widow. Lori jumped, her hand flying to her chest.

"Goodness, Harper, you scared me!" Lori whispered, trying not to wake the rest of the camp up.

I shrugged for an apology, since I didn't really want to apologize. How dare she tease my brother when it was clear that she was still mourning Rick?

"Just curious. But I'm surprised that he let you come back this early in the morning. With nobody else awake, you could have easily been walker bait," I sighed, lightly popping the bat back and forth between hands. Lori looked towards the ground and crossed her arms.

"He was sleeping. I left on my own,". I made a 'tsk' sound and shook my head.

"Your death sentence, not mine. Get some sleep, I guess. It'll be a few hours before everyone wakes up,"

After nodding towards Lori, I headed up towards the ash-covered campfire that was placed directly in the middle of the Quarry that our group lived at.

The Quarry, our forest-based home, was located about a mile or so outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I, Shane, Lori and her son, Carl, had traveled to Atlanta after hearing of a safe haven there, only to witness sections of the town getting blown to pieces. As for the remains of the city, they are overrun with walkers.

Every few days select people from our group make 'runs' or trips into the city for supplies. The group consists of about nineteen to twenty people; the Grimes, Walshes, Dixons, Peletiers, Morales, and so on.

My-self and company ran into sisters Andrea and Amy first, along with their friend Dale Horvath; they had found Dale a while back, apparently. Next was the Peletiers, etc.

Once reaching the middle of the Quarry, I turned left and headed for the group's large RV, which was once driven by Dale.

"It was a bad day to drive this clunker around," Dale would always joke, but in reality, it was a blessing in disguise. Such a big vehicle allowed the group to travel with more things.

I shielded my grey eyes from the blinding sun that had almost reached its peak to see Glenn sitting atop the RV, binoculars in hand. I grabbed onto the RV's rungs and made my way to the top; Glenn turned to face me once I reached him.

"You're up early, Harper," he noticed, placing the binoculars down by his feet. I shrugged, tapping my foot.

"Couldn't sleep," was my excuse. Glenn nodded slowly before yawning.

"Want me to take over? The group is going to be up soon, and you need some sleep before our next trip into the city," I offered, sitting down next to Glenn as I propped my sock-covered feet up onto his lap.

Glenn blushed at the contact, but his face was still grim. Out of everybody here, Glenn knew the layout of the city the best, which made him a shoe-in for supply trips; however, the city still terrified the shit out of him. After all, it IS crawling with Walkers!

Glenn yawned again and stood up, brushing imaginary dirt off of his pants. We both watched my feet clank against the roof of the RV, both of us hoping that the loud sound wouldn't wake Dale.

"Thanks. I'm gonna need the sleep; Merle's coming on this trip," Glenn sighed, shooting me a worried look. My eyebrows shot up; Merle Dixon was going?

"Merle.. Merle Dixon? Is going into the city instead of hunting? What is he on?" I giggled, picking up the binoculars.

"That's exactly it. He's on everything! That's why he wants to go into the city. Says he 'knows people there'," Glenn rolled his eyes, but smiled at the sight of me laughing at his comments.

"Daryl's going to love that," I replied, thinking of the younger country boy.

The Dixon brothers were from the South, both tough and strong. Out of both of them, Merle was the one that everyone really couldn't stand; he's pretty racist and is always hyped up on some kind of drug. The group knew that there was a reason for it, but nobody asked. Daryl was basically his babysitter.

Daryl, on the other hand, was the quieter and reserved younger brother, unless you confronted him. Daryl knew when to be tough; Merle didn't. My eyes drifted over to Daryl's tent which was placed next to his brother's for a few seconds before clapping Glenn on the back.

"Get some sleep, Pizza Boy. We need you to be at your best," I joked. Glenn chuckled as he shook his head.

"Pizza Boy... How would you feel if I called you Waitress Babe?" Glenn retorted. I shrugged, smiling.

"Hey, I made a lot of more money than you did, Glenn!".

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"Okay, guys. We all know the drill for this, don't we? Get in, get out," Shane explained, running a hand through his short black hair.

"Yes sir!" I mock saluted him. Shane gave me a look saying "now is not the time" but added a smile to it.

"It's not just me and Merle going, is it?" Glenn asked nervously.

"So what if it is?" Shane asked him. "We need our strongest at camp,".

"Wow, thanks.." Glenn replied, looking defeated.

"Shane. Cut it," I ordered, which shut Shane right up.

Everyone knew that Shane only listened to me and Lori; after all, he loves us the most. Why fight with those who you love?

You could fight with him all you want, but if Lori or I asked to do something else, that was basically the new consensus. Being Shane Walsh's little sister had its perks. When it comes to Shane, he's very high-strung. If he believes in something or wants something done, he won't stop until it's done; in other words, he's quite determined.

"If it makes you more comfortable, I can see if T-Dog is interested in going," I suggested to both guys. Shane looked at me, thinking about the pros and cons.

"Fine. If T-Dog wants to go, let him go. We still have some muscle back at camp, since Daryl hasn't gone hunting yet,".

We all nodded in agreement, so I went off to find T-Dog.

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"Hey, I got a question for ya, T,".

"And that question is?" T-Dog asked me as he stood up from his post, brushing invisible dirt off of his pants.

"Glenn doesn't want to go into the city with only Merle as his backup.. Think you could go, too?" I asked, watching T-Dog's face drop.

"Hell, no! I went last time, and that shit was scary," T-Dog grimaced before turning around to walk away. I chased after him and grabbed him by the bicep.

"Please? If you were Glenn, would you really trust Merle to save your life?". This got T-Dog thinking, and I could tell that he was most likely going to give in. T-Dog shrugged my hand away and nodded.

"Fine, whatever. But if I come back with a zombie bite in my leg, I get to bite you first!" T-Dog joked, rolling his eyes. I laughed, nodding.

"We can be walker best friends, sure,". We both headed back over towards Shane and Glenn; I was basically skipping and T-Dog looked terrified.

"You comin'?" Shane asked, looking over his shoulder quickly. We all followed his gaze, but didn't see anything.

"Yeah.. Your little sis, here, convinced me," T-Dog frowned, crossing his arms. I winked playfully at Shane, which made him laugh.

"So, now I have a black man and a racist drug addict coming? Oh boy, this is going to be great.." Glenn muttered, so I kicked him in the shin. T-Dog patted me on the shoulder.

"No worries, Harp, I don't take offense to that,".

"Take offense to what?". We turned to see Andrea coming up from behind us, arms swinging by her sides.

"We're just discussing how Glenn has to go into the city with T-Dog and Merle," I explained, rolling my eyes. Andrea grimaced, crossing her arms.

"Ouch. Not a good combo,".

"See! Even Blondie knows that it's not a good idea!" Glenn shouted, throwing his hands up in the arm.

"Hey! Harper may not mind the nicknames, but I do," Andrea snapped, although she was trying to hide a smile. I playfully shoved her in the shoulder before letting her continue.

"Why don't I go with you guys? You three could use some girl power," Andrea offered, her eyes lighting up. They never let the women go into the city; said it was too dangerous. Shane automatically started shaking his head.

"Hell, no. It's too dangerous,".

"Shane, I'm a grown woman. I can take care of myself. I mean, come on, Glenn is younger than me!" Andrea argued, taking a step closer to Shane. It was true; Glenn was 26, and Andrea was 31. "I don't need protecting, Shane," Andrea added on seriously, her tone reassuring.

Shane grazed his tongue over his lip and glanced at Glenn. Glenn nodded, clearly wanting more than the two men coming along. Shane pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed loudly.

"Fine, you can go,". Andrea smiled widely and left, saying that she was going to fill Dale in. I turned to face Shane and crossed my arms.

"If Andrea goes, so do I,".

"God dammit, not you too!" Shane yelled, throwing his arms up. "No, no, no. You are DEFINITELY not going,".

"Why not! It's not like I've never killed a Walker before, and you've taught me how to use a gun," I continued; I've always wanted to go into the city and see what it's like, but Shane always said no.

"No, Harper. I mean it, you're way too young," Shane shot back, already heading to walk away.

I scoffed, knowing that it was just an excuse. I ran up to him and placed a small hand on his chest so he couldn't walk away.

"I'm too young? Shane, I'm 25! I'm not a kid anymore, Shane. How can I protect myself without being allowed to go out and see what's really out there firsthand?" I argued, knowing that I was making good points. Shane wouldn't look at me; instead, he was looking past my head and back towards the camp.

"Shane, if she thinks she's ready to go, then maybe you should let her," Glenn suggested.

"Yeah, man. Andrea's going, why not Harper?" T-Dog added on.

I smiled back at Glenn and T-Dog; I was closest with both of them. We all stood there in silence as Shane thought it over. I felt nervous when he finally looked down at me with his answer.

"It's a no, and that's final,". I screamed and pushed him away from me.

"You aren't our father, Shane! Stop protecting me and do what's right for the group!".

"This is right for the group, Harper!" Shane yelled back, but in a hushed tone.

"No it's not, and you know it. I'm small and I'm fast. You know damn well that Glenn and I have the best shot when it comes to getting away from a Walker, but you're just too scared to fricken grow up and be a true leader to let me go," I yelled.

Shane looked back at me but didn't say a word. He knew that I was right, but he couldn't admit it now. He's much too proud for that. I shook my head is disappointment at him and spun on my heel, walking away from my brother. I ignored everyone's stares as I walked through the Quarry.

"Are you okay, Harper?" I heard little Sophia Peletier ask, but I kept walking.

"Not now, Sophia,". I headed down towards the camp's lake, barely noticing that Daryl had been standing against his brother's truck, watching the entire fight.

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I took a deep breath as I resurfaced, water cascading down my face. I brushed my dark hair out of my eyes and let my body float on its back. I smiled when I felt the sun against my face, knowing that I would surely tan.

Why couldn't Shane just let me go? I don't care if I'm his sister; he needs to let me grow. I can't hide behind him forever. I popped my eyes open when I heard feet scuffling along the ground. If it was a walker,

I couldn't attract any attention.

I slowly brought my head to the side, half emerging it under the cool water. I sighed in relief, only to see Daryl walking by with his crossbow.

"It's not nice to sneak up on a lady," I called out still floating on my back. Daryl jumped as if he hadn't known that I was there.

"Wasn't plannin' on it. I go this way ta' hunt," he explained, nodding his head towards the direction of the woods.

"Oh.." I replied, embarrassment flooding my cheeks.

Daryl grunted in response and just stood there, not knowing what to say.

"Well, have fun.. You know, hunting," I said awkwardly before closing my eyes again.

"Uh-huh," Daryl quickly replied, before almost rushing towards the woods. When I heard him walk away, I felt something snap inside of me and I couldn't let it go.

"Daryl, wait!" I shouted, standing up in the water.

He stared back at me, but I hadn't understood why until I realized that I was only in a bra and shorts. I ignored that awkward fact and kept going.

"Can I go with you?" I asked him.

If Shane wasn't going to let me go into the city, he was going to let me hunt; whether he liked it or not. Daryl squinted at me, his lips parted just a little.

"Not dressed like that, ya' ain't," he replied. I nodded back at him slowly and we just stood there. "Well? You gonna get your ass outta the water and get dressed, or what? Animals ain't gonna wait for long," Daryl snapped, but turned around so he wasn't watching me get out of the water.

"What a gentleman," I joked, as I pulled my tank top back on.

"I ain't no gentleman.." Daryl growled, but I just giggled.

I heard Daryl mutter something under his breath, but I couldn't tell what he said.

After pulling on my boots, we headed into the woods.
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"Carol, have you seen Harper?" Shane asked, getting nervous. Every single person that he had asked had given him the same answer: I don't know where Harper is.

"No, sorry. The last time I saw her was after she yelled at you," Carol replied as she continued to fold a pair of clothes.

Shane practically growled and stalked away. Shane peeked his head into her tent to see that she wasn't there either, but her bat was.

"Where the fuck is she!" he growled.

"Mr. Shane?". Shane spun around to see Carol's daughter, Sophia, standing behind him.

"What is it, sweetie?" Shane asked, even though he wasn't in the mood for petty questions.

"I think Harper went swimming. That's where I saw her last,". Shane's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Oh, uhm.. Well thank you, Sophia. Go run back to your mom now, you shouldn't be runnin' around on your own," Shane ordered.

Sophia nodded and ran back over to the campsite. Running a hand over his head, he headed down towards the lake.

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"Harper?" Shane called out. "Harper!". No answer.

Okay, now he wasn't nervous, he was scared. There weren't clothes on the lake's bank, so he knew that she had left. He was turning to leave when he saw a pair of footprints that had come from the Quarry; they were too big to be Harper's though. He knew that she was an 8.

He followed them to see that at one moment, they had stopped, started moving, but then stopped again. Not only had they stopped a second time, but had also turned around. At that moment, he saw a smaller set of footprints emerge from the water and head into the woods with the bigger pair.

That was when it hit him; Daryl had left to go hunting, and this was the way he went. That way, if someone at the lake needed help, he could get to them faster; had Harper really gone hunting with Daryl?

"Dammit!" Shane shouted, kicking up some mud.

If Shane ran into the woods with reckless abandon, that could cost Daryl losing game. But he didn't want Harper to get hurt. He sighed as he dug his fingernails into his palms.

"Daryl will keep her safe," Shane whispered to himself. After adjusting the gun that rested in his waistband, he headed back up to the Quarry to go see Lori and Carl, his other priority.

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Notes

so there's chapter one.!
If this chapter or story in general sounds remotel familiar.. You've probably already started reading it! This story can be found on two other websites; the same account name on Mibba, and under XoDixonXo on fanfiction.net.

Don't forget to Review, Subscribe, Favorite, PM, etc. they all mean the WORLD!

"You believe in dead people walking around?"

Comments

This story is really really good! I just found it last night, and I absolutely love it! :)
yourefamilytoo yourefamilytoo
9/28/13
Next chapter please !!
Biteme Biteme
9/27/13
love this, please keep going :)
Pleaseeeee continue!