In The Bird Song | TWD

chapter 2 - field trip

Pov: Harlow

My eyes burn when I step outside and see sunlight for the first time in months, it's still early morning the air is crisp and there's a cold breeze blowing through my hair. The birds are chirping and oh how I have missed their song.

before prison I used to get up just as the sun began to rise so I could listen to the world wake up for the day and the birds were always the loudest at dawn blessing the animals around them with their song to ease them into the new day. I think I might prefer birds' company over anyone else's with the exception of Enola's, her company was always the best.

I'm so overcome with contentment at being realised from my cage that I don't immediately take in what's around me but when I come back to reality and look around at what's left of the prison the moment shatters. There's body's all over the field and they have all decade to the point where there unrecognisable, I don't know how to feel when I look at them. So far, the dead have never been still enough to get a good look at, so I've never really had to process the appearance of emancipated rotten corpses and the sight makes my head spin and my stomach churn. It's not like I had much of a connection with any of the prisoners here so at least I don't feel much grief over the people these corpses were before.

I'm snapped out of my musings by the growls and groans that mean the dead are nearby. I look over to the fence to see a pack of them trying to get through the fence that separates them from a promising meal.

I look over to the man that seems to be the group's leader who is watching me intently and ask "how did you kill all of the dead here, when the prison was over run, I saw one of them take 5 bullets to the chest and it just kept going completely unharmed" before the man can answer the kid that looks around my age interrupts saying "you got to get them in the head" in a tone that suggests that should have been obvious.

Before I can snap back the leader asks me "how did you survive in that cafeteria for so long, do you have food?" he sounded keen and I assume that he'll try take the little food I've got so I decide to try make a deal with him "yeah, I got food, ill happily share what's left of it with your people if you let me join your group. I've been alone for ages and it seems company is hard to come buy around here plus there's safety in numbers and I don't fancy facing this new world alone. I can look after myself and I can use a gun, I wouldn't need babysat it's really a good deal for you guys if u ask me. I'll even share the water I've got as well free of charge"

I try smile as I speak to hide how apprehensive I am of my own words; the truth Is I don't know these people and they could all turn out to be right wankers or just plain dangerous, but I have better chances of survival with people to watch my back than I do alone so I have to take the risk if not for survival, then for my sanity.

The man thinks for a moment considering me before he answers "that's not just up to me, however the group will discuss it tonight after things with Hershel are under control." He pauses before adding as somewhat of an afterthought "call me rick by the way rick grimes"

I smile at him understanding his hesitance I'm aware how things look he sees a criminal before he sees a child. I think he was a cop before all this because he seems to have a natural disposition to be a leader and the kid next to him is wearing a sheriff's hat, that I doubt he just nicked from a walker, cops tend to have a very black and white view on things from my experience. To a cop there's the good and the bad and very little Gray it's a mentality that will only hold them back in life because it makes them blind to all the shades in-between it's a pity really.

I stick out my hand because that's what I've seen others do in a similar situation and it seems appropriate right now, rick only hesitates a moment before he takes my hand and shakes. With that I decide to tell him "I'll be in that watch tower over there if you need me, it will be nice to be closer to the birds" as I turn to leave a gruff voice belonging to crossbow man shouts "what's your name" I smile and shout back "Its Harlow, Harlow rose" and with that I take my leave.