Family is Everything
Disclaimer: I don't own Walking Dead or any of its characters. All rights go to Skybound, AMC, Telltale, and Robert Kirkman.
Author: Okay, this story has been in my head lately ever since "Done Running" has been released. First, I loved the episode. Second, I loved the dark tone it's going for and the premise of an all kid group sounded too interesting to pass up. As you guys know, I'm a huge Carl x Clementine fan. So, I decided to create this book in honor of Clem's final story. I felt like Carl would fit perfect in this season, especially if Judith was with him. However, I need you guys to know a few things before going into this book:
#1: Carl is following is age from the comics. So, that means he was 11 during the events of All Out War.
#2: I will be using TV Judith since she lives on in the show.
#3: I will be using the AMC-verse as reference, with the only comic inclusion being Carl's age and looks.
#4: There is a 6-year time-skip following the flashback in this chapter.
#5: Updates for this book will be slightly slow, maybe a chapter every week or two. Not only for editing purposes, but for episode releases and plot planning.
Italics= Flashback
'Italics'= Thoughts
ITALICS!= Sound Effect
Enjoy!
Arc One, Chapter One: Pray for Us
'Breathe, Carl…just breathe.'
17-year-old Carl Grimes took a deep breath, those thoughts repeating in his head as he pulled the bowstring gently back behind his ear. He aimed the bow with his one good eye, sticking his tongue out in concentration. His target nibbled on some of the green grass in front of it, its ears twitching in excitement.
TWISH!
THUNK!
'Yes!'
The rabbit lay motionless on the ground as soon as his arrow pierced through its small body. Carl smiled proudly to himself when he picked up the carcass with his gloved hand by its tail, delighted on how heavy it was. Hopefully, it was enough to last them a day or two.
He pulled the arrow out of its body awkwardly, managing to get small specks of the rabbit's blood on his dark blue denim jacket. Not that he cared, since the jacket and the fur inside it was dirty as is. His jeans, that matched with his jacket, were tattered and the sleeveless, white shirt worn underneath his jacket was spotted with specks of mud.
His greasy, onyx colored hair was slicked back, reaching the back of his neck and behind his ears.
The most notable feature on the boy was the bandaged wrapped around his right eye. The bandaged was slightly colored on using different colors of marker as if someone stabbed it repeatedly with them.
"You got it!" A small voice cheers from the bushes Carl hid in.
A young girl, around the age of 6, practically skipped over to the older boy, grinning at the thought of eating a good meal once again. Her round face was filthy with dirt and her ash blonde hair, braided into two pigtails, swayed back and forth behind her.
She donned a small, worn out denim jacket with a dirt-stained blue t-shirt underneath it. Her jeans were ripped up and cut as if she did it herself and her brown & leather combat boots looked a size too small on her feet. Around her knees were black, hunting knee pads Carl had found for the both of them so they wouldn't injure themselves in the future.
"I knew you would!" She gave the boy a small squeeze on the side of his body.
Carl chuckles at her whilst putting the rabbit carcass in an empty sack she handed to him, "I wouldn't wanna disappoint you now would I, Judith?"
Judith is the younger sister of Carl, both being kids of the former King County Sheriff's Deputy Rick Grimes and his wife Lori Grimes. Carl was born long before the apocalypse began, but Judith was born well into it. She was born in West Georgia Correctional Facility where their family and others stayed for a while.
Lori was going to die from blood loss giving birth to her. Not from birth itself, rather the C-Section she had to get in order for Judith to survive. Carl was there when she was cut open. He was there to hear her screams as one of their friends, Maggie, cut her open and pulled out Judith. He wished the horror would end there, but he knew what had to come next.
He shot his Mom shortly after to prevent her from turning.
When he told his Dad what happened, Rick began to lose it. He started to act like he was insane. He loved Lori so much. All the hardships they went through with his former friend-turned-enemy Shane, Hershel's Barn, the journey he went on to see her and Carl…
Now, she was gone.
"You never disappoint me, big brother." Judith smiled, carrying the sack over her shoulder.
Carl placed his bow back in its strap on his backpack and says, "And you never disappoint me, Judy."
Judith frowned at the nickname, "Do you think we can find a new nickname for me? Judy makes me sound like a old lady."
He couldn't help but feel guilty at that. He's been calling her that ever since she was smaller and she never complained about it. Why now all of a sudden?
Fixing the sheriff hat on his head, which once belonged to his Dad, Carl flashed his sister a small frown.
"I thought you liked Judy?" He asks her as they began walking down the path in the forest.
"I did…when I was a baby." She replies with the shake of her head.
Carl then smiled at her, "How about Lil' Asskicker? That nickname sound better?"
Her face lit up like a Christmas tree, "Really? You would call me that?"
"Why not?" Carl shrugged his shoulders, "Who's gonna stop me? Besides, it's the truth: you are an ass kicker." He then glances down at her, "You know, Daryl wanted to name you that when you were born?"
Judith made a confused look on her face, her head cocked to the side, "Daryl? Was he the one with the crossbow you talked about?"
Carl nods his head at her. Daryl was one of the most badass people he ever met. He always kept to himself, but he got the job done when somebody needed his help. Not to mention he was so close with his Dad that they practically became "Apocalypse Brothers". Daryl was stubborn as hell too, but Carl couldn't blame him since he was stubborn as well. In a way, that redneck was like an uncle to him.
"Sure was." Carl smirked fondly at the memories he shared with him, "He was the one who taught me how to hunt, Y'know? And how to skin an animal…"
"Can you teach me how to do that?" Judith beamed, cutting off her brother, "I always wanted to learn, but it's disgusting to watch."
"I was like that when Daryl first showed me." Carl said sympathetically to his sister, "But you'll get used to it sooner or later. All it takes is a little willpower…"
Judith cut him off with a mumbled voice, "I don't think I have enough willpower."
"What makes you say that?" Carl questioned her, raising an eyebrow.
His sister never replies, which worried him. Judith always gave him an answer, no matter how ridiculous or difficult the question was. What was wrong with her?
"Judith?" Carl called out to her after the short silence the two shared.
Said girl titled her head, "Hmm?" She hummed in response, fixing the sack over her shoulder.
"Did you hear my question?" He questioned.
Judith nods her head, "Yeah…"
"So why didn't you answer?" His tone had changed straightforward, which made Judith grow nervous at the sound of it.
Before she could respond, they heard snarling coming from up-ahead. Carl narrowed his eye and motioned Judith to stay low, which she did. He saw something that resembled a person limp in the distance, its clothes bloodied and torn apart.
Judith's eyes went wide at the sight of it.
"A Ghoul…" she warns her brother.
They were usually called walkers, but people had many different names for them such as: roamers, lurkers, biters, geeks, and creepers. Since there was no official name, Carl had decided to let Judith call them whatever she liked, just as long as she didn't call them "people".
"Looks like it isn't alone." Carl whispered when he spotted another walker follow the first one, "Stay close to me. Be my other eye and ears, got it?"
The little girl nods, making Carl take out the hatchet that was sheathed to the back of his pants. The weapon was a gift from his Dad as well before their home got destroyed years ago. He cherished it this whole time, keeping it sharpened and clean whenever he had the opportunity to.
Just thinking back to that day made him tear up. Him and his old group had run into a large group that named themselves "The Saviors" with their leading being a barbed-wire baseball bat carrying monster named Negan. In their first encounter, he killed Glenn, one of the first people Dad met ever since the apocalypse started, smashing his head in with the bat he called Lucille.
Negan said that was just a taste of what was going to happen unless he followed his rules. He wanted half of everything we had back in Alexandria, and he meant it. Dad was so broken that he agreed to it.
They served Negan for a while until Carl went back to his base with a loaded gun and opened fire on his men, gunning a few of them down. Negan only laughed at how badass he looked and offered him a ride home. Carl had never felt so confused and scared in his whole life.
When he brought him back, Negan took it upon himself to rest in his house and cook him dinner. When Carl asked why he was still here, Negan revealed that he wanted to see Rick, but since he wasn't home, he figured to wait there for him.
When his Dad arrived, he walked into something gruesome. One of the past leader's sons, Spencer Monroe, was gutted like a pig and the inventory manager at Alexandria, Olivia, was shot in the head in retaliation for Rosita, another person who was in his group, missing Negan and shooting Lucille instead.
After that, something in his Dad snapped.
He planned to go to war with Negan, along with the other communities who was under Negan's rule. He gathered almost anyone he could from The Hilltop to The Kingdom to take down The Saviors once and for all. The plan was set in stone, but they had yet to find enough guns and ammunition to go through with the plan.
And that's when Negan found the perfect time to strike.
He burned Alexandria to the ground, along with The Hilltop and The Kingdom. It was a surprise attack no one saw coming. He managed to take a group full of people and ordered his men to execute them.
Along those executed were Eugene, Rosita, Aaron, Tara, Father Gabriel, and Eric.
Daryl, Michonne, and his then-girlfriend Enid were taken captive by The Saviors during the attack. Negan said he saw something special in them and that Daryl would make a fine soldier for him. As for Michonne, Negan took them so she can become one of his many wives back at his base. As for Enid, he's wasnt sure as to why Negan took her too. He wouldn't be surprised if Negan did this solely to say "fuck you" to them.
Maggie and Jesus, one of the inhabitants at The Hilltop, managed to get away before they got caught. Carol was injured and managed to get away with them. Carl hasn't seen them since.
The last two to put up a fight was his Dad and King Ezekiel, the ruler of The Kingdom. Carl thought he'd put up the most fight, considering he had a fucking pet tiger. Instead, Shiva was the one who did the most damage until she succumbed to the bullet wounds The Saviors sprayed her with when trying to save her master.
Negan was the one to deliver the final blow to the "king" using Lucille. He had them kneel down on the floor and watch Alexandria burn to the ground, mocking them as they watched.
"You see the shit you've started, Rick?" Negan laughed as tears began to flow down the sheriff's face, "Just seeing you like this pulls my goddamn heartstrings…but all you had to do was follow my fucking rules! This little rebellion you tried to start? Well, look where it got you! Absolutely nowhere! And to think you had some balls, Rick…"
He swung Lucille against King Ezekiel's skull, creating a sickening cracking sound. Negan brought it down on his head again. And again. And again. And again. And again until the King's head resembled a crushed watermelon.
Carl remembered watching from behind one of the bushes, holding Judith in his arms as Negan started to talk to Rick again. Negan must've said something that triggered him because Rick screamed out in anger and tackled him.
BANG!
Carl held back his tears as he watched his Dad collapse to the floor, blood pouring out of the bullet hole in his sternum. Judith began to fuss at the sudden loud noise and Carl had to keep her close to his chest to keep her quiet.
Negan rose to his feet, swinging Lucille over his shoulder while looking down at the dying man, "I didn't wanna have to do that to you, Rick. But you just had to keep busting my balls, huh? You fuckin' failed, Rick. You failed your people. You failed your kids. And most importantly, you failed me. Fuck you, Rick. Seriously, fuck You."
He cried out as he swung the hatchet at an unsuspecting walker, who dropped dead on impact. Judith followed closely behind him, her butterfly knife in her hand in case any snuck up behind them.
Another walker heard the cry and limped at him, dragging its foot behind. Carl threw the hatchet at it, plunging it right into the middle of its forehead.
Picking up the hatchet, he barely had time to notice the walker next to him before Judith kicked it in its leg, breaking it with ease. She grunted as she dug her knife in its skull and pulled it out with some force.
"Carl…" He held his Dad's hand as he began to gasp for air, "T-take Judith…a-and run. Take care of her for me…a-and your Mom…it's what she would have wanted."
This time, Carl didn't fight back the tears and let them spill down his eye.
"O-Okay, Dad…" He sobbed, clutching his hand tighter, "I promise I will."
"When Lori died, I-I forgot who I was," Rick gagged, feeling his blood slowly rise up in his throat, "y-you made me remember who I was. Remember that day I walked with you? Back you were j-just a child?"
Carl nods his head, "Y-Yeah."
"We were walking s-side by side but you were bringing me somewhere." Rick flashed him a bloody smile, "Bringing me, bringing all of us to a new world, Carl. Y-You showed me the new world. You made it real. I see it, I remember…t-thank you." He then caresses Judith's cheek, leaving a smudge of blood on her face, "My sweet baby girl…C-Carl will take care o-of you now, okay? B-Be strong for h-him now…Y-You'll always be Daddy's lil' girl."
Judith stared at her Dad, fussing as she had no idea what was happening.
"M-My stuff s-should be over near t-the wall." Rick gagged, blood blocking the airways in his throat, "T-Take it a-and go…"
"Dad…" Carl sobbed as he brought his hand to his lips.
"N-Negan will keep l-looking for you…so just keep m-movin'." Rick's eyelids began to close as he slowly leaned his head on the ground, "I love the both of you. S-show people…the new world…that you've shown me."
And on that night, Rick Grimes, former King County Sherrif's Deputy,
Former leader,
Former friend,
Former husband,
And former father,
Had died.
"Hey, Carl. Look!"
Judith snapped Carl out of his thoughts when she pointed at a building behind the trees. It appeared to be a church with the exterior walls made from cracked and broken brick. It started to give Carl mysterious and eerie vibes as they got closer to it.
The roof of the Church was green with moss and caved in at one place. The bell tower was leaning dangerously over the caved in roof. The windows were dark by dirt with some of them even being broken. Ivy was growing around the outside of the brick walls as if it came up from the very Earth itself.
"What kind of place is this?" Judith asked in curiosity, eyeing the place.
"It's called a Church." Her brother replies, crossing his arms over his chest as he too studied the building, "This is where people gather and worship together to Jesus."
"Jesus?" Judith asked, interested, "Who was he? A leader like Dad was?"
"In a way, yeah." Carl smiled at her while stopping in front of the entrance, "Okay, remember the rule when entering a new place?"
Judith nodded her head, "Yup. Always find another way out."
"That's right." Carl unsheathed his hatchet again as he slowly opened the door, flinching as the door began to creak from its worn hinges.
The inside looked just as bad as the outside: the church pews were broken and mucky, broken candles and melted wax stained the floor, curtains were ripped from the windows, and the stained glasses were graffitied on with all sorts of cuss words. The part of the roof that caved in granted light to enter the room and shine directly on the lectern.
What made Carl shiver was the statue of Jesus on the wall, crucified with his head off and on the floor beside his feet, his eyes looking wide as if he witnessed what happened in here. Below the statue, the old wooden floor was painted with the familiar red substance Carl knew all too well.
Judith walked up towards one of the walls that had carvings written on them. The carvings were as followed: "We Have Sinned",
"God is Punishing Us",
"Lord Forgive Us",
"Jesus Save Us",
And "Speak the Word Of God before it's too late".
"C'mon, Judith." Carl placed a hand on her shoulder after reading the carvings himself, "Let's look in here then leave. This place gives me the creeps."
"You said it." Judith mumbles.
Since this was a church, there had to be a food pantry in one of those rooms. Hopefully whoever was in here didn't take everything. They could go for some extra food in their stomachs.
Whilst checking out the nave, Carl shook his head when he spotted more carvings on the pews with the same wording. The lectern was chipped and moldy, but still held a opened bible on top of it. Curiosity filled Carl as he approached the lectern.
"Looks like someone's been reading this…" He said to himself before noticing something strange, "Weird. Some of the pages have been ripped out."
He grazed his fingers over the left over paper from the ripped pages, feeling somewhat anxious. This place just got 10 times creepier than before…
Turning around, he saw Judith sitting in the pew in front of him, swinging her feet since she was almost tall enough to have her feet touch the floor. She was looking around at the tampered stain glasses, looking in awe as they were reflecting a dark purple light inside. Next to her was the sack with the rabbit in it.
"You okay, Judith?" He asked his sister, bending down to her level.
She nods, "Yeah, just looking at the windows. I didn't know you can paint on them…they look really cool."
"They're stained glasses." He answered with a smile, "It's basically colored glass that people can use for decorations. Well, the church mostly uses them."
"Ohhh. Gotcha." She grins at her brother.
Carl stood back up to continue his scavenging when he spotted a door to the left side of the first row of pews. He approached it and took ahold of the knob and twisted it. It locked in place, making Carl huff.
"Locked." He sighed out before taking out his hatchet and hovering it over the dead bolt.
He chopped it, leaving it dented as wood chips flew everywhere. He brought it down again, this time with more power. The lock was nearly loose, so with one last swing, he managed to break the lock.
"Nice!" Judith pumped her fist in excitement.
The first thing Carl saw when he opened the door was a pair of legs dangling in the middle of the room, followed by the sound of rope groaning as it swung by a ceiling fan. The body began to snarl once Carl and Judith entered the room, reaching out for them but the noose around its neck prevented it from doing so. A chair was knocked on the floor next to it and a piece of paper lie on the nice carpet next to it.
Then Carl noticed the clothes it had on. The walker had used to be a priest, judging by the similar outfit it had that Father Gabriel wore himself. A golden chain with a large, golden cross that looked way bigger than the chain itself dangled in front of his chest.
"He gave up…" He heard Judith's small voice point out as she walked up to it, "He was weak…not strong like us. Right, Carl?"
Her brother bit the bottom of his lip. Judith had a…unique ideology when it came to Survival. He couldn't help but blame himself for her mindset, since he was the one who taught her everything she needed to know.
"Right." Carl nods as he bent down to pick up the paper off the floor.
He flipped it over to reveal a note that was written in pencil.
Forgive me, for I cannot live in this world anymore. God is angry with us, that is why the dead were rising. I've prayed for a better world and prayed that God would forgive those who have sinned. I've tried and tried but I realized there was nothing I could do anymore. The word of God was supposed to protect me, but it only caused me more harm.
Carl shivered, putting down the note when Judith jogged over to one of the doors that was next to the priest's desk. It was a large, grey door with a golden handle and a missing door label.
"Maybe there's something in here?" She suggested.
"Let's hope so." Carl hoped, turning the knob and slowly opening the door. What was inside nearly made his jaw drop to the floor.
Shelves and shelves upon canned food filled with: Tuna, peanut butter, vegetables, beans, and different kinds of soup. Along with the cans, there was also boxed and dry goods: Cereal, crackers, noodles, Mac & cheese, and pop tarts. Condiments were there as well and Carl wouldn't mind taking those as a bonus.
All of this food could last them months! Maybe even years!
Judith felt her mouth water as she stared at the food, "T-This must be food heaven!"
"I think we hit the jackpot, Lil' Asskicker." Carl laughed triumphantly, giving his sister's shoulder a small squeeze, "Go get the sack and I'll start filling our bag up."
He unhooked one of the straps from his bag and placed it on the floor. Unzipping it, he opened it and the first thing he saw was his Dad's old Colt Python that he carried with him ever since he was deputy. He and Judith, however, rarely used it. Only in a crisis would they use his gun.
He moved that aside, along with a few arrows for his bow and a canteen that needed to be filled.
"We can go for some water." Carl said to himself, feeling his throat get dry just at the mention of it.
He also kept some of Judith's drawings she did whenever she had crayons. Most of them were just simple doodles of him and her, but there was one that he wanted to cherish forever;
It was a drawing of them and their parents, all smiling and holding hands with a rainbow above them. In the background was a simple drawing of a house with trees colored green and butterflies filled with purple.
Judith's representation of her brother was a doodle with him wearing a black eyepatch she colored and the sheriff hat on his head. Their Dad had a star on his shirt, representing his job as a cop while Judith gave their mother long, black that Carl found to be spot on.
If only things were the way they used to. Maybe him and Judith could live like that one day…
"Here!" Judith returned, placing the sack on the floor next to him.
"Good. Start taking as much as you can." He instructed, taking ahold of one of the cans of vegetables.
He picked it up and heard a click of some sorts. Judith heard it too and stopped, her eyes going wide at the mysterious sound.
Glancing under the shelf, Carl's eye went wide in horror when he noticed two grenades taped to the bottom of the top shelf. A fishing line was connected to the can he held and to the pin of one of the grenades. So when he picked it up, it managed to pull the pin with it.
"It's fucking rigged!" Carl yells, taking ahold of Judith's wrist with one hand and his bag in the other and running out the room.
He kicked the door shut behind him and ran out of the room when the explosion occurred, making Judith scream from the blast. Dust and smoke started to fill the church, both siblings coughing because of it.
"Judith!" Carl cried out, hugging his sister when he realized she was okay.
They heard a loud popping noise coming from the ceiling. The impact of the explosion started to make the rest of the roof cave in. Carl gasped, taking a hold of Judith and kicking down the church door to the outside with ease.
They made it in time to see the top of the church collapse like a house of cards, even more dust and debris flying everywhere. The bell tower finally toppled over, the bell ringing as it collided with the ground. Brick by brick it fell, creating a noise that they knew walkers would hear within miles.
Panting, Carl watched it crumble before snapping his head to the right, noticing dozens of walkers coming after them.
"Ghouls…" Judith gasps, holding out her butterfly knife.
"They must've heard that for miles." Carl seethed, gritting his teeth at the amount coming after them.
"We're Strong, Carl. We can take them." Judith proudly says. She took a step forward, ready to attack before her brother stopped her, "Huh?"
Carl shook his head, "There's too many. We have to run."
"But they're slow and we're not." Judith argued, "We can take them!"
Instead of countering, Carl grabbed her wrist while slipping his bag on one of his shoulders. Despite not wanting to leave, Judith remained silent, knowing how her brother would get if she didn't follow his rules.
Running past the trees, her brother had no time to realize the steep hill they approached until Judith yelped, rolling down it like a log. Carl followed suit, grunting as his vision started to blurry and he felt himself get dizzy. He swallowed up some dirt trying to call out Judith's name.
CRACK!
His bow rolled beside him in two pieces.
After what seemed like an eternity of rolling, the speed at which he was tumbling caused his head to whipped against the ground, knocking him out cold.
His eyelid slowly opened as he saw Judith run towards him in a panic, brushing off the leaves in her hair while picking up his hat off the ground.
"Carl!" Her voice came like an echo in his head as she pointed at the hill.
The walkers followed them and rolled down the hill themselves, some leaving behind a trail of blood and body parts as their bodies collided with the ground.
"Get up!" She cried out as she kept darting her eyes from him back to the walkers, "They're coming! I need your help!"
Carl groaned as he held his sides, his fingertips starting to become wet. A small piece of his broken bow had managed to pierce into his side, causing blood to leak through his jean jacket and white shirt.
"S-Shit…" He hissed as the pain started to shoot through his body.
Judith gasped when the walkers drew closer, their teeth ready to chomp on anything living. Carl only groaned again, drifting in and out of consciousness.
All he remembered next was the familiar sound of a bow being shot, followed by the thud of bodies dropping.
His eye managed to open one last time to see Judith being led away by someone.
"W-Wait…" he groaned out, reaching out for his little sister, "Don't take…"
Then everything went dark.