Notice - In response to a recent review I got pointing out that my timeline is way off accuracy, I'm aware. It would have made everything harder for me in the end with everything that I've planned, sorry for not stating that earlier. If it becomes too much of a problem I'll change it, but for now I hope it's not. I added about two and a half years to where season five left off, one and a half of which I added for the convenience of the story and the the other year I added because it had been one year since they'd arrived at Alexandria that I wrote this. Thanks!

We Come Running
Chapter One ~ Hostility
Carl's POV

Under a pale blue sky,
you never felt so cold.

It had been five years since the apocalypse began. Three years since my mom died. Two since we left Terminus. One since we arrived at Alexandria. Exactly one month ago, Maggie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Lori. I'll admit, it was hard for me to look at her in the eye.

I placed the final pebble in the center of the make-shift Tic Tac Toe board, scoring another win with a full diagonal row.

"I win, that's a final of ten points for Carl," I announced, clearing the pebbles from between the sticks making up the game board. Enid made a frustrated grunting noise and made another tally mark under the large 'C' we had drawn into the fresh brown soil. "You know what that means."

She grunted again and wiped the scoreboard clean. We played Tic Tac Toe almost every day, and we gambled. Not money, just everyday items: comic books, soda bottles, video games, sometimes we even exchanged clothes. Most of her shirts didn't fit right on me, mine fit her fine, but she liked to take my socks since she usually gaping holes in hers from climbing trees with no shoes on.

"Alright, boy. What do you want this time?" Enid seized her dark green satchel bag from where it was leaning against the large oak tree to her right. Once she had it gripped, she unzipped it and tilted it down, letting the contents pour out. I surveyed my selection closely.

There was a green plastic water bottle, two balls of green string, a heavy brown rock, a sparkly blue pen, and an Issue #37 Endgame Part 3 Batman comic. "Hey, I've read that one," I mused, picking up the aged comic and thumbing through it carefully. When I finished skimming the comic, I flipped back to the last page and examined the bottom right corner carefully. "That's because it was mine! I think I lost this to you last week," I held out the opened booklet and placed my finger on the corner where the initials 'C.G.' were drawn in with what seemed to be a magic marker.

She chuckled, leaning back onto the oak tree and popping another potato chip into her mouth from the large chip bag we had lying in the center. "Take it back if you want."

"Nah, I think I'll take…" I hovered my hand over the pile of goods, considering my options. Eventually I came to the decision of the green water bottle. "This. I must say, it's been a pleasure doing business with you." I tipped my large brown sheriff's hat to her jokingly, the way gentlemen do to women on the street.

Enid rolled her eyes and leaned forward again, scooping the remainder of the items back into their original place of storage. "What'd you bring for me?" We always showed each other what we brought. Y'know, to make the loser see exactly what they could've won.

I gave her a devious smile as I slipped my black and gray backpack from its place on my shoulder. "You're gonna be mad…" I teased, shooting her an evil smile while I unzipped the bag. "See for yourself," I tossed her the bag and leaned back against my tree lazily, reaching my hands back to rest behind my head.

"No way!" She shouted, removing from the bag one of my most prized possessions: A tanned leather knife sheath, complete with a shiny and sharpened hunting knife tucked securely inside. "Carl… How did you… Why would you even risk me taking this?!"

I shot her the evil smile again. "I was feeling a bit lucky today, I guess," I beamed, snatching the sheath and knife back out of her hands. I removed the knife and began tracing it along the bark in my tree.

"Cheater,"

"Oh, admit it. I'm just better than you at Tic Tac Toe,"

"Fine." She sighed in defeat, standing up from where she sat with her legs crossed on the grassy forest floor and walking over to sit next to me. "Hey, let's carve something into the tree,"

"Like what?"

"Here, lemme see the knife," She requested, holding her hand out for me to place it in. I reluctantly did so. "Don't look," She ordered, shifting slightly sideways on the tree so her canvas was only barely out of sight. I chuckled and closed my eyes.

The sound of scraping wood was somewhat calming combined with the soothing sounds of rustling leaves and chirping birds.

"Are you almost done?" I asked after a few minutes.

"Almost. Chill your grill," She hissed back.

Enid had been my friend since we arrived here at Alexandria. She always told me I was the only person who seemed to understand her. That proved not to be true as she quickly opened up to me and, in turn, she eventually came accustomed to the friends I'd made. She knew them shortly before I did, but she was always the quiet girl of the group. None of them really knew much about her. About one month ago, she had confessed her feelings for me. I was taken aback but not surprised; it had become the talk of the school. I felt awful, rejecting her, but we stuck on good terms. I even managed to set her up with Andrew, a kid who arrived a few months after me.

"Hey!" Daryl's raspy shout echoing through the forest caused me to snap out of my thoughts and shoot off the ground into a standing position. He wasn't yelling at us, though, because the shout was too far away.

"Enid, get up! Get your stuff! We have to go!" I hissed, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the tree. She fell sideways and the knife sliced a clean cut through my jeans and into the skin of my leg. With a short grunt from the pain, I snatched the knife out of her hand and safely into the sheath.

My hand still wrapped around her arm, we began running back to the gates where we'd sneak in and act like we were never out. Kids weren't allowed out of the town unless they were with an adult. Only the adults with jobs were permitted to leave the refuge of the town, but Enid and I both had habits of ignoring that rule in particular. The last time we were caught, Daryl took three of my videogames. And he kept them. And he played them. In front of me. It wasn't the worst possible punishment, but Daryl had made us promise that, as long as we never did it again, nobody had to know.

Well, now we'd done it again. Enid struggled to grab hold of her bag still lying on the ground. Finally, she slung it over her shoulder and pursued me toward the main gate of Alexandria.

Right as we approached the gate, our spirits were crushed by more words from Daryl. This time it wasn't an echo, but a hot breath on our necks. "Don't bother, I've already seen ya," There was less anger in his voice than I expected but still frustration. I sighed, letting my arms drop down from where they tangled with the gate handle and let them hand at my sides, admitting defeat. "I told y'all, don't be comin' out here no more."

"Daryl, you can't expect us to—" I began my counterargument before I recognized other screams coming from deeper inside the forest. "Did you get someone?" Daryl and Aaron acted as the recruiters of Alexandria. The traveled to nearby camps or pursued travelling packs and tried to convince them to come back. Aaron did most of the convincing, though, while Daryl did more of the hitting and punching and yelling.

"Yep," He responded, no enthusiasm able to be detected in his voice or face. "She's a feisty one."

"Daryl!" We heard Aaron's shouts from around the wall. "Daryl, I need backup!"

Daryl gave us a dirty look and pointed accusingly as he walked away, shouting, "Y'all better pray this girl knocks me out so bad I forget."

I gulped and looked over at Enid whose facial expression was mirroring mine exactly. "Mental note: Don't fuck with Daryl. Ever." She murmured, almost jokingly, even considering the circumstances. We stood there awkwardly, the way you do when you're at a friend's house and they're getting yelled at by a parent.

Sounds of struggle and the occasional cry out escaped from around the corner where Daryl and Aaron were wrestling down the girl Daryl had mentioned. We just remained where we were, standing next to each other awkwardly and trying to come up with good cover stories for why we were out here.

Suddenly I remembered the knife. Someone—probably my dad or Michonne, considering they're the sheriffs of the town—would search our bags. Nobody in the town, especially a minor like me, was allowed to have weapons unless they were approved by someone of high authority. Usually you could only get them approved if you went on lots of runs or were a guard. Sheriffs used to be able to carry them until my dad held the mayor, Deanna, at gunpoint and threatened her to change her ways. Now the sheriffs are only permitted to have tasers.

"Enid," I whispered, careful to avoid Daryl hearing as much as I could. I pulled the knife out of the sheath which was clipped to my belt loop and held it out for her to see, hoping she's get the message. Her eyes widened and I assumed she understood what I was saying.

"Let me see it," whispered back, taking the knife from my hand and waiting for the sheath to be given as well. I unclipped it silently and craned my neck to make sure Daryl wasn't watching. I couldn't see much, but I did see flashes of long, matted brown hair and a few shots of Daryl's strong fist.

"Is it clear?"

"Yeah. Where are you going?" I reached for her shirt to stop her from running away, but I was unsuccessful. "Enid!"

She stealthily worked her way over to the nearest tree, which she flatted herself against the back of. She continued to do this, venturing from tree to tree, until she finally reached a tree that was hollow inside. She was barely in sight of me, but I was able to see her standing on her toes, struggling to reach something inside the tree. When she did, she let herself back down, empty-handed.

That tree had been there forever. Enid and I had taken shelter inside it when I was fairly new to the place. That was the first day I even knew her. We were sitting next to each other on a log, talking about our families, our dreams, our friends. A pack of walkers neared and we ran into the tree.

I almost kissed her. Almost.

I remember that day like it was yesterday. I could tell by the look on her face that she wanted me to kiss her; almost begging. But I didn't. Things would be different if I had. They'd be different between the two of us, and things would've turned out different. Maybe it would've been better, possibly worse, but I was okay with the way things turned out now.

She gave me a beaming look, obviously proud that she had gotten away with the first part of her adventure. But she still had to get back.

On the way back she was less careful. She didn't hide behind as many trees as she did on the way there, but she did crouch low to avoid drawing attention. Despite the abundance of crunchy autumn leaves on the ground, her footsteps couldn't be heard over the sound of Daryl and Aaron fighting their attacker.

It might have been smart of me to go and help them, but I knew better. The last time I tried to help Daryl while he was in a brawl, I ended up getting punched in the jaw. I was in the medical office, which was a rundown house used as a hospital, for three days. Only one of which Daryl came to visit, bringing me a bouquet of half-dead flowers bound together with a shoelace.

Enid was back and standing next to me within a matter of seconds. She was a fast runner, almost as fast as me.

"Is she killing them or something?" She chimed, poking her heard around the corner to get a look at the fight. I did the same, still cautious of one of them seeing us. Aaron was easier going, but I still didn't want to risk him seeing us.

It looked like Daryl was winning while Aaron stood back, obviously uncomfortable, reaching into the quarrel every now and then in a sad attempt to push the girl or tug at her hair.

She was small, short and skinny, with long brown hair trailing down her back. It was interlaced with leaves and twigs, hinting that she had a hard time coming through these woods. Her clothes were saggy and torn, fitting loosely on her petite body. I guessed she was probably around 30, maybe older, and she shouted inaudible or otherwise muffled words or phrases.

We watched silently for a moment, eventually growing bored of the repetitive hitting and grabbing.

Things got interesting when, in one swift movement, the middle-aged woman had kicked Aaron hard in the groin and left him lying on the ground squealing in pain. She hadn't lifted much of a threat, but only a second later Daryl was pinned against the strong concrete wall surrounding the safe-zone. An unfamiliar look crossed Daryl's face; it was something I'd never seen before. Fear. Daryl was scared.

But as Daryl would have it, it was only an illusion. The woman pulled and knife out of her pocket and lifted it slowly up to Daryl's head. I picked up a large stick from a nearby tree and prepared to whack her in the head if I needed to, although I probably should've already done that by now. But rather than begging for mercy, Daryl began laughing. Not a scared laugh, but a low, bellowing, intimidating laugh. The woman paused, a confused look swimming across her wrinkled face, and Daryl took the opportunity to easily free his hands from her grasp and punch her square in the gut. She flew backwards about a foot before landing on her back and sliding on the dirt-caked ground.

"I ain't screwin' around, sunshine." Daryl growled, collecting the large butcher knife from where she had dropped it on the ground when Daryl punched her. He chucked in back onto the ground in front of Aaron, who was still bent over on the ground groaning, and began walking away.

We both straightened our backs as he walked by, praying he would let us off the hook again. The chances were slim, but it wasn't impossible.

He stood in front of us, his dark, ruthless eyes boring into us. He stood for a minute; his big, strong build not unlike a wrestler's making him even more terrifying than usual. "What the hell're you thinkin'?" He shouted, still keeping a close eye on the anonymous woman he had injured.

We were both completely quiet. There was nothing we could possible say that would make Daryl change his mind.

The bright noon sun casts harsh shadows across his sharp face, covering it mostly with darkness. It was hard to read his expression as he continued to glare at us.

"Go get your dad, Carl." He eventually grumbled, taking my shoulder in a tight grip and pushing me closer to the gate. I tugged at the handle a few times before coming to the conclusion that it was locked. Usually they kept it unlocked during times that Daryl and Aaron were out, unless they were gone for more than a day. In that case they decided it was safer for the citizens if the gates continued to be locked.

"It's locked," I squeaked, wishing my voice didn't come out sounding so small. Normally I wasn't the type to back down from a fight, and more often than not I was in arguments with my dad. But Daryl isn't someone I'd want to cross; not in a million years or more. Enid kept a blank look on her face but her eyes hinted at subtle fear.

"Figure it out." He growled back, turning around and beginning his trek back to wherever he came from.

I walked over to Aaron after offering Enid a knowing look. She returned it with a nod and sat down against the wall. "Aaron? You alright?"

He groaned again and nodded. "She's got some kick in her,"

I kneeled down so I was at eye level with him. She must've kicked him harder than I thought if he was in too much pain to even stand up. "Do you need me to help you up?" I offered a hand out to him but he didn't accept.

"No, just leave me here. Get Eric, if you can."

"We can't get in, it's locked." He perked up at the sound of my news.

Aaron was about to respond when a desperate shout came from Enid. "Carl! She's behind you!"

I spun around only to be met with a large stick the size and weight of a baseball bat. My vision began to go blurry and the edges of my sight began to go black. I suddenly felt dizzy and a throbbing headache began to develop; the source was right above my left eye. As hard as I tried to stay conscious, I was pulling at loose straws and barely hanging on. I was awake long enough to see the same fate met by Aaron before I collapsed onto the ground and consciousness slipped from my weakening body.

A.N. Thanks for reading! I'm writing this in an attempt to redeem myself from my last TWD story, considering it was very, very awful. Please review, it really helps me and my writing!