One Way Out
TWD One Shot
Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with The Walking Dead or the characters what so ever.
Just like that, in a matter of seconds, everything he had been working so hard on and everything he had ever wanted, it was gone. All his life, he was taught to do what was right and to help everyone and everything in every way possible. But now, now he was doomed and destined to fall with the rest.
Carl Grimes stormed through Alexandria, shielding his right side of his stomach that burned and ached. He could already feel the effects of the walker bite kicking in. One thing that he never thought would happen, at least not to himself, it happened. Carl Grimes was infected with the disease that was killing hundreds every single day. He rushed down the streets of Alexandria until he reached his home. He decided it was best to keep his presence unknown as he immediately darted into the downstairs restroom. His mind exploded with thoughts, thoughts he had never actually thought of until this very moment.
Carl looked straight into the mirror but even the person staring back seemed different. As he observed himself, he noticed the sweat dripping down his hair and attempting to stick to his face. He cringed at the sight but even worse, he couldn't make out if he was watching the after effects of non stop running for a few miles or if he was watching himself turn into the one thing he had hoped he'd never become, a monster.
With one last, deep breath, Carl unbuttoned his flannel and threw it onto the floor. Once he had his flannel off, all that was left was the smooth, bare skin. After observing his body, his eyes fell to land on the bite wound. His heart broke into pieces as he looked at the wound and his soul crumbled down. Then, it hit him like a wrecking ball. He snapped out of his thoughts and immediately grabbed a rag of off the shelf beside the shower. He drenched it in hot water before he opened a bottle of alcohol and poured a little bit onto the rag. He wasn't sure if it would help or make it worse but at the point he was at, anything would help.
Carl applied the rag onto his wound and he internally screeched with pain as the burning sensation increased rapidly. He held it on for as long as he could which only managed to be a solid thirty seconds before he threw the rag at the wall. It didn't help that once after, air was entering the bite wound, once again increased Carl's pain level to a level that was too much for a seventeen year old boy to withdue. He felt his body numbing up and his eyes started to blur up. He took a deep gulp as he turned on the faucet and started splashing water onto his face. Even with the water and the attempt to clean the wound, it was too much and Carl's body collapsed and as he hit the ground, he fell into unconsciousness.
An hour later, Carl's eye shot open as his body shifted into an immediate sitting up position. His breaths were once again, heavy and his heart was pounding through his chest. The adrenaline he felt was real, more real than ever. It was like his body and soul were racing death to the finish line. He took it upon himself to stand back up to his own feet even though he barely had the strength to, he forced himself to be able to. He took a moment to just try and regain himself, everything was crashing and falling apart but he had to keep going. He had to make it and he had to be ready for an attack by Negan. He wouldn't leave this world until he finished his job, his promise.
He opened the cabinet above the sink and pulled out a rather large bandage. As he opened it, looking down at it, his hair fell into his face and he sighed. Once he had the bandage open, he slowly placed it onto the walker bite. He took a big gulp as he put minor pressure on the bandage around the wounded area so it would stick. Once he had the bandage on, he grabbed a towel and began to dry off his hair, face, stomach, arms, everywhere on his upper body that had even a hint of sweat on it. He didn't want anyone knowing, worrying, especially right before one of the biggest challenges that they had ever gone through.
All Carl knew was that, his father, Rick and some others were going out to get Negan and the Saviors to surrender but he had a gut feeling that some of Negan's men weren't in The Sanctuary at the time that the walkers came and that put Carl on the tip of his toes. Anytime that his father was gone, he was to be in charge and with the condition he was in, no one would let him fulfill that role and Carl wasn't going to let a bite wound change his responsibilities.
Once he was dried off on the top and had his bandage on solidly, he slowly removed his blood stained pants and sat them on top of his bloodied up flannel. Then he repeated the same process of drying up any sweat that had been on his lower body. After he was completely dry, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around him then he picked up his clothes and headed straight up to his room.
[SCENE BREAK]
By now, Carl had gotten a new set of clothing and had gotten completely rid of any sign of an infection, he could have had. He had applied lots of deodorant and body sprays to keep him from sweating a large amount but it soothed it down to make it look like he was just hot and had a normal sweat stream. Now, the only thing left was to keep his attitude straight and normal when he was around people which wouldn't be hard except for the minor, sharp pains he would get out of the blue.
Carl was currently laying on his bed, thoughts and mind running wild. The only thing that ran through his mind were an easy five words, "What did I do wrong?" Was all he could even think about. But just when he thought his journey was at its worst, he started getting unwanted flashbacks. First, when he had to shoot his own mother, he could hear everything that she had old him. Then when he thought his father died back, after the prison in that neighborhood house, he couldn't pull the trigger, no matter how mad he had ever gotten at his father. He remembered everything all at once from the Atlanta Camp, to the CDC, to the Farm, to the Prison, to Terminus, to Gabriel's Church, to Alexandria and the Hilltop, to the Kingdom, and finally his visit to the Sanctuary.
Everything came crashing down and thoughts, thoughts that he had never even dreamt of, he was getting. His heart shattered thinking about everyone he had lost. Everyone from people he strongly disliked to people he would die to have alive again. He felt a tear escape his eye as he quickly wiped it away. He couldn't do anything, he couldn't even tell anyone or talk to anyone. He was dying at the time everyone needed him alive. He felt like he was failing everyone, he felt like he was becoming the enemy just for trying to do what's right. Just for doing what his mother wanted him to do, the right thing. But if it were the right thing to do, would he have gotten bit? Carl couldn't help but get that tangled into his mess of a mind.
He jumped up out of his bed and out of pure rage, fury, sadness, and just an emotional mess, he ripped his pillow up and threw it at the wall, falling to his knees followed. But when he fell to the floor, the pain was different, it hurt more than normal. His body was already weakening. He was beyond screwed, he was beyond a lost cause.
[SCENE BREAK]
The next day, Carl was feeling a little more relaxed and calm after his explosion that he had the night before. He survived getting through the morning and afternoon without his father, Michonne, or Judith who even though was only a toddler, she like the rest of his family, didn't notice any difference. Later that day, everyone had left to go onto their missions and Carl was left home alone, again. With nothing to do but worry and get all worked up, he decided that soon he was going to be gone and he needed to tell his father somethings and he needed to explain himself. So he grabbed a pen, a piece of paper, and an envelope and he began to write a letter to his father. A letter that would one day, have great meaning and purpose. Once he was finished he sealed it shut and neatly wrote on the front of the card, "Dad."
Well, thats all for this one shot about how Carl reacts after he is involved in the tragedy that led to him getting bitten! Make sure to Review if you would like or have a certain Walking Dead story or one shot you would like me to do! Hope everyone has a great rest of their 2017 and has a Happy New Year! Hope 2018 treats y'all a lot better than 2017 did!!!!!!