Carl's Heavenly Reunion
Carl watched as his father and Michonne left the house that they took refuge in for Carl. He thought of Carol, Maggie, Daryl, Enid, Judith, Michonne, and his father and felt a tear stream down his cheek. He raised the gun up to his temple, took a deep breath, closed his eye and another tear drop fell right before he shot himself. He felt warmth like sunshine on a cold day. He still had his eyes closed, but he could see a bright light. He was afraid to open his eyes but he heard something in the distance. Someone. A voice that made him open his eyes and sit up straight. The voice was calling his name.
"Follow my voice Carl." He knew that voice but didn't want to believe it until he saw it with his own eyes. He wanted to confirm that it was real. He lifted his shirt up and there was no wound. Now he knew for sure. It's ok Carl. Just follow my voice. Now he ran toward the voice. He stopped when he saw her. Then he noticed something else when he saw her. He could see through both eyes and she was the most beautiful thing he's ever seen besides Judith and Enid. He started crying and he ran the rest of the way and into her open arms. They were both crying now. She put a hand on either side of his face and wiped away the tears from his eyes.
"I missed you so much mom."
"I missed you too Carl. My little boy isn't so little anymore," she said, smiling. "You're a man." She ran her fingers through his hair. "I know it's the apocalypse, but there has to be some scissors somewhere. Don't get me wrong. I love it, but a little trim couldn't hurt." Carl laughed.
"You can't fool me mom. I remember you didn't like my hair growing out even a little." "Fine you got me." They laughed. "I love you Carl."
"I love you too mom." They hugged again.
"How's my baby?"
"She's beautiful mom."
"It's a girl?" She started crying and smiled. "What's her name?"
"Judith."
"Judith." She smiled. "Like your teacher."
"Yeah. I didn't beat this world mom, but I think she will. I gave her my hat," She laughed. "You were so cute in that oversized hat."
"I haven't taken it off since. It made me feel safe. Like dad was always with me. I told her it would do the same for her."
"Now she'll always have something to remember you by. Your dad could tell her all about how you got it. I wish I could have seen you and Judith grow up."
"I wish I could have seen Judith grow up too."
"How's your dad?"
"He lost it after you died. He stayed inside the prison and went on a walker killing spree. He refused to see or hold Judith and he had visions of you. Then finally he came back."
"Is he happy?"
"He found love again. He's very happy. He has Judith and Michonne."
"Michonne? What a unique name."
"She's a unique woman. She and Judith will help him get through this and they'll help her. They have each other."
"You and Judith were that close to her?"
"Close is an understatement mom. She was my best friend and like a mom to me."
"I'm happy you and dad found someone like that. I was so worried about what would happen to you three after I died. How is she with Judith?"
"She loves her and Judith loves her too. She was a mother before, but her son was killed by walkers. She said me and dad brought her back."
"She sounds wonderful."
"She is mom. Um … I don't know how to say this but …" He moved in closer to Lori. "Is Shane here?" Lori laughed out loud.
"Yes. He's here," Shane said, smiling.
"Shane!" He hugged him.
"I missed you buddy."
"I missed you too."
"So I heard you weren't sure if I would be here," he said, putting Carl in a choke hold and ruffling his hair.
"I surrender! I surrender!" He said, laughing.
"Love the hair!"
"Thanks. I'm sorry for questioning you being here."
"No. I'm sorry. I understand why you would think like that. I was a real asshole on earth."
"Shane!"
"Oh yeah. I'm still getting used to the no cussing rule. Right before I died Rick told me that I made him do this and that this was me not him. I did this. It was like everything hit me all at once. What I did. I needed to hear him say it. I looked into his eyes and I realized how much I hurt him and all I wanted to do was take it all back, but I couldn't speak. That's when I reached up and touched his face. I wanted to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of it. For going after Lori after you came back, for Otis, for trying to kill you, and for everything I said before you killed me." He started tearing up and lowered his head. He put a hand on Shane's shoulder.
"Hey." Shane looked up. "For what it's worth I never blamed you."
"It's worth everything." Shane hugged him.
"You don't blame him either mom right?" She smiled and shook her head.
"He apologized as soon as he saw me and I forgave him. If the big guy can forgive him then I definitely can." They laughed.
"I know that dad forgives you. The last time we talked about you he said that he thinks about you everyday." He started to get emotional.
"You have no idea what that means to me."
"I think I do. I know how close you two were. You were like brothers and you were like a second father to me." Shane hugged him. Then he saw someone else and he immediately got brought back to one of the most horrible days of his life. A day he'll always regret because he never did what he should have done. He was flooded with memories of that day and he was suddenly overwhelmed with emotions and started crying. "Dale!" He ran to him and almost knocked him down. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he said, still hugging him and crying.
"For what?"
"It was my fault. I wandered off into the forest and there was a walker stuck in mud. I took Daryl's gun when he wasn't there and when I saw the walker I thought it would be easy to shoot since it was stuck but just to be sure I started throwing rocks at it. It tried, but it couldn't, so I was aiming to shoot then it got loose and I ran away. I'm sorry. I was a stupid kid." He put his head down and started crying again. Dale put a hand on his shoulder.
"Look at me son." He looked at him, shame written all over his tear streaked face. "You're wrong. It wasn't your fault. You were just a stupid kid right?" He said smiling. Carl laughed.
"Right."
"Look at you. You look like your father. Tall, lean, and handsome."
"I feel strange without my hat," Carl said.
"I know how you feel. I've been without my hat longer then you and I still can't get used to it." Then he saw three people walk up to him.
"Glenn! Hershel! Beth!" He gave them a hug. It was strange to see him with two legs.
"How are Maggie and the baby?" They said at one time. He laughed.
"She hasn't been the same since you died, but Maggie's stronger now. She's a leader to the hilltop's people." They smiled and had a look of pride on their faces. "Gregorys still alive, but he has no respect from his people."
"As it should be," Glenn said. "And the baby?"
"The baby's ok as far as I know." They sighed a breath of relief.
"Who's Gregory?" Beth asked.
"He sounds like a piece of work," Hershel said.
"He is," Glenn said.
"Maggie knows how to handle him though so I think she'll be ok. She has her second family to watch over them. I tried Glenn. I really did."
"Oh no. Please don't tell me you did what I think you did."
"No. I didn't kill him." Glenn took a breath of relief. "But I did kill a couple of his men."
"What were you thinking Carl!"
"I was thinking about the night he killed you and Abraham. I didn't look away because I needed to remember it for when the time came to kill him I wouldn't have a choice. I was thinking he needs to pay."
"You are your father's son aka little dumbass. I'm surprised he didn't kill you."
"He took me on a tour of the sanctuary and then he took me home and made me spaghetti." They laughed.
"He what?" Beth asked. Carl laughed too.
"I know," Carl said.
"That's crazy," Glenn said.
"Like Jekyll and Hyde," Hershel said. "Is he why you're here?" Hershel asked.
"No. I was trying to help someone."
"You trust people more now then you used to and want to take them in now," Glenn said. "Exactly. My dad didn't trust this man yet, but I had to give him a chance. We need people to help us. In the end I asked my dad for peace between him and Negan. I told him my vision for the future. For a world where he and Negan can exist and work together for a better future. I also wrote them letters. In Negan's letter I asked for peace between him and my father."
"I'm proud of you man. I would have done the same thing," Glenn said.
"I would have too," Hershel said.
"Me too," Beth said.
"I hope Negan and your father can do that for you," Hershel said.
"Me too."
"You were so small and cute and now you're tall and handsome," Beth said. He blushed and was about to tip his hat to her, but as he reached for his hat he remembered that he gave it to Judith.
"I feel the same way about my leg. I forget it's there sometimes. You gave it to her didn't you?" Hershel asked.
"Yeah I did. I forgot." Hershel smiled.
"Of course you did," Hershel said.
"You were always a sweet kid," Beth said.
"I remember when you had a crush on my Bethy and if you were her age at the time I would have been happy to have you with Beth like I was to have Maggie with Glenn." "That would have been my pleasure," Carl said. He smiled at her and she gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek.
"I would have approved," Beth said, smiling.
"I would have approved too at the time, but I had a girlfriend named Enid when I was still alive. I hope she's ok."
"She'll be ok. Maggie, Rick, and Michonne well make sure of it," Glenn said.
"Was Maggie close to her," Beth asked?
"Yeah. Me, Maggie, and Enid got close. We took her in when she felt like an outsider." "You adopted her," Hershel said.
"Not officially of course, but yeah. You could say that."
"After Glenn died Enid was there for Maggie, so I know she'll be there for Enid. She knows what it's like. She's going to be a great mother Glenn." He smiled and hugged Carl.
"Thank you."
"She's had good practice with me. She was always there for me no matter what," Beth said.
"She was wonderful with Beth," Hershel said.
"Thanks for saving my life."
"You're welcome. There's a reason for everything. I saved your life then you were there for Judith. She needed her big brother even if it was only for a short time. And you needed to see her grow up and be her big brother."
"Yes I did."
"It gave you a purpose in this world. Your father was able to get through your mother's death and the horrors of this world because you and Judith were there."
"Now I'm not. Now I'm here." He put his head down.
"Hey. Look at me." He looked at him. "Your father is strong. He has Michonne and Judith and even if he didn't. Even if he lost them both he would be ok. He saw someone who was too far gone to help after she lost her husband to this world and he was afraid that could be him if he ever lost you or Judith or the prison and I told him no. Not even then and now that he's lost you and your worried about him I am here to reassure you now that he'll be ok."
"Thank you." He hugged Hershel.
"Looks like there are some other people who want to see you." He turned around. It was Tyrese, Sasha, and Abraham. He hugged them.
"I don't think I ever said thank you for saving me and Tyrese from the walkers Carl."
"Yeah man. I don't think we would have made it without you."
"Your welcome, but I think I owe you a thank you for trying to help us defeat Negan and the saviors."
"Did it work?" Tyrese asked.
"Did she kill that sorry shit?" Abraham asked.
"Abraham!"
"Sorry Sasha." She laughed.
"I'm sure the big guy understands. It will take some time to get used to," Sasha said. "Tyrese and Abraham know. I told them everything," Sasha said.
"Can you fill me in too?" Carl asked. She told him everything. "I don't think I would have been able to do that," Carl said.
"She's so brave," Tyrese said, putting his arm around her.
"I'm a lucky man," Abraham said, and gave her a kiss.
"Unfortunately your brilliant plan didn't work, but you did get a couple of saviors."
"That's my badass girlfriend!" They laughed and he gave her a kiss.
"I learned from the best and stop cussing!" She laughed and hit him in the chest.
"Yes maim."
'That's my sis." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and Sasha gave him a hug.
"Lets not forget that that wasn't me. That was walker me."
"I have no dought that you would have done the same thing and then some," Carl said. She smiled and gave him a hug.
"I agree," Tyrese said.
"Hell yeah!"
"Stop!" They all yelled.
"Alright Alright." They laughed. The next person he saw saved his life.
"Denise!" He hugged her.
"How's Tara?"
"She's ok physically, but I'm not sure otherwise."
"What's going on with her?"
"She wants to get revenge on the guy who killed you and so does Daryl, but my father says that he wants to help them defeat Negan and he has been, but it doesn't matter to them. They still want to kill him."
"So you believe him."
"I think so. They could use all the help they could get. I'm hoping my letter to Negan changed his mind."
"You wrote a letter to him?"
"Yeah."
"Wow! You're a real good guy Carl."
"I guess I saw something in him. Like he could actually be a good guy too."
"I'm worried about Daryl more then Tara. I didn't know him for long, but I'm guessing when he's mad or wants revenge he ends up going rouge and his emotions take over so he can't think straight and he could end up hurting or killing himself or someone else. Am I right?"
"Yeah. Exactly right. After Glenn died Daryl felt guilty. Then Negan captured him. I saw him there once and he wasn't the same man I knew. He was a broken man, but he escaped and he was himself again, but now I'm worried about him too. What would be worse is both of them working together to get revenge on the man who killed you.
Neither of them are thinking straight. Rosita's a lot like Daryl."
"Yeah?"
"She actually tried killing Negan for killing Abraham, but missed and hit his bat Lucille instead. He has some sort of strong connection to Lucille." She laughed. "Yeah. I know. It's weird," he laughed too. "I just noticed. There's something different about you," Carl said.
"Yeah. You too." They looked at each other for a while, trying to figure out what was different then they both said it at the same time.
"Glasses hat." They laughed.
"Thank you for saving my life."
"I was scared, but I had to. Tara showed me that I could. I didn't want to be scared anymore and hide in the infirmary. I've done it before, so I had to try or you would have died. If you had died because I didn't even try I would have never been able to live with myself."
"You gave me more time with my father, Michonne, Judith, and my girlfriend."
"Enid right?"
"Yeah."
"She's a nice girl."
"She's amazing." A teenage girl he has never seen before walked up to him, holding hands with a boy around eleven. She looked familiar. He looked at her for a while trying to figure it out. She felt the same way. She couldn't figure it out either. Then they smiled, both of them realizing who the other was. She was Sophia. They hugged each other and Carl spun her around. She laughed. "I've missed you," Carl said.
"I've missed you too."
"I tried looking for you. We all did. My father felt horrible. Like he failed you and your mom blamed him for it, but in the end she forgave him and now their like family. They all are. Daryl looked for you everyday and got injured by his own arrow and got shot in the process."
"What? You have to tell me the details. Daryl looked for me? You have to be joking. Since when did Daryl care about anyone but him self? When I was alive he never treated me or my mother good. He reminded me of my dad except he didn't physically abuse us, just verbally. He treated everyone like that or he ignored us completely. I can't believe it."
"Well believe it. I think he did it because he cared about your mother and he wanted to do that for her and for you too. After that your mom made sure he would never be alone again. He's never been good with his feelings, so the more she pushed him, the more he tried pushing her away, but she never gave up on him and now their best friends and when one is without the other their miserable. Daryl and my dad are like brothers." "Really?"
"Like I said they are all like family. He is theirs and they are his."
"How's my mom?"
"She's a one woman army." Sophia laughed out loud.
"You're talking about my mom right?" He laughed.
"I understand how you feel, but it's true. She kills walkers, but now people are more of a danger. When we all got separated after one enemy attacked us, some of us reunited while we were stranded out there and then we were all reunited only after we were all kept in a train car by people who lived in a place that was supposed to be a sanctuary, but we would have all been dead if it weren't for her."
"I'm so happy for her. My father was holding her back."
"Your right. It was only after he died that she slowly but surely got stronger. I said something really cruel to her after you died. She came up to me and said that we'll see Sophia again someday in heaven and that she's in a better place. I said no she's not. Heaven is just another lie and if you believe it, then you're an idiot. My dad told me to apologize, but I never did. I wish I had. Now it's too late. I wasn't mad at her. I was mad at myself for not finding you myself. For not trying harder. I wish I could tell her that too."
"Well you believe it now right?" They laughed.
"I sure do, but the truth is I always believed in heaven. I was just too mad to admit it."
"Ok. Then when the time comes you can apologize then. I hope that's not for a long time though," Sophia said.
"Me too. The next time we were stranded a man named Aaron took us to a place that was more like civilization. It had houses, running water, and food. It was our home and he and his people became our family. Then again we got attacked and your mom took most of them down, while the others took the rest. She's a survivor," Carl said.
"I'm so proud of her," Sophia said, tearing up. Carl wiped her tears away.
"I can't get over how much you look like your mom," Carl said, his hand still on her cheek. She put her hand on his and smiled.
"Thank you."
"And speaking of looking like your mom." Carl knelt down in front of the boy and smiled. "I think I know who you are. Is your name Andre?"
"Yeah. Did you know my mom?"
"She was my best friend."
"Some of the people here have been telling me about her. It makes me miss her more." Andre started tearing up.
"I miss her too." Carl tiered up too and hugged Andre. "You're a handsome little dude," he said.
"Thank you."
"Speaking of handsome, I bet you had a girlfriend," Sophia said.
"I did. I miss her too." She saw him start to tear up again.
"Looks like it's my turn," she said, wiping a tear away as it fell. "It's too bad. I had a crush on you. I thought we would grow up together in that world and you would share my feelings, but I died before I could find out." He smiled and held her hands.
"If you hadn't died I think I would have fallen for you hard. You're beautiful, but I still love my girlfriend. Even if we can't be together. I'm hoping we can still be friends though."
"Your finally here with me again and to be honest I've been waiting for you so now that you're here I'm not about to give you up." He gave her a fist bump. He stepped back and he could see everyone. He was overwhelmed with emotions, seeing them all and he began crying.
"I'm sorry. It's too much seeing you all here. I love all of you." He went down the line, hugging them all again.
"Now it's time for you to meet the big guy," Lori said.
"I'm getting a little nervous."
"There's nothing to be afraid of man," Shane said.
"Yeah. We'll all be with you," Hershel said.
"We all know how you feel," Glenn said. Lori and Shane walked up to Carl. She smiled at him, brushed his hair back, and gave him a kiss on the forehead.
"It's time." Lori grabbed his hand and Shane put an arm around his shoulder and they all walked off into the bright light.