Author's Notes: Hi, I am a huge Walking Dead fan and have been since I started reading the comic books when they first came out. Of course, I love the television show and have seen all the episodes. I liked the Carl/Beth pairing and thought I would write a story about it. Also, I should probably say that I stole a lot of the dialogue from the episodes Save The Last One and Cherokee Rose.
The Girl I Love
By
D.B. Cooper
Chapter One
The Girl and The Deer
There was a deer and he was so beautiful. Then there was a girl and I thought she was an angel. Then there was the deer again. I went to touch him and the world exploded in pain. The deer and then the girl.
The next thing I knew my daddy was holding me in his arms and another man besides Shane was there. He was behind us, just a vague shape, and Shane yelling at him to keep up. I bounced up and down and I knew I was dying.
Then another man was yelling, but it only came to me in waves: "Was he bit? . . . Shot . . . Otis . . . Help . . . Get my kit . . . alcohol . . . here . . . alive . . . alive . . . pressure . . . wound . . . heartbeat faint . . . Rick . . . room."
Another voice, I think it was Shane saying, "We have to . . . save . . . stay . . . " The world was agony and I was the only thing in it.
I dreamed and in my dream I was in the woods and the deer was there again. The deer spoke to me with my Dad's voice and said, "Carl's going to be okay." I woke up in pain. Mom and Dad were there with another man I didn't know.
"Where are we?"
"That's Hershel. We're in his house. You had an accident," my Dad said. I could tell that he was scared for me.
"It hurts a lot," I said. My stomach was on fire and it radiated throughout my body.
"I know baby," my Mom said stroking my hair. I saw that she had been crying.
"You should have seen the deer. It was so pretty Mom and so close." I begin to drift again and the deer was there and there was only the deer. THE DEER THE DEER THE DEER THE DEER THE DEER THE DEER! My body convulsed and I froze and woke up and froze again. Everything was cold and hot by turns. The world went black and I knew that I was dying.
I was in the woods again, alone underneath a gray sky with black storm clouds racing overhead. There was a black line ahead of me, with nothing on the other side, not even clouds or sky, just black. I was headed towards it. I knew then that there was no heaven or hell. There was nothing after, just death on the other side of that line. Lightning crashed down in front of me and the deer was there again.
"Listen to me, you are not going to die." The deer had a rich deep voice, like James Earl Jones.
"This isn't real," I said. "Deers don't speak."
"Dead people don't get up and walk, but they can sometimes," he said as he came closer to me. "This is one of them. Listen to me; you are not going to die, but there are hard times ahead. Have you ever been in love Carl?"
"I love my Mom and Dad. I kissed Sophia. I'm friends with her, but she is missing. Will she be okay?"
"You will see Sophia again, but that isn't important. The one who you will be in love with will be there when you wake up. Always stand with her. Be strong for her. Take care of her. No matter what else happens, love her. Bad things are to come, but always remember this. Now turn around, walk the other way, wake up, and live."
I turned around and headed back the other way. The sky was less threatening that way and there was more light. When I woke up, I was staring at a white ceiling. I was hungry and running a fever.
A girl was there, and she was carrying a tray. She was so lovely and fair, like how an angel looks. There was light behind her and it shined not just around her, but from her as well. I looked at her wondering if it was the deer again, "Are you the deer?" The world faded in and out and I knew she wasn't the deer. She just looked at me confused and shook her head no. "Who are you?"
She smiled and said, "My name's Beth Greene."
"What happened? Where am I?"
"A man named Otis shot you. He was trying to shoot a deer, but he shot you instead, it was an accident."
"I know about the deer. He kept me company while I was gone. Where is the man who shot me? Where am I?"
"He's gone now. He died trying to help you. You're on my father's farm. His name is Hershel. He operated on you and he says you'll be fine."
"Is he a doctor?"
"No," she said with a small smile. " Just a veterinarian."
"Where's my Mom and my Dad?"
"They aren't here right now, but I'll get them. Here, I have soup for you. Fresh chicken stew. Eat it, it's good," she said while holding a spoon to my mouth. I slurped it down and I thought she was the nicest girl I ever met. Then the world went away again.
When I woke up, Hershel was there. "Your fever has gone down. Let me get your folks."
My parents came in and I talked to them for a while. They were so glad that I was okay. "Baby . . . Carl," my Mom said as she stroked my cheek.
"Sophia, is she okay?"
"Fine, she's fine son. Rest we'll be right here okay."
"Okay," but I didn't think that Sophia was okay. Something in my Dad's voice as he said it. But I remembered what the deer said, that I would see her again.
Then T-Dog walked into the room and said, "They're here." Mom and Dad went out of the room but T-Dog stayed for a minute and asked me how I was.
"I'm okay, really."
Later, Beth came into the room and feed me again. After she was gone, I lay there thinking about what the deer had told me, about the one I love. 'No,' I thought to myself, 'That was just a dream.'
Later on Shane came to see me. He told me about Otis and how he had died trying to save me. To make up for what he did to me. He almost killed me, but still I couldn't hate him for it. It was an accident. I never met Otis. He died without me meeting him. It was then I knew that I was going to live, because Otis had sacrificed his life for me.