The Walking Dead: 8 months on the road- The Story of Carl

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Chapter 9

The weak winter sun was rapidly disappearing behind the tree tops as Carl and Ashley made their way through the desolate town. A cold breeze wound its way between the empty stores and cracked road surface, a reminder that harsh chill of winter would soon be upon them. After nearly 10 minutes of walking in silence, Carl and Ashley reached the edge of the woods, where upon they would seperate. Turning to face Ashley, Carl gave her a half-smile and muttered a goodbye, before continuing forward into the woods.

''Hey, where do you think you're going?'' said Ashley, almost teasingly.

Carl turned to face her. ''Huh?''

''Well, what about finishing what we started earlier?'', teased Ashley, as she took a step towards Carl and wound her arms around his body.

Wiggling to free himself, Carl jumped backwards. ''I'm sorry, Ashley. But, we're kids. We shouldn't be doing stuff like that. Especially when our groups need us so much. I guess I'm just not comfortable with it,'' he finished with a sigh.

''Oh, Carl,'' whispered Ashley, grasping his hand tightly. Her soft ice-blue eyes seemed to stare right into his soul and he felt his heart swell.

''If that's what you want, then I'm happy to go with it. You're right, we are kids. And especially after James... I guess we should just enjoy being together before doing anything. Any other boy would want to take advantage. Thank you for not. I love you, Carl.''

''I love you too, Ashley,'' whispered Carl. ''And I always will.''

''Good,'' smiled Ashley. And before Carl could realise what was happening, Ashley had leaned forward and kissed him. Her soft lips met his, and Carl pulled her in closer and closed his eyes, trying to savour every last moment. When at last she pulled away, Carl met her gaze steadily and whispered, ''I'll be back soon.''

''You better be,'' agreed Ashley. And without a moments hesitation, Carl turned to the forest and was instantly swallowed up by darkness. For a few seconds Ashley remained staring at the spot where he'd vanished, before shaking her head, turning, and beginning her walk home.

By the time Carl had reached his own camp, the sun had vanished to be replaced by a pale, glowering moon. The death of James, as well as what had happened with Ashley, had drained all energy out of him, and he had barely considered what Rick would say. But at that point, he was so tired he barely cared. Staggering into camp, Carl glanced quickly from left to right and upon releasing he was alone, he exhaled a deep breath he didn't know he had been holding. Having a secret girlfriend, really took it out of you. Tiptoeing across to his bed underneath a rocky hangover, Carl could've screamed at what he saw. At first he thought a walker had taken occupation in his bedroom (if you could call it that), but before he could snatch his gun from its holster, he realised it was Lori, his mother.

Lifting her head, Lori gave Carl a weak smile before speaking, ''Carl, honey, where have you been?''

He could barely cope with another issue after the trying day he'd had, so just stared blankly at his mother.

''Carl,'' said Lori, her eyes flashing red with hidden rage, ''where have you been?''

Each word had a long gap between it, as if a hidden threat lay unspoken between them. Carl knew lying to Lori would be a lot harder than lying to Rick or Hershel. And that had been hard enough!

''Out,'' mumbled Carl nervously.

''And where would 'out' be exactly?'' hissed Lori, leaning forward slightly.

Carl continued to stare at her dumbly. He had no idea what to say. In the end he didn't have to; Lori beat him to it.

''I know,'' she exclaimed loudly. Lowering her voice she repeated it, ''I know.''

''I know you've been going off somewhere. I'm not blind, you know. Rick spoke to you. Forced some information out. A town he said. Said he'd investigated. 'Perfectly fine' was his words. But no. I can't allow my child to wander around aimlessly, in the middle of the freakin' zombie apocolypse!''

''I can look after myself,'' began Carl.

''No you can't. You're 13! What kind of mother am I if I let my child go wandering around waiting to be killed?''

The lecture had made Carl's blood boil, and he had just opened his mouth for a stinging retort when he realised Lori was crying.

''What kind of mother...if you died,'' she gasped between tears.

Feeling his anger die away, Carl felt a sharp pang of guilt enter him. Truthfully, he hadn't been the best son recently. He'd ignored and disobeyed his mother, when in reality all she had been doing was looking out for him. Taking a seat next to her, Carl whispered, ''please stop crying.''

It took a little while, but after 5 minutes or so, Lori had wiped her eyes and stopped sobbing.

''I... I'm...I'm sorry, Mom,'' said Carl. ''I've been a bad son.''

''Don't ever say that,'' interrupted Lori. ''You've been the best damn son anyone could've wished for. It's all my fault...''

''Maybe we can agree we're both at fault?'' questioned Carl.

Lori nodded between sobs before eventually smiling.

''What?''

''When did you get so smart,'' said Lori, giving Carl a nudge.

''When did you get so emotional?'' retorted Carl.

''When this thing started,'' answered Lori with a sigh.

''Yeah, well me too,'' confessed Carl.

''You're a good son, Carl.''

''You're a good Mom.''

''That's why I worry. Don't go into town. Please?''

''I promise.''

Carl was more relieved she hadn't asked why he'd been going to town. And even more happier that, after so long, he and his mother were finally speaking again. And that night he slept, his head in Lori's lap, as she softly stroked his hair and murmured comforting words. It was the most peaceful sleep he'd had in months.

Ashley awoke the next morning, stretched, and clambered sleepily out of her bed in one of the RV's around the camp. Quickly dressing, she poured herself a drink of water, grabbed a stale breakfast bar, and exited noisily. Within a few seconds of being out in the open, Ashley was shivering. Despite the camps protective shell of vehicles, the wind seemed to always find its way in. Glancing around the camp, Ashley wondered if she'd see Carl today, before the calling of her name grabbed her attention. Turning in the direction of the voice, she caught sight of David who quickly beckoned her forward. Her tattered shoes drew up dust as she skidded across the clearing to the old man who welcomed her with a smile.

''Good morning, Ashley. Sleep well?''

Ashley shrugged. ''It was alright.''

''Good. Now, I must speak to you. Somewhere private. Come to my tent.''

Ashley followed her leader, as he led the way, her mind whirling at what David could want to speak to her about. Maybe it's about Carl, she thought. But she doubted anything said about Carl needed to be in privacy- the whole camp knew who he was! Deciding to face the topic when it arose, Ashley lifted her head high and stalked confidently to David's tent.

When she had entered the tent, David indicated a seat and she sat. David took the seat opposite her, leaned forward, and clasped his hands together. He looked serious. Ashley felt a chill run down her spine, nothing to do with the seasonal wind.

''Ashley,'' David began, ''we have a problem. Winter is coming. We've lost James and I fear others will follow unless we do something.''

As he paused for breath, Ashley felt even more confused. Why was the camp leader, an old man with years of knowledge and experience, telling her, a 13 year old girl, about the camps problems?

''I have a plan,'' continued David, ''that only you can help me with. We must merge with Carl's group. We would be stronger, more prepared and nobody else would die. Only you can persuade Carl.''

It took a few seconds for David's words to sink in, and when they finally did, Ashley realised with a jolt, what David was asking her to do.

''You... you want me to ask Carl to merge groups?'' whispered Ashley, her blue eyes as wide as the moon.

''Yes,'' confirmed David. ''Only you can persuade him. You've grown very close.''

Ashley blushed.

''Which is a good thing. Unity can save us all.''

''It can also kill us,'' pointed out Ashley.

''Well, yes but I'm hoping the outcome will be better than that. We've already seen too much death.''

Ashley noticed a haunted look enter his eyes at that sentence, and for a reasons unknown, she shuddered. What was David hiding?

''So, will you do it? Speak to Carl and see what he thinks?''

''I'll talk to him,'' said Ashley slowly, choosing her words carefully. ''But he might hate the idea.''

''He might,'' agreed David, standing to his feet, and walking over to Ashley to place his hand on her shoulder. ''But so, my dear child, do I.''

''We can't stay here forever.''

''Why not? This is a good place.''

''We said that about the farm,'' pointed out Daryl.

Rick and Hershel turned to face him. As winter approached, Rick was pushing for moving on, although Hershel remained convinced they should stay. The arguments were becoming more frequent now, and they all knew a decision had to be made soon.

''We won't make that mistake again,'' said Rick grimly.

''And the mistake could be us leaving,'' pointed out Hershel. ''We have food here. Water. Shelter. Why leave? There's minimal walkers as well. This could be our new home.''

''It's a clearing in the middle of the woods,'' pointed out Daryl. ''If another herd comes along, we're finished.''

''Deal with that problem when it rises,'' snapped Hershel.

''We won't have time to deal with it, we'll be dead,'' Rick retorted. ''If we want to survive, we gotta remain a step ahead. No second chances anymore.''

Daryl nodded.

''Fine, Rick. You lead us, I'm glad you do. But if my daughters are put in danger because of reckless decisions...''

Hershel didn't need to finish. The meaning was very clear. Giving Rick a final look, Hershel turned and headed back in the direction of camp.

Rick sighed and dropped his head to the ground. As Daryl began following Hershel, Rick spoke again.

''Am I doing the right thing?''

Daryl turned to Rick, lifting his crossbow onto his back at the same time.

''Nobody knows. But you're keeping us alive. And that's a hell of good place to start.''

And with that he vanished into the undergrowth like Hershel had, seconds before.

''Yeah,'' whispered Rick.

Making sure his gun was still safely in its holster, Rick took a deep breath and headed towards camp. Above him, the trees waved their branches wildly, and the sky rumbled with the oncoming storm.