A/N: *Sheepish wave... Hi, so late yes no real excuse just a bit lazy over the past couple days. But it's longer so...forgiveness? Spitfire47

Carl looked down to see a large open field covered with a thick blanket of snow, the peeked behind some grey clouds and the grunts of Walkers could be heard from behind. He heard light panting and Carl turned to see Merle coming up the hill, his jacket swung around him as he walked and he gripped branches for support as he walked. Carl took out his gun and aimed it at a Walker coming up from the left, it's only arm outstretched and broken jaw swung back and forth on a band of thick sinew. Carl squeezed the trigger and the Walker fell immediately, a spray of blood splattered onto Merle's jacket.

"Watch where you shoot boy!" he growled angrily.

Carl mumbled sorry while holstering his gun. Merle walked to the edge and looked down to see the empty field and gave a small smirk.

"A shortcut huh? This'll be easy."

Carl was about to protest but Merle started to walk ahead. Carl looked behind to see a couple Walkers hidden behind the trees. Giving a defeated sigh, Carl cautiously walked down the hillside making sure to have steady footing on the icy rocks. As he made it to the bottom Merle slipped on a patch of black ice and landed on his back. He let loose a string of curses as he slowly rose to his feet. He leaned up against the rocky hillside and rolled back his sleeve to show his stump. Carl looked over to see that it was looking a lot better.

XXXXXX

After they had ran from the hoard of Walkers in the town they came across a makeshift camp that was built cruelly with torn tarp, rusty nails, branches and wood planks. It wasn't much but the two called it home for a month and a half using the town to their advantage. The group that had assaulted Carl and Merle left a couple weeks later. One group came when the two were in town searching for supplies but they kept to themselves explaining that they were scavenging for supplies and they would be on their way. What scared Carl most was that Merle looked like he was going to scavenge right from the group but luckily Merle dropped the plan right at the last second waving his hand dismissively heading back to the camp.

Through the month Carl fell ill but Merle's stump got better from antibiotics that they had found in a pharmacy in town. Merle had to make all the runs to the town however the problem was that Merle had one hand which caused complications.

XXXXXX

The two walked into the open field slightly out of breath from all the walking and the cold air. Carl felt himself relax a bit as he took a few steps onto the field as the only thing that crunched under his feet was thick snow. Merle was ahead keeping his stump warm in his pocket against his body while his other hand gripped his gun.

They made it about a third of the way when a loud crunch erupted. Carl immediately took out his gun and aimed it in the direction the noise came from – Merle. The redneck looked confused as well at the sound, he moved slightly and another crack erupted from the snow but this time it was a bit muffled unlike the first. Merle looked down and lifted his boot, stuck to the bottom was gooey tendrils of blood, yellow streaks of pull and what looked like chips of bone. Carl immediately bristled at the sight feeling a bit nauseated as a familiar smell of rotting flesh hit both of them hard.

Then the snow moved around them, like a stormy ocean as what lied beneath stirred at the living flesh. Muffled haunting groans grew as more chorused, rotting limbs sprouted from the white fluff and clawed in the air.

Fear and panic engulfed the two survivors, Carl aimed his gun and shot down the closest Walkers but more appeared too many for the youth to count yet keep track of. He side glance quickly but saw enough, Merle was having a harder time. He bashed the gun of a Walker and resolved with punching a Walker with his stump as another was about to ambush him.

"RUN!" Merle shouted.

Carl didn't need any encouragement. He ran straight able to slip past the Walkers due to his petite stature and speed. He stepped on the Walkers not caring about the accumulating gore on his pants, on occasion he stepped right through the weakened flesh and bone. He looked behind to see Merle not too far behind, the youth continued to shoot until the magazine ran out. Quickly dropping the empty magazine in exchange for a new one Carl felt something grab the back of his jacket and he gasped backing up into Merle as a Walker tugged relentlessly in the opposite direction. Merle shot the Walker and then pushed Carl in the clearest path, the two ran as fast as possible as the maelstrom of Walkers grew larger as more seemed to come up from the thick snow.

Pushing their way through the crowd, the two survivors headed for the forest listening to the continuing chorus of moans continued to tear through the air.

XXXXXX

One month to spring….

Carl felt his feet drag through the mud, literally.

A small flash flood had passed through the forest from a nearby river causing the ground to soften to nothing but mush and snow. The Walkers posed as not much of a threat for the time being as they were stuck near knee deep twisting and turning trying to grab at the youth and the redneck but their flailing arms grabbed nothing, except air. The water had gotten rid of some of the snow which was another positive to the two's situation.

Carl looked up to see Merle just a few steps ahead of him stumbling once in a while and steadying himself using low tree branches or leaning up against their trunks. Carl stopped hearing loud sucking noises coming behind and he turned to see a Walker take gigantic steps towards the living flesh, its arms outstretched and eyes wide and staring. Carl simply raised his gun and shot. The bullet hit its mark and the Walker folded as soon as the bullet passed through its head. Its brains splattered onto the ground and trailed down into the footprint puddles that it left behind.

"Nice shot," Merle breathed.

Carl didn't reply merely turned back and continued to walk forward. Merle caught up and started to lead the way until they came to a bit harder ground allowing the two to take a proper breather from walking a long way through the rough terrain and thick air.

"Where now?" Carl asked.

Merle looked out to see a couple miles of forest ahead of them he scanned the area and then spotted something that was odd. It was a split in the forest, it was uneven but it wasn't natural; a road.

"There," Merle pointed.

Carl saw the road and nodded, he took a step but felt his ankle roll and nearly collapsed Merle's arm shot out and grabbed the youth holding him steady.

"Come on now boy," Merle groaned pulling Carl to his feet.

Once standing Carl tested his weight on his ankle, there was a pinprick of pain with each step but he could bear it. He looked towards the distance knowing from experience that it was ten times longer than it looked. Carl felt like he was going to fall over again but he forced himself to stay steady as he took a step forward preparing to descend.

XXXXXX

Three grueling hours passed, the sun ever growing harassment on the two survivors became near unbearable causing Merle to lash out on a by passing Walker. Carl just stood there watching the gore fly in all directions as Merle pummeled its face with the butt of his gun. When he finished he just stood silently and started to walk away, Carl called after him numerous times before running after him.

They walked about a kilometre before Merle collapsed, his head struck a rock and Carl feared the worst but Merle stood on shaky feet. His eyes were glazed over and it looked like he didn't know where he was; like he was lost.

In truth they were lost, they had lost their way a couple kilometre's back but they continued to move. With no way of making a shelter, a fear of Walkers and bits of adrenaline shot into their system were the only things that kept them going. They ate what was left which wasn't much, only a can of peas that were way past due date and they drank from streams knowing that the possibility of drinking animal crap was high.

Carl swayed drastically this way and that leaning against trees while Merle practically slamming right into them. They walked a couple centimetres before collapsing completely. Carl leaned against a tree sliding down the smooth trunk until he hit the ground with a small thump. Merle had fallen painfully on his side, he tried to break his fall but his stump slammed against a rock making the redneck give a hoarse cry of pain.

"Mer…le…," Carl said in a low whisper. His voice lost in the slight breeze that whipped gently around them, tossing their loosing clothing this way and that.

The man looked over, his sunken eyes tried to focus but anyone could tell that he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.

A low rumble cracked through the forest, vibrating off the trees and scaring off small animals. Carl looked around but the very movement sent waves of pain and nausea through his small body, wracks of pain made him collapse sideways onto the ground and the youth rolled onto his stomach to vomit thick clear bile. A nasty smell gathered around the two and Carl allowed his body to relax and fall his hair wet in his own puke. He looked over to see Merle take something out of his pocket. His voice was completely lost, his mouth opened but nothing came out. However when he saw what Merle had taken out, there were no words for the youth to say.

The light glinted off the gun, dull markings covered it but bits of light managed to hit bits that were not covered with blood and gore. The look in Merle's eyes was clear; sorrow. Carl felt a surge of energy pulse through his body but only for a bit – he managed to get to his knees before falling on all fours. The urge to scream was so powerful that Carl feared that he might actually do it, but his throat was raw and that urge died away as he slowly lowered himself back onto the ground.

A couple snaps suddenly sent Carl's instincts off but the youth hardly had the energy to turn his head. A low twang caught the youth's attention and he looked over to see Merle already passed out. Whether he would wake or not bothered him – whether himself woke scared him even more. Someone gargled something and then a reply came. Carl tried to lift himself partially off the ground, whoever was there whether they were kind or not needed to know that he was alive and possibly even the man before him. Something was pressed against his back and then he caught very few words.

"….who…travelling…this man…."

Carl didn't even try to reply, with barely enough energy to lift his head the youth allowed his muscles to relax as ominous darkness edged his vision and finally veiled it completely.

XXXXXX

In Carl's dream he was back in the city, he was standing in the middle of a large hoard of Walkers. Carl wanted to push through the crowd and flee. But he felt oddly comfortable in the crowd, no fear or anxiety crept into him instead just complete peace. A couple Walkers nudged past the youth and continued on. He felt himself shuffle forward with one of the passing Walkers and then turn as more bumped into him. He looked down to see that his clothes were clean there were no rips or blood and no sign of decomposition whatsoever. This confused the youth but he wasn't being swarmed and eaten alive so he was slightly thankful for that.

Suddenly the Walkers suddenly pushed forward nearly trampling Carl, the boy stumbled forward slamming into the Walker ahead of him who growled in annoyance. A waft of something sweet drifted around Carl and the boy couldn't help but inhale the scent. As more Walkers around him smelled it they walked in the direction the scent was coming from forcing Carl to either move or be stepped on.

That was when he woke up.

XXXXXX

His eyes snapped open and a wheezy breath caught the attention of one of the men on guard. The guard shouted out the door and then moved back to Carl's bedside.

"Hey can ya hear me kid?"

Carl blinked, his throat was raw and his tongue felt oddly thick in his mouth. The rim of his vision was still a bit fuzzy so he wasn't sure how long he was going to have consciousness. A sudden prick sent Carl over the edge and the youth nearly fell off the bed but the guard managed to grab hold of his arm and keep him upright.

"Easy there."

Carl looked back with hardened eyes. Something crashed outside the room, the noise startled Carl and the youth kicked upward catching the man in the mouth. The man let go grabbing his mouth, blood pouring heavily between his fingers and Carl tumbling to the ground landing painfully on his side.

"Why you little sh-."

"Crowley!"

The new voice echoed effortlessly around the small room, and everyone stopped moving.

Carl slowly drew himself up using the edge of the examination table as support. He peeked over the edge to see a new man walk in he was a bit taller and bigger than the guard. He was dressed in clean clothes, and it was clear that he was the leader of wherever they were.

Carl straightened more as the man came closer. He turned to the doctor and said, "Get him cleaned up."

She nodded without hesitation and led the man to another room and closed the door. Carl looked around properly to see that it was just him, Merle wasn't even there. A horrible thought came into his mind and Carl felt himself slightly stiffen.

"He's not dead."

The youth snapped his head in the man's direction.

"Your father isn't dead."

Carl made a face. "He's not my dad."

"Then who is he?"

Carl opened his mouth then closed it. He narrowed his eyes staring hard at the man trying to figure out how much to tell him. It seemed that the man understood and drew a chair and sat down.

"I'm the Governor," he said with a clear dominant voice.

The boy hesitated but answered: "Carl."

The two sat in silence for a minute just looking at each other as if seeing who would crack first. However it was the Governor who broke the spell.

"It seems that you have had quite the journey with your…," the Governor purposely let the sentence trail.

"Companion," Carl immediately blurted.

The Governor raised an eyebrow clearly wanting to know more.

"I got lost from my original group and came across him."

The Governor nodded thoughtfully. "Well your…companion isn't quite awake yet but it still stable." – the Governor rose from his seat and walked around the table to Carl. He gently lifted the boy onto the examination table and looked at the boy properly.

"You both sustained mass injuries, cuts, bruises and malnutrition."

The Governor paused for his words to sink in and then continued, "you have a concussion and some wounds had to be stitched up." He thumbed the gauze over the sewn up gash on Carl's face where Merle had pistol whipped him. An uncomfortable silence brewed between the two but it died as soon as the door to the small supply room opened. Out walked an angered Crowley who glared daggers at the youth, his lip was massively swollen and a piece of gauze poked out the corner of his mouth. The Governor walked up to the doctor who whispered the guard's condition; Carl caught bits of it.

"…torn inside…nothing chipped...no talking…check up…."

Carl was glad it was nothing too serious as it wasn't intentional. Whatever had gone on outside had startled him much more than expected. The Governor finally turned to the youth and said, "This is Dr. Stevens, she had been looking after you since your arrival."

"To where?"

The Governor didn't answer, instead herded Crowley outside and closed the door.

"You'll be staying here for the next couple days," Dr. Stevens said, "we want to be sure that your body is reacting well to the medication that is being administered. So far there have been no complications but we have to be sure. You've been hooked to an IV for a bit so we're going to start introducing solid food a little at a time. Scarring is evident," Dr. Stevens stopped fiddling with the equipment and then laid a gentle kind hand on Carl's face. The boy stiffened slightly, "which is such a pity to such a handsome face."

Carl blinked, a small cracked smile appeared.

"Don't worry about Crowley," Dr. Stevens reassured, "nothing major, he just bit down on the inside of his mouth when you accidentally kicked him."

Carl was slightly relieved that Dr. Stevens called it an accident, but before he could say anything a loud yawn escaped from his mouth.

"Hmm…quite eventful since you have woken up that's for sure," the doctor agreed. "Here."

She produced a pebble size pill and gently lifted Carl's chin.

"Open and lift your tongue."

The boy did as he was told and then as soon as he closed his mouth he immediately felt the pill dissolve. He was about to speak when Dr. Stevens shook her head.

"Keep still, let it dissolve."

Carl nodded doing as he told, after a few seconds he felt oddly light headed like he was going to throw up. But his eyelids were heavy and his mind started to cloud over.

"That's it," Dr. Stevens said calmly, she helped the youth into a sitting position. "Let the medication do its work."

Carl didn't protest, in fact feeling the tension release from his body felt rather better than he had hoped. He felt something being pulled over his body and stop just at his shoulders. The doctor knelt down and whispered three words: "Welcome to Woodbury."