Carl would like to say that he was a relatively calm person. Over the years, he had learned to keep his cool and remain calm even in the worst of situations. Even when he was at a point in time where death seemed impossible to evade, he never panicked, not once. Because to panic or cry or let the dead take him would be the equivalent of giving up - of letting himself die. And he did not like giving up, nor did he like dying. He was stubborn like that, he supposed.
So no, Carl did not panic very often.
He didn't freak out or lose it over something when under orders from Alpha. Or Beta. Or anyone who was in charge at the time. Hell, he didn't even panic all that much in general. Carl didn't panic because panicking in the heat of the moment - when they were herding walkers or in the middle of some kind of battle - meant death. It meant a horrible, painful death at the rotted hands of the dead or a quick one from a bullet to the head or a knife to the stomach, and frankly, Carl did not want to die, and he wasn't planning on letting that happen anytime soon. Death could go fuck right off and take some other poor, unfortunate soul to its realm.
But right now, it was safe to say that Carl was panicking. Panicking quite terribly, to be honest. Not because Daryl had figured out who he was - though he wasn't ashamed to admit that he had definitely been freaking out a little when that had happened. No, Carl was panicking for a whole different reason entirely. And right now, he needed to get his head out of his ass to find a way to somehow deal with this new situation. That 'new' situation being his leader - who he had previously thought had abandoned him and Lydia in the place they'd been captured - appearing at the gates of Hilltop, demanding their return.
Alpha had come to Hilltop.
But... that couldn't be right. Could it? Alpha didn't come back for those who got captured. She simply left them and continued on with leading the pack, completely uncaring about what might happen to those who got caught: be it death or torture or something much, much worse. Carl had seen it happen hundreds of times since he's been a part of the Whisperers. Over and over and over without a single shred of remorse ever being shown. No matter how important or useful the one caught may or may not be, if they got captured, she left them without a second thought. That was just how it was. Those were the rules that they followed, and he had accepted that a long, long time ago.
But, apparently, there were exceptions. Something that Carl hadn't even been aware of up until now.
Everyone in the community was quiet for a long time after Alpha had spoken. Only a few hushed murmurs could still be heard as the people stopped whatever it was that they were doing to stare up at the gate. And although it was closed and most were unable to see what was going on, they had all heard Alpha's voice, and they knew that something was going on, making them all uneasy. The anxiety surrounding them all was thick and heavy, hanging in the air as fog often did in the early mornings, and the tension was so thick that one could almost cut it with a knife.
Daryl and Glenn rushed out of the room and right out through the front doors of the large house, and, after a few moments of hesitation, Carl followed them. His footsteps were near silent on the wood flooring of the house. No one seemed to pay him any mind as he emerged, most of them much too preoccupied with the new enemy now right outside their door to really notice much else. And while a few Hilltoppers did seem to see him, none of them seemed to care very much about him being outside of his cell at all - Carl was just glad no one was yelling at him.
"Rick?" Daryl called out from where he was ahead of Carl, his voice quiet enough not to be heard outside the walls, and Carl couldn't help but tense as he caught sight of his father a few feet in front of them, turning around at the sound of Daryl's voice. Carl would have hidden if he could have, but the man spotted him just as quickly as Carl had him, and so hiding became impossible.
His father faltered the moment he saw Carl, eyes widening slightly in surprise. Most likely at seeing him out of his cell, he guessed. Or maybe if what Daryl said was true, had once again recognized the resemblance between Delta and his long-lost son. Carl swallowed down the lump forming in his throat, forcing himself to meet his father's gaze, allowing his face to melt into a more neutral expression. He could already feel Daryl's gaze return back to him, burning holes into his side as the two of them pulled to a halt in front of Rick.
"What's goin' on out here?" Daryl hissed, eyes moving away from Carl and flickering up to where a group of people had climbed up onto what Carl could only assume was the lookout. "Glenn said to come out 'ere, didn't say why. Is it-"
"-my people, is it them?" Carl interjected, praying with every fiber of his being that it wasn't. That it was just some other random group and that Carl was simply mistaken. Though despite his hope, he knew perfectly well that it was the pack. He had heard Alpha speaking, even if he hadn't been able to discern what exactly she had been saying. Carl could recognize her voice anywhere. It was her.
His father looked taken aback at the sound of his voice, seemingly surprised by the fact that Carl had even spoken. Daryl was looking at him curiously now too - his expression darkening somewhat when he heard Carl refer to them as 'his' people. But Carl ignored it, his attention focused on his father and whatever the hell his answer may or may not be. Carl already knew what it was, though. It was a foolish hope to believe that it might not be Alpha, that Carl and Lydia would be able to stay here as Daryl had offered. Since when had anything ever gone the right way for Carl? Everything always went wrong, and he was stupid for hoping that things might have taken a turn for the better.
"Seeing as she's out there asking for her two people back - yes." There was something reluctant in his father's tone as he answered. As if he wasn't at all that keen on letting him and Lydia go. That would make sense, Carl supposed. That and his father never really liked taking orders from people. An odd sense of sadness erupted inside Carl, and he pulled his eyes away from his father, trying to somehow will it away.
"We don' have'ta do what she says," Daryl said suddenly, and it took Carl a second to realize that the archer was talking to him now, "you can stay, you know that. You don't have to go anywhere with that woman if you don't want to."
The offer was tempting. Awfully tempting. A large part of Carl wanted nothing more than to stay within this community's walls with his father and Daryl and Lydia and Maggie and Hershel and Glenn. Hell, even Henry, and he hadn't even known the fucker for that long. In fact, for a second, he was inclined to do just that, to accept Daryl's offer and stay right here, but then reality, along with everything else, soon caught up to him.
Alpha wasn't a stupid woman - in fact, she was the exact opposite. She was smart, cunning, manipulative, conniving, and so many other things. She wouldn't have come to Hilltop to demand he and Lydia's return if she didn't have some way to ensure that it would happen. And, if he was remembering things correctly, Daryl had said back in the cellar with him, Maggie, Henry, and Lydia that two of their people had gone missing recently. There was no way that, right after he and Lydia had gotten caught, that two of Hilltop's people had coincidentally gone missing. That was Alpha's doing, no doubt, and knowing her, she was going to use those two people - alive or dead - to her advantage.
So there was no denying that, no matter how much he wished that they could, Carl and Lydia couldn't stay. It was simply impossible.
Ignoring the churning whirlwind of emotions still inside him, Carl gave Daryl a small shake of his head, quickly averting his gaze so he wouldn't have to see the look of anger and disappointment on his face right after. Instead, Carl focused his attention back on the lookout area, where one of the people up there had begun speaking to Alpha, who was no doubt somewhere on the other side of that gate. A woman with dark, long hair and a green jacket had been brave enough to call out after a long, tense silence: "Our community is more than capable of defending itself!"
"I show you my face because we mean you no harm." Alpha's voice called out in return, and Carl felt himself go rigid, a shiver going down his spine. Hearing her voice alone often made Carl freeze in place, though whether it was out of fear, surprise, or respect he never knew. What he did know, however, was that her words were lies - much like the story she had told Lydia about her father. There was no way that Alpha meant this community 'no harm.' Carl already knew she would try and tear it down just like she had with so many others. "I just want my people. I know you have them."
The tense silence returned soon after that, and, when a few seconds passed with no actions being made, Daryl muttered something under his breath, striding forward in the direction of the lookout. The archer started climbing up, Carl's father following seconds later.
Carl was then left standing alone, and he crossed his arms, hugging them tightly over his chest. He inhaled deeply, closing his eye and trying desperately to ignore the many stares that he could feel the people of Hilltop giving him since Alpha's announcement. The murmurs were starting up again. Carl just wanted them all to shut up.
"You should turn around," Carl heard Daryl say, his voice switching from the (somewhat) kind tone of voice he had been using when speaking to Carl to a more threatening one that he remembered the man often using on enemies or people he generally disliked. It was one that Daryl had also used on Carl before the archer had found out his real identity. "Leave now, and no one gets hurt."
Oh, how Carl wished things could be that easy. That Alpha might actually heed Daryl's words and leave. But he also knew that the possibility of that ever happening was... well... close to none, really. Alpha hardly ever got intimidated, hardly ever listened to anyone other than Beta. There would be no reason for that to change now.
And as intimidating as Daryl could be, he was nothing that Alpha hadn't already seen. Nothing compared to how intimidating Alpha could be herself.
There was a pause. "Wrong answer," Alpha said, her voice ringing loud and clear throughout Hilltop. There was another silence, and then he saw one of the people up on the lookout recoil suddenly. Then, the pit of dread that had begun to form in his stomach only increased in size. One of the people up there - a young woman around Carl's age or a little older - held up a pair of binoculars, most likely looking down at the area around Alpha's group. She said something quietly to Carl's father, who gave the woman a small nod, muttering something back to her in return.
All the people up on the lookout were talking to one another now. Though their voices were much too quiet for Carl and anyone else down on the ground to understand. Finally, after a few seconds of their supposed arguing, one of them turned back to the outside of the gate and called out: "Did you kill our friends? We found their horses."
Another brief pause. "No," Alpha said, "Which one of you leads these people?"
Don't tell her, Carl prayed, please for fucks sake, have some goddamn sense and do not tell her.
"The hell does it matter?" Daryl snapped, and Carl found himself heaving a small sigh of relief.
The soft pitter patter of footsteps came up behind him, and he turned, nearly flinching away as a young woman with short brown hair pulled to a stop beside him, her shoulders brushing against his. She didn't seem to pay Carl any mind, eyes pinned on the lookout instead. He shifted, uncomfortable with how close she now was to him. Carl took a small step back, away from the woman so she wouldn't be intruding on his space nearly as much.
Alpha's voice rang out once more, distracting him from his discomfort: "Then I'll just address all of you. Your people crossed into our land. There will be no conflict-" lies "-your people killed our people. There will be no conflict-" more lies "-I'm done talkin'. Bring me both my people, or there will be conflict."
Daryl seemed to bristle with rage at her words, muttering something to Carl's father before turning suddenly, quickly catching the other people who were standing on the lookout's attention. He started climbing down, the others following. Carl started toward him, hesitating for a split second when he saw his father jumping down from the lookout as well.
The woman who had previously been standing next to him rushed forward, accidentally pushing Carl to the side in her haste to get to Daryl. "Does she have Alden and Luke?" She shot out instantly, her eyes widened with worry. Daryl shook his head.
"I don't know." The man grunted, eyes locking onto Carl. "What abou' you, have any ideas?"
Carl swallowed down the lump in his throat, mouth going dry. "I don't-" he really wasn't liking all the attention that was now directed onto him "-maybe? Probably? I don't know. She's unpredictable. Even I can't tell what she's gonna do if you don't hand us over to her. I can only guess-"
"Wait, what do you mean?" Henry's voice asked from behind him. Carl turned, biting back a yelp as Daryl brushed past him. What was it now with people nearly knocking him over? "Hand you over? What's going on?"
Carl sighed, meeting Henry's eyes and watching as the realization dawned in them. "No, we-" the teen turned toward Daryl, quickening his pace to follow the archer, "-we can't do that!"
"You don't have much choice, dumbass," Carl snapped at the teen, though the boy gave no indication of hearing. "Do you really think she came here expecting us to just be handed back? She has some way to ensure you hand us back. She's not stupid."
Daryl, by the looks of it, had heard what Carl said, turning back to look at him and shaking his head. "You ain't goin' back to her. Neither is the girl. I won't let them take you both."
"Then what are we doing, Daryl? We don't have very many options." Carl's father asked from behind him, and Carl jumped, nearly falling over from surprise and fear, his hand automatically reaching for his knife - which he still hadn't gotten back. Carl caught his footing fairly quickly, face red as he rushed forward to catch up to Daryl and to avoid any potential confrontation with his father. If he had looked back, however, he would have seen that his father had frozen in place, staring off after him with lost, confused, and grief-filled blue eyes - Delta's terrified reaction having hurt him despite the man having no idea why.
Carl hadn't looked back, however, and therefore had not seen the look on his father's face, nor did he see the way that the man stared after him longingly as he went. He caught up to Daryl and Henry, and the woman as Daryl pulled to a stop by the gate. "She's done talkin'," he was saying, turning to Henry with an eerily familiar fire in his eyes, "I'm not."
Before he could ask what he was talking about, someone grabbed Carl by the arm, yanking him back as the gates were pulled open. He yelped in surprise, struggling for a brief moment before finally relaxing when he realized it was only Glenn, who had pulled him out of view from anyone who might have been looking in through the gate. Or, in other words, out of sight from Alpha, who would have no doubt seen him if Glenn hadn't pulled him away. "Smart," he breathed, giving Glenn a small grin - though it felt forced despite his best efforts at making it feel genuine.
Glenn responded by giving him a tired smile of his own. "Thought it wouldn't be a good thing if they saw one of their own standing among us." Carl nodded, mouth growing dry as the words registered. He would have had to have done a whole lot of explaining if Alpha had seen him standing there.
The gates creaked back shut as two people pulled them closed again, and, after making sure they were staying closed, Glenn released his grip on Carl's arm, turning back to the lookout and yelling some to Maggie. As soon as Carl was free, he rubbed at his arm and twisted around, prepared to find a place with a little less people. Then, a movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and Carl turned again, catching a glimpse of blond hair disappearing behind one of the trailers. Where is he going? He pondered, staring off after Henry.
Glancing around, Carl found that nobody was looking at him. Scrap that, nobody was even paying him any attention whatsoever. They were all too preoccupied with all that was happening outside their walls. Either muttering quietly to one another, finding places to hide in case things went wrong, or finding a spot in the community that was high enough to look over the walls. Trying to get a glimpse of what was going on, by the looks of it. But not a single one of them was paying attention to what Carl was doing. Not even his father, who had returned to his spot on the lookout, a dazed look on his face as he stared outward, no doubt watching whatever the hell Daryl was doing to make sure he didn't get himself killed.
After another quick glance around, Carl began to move. Darting away and out of sight in the direction he had seen Henry go. It only took him a couple of moments to figure it out, and upon seeing the cellar door wide open, his suspicions were only confirmed. Henry and Lydia's voices were echoing out from the cellar, and Carl stopped right in front of the trapdoors, peering down the staircase into the darkness. He stood there for a few seconds, and after a moment or two, Henry and Lydia came into view.
The two of them stopped in their tracks upon seeing him standing there. Henry stiffened slightly, eyes going wide with shock. Carl knew he would have been amused by the look now on Henry's face if the current situation hadn't been so dire. Lydia was the first to recover from her surprise (not that he expected anything else), bounding up the stairs and engulfing him in a tight hug, burrowing her face into his neck. He returned it as best he could, giving her a grim smile as she pulled away.
"My mom is she-" Lydia broke off, unable to find the words. "She's really here?" She whispered after a few seconds, her voice coated with fear and disbelief.
"Yes, she is," Carl forced out, his eyes strayed over to Henry, who had run up the stairs after Lydia and was now at her side. The blond looked anxious: twitching and glancing around as if he expected a walker or something to pop out at any moment. "Are you... are you hiding her? Is that why..."
"I'm not letting her go back there," Henry said, crossing his arms, his whole body rippling with tension, "you shouldn't have to, either. I know a place you can hide until things blow over. You both can come with me and-"
"Daryl's one hell of a good tracker," Carl interrupted, "do you really think you would be able to hide your tracks well enough to lose his trail if he comes after us?" Henry's face shifted to something uncertain, and Carl felt something inside him soften. "Listen, Henry, I don't want to go back, neither does Lydia, but they took two of your people hostage-" Henry's head snapped up at this, his eyes widening with shock "-if we don't go back to Alpha, they're going to die. Do you really think it's worth it?"
"But... you know what she does to her." Henry insisted. "Do you really want her to go back to them? Do you really want to put her through that again?"
"What I want doesn't matter," Carl argued, hating just how accurate the statement was, "I wish I could do something, I really do, but I can't. My hands are tied, Henry. Either both me and Lydia go back, or your friends die. It's that simple."
"What if they just get one of you?" Henry asked, an idea clearly forming judging by the look in his eyes. "We... we can tell them a lie about Lydia. That she died or something. Can't we?"
Carl frowned at this, taking in the hopeful expression on Henry's face. He honestly should probably feel more offended at the fact that Henry wanted to use Carl as bait to keep Lydia here but couldn't really muster up any fucks to give at the moment. That and he would definitely do something like that if it meant keeping Lydia safe. Carl then glanced toward Lydia, who looked both hesitant and doubtful. "My mom is smart. She won't believe a lie like that." Lydia said softly.
A loud shout from nearby quickly caught their attention. Carl turned, his heart jumping at the noise. They didn't have the time to argue about this. It was only a matter of time before someone came looking for him and Lydia. Henry seemed to sense this too, turning to Carl with a look of determination in his eyes. "You either come with us, or you don't. But I'm not letting Lydia go back to her."
"You don't get to decide," Lydia said suddenly, drawing both Henry and Carl's attention away from one another. "We're gonna go back - Delta and I. We have to. You heard him," she motioned toward Carl, "my mom has two of your people. She'll kill them if she doesn't get us back."
"What?" Henry stared at her, shocked. "No, no, we can - we can-"
"I want to - go back, I mean," Lydia interjected, ignoring the look of doubt on Carl's face, "she's my mother. They're our people." She shrugged, smiling sadly, "I miss them. And... and I'm gonna miss you, too. And I'm gonna be okay. I'm pretty sure Delta won't allow otherwise."
Damn right, I won't, Carl thought, crossing his arms and pinning Henry with a hard stare. He knew that Lydia didn't really want to go back to her mother - he had known her long enough to tell when she was lying - but what confused him was why she was even lying about it. Did she want to comfort Henry? An unexpected flare of annoyance sparked up at that, and he pushed it down as soon as it came.
Either way, it didn't seem as though Henry was very comforted by Lydia's words. The blond opened his mouth again to protest when, suddenly, another shout sounded - nearer this time - and the three of them turned, Carl stiffening when he spotted two of Hilltop's women making their way over. The shorter of the two jogged up to them, eyes scouring over the three of them as she neared. A brief look of surprise passed over her face upon seeing Lydia, but she masked it pretty quickly.
"What's going on here?" She questioned, pulling to a stop. Carl took a small step forward, placing himself in front of Lydia and crossing his arms. The taller of the two women stopped behind the first, a bow slung over her shoulders. She was eyeing them as well: most likely taking in Henry's sheepishness, the fact Lydia was out of her cell, and Carl standing in front of both of them, also out of his cell. He watched as her hand gradually went to her belt, where a large hunting knife was placed.
"Ask Henry," Carl said curtly, eye darting to the weapons they were wielding. Damn, he was really wishing he had his own knife right now. Maybe he wouldn't be able to do much with it, but it would sure as hell make him feel a whole lot better.
"I don't think we need to," the first woman said, "I'm assuming you all know what's going on then?"
"My mom's here for us, Henry told me," Lydia confirmed, eyes downcast with her shoulders slumped. "She has two of your people, right?"
"They do." The second woman affirmed. "Gonna kill them if we don't give you two up."
"And there's nothing you can do?" Henry tried, his eyes wide and pleading. At the looks on the two women's faces, he shook his head, disbelieving. "There has to be something! Anything?"
"Trust me, kid, there ain't."
The group turned almost simultaneously at hearing the new voice, and Carl was not surprised at all upon catching sight of Daryl making his way over. What did surprise him, however, was the sight of the German Shepherd now trotting at the archer's heels, tongue lolling out of its mouth. Carl stared at the canine with thinly veiled surprise, unable to recall the last time he's even laid eyes on an ordinary looking dog and not one of the rapid ones living in the wild.
When he got the feeling of eyes on him, Carl looked up, freezing upon meeting the familiar blue eyes of his father, who was standing on Daryl's other side. There was something odd about the way his father was staring at him, and for a brief moment, he feared that Daryl had told him about his identity, but then Rick tore his eyes away, shaking his head and muttering something to himself. Carl relaxed a small bit, knowing that if his father had known it was him, then things would be going very differently now.
"Only way to get Alden and Luke is to hand those two over." Daryl was continuing on, anger and regret tainting his voice, his eyes briefly darting over to Rick before landing on Carl. "I'm sorry, kid. Wish things could be different."
"I do, too," Carl responded, ignoring the confused look Lydia was giving him, "can't do shit to change it, though."
"Yeah," Daryl gave him a sad smile, his gaze moving over to Lydia, who was standing behind him. "You two ready for this, then?
Carl's grim smile was the man's only response.
Carl had almost forgotten how intimidating Alpha was.
And he said almost because Alpha was a fucking terrifying human being (if you could even call her that anymore), and Carl didn't think he could ever forget just how frightened she made him feel at times, no matter how much he wished he could. Not even Beta had intimidated him as much as Alpha often did, and that was saying something because Carl had been pretty damn intimidated by Beta when he first met the man seven or six years ago.
The thing was, Alpha wasn't very tall, nor did she seem all that strong at first glance. But there were more ways to be terrifying than just size and strength. It was in her stature, the way she carried herself, the aura of power and confidence that always seemed to surround her. Carl still remembered seeing her for the first time at fifteen (or sixteen. Carl couldn't quite recall how old he had been when he first met her). She had scared the everloving shit out of him, more so than the Governor or anyone else he'd met in his lifetime could ever dream of doing.
Carl took in a deep breath, closing his remaining eye as he mentally prepared himself for what was about to come. The gate creaked open once more, and Carl felt Daryl's grip on his arm tighten as he began leading him down the path. Back to Alpha.
Carl opened his eye as they took the first step forward, looking up. Alpha's eyes snapped onto him instantly, and he forced himself to meet the woman's gaze, keeping his face neutral. She and two other members of the pack stepped through the outer gate, taking two unfamiliar men - the Hilltop's missing people, Carl realized - along with them. His leader tilted her head, face blank as she looked Carl up and down - assessing him. Her eyes landed on the bruise still perfectly visible on his face, and she arched a brow. Carl only raised his head higher in response, refusing to let her see him cower.
"I'm going to tell him," Daryl muttered into his ear, and Carl tilted his head to the side to look at him, keeping his face carefully blank - aware of the pack now watching them as they approached. "Not now - but a few hours after you both leave. Don' want 'im goin' after you and gettin' himself killed."
Carl tried - he really did - to ignore the whirlwind of emotions that started at that. He couldn't let them show on his face - if he did, the pack would see it, and that was the last thing he wanted. But Carl didn't have the time to argue with Daryl, to try and convince him to do otherwise, so Carl said nothing, clenching his jaw as they drew even nearer to Alpha. He could only hope that his father didn't do anything stupid when hearing that Carl was alive - he would rather keep his non-orphan status, thank you very much.
They had just about reached her when, suddenly, a baby cry split the air: something that quickly caught everyone in the vicinity's attention, even Alpha's - who turned her head, stopping as she caught sight of the source of the noise. Daryl stopped as well, his face twitching with thinly disguised horror when the archer saw what it was too.
Carl had to stand on his tip-toes to get a good look. The mystery baby cried out once more, and his eyes immediately darted toward the sound. He spotted one of the women of the pack - what was her name again? Franky or something? Frances? Hell if he knew. Whatever her name was, she was bouncing a baby in her arms, a makeshift sling wrapped around her shoulders, swaying and rocking as she tried desperately to calm her crying baby. Then, his eyes drifted a little further, and he saw the walkers.
Well, fuck.
Carl knew what would happen if that baby didn't quiet right fucking now. He had seen it happen before, even if it wasn't often. Despite this, it never got any easier to watch, knowing that he didn't do a single thing to help a crying child surrounded by walkers while standing right there. Carl could only pray that, for both his and the mother of the baby's sake, that she would be able to calm her child. That he wouldn't have to listen as yet another baby's life was cut much too short at the hands of the dead.
But it seemed that the odds were, once again, not in his favor. The baby's crying got even louder, and a pit of sadness and helplessness started forming in the pit of his stomach when the walkers gradually began taking notice. They snarled and growled, shuffling toward the mother and child - the mother getting more and more frantic as the seconds go by and the walkers get even closer. She glanced up at them, and Carl didn't even have to be close to the woman to see the fear and desperation that her body language was showing. She looked down at her baby and then the walkers again before finally looking toward Alpha.
Alpha didn't seem all that phased by this new and unexpected turn of events. Instead, she stared the woman in the eye, her gaze quickly flitting from the walkers approaching before going back to the mother. Then, Alpha shrugged, motioning with her head for the other woman to put the baby down. Something in the mother shifted, and her shoulders slumped, understanding and defeat dawning upon her.
From beside him, Daryl stilled, his fingers tightening around Carl's arm hard enough to bruise. Then, keeping his voice low as to not draw any unwanted attention, asked: "What - what are they doin?"
Carl just shook his head, refusing to respond. Maybe after this, Daryl would realize just how terrible the Whisperers really were. How Carl was no better than any of them - and decide not to tell his father about his real identity after all. It was a foolish hope. Daryl hardly ever got dissuaded from something he had set his mind on. Why should this be any different?
The mother reached an arm over her shoulder, lifting the sling up over her head. Then - with her body visibly shaking - placing the infant onto the ground. She straightened up seconds later, shoulders slumping once more as she dragged herself away from her crying baby - who had just been doomed to a horrible fate. One of the men who Alpha had taken hostage let out a muffled shout, realizing what was about to happen.
The other one leaned forward, managing to say through his gag, "it's a baby!"
Alpha turned her attention to her prisoners. "To live with the dead means to live in silence," she said in a hushed whisper, "if the mother can't quiet the child..." she twisted around, eyes locking onto Carl's, "-then, the dead will."
"So, yer just gonna let the kid die?" Daryl asked her, voice brimming with undisguised rage. "It's a fucking baby - babies don't know any better!"
Alpha gave Daryl a long stare, tilting her head as an amused smile spread across her face. "Natural selection," she said in a voice similar to a hiss.
A loud banging started from somewhere behind them. Carl turned, catching sight of various Hilltoppers smacking their hands against the side of the walls, shouting and making the most noise they could. They were trying to draw the walker's attention away from the baby.
Carl looked away, already knowing their efforts were futile. The walkers had already seen the baby, and with the sight of fresh meat already so close, no amount of loud noises or shouting could possibly change that. After living with walkers for so long, that was just a fact he had accepted.
So, heart pounding, Carl forced himself to remain calm, looking away from the baby and already preparing for its cries to be cut short. Then, a miracle happened.
A figure darted out from the cornfield. It was a woman. She aimed something at the nearest walker, taking it down with relative ease and rushing forward, kicking back another walker before scooping up the wailing infant in her arms. She glanced around, and Carl spotted two other Whisperers nearest to her unsheathing their knives. The woman hesitated, and then after a second, ran right back into the fields.
The baby was safe.
Relief washed over him like a tidal wave, and the feeling was only amplified as Alpha gave a small shake of her head - she wouldn't be sending anyone after the baby or the woman who had saved it. Carl wouldn't have to see another baby die. Or, at least, not now. But that was better than nothing. The baby was safer, or as safe as it could be in a field of corn still wailing like a banshee and attracting walkers, but safe nonetheless. That was all Carl really cared about at the moment.
"I would like my fourth in command back, now." Alpha's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, his relief melting into apprehension as he watched her take a step forward. "And then, I want my daughter."
Carl watched Daryl from the corner of his eye. The archer's jaw clenched but otherwise nodded stiffly. Daryl let go of Carl, and the moment that he took a step forward, one of the two hostages was quickly cut loose. The freed one passed by with uncertainty before rushing forward, and Carl tried to hold back his jealousy as he listened to the happy reunion happening behind him.
Alpha watched him with a calculating eye as he approached. Carl stopped in front of her, lowering his head in a show of submission. Waiting for his leader to do something. Seconds felt like hours, and after a tense few moments, Alpha reeled back, striking Carl right across the face - where his bruise was.
The pain stung his face, but Carl forced himself not to react, clenching his jaw and lifting his head back up. Alpha wasn't done apparently because then, she grabbed him by the hair, her grip pulling at his scalp, and yanked his head forward. She then leaned in, breath tickling his ear as she whispered: "Don't you ever do something like this again, Delta. You hear me? I won't come back for you again if you do."
"Yes, Alpha," he whispered hoarsely, giving a small nod. "Thank you for coming for us."
Alpha pulled back, patting his cheek roughly - once again where the bruise was - and staring at him with an approving look in her eye. Then, her gaze moved behind Carl, back over to Daryl, and when Carl looked over as well, he was taken aback at the look of pure unadulterated rage on the archer's face. Daryl looked about five seconds away from running over and murdering Alpha, or at least, attempting to.
Carl really hoped he wouldn't. He very much preferred Daryl alive.
Alpha put a hand on Carl's arm, motioning for him to stand behind her. He did as asked, nodding gratefully when one of his fellow pack members stepped forward, handing him a single knife. Carl took it, immediately tucking the weapon into the sheath on his belt, pleased to finally have something to defend himself with. He would have to ask Beta when they got back to camp if he had any of his other weapons. Carl preferred having more than one weapon on him, though one was better than none.
"Now for my daughter," Alpha ordered, eyes not moving from Daryl. The archer gritted his teeth but nodded. He strode back into Hilltop, the gates closing behind him as he went to fetch Lydia. The gates to the community opened up a couple seconds later as Daryl walked out again, Lydia now at his side. The other prisoner had his bindings cut, and he darted forward, being engulfed into a tight hug by the woman who had been standing by Carl earlier - they were a couple then.
Every minute that passed by grated on Carl's already frayed nerves. He met Lydia's eyes from where she stood, nodding quietly to the teen when she gave a small glance in his direction. She averted her gaze as she approached her mother, saying something to her in a hushed tone.
A few seconds passed by, and Carl only just held back a wince as a harsh slap echoed once more around them. Lydia clutched her face, her hair falling in front of her eyes as a red mark blossomed on her cheek. Carl shook his head, squashing down the flash of anger that ran through him.
Maybe eight years ago, he would have said something: would've yelled at Alpha to leave her alone or something like that, but not now - not anymore. He knew all too well what would happen to him if he did something like that. A quick death if he was lucky, but if not...
Looking toward Daryl again, he could tell by the guarded expression on his face that it was taking the man every ounce of willpower not to attack Alpha right then and there for hitting her daughter. Hell, he looked like he was about to yank Lydia away too, and a part of Carl hoped that he would. At least then, Lydia would be safer. Safer than she could ever be with the Whisperers. But Carl also knows just what would happen if Daryl did something like that. Alpha wouldn't let something like that slide.
Alpha turned, a hand on Lydia's back as she began leading her away. Carl turned as well, swallowing down the lump in his throat as he moved, his feet growing heavier and heavier with each and every step.