"Hershel?!"

The little boy's head snapped up, green eyes that were so similar to his mother's widening at the sight of Carl and Lydia a little bit in front of him. Carl opened his mouth, just about to say something else when a few sets of groans made themselves heard from the forest behind the boy. Hershel let out a cry of fear at the sound, scrambling to his feet and darting forward just as the first walker stumbled out of the bushes he had come out of seconds before.

Carl pulled out his knife immediately, striding forward and jamming the knife into the walker's skull before it got too close to Hershel. Lydia moved to his side seconds later, kicking back another walker that had appeared after the first and crushing its head underneath her boot. Then came three others, and the two of them got rid of those ones just as quickly. Carl stood over one of the walker bodies for a moment, wiping his now bloodied knife on his pants before finally turning to Hershel.

The little boy must have gotten back to his feet at some point while Carl and Lydia had been dealing with the walkers, he was covered in dirt with his back pressed to the tree Carl and Lydia were just sitting at, his baseball cap back on his unruly head of hair. Hershel was shaking violently, and his lower lip was wobbling as he stared at the five dead walkers with thinly veiled surprise in his eyes. Slowly, Carl made his way over, bending down to the kid's level so he could look him in the eyes.

"Hershel?" He tried softly, and the kid tore his attention away from the now dead walkers, staring at Carl for a few long moments before letting out a quiet sob and barreling into him, tiny arms wrapping around his neck as Hershel cried into his shoulder. And Carl, having not expected the sudden hug attack, lost his balance, and he hit the forest floor with a surprised yelp.

"Um..." Carl hesitantly patted the crying boy on the back, sharing a bewildered look with Lydia, who looked just as confused as he felt. Shit, she didn't even know who Hershel was. Then, he looked back to the little boy curled up in his arms, clearing his throat to grab his attention.

"Hershel, c'mon. Look at me, kid..." He coaxed softly, unsure if he was doing the right thing. Kids didn't like it when people yelled at them and liked it even less when they were scared. Or at least, that was how it was for him. He didn't know. Kids were confusing.

Either way, his words seem to work. Still sniffling, Hershel complied, pulling his face away from where it had been buried into the fabric of Carl's shirt and staring up at him with watery green eyes. The poor kid looked horribly shaken, and seeing as he had just been chased and nearly eaten by a bunch of walkers, that was understandable. Still, Carl needed an answer to a very, very important question before he did or said anything else.

"Were you bit?"

Hershel blinked, obviously confused by the question. "W-what?"

"Bit - did any of the walkers bite you?" He prayed that wasn't the case. He still remembered the devastation losing Sophia had caused Carol, and he did not want that fate for Maggie and Glenn. Hershel was still so young, too. He didn't deserve that kind of end. Carl's heart hammered so loudly he was surprised the whole forest couldn't hear it as he stared down at Hershel, waiting for him to respond.

Finally, Hershel shook his head, and Carl let out a deep breath he hadn't even been aware of holding. "N-no... I wasn't..." the little boy stammered, face pale, "t-they tried, b-but I got away before they c-could..."

"Good-" Carl slowly detached the kid from him, climbing back to his knees and looking at Hershel at eye-level. "Now that all that stuff is out of the way, what the actual fuck are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be back at Hilltop with your parents right now?"

Hershel flinched back, immediately making Carl feel guilty. The poor kid just got chased by walkers, and here Carl was being a total dick to him. But at the same time, the kid had to know how much danger he had put himself in, or else he'd just get killed later on.

After a second, Hershel reached up a hand, scratching at the back of his neck nervously. "Y-yes?" He tried after a moment, looking sheepish.

"Then why the hell are you here? Do you realize how much danger you put yourself in? You could've died, Hershel!" Carl took in a deep breath, covering his own face with a hand. God, he sounded like a parent right now. That felt super weird.

Hershel tore his gaze away from Carl, focusing his eyes onto his feet as he shifted around nervously. "I - I snuck out."

Carl blinked, his hand falling away from his face.

He blinked again.

And again.

Then, he closed his eye, taking in a long, deep breath before opening it again to stare at Hershel and promptly said: "What." In a low voice.

Hershel's eyes widened a bit, more so than before. "I wasn't going to at first!" He defended, crossing his arms and pouting. "But then Mom said you were leaving and..." he hesitated before plowing on. "-and then I saw Henry sneaking out too and I-"

Carl felt his mind draw to a halt.

Lydia chose that moment to take a step forward, an expression of fear on her face. "Wait, Henry? He snuck out too?"

Hershel stared up at her for a moment, looking between her and Carl. "Um... yes?" He said slowly, and Carl found himself seeing red.

What the FUCK was Henry thinking?!

Carl already knew that Henry wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed; the fact that he had let both Carl and Lydia out in the middle of the night made that pretty clear. But he hadn't believed that the blonde would actually be stupid enough to sneak out of Hilltop and try to, supposedly, follow the Whisperers (Carl really didn't know why else the teen would have snuck out.) And with a six (seven?) year old at that! Was Henry trying to get him and Hershel killed? Was he really that irresponsible? Either way, Carl now had an enormous problem on his hands.

Henry clearly hadn't come across the pack yet, but it would only be a matter of time before he did. And when that happened...

Well, things wouldn't turn out very well for Henry. And although Henry may be a dumbass (or just naive), he didn't deserve a fate like the one Alpha would give him.

"Where is he now?" Carl asked, his tone much harsher than he intended. Hershel flinched back slightly, and Carl fought back a grimace, his voice softening as he spoke again. "Listen, I need to know where he is, Hershel. If he finds us... he won't get out of this place alive." Neither will Hershel if Alpha ends up realizing he's here.

Carl tried not to think about that too hard.

"I don't know! I ran into a group of monsters and... and... um, I lost track of him." Carl must have let some of his anger seep onto his face, for Hershel immediately backtracked. "But it's not Henry's fault! He didn't realize that I was following him! I made sure I was quiet."

Huh, that made him want to strangle Henry a little less.

Honestly, the fact that a little kid managed to follow Henry without him noticing at all was actually kind of amusing and, if the situation weren't so serious, he would have laughed about it.

Instead, he reached out, resting a gloved hand onto Hershel's shoulder. "He shouldn't have even snuck out either, Hershel. It's dangerous out here." Had Hershel ever even been outside Hilltop's walls? The kid had to be at least six or seven, and he doubted that any child belonging to Glenn and Maggie could stand being kept inside for that long. But hey, how the hell could he know.

Carl glanced up at Lydia, taking in the fearful expression on her face. When she caught his stare, she spoke in a soft voice: "Delta, if Henry-"

"I know, Lydia," Carl confirmed, lowering his gaze. "Trust me, I know."

"He's from Hilltop?" Lydia asked after a second or two, eyes drifting toward Hershel.

Carl nodded, "I met him the first night we were at Hilltop."

Lydia frowned, hugging her arms across her chest. "My mom isn't going to like this." She said after a second or two, and Carl opened his mouth to respond, only be cut off as somebody else spoke.

"What exactly am I not going to like, Lydia?" Lydia spun around, eyes widening in surprise, and Carl found himself going rigid, the color draining from his face. His hand dropped away from where it had been resting on Hershel's shoulder, and, while taking in a deep breath, Carl climbed up to his feet, turning around to face the source of the voice.

"Alpha," Carl dipped his head as he addressed her, heart hammering in his chest. He snuck a glance behind Alpha. There was a small crowd forming behind the woman, all eyeing the scene in front of them curiously. Or, more specifically, looking at Hershel, who hadn't seemed to realize just how much danger he was now in and was staring at the crowd with equal amounts of curiosity.

Fuck, how the hell had he not heard the pack approaching. And why didn't I hide Hershel? He asked himself, inwardly cursing his stupidity. Hiding Hershel should have been the first thing he should have done upon saving the little boy. Walkers weren't exactly the quietest of things, so he should have expected the pack to hear them and come investigate.

Now Hershel might die because of his lack of foresight.

Alpha's eyes moved from Lydia to Carl before finally landing on Hershel, who met her gaze without an ounce of fear. Instead, he looked at her with a mix of curiosity and surprise, clearly not knowing just how dangerous she was. After a few seconds, Alpha turned to Carl, a hint of danger in her eyes as she addressed him.

"Who is this little one, Delta?" Alpha inquired in a low voice, taking a step forward. Carl briefly noted she had her mask on now, but despite this, he could tell she was not impressed with what she was seeing whatsoever. "And why is he here?"

"He came out of nowhere," Lydia answered for him, rushing to Carl's defense, "We don't know where-"

"Was I asking you, Lydia?" Alpha interrupted - regarding her daughter through narrowed eyes. Lydia quickly seemed to realize her error, stepping back behind Carl and dipping her head in a show of respect, her jaw clenching. Alpha stared her down for a few more seconds before moving her gaze back to Carl.

Carl took in a deep breath, raising his head to meet Alpha's gaze. He could do one of three things right now. Tell the truth, tell a lie, or tell half a lie. Either way, each held the risk of Hershel being killed. But if he chose the right words, then maybe he could get he and Hershel out of this alive.

After a quick analysis of each choice, Carl chose the third option.

"He came out of the bushes while Lydia and I were talking," Carl began slowly, choosing his words carefully, "a group of guardians were chasing him." He waved a hand in the direction of the dead walkers to the side. "We got rid of them. I was going to get you, but..." he nodded toward the slowly growing crowd behind Alpha. "It seems you already found out."

He didn't dare look back at Hershel as he spoke, keeping all of his attention focused on Alpha. He could only pray that the little boy would be smart enough to understand just how dire this situation was and stay silent. If the kid said even a single word to contradict what Carl said, then Alpha would realize he was lying and-

Alpha studied the rotting corpses for a second. "You saved him." She stated firmly, turning back to Carl. "Why?"

"We don't have our skins with us, Alpha," Carl explained, fighting to keep his voice neutral. "The guardians would have attacked us too if we hadn't."

"I see." Alpha suddenly started striding forward, completely ignoring Carl in favor of kneeling in front of Hershel, who had gradually started inching back toward the bushes. The kid stumbled backward, startled at the woman's sudden movement, but Alpha grabbed Hershel by the chin before he could go anywhere, digging in her fingers hard enough to bruise as she held him in place, studying him.

Carl watched on with bated breath, knowing better than to intervene. He glanced up at Lydia, meeting her gaze for a split second before looking back at Alpha and Hershel. The poor kid looked so confused but still didn't look the slightest bit scared. Carl wondered if Hershel was just a dense kid or simply was hiding it somehow. Carl was betting on the former. But then again, it's not every day you get questioned by a person wearing a walker mask of all things, so Carl supposed he couldn't really blame him.

"Where are you from, boy?" Alpha questioned, eyes boring right into Hershel's. "I know you aren't on your own. Children your age don't survive out here alone."

"Um..." Hershel looked over at Carl, who promptly avoided his gaze. He felt like shit doing it, but he couldn't be seen helping Hershel if he wanted the kid to get out of this alive. And himself, at that. "I... uh..."

"Alpha!" Carl turned, as did Alpha and everyone else as the call sounded. It took him a moment to locate the source, but when he did, his eye widened in surprise as Beta came into view, looking exactly how he had the last time Carl had seen him. The man's body was bristling - with rage or something else - and was now dragging a VERY familiar blonde teenager along with him.

Oh...

Well, that solved the mystery about where the hell Henry had gone.

Carl snuck a glance over at Lydia to see her reaction. She was now staring at the scene in front of her with her arms crossed over her chest. Having schooled her face into a more neutral expression in the few seconds since Carl last looked at her. But to Carl, the concern Lydia was feeling for Henry was obvious. It was in the way she moved, how she kept fidgeting around and clenching and unclenching her hands. She was worried, and she had a perfectly good reason to be.

Beta stalked forward, and the crowd swiftly parted ways as the second in command made his way up to the front where Alpha was standing, throwing Henry onto the forest floor without a hint of gentleness. The teen fell with a grunt, fingers digging into the dirt. He started to climb back up his feet only to freeze as he caught sight of Hershel, who stared back at him with equal amounts of surprise. Carl watched as the confusion and fear crossed over Henry's face as he stared at Hershel, and then the realization.

"Been tracking him since the glades," Beta explained to Alpha as he stood over Henry, "he's been tracking us longer." Then, his eyes fell on Hershel. "I see he wasn't the only one."

Alpha looked between the two outsiders for a brief moment, as if realizing something important, before standing up. She then let go of Hershel and pushed him in Carl's direction, where the kid promptly fell in a small heap at Carl's feet with a quiet 'oof.' Alpha took a few silent strides forward, and Henry's gaze moved away from Hershel over to her, immediately tensing as she approached. Good, Carl found himself thinking, at least he has enough sense to be scared of her.

He only wished that Henry had that same sense before sneaking out of Hilltop.

Alpha studied Henry for a few long moments, turning her head to look at Beta. "Was there anyone with him?"

Beta was quiet for a moment. "It was just him."

"Thank you, Beta." Alpha kneeled down to look Henry in the eye, tilting her head as she regarded him. "Who are you?"

Henry stared up at her with wide eyes but otherwise didn't say a single word. That turned out to be the wrong decision in the end. Alpha made a faint motion with her hand, one that Carl wouldn't have caught if he hadn't been a part of the Whisperers, and, without hesitating, Beta grabbed Henry by the arm, twisting it behind his back in what was no doubt a remarkably unpleasant position. And Carl would know - Beta's done the same thing to him several times whenever they sparred. But it was no doubt more painful to Henry, who was an enemy instead of a friend.

Carl held back a wince as Henry let out a shout of pain, his free hand grasping at the leaves below him, trying to get a good grip. Hershel let out a tiny gasp from where he sat in the dirt by Carl's feet, a hand moving to his mouth as he watched the scene unfold with horrified eyes. Carl really wished that the kid didn't have to see this, but he couldn't do anything about it either.

Alpha straightened up, not looking the slightest bit sorry as she took in the pained expression on the teen's face. "I'll let him break it," she said to Henry, and Carl didn't have to ask what she meant to know she was talking about the boy's arm. Honestly, it wouldn't be the first time she's done something like it, "-and the other one, then your legs. And then I'll leave you out here to feed the hungry ones. The little one too."

Carl forced himself not to react to this despite knowing that Alpha would do just that if Henry didn't start speaking soon. Unlike him, Alpha never felt the slightest bit of remorse when killing small children, no matter what age. Beta, too. The two of them would kill and harm anyone that got in their way, not caring whether they were a child or not.

Henry's eyes fell to where Hershel sat frozen at Carl's feet - disbelief flashed across his face followed by horror before quickly being replaced by pain and alarm as Beta pulled even harder on his arm. "Okay!" He shouted desperately, and Carl had to grab onto Hershel to stop him from running forward to intervene, which the kid looked seconds away from doing. "Okay, just s-stop! Don't hurt him. Please! He didn't do anything wrong!"

Alpha nodded toward Beta, who released Henry's arm from the painful grip he had held it in. The teen let out a quiet sigh of relief, only to be grabbed up by Alpha, who yanked him to his feet without a single trace of gentleness. She let go of him, stepping back and giving him a cold glare.

To Henry's credit, he didn't cower under her stare like most, including Carl, would've done. (Although that might simply be because he didn't know what she was capable of yet). Instead, he stared right back at her before glancing around. As if searching for something. Then, Henry's eyes fell to where Lydia stood silent behind Carl. The relief on the teen's face became clear the moment he set his sights on her, and Carl felt the realization dawn upon him immediately.

He had come here for Lydia - of course he had.

Henry looked back over to Alpha. "I'm from Hilltop." He said to her, breathing heavily. "But they didn't send me. Or him." He gestured to Hershel as he said the last bit.

So he came on his own without a plan or any backup, accidentally bringing a little kid along with him - Carl nearly snorted at the thought, rolling his remaining eye - that was stupid of him. A quick glance toward Lydia told him that she was thinking along the same lines as him.

Suddenly, Carl's mind wandered back to when he was at the Greene's farm when he had run after his father despite his mother's insistence for him to stay inside the house after Randall had - according to Shane - escaped and attacked him. Then again, he mused, cringing slightly at the old memory, I wasn't exactly the best at following orders when I was still a kid either.

Carl watched with one hand holding onto Hershel as Henry looked back over to Lydia, who had moved to Carl's side during the confrontation. After a second, Henry spoke up: "I came for her."

Alpha's head whipped around instantly, eyes landing on Lydia. A look of pure rage crossed over Lydia's features, and she strode forward, fists clenching. Carl already knew better than to try and stop her.

"You're so stupid," she seethed, taking a broad swing in Henry's direction. Her fist collided with Henry's jaw, and Carl watched as the blonde fell to the ground with a loud grunt. Lydia stumbled back slightly from the force of her punch, her hair hanging in front of her face as she stared down at Henry. Not looking the slightest bit sorry.

Carl made sure to tighten his grip on Hershel's shoulder. The kid had begun to squirm and looked as if he were seconds away from running to Henry's side. Briefly, he wondered just how well Henry knew Hershel and vice versa. They definitely were familiar with one another.

Henry pushed himself up, staring at Lydia through wide eyes. Carl found himself focusing more on Alpha, however, who, after watching Lydia punch Henry, had turned to Beta. "He's coming with us - both of them." Her gaze moved over to where Carl stood, holding Hershel by the shoulder. Then, she looked toward the rest of the pack.

"Eyes open." She said as Beta snatched Henry up again, pulling him to his feet. Carl hesitated for a brief moment before doing the same with Hershel, just much gentler than Beta. "Where there's one, there's more."

She then turned around, back facing the rest of the pack and nodding toward Carl as she began shuffling forward, mimicking a walker's walk. That said enough. There was no time to loiter around any longer. It was time to go.

The pack started moving as one, and Carl snatched Hershel up in his arms, ignoring the little boy's yelp of surprise as his tiny arms wound around Carl's neck. Hershel was surprisingly heavy for a kid his age, but it was nothing Carl couldn't handle.

So he ducked his head, careful not to draw any attention to himself as he trailed slowly behind Beta, who held Henry in a tight grip. He simply copied Alpha, copied the movements of the dead that had been ingrained into him for years and years: feet shuffling in the dirt - not quite leaving the ground - body swaying with every step, jerky movements...

Carl closed his eye, taking in a deep breath.

There was no time to think about his family: about his father, about Judith, about Michonne, about Daryl or Glenn or Maggie... No time to think about how his father might have reacted to the news of him being alive. There was no room to think about the potential fates of Hershel and Henry at the hands of Alpha. No space to feel guilty about it. All he had to do was survive. And that was something he had always been good at.

Just survive.

For some reason, that just became ten times harder.

Hershel had ended up nodding off by the time they had reached the main camp. How the kid had managed to fall asleep in a situation like this, Carl had no clue. But he was thankful for it nonetheless. As long as Hershel was sleeping, he couldn't do or say anything to possibly put Alpha's attention onto him more than what was necessary. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending, on how a person looked at it, her attention seems to mainly be focused on Henry and Lydia instead of Hershel.

He could feel the stares of the pack on him, or more specifically, on Hershel, who still lay unconscious in his arms. Burning holes into his back as he trailed behind Alpha. Carl had a pretty good idea why - he had never shown the slightest interest in the children of the pack, so to see him with a child in his arms was no doubt an odd sight to most of them. And a lot of them probably didn't think they would see him around camp again after being captured. But not one of them dared to meet his eyes when he turned to glare at them, daring anyone to say something.

Good, they were still scared of him. At least one thing hadn't changed since he'd been captured.

"Get them a new skin." Carl looked up at the sound of Alpha's voice. She was looking at Beta, addressing him before her gaze moved over to where Lydia and Henry were walking a little way in front of them. "Take him with you."

Beta motioned for Carl to follow him but otherwise didn't even give him a second glance. Carl did so without argument, picking up his pace a little as the large man shoved Henry forward, and with quite a bit of force too if the way the teen stumbled said anything about it. This only made Carl hold onto Hershel tighter, reminding him of how likely it was that the child wouldn't even be alive by tomorrow morning if things were going the way he thought they were going.

Carl passed by Lydia, who had started glancing around the camp while rubbing her arms. He met her eyes when she turned to look at him, offering her a small, albeit strained smile. She returned it after a moment, glancing back at her mother for a split second before trailing off after Carl, who made sure to keep Beta - and Henry - in his sight. Following them from a distance, but following them nonetheless.

Beta stopped suddenly, grabbing Henry by the shoulder and shoving him against a tree. He then took out a rope of some kind from his jacket, growling something - a threat probably - to Henry before promptly starting to wrap the thing around the tree trunk, and then Henry. Securely tying the teenager to the tree. As Carl looked closer, he spotted the sticks jutting up from the ground - a few drying skins, animal and walker alike, hanging on top of them.

Beta looked up as Carl and Lydia approached, eyeing Hershel for a second before turning his attention to a walker corpse that had been pinned to another nearby tree by another member of the pack - who was working a few feet away. The second in command took out his knife, striding past Carl and digging his blade into the walker's skin - not hesitating for even a moment as he got to work on making a new mask.

The disgust on Henry's face as he watched this was obvious, and it had once been on Carl's own face years before when he had first joined the Whisperers. It wasn't as disgusting to Carl as it once had been, so he hardly even gave the grotesque display a second glance as he leaned on a nearby tree close to where Henry was, adjusting a still sleeping Hershel in his arms. Perfectly content with just waiting until Beta was done.

Lydia stood a few feet away, pretty much refusing to look at Henry, who kept trying to catch her eye. Instead, she focused all her attention on a loose thread in the dark jacket she wore, picking at it distractedly, her shoulders and back hunched over. The tension and awkwardness in the air was thick and heavy, and Carl felt that if he tried hard enough, he would be able to cut through it with the knife that was now attached to his belt.

Beta worked for at least ten more minutes before finally slamming his knife into the tree bark, digging his fingers into each side of the walker's head and pulling the skin right off. Carl found himself tensing up right after as he heard someone come up beside him to his right - in his blind spot. He turned his head slightly so he could look at the person through his remaining eye, relaxing somewhat when he saw Alpha come into view.

She stalked slowly toward Henry, who remained oblivious to her approach. She went around the tree the teen was tied to, and Henry jumped - well, as much as he could while tied up - as she came into view. "You wonder why we do this," she whispered, eyes not moving from Henry, "why we hide among them... why we become them." Henry tried to move back as she came closer. The attempt was pitiful but also understandable.

Henry shook his head the smallest bit. "You're not them," he said softly, "you're not dead."

"Civilization is," Alpha responded, her voice low and nearing silent, "the strong adapt - the weak die. Like nature intended." Henry glanced over to Lydia, who took a small step closer to Carl, ducking her head and once again not meeting his eyes.

"So, that's what today was?" All heads in the vicinity, including Carl's, turned at the sound of a new voice. "You letting the weak die?" A man emerged from a nearby tree, followed by a woman - two members of the pack, though Carl couldn't recall their names. He does remember seeing them a couple times before, though.

A ratty white shirt hung from the man's frame, a similar one on the woman's. The man crept forward, eyes pinned on Alpha. "We don't go back for the lost," he sneered, eyes flitting over to Carl and Lydia as he pulled to a stop. "Never have. Until your two little cubs got nabbed."

The fuck?

Carl blinked in confusion at the man's words, exchanging startled looks with Lydia, who appeared just as confused as he felt. Cubs? Did... did that man seriously just call Carl Alpha's child? Simply being referred to as Alpha's child gave Carl an odd feeling. It felt super weird. Just felt so... wrong - and on so many levels.

Did he say that on purpose? Or does he actually think that I'm her son?

The disturbing part about it was that Carl had no clue which one was the truth.

"We gave up two of theirs for your cubs. I don't like that math," the man continued on as Alpha watched him through narrowed eyes that were barely visible through the skin she wore, and Carl didn't have to see her without the mask to know just how unimpressed she was with this man's words.

"You know who they are now." Alpha started creeping forward, tilting her head at the man. "Where they are, what they have. We know if there's conflict, we'll win. The trade was worth it." She paused in her movements, putting her hands behind her back. "If you have a problem with me as leader, you know what to do."

Carl assessed the man from where he stood. He was taller than Alpha was. But he was thin and was, without a doubt, malnourished like most of the lower ranking pack members were. If this man chose to challenge Alpha, the outcome was already perfectly clear. Even if he did, by some odd twist of fate, win, he wouldn't stand a chance if Beta or Carl tried challenging him. Which Beta would definitely do if that ever happened.

The man took a step forward, getting right into Alpha's face. "I challenge you," he declared, "you're not fit to lead anymore."

Alpha let out a series of low chuckles. "You think you're the man to replace me?" She gave a breathy laugh, shaking her head. "To become the new Alpha?"

In one swift movement, Beta lunged forward. He grabbed the man by the chin and yanked his head back, exposing his neck. Waiting for Alpha's signal to slit his throat with the knife that he now held inches away from the man's head. Carl absently held Hershel a little tighter, praying that the child would end up sleeping through this confrontation. Death may not affect Carl much anymore, but Hershel was an entirely different story.

"You're changing the rules again," the man gasped out.

"You have the right to challenge my leadership at any time," Alpha assured him, taking a step forward as Beta shoved the man away. "And I..." she whispered, "have the right to defend it."

Before Carl could realize what was happening, Alpha darted to the side, grabbing the woman who had been at the man's side when he first appeared and throwing her in front of Beta. "I know it was you!" Alpha seethed, and the woman stumbled back, obviously taken by surprise by Alpha's sudden aggression towards her.

"What are you doing?" The woman questioned, staring at Alpha with wide eyes.

"I saw you in the woods, plotting with your boyfriend." Alpha's gaze flitted between the two challengers, walking closer to the woman and circling around her.

"What?" The woman shook her head rapidly, trying desperately to defend herself. Carl already knew her attempts were in vain. "No, we weren't-"

"Oh, yes, you were." Alpha got right into the other woman's face. "Challenge isn't his. It's yours."

Carl stiffened when he felt Hershel starting to shift in his arms. Fuck... please don't wake up. Not now! It seemed his prayers were in vain, for Hershel blinked open his green eyes, staring up at Carl curiously. The little boy opened his mouth, probably to question what was going on, but Carl quickly covered Hershel's mouth with a hand, silently shaking his head.

Hershel seemed to take the hint, thankfully, and stayed quiet. It didn't stop him from trying to get a look around, but with his back facing Alpha - who had begun circling the other woman - all Carl had to do was hug Hershel closer to him and cover his eyes to stop him from seeing what was going on.

"You led us into danger," the woman who challenged Alpha accused. And Carl had to hold Hershel still to stop the little boy from trying to get a look at who was speaking. "With the two boys here, we're still in danger. Their people have already killed many of ours. And where is the payback for that?"

"You haven't failed me," the woman then declared, "you failed all of us."

Alpha stared at the woman - regarding her. Then, she slowly started to turn her head, eyes moving to the crowd that had begun to form around them. "Have I failed you?" She questioned them, and when no one dared to respond, she turned back around to face the woman, holding out her arms. "They all follow me by choice. Cause I make them strong. Because I keep 'em alive." She pointed to herself. "Me."

Alpha let her arms fall down to her side, stalking forward as the woman began to speak again. "I don't want to fight you," she was saying as Alpha crept closer and closer, circling behind her. Carl caught sight of Alpha unwrapping something in her hands, and, knowing just what was about to happen, he pushed Hershel's head into his neck, covering the little boy's ears as best as he could to stop him from witnessing what would happen next.

"Carl?" The little boy whispered in a voice still hoarse from sleep. Thankfully, the crowd surrounding them seemed much too invested in the argument happening before them to hear Hershel's soft voice.

"Shh." Carl rested his chin atop Hershel's head, stroking the boy's dark hair in an attempt to keep him calm. Alpha moved right behind the woman, holding her head right above the woman's shoulders, whispering something into her ear that Carl failed to pick up.

Alpha lifted her arms up, swinging a wire over the woman's head and pulling back, hard. Beta grabbed the man by the hair, holding him back with a knife to his throat. Blood spurted from the woman's throat, gurgling as Alpha pulled harder and harder on the wire. There was the sound of bone's cracking, and the woman's head was dislodged from her body, rolling to the ground at Alpha's feet. The corpse fell with a thud, and Carl held back a grimace as the blood spilled on the leaves below.

That would definitely put the walkers into a bit of a frenzy.

Carl snuck a glance over at Henry, taking in the shell shocked expression on his face. As if he had suddenly realized just what would happen to him and possibly Hershel in a few short hours if things continued going the way they were currently going.

Alpha leaned down, grabbing the now dead woman's head by the hair. She held it up for the entire crowd to see, undisturbed by the blood dripping from the head. She turned slowly, holding it in front of the man - who was still in Beta's grip. She rolled the head around in her hands, stepping forward and gently placing it into the man's arms.

The man took it without complaint, but seconds later, a sob escaped from him. Tears spilled down his cheeks as he stared at Alpha with thinly veiled hate in his eyes. He trembled and trembled, and Carl watched without a single shred of remorse as Alpha crept even closer, holding a single bloodied finger to her lips. "Shh..."

She wiped her hand across his face, smearing the blood of the man's dead girlfriend over his skin. She rubbed the tears from his eyes, whispering softly into his ear. "Crying is weak."

And with that, she plunged her knife right into the man's stomach, watching as he fell to the ground, dead. She removed her knife, rolling her shoulders as she turned back to Beta. The crowd began to disperse, sensing that the show was over. "Someone clean this up," she called out, "don't need the dead coming into our camp."

A few seconds passed, and three members of the pack walked forward, already getting to work on removing the two bodies from the area. Carl watched as Alpha left, Beta following soon after. Lydia turned as well, grabbing one of the dried walker skins as she left.

Carl swallowed down the lump that had formed in his throat, loosening his tight grip on Hershel but not quite letting him out of his arms. He turned his back to the bodies, walking forward and listening as the chatter in the camp resumed once again. "Hey there, kid," he mumbled to Hershel, "you hungry?"

"A little," Hershel admitted, staring up at Carl with wide green eyes. "What's goin' on? Where are we?"

"Nothing important, kid," Carl answered, keeping his voice low as he approached one of the drying racks, pulling one of the dried walker skins from it. He would have to add some laces to it later. But he could do that on his own without any trouble. "We're at camp."

"Camp?" Hershel echoed, scrunching his nose as he took a look around, thankfully not catching sight of the corpses a few feet away. "This is your home?"

"For now." Carl tucked the dried walker skin into one of the pockets of his jacket, reminding himself to go and ask Beta about his bags a little later. "We move around a lot."

"Oh..." Hershel rested his head on Carl's chest, humming softly. "Can I have some food?"

"Maybe." Carl looked around, unsure. Would he get in trouble for feeding Hershel? They've never really had prisoners before, so Carl didn't have a clue. "How about we go say hello to Henry, and I'll go find you something to eat - does that sound good?"

"Okay," Hershel said with a nod, burrowing his face into Carl's shirt. He pulled back suddenly, wrinkling his nose, "you smell weird."

"Thanks, kid," Carl mumbled under his breath, turning around and heading back in the direction where Henry had been tied up. Thankfully, the two corpses weren't there any longer, and Henry was mostly alone. Lydia was working a couple feet away, gathering up a stack of bowls. She straightened up, giving Carl a small nod as she passed by.

"Hi, Henry!" Hershel chirped, waving at the blonde teenager from where he was in Carl's arms. "Why are you tied up?"

"Um..." Henry stared at Hershel, looking so utterly baffled that Carl couldn't help but laugh.

"I don't think he realizes what's happening yet," Carl said to him, putting Hershel down. "He's tied up because he was being stupid, Hershel." He stretched his arms right after Hershel left his hold. Jesus Christ, were six-year-olds supposed to be that heavy?

"I wasn't being..." Henry trailed off, watching as Hershel grinned up at him.

"Sneaking out is stupid," Hershel declared, crossing his arms. "The monsters are scary. Why would you want to go out there?"

"The monsters?" Henry echoed, looking up at Carl.

"He ran into some of the dead," Carl explained, watching as Henry blanched. "Lydia and I took care of them, and then..." he shrugged, crossing his arms right after. "Alpha found him."

"She's scary!" Hershel added with wide eyes. "Like - super scary!"

"She is," Henry agreed, shifting slightly, his face twisting into an expression of discomfort. "Um... Delta?"

"Mhm?" Carl raised a brow at the teen, staring him down.

"What's... what's going to happen to us?" There was a look of fear in Henry's eyes as he asked this, and he hung his head, light hair falling in front of his face. And Carl, having expected this question to pop up at some point, smiled sadly at Henry, shaking his head as he turned away, prepared to go and find something for Hershel - and himself at that - to eat.

"I think you already know..."