Sorry for the late update, but hope you enjoy this chapter!
"Stop! Please!"
Her desperate pleas went unanswered as the man above her struggled to hold her down. Carl frantically tried to get out of his own captive's grip, screaming at the disgusting man to get off of Ashley.
He heard the distinct snap of a bone as she thrashed, and her pinky looked disfigured.
No. No, no, no. Blood pounded in his ears, and adrenaline pulsed throughout his body.
Ashley whimpered as the sneering animal squeezed her breast, his other hand holding her hands down above her head. Carl thrashed frenziedly, screaming.
"Stop it! Please, just stop!"
He heard the man snicker. "Your boyfriend's getting anxious. Better make it quick, huh? Don't move."
Ashley cried out as the man did something to her that Carl could not see. His dad was dealing with another man holding a gun to his head, and Daryl and Michonne were stuck, as well.
Panic swelled like a geyser in him, and all he could see was red.
Red red red.
The sound of a belt buckle.
"Stop-mpf!"
Ashley's words were cut off.
Carl growled, snapping his head backwards to slam into his captives face. The sound of a nose being crushed. Blood spurted.
Carl lunged, tackling the man above the crying girl so they landed in a tangled heap in the dirt. Rick took the distraction as a way to incapacitate the man with the gun. Michonne and Daryl went into action.
The Claimers were down. Ashley was safe.
Carl woke up with a gasp.
He immediately surveyed his surroundings, scanning for Walkers. Or Claimers.
A spotless room with blue walls and gray bedspread greeted his searching eyes.
Oh right. Alexandria.
He sighed, pushing his damp-from-sweat hair from his face. He hated that memory. He hated those disgusting men. He loathed what they almost did to Ashley.
He couldn't afford to be stuck on a memory though. Bad things happened to everyone. Every single one of them in their group had experienced something scarring, but none of them dwelled. Obviously, Ashley had moved on from it.
Why couldn't he?
Carl lay back, staring up at the white ceiling, following its design. Shadows in his peripheral view seemed to dance and disappear, hinting at something lurking in the darkness.
It didn't scare him anymore. He had a faint memory of running to his mom whenever he got scared of the dark.
Now he welcomed it.
Alexandria could be a bright burst of sunlight, but he knew the truth. The whole world was dark, and it was up to them to learn to live in it.
A knock sounded at the door. His entire body tensed, tight with the instinct to protect. To be wary. To fight if need be. Carl could never afford to lose that instinct no matter where he was, safe or not. It was a characteristic he both appreciated and hated.
"Carl?" Ashley. All the tension melted away.
"Come in," he called softly, sitting up in bed.
Ashley slid into the room, her long dark hair trailing to her waist in waves. He wasn't used to seeing her so…not soaked in blood. Something about how she carried herself made Carl glad. She was just like him; never completely relaxed. He was relieved to see that this 'safe haven' their group was residing in did not eliminate her wary characteristic either.
"What's up?"
She eyed him carefully, gray eyes looking black in the dark room. "You were screaming in your sleep."
"Oh."
She nodded, moving closer until she casually sat on the edge of the mattress.
"Carl, I…"
Their talk, he realized with widening eyes. He recalled her words during their trek to Terminus. He could still feel the calloused skin of her hand warm within his as they walked along the tracks. She wanted to talk about stuff. About…them…?
He panicked. He needed more time.
But there in the darkened room, with the two of them sitting so close, the dark shadows lurking in the corners of the room, he felt…content.
Just two people living in an evil world. He looked into her bright, silvery eyes; two beacons of light that seemed to cancel out the blackness.
And then he kissed her.
Ashley was too young to understand dating and relationships before the end of the world began, but she didn't think it was supposed to be like this.
It was their second week at Alexandria, and everything seemed to be settled. Now that Pete was gone, and their group was welcomed without question to the town, peace found its way to everyone. Their group found their own jobs; their own place in the community where they could contribute.
Well, everyone except Ashley.
Deanna stopped her the day before asking if Ashley could stop by her house to talk the next morning. Of course, she agreed, and had a feeling it was about her position in Alexandria. All the other teenagers just went to school, but Ashley wanted to do something, as well. She needed it.
The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and every other stereotypical gonna-be-a-good-day shit occurred on her trip to Deanna's down the street. It left her uneasy.
And then she passed Carl.
He was sitting on the front steps of Mikey's porch, talking animatedly with him, Ron and Enid. She was friendly enough with the other three, but she had no intention of becoming too close to any of them.
They were weak. She didn't want to be.
"Hey, Ashley!" Ron waved, noticing her approach.
Mikey grinned at her, Enid nodded, but Carl…
Ignored her.
Now, she was never a typical girl who freaked out over boys, and it was not as if she was used to enthusiastic greetings, but Carl's lack of response to her…surprisingly hurt.
She walked on, wishing with her entire being that the pain in her chest would just disappear.
God, what the hell was wrong with her? She wasn't so preteenish to call it a crush, but she and Carl had this…bond. They understood each other, more than she was ever understood in her life. And after that other night...when he kissed her, she thought…
Nevermind. This wasn't the time to be panicking over freaking boys. She needed to learn to live here without losing sight of who she is.
This was why she didn't want to get close to people. Her group was different. They trusted each other and were like family, but she wasn't about to spill her life story and feelings to someone like Abraham. She thought Carl was more. And he had to go and mess that up.
'Stop that,' she scolded herself. It was her fault as much as it was his. If he didn't kiss her that night, chances were she would do it eventually. She figured she should thank him for making her realize the truth so much sooner.
She didn't need to rely on him like she had been to make her feel accepted. She needed to learn to do that on her own.
And the first step was talking to Deanna about her job.
And there you go! I have a general idea of where I want this story to go, but if you have any ideas or suggestions, I will gladly take the time to read and consider each and every one of them. Sorry if the teen drama is too much, but I'm having too much fun with it xD. And don't worry, walkers are coming soon!