Alright, so, I have the ending all written out, and it should be published relatively soon. There'll probably be two (?) more chapters. I'm kinda sad it's ending though. Let me know how you feel in the reviews! And, the other story is definitely going to happen, I'm just gonna finish this one first. Plot for that one will be at the end of this chapter! Now, here it is.

Carl

Why did you hurt them, Carl?

The trees whisper this to me when I sleep in their strong branches.

Just go back.

They murmur this when the restless wind sweeps through their green leaves.

They love you.

The ground mumbles to me when I crunch the foliage with my sore feet.

You'll die out here.

Mia whispers to me in my mind.

As soon as I left, the voices started to plague my mind. They don't let me sleep. They distract me, and almost make me go back to the familiar building

Almost.

I trudge on, hungry and parched. I can't let anyone else get hurt because of my evil. Because of my carelessness. Because of my ignorance.

I know Mia didn't want me to stay. That's why I convinced myself she was merely an obstacle. I guess that softened the blow.

I don't need her to be happy. I don't need her to live. She wouldn't give a shit if I lived or died out here anyway.

My heart tells me different.

Carl, you love her. She loves you too. You can't continue to love her when you're dead.

But, my brain argues with my heart.

Bullshit. She didn't love me. She never did.

I decide to continue this debate later. I shook my head to rid myself of the thought and focused to trying to find something to eat. Or drink. Both would be helpful. I feel the sun beating down onto my head and I look up. The sun shines brightly in my eyes. I wish it wasn't so damn hot. I wipe sweat from my forehead and continue my journey.

Mia

"Let go of me! I need to find him! Something is wrong, and I need to know what it is!" I screamed while Rick held my arms.

Tears fell down my already damp face at an alarming rate. I kicked at Rick; squirmed, fought, hoping he would let me go. Eventually, exhaustion got the best of me, and I concentrated all of my body's weight onto Rick's arms, hoping that would be enough to make him release me. But, he was strong enough to practically toss me into my cell that I used to share with Carl.

"If you would've stayed calm, I would've explained," Rick began.

"I'm looking for Carl. You're my family now, and I'm not going to let you risk your life for him. He's my son. I'm responsible."

I stared after the brave man as he retreated into the forest after his lost son. After he was long gone, I sat cautiously on my uncomfortable bed and thought about everything he had said to me.

You are an obstacle. Both of you.

What if I said I didn't care?

Though it wasn't much, it was enough to shatter my heart into a million pieces. I don't know if it was the horrible things he said or the insane look in his once beautiful blue eyes. The thought of the first time I saw him popped into my mind.

His head was bent over his work on his desk, and I had just walked into the classroom. I had just moved to Georgia from California, and it was the middle of my Kindergarten year. He was towards the back of the room, and no one but him sat at the table. The teacher had gotten everyone's attention, and once Carl had turned his head, I knew that I could be friends with him. When I chose to sit directly across from him, he smiled a gap-toothed smile and said:

"I'm Carl. We can be friends as long as you don't get your girl cooties all over my desk."

When he was really young, Carl had quite a mouth. He got it under control sometime around the third grade. But, his eyes never changed. They were still friendly and kind and inviting. They never judged, and they never ridiculed.

Except for yesterday.

They were cold. Mean. Unforgiving.

Indifferent.

I felt silent tears slip quickly down my face, one by one. I wanted the old Carl back. I knew he wasn't like this. Sobs racked my body, and small whimpers escaped my lips. At this point, I knew people could hear me, but I didn't care. I wrapped my arms around myself, partly to keep myself from making the bed shift unnecessarily, and partly to fill the void Carl or my dad would fill at this point. When I thought of that, I cried harder, because I realized I was completely alone. No one was here to comfort me. I grew tired quickly and fell into a restless sleep, dreaming of Carl dying in a million different ways.

Oooh. Anyway, my new story is most likely going to be called Paradox. It's going to be about The Walking Dead actually going through the apocalypse. It will be a Carl... or rather Chandler/OC, just like this one. I just thought it would be interesting and unique. Leave me a review and tell me what you think! I love hearing from you guys.

~A.C~