"Get up." Rick said, dropping a gun in Justin's face to stir him awake, but he was actually Wilmur.
The new teen shook his head in annoyance and lifted himself up, not wanting to look at Rick. If he saw that his crystal blue eyes softened, he would begin to think if he was even the same boy. He knew it'd be best to keep his name or Rick would get suspicious.
"You're goin' on a run with me, Carl, and Michonne." Rick said as a demand, his light blue eyes glaring at him.
"You sure you trust me?" Wilmur questioned with a much softer voice than Justin's.
Rick flinched under his softer voice The voice sounded much softer than his cold voice. He wondered if Wilmur done something so terrible that made him so cold. But why would he soften now?
When he lifted his face to look at Rick, he flinched again. The glare that used to be in his crystal blue eyes softened along with his voice. There was something suspicious about him that had changed from the darkness inside him.
"What's goin' on with you?" Rick asked, narrowing his eyes.
Wilmur just stared at Rick, his eyes keeping the same expression as Rick glared down at him with his eyes narrowed in suspicious.
"Dad?" Carl stepped in the room Wilmur and Merle stay in.
Carl looked at Wilmur and flinched again. He still wasn't used to the way Wilmur has softened. It was...unusual. It was like he wasn't even the same person. Carl still didn't know Wilmur was his real name.
"S, are we ready to go?" Carl asked, still looking at Wilmur with his squinted eyes as he tried to read his emotions.
"Once Justin puts on some new cloths, we will." Rick responded, glaring at the new boy.
"I have no other cloths." Wilmur replied.
"Carl, get him some new cloths." Rick said rudely.
Carl rolled his eyes. He always had to be the one to do stuff for everyone. It was always like that, but only got worse when Lori died. No one understood him, except Wilmur. But Carl couldn't accept that...yet. It seemed impossible that Carl would find someone like him because no one could suffer as much as him.
Wilmur's eyes softened as Carl walked out of the room. Now that his shield around his heart has been broken, he can feel some of his feelings again. The shield has been around his heart for so long that all the feelings were jabbing into his heart like how a knife sinks in your skin when someone stabbed you. His heart was overwhelmed with sadness, grief, greed, rage, and anger. However, all the emotions had to all come into one in his unshielded heart so all the darkness can drain away.
"Here." Carl handed Wilmur some fresh cloths, but not clean ones. The t-shirt has a dog paw on it along with a brown jacket and blue jeans.
"Thanks." Wilmur mummered quietly in a soft voice, smiling weakly.
Carl pointed behind a door. "You can change in there." Carl said and Wilmur thanked him quietly before heading over to the door to change behind it.
As Wilmur changed, he spotted some scars on his arms and one on his leg. The one on his leg is where Kevin shot him. The ones on his arms was from the two people that tried to kill him. And there'd be one on his ankle where he got shot, but it's still trying to heal just like his heart is. He could feel it healing, but it was also overwhelmed with the guilt of being Justin and being greedy. It hurt to learn that he was just throwing everything he got back away. He didn't cherish it like Carl did. In ways, Carl was the exact same and completely different than him.
Carl suffered just as much as Wilmur, but Carl accepted it and cherished the good things the bad brought to him. Wilmur decided to be another person and threw everything else away, including himself. He didn't care about anyone else around him like Carl did. Wilmur could never forgive himself.
"I'm ready." Wilmur said softly as he stepped back in the presence of Rick and Carl.
Rick sighed, handing a gun over to Wilmur slowly. "I'll let you have this, but if you hurt anyone, even Michonne, I'll put you down and don't you think I won't." Rick threatens and Wilmur takes the loaded gun.
"Let's go." Rick said.
Wilmur sat in the back with Carl in awkward silence. It felt different being around Carl. His presence made him feel awkward and more guilty for what he's done. It made his stomach churn to be near Carl and he didn't know if it was because of their argument they had the other night or because his feelings were slipping back in his heart.
"Wanna play rock, paper, scissors?" Wilmur asked, breaking the silence. He'd do anything to get rid of the awkward feeling and silence.
Carl sighed and held his hands up, his fist bawling on his palm. "Sure."
Carl ended up beating him at most rounds. He towered over Wilmur the first five tries. He only won fifteen times while Carl won thirty. It was like he was going against a champion in a boxing competition.
"Hey! Hey! Slow down! Slow down!" A man with an orange backpack yelled, interrupting his and Carl's game. He was walking along the street, trying to survive until he saw their car.
Carl withdrawed his hands and looked behind them, expecting Rick to park and get him. He always did, it would be unusual if he didn't. Wilmur looked behind himself too, but he didn't actually care for the young man. Any stranger on the street would threaten his and everyone else's life. He's surprised Rick took Michonne him in considering he attacked them. A stranger on the road would make everything worse since they already had Wilmur, Michonne, and Merle to deal with.
"Slow-I'm begging you!" The man cried, chasing the car down but lost the race.
Carl stared at his father horrified. He would usually leave a stranger behind because he knew they were dangerous. However, when he left a stranger behind, Rick got mad at him. When he didn't bring a stranger in, Rick still got mad. If he couldn't save a stranger or leave them behind then what is he suppose to do?
Wilmur looked at Carl to read any emotion. Now that the shield around his heart is gone, he can probably read Carl better. The couple emotions he could see was the anger from his dad leaving the person behind because Carl always left strangers behind due to the danger they could cause but Rick always got mad at him if he did and now his father just did the same thing he did.
However, either Carl nor Rick left him behind outside the prison fences and he had no idea why. He attacked them with the Governor. He should've been left behind to die but instead, they took him hostage and refused to kill him. They weren't even using him as bait to give back to the Governor so the violent war could end or for answers so they can use them to kill the Governor.
He was just being held hostage for no reason except to protect the prison from the dangers of the Governor lurking around them. If they let him go, he could easily grab his weapons and start killing everyone in their sleep. But he would never do anything to cause the group harm and especially to Carl who was still a mystery to him.
Like Justin, Carl had a shield around his heart to block the sadness and grief. He was just like him only more smarter and more accepting to what the world was now instead of refusing to clear room in his heart for more pain to come inside in the future.
And now Wilmur was breaking the shield tightened around his broken heart and letting all of the emotions pour back in to fulfill his heart and shove all of Justin's darkness out of him.
However, it was Carl who brought him back and opened his eyes to see that the pain in the demolished world would never end and would keep coming back over and over again. Carl was the one who brought him back from Justin and shoved all his darkness out of him.
Wilmur snapped out of his thoughts when he turned his head to see cars blocking the road in the distance, forcing Michonne to drive through the mud. However, she ended up driving through mud in a ditch, forcing the tire to sink in it and get stuck. Wilmur sighed in irritation as he leaned his head against the black leather seat while staring out the window to see dirty and abandoned cars lying on the road and on the side of the street.
All they could hear was the strong and cool breeze blowing against the trees as dead leafs glided along with it and gently scraped against the concrete of the silent road. No birds were singing in the trees like they usually were and no squirrels nibbling on their nuts in the grass on the side of the road.
Wilmur looked at Rick who was staring back at his son who was glaring at him in irritation. He listened to Michonne trying to get the tire to drive through the mud in the ditch with his arms crossed. He patiently tapped his fingers against his lap while waiting for Michonne to try and drive out of the muddy ditch.
Suddenly, walkers pile up on their car. They bang and pound on the car windows as their growls and snarls grew louder upon seeing their prey of fresh flesh in the car. Wilmur gripped the handle of his pistol held in his holster wrapped around his blue jeans as the walkers desperately tried to break the windows.
Rick sighed and pulled out his pistol, clicking the safety off while his other hand trailed to a button which would roll down his car window. "Cover your ears." He warned, rolling the window down slightly while everyone else covered their ears.
As soon as the first bullet was fired, all of the walkers stumbled over to Rick's window and banged against it as he kept rolling it down over and over again to fire each bullet in every single one of the walkers soft skulls.
Wilmur listened to each gunshot demolishing the walkers skulls and destroying their brains as his hands were pressed tightly against his ears to cover them from the loud, ringing gunfire. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter with each bullet the pistol shot into the walkers soft skulls.
More and more walkers gathered around Rick's window as they heard the loud gunfire and banged against the window each time Rick rolled his window up.
Finally, the herd of walkers laid dead on the road and the side of it with blood slowly dripping from their foreheads where the bullet had been shot. They stay in the car for a few minutes to make sure no more walkers were coming before getting out and checking out the tire which ran in the muddy ditch.
While Rick and Michonne examined the tire that was stuck, Wilmur followed Carl up to the cars with dead bodies lying in it to search for any time of supplies. All they could find was one bullet for a 9mm pistol and a pocket knife tucked in one of the pockets of the dead bodies.
The two teens lean against a car with their arms crossed as they watched Rick and Michonne examine the tire stuck in the ditch filled with thick mud and dirt. His crystal blue eyes darted to Carl to see a frown of irritation on his lips and an annoyed look in his light blue eyes while his arms were crossed furiously and his head was bowed in disappointment.
Wilmur furrowed his eyebrows. "You okay?"
Carl scoffed. "Why do you care? You don't care about anything." He said with irritation in his voice.
"I do care." Wilmur replied, making Carl scoff again. "At least now I do."
And it was true. After being cold, ruthless, and rude for almost a year, he was beginning to slowly care again. He cared about the violent and bloody war happening between Woodbury and the prison and who won it. He cared about Carl who brought him back from the darkness Justin had inside him.
"Carl. Justin." Rick said, grabbing their attention.
Wilmur sighed, walking to Rick and squatting down along with Carl who was teaching him how to remove a tire out of a ditch with thick mud and dirt by showing him how to put gravel and sticks under the tire.
"Put somethin' in under the car like this with a little gravel and sticks." Rick said, mainly talking to his son.
Wilmur didn't know why he was with them though. Why would Rick want to teach a stranger a survival skill when he can use it to kill someone in his group?
However, he wasn't against them. Just by the looks of the prison automatically let him know they were innocent and hadn't done anything that should cause a tensed war. The Governor only wanted to kill them all because Michonne killed his walker daughter and ran across one of their members and attacked in defense.
The prison hadn't done anything wrong at all. They may have attacked Woodbury but that was because they were trying to get two of their group members back when they were taken hostage and then the soldiers of Woodbury tried to kill them.
"Wouldn't have to do it if she didn't get us stuck." Carl replied coldly.
Rick looked back up to see the irritated frown on his son's chapped lips. "It was an honest mistake." Rick defended, making Wilmur scoff.
Rick glared at Wilmur as he scoffed. "What now?" Rick snapped.
"Oh, nothing." Wilmur replied with sarcasm in his voice. "You're just choosing a women over your own son."
"That's it." Rick snapped in frustration, pointing at their vehicle. "Get in the car."
"For what?" Wilmur asked angrily. "Telling you the truth?"
"Get in the car." Rick repeated but with a growl in his tone.
Wilmur scoffed again, shaking his head in annoyance as he walked toward the car with his fists clenching tightly as he gritted his teeth in anger. "Bastard." He cursed while storming to the car.
He yanked the car door opened and crawled in furiously before slamming it shut in rage. He leaned against the leather seat with a frown on his lips while his arms were crossed in irritation as his angry eyes darted to Michonne who was staring blankly ahead, listening to the argument Rick and Carl were having.
Wilmur's eyes darted away from Michonne and stared at Rick and Carl who was fixing the tire in front of the car while listening to the angry argument they were having with his arms crossed.
"Why'd you let her come?" He heard Carl ask about Michonne. "She took you to Woodbury and you said she split on you. And Oscar died and you guys-"
"It wasn't that simple. I asked her to come today." Rick defended for himself. "I didn't wanna leave her at the prison if I wasn't there, not with Merle. That and we got common interests. Besides, you don't mind Justin coming." Rick assigned blame.
"I trust Justin better than I trust Michonne."
"You trust a boy that attacked us better than Michonne?!"
"Have you seen the way he acted this morning?! He's changing!"
"He killed three people and he wouldn't tell me about the third one!"
"Haven't you heard sometimes someone has to kill someone they love?!"
Wilmur sighed and backed out of the argument, slumping in his seat. Rick was right in a way about him. Why would they trust a boy who came to the fields of their prison and began shooting everybody up? He attacked them and even killed one of their members because of him. Everyone in the group had every right not to trust him.
"Hey!" The same man with the orange backpack yelled.
Wilmur turned around to see him waving his arms in the air, begging for help as he sprinted down the road. "Help me! I'm begging you! Don't leave, please!"
Rick and Carl stopped their argument as soon as they thought the car was able to get out of the muddy ditch before they getting in the car and starting the engine and driving away from the man with the orange backpack.
Wilmur and Carl don't talk the rest of the way into King County. However, that doesn't stop him from staring and trying to read the emotions he was blocking through his cold eyes. He could look strong, but deep inside, he could really be like him. Locking the feelings away so he couldn't feel any of the emotions that'll tear him down.
All four of them stepped out of the car and walked along the streets of King County, where Rick and Carl used to live. The town was in a terrible condition since everything was either destroyed or damaged. Dead bodies laid everywhere. There was even a brick wall with hundreds of dead, burnt bodies piled on top of each other.
The older teen squinted his eyes as they scanned the damaged and destroyed town with different colored buildings and different types of small stores anyone can go in and find everything they need before his eyes darted to a small gas station which had a store with tented windows.
"Shouldn't we check the gas station?" Wilmur questioned when no one bothered to stop and go in to scavenge for supplies.
Rick stopped walking to turn around and glare at him with his blue eyes. "We're checking the sheriff department." He growled.
"Yeah, but it doesn't hurt to check other stores." Wilmur shrugged.
Rick took a menacing step toward the teen. He was trying to stop them from getting all the guns they needed to fight against the Governor and his violent army. Rick wouldn't tolerate Wilmur trying to defend for his group.
"We're here for guns, remember?" Rick growled. "Why are you trying to stop us from getting them?"
"I'm not." Wilmur denied with annoyance in his tone. "I just thought we could look for more than guns."
Rick gritted his teeth to keep the growls from slipping past them. "Then let's keep goin'."
Wilmur scoffed and walked behind Carl as he clenched his fists to keep his anger contained. While walking beside Carl, his fingers accidently brush against the smooth skin of Carl's hand, making Wilmur freeze but was still taking his steps slowly.
Warmth immediately is sent through Wilmur's hot veins. The warmth of Carl's hand had sent warmth surge through his body, making his heart somehow grow bigger and beat faster. Carl felt the same. The power in Wilmur's hand sent power to his and made him feel different as the warmth spreads throughout his veins. Wilmur's hand was the smoothest thing he's ever felt and the only thing that sent a powerful and warm surge through him. It messed with both of their feelings as both of their cheeks flushed red.
Wilmur stared at Carl with his crystal blue ones as he admired his warm beauty. His light blue eyes gave a sign of hope instead of despair. His rosey cheeks gave a sign of love. His brown hair gave a sign of normality. His lips showed a sweet, tender feeling that gave Wilmur a sign that sent a warm sensation to his stomach and caused a fire to churn.
Carl shyly stared at Wilmur to see his beautiful, crystal blue eyes filled with love and care before looking at his black hair to see it brushing against the soft breeze while his lips looked very soft and perfect even though it was chapped.
The older teen swallowed nervously as the stared down at the younger's, beautiful form as his fingers gently brush off his pale and soft hand and stared down at his slightly shaking legs which was struggling to walk because of the warm surge Carl had sent through him while biting his chapped lips and licking them nervously as his eyes darted to the concrete which led to the sheriff department.
The four of them walk inside the police station to find it empty except a can of beans which was spilled all over the cold floor. With anger, Rick kicked it to the side and placed his hands on his head, rubbing it with stress.
"You got any other police stations in town?" Michonne asked.
"I was the police here. Me and a few other guys." Rick replied.
"Maybe their held up somewhere else." Wilmur said, looking around the room to make sure nothing's hiding anywhere.
Rick shrugged in response. "Ain't a big town. There's other places to check. We may not have as many guns as we're in here, but-" Rick's interrupted.
"We need as many guns as we're in here." Michonne interrupted. "Ammo, too."
"Yeah, we do. But right now, I only got a line on a couple. There's a few places out on the main street, bars, a liquor store..." He trailed off. "Owners had a gun or two behind the counter that people didn't know about. I did. I signed the permits. They might still be there."
Rick looked at Michonne and then to Wilmur. "Do y'all have a problem with that approach?" He asked, basically threating them.
"No." Wilmur responded with an annoyed tone as his arms crossed.
Michonne furrowed her eyebrows at Rick's question. "No, Rick. I don't have a problem."
Rick gave his head a shake in frustration before walking out of the sheriff department with his hand draped over the handle of his pistol which was held in his holster.
Wilmur sighed and followed Rick out of the building with Carl just behind him. He kept his hand over his holster as he walked while Michonne gently grasped her sword held on her back. His eyes darted to Carl who was walking behind him with his head bowed down with his pistol held in his hand.
The four end up following bright, yellow arrows on the sidewalk, leading them to a death trap for walkers and people. There's a warning sign that's spray painted on the road. TURN BACK AND LIVE!
"What is it?" Michonne asked.
"I don't know." Rick responded.
They look down at the warning sign spray painted on the concrete of the road. The sign didn't scare either them and simply walked past it with their guns held in their hands as their squinted eyes scanned the suspicious area.
Hundreds of sharp, wooden logs against different tables for walkers to walk straight into when they see the rats locked in the cages sitting on the dirty tables. Some ropes were tying some wooden logs together so any human or walker could get trapped in. Barbed wire was tied against some of the wooden logs and the different polls and cages filled with rats. Spray paint was plastered all over the buildings and the concrete of the trap-filled road.
"It looks like somebody already made this theirs." Michonne said when she noticed the traps
"Doesn't mean they found what we're lookin' for." Rick replied.
Wilmur and Carl ignored their conversation and focused on dunking under the barbed wire as their eyes darted to the rats squealing in fear from a walker trying to tear apart it's cage.
"Whoa." Wilmur said, arm wrapping around Carl waist to pull him back when he almost stepped in a trap.
Carl looked at Wilmur as his cheeks flushed red. His power of warmth surged through his flushed veins again just like Wilmur's did. Carl's veins steam from the power of Wilmur as the warmth filled the blood.
The young Grimes pulled away with flushed cheeks and a glare visible in his cold eyes before he paced faster with Wilmur following behind him to make sure he didn't run into anymore death traps.
"Hands up!" A man's voice suddenly yelled.
Wilmur turned around quickly, but threw his hands up as soon as he realized the man had a stronger and far more larger gun than theirs. Wilmur squinted his eyes as he stared at his huge rifle. He wondered where he got it from considering the sheriff department had no guns in it.
"Now you drop what you got and you go! Your guns, your shoes, and that sword! Ten seconds!" He warned, but they just sat there with hands up.
"Run to the car." Rick told his son as calmly as he could.
"Ten!"
"Dad." Carl whispered with a slight panic tone.
"What are you doing?" Wilmur asked quietly.
"We need that rifle." Michonne said.
"Nine"
"Eight!"
"I think I can get up there." Michonne said.
"Me, too. I'll go." Wilmur assisted.
"Seven!"
"Six!"
"Carl, go." Rick started shooting at the man and everyone took off running in different directions. Wilmur followed Michonne to the roof while Rick and Carl split up, trying to kill the man to keep Michonne and Wilmur safe.
However, when the two reach to the roof, the man is gone. Wilmur shrugged while Michonne stared down at Rick and Carl, their eyes scanning the area for the man. Everything fell silent with no noise of their rustling shoes running or gunfire echoing in the cloudy sky.
But all of a sudden, gunfire can be heard again just one minute later. Wilmur quickly looked down to see the man shooting at Rick and Carl while charging charging toward Rick. Wilmur cursed under his breath before following Michonne down the latter as they rushed to Rick to save him from the crazy man.
However, Carl was the first one to make it to the man and shoot him unconscious by firing a bullet in his side.
Wilmur stared at Carl who was staring down at the unconscious man who had body armor wrapped around himself and then looked at Rick to see the horror in his eyes as he stared down at his son instead of thanking him for saving his life.
"Nice job." Wilmur complimented while Rick stared with horror.
Carl didn't say respond and instead stared down at the man he shot like with his pistol held tightly in his fists.
"You okay?" Rick asked instead of thanking him.
Carl nodded. "Yeah." He panted.
"I told you to run for the car. I didn't want you to have to do that." Rick said with a strict tone.
"I had to." Carl snapped. No one ever appreciated what he did for the group.
Rick gave his son a strict look at his fists clenched against his palm. It annoyed him that his son never supported him like Lori did. But what he didn't know, is he's not supporting his son. And that's why Carl doesn't support him. He was never there for him like he should be.
"He's wearing body armor." Rick said before bending down to the unconscious man, taking part of it off to look at the gunshot wound Carl gave him to see him breathing. "He's alive."
"Do we care?" Michonne replied while Rick took the mask armor off the man to noticed it's the man who saved his life after the outbreak started while he was trying to find his family after he woke up from his coma some time after the apocalypse started.
"Yeah..." Rick trailed off when he noticed the man's face whose name was Morgan.
"What? Do you know him?" Wilmur asked but Rick ignored him.
The oldest Grimes tried to lift Morgan up, but failed and dropped him before turning to scowl at all three of them. "I would appereciate some help."
Michonne sighed and put her sword behind her back, lifting up Morgan's body along with Rick and laid him on a crate. Wilmur and Michonne take the body armor off and put it in their bag while Carl took the weapons on him.
"Carl. You and Wilmur take watch over him. And Michonne, you come with me." Rick ordered and they all obey.
Carl pointed the gun at Morgan while Wilmur just watched over him. The two boys sit in silence for awhile before Carl broke it with his annoyed tone.
"What's wrong with you?" Carl asked, glaring at him but Wilmur didn't seem to understand what he was talking about. "I mean, you're different than you were these past few days. What're you trying to do?"
Wilmur shrugged. "You were right about what you said last night. About how I was throwing everything away after the-the evil things brought me good things."
Carl scoffed. "But what're you trying to do? What makes you want to stay like this?"
Again, Wilmur shrugged. "I honestly don't know what I'm trying to do. But I don't want to be cold anymore. I've got things back and I want to accept it so it'll make me different and stronger."
"So you want to get stronger?" Carl questioned.
"That's not exactly it." Wilmur replied. "I don't know what I'm trying to do. But I need to accept things for what they are and push the past behind me."
Carl sighed in irritation and took his attention off Wilmur and giving it to the unconscious man who he had his pistol pointed at. Wilmur could see the angry glare Carl had in his blue eyes that's been there since he's met him. He knew he was a cold and hardened boy to the world as soon as his eyes laid on him the second he first saw him.
He wondered what Carl was trying to do since he was cold to the world. No one in the prison trusted him enough to be on his own and they didn't let him do anything accept make sure he and Merle didn't do anything bad outside the cellblock. If he wasn't trusted among the group, then what was he trying to do?
"What about you?" Wilmur asked. "What are you trying to do?"
Carl shrugged. "Survive. Trying to push through what happened."
Wilmur's eyes darted off Carl but kept his thoughts on him. He knew that Carl didn't really know what he was trying to do. Ever since his mother died, he wasn't really sure what he was trying to do. All their was in his life was pain and misery so why bother figuring out what you were trying to do?
Rick and Michonne made their way over to them with their hands gripping their weapons. They wrap Morgan's arms around their shoulders and carefully pulled him off the crate while Wilmur and Carl continued to point their pistols at him.
The two adults carry Morgan with Wilmur and Carl following behind them, watching their backs. They're told to step over the welcome mat due to a hole with huge needles sticking under it. He also laid a trap in the middle of the steps which had a hole so you can fall through and die. But the most insane one was the axe trap. Carl nearly landed in the axe one. If it wasn't for Wilmur grabbing and pulling him back, Carl would've stepped right into it.
"Be careful." Wilmur said, arm wrapped around Carl's waist again to keep him from falling into the trap. However, it made them both blush. He gently pushed Carl up and over the trap with him following along afterwards.
The first thing they saw when the stepped in the room was words written in chalk all over the walls. The guns and ammo they were searching for was in the room, too. Everything they hoped to find was in there. Guns, ammo, food, cloths. It was amazing but it was also insane the way Morgan was living. Not even Wilmur lived like him. He must've been through something terrible if he ended up like a psycho maniac. Wilmur just ended up like a cold-hearted beast, unlike Morgan.
"I showed him that weapons locker last year." Rick mentioned.
It was hard to believe the apocalypse has went on for a year already. Wilmur would've been in eighth grade if none of this had happened. His little sister would begin sixth grade. Everything would be normal for them, but walkers came and took over the world.
"And it had all this in it?" Michonne asked with disbelief in her voice.
"No, not even half." Rick replied. "He's been busy in the cot."
Rick and Michonne laid Morgan down on the mattress while Wilmur and Carl examine everything. Wilmur looked over at Carl to see him stealing a comic book and he smiled. Wilmur used to be a fan of comics when he was younger, but then the outbreak happened and he wasn't able to read them anymore. Wilmur smiled and pulled a comic book out of a drawer.
"Here, found another one." Wilmur whispered so he wouldn't interrupt Michonne and Rick.
Carl grabbed the comic. "Thanks." He mumbled but still kept the same frown on his face.
Both boys look at Rick and Michonne when they start to argue. All they do is argue. 'I think we should do this, I think we should do that...'
"We're gonna wait for him to wake up." Rick said and both boys roll their eyes.
"He tried to kill us." Michonne said.
"So did Justin." Rick replied.
"He tried to kill us and we didn't leave him for the walkers. He's had a good day. He doesn't need half of these guns. We do." Michonne mentioned.
"We're gonna wait for him to wake up." Rick said again, but more seriously this time.
Wilmur sighed before rolling his eyes and looking back at Carl, ignoring Rick and Michonne's contuined argument. Their arguments remind him on the three arguments him and Carl had. When the first met, when Wilmur was locked out of the cellblock with Merle, and when Wilmur tried to sneak out of the prison. None of their arguments were calm ones that anyone could control. All three of their arguments were really intense, but they hadn't argued since he became Wilmur yesterday. Carl had scowled at him some, but that hadn't brought an argument like it normally did for Justin.
Wilmur turned around when he noticed Carl's presence is gone. The young Grimes was staring at a wall that had a map of the town written by Morgan himself in chalk. The young Grimes was shocked at it. He probably missed his house, town, and school. But he knew it was never gonna be his regular home again.
"What is it?" Wilmur whispered when stood beside him and noticed the depressed look on his face before staring at the chalk board which had the entire King County printed on it.
When he was seven-years-old, he actually visited King County with his mother. It was a mother and son weekend. His father couldn't come because he had to work so it was just him and his mom. His sister didn't come with him because she got sick. It was a fun weekend and Wilmur will always cherish that memory.
"What'd you see?" Rick asked his son.
When Carl doesn't answer, Wilmur tapped on Carl's shoulder, sending another warm surge through both of them. Carl shivered under the touch of Wilmur. He's never felt the warm feeling before. He remembered having the same feeling with Beth but for Wilmur, the feeling was much stronger.
The warmth was strong for both of them. It caused the blood in their veins to rush and cause their heart beat faster while their cheeks flushed red. The feelings only grew stronger when they tried to fight the warmth. It overwhelmed their senses as their hearts beat faster. It didn't matter if they were both the same gender. Carl wasn't sure if he was bisexual or not but it didn't matter because of the warmth in his heart and veins.
Wilmur, however, liked girls and boys. He dated the boy Kevin and dated a girl named Anne. He didn't actually love Anne. She just kissed him one and day and he kissed back for no reason. It was after he broke up with Kevin. He wanted to feel love and that's why he kissed Anne. But she didn't heal him so he broke up with her a few weeks after they started dating. She was really nice though. One of the nicest people he's ever met. However, she wasn't the one for him.
"Carl." Rick said when he didn't answer.
"It's our neighborhood." Carl responded and Wilmur squinted his eyes when he saw the chalk written over a house which said RICK'S HOUSE.
"It's gone." Carl said when he read it was burnt out. First, it was Rick and Carl's house. Then it was taken by someone and then burnt out for probably no reason.
"Is that why you wanted to come? To see the house?" Rick asked.
Carl just stood there again, focusing on the warm surge Wilmur sent through his body. The warmth of the surge was only getting stronger and stronger with every touch from him.
"Carl." Rick said again, making Carl snap out of the thoughts of Wilmur.
"I-I just wanted to come." Carl replied, but he knew why he wanted to come. He needed to get something for his baby sister Judith.
Wilmur turned his head and gave Michonne a weird look when he heard her chewing on something.
"We're eating his food now?" Rick asked.
Michonne shrugged. "The mat said welcome."
Carl sighed and ignored the strong warmth that was spreading through his veins. He couldn't feel like that right now. There's lot's of other things to worry about than the warmth Wilmur was giving. First, the Governor attacked them. Second, they had to focus on getting weapons to strike back against the Governor. And third, he had to worry about getting his baby sister a crib.
"I'm going on a run." Carl told his father.
"Where?" Rick asked, staring at his son with a stern expression.
"I thought-maybe the one thing people didn't loot was cribs and there's that baby place that Mom's friend, Sara, ran. It's just around the corner." Carl responded.
Rick placed buried his face in one of his hands with stress. Couldn't his son accept that he can't do any of that stuff yet? He's only a kid. He's not that responsible enough to go somewhere in this world alone. He might run across a man like Morgan without thousands of deadly traps.
"Carl."
"Dad, it's just around the corner." Carl said with frustration. He handled himself on the road for seven or eight months. Who's to say he can't now?
"You're gonna need some help carrying the box." Michonne said.
"What?" Carl said, furrowing his eyebrows. He wanted to go alone. He wasn't just getting a crib.
"If you're gonna get a crib, you have to get the box. It's big and heavy. You're gonna need some help carrying the box." She repeated.
Carl sighed silently with annoyance. He wasn't just getting a crib for his baby sister but also picture of their mother so Judith could get to know what her mom looked like. He came on the run for a reason, and that was his reason to help his sister.
"You are getting a crib, right?" She said when she heard his sigh.
"It's what I said." Carl replied.
"Then I'll go with him." Michonne offered.
Wilmur sighed, arms crossed. "Me, too."
Rick smiled weakly, standing up and agreeing. "Right there, that's the deal."
It angered Wilmur how Rick thought his son couldn't handle himself. He understood why he was being protective over him, but he hardly lets him do anything. Like killing when he has to. Children may be not know how to handle themselves, but Carl did and if he could kill hundreds of walkers, then he knew how to survive.
"You get into trouble, you holler, okay? I'll hear it from here." Rick spoke to Carl. He didn't care about Wilmur or Michonne. They were strangers.
Carl stormed out of the building angrily. He wanted to go alone. He needed to. Michonne and Wilmur wouldn't let him go get what he actually wanted for Judith.
"You both didn't have to come." Carl said angrily.
"We told you're dad we'd come with you." Michonne replied.
"And besides, you're dad would never let you go alone." Wilmur mentioned.
"Yeah, okay." Carl scoffed and fastened his pace, gun in his hand.
Wilmur frowned and shook his head. Carl has been bringing him back from the beast inside him. Now it's his turn to bring Carl back, and he was going to and he won't stop until the real Carl Grimes was back.
Carl looked at a walker struggling to get to them, making an idea pop in Carl's mind. "Guess you should take care of that." Carl said to Michonne and Wilmur, but Wilmur doesn't go to kill. Only Michonne.
Carl sighed with frustration and took off running even though Wilmur could see him. He had to get the picture for Judith. Wilmur and Michonne wasn't going to stop him.
"Hey!" Wilmur yelled, chasing after Carl
Michonne turned her attention to Wilmur when he yelled and then to Carl when she sees running off with Wilmur chasing after him. "Shit." She cursed and her and Wilmur chase him down the sidewalk.
"Carl, stop." Wilmur demanded but he still doesn't listen.
Michonne managed to catch up to Carl enough to grab him by the shoulder and turn him around. "The hell was that?" Michonne asked angrily.
Wilmur catched up to Carl and Michonne afterwards. Carl was obviously not getting a crib if he tried to run off. He was either getting something else for Judith or something he wanted for himself. Carl may want to do the run on his own but he knew Carl would never run off on someone.
"I wanna do this on my own." Carl said with his strong voice before walking off, annoying Michonne but not Wilmur. He understood the pain. He was the same exact way, only Wilmur was a weakling who couldn't face the truth.
"You just passed the baby place." Michonne mentioned when she noticed how he past it.
"He's not going-" Wilmur's interrupted.
"I'm getting Judith something else first, kay?"
Carl continued to walk down the sidewalk with him and Michonne following along. The three walk for what feels like hours until they reach the King County Café. That's where him and his mother ate breakfast and lunch every morning. But from what it looked like, it was overrunned and destroyed.
Carl brushed the dust and grime away from the door window to see inside. He can see lot's of walkers just sitting and walking around. The young Grimes squinted his eyes to get a closer look at the picture hanging from the wall just above the bar. His hand reached for the doorknob, but as soon as he touched it, Wilmur and Michonne shoved him away from the door.
The young teen scoffed and stormed off angrily. Wilmur shook his head and followed after him. The boy wasn't angry because they wouldn't let him go in the café, he was angry because he couldn't do anything by himself. No one ever gave him a shot because they think he's a weakling who can never be responsible. But he always came back alive. He did when he got shot and when that walker attacked him back at Hershel's farm. Who's to say he can't now?
"You think I was gonna let you go in there?" Michonne asked.
Carl stopped walking to turn and glare at her and Wilmur. "I just think it's none of your businesses." Carl replied.
"Carl, that place was filled with walkers." Wilmur said.
"So? That thing I wanted to get for Judith was very special and you both ruined it!" Carl snapped, making Wilmur feel ashamed.
"We didn't mean to make you upset, Carl. But is that thing really more special than your life?" Wilmur asked him.
Carl scoffed, still not understanding. "I'm going to do this sooner or later. You can't stop me." Carl continued to walk, clenching his pistol tightly in his fist.
Wilmur sighed. Carl sounded so confident with himself, and that confidence definitely won't stop him. But Wilmur couldn't let Carl go in alone.
"Fine. But I'm going with you." Wilmur said.
"Me, too." Michonne said and Carl sighed.
"We're gonna have to get those rats first." Michonne said.
The three each push the rats in cages in the café before running in when the walkers are distracted. They first hide behind a wooden pallet before the wall. They had to take this slow or they would get caught.
"Go." Wilmur whispered, holding his gun up to guard Carl.
The three run the bar to see lots of pictures of families on it, including one of Carl's family. The picture had his father, his mother, and Carl when he was younger. He used to be a freckled face kid with shorter hair just like Kevin, but he doesn't have much freckles anymore. The women on it had long, brown hair and big, brown eyes. She was really pretty like Wilmur's mother.
Carl stepped on the bar and reached up for the picture, struggling due to the shortness of his body. Wilmur was a little taller than Carl. He was older then Carl after all.
Suddenly, a walker grabbed Carl's foot. If it wasn't for Michonne, then Carl would've been pulled down. She sent a sword through the walker's soft skull while Wilmur grabbed Carl to keep him from falling. This time, a fast, speedy surge was sent through Carl as well as Wilmur. But there wasn't any time to think about it.
Michonne pulled the sword out of the walker's head quietly and quietly took off running with Carl and Wilmur just behind her. They run passed the wooden pallet to get out the door, but it was a bad idea. Apparently, a rat has escaped it's cage and ran in their direction, attracting all the walkers in the room.
"Son of a bitch!" Wilmur cursed as he pushed Carl and Michonne ahead of him, shooting at walkers in the process. All he can do is hope that Rick doesn't here the gunshots. He'd run to them and probably kill him and Michonne for attracting everything and putting his son in the danger.
Carl opened a door, but more walkers spill in, leaving them almost trapped.
"This way!" Wilmur yelled, taking the lead and running through the bar. If they ran that way, the walkers would run the same direction and leave the door open to run out.
However, on the way out of the door, Carl dropped the picture when they're out the door. Before he could even reach to get it, Wilmur and Michonne shoved him ahead.
"No!" He yelled, but Wilmur and Michonne pushed him out anyway and slammed the door shut with walkers banging against it. "We have to go back in! We have to! I have to!" Carl yells.
"No! That was way to close!" Wilmur said, blocking the door to keep Carl from running back in.
"It's the only picture of my mom I have left!" Carl yelled in Wilmur and Michonne's faces.
Wilmur and Michonne just stared at Carl with sympathy in their eyes. They both could tell Carl really missed his mother and was desperate to get a picture of his mother so Judith can have a little bit of their mother.
Michonne sighed and looked at Wilmur, telling him and Carl that she would go back inside to get the picture. She knew exactly what to do.
"I can help." Carl said.
"No! No more bullshit." Michonne snapped.
"This is how we get it done." She said before taking a path into the café.
Carl sighs and pushes against the door with Wilmur, arms crossed.
"I'm sorry, but we're not letting you risk your life over something so small."
"It's the only thing I have left of my mother!" Carl snapped.
Suddenly, two men walk up with machine guns and belts filled with small large knives along with machetes.
Wilmur and Carl reach for their guns, but the two men point their machine guns at them. Carl sighed in frustration and dropped the gun. Everywhere they went, this always happened. Carl was used to it by now. Wilmur, however, lived in a shelter and never really ran across any trouble.
"Well, well, well. Justin. Look's like we've finally found you." The two men laughed, causing a glare to flash Wilmur's eyes. The two men were from Woodbury. His father probably ordered some other men to come after him. All he can do is hope they don't go to the prison.
"But I see your with another boy. Rick's son, right?" One of them said, still laughing.
The death glare in Wilmur's eyes harden at the mention of Carl. They will do something to Carl since he's with him. But he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let the men from Woodbury kill someone he cares about! There was no way the men would take Wilmur back and leave Carl alone. They are going to do something to him. Especially since he's Rick's son.
"Justin, you're coming back with us. And Rick's son, you are coming with us, too. But you're gonna wish like hell we killed you." The two men laugh again, making Wilmur angrier.
"No, I think you got that backwards." Wilmur retorted.
"Um, excuse me?" One of the men said.
"You're not gonna take me or Carl. We're gonna take you, and you will wish I killed you." Wilmur threatened, still glaring with his fists clenching.
The two men laugh and step closer, making Wilmur step in front of Carl. "Since when do you like Rick's son?" They asked.
"Since I figured out they were the good ones and you weren't." Wilmur replied, making the men angry.
"Alright, we kill anyone on Rick's side! You got one more chance to come back with us!" The men threatened, but Wilmur just sat there, not budging.
The men's face boil with anger and start taking menacing steps towards Carl, but not Wilmur. "That's it! Get out of the way! We're killing him!" The men yell and ran towards Carl.
Carl began to panic, unable to reach his gun since it's on the ground. This was the first time Carl was actually overpowered. However, Wilmur charged towards both of the men and slammed their machine guns right in their faces, leaving them a broken nose. But it only took a few seconds for the men to get up and shove Wilmur out of the way and slam Carl on the ground, leaving a bloody, bruised head. Carl tried to reach for his gun, but it was hard due to one of the men strangling him and the other right on top of his stomach.
Wilmur managed to get back up and shoot both men in the head, killing them.
Once the men are off his stomach and throat, he gasped for air. His eyes were red as blood and were swollen as well as his throat. He was strangled almost to death. It would take a long time for him to heal but at least he lived. If it wasn't for Wilmur, he wouldn't have.
"Are you okay?" Wilmur asked, bringing Carl into his arms, sending another warmth through their bodies but they didn't care. Carl was too hurt and Wilmur was too worried about Carl.
The young, hurt Grimes pulled away from Wilmur to puke. The man sitting on his stomach cut off his oxygen, too. Sitting on someone's stomach always makes it harder to breathe. It can also make someone puke.
"It's okay. Let it out." Wilmur rubbed soothing circles on Carl's back to bring him reassurance.
When Carl's done, he leaned back into Wilmur's touch, letting the warmth running through his veins to comfort him. Right now, he actually did feel like a weakling. He couldn't fight off two skinny men.
"It's okay." Wilmur reassured again.
Carl opened his mouth to say something, but Wilmur put a finger to his swollen lips. His throat, his lips, and his eyes were swollen due to the strangling.
"No. Don't try to talk. It'll hurt." Wilmur said with a comfort tone in his voice. When someone he cared about is hurt or upset, he'll always change his voice to the sweetest one ever in hopes of making them feel better. He always did with Penny.
"Holy shit! What happened?!" Michonne asked, dropping the picture and the colorful cat statue she held in her hands. The samurai bent to Carl and touched his swollen throat.
"What happened?!" Michonne demanded again.
"Two stupid men from Woodbury attacked us! They freaking strangled Carl!" Wilmur yelled with anger. He hated the guys who attacked them. They hurt his friend. The one who brought him back from the darkness.
"We have to get him back to Rick." Michonne said, lifting Carl's body up with Wilmur helping. He grabbed the picture and cat statue and stuffed it in the bag before helping Carl walk on his weak, trembling legs. Wilmur kept rubbing Carl's back to make him feel better. He hated seeing him hurt.
It felt like hours again to get back, especially since they had to get the crib, too. And because they had to carry the crib and Carl at the same time, but the only thing they meet is a gun shoved in Wilmur's face when the three of them get back to Rick.
"What the hell did you do to my son?!" Rick yelled with anger.
Wilmur scoffed and shoved the gun away, but it's put on his forehead again. "I didn't do anything."
"He went on the run with you perfectly okay. Now he's back and he's been almost strangled and he's frightened!"
Carl pushed away from Michonne and stumbled over to Rick, almost falling in the process, but Rick catched him in his strong arms.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Take it easy." Rick said, holding one of the most precious things in the world to him. He hasn't been focused on his son lately. All he cared about was attacking the Governor without question. He never checked to see if his son was okay.
"H-he..." Carl's voice sounded like a broken robot.
"Carl, I told you not to talk." Wilmur snapped.
"He...s-saved m-m-my l-l-l-life..." Carl said, clenching his throat. It hurt like hell to talk. It even hurt to breathe.
"He saved your life?" Rick asked and Carl nodded. Rick exchanged a look to Wilmur and he nodded, too.
"These two men attacked us. They were from Woodbury. They tried to bring me back but I said no and they started attacking. I was trying to protect Carl but I obviously failed. "
Carl gave his head a shake and tried to walk to Wilmur, but fell. However, Wilmur catched him, sending a warm, comforting surge through his veins again.
"And you let them attack?!" Rick yelled at Michonne.
"I-" Michonne's interrupted.
"She went to use the bathroom. She came back after." Wilmur defended for her and Michonne smiled.
"I came back and Carl was in Justin's arms. He saved his life, Rick." She said.
Carl nodded and pointed at Michonne, trying to ask his father if she could stay with them and be a part of their group as well as Wilmur. Rick squinted his eyes in confusion but finally catched on to what Carl's saying.
"Well, Justin saved your life and Michonne helped you get back." Rick basically said yes and Carl smiled, but not much due to the swollen lips.
Wilmur looked down at Rick's wound, but Rick wasn't focused on what Morgan had done to him. He was focused on his son like everyone else was. They forgot Morgan was there and instead went to the car, laying Carl in the back with his head plopped in his lap as he stroked Carl's soft hair.
"Rick. Michonne." Wilmur said.
"Yeah?" Rick said.
"My name is not Justin. It's Wilmur."