The Walking Dead: 8 months on the road- The Story of Carl

Chapter 8

I've got to warn Ashley! I've got to warn Ashley! The thought repeated through Carl's head, as he raced through the misty forest. His twirling feet tore up wood and leaf, as he moved determinedly towards the town. It had been a whole day since Rick had made Carl agree to take him to the town, and Rick had informed Carl that morning of his intentions of accompanying him to the town in two days time. That meant Carl had to warn Ashley today, or at a last resort tomorrow, if he stood any chance of hiding his loyalties to David. After nearly 10 minutes of running, Carl stopped panting beside a tree, leaning against it for support and taking in his surroundings with a wary look. He was close to the town now. Hopefully he'd be able to find Ashley quickly, as every moment away from his own camp would arouse suspicion. Straightening up, Carl winced as he felt a stitch form in his side. Walking now, he continued his journey. As he neared the end of the woods, Carl turned his attention towards the ground he was walking upon. A clump of dead flowers caught his eye. A dozen or so shoots, had been crippled with the cold, and now hung blackened and dead, occasionally twitching in the occasional breeze. Aside from one. One shoot had survived. Standing, gloatingly above the dead shoots, it almost looked threatening. For some reason, Carl felt it was a warning. Shaking his head to clear it, Carl stiffled a laugh. Am I seriously taking advice from plants? I must be mad. Lifting his gaze, and with the pain in his side now gone, Carl found himself once again running, in an desperate attempt to find Ashley.

Shooting from the undergrowth at the edge of the forest, Carl swung his head wildly from left to right, his narrowed blue eyes searching for any sign of Ashley. His search unsuccesful, Carl headed towards Ashley's camp via the side walk. His heart was pounding in his chest, a feature not helped by the sudden calling of his name. Spinning around, Carl breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Ashley making her way towards him. Smiling, he headed towards her.

''Carl, what're you doing here?'' asked Ashley as she put her arms around him in a welcome hug.

''I came to warn you,'' answered Carl, still panting slightly as the hug ended and he could face Ashley fully.

''What about?'' asked Ashley, a worried look crossing over her face.

''My Dad knows I've been visiting the town,'' blurted out Carl. ''I couldn't help tell him. He made me. But I didn't tell him about you or David. Or anything else. He bought it, but wants to check the town out. Just to see if it's safe. So you've got to stay out of town. All of the day after tomorrow. It's crucial. Can you do that? Please?''

''Of course, you idiot,'' smiled Ashley. ''I'll tell David I spotted a group of walkers or something. He'll buy it. Your Dad won't know a thing.''

''Thank you, so much,'' breathed Carl, at last feeling his body relax.

''No problem,'' smiled Ashley. ''And now you're here, how about some alone time?''

''Jus.. just us?'' asked Carl, uncertainly.

''Well, that's sort of the point of alone time,'' teased Ashley.

''I don't really know what you're getting at,'' confessed Carl.

''That's alright,'' smiled Ashley. ''Just follow my lead.''

Before Carl could react, Ashley had leaned forward and was pressing her lips against his. Now this I know, thought Carl, as he closed his eyes and kissed her back. Suddenly he felt Ashley lowering her lips, which were still stuck to his. She's lying down, thought Carl. What was she planning? Before he knew it, Carl found he was led on top of Ashley, their lips still connected. And then Ashley grabbed Carl's hands, and slowly guided them under her top. He felt the warmth of her belly on his hands, then realised she was still going. Before Carl could react, Ashley had placed his hands upon her bra. He could feel her breasts through the clothing, and was dimly aware of Ashley snaking her hands across his bare chest. How had she managed to get her hands under his t-shirt without him noticing?

''Are you enjoying that?'' hissed Ashley, teasingly.

''Yes!,'' gasped Carl, feeling excitement race through his body, as he felt her fingers running along his flesh.

''Good,'' whispered Ashley, and Carl felt her hands lower until they were just inches from his pants. Clenching his fingers for support, Carl realised what he was actually clenching.

Ashley let out a moan of pleasure, and slowly lowered her hands once more. Carl's trousers were getting tight, and he didn't know how far Ashley was planning to go.

I'm too young for this, thought Carl as he quickly started to panic.

Ashley's fingers had unzipped his trousers now, and were slowly entering the space between his pants and underwear. Carl could feel his whole body trembling on top of Ashley's, and knew that if her fingers got any lower, he was going to be in big trouble.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air. Jumping out from under him, Carl felt Ashley's hands and his own, retract. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or disapointed.

Scrambling to his own feet, Carl quickly zipped up his flyers and looked at Ashley.

''What the hell was that?''

''It sounded like James,'' whispered Ashley, worry creasing her face. All the excitement from what they had just been doing had vanished.

''We've got to go. Come on,'' she bellowed, running towards the source of the noise.

Sighing, Carl looked back at the woods. Somewhere out there, Rick was probably looking for him. But he couldn't leave Ashley. Especially when she could be heading into danger. Realising what he must do, Carl began to run after Ashley. This day was turning into a nightmare!

After several minutes of intense running, Carl skidded to a halt beside Ashley. They had left town now, and were stood in a large clearing a few minutes away from David's camp. Carl, who was panting heavily for the second time that day, turned his gaze to Ashley and was shocked to see her eyes full of horror. Following her gaze, Carl spotted a slumped mass on the other side of the clearing. Blood pooled around it, turning the dry, dusty ground a sickening crimson. Suddenly, Carl realised what he was looking at. It was James! Or was used to be James. Ashley's camp-mate had a deep gash in his throat, whereupon a stream of blood was flowing from. His eyes were glazed over, and Carl could see he was definitely dead. Turning to Ashley, Carl noticed tears streaming down her face. Ashley would have known James well, Carl realised. In a surge of remembrance, he recalled it had been James he had saved on the day he'd first met Ashley. And for what? So he could die a few weeks later. The all too familiar feeling of loss crept into his heart, and he felt a wave of sorrow wash over him. Turning his attention back to Ashley, Carl decided to give her a hug- the only thing he could do to ease the grief he knew she must be feeling.

''I'm so sorry,'' whispered Carl, as he wrapped his arms around her.

''How can it be him?,'' croaked Ashley, as she returned the hug. ''He was always so alert. So brave. No walker could've snuck up on him. It doesn't make sense.''

Not knowing what to say, Carl felt a silence grow between them. A silence broken by the sounds of people exploding from the undergrowth around them. Springing apart from Ashley, Carl realised it was David and his group who had entered the clearing.

There were 6 or so men, including David and all of them were staring at the corpse on the baking ground. After a few moments, David turned and looked straight at Carl and Ashley. Carl noticed David's face flicker between anger and anguish, as if he couldn't decide what to feel. At last deciding on anger, he took a step forward.

''What the hell is going on here?!'' he bellowed at Carl and Ashley, both of whom took a step back in surprise.

''James dead. How? Who? And why are you two stood here? Explain,'' David barked.

''We... we... don't know,'' stammered Carl nervously. ''We heard a scream and ran over here to find him like this. We didn't have anything to do with it. I swear.''

David continued to look doubtful, until Ashley spoke:

''It's the truth,'' she whispered, despite the fact she was still crying, she seemed to have composed herself together enough to utter those three words.

''Well, if it ain't either of you, then who?'' questioned David, a frown forming on his face.

''A walker?,'' suggested one of the men.

''Quite possibly,'' murmered David, stroking his soft beard, and closing his eyes: clearly in deep thought. After a few tense moments of silence, David's eyes snapped open and he began pacing the clearing.

''Right, I want a full sweep of the area. John, check the town. Will, go with him. Paul, check the edge of the woods. George, the old farmhouse. Daniel, check the road leading to the highway. And Brian, you check the river. I want this entire area searched for that walker. Now go!'' ordered David.

Each man set off in the direction he'd been ordered, until only Carl, Ashley and David remained in the clearing.

''I didn't realise this place was so big,'' commented Carl, hoping David would be calmer now his men were searching for the culprit.

''Yeah, it's huge,'' agreed David. ''What were you doing here anyway, Carl?''

''I was passing on a message to Ashley,'' gulped Carl, his heart-beat beginning to quicken as he remembered what they'd really been doing.

''I see,'' nodded David. ''What was the message?''

''Um... well, I'd seen a few walkers in the town,'' lied Carl. ''I wanted to warn Ashley, and you, that you should stay away from there for a few days.''

''Town?,'' queried David. ''Dammit, I bet that's where the bastard walker came from. I'm afraid the message came a bit late,'' he finished, indicating James' body with a nod.

''Yeah, looks that way,'' agreed Carl, bowing his head to show his respect to the dead man, metres from him.

''Well thank you anyway. I'll tell the men to stay out of town for a few days, when John and Will get back of course. And talking of getting back, shouldn't you be heading home?,'' asked David.

''Yeah, I'll get going,'' agreed Carl, feeling a surge of relief at David's compliance to staying out of town. If all went to plan then Carl might just convince Rick to let him continue visiting the town.

''Good, good. Be careful. Ashley go with him,'' ordered David.

Ashley gave a teary nod, as Carl put his arm around her and began leading her away. He was stopped by David speaking again.

''Oh, and Carl.''

''Yes?,'' asked Carl turning to face David once more.

''I'll see you tomorrow, yes?''

Um, sure,'' answered Carl. I wonder why he wants me tomorrow, he thought. Pushing the thought to the back of his head, Carl began leading Ashley in the direction of the woods, the warmth from their bodies intertwining, and their hands firmly interlocked.

As David watched them go, he turned to the body of James on the ground and smiled, wickedly.

''Excellent,'' he hissed. ''This is just the beginning...''

Returning to his camp a few minutes later, David sought out Mark. When he found him, kneeling beside a busted RV, his tools spread out- a clear indication of his attempt to fix it, he smiled and continued walking.

''Mark,'' growled David, ''you're needed in my tent.''

''Coming,'' responded Mark, standing quickly to his feet.

David made his way to his private tent on the far side of camp, and sat down, quickly making himself comfortable. A few moments later, Mark joined him.

''Well done,'' congratulated David, a wicked smile forming on his face. ''I trust nobody saw?''

''No one but James,'' smiled Mark. ''And as you saw, he won't be telling anyone.''

''Ahh, yes,'' nodded David. ''But he screamed. Ashley and Carl heard. We found them by the body. You could've been discovered. Be more careful next time.''

''I couldn't do much about that,'' growled Mark. ''He was hardly going to remain silent with a knife in his throat.''

''Yes, but still, we must be careful. At least now James is dead, and we don't have to listen to his whining,'' considered David.

''Yes, that is good,'' agreed Mark. ''What's that about Ashley and cowboy? How did they get there so quickly?''

''They ran,'' sighed David. ''Damn, kids.''

''You know, this 'Carl' kid, is becoming a real pain. I think he's outrun his usefulness. He hasn't collected any supplies in days! Is it time?''

''He has,'' agreed David. ''And I just might have a plan to deal with that...''

''Really,'' asked Mark, eagerly leaning closer to David.

''A win-win situation if you'd like. We tell Carl, we want to merge groups. Make something up about walkers or 'safety in numbers'. We ask him to tell his group to merge with ours. They'll agree. If they're anything like him, they'll be weak and pathetic. Plus we have the reassurance that they're gone. If left they could become a threat. And then, when Carl brings them to us, we kill them. Carl's dead, we have their supplies, and any threat they might pose is gone. Win-win. What'd you think?''

''I think it's a brilliant idea,'' smiled Mark. ''But how do we get Carl to ask his group?''

''Oh, that's easy,'' laughed David. ''Haven't you seen how close him and Ashley are now? He'll do anything for her. All we have to do is show Ashley what a great idea it is, and Carl will follow suite. Ashley is our greatest weapon!''

''And you're sure it'll work?'' questioned Mark.

''Of course! It's been my plan all along. Why else did you think I'd let Carl and Ashley get close? I saw an opportunity from the start, and now we're near the end. Mark, trust me. This is going to work.''

''Okay, then,'' agreed Mark, standing and moving towards the entrance of the tent.

''You know David, you're smart. I didn't realise you planned stuff like this out,'' continued Mark, turning to face David once again.

''Oh, my dear boy, this is the end of the world, not a game of chest! It's not about strategies, it's about using what's available. And I think it's fair to say I've done that,'' laughed David.

''Yes, you have,'' agreed Mark with a smile. ''But one thing: what about Ashley? If you try to kill Carl, Ashley won't be happy.''

''We'll make Carl's death look like an accident. Taken by a group of walkers. We'll find out the exact number in Carl's group and plan it exactly. James' death was the start- an example to show people, and Carl, that we must merge or face extinction. That's what they'll think anyway. The plan is already in motion. I'll ask Carl to merge when he visits tomorrow. Don't worry, Mark. This is going to work.''

''I hope you're right,'' murmed Mark, as he slowly withdrew from the tent.

''So do I,'' whispered David, as he removed a piece of paper from a drawer and slowly began to write out the speech he'd give to the camp to announce James' death.

The herd had grown now. What had started out as a small number of walkers, had grown to a near hundred. The undead were stalking ever near to the town and it's inhabitants. Any day now, and death would arrive...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Sorry for not updating in a while. This is a slightly longer chapter, and I hope you enjoy. Please leave feedback, otherwise I don't know if you're liking the way the story's going. Once again, thanks for reading.