EXTINCTION EVENT | CARL GRIMES

n i n e ↣ gratitude

"Hold the door," I breathe out. Glenn turns around and opens the door for me.

"Hey Megan." Beth says, rocking Judith in her arms.

"How've you been? We don't really see much of each other these days." Glenn says, breathing out a loose, hopeful smile and propping his hand on his hip.

"I've been good, just living in the guard tower." I falsely laugh out. "What've you guys been up to?"

"Just farming with Rick and Carl. Today we had to let the pigs go because they were all getting really sick." Beth says.

"Yea Rick used them to get the walkers away from the fences, it helped out a lot." Glenn sighs.

"Sounds like the fence situation is starting to clear up." I remark.

Although this is good for the whole prison, I can't help but feel relieved that the fence won't be crawling with walkers tonight when Carl and I leave.

"Megan, you want to come with me to my cell while I put Judith down for the night?" Beth says, angling the baby towards me.

"Sure." I state.

Beth and I both pass Glenn a nod as he smiles at us, before walking toward the bathrooms where his newly-built shower system is in use.

"Goodnight guys!" He calls over his shoulder.

I watch the back of his head disappear as he enters the hallway.

I'd stared too long at Glenn to notice Beth start walking to her cell. I quickly walk to catch up behind her just as she's walking through the cell doorway.

"Does Carl talk to you a lot?" Her blunt voice asks.

"I mean we exchange words, nothing much more than that." I simply state. "Why?"

"He hasn't said much of anything to anyone since his mom died and Rick returned to normal." The girl says as she gently rests Judith on her back in the crib.

I stare at her with a blank expression.

"You guys live in the guard tower together so I was wondering if he ever told you anything about it. Even after he was shot, he was such a talkative kid back at the farm." She shrugged. "Then, something about him just clicked."

"Yea, he doesn't make much conversation." The words rolling out of my mouth burn like a lie but technically remain true. "He doesn't seem interested in anything going on around here." This statement, once again, being what I can tell her of the truth.

"Do you think he's depressed or something?" She takes her eyes off of Judith and looks to me.

"No." I state. "I think he's just judge-mental." I shrug.

"Well," She sighs. "I just wanted to see how he was doing. I still worry about him considering he hasn't visited Judith once." The girl doesn't give me time to make any expression before she begins talking again. "I think it just reminds him of her too much. Lori—I mean." She says as she gently rocks Judith's crib with one hand.

"I don't know." I say as I lightly shrug. "We never talk about serious stuff."

"Yea I get that." She shakes her head, making her blonde ponytail flip over her right shoulder.

"I guess I'll try and hit the hay." She says, her Georgian accent coming out in a whisper. "Have you tried Glenn's showers yet?"

"No, not yet." I sheepishly smile at the girl. A ping of guilt washes over me when the word yet leaves my tongue.