EXTINCTION EVENT | CARL GRIMES

t h i r t y - s i x ↣ starting now

"Aaron?" My bed frame gently squeaks and the mattress dips down, as I slowly sit up. "Eric?"

I'm left in a silence that quickly closes in after the echoing sound of my voice. My feet patter against the wooden floor as I stand from the bed. The sound of approaching footsteps soon breaks the silence, as they make their way towards my open bedroom door.

"Nope." Carl says, appearing just beyond my doorway. "It's just us."

The boy walks in, holding Judith on one hip and a cardboard box in the other. He shifts his sister around in his grip. "I'm just stopping by to drop off these."

Because nearly every day's been a matter of life and death ever since we met, I've never gotten the chance to pay attention to the pair standing in front of me. The last I recall, is that the boy held a resentment for his baby sister, out of blame for his mothers death.

But now, as I look at the happy siblings standing before me, I realize that I've always craved such a wholesome scene. A family of my own. Maybe not soon, maybe not in this world, but some day. And as of now, I'm just glad that—despite the circumstances of how our little family came to be—I have a Judith and Carl of my own.

"I'll gladly take this off of your hands." A smile makes its way across my face as I gently pluck the toddler out of his grip. Her little legs kick about and her chubby arms reach out towards me as I bring her into my grip. "How're you doing today, honey?"

"Well, now that you've asked, I—"

"Carl," I laugh. "I was talking to your sister."

The sheepish ghost of a smile makes its way across the boy's face. "Oh,"

My eyes meet his just before I bounce Judith on my hip and reach my lips up to briefly meet the skin of his cheek. I motion to the box that he uses one arm to balance on his hip. "What's that?"

"You forgot this at the other house," He starts. "And I came by to bring it to you."

I smile, before placing another lingering kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, Carl. You can just put it on the bed."

Once he walks passed me, heading towards my bed, I grab Judith's chubby wrist and wave it around a little, as I choose to wait until I'm out of Carl's eyeshot to begin playing around with the bashful child.

"You're really good with her, you know?" He mutters from across the room.

I tear my eyes away from the baby to see her older brother leaning against my bed, right next to the box of my things. His eye remains locked on the two of us, as I'd clearly been distracted with her for more than a few moments. A smirk rests across surface of his pink lips.

I roll my eyes. "Is that all you came here for? To drop off my stuff?"

"No, I need you to do me a favor." Carl sucks in a breath. "Can you keep an eye on Judith until I get back?"

"Why, of course!" I speak to the small child, as I gently tickle her tummy. "Why would I want to keep her from spending the day with her fun Aunt Megan?"

"Aunt Megan?"

"Yes, Aunt Megan." I attempt to pull my lips into a tight, straight line, but the smirk that tugs on them is just a bit stronger than my desire to act stern. "You got a problem with that?"