𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 ↠ 𝘤.𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴

72: What Comes Next

Months had passed since the big fight resulting in Elle and Ryder's deaths. Revenge had been planned and executed, of course, that came at a cost.

Carl looked up at the sky, seeing that the sun had begun to set as the grass had yellow light shown on it. He stood up, brushing his clothes off as he began walking towards a tree. Hanging from a strong branch was a handmade swing with a girl sitting on it. She seemed to be reading as she couldn't hear him coming up behind her.

She wore a white, long sleeved dress that reached just above her knees, the dress moving as a slight breeze came through. Her blonde hair stained red, as well as the blood that took up the entire right side of her face told Carl who he was looking at. He peered over her shoulder, seeing the book she was reading was actually a comic. The Amazing Spider-Man.

"Elle?" Hearing her name, she looked over at him, closing the comic and setting it on the grass beneath her.

"Hey." She smiled. Oh how he missed her smile. "I saw what happened." She stated, stepping off of the swing.

"What do you mean?" Carl asked, confused.

"I saw you helping that man, Siddiq. I saw you get bit, and I saw you shoot yourself so your dad wouldn't have to." She explained, turning back to him. He had blood running down the side of his head from the bullet hole. Carl lifted his arm to touch the blood.

Elle had never seen her reflection, but she can feel the blood that runs down her face every second. "So what is this if I'm dead- if we're dead?"

"I don't even know," she laughed. "Cody told me it's just 'what comes next,' which doesn't really answer the question. But, what the hell? It's kinda fun." She smiled at him. He smiled back.

"You talked to Cody?" He asked, realizing she mentioned her deceased brother. She nodded. Carl turned back to the field, seeing the long dining table Elle had seen a long time ago. "Who's that?"

"Follow me." She held out her hand for him, but he grabbed her white sleeve instead. It was the little things they adored about each other, and Elle adored how shy he gets during little displays of affection. She led him further through the field as they approached the table.

There was no food on the table, just baskets of flowers and lit candles. Carl's face lit up as he recognized every single person at the table. Lori stood up, smoothing out her long dress as she walked up to her son. "You grew up." She smiled.

"I know you said I'd make it to the end—"

"Carl." She cut him off, laying a hand on his shoulder. "I know what I said. You tried, and you died saving the people you love. Now, let's go sit down." She walked away and took her seat between Andrea and Beth.

Elle sat next to Cody as Carl took the empty seat next to her. "Do you guys sit down a lot?" Glenn nodded from across the table.

"We like to talk. Some of us have more interesting stories than the rest of us, so we like to share." He explained.

"Do you have anything you wanna share?" Beth asked, her sweet voice being something Carl hadn't heard in ages. He shrugged.

"How's Jack?" Cody asked.

"It was hard at first, being forced to watch Negan kill..." he trailed off. Elle set her hand on his. "He got really depressed for a while, he eventually got better and began helping plan attacks and get weapons. He's grown very attached to Judith, and I know he'll look after her for me." He smiled.

"I can't even imagine how hard this all was on you. Watching the people you love die all around you? You're a lot stronger than me, that's for sure." Jacqui spoke from the end of the table.