Natural Born Leader (Carl Grimes x OC)

Chapter Three: Safe Zone

I whistle and drop down low to warn the others that something is up ahead.

We've had special whistles for everything since the beginning. Each one means something different like to signal there's walkers, or to get down, everything's clear, or that help is needed. It's been very efficient thus far and our tactic seems to confuse the walkers somehow. Something about the pitch and tone of our whistles messes with their dead brains.

Ahead of me there's a huge gate with a sign to the side of it. I can't quite see what it says from here so I move around a tree to get closer. I glance back to make sure Linee, Rodrigo, and Naomi are out and I'm met with focused expressions on their faces.

I turn my head to look at the sign, trying to get a better view around the walkers that roam in front of the gate. Before I get a good look at the sign, I catch sight of someone on top of the gate who's pointing something straight at me. I dodge fast, hiding back behind the tree as an arrow whizzes past me and buries itself in the ground.

There must be actual people inside. And they obviously don't like people trying to get a sneaky look at their base.

I whistle to tell the others that we need to move somewhere else and right as I finish the whistle, bullets rain on the ground.

"Shit!" I whisper-yell, rolling forward to stand up and break into a run. I hear yelling coming from the gate, someone telling someone else to stop.

The walkers, the stupid things, hear our panicked footsteps and the herd of them starts to head towards us. I whip out my knife and stab one in the head, pushing it into another one and causing them both to fall to the ground.

"Hey!" A male voice calls out from behind us. "We didn't mean any harm!"

Yeah, right.

Linee, Rodrigo, Naomi, and I start a mad dash through the group of walkers. I slash at heads with the machete I've got, careful to avoid any of the mouths coming too close to me.

I hear gunshots from behind me and turn around for long enough to see the man is shooting at the walkers, not us.

I take out my gun and aim it at the man, whistling to signal for the others to come join my side, in case anything goes down. Some stragglers approach us so I take both of them out in one swift swing of my machete. My gun goes straight back to aiming at this curly-haired man with a beard.

By now the walkers that were outside of the huge gate are all gone and the only people standing are me, Linee, Rodrigo, Naomi, and this mysterious guy.

I don't speak a word or make a movement, I only tune into my surroundings to make sure I'm aware of everything around me.  I can feel the tenseness radiating off of my group around me, even though this man hasn't raised his gun at us yet.  Let's just say we haven't had the best experience with other groups in the past.

"Who are you?  You're just kids..." the man says, trailing off.

My eyes flit over to the side of this man for a half second, reading the sign behind him.

Welcome to the Alexandria safe zone.  Mercy for the lost. Vengeance for the plunderers.

When my eyes connect with the man again, he has a look of understanding on his face.

"Were you guys looking for some sort of shelter?  We can help you, just lower the guns." He holds his hands up after tucking his gun safely back into its holster to show us he means no harm.

Too bad I don't believe him.

I talk anyway.  "We stumbled across these walls.  Who are you?  Are there more people inside?"  I don't mention the rest of our group.  The last thing that needs to happen is for me to be killed right here after giving up the location of a bunch of kids.