signal | the walking dead

8 • the judge

"Hey senior citizen, wanna go for a walk?" Carl cheekily approached Bea.

"Carl, don't be rude," Lori scolded he son.

"It's fine Mrs Grimes, just an inside joke we have, let's go," Bea laughed at the younger boy.
"You're getting real creative with these nicknames," she commended as they left the house.

"Gotta do something with all this time," Carl shrugged.

"Still haven't thought of a good one for you yet," Bea theatrically tapped her chin in thought.

Carl laughed at her dramatics.

"Hmm, what about Carlton?"

"Carlton?" Carl threw his arms up in the air in disbelief, laughing out loud.

"Hey I tried!" Bea laughed.

"Bea, let's go this way," Carl pointed to the back of the barn, acting sneakily as Shane and Andrea seemed to be caught up in some intense conversation.

"I wanna know what's going on in there. They think just because we're kids we shouldn't know, but I'm tired of secrets," Carl shook his head in annoyance at the reminders of the adults not telling them much.

"I'm in, but when I say we go, we go, okay?" Bea looked at the boy, who eventually nodded in agreement, and so, they entered the barn from the upper level.

It wasn't long before the hostage, Randall, noticed them both. Oh yeah, he was still here. Bea tended to think about him a lot purely because the adults didn't tell her much, leaving her to fill the gaps. Although she was more concerned about Beth at the time, she couldn't help but think if he was dangerous enough to be killed, why keep him there on the farm?

"Hey. That's a sweet hat, cool hair too, I'm Randall. What's your name?" the boy a few years older than Bea asked. He seemed to be talking to her like she was a kid too, which kind of pissed her off, she knows she was on the shorter side but she didn't look the same age as Carl.

Surely?

"The sheriff guy, that your dad?" he continued, as the two of them came closer.

"I like him. Yeah, he's a good guy. I can tell. Your mom out here too? You're, you're lucky, you still got your family."

Bea slowly shook her head, thinking about she wasn't with hers, and Randall noticed this.

"I lost mine, so I get the feeling," he tried to empathise with the girl.

Bea chewed her lip awkwardly in response.

"Hey, I don't know what people been saying about me, but I didn't do nothing. I swear. Your dad was gonna let me go till his friend started fighting with him."

Didn't surprise Bea. She could see the tension between the two men clear as day. And Shane wasn't the least passive guy out there, he wouldn't go down without a fight.

"It got pretty bad. I, I was kinda worried."

"My camp, we got lots of supplies. You help me, I'll take you and your folks back to my people. We'll take good care of you. Keep you safe," Randall stared intensely at the two, Bea standing in front of Carl ever so slightly in defense.

"Our home is here now, we don't need your help," she said confidently, not breaking eye contact until he turned to Carl.

"Just gotta, just gotta help me get out of here, okay?" Randall looked desperate.

"Carl, let's go," Bea grabbed Carl's hand gently to tug him along but he wouldn't budge.

"Just help me pick these locks or find the key, okay?"