Sheriffs Hat | Carl Grimes (PROGRESS ON PAUSE)

a f f e c t i o n a t e

They look to me with solemn eyes and I give them a the best smile I can muster while still understanding their situation. My hands squeeze their own, and to my utter disbelief, they squeeze back, a barely noticeable smile on their face.

I rush back over to my bag and begin unpacking in order to collect the rain.

Soon enough, the thunder is getting louder and even closer, lighting begins to flash nearby. Rick stares on with slight worry in his eyes.

"There's a barn back that way," Daryl shouts over the aggressive sounds of thunder and falling rain.  He points back towards where him and I had just been, it's mostly likely something that went unnoticed by me.

"Let's go," Rick calls out to the group.

Quickly, taking the containers with as much water as possible, we begin to rush through the woods, following Daryl's lead.

Our shoes crush leaves and sticks on the ground as we climb through the thick forest, eventually stumbling upon small wooden barn. Quickly, Daryl and Rick fling the doors open, fortunately finding it vacant.

We all rush inside just as the winds pick up and the rages at more severe levels.

The doors slam shut behind and we all breathe sighs of relief.

I scan the room and find Carl standing in a friend with Judith, holding her and speaking to her gently. Carefully, I creep over to him and stand directly in front of him. He stares at me, slightly confused, until I reach my hand up and flick the brim of his Sheriffs Hat, water droplets crashing down.

He smiles the most precious smile before lightly smacking my hand out of the way.

I go to speak, maybe make a snarky comment, the sudden sound of walkers outside the barn makes itself present. The noise is deafening and the doors to the barn begin to push back from their presence.

Swiftly, Carl places Judith on a small stack of hay on the ground and we join the group at the doors. We press all our force and weight against the ever growing herd, trying our absolute hardest to prevent them from getting it.

There are shouts and cries, snarls from walkers, and booming thunder in the distance.

For a mere moment, the pushing subsides and all seems safe. Until the dead begin pushing again, the smacking directly into my skull, causing the world around me to fall black.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

Birds chirp and flutter quietly nearby as my eyes creak open.

I've been moved from the position I remember last being at; pushing against the door before blacking out. As I go to sit up, I find a hand resting gently on my shoulder.

It's Carl.

His mouth is hung open slightly as he sleeps, he looks peaceful. One of his hands lays softly on my shoulder in an affectionate manner that makes me blush. He's always been so considerate, always making sure that I feel safe and comfortable before his own comfortability and safety.

Slowly, I sit up, trying my hardest to not disturb Carl, and peer around the wooden barn. Most everyone is asleep peacefully.

I stretch, scratch my very unwashed hair, and stand quietly. My jacket is removed from my bag and I find the comforting feelings of a cardboard container of cigarettes and a lighter.

The large doors to the barn are creaked open slightly and it reveals a completely different sight to what last night was. Few walkers lay on the ground after being crushed, no rolling thunder or aggressive rain, and just some slightly destroyed branches of trees.