We Can Survive (Carl Grimes Fanfiction)

Chapter 13- A Little Birdie

When I got back out to the main room, Carol was standing there looking worried.

"What's going on?" she asked, voice dripping with care.

I sighed and said lowly,"We don't know where Nikki is. She went out to kill walkers at the fence a while ago and now she's gone. Trinity wanted to go out now, but I made her wait 'til tomorrow."

Carol nodded sharply and turned to go back to her cell.

"Ye' alright?" I asked. I tried not to show too many emotions, though my stomach ached with the pain she felt.

"Yeah," her voice cracked,"I'm alright."

~Nikki's Point of View, A Few Days Later~

The fire I'd thrown together cracked and smoked as I spun the squirrel. I didn't want to eat the squirrel raw, for fear of puking and wasting my efforts in the search for food. Plus, the fire helped dry my sweatshirt. Thank God the rain and wind had died down. When I'd woken up this morning my fingers were stiff with cold and I'd actually feared that I had frost bite. Thankfully, the warmth of consciousness whisked away my worry.

When the squirrel was charred, I removed it from the flames and gnawed on it. I tucked the legs into the hood of my sweat shirt for later and stood, still peeling flesh from the carcass to eat. I'd somehow managed to sneak up on this squirrel, which amazed me, but I didn't bother questioning it. After all, I was quite the ninja. I paused for a moment to feel bad for the squirrel. This squirrel had lived and breathed and felt fear, just like me. Maybe its emotions were less complex, but that was kind of beautiful in a way. Just fear and hunger and joy over finding a nice acorn. None of this anxiety or hatred or impulse to kill that my dumb species felt.

I smiled a little at the thought. If only I could be a squirrel, I mused, rather than a teenage girl. As I grinned at my own idiotic poem. A chilly wind brushed against my face and fiddled with my hair. I tugged my hood up to block the cold, only to have a squirrel leg fall in front of my face. My reflexes forced me to reach and catch it, and I smirked at the greasy lump in my hand. I had no idea how I was still alive, being so careless and forgetful. I pulled the other leg from my hair, chewing them both now rather than later.

I froze when leaves crunched far behind me, much different than the rustle created by the wind. I stood still, listening. My stomach was tense and I tried not to breathe, clenching my leg to keep it from tapping. I couldn't turn, so I stood. My fingernails dug deep into my palms but I didn't notice until blood trickled onto my wrist. It had only been a few seconds, despite seeming like minutes. If it were a walker, it would have moved by now. I finally convinced myself to turn.

"Nikki?" Daryl asked, squinting from around 50 yards away. I ran to him and buried my head in his chest, squeezing him with my arms, which had wrapped themselves around him.

"Jesus, Daryl! You scared the shit out of me!" my muffled voice cried from his shirt, cracking from remaining unused for so long.

He chuckled and stroked my hair with one hand, encasing me with the other, whispering,"Shhh, it's alrigh'. We found ye'."

I sniffled and pulled away from his chest, mopping at my eyes with my dirty hands. I noticed I'd gotten his coat pretty wet, but I figured he wouldn't care. I had to admit, for being such a tough guy he sure would make a good dad. He gave skilled hugs.

"C'mon. You're sister's probably dyin' with worry. Carl, too." he said with a wink. I rolled my eyes, acting as if the thought of seeing Carl again didn't make my heart flutter and my stomach drop with excitement.

"Oh, and he told us. You ain't gotta pretend anymore. He was so upset he even wailed to me about how you were the one to kiss him." Daryl sneered playfully.

"Yeah? Well a little birdie told me about your little fun time with Carol." I countered with a yawn, the exhaustion setting in. Daryl smirked it off coolly. I was amazed we got along so well, as usually I hated people who had similar personalities to me. Although I didn't hide my soft side as much as Daryl did.

"Yeah, but that fun time didn't go as far as the fun time you and Carl had at the cave." Daryl said, glancing over at me and smirking,

"Okay, just for the record, he tried to kiss me and got rejected. Just puttin' that out there." I told Daryl, raising my eyebrows and awaiting his response.

"I call bull shit," Daryl laughed, his eyes lighting up.

"I call douche bag," I answered, chuckling along with him. It didn't really make much sense, but we still laughed.

We walked quietly for a bit before Daryl said,"You know, you're lucky you don't have parents here. I probably would've told them a long time ago about all of the colorful language you use." I grinned at him, but really that hurt a lot. I would've easily traded getting in trouble with parents for doing whatever I wanted without parents.

"Well when you and Carol get married, you two can be my parents. Then you can yell at me whenever you want!" I suggested.

"Somehow, I don't think I would be that type of father." he said thoughtfully. I found it interesting that rather than saying he didn't think that it was going to happen, he said he didn't think it would turn out that way. I allowed a little piece of hope to spark inside of me as we walked back toward the people I cared about in the place I felt safe.

~Author's Note~

GUUUYYYS! I'M ABOUT TO CRY! 4,000 READS?!?!?!? THANK YOU SO MUCH GIRAFFES. YOU MAKE ME HAPPY!

You know how I call you guys giraffes? Yeah, you are no normal giraffes. You are little tiny giraffes that fit in the palm of my hand. You're also more fuzzy than normal giraffes. Just a little FYI.

Anyway, HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS (kinda short) CHAPTER! I actually posted in less than a week! It's clearly some kind of miracle. LOVE YOU, GIRAFFES!