Don't Let Me Go ~ A Carl Grimes Fanfiction

Chapter Thirty-Three

"Hey! It's about time you guys showed up." I say as we approach Ron and Enid. "We were starting to think we were in this alone."

"Never," Ron says. "Besides, my parents make me come to these things." I smile.

"And he makes me." Enid jokes.

The night goes on and some people stop to speak to Carl and I, and the rest of the group too. I notice Abraham get drunker and drunker.

"He's gonna drink Alexandria out of beer." I say to Carl. "I don't think he realises how low his tolerance must be by now. After the whiskey he drank during the drought, he should know better."

"I guess. But he's having a good time and we should let him enjoy it." Carl shrugs. "How much longer do you want to stay?" he asks, changing the subject. It's my turn to shrug.

"We can leave whenever you want." I say. Just as I do, Ron, Enid and Mikey saunter over to us.

"Do you guys want to get out of here? There's a place we go sometimes." Mikey asks.

"We were actually thinking about heading ho—" Carl stops himself. It's not home. We don't have a home. We haven't in a long time. "We were getting ready to head back to the house." Ron wiggles his eyebrows in suggestion. Carl shakes his head, smiling, and I give a small smile, but my eyes go to the floor. "Neither of us wanted to stay for too long tonight anyway."

"You guys should come with us anyway. Just for a little while," Ron argues, and Carl looks at me. I nod.

"If you want to." Carl gives a crooked grin and we begin to head to the door. "I just have to grab my bag, and I'll tell my mum and Rick that we'll meet them at the house." Carl nods to me. I see my mother, talking to Pete and Rosita. "Hey, mum. Carl and I are going out for a while with Ron, Enid and Mikey," I tell her.

"Okay," she says. "Don't be too late."

"Promise. Hey, can you let Rick know for me? So that he doesn't, y'know, get all crazy when he can't find Carl." My mum nods to me, smiling, while she practically shoos me away.

I pass Noah on my way to get my bag, and he smiles. "Having fun?" I ask.

"Nope. You?" he asks with a grin.

"Barely. Have you met the lady who really wants a pasta maker? Because, and I quote, 'It just tastes so much better fresh'. It's crazy. A few weeks ago our group was eating wild dog, but she can't eat dried spaghetti." Noah laughs. "Carl and I are going somewhere with Ron, Mikey and Enid. See you back at the house?"

"Yeah. See you both later." He says. "Have fun. Be responsible. All that jazz..." He holds out is fist and I knock it.

"Yeah, yeah..." I grab my bag and meet everyone outside.

We wander around Alexandria, and we end up at the outskirts, where Abraham and the construction team have begun to build houses. I'm set to just keep walking, but Enid, Ron and Mikey decide to climb the scaffolding of the skeletal frame of a house. Carl and I follow suit, and we settle at the top.

"It's so quiet," Carl states. I nod in agreement. It's been a long time since we've settled somewhere that the constant drone of walker moans hasn't followed us, and there's no one trying to take our place from us. Yet, that voice in my head warns. We have a good thing. People will want it when they find it. I shake the voice off. I have to believe that we're safe. Even just for a little while.

"Hey, guys," Ron says, and he rummages in Enid's bag. "Look what I got." He says as he produces a glass bottle filled halfway with a clear liquid. My stomach plummets at the sight of it. He has obviously swiped some alcohol from the party. "Anyone want some?" Ron asks as he takes the tin cap from the bottle. No one says yes, so he shrugs, and takes a drink himself. He then passes it to Mikey, and he takes a gulp and wipes his mouth. Enid takes the bottle from him and drinks from it herself. She extends the bottle to me, and I shake my head and take a step backwards.

"No, thank you," I pass and she extends to Carl, and he eyes the bottle warily. He takes it and drinks what looks like barely a sip. He passes the bottle back to Mikey.

We sit in silence for a few seconds, listening to the crickets in the night. Ron is the first to speak. "So, where did you guys come from?" he asks.

"Well," Carl starts. "My dad and I lived in a town called Kings County, in Georgia, with my mom." He swallows when he mentions his mother.

"My mum, Sammy and I were from a small town in Scotland called Ayr. We lived with my dad and my brother Cameron and my uncle Jake lived with us for a while too."

"So how'd you guys end up over here? In America?" Enid asks.

"Well, there was a fire. Cameron, he died because of it." A look of pity crosses Enid's face. "He pulled my dad, my uncle Jake and his own girlfriend Charli from the fire, and they all lived. But Cameron had a heart defect. The strain and panic made him have a heart attack, and no one got there soon enough. He was a hero, but he couldn't have saved himself." I catch a tear before it runs down my face. "Anyway, mum, Sammy and I came over here to stay with my mum's godmother and auntie, Angela. And when we got here, it was all gone."

"Oh. I'm so sorry." Enid says.

"At least you're safe now," Ron says. "This place is secure."

"But it's not." I state. "Nothing in this Godforsaken world is secure."

"What?"

"My family, we were in six different camps filled with people before we met Rick's group. Those six camps, they're all gone. The people, all dead. Our group, Carl's and mine, we've lost more people than you can shake a stick at. Beth, Bob, Tyreese, Hershel, Lizzie, Mika. We were living in a prison, with walls, and fences, and food, and people, and guns. And still. In the space of a few minutes we lost it. Some crazy guy and his friends showed up with a tank. We lost our home, and the place where our people were buried." I pause. "The killing; it never stops. The death, the pain, and you never forget it. I understand that you people have suffered losses as well, but when you've dealt with it on this scale, it's hard to believe anything will last." There's a gap in the noise.

"Have... Have you killed anyone?" Mikey asks. I don't speak for several minutes.

"Twelve people. Nine men and three women."

"Oh."

"They were attacking us. Four of the men were trying rape me and my mum and sister, and the rest were in the prison, trying to take it from us... But it never gets easier. Those people still haunt me, but I don't regret protecting my people. So no. This place isn't secure. You have something good going. People want to take it. Or the dead want to eat it. Either way, nothing is permanent. Not anymore."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

Thank you all for being so incredibly patient waiting for this chapter. I'll try to update so much more, but I can't promise anything, because of who I am as a person.

Love you all,

-RiggsPie xoxox