Love Hate (Carl Grimes)

chapter eleven // taken two

Rose's POV:

I wipe the sweat off my forehead with my elbow as I shove the shovel into the snow. At around 6 in the morning, Rick came into my cell and asked me to clear up some of the snow. So that's what I've been doing for the past twenty minutes.

I asked him what we were going to do about The Governor, but he just walked away. I understand that he is stressed -we all are- but, I just think that we deserve to know what's happening. I'm not going to sit on my ass and wait for something bad to happen. I can't put my friends in danger, especially since we lost Dani and we're all a bit worn down. And I'm not going to watch the rest of the group be in danger. I know I've only been here a short time, but they have been very caring and nice.

And as for Carl, well I'd like to think that I wouldn't mind if he was put in a dangerous situation but,. . .I don't know.

As I plunge the shovel into the ground again, I feel it hit something. Setting the shovel aside, I bend down and use my hands to dig. My fingers touch something that feels hard and like a handle. I dig into the ground a bit more and wrap my hand around the object. When I pull it out, I realize that it's a pistol and it looks like something is engraved onto the barrel. Once I brush the dirt and snow away, I look at the words.

Deus's volunt, Diabolus puer meus.

. . . I know those words. I know what they mean. It's at the back of my mind, prying it's way through my jumbled thoughts. This knowing and not knowing thing is annoying as hell.

I sit down on the ground, crossing my legs and stare at those five words. I'm just going to sit here and continue to stare at them until I remember their meaning.

••••••••••

Well, its been about ten minutes and it's obvious that I'm not figuring out the translation to these words anytime soon. I stand up, and see that Ella and Delilah are making their way over to me. I pick up my weapons and slip the mystery gun into my back pocket as I walk over to them.

"Hey." I say.

"Hey," says Delilah. "You know, you shouldn't be out here alone. It's dangerous. With The Governor and all. . ."

"Rick asked me to clear some snow. Said it should be pretty safe. And besides, you don't need to be worrying about me." I stick the shovel into the snow and lean on it lightly with my elbow. They nod. "Where's Lauren?" I ask.

"Rick's making her take care of the kids with Carol in the library. She nearly punched him when he told her that's the only thing she could do." Delilah informs me, laughing lightly.

"Cammyla?"

"With Lauren and Carol." answers Ella.

I nod and look down at my feet as if they are the most interesting thing in the world. Considering how things are, they could well be. "And uh. . . .C-carl?"

"I killed him." Ella says sternly. My head shoots up and I look her dead in the eye with disbelief. She just laughs. "Geeze, I'm kidding! Thought you'd be happy."

"Yeah, I would be. Just caught me off-guard." I say. "So what are you guys s'posed to be doing?"

"Michonne sent us to get you. Said something about new shirts. . .?" Delilah says.

"Oh, yeah! She offered to get me some on the run she went on. Guess she's back now." I pull the shovel out of the snow. "A'ight. Let's go."

We start heading back up the pebble path that leads to the prison. We don't talk as we are walking. All of us are still recovering from what happened with Dani. To be honest, I just want to curl up in a ball and cry again, but what good would crying do? It's not going to bring her back and it's not going to make things any different. What's done is done. And no amount of crying is going to change that. Besides, I've got to be the strong one if no one else is, right?