I Saw The Lights Go Out - Carl Grimes

Chapter Thirty Three - Terminus

We'd been walking along the tracks for about an hour listening to the birds chirp. I had been trying to keep my mind clear, paying attention to everything around me, and trying to block out the events of last night.

Leaves covered the ground around us causing the tracks to disappear from view. Some of them shattered under our feet while others silently sunk into the gravel.

The sky was cloudy above, not hot at all, the perfect temperature for our walk. The breeze blew by every few minutes sending the clouds shifting in the sky. Rick and Michonne's conversation lingered in with the background noise of the birds.

Rick slowed us all down as we approached a barren pole. The sign that was supposed to be hanging from it had fallen to the ground now warped and rusty. Rick used his boot to clear off the leaves and dirt to read what it said.

It was another Terminus sign from what I could make out through the faded letters. Daryl passed me, walking toward the front of the group to look at the sign and then the tracks ahead. He squinted his eyes scanning around.

"We're getting close." We all looked toward him and his shiny black eye. "Be there before sundown." He predicted looking toward Rick and Michonne. I took in a deep breath at the thought of getting there tonight. It would be nice to be somewhere safe and not out in the open. If the place was still standing, that is.

"Now we head through the woods. We don't know who they are." Rick instructed us in a deep voice.

Daryl mumbled an "alright" before leading the way. We all turned to the forest again to stealthily head in the direction of Terminus.

The trees and bushes were so dense that I hesitated to step into them. They offered great protection and camouflage from people or walkers around us, however, every broken branch that scraped against my skin didn't make it too comforting.

Once we were past the edge of the forest the trees began to separate giving us more room to walk. Michonne made sure Carl and I kept close no matter what. She was protective and motherly that way. I wondered to myself if she ever was a mother. Whether or not she was, the two of us didn't stray away from her knowing she'd keep us in place.

~

Not one of us had stopped to drink or catch our breath as we trudged step after step over aged roots and fallen trees. The exhaustion from not sleeping the night before and the events that unfortunately unfolded started to take over. My posture was terrible and my legs were beginning to ache, more so than they already had. Daryl had said we were close but I assumed it was just an estimate.

As we continued to walk through the trees Carl's hat slid lower and lower down his face. He hadn't attempted to fix it like he usually did, rather he opted to hide behind it.

I brushed my arm against his to grab his attention but he didn't seem to notice it was on purpose. I brushed against him again, a bit rougher the second time. His bowed head turned toward me with a concerned look in his striking blue eyes. Everything around us was silent other than the crunching of leaves and the snapping of twigs. I decided to keep it that way and mouthed out a whisper.

"Are you okay?" I asked him silently.

He stepped over a large branch before answering me back. "I'm fine." I read his answer on his lips before frowning.

"You sure?" My eyebrows rose in concern.

Carl had been distant since the attack and I just needed to know he was alright, in that strange way that we called alright. He could recover in whatever way he felt would help, even if that meant he'd build a wall taller than mine. Just as long as he knew I was there for him on the other side, I wouldn't mind whichever way he chose to heal.

"I promise." He attempted to give me a smile before grabbing my hand. That feeling in my stomach returned and my hand tingled as our fingers intertwined. I tried to smile back up at him but a blush found it's way to my cheeks first. I quickly looked forward and lightly squeezed his hand instead hoping he wouldn't let go because of my sudden shift. He held on, and rather looked ahead as well and attempting to contain his smile like I had.

His fingertips were soft against the back of my hand, I never expected them to be so nice. Not that I thought about holding Carl's hand before or anything. But as we stumbled through the forest stepping over twigs and rocks it started to feel natural. Like we'd done this regularly, somehow.

Suddenly, in front of us, Daryl and Rick quickened their pace heading toward a chain link fence in the distance. Their body language resembled two wolves hunting prey. My smile faded and I slipped my hand from Carl's as we all quickly followed suit behind them.

As we approached the fence Rick dropped his bag from his shoulder and peered through the dark metal links. I stood back behind him staring at the multiple patched up rows to the fence and the large spears pointed out toward us. It was obvious that they were used to keep walkers off the fence but the fact that there wasn't a single walker on them made me think. Either they had taken the walkers off of them already, or there was no noise to draw the walkers in. I tried not to think about it too hard.

I pushed my way through the group trying to get a look at what everyone else was gawking at. Through the vine covered chain link fence stood a large two story, red brick building. Every window facing us had been boarded up. However, the top row of windows spelt out in big, bold, painted letters...

"TERMINUS"

My heart skipped a beat seeing the sanctuary right before my eyes. It was here, it was still standing. We'd finally made it after all of this time, and it's courtyard wasn't crawling with walkers. I silently hoped, prayed, and begged that this actually worked out for all of us.

Before I got my hopes up too high I forced the smile off of my face and took a step back away from the fence. I glanced over at Noah, his eyes were shining in desire.

"We'll all spread out. Watch for a while, see what we see, and get ready. Stay close." Rick commanded quietly and slowly. With those orders we sprang into action.

Daryl snuck around the spears to try and get a better look at the building in the distance. We all followed in the same direction Daryl went as Rick pulled Carl aside to talk.

I continued on, wanting them to have time alone together only for Carl to stalk past me two seconds later. I looked back at a surprised Rick, he stared off into the forest confusion and hurt strung across his features. I assumed he didn't get the response he was looking for. Carl passed Noah and I to search around with Michonne.

Noah and I slowed at the sound of Rick digging into the earth with a small tactile shovel, his large duffle bag sat in a slump on the ground next to him while dirt clouded the air.

With nothing else for me to do, I scoped around the forest not believing we were actually here. After all I had been through alone, after all we had tackled together. I clenched my teeth in a silent prayer that there were people in there, good people. Not crazed walkers or the type of people we encountered last night, the ones had killed my family. I shuttered and push the thoughts away. For a moment I hoped it wasn't abandoned, but maybe if it is we could make this our new home, by ourselves, take people in like they had at their prison. I smiled at the thought staring up through the trees wishfully.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wooo! Finally, they made it! How many chapters did that take like Jesus! Anyways, I really hope you enjoyed this quiet chapter, did you like that little bit of Carl and Avery's love blossoming? Cute as hell, right? Hehe, I promise we'll be seeing a lot more of that, wink wink.

Anyways, Avery mentioned how there wasn't any walkers on the fence, do you think anyone is in there? Was it already over run? Are there only a few survivors? Let me know what you think and what you predict.

Please comment, vote, and follow me! I really love interacting with all of you :) Leave me suggestions and corrections and anything else you'd like!

Love you all, happy reading.