ALL THE LOVELY BAD ONES | CARL GRIMES

twenty four. hopelessly devoted

He said Eleanor's name and something about the infirmary, then I saw blood on his shirt. Suddenly I was halfway across the yard, barefoot, my father following closely behind. I don't remember the whole way there or stepping onto the porch, I heard my name called, then suddenly Glenn was standing in front of me with his hands on my shoulders.

"Carl, we can't go in there, man." He was saying. "Carl, Carl. Breathe, man, look at me."

"What happened?" When he took too long to answer I nearly shoved through him, but another set of arms came from behind, my father's, helping restrain me. "What the hell happened?"

"I saw them pull her from the van." I heard from behind me and it was Ron who said it. "She got bit."

That was when I nearly went ballistic, spitting mad. Demanding to be let in. The cracked open door was so close yet so far, my father's grip on me too strong.

"Just the fingers!" Glenn was yelling in my face because I was yelling in his. "We cut the rest off!"

"What the f—?"

Then I heard screaming that was not my own. But hers. I'd never heard Eleanor scream before, I hadn't even heard the girl cry. Then I smelt burning flesh. I knew the smell from Terminus and I knew the smell now.

"Stop, stop!" I shouted to whoever was inside. "You're hurting her! Stop!"

"He has to cauterize it. Carl, please. Calm down." Dad said over my shoulder. "It's the only way he a can stop the bleeding. Calm down, son."

My father held me against him until I stopped struggling, which I didn't want to stop struggling because I knew once I did that I'd start crying. Which is exactly what I did. I sat on the steps of the infirmary and my father kept an arm around my shoulders, crying.

I wasn't sure how long it took me to calm down but eventually I did. My face hot and sticky, almost humiliated by my outburst.

Glenn stood on the walkway, his clothes singed and bloody, told us what happened. Still breathing heavy, his hands shakey. "There was this horde of maybe two dozen and everything went to shit so fast. We had to spilt up. She, Noah, Nicholas, and I got stuck in the revolving door... And... I don't know. It was so quick. Noah got pulled through, but she tried grabbing him as it was swinging back shut and her arm got caught in that rubber part between the wall and the glass of the door. By that point Noah was gone, some of her fingers got bit clean off before I could get her arm out... Shit... I was supposed to protect her, you know? Shit."

"You didn't know this would happen. You can never know when things are going to go bad." My dad assured him. It almost disturbed me, the way he sounded like an experienced parent giving advice to a new one. I guess, in this twisted world, that's what this was. "You cut the fingers off pretty quick though?"

"Almost as soon as it happened." Glenn informed, nodding. My dad's words appearing to placate him, calm him.

"Could still be infected." Ron said, I had forgotten he was still lingering around. He wasn't helping the situation. I wished he would go home.

"I just thought it would be there and back, Rick. I would have never let her go if-" Glenn stopped a moment and took in a breath. "Jesus Christ, I let both of those kids tag a long and..." His fingers went up int the roots of his dark hair.