WASTE • Carl Grimes

Eleven

3 DAYS LATER...

" now what? " I ask, my gun aimed at one of the walkers growling at me, it's arms extended in hunger as it tries to feast on me.

" I don't know, but it's really close to you now " Carl calmly replies, purposely not telling me whether my posture is right or wrong or if it's the right time to shoot.

With a roll of my eyes at the boy behind me, I pull the trigger and successfully shoot it in the head, but still, I end up on my bottom, pain traveling through my spine and onto my head.

God dammit.

Carl's face suddenly comes into view, a smile adorning his lips as he stares down at me with his arms crossed over his chest, clearly trying to hold in his laughter.

" It's dead, Grimes " i roll my eyes as i take his extended hand in my own and get up, immediately pushing twigs and dirt off of my pants.

" your aim isn't the problem here, it's your po- "

" posture, I know " I cut him off, already knowing what he was going to say, for he never fails to remind me.

" again. Come on, you're close " he pats my back and stands behind me.

Carl and I have been at this for three days now, always coming out here in the woods where a few walkers trip over their own feet and so far, not one time have i not fallen on my bottom.

I'm slowly getting better, but I have not reached my goal just yet. And the longer my dumbass takes, the longer Carl is away from his family.

No pressure.

With a sigh and a huff, I aim my gun at another walker and gulp.

" your legs, Luna "

I spread them slightly apart.

" your shoulders are tense, relax "

I huff.

" might as well just shoot myself " i groan.

••••

Blood covers my clothes and face once my knife comes in contact with the walker's head, finally killing it.

With a loud groan, i push it away from my knife and aggressively throw it onto the ground, a sigh escaping my parted lips as I wipe some of the blood off my forehead, only to unknowingly make what used to be small splatters of blood a big smudge.

" it's locked " I turn around and face Carl who's pushing a walker off of him, it's blood covering him as he throws it on the ground and wipes the blood off his knife onto his jeans, making his way towards me.

" not a problem " he replies before pulling some kind of metal that resembles a stick out of his backpack. He takes a step back and chucks the metal at the glass, slightly cracking the glass.

I look beside me and find a big rock, smiling to myself once I pick it up and throw it right where the crack Carl had made is located, breaking the glass window.

" much easier " I turn to face Carl who's looking back at me, a smirk playing on his lips.

" shut up " he chuckles, shaking his head as he follows me into the store we had just broken into.

We walk deeper into the store, each of us taking a different aisle to scan for useful items that we can both use.

Carl goes right and I go left, picking up a basket I had found on the floor before I walk further down the aisle, eyes widening at the amount of canned foods I had discovered, smiling to myself.

Carl's going to love this.

I come across a bunch of other items and put them into my basket along with other items I had gotten off the medical supplies aisle before I decide on finding Carl to see what he had found.

More food I hope.

I go down the aisle he had first walked through and walk further into it until I pass three other aisles, still no sign of the boy.

" Carl? " I whisper loud enough for anyone close by to hear.

I stop in my tracks when I spot a familiar flannel further down an aisle in front of me, covering the body of the boy I had been looking for.

With a smile, I walk towards him, eager to see what he had found.

" not to brag or anything, but I think I found more food than yo- " I stop talking the minute I'm next to him, noticing a small doll in his hands as his eye remains on it, eyebrows drawn together.

His sister.

Carl has talked to me about his baby sister before, constantly reminding me that he misses her and it only hurts me even more knowing that I am the reason he's not there with her.

Sometimes he'd tell me how much he misses her along with a bunch of funny stories about her. Although I couldn't care less, the way his eyes shine and his smile widens at the mention of his sister makes me tolerate all of it and listen to him as he tells me more stories about her.

I look down at the doll in the blue dress in his hand, gulping before I slowly take it away from him and place it in my basket, causing him to look up at me, confused.

" she's gonna like it " I smile at him and he hesitantly smiles back, nodding at me.

" let's go " he says, voice deep and low as he leads the way ahead of me towards the window we just came in through.

It takes us a minute to get out of the window with our baskets in hand, stabbing a few walkers single handily on the way until we're on the road back to a house we cleared this morning on another run.

The road ahead of us is clear, a few walkers surrounding us but too far away to be of any danger.

Carl and I have been quite the whole way up until this very moment, his sister probably on his mind.

" what's on your mind? " I ask, already knowing the answer yet asking anyway to break him out of his mood.

Carl keeps his eye on the cemented road underneath our feet.

" Judith " he replies.

" tell me more about her " I watch him smile before getting into one of his many stories about his baby sister, who probably thinks her brother is dead all because of me.

All because of me.