Stranger [The Walking Dead]

5 ; Scavenger Run

"I saw you at the party. Well, I mean, we went there together, but you didn't hang around long." I looked over at the boy who was sitting on the branch next to me. His hat was flicking hair towards his eyes. He needed a haircut. "You were gone before I got a chance to talk to you - properly at least."

I shrugged a shoulder. "I'm not a people person," I said, holding back a smile at how idiotic it was.

Carl gave me a look that said he didn't believe me. "You are. You're talking to me. You talk to the others. Ron's mentioned how Enid said she likes talking to you. She doesn't like talking to anyone, not even her boyfriend." I ignored the implications of that.

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Well, I can handle being around a select few. After a while it gets exhausting and I want time to - to recharge. 'Sides, I didn't talk to people since before the start of this shit, give me credit for even talking to you."

"So you're serious about that?" he asked, shifting a little to look at me. I nodded, not meeting his gaze. I looked down at the ground several feet below me. How tempting to just jump down to the ground to avoid this conversation.

"Well, I've come across other people. None of them have been good; they've wanted me for my body, or to try and do their biddin'. Sometimes I'd find people after they did something horrible, and I'd kill them to avenge those they hurt, even if I didn't know them. It ... well, being alone after all of that, all that time, it kinda makes being around a lot of people at Alexandria so suddenly more difficult. Just been thrown in."

"I'm sorry."

I brushed it off. "Doesn't matter. I might've never had a safe place, but I holed up in a library for the winters. I had Ping and Pong with me."

Carl chuckled. "Ping and Pong?"

"Yeah, my, uh, big walker buddies. I walked through herds with them. They were cool." I felt the urge to pick at something and squished it down. "I had friends, they were just undead flesh eaters. They didn't do that when I broke their jaws off and cut off their arms."

"Michonne did that."

"Cool." I didn't know what else to say to that.

"Did you know the ones you used?"

I frowned. "No. I had no-one, remember? These were just two fat walkers. Bigger walkers meant bigger scent from them hiding me."

"Well, you're not exactly tall enough to use big ones to mask your scent in herds."

"Carl, only I get to make fun of how fuckin' short I am." I felt a small smile on my face as I looked over at him. He returned it shyly, and then shifted along the branch, holding it tightly as he bumped shoulders with me.

"Why do you swear so much?"

"Daryl didn't watch his mouth, Merle was worse. Why? Scared it'll rub off on you?"

"Shut up."

I looked back down at the ground, having not heard any walkers in a long while. I guessed that they had long since gone. When I looked back at Carl, he had a weird look on his face. Horror was the only thing I felt when he leaned over, shutting his eyes.

I panicked and pushed myself off the branch. I rolled in the landing, looking back up at him. He looked surprised.

"I'm not gonna kiss someone if I've just talked trauma, bitch."

He looked like he agreed with it and started to climb down.

"I have to get back, I'm pretty sure they're goin' on a run." I told him when he got to ground level. He nodded and we made our way back.