┌───────────────────────────┐
───── CH 8 ─────
M E G A N
"I found this map of the prison complex," The boy says, taking out a folded pamphlet from his back pocket. "There's an armory in the direction we were headed anyways."
"But we'll need weapons to even get to there in the first place, Carl." I bluntly state.
"Well," The boy sighs. "My dad took my gun, so can I use yours since I'm a better shot?" He says, opening his hand out to me.
I shake my head and pull my pistol out of my holster, placing the gun in the palm of the boy's hand.
"You know," I start, exiting my brief state of anger. "Glenn just got the showers set up. It's a shame we won't get to use them."
"We'll have all the time in the world to shower." Carl rolls his eyes.
"Yeah," I mutter. "In rainwater."
───── CH 15 ─────
C A R L
"This might sting." I warn her, slowly pouring the water down her back, starting it at her shoulders.
"It actually feels kind of nice." She chuckles, her eyes meeting mine for a brief moment. Our eye contact lingers for a few seconds before I remember that the girl is nearly naked.
I quickly pull my eyes from her face, focusing solely on her injured back. Luckily, a good bit of the glass came out when I poured the water over her cuts. I scoop the mug in the shallow water once again and dribble it down the surface of her exposed back.
A few more small shards of glass fall out of her skin. I place the mug down on the floor before I reach my hand toward a piece that won't budge. I grip it with the tips of my fingers and slowly pull it out.
I chuckle to myself. "At least this isn't rainwater."
└───────────────────────────┘
┌───────────────────────────┐
───── CH 15 ─────
C A R L
"Megan!" I call to the girl, not being able to wait to tell her the good news. "Come see what I found."
I see the girl turn the corner from the left side of the store. She makes her way over to the door. I step aside and let her enter the room, keeping my flashlight aimed on the supplies.
Her eyebrows raise and her face softens as she sees what's in front of us. Megan's eyes meet mine and we both exchange a look of gratitude. The moment doesn't last very long before her face drops.
"What if these belong to someone else?" She asks. I almost wince at the thought of Megan making me leave the supplies here.
"Look at all the dust, Megan." I sigh, motioning to the pile. "No one has seen these supplies in a long time. They were locked in here." I walk over to the supplies, bending down toward the first aid kit. I swipe my finger along the layer of dust that coats it. "Whoever put this here isn't coming back."
"You're right." She says. A weights lifts off of my shoulders as the girl reluctantly agrees
───── CH 16 ─────
M E G A N
"The back door is wide open." He says, putting his hand on his forehead and taking a deep breath.
Sympathy fills the boy's entire attitude as he realizes what his decisions did to us. To me. My eyes make sure to reinforce his guilty feelings as I clench my jaw and keep my gaze locked on him.
He breathes heavily, his eyes tracing from me, to the wagon, to the floor. Repeating the process a few times.
The two of us clearly have different reactions to finding out that our food and water are gone. That makes sense as it is clearly one person's fault yet it affects the both of us. Extremely negatively.
Freshly processing what happened back at the prison, my mind quickly turns to anger.
Not even an hour ago, the boy and I seemingly had a place to call home. A home that we willingly left in the first place due to Carl's selfishness and relentless coaxing.
Not even an hour ago, we had supplies. Supplies that we left because the boy knew we'd be back. He was preparing us to come back to this house. He knew that the prison wasn't reliable anymore. He knew not to get his own hopes up.
Yet, I didn't know the safety of the prison was something we were even going to have to hope for. I once believed that it would always just be there.
Now, we're without a secure home, without our people and without our supplies. All three being the consequences of the guilty boy's actions.
"Look, Megan." The boy says. His voice instantly makes my jaw clench and my fists tighten. "I didn't mean for any o—"
"Save it, Carl." I spit at him, making the boy not hesitate to close his mouth, as he was probably also prepared for me to lash out at him. "Just save it."
"I knew we shouldn't have taken those supplies." I huff out.
───── CH 18 ─────
C A R L
Carefully placing respectful steps toward the right side of the church, I peak my head in the office door. A feeling of déjà vu washes over me when I feel a sense of familiar relief.
The tempting sight of stacks of several canned goods nearly makes my mouth water, before I remember what happened the last time I found supplies.
I knew we shouldn't have taken those supplies.
Megan's spiteful—yet honest—words ring in my ears, repeating themselves over and over again, intensifying as I stare at the colorful cans that have the ability to resolve my painful hunger.
Sucking in a quick breath, my feet gently march forward and grab the doorknob to the office door. I close the white door, removing the cans of food from my sight.
Though rejecting the supplies in front of me might not be the smartest decision to make in light of my severe hunger, it's the choice I must make. Not only for myself, but for the girl and my mom. Maybe it's also simply for the fact that I'm standing in a church.
I turn away from the closed-off room containing the canned goods. I've let the my selfishness guide me through the world before, letting it spoil me, which I was told not to do. Taking that stuff back at the mini-mart spiraled into several events that were out of my control.
└───────────────────────────┘
┌───────────────────────────┐
───── CH 2 ─────
M E G A N
My hand grips the handle to the door, and I hesitantly enter the tower.
When I open the latch in the cabin of the tower, I carefully pull myself inside.
I stand to my feet, only to be held at immediate gunpoint by the boy. I raise my hands up. "What the hell?"
He keeps a cold glare on me.
"What's your deal?" His voice as plain as any.
"What do you mean?" I narrow my eyes at him. "Get that thing out of my face." I take one small step toward him.
───── CH 27 ─────
C A R L
Right after I hear the click of the doorknob, I swing around the corner, ready to mow down whoever stands in front of me.
The barrel of my gun is aimed in the face of no one other than Megan.
This is the first I've seen of her in days. I couldn't even manage to catch a glimpse of her around the streets. If I hadn't known any better, I could've swore that the girl standing in front of me was just a figment of my imagination.
The sight of her being somewhat foreign, even after all the time we've spent together and everything we've been through.
Her familiar pale hair and piercing green eyes are even more lovely than I remember. She has clearly healed from her bedrest, as her eyes no longer have the faded purple bags underneath. The rejuvenation in her skin is something I'm relieved to see, although under such condemning conditions.
Maybe she is better off without me.
"Get that thing out of my face." She says, locking eyes with me from just beyond the tip of my gun.
└───────────────────────────┘
┌───────────────────────────┐
───── CH 4 ─────
M E G A N
Offering the man a nod, I stand from my seat on his bottom bunk, and begin to walk towards the corridor.
The man clears his throat. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
My feet stop in their tracks, just before I can make my way out of the cell. I look over my shoulder and chuckle, offering the man another nod.
"Thank you."
───── CH 34 ─────
M E G A N
The woman—without missing a beat—pats her hands to her thighs and stands from the seat. Her boots click against the wooden porch of the infirmary as she heads towards the steps.
I clear my throat. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Rosita stops in her tracks, turning back only slightly.
She sucks in a breath, as an involuntary smile creeps onto her face. The woman rolls her brown eyes and nods toward me.
"Thank you."
└───────────────────────────┘
┌───────────────────────────┐
───── CH 7 ─────
M E G A N
"Let's say we do leave," I say, playing into the hypothetical. "What's the goal? Do we stay on our own? Do we come back? Is it a day-trip sort of thing?"
"I was thinking," Carl says as he scoots closer to me, lowering his voice. "We stockpile supplies, we act like everything's normal and then, we disappear."
"I'm still not convinced." I roll my eyes at the boy pleading in front of me. "I've never been out there for more than a few hours."
"I'll show you how to survive." The boy offers, clearly desperate for my assistance in this. "I've done it before and I can do it again." He sternly nods at me.
───── CH 34 ─────
M E G A N
A shy smile grows on the boy's face, taking over his melancholic demeanor. "Why don't you let me take you out on a date?"
Although Carl and I have seen and explored every inch of each other, the thought of a real date with him sends nervous, giddy tingles shooting through my stomach.
"A date?"
"Yes." He chuckles. "A real one, too."
It's now that I feel the tops of my cheeks turning hot. The nervous heat evident in the rosiness that Carl stares down with his eager blue eye.
Out of embarrassment, my hands find the boy's wrists and slowly remove them from around my waist. I shake my head, hoping to somewhat cover my face with my hair. "I'll have to think about it."
"It would be a dream come true." The boy says from behind me. "My dream come true."
I continue fumbling around with the things I aim to pack in my duffel, that sits on my bed. "Oh, really?"
The boy plops down on the mattress, causing the duffel to bounce. "Totally."
"I'm still not convinced." I shrug.
Carl snickers under his breath.
"I was thinking," The boy takes the duffel from right beneath my anxious fingertips, and moves it to the side. "Dinner and a movie."
└───────────────────────────┘
┌───────────────────────────┐
───── CH 22 ─────
M E G A N
"C'mon Meg." Ron starts. "You spend way too much time in here. And on top of that—working with my dad." The boy says. He's never quite understood why I enjoy being around his parents. I never really figured it out either.
"I thought I told you not to call me that." I remark, taking the cap out from between my teeth. The last time he called me that nickname, I objected, saying it was an old lady name and that I didn't like it.
"What are you going to do about it, Meg?" The boy teases, enunciating the foreign nickname.
"That's it." I roll my eyes and stand up. Ron already knows what's coming as by the time I turn around, he's no longer in the room.
───── CH 36 ─────
M E G A N
"See, Jude." The boy steps closer, taking us back into his arms, as I'd forgotten about the complication. He places a slow kiss on my temple, before using his fingers to tickle at Judith's stomach. "Tell your Aunt Megan that it was all just a joke."
The little girl giggles. "Meg—"
Both Carl and I gasp at the girl's first word—well, syllable. My intake of breath sounds out more-so than that of her surprised brother's. "What was that Jude?"
The child laughs at the suddenness of our surprised reactions. "M—Meg."
"Is this your Aunt Meg?" Carl asks the child, as he raises his eyebrows and haphazardly points to me.
"Meg." The girl nods her head up and down in an exaggerated, child-like manner.
I slightly gasp, the smile not being able to leave my expression. My eyes take no time before gleaming up at Carl, who seems almost fully consumed in the endearing moment. "I'm Aunt Meg."
"I really am fun Aunt Meg!" I repeat. "I bet I'll be her favorite when she's all grown up."
Something—I don't know what—detaches the boy from the happy moment, as he struggles to maintain the fading smile on his face. But, as the boy's blue eye meets my own eager ones, his gratified demeanor slowly returns.
Carl cranes his neck, allowing me one excitedly gentle peck on his lips. "There's no doubt about it."
───── CH 39 ─────
M E G A N
After the opening of the gates, several reunions happen around me. A result of the arrival of a carriage filled with people from Alexandria—the most estranged of all the communities.
My eyes involuntarily stare down Michonne, as she climbs down from the carriage, adjusting to how much she's changed since we've last seen each other. The curiosity gets the better of me as the woman has been the most alienated from any involvement with the Hilltop.
"Aunt Meg!"
Something pulls my focus from the woman.
The little girl—the one who I haven't seen since my residence at Alexandria—quickly catches my attention, at the unique nickname. The name I used to hate, but quickly made an exception for the second I first heard it come out of her mouth.
I spin around, seeing the familiar sheriff's hat bouncing up and down as she runs towards me.
My voice hitches in my throat, as I fold my lips inward, fighting back the same pinging feeling in my gut that I have been for the past nine years. For a moment, I remember what that the chipped leather used to mean to me, and how I used to feel when I managed to spot it in a crowd.
Now—several years later—the familiar, aged material brings a different kind of joy into my life. Yet, it somehow kind of feels all but the same.
└───────────────────────────┘
┌───────────────────────────┐
───── CH 12 ─────
M E G A N
The grey, cinderblock building comes into view as Carl and I finally step out of the woods. An empty parking lot covered in dry, brown leaves is the only thing separating us from the armory.
As I look at the two large, metal doors on the side of the building, I realize that this place might be harder to break into than we initially thought.
Carl trudges ahead through the parking lot and makes his way to the door. I have no problem staying behind as it allows me to have a wider view of the whole building.
The boy looks around before getting close to the door and pounding on it three times with the side of his fist. My first instinct is to question him, but I don't even want to ask.
Carl leans closer to the door and presses his ear against it. He then waves me over. I subtly roll my eyes and sigh before walking to the middle of the parking lot.
"If there was a walker in there, it would've started banging on the door." He says as he goes to open the door. The knob suddenly stops about halfway around.
Carl jiggles the doorknob once more before muttering something under his breath and taking a step back.
"Do you have a key?" I pipe up, speaking at a normal volume, considering we're not in the forest anymore.
"If I had a key, don't you think I would've used it by now?" Carl asks me, not hesitating to send a sassy glare in my direction.
I mutter under my breath. "Smart-ass."
"What?"
"Nothing." I sigh. "I just need to find a key."
───── CH 36 ─────
M E G A N
"Why are w—"
"Shh."
"But, can't we j—"
"Megan." Carl sighs, looking at me over his shoulder. "I'll explain after we get inside."
It's been several moments since we first arrived at the back door of the old Anderson house that I'd just moved out of just a few days ago. But now I've returned alongside the boy—who basically dragged me here—instead of turning in to my new house for the remainder of the night.
The boy turns back around, continuing to fumble with the ring of keys that he'd managed to slip from Rick and Michonne's bedroom. And due to the amount of keys on his father's chain, Carl's been cycling through them, not being quite certain of the ones he's already tried.
"Did you find the right key yet?" The low volume of my voice allows me to get a full sentence out, without Carl immediately interrupting.
He stops fumbling around with the doorknob long enough to let out an exasperated sigh. "If I had the right key, don't you think I would've used it by now?"
"Smart-ass." I mutter under my breath.
The boy slowly stands tall, from his hunched over position, turning around to face me. "What?"
"Nothing." I smile playfully, averting my eyes from a squinting Carl. The boy goes right back to testing out the numerous keys within his grasp.
└───────────────────────────┘
┌───────────────────────────┐
───── CH 4 ─────
M E G A N
I watch as the trees shake and rustle with every slight gust of wind crossing the horizon. The rusty, aged metal of the guard tower squeaks occasionally, disturbing the ongoing silence.
The day is quiet, far too quiet.
The boy and I sit far from one another. I face south and he faces west. A few hours have gone bye since Rick woke us up and unlocked our cell.
"What's your name?" The boy breaks our few hours of silence.
"You've been in the prison how long and you still don't know my name." I say as more of a remark than a question.
I look over to the boy and he tears his gaze away from the trees and looks over to me. The same blank look on his face.
"Megan," I cut the silence, giving up my attitude and just letting the statement leave my lips.
"Oh." He says. "I'm Carl." He looks around at the tree-line. "Don't really have much down-time to learn names these days."
───── CH 37 ─────
M E G A N
"Megan?"
"Hm?"
"You awake?"
My groggy body haphazardly rolls over on its side as I don't bother to open my eyes. "I am now."
The restless night of sleep I'd gotten has been dragging out my rest a lot longer than that of Carl's. Something of a hot sweat is what kept me subtly thrashing about, during the night. As for Carl, I can't seem to remember how long ago he'd gotten up to grab the pen and paper that he's been quietly scribbling on.
"Sorry." The boy chuckles. "I just—I have a question."
I tilt my head backward, looking up to Carl. The boy remains upside down in my vision, a result of my pillow being his very own outstretched leg, and my bedding being the familiar floor we'd shared together once before. This morning's greetings also being the result of last night's rendezvous for old time's sake.
My upward gaze, from his lap, groggily anticipates the question at hand.
"It's kind of," Carl meets my gaze, tearing his focus away from the pen in his hand and the notebook balancing on his other knee. "Weird."
I allow my eyes to flutter closed, as I release a sigh. "How weird can it be, considering we just slept togeth—"
"How do you spell your name?" The boy's words flow out, amidst his heavy sigh.
My eyes open, staring straight at the boy's nonchalant expression, leading me to believe that his question is not his idea of a joke. "What?"
"Is there an H somewhere in there? Or is it j—"
"Wait," A sharp chuckle leaves from between my lips. "You're being serious?"
Carl says nothing, but emits a shy nod as he looks down at me.
└───────────────────────────┘
┌───────────────────────────┐
───── CH 21 ─────
M E G A N
Olivia stands with Carl's familiar weapons in one arm and her clipboard propped up with her other hand. She scribbles on the checklist from the armory and, in-turn, hands the boy his defense for the world he's about to go back into, along with a case of bullets.
"I can take it from here." Aaron says to me, grabbing one of the straps of the heavy duffle from my back. I gladly swing the bag off of my shoulder and allow the man to catch all of its weight.
Once I'm free, I immediately walk over to the boy as he leans by the open passenger door of Heath's van, talking to the man. As I approach, he sees me and peels himself off the side of the van, stepping toward me.
"We'll find them." I start. "Your people."
"Our people." The stubborn boy corrects me. His few words say much more than their simplicity can convey.
"You'll be back." I say, my stern eyes willing the boy. My voice says the statement, yet my brain asks the question.
Carl smirks smugly, nodding his head, along with the tilting rim of his familiar hat.
"I'll be back."
───── CH 25 ─────
M E G A N
It's only now that—that he's going outside to be reunited with the people of Alexandria—I remember he doesn't yet know our group is now apart of it.
"Carl." I start, grabbing his attention. "The group. They're here." I say. "Aaron found th—"
"I know. Ron told me." He starts. "But—when I found out what happened—I had to come see you first. I had to know that you were okay." His timid smile shines from just underneath the rim of his hat as he looks towards the floor. He then looks back up."I'll go find them—maybe unpack a little—and then I'll come get you and take you home. Sound like a plan?" He asks.
"Definitely." I say. A small smile showcasing itself to Carl.
"I'll be back." He says.
"You'll be back." I say. My words coming out from behind my wide smile.
───── CH 38 ─────
M E G A N
A consuming feeling that leaves not much else to the imagination, as our only focus is melting into the other's touch. The feeling that I could ever only wish would slow down our time together, making it last forever, when, deep down, I know it'll be over in the blink of an eye.
The kiss only works so much of its historic magic, before we release, as the boy can not contain his shortness of breath. His approaching death, once again, ripping its way through everything good about this world.
Our foreheads rest upon one another, in a desperate attempt to ground ourselves. The contact of his skin on mine allowing my eyes to flutter to a close, trying to, somehow, stretch out the dying moment.
"I'll be back." My quiet voice cracks out, only having to travel a few inches to make their way to the boy.
Carl sniffles, the muscles of his face involuntarily tensing against my own. "Yeah," He whispers.
He pulls his forehead apart from mine, our thoughtful eyes connecting almost immediately, instinctively. "You'll be back."
└───────────────────────────┘
┌───────────────────────────┐
───── CH 12 ─────
M E G A N
"Megan." I hear Carl whisper from my left.
He motions toward a lone walker slowly stumbling through the forest. The clueless thing has no idea we're here. Carl is clearly more skilled with all this survival stuff than I am because I never would've even noticed it.
"Go put it down." Carl suggests. "I'll be back here in case anything goes wrong."
When trying to convince me to runaway with him, the boy did say that he would show me how to survive. I guess he wasn't messing around.
"Okay." I sigh. My heart slightly drops and my palms begin to sweat as I realize that it is the time I've come to dread. "You better watch my back."
Carl rolls his eyes and smirks at me. His expression is not a joyful one, instead it's mischievous. This is the familiar side of Carl that I know all too well. Some things really never change.
I turn around on my heels before slowly making my way toward the walker. Still having no clue I'm behind it, it trudges through the dry leaves and twigs, dragging along a gimpy leg.
I slowly creep up behind it, as to avoid it hearing my footsteps. A part of myself is just trying to stall so I can grasp at any reason to not have to kill this thing.
After nothing magically comes to my rescue, my weak arm manages to raise the knife right above my shoulder.
"Hey!" Carl shouts from behind me. "Over here!"
The walker stops dead in its tracks before quickly turning around at the sound of food. Its lazy footsteps speed up as its eyes land on me.
I take a few steps backward, keeping my eyes on the walker at all times. My heart pounds in my chest.
It lunges toward me and I quickly dodge it. The walker stumbles, barely catching itself as it almost falls straight to the ground.
───── CH 38 ─────
M E G A N
His body is the vessel for something quite the opposite of the Carl Grimes I'd allowed myself to become one with. He is no longer the boy I'd fought tooth and nail not to fall in love with. That thing out there is not Carl. Not even close.
And I'll be damned if he gets left that way.
Allowing my eyes to flutter closed, sending my building tears to streak down my face, I spin on my heel, facing the direction of the walker that continues to grow smaller in the distance. My feet take slow steps towards the far-away creature, as I hope to stall, before having to come face-to-face with my worst, reanimated nightmare.
But, a sense of urgency causes my body to ache, knowing that Carl wouldn't want to be left as one of them. Not even for a few minutes.
I know what I need to do, and I know that I need to do it now.
There are several reasons why I'm the one who needs to put him down. I'm someone he loves. Loved. Or maybe it's because I'm simply the only one close enough to do it, the only person who knows about the boy's passing. And the last reason is that it's my fault. I was the one who left a dying boy alone, knowing that he was too weak to reach for his gun and to pull the trigger, all by himself.
And because I allowed such a thing to happen, it is now my responsibility.
The walker continues to hobble away from me, being too far to hear my footsteps that approach it. I suck in a breath, in between my silent whimpers. "Hey!"
It stops in its tracks, slowly turning its head, in the same manner of how the undead normally does. Except this time, I can make out the vague details of Carl's clothing, which makes the familiar sight seem completely foreign. Something so unnatural comes of the empty shell of person, almost tainting every memory of Carl that I still have.
"Over here!" My hoarse voice solidifies my location to my undead love.
It turns around. He turns around.
One angry eye now locked on me, as we make our way towards each other, the gap becoming smaller and smaller. The circle of blue that used to melt its way into my soul, now remains crusted over with a milky, white film. Carl's eye now stares at me, consumed by the face of a hungry anger.
His upper lip twitches, rising to reveal the familiar teeth that I used to see, in the form of a warming smile. A growl emits from the same vocal cords that was always able to sooth me ten times over. The sound carries the same depth as Carl's voice, but the aggressive, inhuman noise causes my chin to quiver.
Once the reanimated boy and I are close enough, he begins to lunge towards me. My hand squeezes the grip of my handgun, before I duck out of the way, sending him stumbling behind me.
└───────────────────────────┘
───── ⋆✩⋆ ─────
4882 words
A/N
first things first: I officially have a new Carl Grimes fic out called "The Warmth of a Night Survived" SO GO ADD IT TO YOUR LIBRARIES RN OR ELSE
second:
I made this part bc I feel like EE wouldn't be complete without it. I needed an in-depth analysis of this story for my own sanity and figured I'd just make it an extra part so you guys can feel my pain!!
some of these aren't parallels and they're more full-circle moments. and I have several other parallels that would've existed had Megan been in the show, but I'd have to write scenes that she wasn't even in the show for?? so that wouldn't make any sense, but here are some thoughts:
1) the whole "taking the supplies" situation comes straight from the walking dead game, as well as Megan's screwdriver being her weapon.
because when Carl does the right thing, he finds Megan again, and when he doesn't (and takes the supplies) he runs into the claimers and then loses her. just like in the game when they find the car with the supplies and the owner later kidnaps clementine (it would've happened either way, but there's a little Easter egg for you)
2) Megan's first and last on-screen REAL walkers kills... yikes... that parallel hurt....
3) the popsicles on the beach thing (not mentioned in this part)... get it bc megan is a popsicle now...
4) I was going to add the "little blue box" thing in here but that's not a parallel it's just Carl and Megan forgetting to hide the damn box :D
5) pretty much every scene I've done has literally come straight from the TWD universe in some way.
for example: Carl not wanting to hold Judith was originally michonne.
and when Megan was hungover and Jessie said "protein helps the hangover" and gave her eggs, that was originally t-dog and Glenn.
OH and in chapter 30: dismay when Megan is trying to do her crossword and Carl distracts her by flicking her pencil across the room, that was rick and michonne. + with chapter 26-27, I stole their entire fight dialogue from Daryl and Carol in 10x18 bc it fit so well.
there's several other small things that I forgot about but you guys get the point: I'm tedious as all hell.
anyways this is officially my last A/N bc the next parts are just my graphics
so let me leave you guys with this: I LOVE YOU. if you've taken the time to read EE and are reading this rn I LOVE YOU AND THANK YOU SO SO SOO MUCH!! it's so hard to imagine that real people are even remotely interested in Carl and Megan's story, so THANK YOU bc you guys are so much more than numbers on a screen. you are humans reading a story and storing that information in your brains. THAT'S SO COOL!! so, in summary, thank you guys for reading with your brains !! I L Y!!
- disturbedia <3