(Takes place at Alexandria) Carl's P.O.V
Requested By: lilafromseven-a
Word Count: 1738
~~~~"Hey, wake up." I opened my eyes to see Y/N standing over my bed with a devious smirk on her face. "What are you doing here, it's like 1am." I yawned, sitting up and stretching my arms.
"I'm here because tonight's the night we're sneaking out to adventure to the creepy ass high-school across the woods idiot." She laughed sitting on the edge of my bed, oh god how I love her laugh. Her eyes crinkling around the corners. I laughed, my voice still a bit coarse from just waking up. "I forgot about that. Give me like five minutes to get dressed." I said kissing her as she walked out. Closing the door behind her quietly so nobody would wake up.
Quickly I put on a clean shirt, hoodie, jeans, and my boots. Placing my knife and gun into my belt. I opened the door to see Y/N leaning against the stair railing. "Ready?" She asked with a smile. "Ready." I reassured, grabbing her hand as we snuck out of the house. Well not really sneaking, everyone in the house was pretty deep sleepers so we didn't have much to worry about.
"I'm excited to see if there's gonna be anything cool." Y/N said. I glanced over to her and chuckled. "Yeah, me too. But we still have to be careful. Remember that this is the night of the living dead." I mocked back to a movie I saw a few days ago. She laughed "Yeah yeah, thanks dad." She mocked back.
We snuck over the gate the way Enid showed me a while ago when we first got there. As we walked through the woods it was creepy with a hint of adventure. We encountered a few walkers but quickly got rid of them.
"There it is." Y/N pointed to the six-story high-school. "What high-school is six-stories?" I asked quite puzzled to why a district would need such a big school. "Lots of teenagers I guess." She shrugged her shoulders. "Now let's get in there already, I'm dying to see what's inside." She whined tugging on my arm. I rolled my eyes and laughed "Sure, but doesn't it seem creepy to you?" I asked as we slowly walked up to it.
"Aww, is my little boyfriend Carl scared of the big giant high-school?" She mocked, pursing her lips. "It's okay I'll protect you."
"No way man, that school is nothing to me. Mr. Grimes. And I think you're mistaken, It's my job to protect you." I replied kissing her.
The school was quiet. No light what-so-ever. Thank God that Y/N remembered to bring a flashlight.
"Where is everything, this place is wiped clean." Y/N whispered. "I don't know, but this place is too quiet for my liking." "Yeah, it's pretty fucking quiet."
After a-lot of walking around and seeing no walkers in sight we were starting to get suspicious. Until we got to the top level and once we were up the stairs were were met with hoard of I would say forty or more walkers wandering around the large floor. Y/N froze.
"Y/N, be quiet and we need to leave now." I whispered to her. She gave me a simple nod. I grabbed her hand prepared to leave and protect her at all costs. We turned around to be met with walkers tripping and stumbling up the stairs.
"Fuck." I whisper under my breath which is shaky and uneven. I needed to think fast, find a way out. Y/N had her gun out long ago, our hands nowhere near being held anymore.
"C'mon, this way." I lead her over to a room, locked. Checking each door and finding them locked from the inside. I ran over to another room opening the door but not knowing that Y/N had not made it in. She fell behind from me while running. Being tripped by another walker. My heartbeat to loud for me to hear her screaming out to me for help. Selfish of me.
I locked the door and placed my back up to the door, my breathing slowing. "That was a close one Y/N." I said into the empty room. I laughed breathlessly. "Y/N?" I asked into the darkness of the office I was now in. "Y/N?!" I said louder.
I looked out the small window that was cut into the door, a rectangle of dirty glass stuck inside.
I couldn't see Y/N anywhere, all I saw were walkers here, walkers there. Everywhere. Just. Walkers. I started to panic, not the I forgot my homework from last-night kind of panic. More of the, I just lost my girlfriend of like two years and have no idea where she is and she might me dead and it's all my fault.
Tears started to fall from my eyes slowly, dropping to the cold tile of the room. "Carl!" I heard Y/N yell. She was running from the end of the hallway to me.
"Y/N!!" I screamed back. Trying to open the door but it wasn't moving. She grabbed onto the door handle and tried to open it. "Open the door Carl!" She yelled, panic spread across her face as walkers were seen at the end of the hallway, a ways back.
"I'm trying, I'm really trying." I said prying at the door, looking up to her through the glass. This isn't how I wanted to see her look. I wanted to see her smile, not on the brink of tears streaming down her face. I've never seen her this scared in her life. Or mine.
"Hold on babe, I got you. Just get me try to get this open, stay with me." I panicked, my hands shaking so hard I couldn't hold the bobby pin right. Trying so hard to unlock the door.
I made eye contact while I was trying to unlock the door. Her eyes needing me, needing me to help her. I tried so hard. "I almost got it."
"Carl, please hurr-" She was cut off. I looked back up to her.
Her eyes wide in shock.
The sound of her gun hitting the cold metal floor.
Her screams echoing throughout the floor.
The blood dripping from her shoulder as the walker made its mark.
I froze. This can't be happening. She can't be.
"Y/N!! No please!!" I screaming, dropping my gun. The still locked door blocking me from helping her. There was no saving her, she was gone. My world was gone.
The look in her eyes was the most horrible thing ever. She knew she was dying and that there was no stopping it. She knew that this was her end. I knew.
She stopped screaming after the second walker came behind her and took a bite out of her arm. She had given up.
As her screams became quieter and non existent my screams became louder, calling out for her to respond. The walkers surrounded her, I could no longer see her, she was blocked by the living dead eating her alive.
My vision became blurry as my tears became an abundance. Clouding my vision, the image of her shocked face as she was bit for the first time only three minutes ago kept playing in my head. She's gone. I'll never see her again.
I gasped for air as I woke up. I was over confused. "What?" I was expecting to be inside the musty office but was laid in my bed. It was a dream, it was all just a bad dream.
There had been no midnight adventure, no creepy quiet school, no death.
A wave of relief rushed over me. Y/N, I need to find her.
Getting up from my bed I looked outside, seeing that the sun was already high in the sky. Guess my dad let me sleep in late. I felt my face, rubbing the sleep off and feeling dry tear stains on my cheeks. I've never had a dream feel so real. So very real.
I walked down the stairs and expecting to be greeted by Y/N's smiling face. To get to hold her in my arms, kiss her soft lips again, just be with her. But instead I was greeted with the group. Well what was not on watch. So basically everyone besides Tara and Rosita.
"Hey Carl. We heard you from down here. Are you okay?" Michonne asked me.
"Yeah I'm okay now. I just had a really bad dream is all." I said putting on my hat and getting a drink of water. I casually walk into the living room again. "Hey, where's Y/N. I haven't seen her in a while." I chuckled.
Everyone looked at each other confused. "What? Where is she?" I asked again.
My dad approached me slowly, placing a hand on my shoulder and getting level with me.
"Carl. Y/N...she's been gone for three months." He said slowly.
My smile dropped.
"What do you mean? Like she left for another group? She wouldn't do"
"She's dead Carl." He said quickly. No she couldn't be.
"How? She's not dead! You're lying to me." I said getting angrier. "Carl she died at the school. You came home early in the morning with her body in your arms. You came back crying your eyes out telling me what happened back there."
It hit me, like a punch to the gut. The dream. It happened, I was just re-living it in a dream.
"What? no, she, I-i- why?" I said my eyes watering.
"Carl, please. This is the first time you've talked about it. I know it's hard."
"No you don't! You don't know! I loved her so much and there was nothing I could do!" I yelled at him running out of the house. As I ran the memories came flashing back, me coming back with what was left of her body in my arms as I cried my eyes out. Falling to the ground the first second I got through the gates.
Me burying her in our favorite spot, not by the other bodies. Somewhere you could see the sunset. She loved that. The colors.
I saw her grave and knew this was all real. I walked over to it. Sitting down next to it.
"Hi. Sorry I forgot that you died. I didn't want it to be real."
I sat there. Remembering her. Loving the way her hair moved. The way she talked and walked and just her. She was everything I ever wanted. Ripped away.
"Sorry I couldn't save you."
"It was my job to protect you."