"So what do we do then?" I asked, leaning against the building closest to us.
"We can't leave him outside like this. He has a son for crying out loud," Rick said.
"Why the hell not? He tried to kill us," Daryl said.
"He saved my life. If it wasn't for him, I would have never found Carl and Lori," Rick said a little aggressively.
"Okay. Hey, Rick," I said.
He turned to look at me.
"Okay. We can get him inside," I said.
He nodded. I looked to the doorway that was next to me. There was a plastic cover over it.
"You think this is where he's holed up?" I asked.
Rick looked around it.
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure it is," he said.
"Alright then, let's go," I said.
"Hold up," Daryl said, moving me back.
He kneeled down and moved a welcome mat out of the way to reveal a trap that consisted of multiple knives.
"Shit," I said.
"Kari stay out here with Carl for a bit. We're gonna see what it's like inside," Rick said.
"Okay," I said.
Daryl and Rick then picked the man up off the ground and took him inside. After a few minutes Rick called to us.
"Come on, Carl," I said.
I let him go in front of me.
"Watch out for the string on the top of the stairs!" Rick said.
Carl stepped over it and so did I. It was rigged for an axe to fall.
"Holy shit," I said.
"I know," Rick said.
The room we ended up in was stocked with heavy artillery. It was just what we needed to take out the Governor. I went over and placed a backpack that was on the floor, upright and started to pack away the bullets first.
"Stop," Rick said.
I looked over at him. He was looking at a wall and that's when I noticed that on all of them, there was writing scribbled all over.
"What is it?" I asked.
"We're gonna wait for him to wake up," Rick said.
"Man, we ain't got time for this," Daryl said.
"We are gonna wait for him to wake up. I'm gonna make sure that he's okay," he said.
Daryl sighed.
"Rick, he wasn't the same person you knew," I said.
"You saying he's crazy?" Rick asked.
"I'm saying he's dangerous. What happens when he wakes up and tries to kill us again?" I asked.
"That won't happen," he said.
"And you're sure about that?" I asked.
"No. But if you want you all can wait outside," he said.
He then looked toward Carl who had been staring at the same wall since we got here.
"What is it?" Rick asked.
"Our old neighborhood...it's gone," Carl said.
"Is that why you wanted to come?" Rick asked.
"I just...I just wanted to come," he said.
Daryl went and took a seat on the floor and I went and sat next to him.
"You good?" he asked.
"I'm still here so, yeah. I'm good," I said.
He had taken a protein bar from a box next to him and opened it. He went and gave me half.
"Thanks," I said.
"We're eating his food now?" Rick said.
"The mat, did say welcome, man," Daryl retorted.
Rick just shook his head.
"I want to go on a run," Carl said.
"For?" Rick asked.
"I want to get a crib for Judith. That baby store mom got gifts for aunt Debra's baby shower isn't that far. We could use some other supplies as well," he said.
Rick thought for a few seconds.
"I don't like the idea of you going off on your own," he said.
"I'll take him," I said.
Rick looked at me.
"Alright. That's the deal. You can go so long as Kari is with you," Rick said.
Carl nodded his head.
"Okay. Fair enough," he said.
"Imma scope out the place. Make sure he ain't got any friends," Daryl said.
Without another word, he was off.
"Come on, Carl," I said.
He followed every step I took in order to avoid any traps.
When we were out of the building, I had a feeling that Carl wasn't being completely honest with his dad.
"So what's the real reason you wanted to go on a run by yourself?" I asked.
"What I told my dad, to get supplies for Judith," he said.
I stopped him.
"There's something else, Carl," I said.
He sighed.
"I want to get a crib for Judith. But there's something else that I want to get first," he said.
"Alright. So tell me what it is and I'll help you get it," I said.
"There's a place...a dine-in just around the corner. In it, a picture of me, my dad and my mom hangs on one of the walls. I want to get it because Judith deserves to know what our mom looked like," he said.
I nodded. He really had matured since he was on the farm. It amazed me but also made me sad. It wasn't fair that kids living in this world would never have a normal childhood.
"Okay. We'll go there first then," I said.
As we turned a corner, there was a walker caught in a trap that reached out for us.
"You want to take it out or should I?" I asked him.
"I can do it," he said.
He lifted his gun but I put it down.
"We need to spare the ammo at any cost," I said.
I took out a knife I'd packed with me and ended it in one swing.
"The baby place is just down there. But we're heading this way first," he said, pointing in the other direction.
"Alright. You lead the way, kid," I said.
We walked down the street in silence. A question suddenly came to mind.
"So this is where you and your dad lived, huh?" I asked.
He nodded.
"It feels weird. You know, being back," he said.
"I get that. A lot has changed," I said.
"Yeah. Would you ever consider going back to the farm?" he asked.
I thought about that for a while.
"If I was by myself, then maybe. But maybe not. I said goodbye to that place and to the person I was back there. There's no going back for me. How about you? If this place wasn't heavily guarded by your dad's friend back there, would you want to come back?" I asked.
"No. Memories of my mom...I don't think I'd be able to stand it," he said.
I wrapped an arm around him.
"I'm really sorry I wasn't there," I said.
I felt so bad ever since I found out what happened to her. I wish I could have been there for Carl and Rick when it happened.
"You're here now. That's what matters," he said.
"Yeah. And I'm not going anywhere. Not without you guys with me," I said.
"Good. It wasn't the same without you," he said.
"You're trying to make me cry on purpose, kid?" I asked, looking at him.
"No. I'm just stating facts," he said.
I chuckled.
"Here we are," he said.
I looked up and saw the doors to this dine-in had gathered a lot of dust.
"Stay behind me," I said.
I made my way to the doors and wiped some of the dust off with my hand. A walker banged against it and then multiple dead hands appeared.
"Dammit. I can't tell how many there are," I said.
"Well let's open it and see," he said reaching for the handle.
I quickly grabbed his wrist and moved him away.
"No. Carl. We have to be smart about this. Maybe there's a door around back we can get in through," I said.
I had him follow me to the back.
"You have a knife?" I asked.
"No. Just my gun," he said.
Once we were in the back, I looked around for something that he could use instead of his gun in case we needed to fight our way out. There wasn't anything that I could find that would be useful.
"I can't find anything for you to use. Just stay behind me alright?" I said.
"Okay. Got it," he said.
I went over to check to see if the door was unlocked. Luckily it was. I opened the door slightly to check to see if there were any walkers nearby. There wasn't and so I ventured further. I picked up my knife in order to be ready if anything popped out at me. I turned to make sure that Carl was right behind me. I turned back and followed the dark hallway that was right in front of us. Once we reached the end of it, I noticed that all the walkers were by the front door. I turned around and knelt down.
"Where's the photo?" I whispered.
"I can go and get it," he whispered back.
He got up on the bar counter that was right next to us.
"Be careful," I whispered.
He was keeping an eye on the walkers in the front and trying to get the photo at the same time. I looked down just as a walker had reached out for him and had gotten a hold of his ankle. Before it could pull him down, I drove my knife into its skull. I then pulled it out as carefully as possible and set the body down just as carefully. I looked at him and he nodded in gratitude. He went and grabbed the photo that was located above the bar. He got down and I was able to see the small smile that formed on his face as he looked at the photo.
"That it?" I whispered.
"Yeah. Let's go," he said.
I nodded and started to lead us back from where we came. The sound of a creature running across the wooden floor became louder. I looked down just as a mouse ran past us. When I looked back up, a walker was headed right for us.
"Shit," I said.
I took my knife and drove it into its skull. I grabbed Carl and held him close to me.
"Hold on to the picture," I said.
I didn't care about what happened to me. I couldn't let anything happen to Carl. I looked around to see if we could find a way out. The front would have to do. If we got the walkers distracted then we could make it out of here.
"Follow me," I said.
The other walkers had just barely taken notice of our presence and started to come for us. We went around the group of them and got to the door. I opened it and quickly. I took Carl's arm and made sure he was out before I closed the door. I looked to my left and saw a pile of wire that I picked up and wrapped around the doorknobs.
"Did you get it?" I asked looking back at Carl.
He held the picture frame as if his life depended on it.
"Got it," he said.
"Okay. Good. Teamwork," I said holding my hand in the air for him.
He gave me a high five and we both started to walk back up the street, relieved that this little detour was successful.