As Clary parked and turned off the car, she allowed her eyes to wander over to the teenage boy that sat in the passenger seat. She noticed that his attention had averted his attention to his bag, looking through it for something she knew not of. She paid no mind to it, rather grateful for his attention not on her as she looked to him.
She didn't want to admit the differences she already saw when comparing the boy with her to the boy that had hurt her. Her realization began as she remembered how much Ashton had hated when she sang, saying it was annoying as she never tried to be good. But Carl had only joined in with a smile on his face, joining in her god awful singing. Ashton would never had done so, rather just shutting off the radio entirely, but Carl did so with a smile and with laughter. And he was trying, that much she could see. Not wanting to think of it any longer, she shook off the thoughts as she exited the car, shutting the door to the drivers side before opening the door to the backseat and clipping her sword to her belt.
Shouldering her pack, she holstered her gun and shut the door, looking across the roof to see Carl checking the magazine of his gun before sending her a nod and holstering his own weapon. She made her way around the car, stopping close to Carl as he turned to her. "So we got a thrift store, veterinary office, a small mom and pop shop, and an ice cream parlor that I really doubt has any more ice cream," Carl listed, frowning slightly at the parlor. Clary raised an eyebrow towards Carl, who met her questioning gaze. "What?" Clary only shook her head, forgetting about the hint of childlike disappointment he had held. "We should go check the veterinary office first. There'll be medicine that hopefully no ones looted." Carl nodded, making sure he had his weapons on him. "You know what to look for?" Carl questioned. Clary started walking towards the veterinary office, turning to face Carl as she walked backwards. "I'm sure we can figure it out. You coming?" With a nod, Carl joined her.
With his assurance, Clary gave a short nod before turning back around and entering the office, scrunching her nose at the smell. She only saw a single decayed corpse but had no idea why the smell was so strong. Bringing her hand to her nose, unsheathing her sword with her other hand, she went to where the smell was strongest and pushed open a door. "Oh, gross." She saw that the smell had come from the many cages that were in the office, some with the long decayed corpses of what used to be pets. Along with that was a walker sitting against the wall. She was surprised to hear its raspy groans, it's head creaking as it looked up at her. Clary was quick to stab it in the head, pulling out her blade and allowing its head to fall. She turned back to see Carl right behind her, cringing at the view until he looked to her. "Medicine?" Carl questioned, to which Clary shook her head. "I hope it's not in here." Carl nodded in agreement before they pulled out of the room, walking towards the other side to see a door with bright red lettering saying 'Clinic Personnel Only'.
Placing her hand on the door knob, she let out a frustrated sigh as she felt it resist, signifying it was locked. She heard Carl groan. "Well, there goes that." Clary rolled her eyes, digging through her pack and finding her lock picking tools. Crouching down to the lock, she quickly went to work, hearing the click and smiling. Placing her tools back in her pack, she looked back to Carl before swinging open the door. "You give up too easily." Wiping the surprised look off of his face, Carl shook his head. "Not always. I mean, I didn't give up on trying to get you to trust me." Clary let out a chuckle. "Hmm, we'll see about that. Remember, you still have a ways to go."
As the two walked into the room, they were grateful for the smell to not be as bad, but even happier when they saw small shelves of medicine. As the two made their way towards the shelves, picking up some bottles, Carl let out a surprised noise before speaking. "How'd you know to check out a vet clinic? I would've thought the medicine was only for animals." Clary shrugged. "It's supposed to be, but a lot of it are similar to human medications just in different forms or dosages." Placing down some bottles, she looked at the other shelves. "Look for penicillin and cephalexin, they're antibiotics to treat infections. Also carprofen, it's an anti-inflammatory. And there should even be some pain relievers, so look for oxycodone, hydromorphone, and fentanyl." Clary began looking for the medications she had spoken about until she felt eyes on her.
She looked towards Carl, confused as he raised an eyebrow. "How do you know so much about medication? I thought you were a soldier, not a doctor." Clary shook her head, looking through the bottles. "I was a soldier, but my sister was a medic." Stepping away from the shelves, she turned towards the boy. "She had given us the idea to look in vet clinics for medication. I don't know as much as her, those are just the only ones I could remember." Turning away, Clary began searching again. It was silent for a while, Carl wondering what he could say as he realized the tone she spoke of her sister with. "Well, believe me when I say that what you do remember probably saved a whole lot of people." With a quick glance once more at the boy, she gathered the medication with the familiar names. Once Carl finished doing the same, they looked through the supplies and found surgical utensils still in packaging. Thinking of it as a way to thank Pete for saving her life, and that he was probably in need of some more tools, she grabbed what she thought he would need with the knowledge that they could come back for more if they needed it.
Placing their findings into the trunk of the car, Clary and Carl made their way into the mom and pop shop. Clary felt more at ease inside, seeing the homey decorations and how it was almost like a tourist stop kind of store. As she looked through some of the racks of clothing, she found herself wondering if Carl was being serious about the girl interrogating him. Testing his boundaries, she asked the first question that came to mind. "So how long had you and your group been out here? Before making it to Alexandria, I mean." Seeing the boy busying his hands, she wondered if he wasn't going to answer. That thought was gone as quickly as it came as he looked up to her. "We were out there for a while. In the beginning, we had a small camp in a quarry in Atlanta. When it got overrun, we ended up at the CDC for a few days—" Clary let a soft chuckle sound. "Well that's lucky." Carl let out a laugh as he came closer to the girl, sifting through the racks with her before he continued. "Yeah, not so much. There was only one doctor left and he wanted to explode the whole center with us inside, saying it would be better that way. Luckily, he let us out. We had been on the road and got stuck stuck on a highway when a herd passed through. My friend and Carol's daughter, Sophia, she had ran off. I went with my dad and his best friend, Shane, to go find her in the forest." Clary was surprised as a smile appeared on his face. "There was a deer. I was going up to it to pet and," the boy laughed. "I got shot."
Raising an eyebrow, Clary looked at the boy. "You're such a liar." Carl's eyes widened. "I'm serious!" Clary raised an eyebrow before he playfully rolled his eyes. He then did the unthinkable, lifting the shirt he wore to reveal his abdomen and the scar from his bullet wound. Clary's eyes widened before they met his, letting out a surprised sigh. "Damn, that's a good one. I won't question you again." Carl nodded, pleased with her admittance. "Now please, continue." With her green light, Carl revealed more to his past. "Well the guy who shot me had been living on a farm, led my dad there to get me to some help. Hershel, Maggie's dad, patched me up. We stayed there on the farm until it got overrun." Carl clenched his jaw, remembering what he had to do that night to save his father. "It was a bad night. We lost a lot of people." Clary clenched her jaw, realizing how serious it must have been to not even elaborate. In an instant, the darkness in his tone and gaze faded. "We ran for a couple of months, and it was stressful with my mom being pregnant, but we eventually found the prison. But then that went to shit too and we were back on the road. Long story short, now we're in Alexandria."
Silence ensued for a moment until Clary looked towards the boy, Carl noticing that her eyes had softened. "I didn't even realize how much your people have been through. Now I know why some of you are tough as hell." Carl nodded his head in agreement as they began to look through other things, surprised at finding nothing other than tourist-trap shirts. "And you?" Carl questioned. "Well, I can't say I was on the road for forever. The first day, when shit hit the fan, me, my sister and my mom got in a car crash. People scared like that, just driving to get out, they're not thinking. One of them hit us from the side and veered us off the road." The girl let out a soft laugh, but Carl's gaze softened. "What happened to them?" Clary shrugged. "My sister made it out without a scratch, I got a nice long scar down my arm," Clary said, showing the scar on her arm just as he did with his bullet wound before shrugging her shirt back over. "My mom died on impact, so it was just me and my sister." Carl's frowned slightly. "I'm sorry you had to lose your mom." Clary only shrugged. "We never had the best relationship. After my dad died, she kinda just gave up. I think she was gone a long time ago."
Clary allowed herself to look at the boy, giving a small smile before continuing. "For six months it was just me and my sister, the two of us watching each other's backs. We always stayed moving, staying in whatever building or areas we could find and easily defend. One night, we found an open area in the forest that was small enough to protect but hidden away." Clary could vividly remember the little area. She smiled as she thought of their shitty tent, cans on wires around them to signal if a threat was nearby. She shook the memories away. "I had been hunting when a patrol from Solaris had found me, almost took a few down, until the head of the patrol stepped forward. It had been Leon that found us, my mentor later on. He had only been Commander for a month and he hated being cooped up, so he had gone on a patrol with the Guard. They took me and my sister in and we were there for the whole time until—" Clary's hands fell from the clothing she had been looking through. Closing her eyes for a moment as she relived the grief, she opened her eyes and spoke. "And now I'm in Alexandria." Carl bit the inside of his cheek in thought. "I know a lot of bad happened to get you to Alexandria, but I'm glad you're here. With us, I mean." Her eyes met Carl's and she saw the genuine smile on his face, which only allowed her to send one of her own.
As they continued looking through the store, Clary asked questions here and there about the group, about what they endured. She usually strayed away from asking questions about Maggie, Glenn and even Daryl as she wanted to be face to face when hearing about their past. "What are your tattoos for?" Clary raised an eyebrow at the boy's question, her hand absentmindedly reaching to graze her collarbone. "I saw them when you had first come. The birds and the plants on your forearm." Clad nodded softly. "Tattoos are one of the first initiations for the Guard, mostly to see pain tolerance." Her finger absentmindedly grazed her collarbone. "The birds are for my family. It had been just two at first, for my mom and dad. When my sister passed, another was added." Carl watched as the girl dropped her hand and pulled back the sleeve of her shirt to reveal the larger tattoo. "I got this one when I became Commander. My friend, Millie, she designed it for me. The fern leaf is for hope, hope that we'd get to survive just to get to tomorrow. The laurel frond is for victory, against walkers or people, she said both." Clary paused as she looked to the last leaf etched in her skin, grazing it gently. "She chose the palm frond last because it symbolizes immortality. She always liked to say that I would be one of those that would never die." Clary shook her head, allowing the sleeve to fall. "I never believed her until I was the only one left. Now it's just a reminder that the new life she wanted for me— us, it's gone."
Carl's eyes softened seeing the girl grow silent. He pursed his lips for a moment before speaking. "I'm sorry you lost her, lost all of them, really. I can tell she meant a lot to you." Clary only nodded in response, thinking of the curly haired, blue eyed girl. Clary's thoughts drifted when she heard Carl speak again. "But you're wrong. You did get a new life. I'd like to believe that you getting a second chance in Alexandria is her second chance too. If she loved you as much as you did her, she'd find peace knowing you found somewhere safe." Clary thought for a moment, letting a small smile overtake her face at the wise words from the boy. She simply nodded her head, hoping he was right
As they were about to finish up in the small shop, Clary asked the question that had been on there mind. "What happened to your mom?" Carl looked towards the girl in surprise. "What?" Carl questioned. "You mentioned your mom being pregnant and I haven't really seen anyone with you other than your dad." Clary allowed herself to look towards Carl to see his face fall. She cursed at herself, wondering why she even asked. "My mom had found out she was pregnant at the farm. She grew when we were on the run and gave birth at the prison, but it wasn't easy." The boy sighed. "Walkers had gotten in and so me, my mom and Maggie holed up in whatever room we could find. Her water broke and she had to give birth right then and there." Clary's eyes widened hearing the story of his mother. Clary herself had only seen two births at Solaris, but with her sister and another medic there, they had gone without a hitch. "Carl, you don't have to continue—" she tried to say, but he only kept going. "The baby wouldn't come normally, so Maggie had her lie down and— and she had to cut her open, because my mom said to save the baby over anything." Clary saw him grip the rusted metal of the rack. "I kept screaming at Maggie to stop but I knew it was the only was for the baby to survive. I gained a sister that day, but I lost my mom. And I shot her, so she couldn't come back as a walker." Clary found herself surprised when she reached out and comfortingly placed her hand on his arm. Sometimes even words were not enough, but as he looked at her with gratefulness in his eyes, she could see that he understood.
As she pulled away, she allowed herself to speak. "Sometimes killing someone is the only way to truly save them," Clary said softly, Carl's eyes staying on the girl as the silent understanding passed between them. "Who was it for you?" Carl asked, watching as Clary stepped away to continue to look through the store. "It's happened a few times, most of them being soldiers that got bit and wanted their Commander to say their last rites and be there as they died. If a family member couldn't make sure they didn't come back, I usually had to. But the worst was when I had to do it to Millie—" A crash cut off Clary's words and the two looked towards the door where the sound had been heard. As he held out his gun, Clary brandishing her blade, his eyes met hers before he spoke. "I'll go check it out, I'll call if I need backup." Before Clary could tell him splitting up wasn't the best idea, he was headed out the door. The young girl let out a frustrated puff of air, making a mental note to tell him that plans needed to go through both of them.
With that though,t Clary decided to look throughout the rest of the shop, using the time to search for any other supplies or dangers until she heard the door open. "So what was it? Walker? Stray dog?" The only thing that responded was silence. Clary rolled her eyes, hoping Carl wasn't dumb enough to try and scare her. If he thought she was that gullible, their build to friendship would be knocked down a few pegs. She made her way towards the front, maneuvering through the racks. "Carl, seriously you can't think you can scare—" Clary didn't get to finish her sentence as something hard collided with the back of her head, leading everything to become black.