NOT DEAD YET | C. GRIMES

ONE

Luna secured the bandage around the boy's hand, raising one of her hands and placing it on his forehead. It'd been a week since he'd showed up, and he still hadn't woken up yet. She figured he'd be dead by now, but he still wasn't showing signs of a fever. Sighing, she stood up, picking up the bloody bandages from the table and taking them outside to the fire pit. After lighting the small pile on fire, she made her way back inside-intending on making herself some breakfast. She'd just entered the kitchen when she heard a noise from the living room. Her hand rested on his gun as she quickly entered the room. The boy was awake now, standing with his back to her as he stared out the window. One of the floor boards creaked as she took a step, making the boy spin around quickly.

"Who are you?" The boy asked, reaching for the empty holster on his leg. He looked down, before back up at Luna. "Where's my gun?"

"Really? You break into my house, pass out on my couch, I fix your wounds, and the first thing you ask about is your gun?" She snorted. "My name's Luna, and you're lucky I helped you at all. A few more days and that infection in your arm probably would've killed you." He was silent for a few moments.

"Thanks, for saving my life." He nodded. "I'm Carl."

"Nice to see you in the world of the living. You've been out for a week." She remarked, her hand dropping from her gun. "Honestly wasn't sure you'd make it or not." She turned around, heading back into the kitchen. She heard his heavy footsteps follow her, and saw him in the doorway as she started to make herself some food. "What happened to you, anyway?"

"My group and I, we were attacked." He said. "We'd fortified a prison, been living there for about a year. There was this other group who'd kidnapped some of our people so we went to get them back, ended up destroying their camp. Their leader reformed a new group, and came to attack us. Blew a hole in the prison with a tank before a ton of walkers flooded in. I barely got out alive, honestly."

"Hold on, a tank?" She raised her eyebrows at him, and he nodded. "Sheesh, I knew I was better off alone." She shook her head lightly. "Did, uh, did any of your group survive?"

"I dunno." He looked down. "But I need to go back, just in case anyone did."

"If they did, I doubt they'd still be there." She pointed out. "Besides, you've got to heal up. The bullet you took really did some damage." She held out a bowl to him, and he took it. "I did the best I could, but I don't really know much." He followed her as she moved out into the living room. "My mom was a nurse, though, so I think you'll be okay."

"What happened to her?" He asked as they sat down. Luna sucked in a breath.

"Not really sure." She eventually answered. "She uh...she wasn't exactly the greatest person, you know? Got sent to jail for stealing drugs from the hospital and selling them a few years before everything happened. Then, I was sent to live with my dad in Virginia. I'd guess she's dead by now, but I really don't know."

"What about your dad?" He asked.

"He's probably dead too." She nodded lightly. "My step-mom was real sick at the beginning, cancer. He learned how to give her chemo just to keep her alive, but we were running out so he left to get more. It was in vain, though, cause my step-mom killed herself after a few months of him being gone, she was convinced he was dead. Been on my own since." She shrugged, looking over at him. "What about you?"

"My mom died giving birth to my sister right when we got to the prison." He stared straight ahead. "I...I put her down myself, so she wouldn't come back. My dad was there, at the prison, but I didn't see him when I was getting out. I hope he's alive, though."

"I'm sorry, about your mom." She said, and he looked up at her. "I...I should've put my step-mom down, I know that I should've. But I couldn't. So I left her in the house." He nodded. "Let's hope both of our dads are still out there, somewhere."

"And that we'll see them again, someday."