luna mortimer-smith had long learned not to trust anyone, staying in the middle of the woods as to avoid any contact with the dead or any other humans.
one evening, she'd gone out to check her hunting traps like usual. little did she realize, thoug...
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The midnight air was crisp, but refreshing, and the moonlight shone brightly down on the small cabin. Luna sat down on the stairs, sighing as she looked out at the lake. The water was calm, small waves rolling around the edges as the fish moved around under the water. She sighed, letting her eyes flutter shut as the cool breeze swept past her. The door creaked open behind her, and Carl sat down next to her.
"Are you feeling okay?" She asked lightly, tilting her head back towards the stars, almost as if she was sunbathing.
"I've had worse." This made both of them chuckle lightly. "How are you?" She sighed, opening her eyes and letting her head roll over onto her shoulders.
"Honestly, I dunno." She shrugged. "I mean, on one hand you would've died if I hadn't done anything. And who knows what would've happened to me, but..."
"I'm sorry you had to do that." Carl's hand was warm against Luna's arm. "I promise, as long as I'm around, you'll never have to again."
"What do you mean?" She now sat up, looking over at him confused.
"I'm not just gonna leave you, Luna. I can't do that." He shook his head. "So I'm not leaving."
"But...your dad..."
"I'm sure he's out there somewhere. Him, Judy, Michonne, Daryl, Beth, Maggie, Glenn, everyone." He nodded. "They'll be fine without me. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for them, they taught me everything. So I know that if I can manage to survive, they'll be okay."
"Carl, I can't let you give up finding your family for me." She sighed.
"Luna, I'm staying, wether you want me to or not." He asserted. "Besides, I just got kicked in the face today. I'm not really in the mood for traveling." He chuckled, but Luna's face bore a frown. "Luna..."
"Fine." She sighed. "But when you leave, I'm going with you." His eyes widened. "We can stay, regroup, and heal, but then we're going and we're gonna find your family. Okay?" A smile came onto Carl's face, and he nodded. She turned, looking back out at the water. After a few minutes of silence, Luna's fingers began to tap against the wood.
"What is it?" He asked.
"I know it's midnight, but I kinda wanna go swimming." She mumbled, her eyes fixed on the calm water. Carl couldn't help but laugh.
"What's stopping you?" He asked, and she looked over at him. "I mean, you'll probably be pretty cold, but there's nothing in your way." He stretched his arms before standing up, holding a hand back towards Luna. "Doesn't sound like too bad of an idea. Come on." She let him pull her up before starting towards the lake. In only a few minutes, the pair were wading out into the water.
"You were right about it being cold." Luna couldn't help but remark, now up to her waist. Carl continued in a little further, before turning back to look at her.
"I remember when I was a kid, for the Fourth of July we'd go out to one of my parents' friends house on this lake." He said. "And the lake water was always freezing, no matter what, right? Shane, my dad's best friend, always told me that it's better if you just dunk yourself under because then your whole body's used to the temperature."
"But then the airs gonna be cold." Luna sighed, and Carl laughed.
"Wasn't this your idea?" He asked, before dunking himself under the water. After a few seconds, he remerged, his hair sticking to his face and neck. "Come on, it's not that bad."
"I wasn't planning on getting my hair wet tonight." She grumbled, moving a little farther into the water. "If it tangles really bad again-"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll help you brush it." He snorted. "Come on, just do it." She sighed, shooting him a looking before dunking herself under. Carl had lied, under the water was somehow colder than above. She shot back up, gasping as she came above the surface. Carl was laughing. "You fucking dick, that wasn't any better!" She huffed, pushing her hair from her face.
"Yeah, but it's pretty funny how you'll just listen to what I say." He teased, before kicking off and swimming towards the middle of the lake. She huffed, before hurrying to follow him. She noticed that he'd stopped and was now treading water, and an idea popped into her head. As soon as she was close enough, she took a breath, ducked under the water, and quickly swam towards him. Before he could even realize what she was doing she pulled him under, before surfacing. After a few seconds, Carl returned to the surface and spun around to face Luna, who was now laughing hysterically while trying to keep afloat. "Not cool!"
"Come on, that was hilarious!" She laughed. "We're even now, one for one."
"Oh so it's a competition?" He asked. "Good thing I'm competitive." Luna was then hit with a hard splash, that she was completely unprepared for. She was more than happy to return the favor though, and soon the sounds of water splashing, and their loud laughs echoed around the small clearing they called home.
