Tour Guide ➣ Carl Grimes

5. Fighting

Carl liked Alexandria. It was nice compared to what he and the group were used to. It had kind people, real homes, and running water; there wasn't much else he could ask for. It would be a nice place for Judith to grow up. It was what she deserved. He had gotten to grow up in the real world, at least for a little bit, and this would be the closest she could get to that. This is the kind of place Lori would have wanted for him, for everyone. Kind people, real homes, and running water.

The boy was sitting on his living room couch, only just getting used to the feeling of real, clean blankets underneath him. He had been sitting here for the past twenty minutes, considering his interview with Deanna. He knew it was risky, to tell Deanna about his past, but he really did want to trust these people. The kids at Ron's had seemed so carefree, so content. Ron seemed genuinely excited to meet him, as if he was a real kid again. As annoying as she had seemed, Hannah was kind to him too. She wanted him to feel welcomed, he understood that. During the tour, she had tried to joke with them, make them feel whatever normal she could give them. Carl realized, he wanted to live like those kids too, even if it meant opening up about things he never wanted to revisit.

He looked up from his hands when a figure made its way into his peripheral. Through the somewhat dusty window, Carl could see Enid stalking her way to the tall metal gate. She reached the wall, letting her hands run over the rust coating, before pulling out two pipes from her bag. Carl stood, watching as she began to climb.

Is this what they do for fun? He wondered. The girl swung her legs over the fence, letting herself fall to where Carl could no longer see her. Carl smiled when the girl disappeared. Maybe they aren't as helpless as he thought.

---

Hannah couldn't help but ruminate over what had happened at Ron's. Earlier, as the boys played video games, she and Enid stayed on the bed. Eventually, Hannah picked up the comic book Enid had taken back. It was an old comic, about a man who worked as a scientist, trying to find a cure for his disease. Each night, the man would turn into a wolf, feasting on anything he could find, human or animal. He was devastated by the things he had done, so before he changed, he would test out his new theory for a cure. Hannah had never been interested in supernatural stories, werewolves included, but she always liked comic books. Enid was good at finding stories that interested Hannah, things that went deeper than superheroes and villains. She liked stories with layers, where people were more than what they seemed. As she read the book, she felt eyes on her, looking away and then looking back moments later. It was Carl who would look at her every once in a while, almost as if to check if she was still there. She had given him a small, polite smile one of the times, acknowledging his looks, though he quickly turned his head back to the video screen. Hannah didn't smile when he turned his head back again, instead just continuing her comic.

Enid had told Hannah earlier that she was going on one of her runs. Hannah didn't like when Enid did this, but she understood why the girl had to. As Hannah sat on her porch, one leg crossed over the other, she saw Enid climb the fence. It was dangerous, she knew that. But she trusted Enid. When she first came to Alexandria, Enid didn't talk much. She was too focused on what had happened outside to even consider a future here. But when she did speak, Enid talked to Hannah. At first, it was a surprise, Hannah wondered why she had been chosen by the girl. But soon, their conversations were easy, simple, as if they had been friends for years. She knew when Enid had left for the first time. When she came back that night, Hannah had asked her why? Why would she put herself in danger like that?

"We're supposed to be outside," Enid had told her, "I can't forget what it's like." Hannah knew what she meant. Though Enid had just come from the outside, they were no different in what they had experienced.

"It's easier to run outside than it is to run in your dreams"

---

The sun was beginning to set on the town and Hannah had been so ready to turn in for the night. But instead, she ran from her porch when she heard the fighting. She had been sitting just on the edge of the step, a book she had reread many times in her lap. In her hand, dangling in between her index and middle, Hannah held onto the photo she used as a bookmark. It was the picture her parents had taken long before things had gone bad. Hannah wanted to keep it in her house, desperate for it to be nearby, but something in her felt that it would only be safe here, under the floorboards of the gazebo. As she ran to the opening of the gate, Hannah remembered her own commotion as a kid, playing around with her peers at school. She prayed that was all it was. She prayed that it wasn't what she thought. Prayed that no one was hurt. When she reached the center of town, Hannah was met by the members of the new group, crowding around an injured Eric. her prayers hadn't been answered. Someone was hurt.

"What's happening?" She asked Enid, reaching her side. The girl had obviously come back from her run, grass stains lacing her pants and dirt beneath her nails. Hannah would have to ask how it went later.

"I'm not sure?" She replied, slightly out of breath.

"I want everyone to hear me, okay?" Deanna yelled to the group. Daryl, the man with the arrows, was being held back by Rick, staring Aiden down like a predator, as if the man could disappear any second, leaving him without a meal.

"Rick and his people are part of this community now, in all ways, as equals." She looked to Aiden, "Understood?" After a few begrudging nods, the crowd began to disperse around her, and Hannah realized Carl was nearing her and Enid.

"You don't like me do you?" He asked Enid, who only looked at him before walking away. He then looked to the other girl, scanning her face for more answers. Hannah searched his as well but found nothing she could understand.

Hannah looked away and went to follow Enid, leaving the boy in the cowboy hat on his own.--- 

Hi Lovelies!!! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's very simple, but I wanted to give you guys a view into what Carl is thinking. I promise more Harl content coming very soon!

Thanks for Reading!!