Spider Monkey

Chapter Fifty - One - New World

One Month Later : - 

Carl was healing well, the eye still tender but he was up and about. Because of his missing eye, he tended to lose his balance and bang into things, a new blind spot in his vision. So Hedley was by his side constantly, steering him away from sharp corners, door frames and tables. Denise told Carl to play ball as a physical therapy technique, getting back his hand and eye coordination. Hedley was always happy to help. Also, Denise has been doing speech therapy with Hedley every few days and it has made him much more comfortable talking. He still stuttered and his throat closed up when he was stressed or angry but he was doing well.

Now, the days in Alexandria were quieter than usual. A start of a new world.

On this day, Rick and Daryl were out on a run - the supply of food was running a little lower for comfort - and Maggie announced she was pregnant which made Glenn almost annoyingly chipper. Merle and Carol were happy in their little bubble. Hedley saw them kissing one night and when he made a 'Ew!' Merle threw a shoe at him.

Carl was packing a bag when Hedley found him after dropping Judith off at Carol's.

"W-Where are you going?"

Carl sighed, "Enid invited me out. We're going in the woods. You're welcome to come."

Hedley frowned, shaking his head slightly.

"I know you don't like it when we go outside but we're fine. We know how to handle ourselves." Carl stepped towards his friend, "Just come with us. You'll see. We actually have fun."

Hedley took a deep breath then nodded.

It made Carl smile and soon the two were out, sneaking out the blindspot and when Enid saw them she frowned, crossing her arms. "You invited him?"

"Enid, be nice."

"He's gonna rat us out!"

"N-No, I'm not." Hedley argued, a growl rising up his throat.

Enid rolled her eyes then took out a piece of paper from her bag. "I found this just west of here."
Carl looked at it, "What is it?"

"A note." She said, "But it got all wet. We can't read what they wrote, but just by doing this, they're saying something."

"What?"

"We're not alone."

"We knew that."

Enid shrugged. A few moments later, they were all sitting down and enjoying the bliss of the early sun rays.

Hedley was up in his tree, reading his Entomology book while Enid and Carl sat at the tree's trunk. Enid was trying to figure out what the note said while Carl was reading the latest comic Daryl found on his last run. Enid offered Carl some of her snacks. Carl took some and ate half before calling Hedley down to take the rest. Hedley swung upside down to collect them, his shirt falling down and over his face which made Carl laugh. He took hold of Hedley's shirt and put it back over his stomach then put the treats into Hedley's mouth. Hedley blushed lightly before climbing back up the tree before chewing down on the food.

"I'm bored!" Enid declared, "Let's go."

The boys went after her as she began to journey through the woods.

"Where are we going?" Carl asked, putting his comic in his bag as he walked.

"I think I saw a house up here. I wanna go in."

"Why?" Carl frowned, "If it's so close by, its probably been looted by now."

Enid blew a raspberry at him, "If you're too much of a pussy then go back home."