Survive ( twd carlgrimes)

Chapter 78

Madison's pov.

A few days have past since I talked to Dawn in her office. Luke has been teaching me some new medical procedures. He started with the elderly.
"Better to start with them. They're nearly dead anyways, you'll just push them over the edge." He joked.

It's been surreal to catch up with him. Every time I see him it's hard to believe he's real. That we really found each other despite this world. It feels like he never left in some ways, and in others I can tell he's changed. He doesn't speak about his family. I'm burning inside to know what happened to them but I don't ask, I know they're dead. No need to make him explain that to me. He'll talk about it when he's ready.

Biologically he was an only child but to me he was my brother. His mother and father were second parents to me and my siblings. They lived in a bungalow across the street. He had the best garden and he had bikes too. I wonder how this all started for him, when they knew about the dead, did they lock themselves inside their house, or did they pack and run ?

He's still as funny as he was before an it feels strange to laugh. The sound of my laugh almost seems unfamiliar to me, like I hadn't quite heard it in a while. Most of our group has welcomed him into the group. Most of them.
He's even introduced Carl and I to people our own age, but from first glance it's obvious that they've been behind these walls since the beginning. It's unfair of me to say that I don't want to associate myself with those kinds of people, but it's true.

I'm not sure if I'm exceptionally easy to read or if Luke still remembers what I'm like and still knows me as well as he had, but either way, he noticed me squirming to make conversation with those people and he stood by my side, instantly taking over for me. He never brought us back to those people again.

I secretly loved my new job. I loved learning. I loved watching. Even the procedures that were too advanced for Luke, I watched the actual doctors do them and I took a mental note of everything, saving it in my head in case I needed it for later. Sometimes I even seen Maggie. She had a different mentor but at dinner time she told me exactly what they did each day and if they done something different to me that day, she told me all about it.
Everyone was happy about these jobs for us. Everyone, except Carl.

Flashback.

"I got a job today." I practically sing while walking back into my room. I just came from Dawn's office and the excitement I had coursing through me distracted me from the pain of my scar as I travelled back here.
"A really good one." I add.

Carl looks at me disapprovingly.
"You were supposed to be here."
"Yes, I am looking forward to it, thank you for asking. What job, you ask? I'm going to be a nurse... we'll not really but I'll be learning from doctors and nurses and I have a mentor." I explain.
He rolls his eyes at my earlier sarcasm.

"Sorry." He apologize before continuing. "That sounds good." He settles as he lies back on my bed. He takes his hat off and rests it on his chest.

"Who's your mentor?" He asked and I cringed knowing his reaction already.
"Luke." I answer.
He surprises me with a dark chuckle. "You're joking, right?"
"No."
"He works in the kitchen."
"He's been moved."
"For what? For you?"
"Yes, actually."
"You must heard how that sounds, right ?"
"How what sounds?"
He groans.
"Mads you're the most infuriating person I've ever met. How can you be so blind! He likes y-"
"I'm going to stop you right there before you say something that really pisses me off."

Carl sits back up on the bed and glares at me. I feel a new surge of anger building in my stomach.
"Let me say it one more time. I promise you I won't be saying it again. If you don't believe me, find another room to sleep. I don't like Luke. Luke doesn't like me. It can't be anymore simple. He's like... a brother, somehow."
"You don't even know him anymore."
"I know that. I know parts of him. But I can't explain it. That's just how it feels."
Carl scoffs. "Whatever."