The Walking Dead Season 1:Charlotte's Story (ON HOLD)

Chapter 3: Playing With Carl

Charlotte woke up to a voice calling her name and someone shaking her. "Charlotte. Charlotte wake up!" It was Carl. Charlotte opened her eyes and looked at Carl who smiled at her. "Do you wanna go play outside?" Charlotte smiled. "Yeah!" Carl smiled. "Alright! Than let's go." Carl picked up Charlotte and exited the tent. "We're gonna have a lot of fun today right little sis?" "Yeah!" Lori walks up to them. "Where are you going?" "We're going to play with Sophia and the other kids." Lori nods. "Ok but be careful and watch Charlotte." "Yes mom." "Good boy." Lori walks away. Rick approaches Lori. "So how's Charlotte doing?" Lori smiled, "She's doing good. She adores Carl." "Good... That's good." "You sleep okay?" "Better than in a long time." Suddenly, the group hears screaming. "Mom! Dad!" Lori and Rick run toward the shouting. "Carl? Baby! Charlotte!" Another voice shouts. "Mama! Mommy!"

Charlotte's POV:

Carl, Sophia, and the other kids ran away except for her. She was curious why this man was eating a deer, she reached out her hand to touch him on the shoulder when she was suddenly lifted from the ground. Charlotte looked up and was face to face with Dale. "Charlotte sweetie you don't wanna touch those things they'll bite you. Don't touch them ok?" "Otay gwandpa." Dale turns to Andrea and Amy and hands Charlotte to them. "Andrea take her. We'll handle this." "Ok. We got her." Rick took the first hit and the men followed, hitting it over and over again, until Dale finally chopped his head off with an ax. Charlotte shrieked. "Ew! Dat's yucky gwandpa!" "I know sweetie. Don't look ok." "Otay." "It's the first one we've had up here," Dale pointed at the decapitated walker. "They never came this far up the mountain." "Well, they're running out of food in the city, that's what," Jim said. The men looked at the body and a branch somewhere close to them snapped, along with the sound of footsteps. Everyone had their weapons up and ready. Charlotte whimpered clinging tight to Andrea. Amy rubbed her back soothingly. "It's ok sweetie the men have got this under control." Charlotte nods her head and looks back at the bush only to see a rugged looking man with a crossbow pop out from behind it looking at the deer with an angry expression on his face. The men lower their weapons. "Son of a bitch. That's my deer! Look at it. All gnawed on by this filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!" He said as he walked up to the walker and started kicking at it. "This is Daryl," Andrea whispered to Charlotte. Charlotte makes an O with her mouth than looks at the man named Daryl Dixie. "Calm down, son. That's not helping," Dale said to Daryl. "What do you know about it, old man?" Daryl said to Dale as he stomped over to him, getting in his face. "Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'On Golden Pond'?" Then he turned his attention to the deer and pulled the arrows out of it. "I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do you think? Cut around this chewed up part right here?" "I would not risk that," Shane said. "That's a damn shame. I got some squirrel- about a dozen or so. That'll have to do," Daryl said, lifting the squirrels up to show us. Suddenly, the walker's head started moving. It snapped his teeth at them. "Oh god," "Ew! Da monster's awive!" Amy and Charlotte said, disgusted and the sisters with Charlotte went back to camp. Daryl looks confused. "Who's the lil' chick?" Shane answers, "That's Charlotte. She's new to the group." Daryl shrugged and looked down at the walker's head that was still gnashing it's teeth at them. Daryl lift his crossbow at the head, "Come on, people. What the hell?" He said and shoots an arrow in the eyes of the walker; Killing it. He pulls the arrow out of its head. "It's gotta be the brain. Don't y'all know nothing?" He said and with that, he walked back to camp, passing Rick. "Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up!" They heard Daryl calling out for his brother as they walked back to camp. Charlotte walked over hearing what Daryl had said and scrunched up her face in disgust. "Why Dawyl wanna eat squirrel. Dat's yucky!" Daryl scoffed and said. "Don't knock it till' ya try it lil' chick." Charlotte giggled. "Otay!" Daryl chuckled and than continued looking for Merle. "Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you," Shane said, putting his gun back in the Jeep and walked up to Daryl. "About what?" Daryl asked, "About Merle. There was a- there was a problem in Atlanta," Shane said. There was a moment of silence and Daryl looked around at everyone. "He dead?" Daryl asked. "We're not sure," Shane said. "He either is or he ain't!" Daryl raised his voice. "No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it," Rick said walking up to Daryl and Shane. "Who are you?" Daryl asked. "Rick Grimes," Rick replied, "Rick Grimes? You got something you want to tell me?" Daryl asked. "Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there," Rick replied.  Charlotte stood there by Lori and Andrea as they watch Daryl taking the news. "Hold on. Let me process this. You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof ... and you left him there?!" He raised his voice, looking right at Rick. Rick looked at the ground and nodded, "Yes," He said so calmly. Daryl threw the rope of squirrels at Rick and Shane tackled Daryl to the ground. Daryl took his hunting knife out and got up. The kids that were in the RV came out to see the fight, Lori sent them back in and told them to stay there. Charlotte shrieked. "Daddy!" She was about to charge into the fray when Dale and Glenn stopped her to prevent Charlotte from getting hurt. "Watch the knife!" T-Dog yelled. Daryl threw punches at Rick, but Rick kept backing away. Finally, Rick and Shane got a hold of Daryl. "You'd best let me go!" Daryl yelled, trying to get out of Shane's grip to get to Rick. "Nah, I think it's better if I don't," Shane said. "Come on, man. We'll keep this up all day," Shane said. Rick leaned down to Daryl and whispered something to him. Shane released Daryl. "What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others," Rick said to Daryl. "It's not Rick's fault." Charlotte turned her attention to T-Dog. "I had the key. I dropped it," T-Dog said. "You couldn't pick it up?" Daryl asked. "I dropped it in a drain," T-Dog said. Daryl looked at the ground, catching his breath and marched over to T-Dog. "If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't," He said and walked away from T-Dog. "Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof- so the geeks couldn't get at him- with a padlock," T-Dog said. "It's gotta count for something," Rick said. "Hell with all y'all!" Daryl shouted, throwing his arms into the air. "Just tell me where he is so I can go get him," Daryl said, looking at Rick. "He'll show you," Lori said. "Isn't that right?" She asked. Rick looked around at the camp and at Charlotte. "I'm going back," He said and Lori went back in the RV. While the adults were discussing Rick's plan, Charlotte was playing with the rag doll Morales' daughter gave her while Carol was babysitting her. Charlotte didn't like hearing grownups argue so she always blocked it out by playing with toys or watching cartoons. Later Shane walks up to Charlotte, "Hey Charlotte? You wanna come catch frogs with me and Carl?" Charlotte nods her head with a big smile on her face. "Yay! Let's go catch fwogs!" Shane smiled warmly and holds out his hand to Charlotte and takes her gently by the hand and leads her and Carl to the lake. "I'm not getting anything," Carl said. Charlotte looks at Shane. "Dere awe no fwogs!" "Yeah. Being all wily, staying submerged. Little suckers, they know something's up. That's what's going on. Just going to have to do this the old-fashioned way. All right, little man, look. You are the ... you both are the key in all this, okay? All I'm gonna do is I'm gonna go after one of them, all right, scare the rest of them off. They're all gonna scatter. I'm gonna drive 'em your way, okay?" Shane said. "All right," Carl said. Shane used a gray bucket to pull the frogs at Carl and Charlotte but he couldn't catch a frog and Charlotte laughed. "Yay! Dis is fun!" Shane smiled warmly, happy to see Charlotte and Carl having so much fun catching frogs. Lori's POV
I went back to camp with wooden sticks. I looked around and didn't see Carl or Charlotte and I started to get worried. I looked up at Dale, who was up at the RV. "Dale." He looked down at me. "Have you seen Carl and Charlotte?" I asked. "Shane took them down to the quarry. There was some mighty bold talk about catching frogs," He replied. I sighed and looked at the quarry before walking to it. I came to the quarry and saw Shane, Charlotte and Carl sitting on the rocks. Talking and laughing. "Kids," I called and they looked at me. "Hey, what did I tell you bout about not leaving Dale's sight?" I said. "But I wanted Charlotte to see me catch frogs. Shane said we could remember?" Carl said. "It doesn't matter what Shane says. It matters what I say," I said. "Carl, honey, can you take Charlotte back to camp?"