Don't Look Back - A Carl Grimes FanFiction

Chapter 12

Rayne's pov

It seemed as if time went in slow motion. I saw the walker's teeth hit my skin. I'm dead. I have to be dead. I'm going to turn, and become a walker, it's inevitable.

It fell. The walker, just about to sink its teeth right into my forearm, fell over dead. I looked to my right, and there Carl was, gun in hand pointed right at the walker. I put my head in my hands and sighed a breath of relief. I don't know how to react because I almost died.

"Are you ok?" Carl asked me in a small, tender voice.

"I'm fine." I breathed, wanting to cry tears of joy.

"Here." Rick offered a hand up and I took it.

"Let's go back to the farm." I said, my body was a little shaky, but what else would I expect?

I closed the door behind me, and laid my head against the head rest and closed my eyes.

"Can you believe it?" I asked.

"Honestly, no." Rick said, but Carl stayed silent.

"You know you saved my life, right?" I asked him, opening my eyes and looked at him.

"Yeah." He whispered.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, turning my whole body towards him.

"I was just so scared that you were going to die. I still can't believe I shot it just as it was about to bite."

"I know, it seems crazy to me too, but we all made it out alive. And that's what matters most." I said, and enjoyed listening to the car roar down the road, back to the farm.

We still have to have funerals for everyone who died in the past few days. We would probably do that tonight, because the bodies would start to decay quickly in the Georgia heat.

"How long do you think we've been gone for?" Carl asked Rick and he shrugged.

"Maybe an hour or three?"

"Well, that's a long time." I said, rubbing my hands on my thighs.

"Yeah, and by the time we get back to Hershel's, it'll be probably four o'clock." Rick said, leaning forward in his seat to look at the sky.

"It doesn't feel like it's been that long." Carl said and I nodded.

"It feels like just half an hour ago we were banging pots and pans together." I said.

"That's because it was half an hour ago." Carl said.

"Oh." I said, not realizing how the time had passed.

"You're such a dork." Carl laughed and I feigned offense.

"Rick, do you hear how your son is talking to me?" I laughed at the end, barely keeping up the act.

"Yeah, and I'd have to agree with him." Rick teased and I just rolled my eyes playfully.

"Whatever, you guys are a bunch of butts."

"I'd watch my language if I were you." Rick laughed and I shook my head and looked out of the window.

I loved the scenery. I loved how the blue met the green of the trees, and how the sun would peek in between branches. The yellow dandelions littered the side of the road, adding a vibrant pop of color among the monochromatic theme of green.

This was my favorite time of year, when summer meets fall, because you get the pretty, colorful flowers of summer, along with the reds and oranges of leaves. This type of scene could make one forget about the end of the world, or almost meeting death.

"Look!" I pulled Carl over and pointed out of the window.

"What?" He asked, looking for what I pointed at.

"It's a bunch of bunnies, they're so cute." I said admiring the bundle of bunnies.

"They'd be cuter on a dinner plate." Rick said and I gasped.

"How dare you, but honestly, yes, they would." I admitted, looking down at my bow Carl had grabbed for me.

"How weird is this?" I asked and Carl scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.

"What?"

"I almost died, like half an hour ago, and here we are, joking like nothing happened."

"That's not a bad thing." Rick said.

"Yeah." I said with a yawn.

"Here." Carl said adjusting so that I could lay down. I laid my head on Carl's lap and curled my legs so they would lay comfortably on the seat. Even though it may not seem like it, Carl was comfy and I fell asleep probably within seconds.

"Rayne, wake up. We're back." Someone shook my shoulder.

"Hmm?" I mumbled, sitting up.

"We're back at the farm." Carl whispered and I nodded, rubbing my eyes.

I crawled out of the car and slammed the door behind me. I stretched my legs and arms before walking inside the house.

"Welcome back. Dinner's ready, we're all eating together in the living room." Lori said and I nodded, lazily making my way to the kitchen for my plate.

"Heavenly father, we pray to you today to thank you for everything you've given us. For the food you've provided, and the people you have blessed us with. Father, we thank you for your graciousness, and we all thank you for taking care of those lost. Amen." Hershel finished his prayer and we all dug in.

Daryl had caught a bunch of squirrel today, so we had enough for everyone. Some people used forks, others, like me,  did not. Forks were a waste of time, who cares if you get meat juices all over your hands? Not me.

"So, how'd the run go? I see you guys brought back everything." Maggie asked, swallowing a piece of squirrel. I looked to Rick, who looked to Carl, who looked at me.

"Well, it went fine, up until the end." I started, figuring to tell them the short version of the story.

"What happened?" My mom asked worriedly.

"We got out of the store, completely fine. The boys went along because I had to tie my shoe. A walker snuck up on my and got my arm, but Carl shot it." I said, shoving two pieces of meat into my mouth.

"You could've died!" My mom yelled and I nodded.

"Yeah, came pretty close to it, but I didn't." I said

"My goodness, you're going to give me a heart attack one day, Rayne. Just please be careful." I nodded and everyone fell into silence.

"I can take your plate." Carol offered.

"Thank you." I said and sat around, listening to conversations around me.