We continue the journey to the prison. Only about 20 more minutes left. Tiger stares out to the horizon, bottle green eyes watching the sunset. I hold her hand beneath mine. "I'm scared." She says after a while, turning to face me. She looks me in the eyes. "I'm scared, Carl."
"You don't have to be anymore." I lean across to her and slowly and gently kiss her cheek.
She looks down, blushing.
Dad unwinds the window and calls out, "we are almost back now." I roll my eyes and reply "okay, dad, I know."
When we finally arrive back at the prison, a couple of walkers block our path. "I got them," I say, taking out my knife and killing them. The others hop out of the truck and walk in. As I stride over looking down and one of the walkers, I notice the sun glinting off a silver bracelet with a single purple gemstones. "Come on, Carl." Daryl calls. "Be with you in a second." I reply.
Dad calls one of our 'meetings' when we get inside. Everyone gathers and sits down, staring at Tiger. I can hear everyone whispering to each other, and Dad silences them.
"so, obviously, we found Carl." He says gesturing towards me. I hear a couple "hey Carl" and "welcome back" so I thank them.
"And, and you also may have noticed, we also found.." He turns to face Tiger, "Sorry, what's your name?"
"Um..." She blushes and faces the ground, "Tiger Lilly. But Tiger for short."
"Well. We found..Tiger. But the question is...what do we do with her?" Lots of mutters of disapproval echo around the table.
Dad turns to tiger again. "So, how many walkers have you killed?" He asks. Everyone shuts up and listens to her answer.
"Uh, I don't know. More than 200, I'd say."
He nods. "How many people have you killed?"
She sighs and looks at the floor, shuffling. "Two."
Lots of eyes are fixed on her now.
"Why?" The question they've all been waiting for.
"One was because....it was my mom. I shot her. She was bitten.The other one...they came at me with a knife. I had to, to protect my group."
Rick nods. "So Carl," he turns to face me, "How did you find Tiger?"
I gulp. This was the one I'd been dreading. What are they going to think of Tiger? I look at her. She nods at me, as if to say, "tell the truth."
"While we were on the hill, she escaped from Woodbury, the governors place." I hear people muttering to each other.
"I helped her escape."
By now everyone is shaking their heads and talking. "Alright, that's enough, everyone. We are done here." Everyone leaves until it's me, Tiger and dad.
"Carl, Tiger can have the cell next to you. Tiger you don't mind us taking your weapons at night and locking your cell? It's nothing personal. It's safety rules around here."
She nods. "fine by me."
"Carl, go and show her to the room, get her settled in. Then come into my cell..we need to talk."
*tigers pov*
Carl walks up the stairs and I follow behind. He waits until his dad is out of earshot. "I'm so sorry..they reacted so badly..it's just the Governor part.."
"It's fine." I reply, trying to sound normal. "Honestly."
He walks towards a small room with bar doors. "It's not exactly a castle but it's something."
"Thanks." I say, putting some of my clothes from my backpack into the drawers.
"I guess I'll leave you to it." He says, walking out.
I sit on the rickety old bed. It's not very comfortable, but I'd much prefer it to a cold sleeping bag on a forest floor.
I hear Rick and Carl arguing downstairs. Carl sounds angry. I hug my knees to my face. The people here don't want me. I close my eyes and sigh.
*carls pov*
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Dad yells at me.
"Helping her!" I shout back.
"Carl, being a hero is NOT how we do things here!! That stupid act nearly got you killed!"
"But it didn't!"
Dad sighs. "What if she's working with the Governor?! What if they saw us on the hill and thought they'd trick us?"
"She's not!"
"Think about it! She could sneak out and find her way back! Then what? She tells them where we are! Our weak spots! Everything! And for what?!"
"Dad, you need to be more..I don't know.. Considerate! Do you have any idea how that would make her feel?! None of you guys trust her, and it isn't fair! At least I care about her! At least I have a heart!"
Dad sighs again, defeated. "She puts one foot out of line, and she is gone. You understand?"
I glare at him and storm away.
