~Together~ (Carl Grimes x Reader) *UNDER EDIT*

~together~ (carl grimes x reader)

*(Y/N)'s P.O.V*

That day.

The day everything changed.

The day I lost everyone I loved, the day I almost lost myself.

That was the day...that everything began.

~Flashback~

"Mum!" I called out from my room, my yell was met with silence. Grumbling lightly, I threw the covers off of my form and slipped out of bed. Stepping out of my room, I made my way downstairs.

The living room was empty upon arrival, I called out another time – once again, no reply. Upon reaching the kitchen, my eyes landed on a note taped to the door of the fridge. Plucking the note off of the door, I read it aloud "Hey sweetie, just popped out to the shop, I might be a bit long. Look after your little brother in the meantime. Love, mum".

I gave a light sigh, placing the note back down on the table before trudging my way back up the stairs. Standing in front of my brother's closed door, I balled my hand into a fist and knocked lightly "You up yet?" I called, leaning close to hear a reply.

His faint "No" was barely audible, his voice heavy with sleep, and muffled by the door. Shaking my head with a light chuckle, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. All that could be seen on the bed with a lump jumbled up under the covers.

Slowly stalking over to the bed, I grasped the bottom of the blanket that hung off of the bed, I gave a harsh tug and pulled the blanket away and off of his form. He gave a groan at the cold air hitting his skin.

"Wake up, Sleepy head! It's your birthday" I nudged the bed with my knee, causing his body to flop to the side. With a jolt of realization, he sat up, a large grin spread onto his face.

A smile tipped at the corners of my own lips "and how old will you be, little man?" I said as I ruffled his already messy hair. Nikolai pouted, reaching up to push my hand away "I'm turning 5! You should know that!".

I gave my eyes an amused roll and stepped towards the door "yeah, yeah, birthday boy. Mum went to the shop for a few, so it's just you and me for now". Nikolai slipped off of his bed and headed to the bathroom with a nod.

Leaving his room, I headed down the stairs to make him some breakfast. Nikolai always had an appetite in the morning. I jumped as the front door was thrown open and slammed shut shortly after, my mother stood in front of the door. Chest heaving and cheeks flushed as she leaned against the door.

"Mum? Did you run here?" I turned towards her, her eyes were wide with fear. My mother hurried to lock the door before dumping her bag down and rushing towards me. He arms enveloped me, pulling me to her chest.

She clung to me for dear life, "my brave little girl" she whispered, her voice trembling "you're only 11, this isn't fair, it's not fair at all" she whispered. My mother grasped my shoulders and pushed me back to arms length "I need you to do me a favour, alright? I need you to go to your fathers study. On the bookshelf on the right hand side, pushed against the wall is a safe, behind all the books. The number is 563, you got that? 563. Inside is a gun, bring it here" she instructed.

"But why--"

"Don't ask questions! Just go" she turned me around and pushed me towards the study, I stumbled due to the push but asked no further questions. Jogging towards the study to follow her orders.

My Father was in the army, he was KIA. He was killed when I was just eight years old, my father was my role model, and his death was a tragedy to not only my family but to the nation.

Upon reaching the safe, I hurried to dial in the pin. There was a clicking noise before the lock released itself and the door pulled open. Reaching in, I grasped the gun, a CZ p-07 duty, I grasped the cardboard box of ammo sitting beside it and sprinted into the living room.

"I got the gun"

My mother let out a sigh of relief "Good, thank you". The stairs creaked as my brother slowly made his way down the stairs "(Y/N)? Mummy? What's going on? Why do you have a gun? Is this a surprise for my birthday?".

"I should explain", my mother gulped fearfully and slowly took a seat "I went to get Nikolai's birthday cake from the bakery. And there was a man lying in the street, I thought he might have been hurt, so I walked towards him. H-he was covered in blood, and-- there were bite marks all over him".

She took a shaky breath "his skin was going blue and missing in some places like he...like he was decaying. He grabbed my ankle and he-- he tried to bite me. I kicked his hand away, ran to the car and drove here. On my way back I was more of those...those things. No one is safe out there".

I stood there wide eyed as my mum finished her story "but I only thought that stuff happened in movies?" my mother glanced at Nikolai sympathetically, loading the gun. "(Y/N), your father taught you how to shoot, right?", I nodded as she handed the gun to me.

"I never had enough time to perfect it, so you'll be in charge of the gun, just-- don't shoot unless you absolutely need to".

Tears started flowing freely down Nikolai's face, he hiccuped in fear and ran forward to wrap his arms around our mother's legs, a thing he always did when he was upset.

"I know it's scary, but you need to stay strong, okay little man?" she said in a calming voice. "I just wish your father could be hear with us".

"Uh mum?" I mumbled, "yes, sweetie?" she turned her attention to me "we don't have enough food to last us, barely enough for tonight, I was going to tell you after the party".

She plopped down on the edge of the couch and buried her fingers in her hair "that's definitely a problem" she mumbled to herself, masking her fear and frustration with her seemingly unaffected tone of voice.

I clenched my jaw and gulped "I'll go" I breathed out, steeling myself and standing up straight. Her head snapped up and she looked up at me with a serious expression "absolutely not!" she exclaimed.

"You're not going to wander out there all by yourself with those things!" she pointed an accusatory finger at the door, her voice was thick as though she had a lump in her throat. Her eyes hurriedly filled with tears as the severity of the situation sunk in.

"I'm sorry mum, I know but we don't have much of a choice here, we can't all go, it's too risky, and if you're go and something happens to you, how are we going to survive?". I wrapped an arm around my brother's shoulders to add emphasis.

She glanced between the two of us and bit her lip, placing the gun in my hands she gripped my smaller limbs tightly "you know how to use this, be safe, and please, please come home" she whispered desperately.

My mother quickly pulled me against her chest, wrapping her arms around me like her life depended on it.

I hurried towards the door, grabbing my school bag which I had lazily dumped beside it the day before and emptied it onto the floor and pulled it on. I would need to carry things back, turning to my remaining family.

The corners of my lips lifted up, afraid but reassuring. And with a deep breath, I turned around and headed out the door. Hoping that I would be able to keep my promise and come home to them.