I Promise (Carl Grimes)

Who Are You?

My eyes fluttered open to the sound of the bedroom door creaking open. "Where are you going?" I asked Zoey, who looked as if she were sneaking out. "The bathroom." She replied rather fast. Yeah, she's up to no good. "Then why do you have a back pack?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows. "I don't want anyone to see me carrying my toiletries to the bathroom." She spat back. "Whatever." I sighed heavily, shrugging it off. She fled from the room, leaving me in deep thought of what Carter had said.

Look out for Zoey. Watch where she wanders off too...

I thought a moment, deciding what I should do. Should I follow her? Or trust her? Zoey's a good kid. I'm sure she's just gonna go hang out with Michonne or something. I peeled back the covers and slowly emerged from my bed. I slipped on my combat boots, lacing them up in a fast manner. Next, I grabbed my gun, slipping it into my holster and my knife, slipping it into my boot. Then, I headed off to the bathroom to brush my teeth and do my business. As I made my way to the bathroom, I heard Glenn, Maggie, and baby Rick all giggling from their room. I smiled at the happy family and continued with my morning routine.

"What's for breakfast?" I asked Beth, walking into the kitchen. "Oh ya know, a warm, gourmet meal from Italy." She replied sarcastically, kissing her fingers like Italian chefs used to do. We both giggled, and I sat down at the kitchen table. She placed a granola bar in front of me and frowned. "That's all we have. It's like someone's been stealing the supplies. Someone will have to go on a run soon." Daryl and Carl walked in just as she said it. "I'll take Michonne and Glenn out on a run today." Carl said. "Yeah, and me and Brooke can go hunting." Daryl said in his usual raspy voice. "Then it's settled. I'll go get ready for the run. You should, too." He told Michonne and walked back to his room. I turned to Daryl and smiled. "Go get a back pack, food, and water. Oh, and your pills. Just in case." Daryl told me, and I went off to do so.

"Be safe guys." I said, hugging Michonne, Glenn, then Carl. "You guys, too." Carl said softly in my ear. We pulled away and smiled. "Make sure you get some stale M&Ms. You know they're my favorite." I joked, causing him to chuckle. "Will do." And with that, him, Glenn, and Michonne hopped into the car and drove out of the gates. "We should get going as well." Daryl stated, placing his sweaty hand on my shoulder. I mentally barfed and shrugged his hand off.

"Can I use your crossbow?" I asked as we descended into the woods. "Sure. I've been meaning to teach you anyway." He smirked, handing it to me. We walked in silence for a while before carrying on a conversation. "You think we can live the rest of our lives here?" I asked, looking up at him. I got nervous when he didn't answer for a few moments. "If we don't have any run-ins with walkers... Or people." I winced at the mention of people. You can't trust anyone you don't know these days. "I'd prefer walkers than people." I said truthfully. "I wonder where all of the supplies has been going to. And more importantly, who we can't trust." Daryl growled. We walked in more silence as I struggled to hold up the crossbow. It was heavier than it looks. Suddenly, the leaves began to make a crunching noise in the distance. I looked up in astonishment at the creature before me.

A deer.

Daryl held his arm out in front of me, signaling me to stop. Daryl helped me adjust the arrow in alignment to the deer's head. I squeezed my eyes shut, said a quick prayer, and pulled the trigger. I opened my eyes to find the arrow lodged into the deer's cranium. "You're a natural!" Daryl exclaimed, picking me up and spinning around.

Just like daddy's did to their little girls.

Just like he did in my dream.

"We have to go. Now. Forget the deer." I said, tugging on his arm. "What? Why? We need the-" I cut him off. "I had a dream of this dad! And in it you died..." His eyes widened and we began to sprint back to the rehab house. We heard foot steps following us, and I grew more and more worried. Something then happened that I didn't expect. Or someone I didn't expect to see. "Zoey? What the hell are you doing out here?!" She looked like a deer in the headlights. Her face showed pure fear. "I-I, w-well you-you see..." She stuttered, trying to come up with an excuse. "Who are these people?" Said an unfamiliar voice. Out came a boy, no older than fourteen. He had brown curly hair and brown eyes along with a face full of freckles.

And his arm protectively around Zoey.

"Who are you?" Daryl hissed, raising his crossbow. "Woah, woah, woah. No need for that Daryl. Put it down." Zoey pleaded while holding up her hand for him to stop. I glared at Zoey and slowly raised my gun. "Really Brooke? You too?" Zoey asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "If Matt was going to hurt me, he would've done it by now." She tried convincing us that he was good, but I don't know if I was buying all this. "Where's your group?" Daryl asked harshly. "I ran away. About a month ago. They are very, very bad people. About twenty of em'. Mostly men, a few women, three kids. Well, now two." Matt explained, raising his hands in surrender. "Where are you staying?" I asked. "Zoey... She-she brought me a tent, food, water. She's been taking care of me." He replied, glancing at Zoey. "Can you please put down your weapons?" Zoe begged. I side glanced at Daryl and he nodded. We slowly lowered our weapons, but not putting them away. We didn't know this kid, and I wasn't about to get comfortable. "We'll take you back with us, but you'll have to talk to our leader about staying." Daryl said, being surprisingly nice. I gave him the 'What are you doing?' look only to get a shrug in response. I groaned and began walking back to the rehab house with the others.

Once we were back, we tied up Matt to a chair on the porch. "Is this really necessary?" Zoey questioned while Daryl and I tied the ropes tighter. "Yep." I snapped. "Carl will decide what to do with him." Daryl told Zoey. "Are you kidding me? It's like you people don't have a heart anymore! Can't you see that he's not a threat?! I've known him for a little over a month, and I can see very clearly that he's been through just as much hell as we have!" Zoey exclaimed, stomping off inside and slamming the door. "I guess I should go talk to her." I muttered to Daryl, and he nodded.

I took a deep breath and knocked on our bedroom door. "Zoe? Can we talk?" I asked, stepping into the room. "Why? So you can point a gun in my face too?" She sniffled and rolled back over, her back facing me. "I'm sorry. I just- I don't know this kid, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you." I sighed, sitting on her bed. "How'd you find him?" I asked after a moment of silence. "Well... One night when I was on watch, I saw something rustling in the bushes. So, I went out to the gate-" I cut her off. "Zoey! You know you're not suppose to leave without telling anyone let alone going out their alone!" I scolded her. "Let me finish," she paused, "When I found him he was nearly alive. He was skin and bones! That's when I started sneaking supplies... I sneak out early in the mornings around four am." She explained to me, putting her head down. I frowned, wrapping her in my arms. "It may not have been the safest thing you've ever done, but it defiantly was the sweetest. I'm proud of how you put someone else before you. That shows courage, bravery, and love-" I cut my self off this time. I looked down at her to see her blushing. "Zoey...? Are you in a relationship with this boy?" I questioned, knitting my eye brows together. Just as she was about to answer, the sound of tires coming down the gravel rode made her stop. We both looked at each other, then the door. I pursed my lips before speaking.

"Carl's back."