You all had sailed for a day and a half, not far from the coast, which was within sight but at a safe distance. Suddenly you had discovered a tiny Cordillera that came up behind the waves. It offered perfect protection. You had dropped the anchor and put it there. “To take stock.”, Rick had said. Carl tried to climb some rocks, followed by Alicia and Daryl. Most of it was in contact with the water and covered with slippery moss, it was almost impossible to get a firm hold and while climbing Alicia was afraid to break her neck. To die for falling during the Apocalypse would have been awkward. A legend they would tell other survivors in later years… “There’s a lot to eat here.”Carl said, watching as the shell colonies appeared in the waves and disappeared again. He moved his feet and jumped higher as a crab passed. She was as tall as his two fists. Alicia followed his movements and could not help but smile. “The cliffs attract many animals, there are algae and moss, so there are shells and mollusks feeding on them.”
“And so are those who feed on mollusks. Crustaceans and fish of all kinds. That must be a perfect place to fish.” Not far away, Daryl tried to measure the distance between the rocks and the shore. It was too far for anyone to attempt an attack, or to storm the ship suddenly. The only problem was that on the boat it was difficult to defend, react to a fire, or plan a counterattack. On the boat, Nick stared at the rocks as if they were men who had insulted him. He approached Rick. “We should find a place near the coast where we can hide the ship, we can not stay here forever.”The former sheriff turned and looked at him. “Why not?”
“We’ve always been on the move and near the coast, but if we want to stop, we have to find a shed or something.” The boy pointed to the rocks. “These rocks, if there were rough seas, would destroy the boat, and we would end up being driven to them by the wind.”
Michonne, who had listened to the conversation, approached. “It’s not a bad idea to find a safe place in addition.”
“I thought the base was in the boat?”, Rick asked slightly annoyed. “Yes, but we have to move on, if we have to stop for a while, we need to find a place to secure the ship in. As soon as we see storm clouds on the horizon, we have to do the same, we can not risk it to be damaged or stolen.”
“Nick is right.”
“We’ll have to get out, we’ll have to find things for Judith and we’re always lacking on medication, Maggie still has to regain her energies, maybe vitamins could help.”
“The ammo will eventually go out and Daryl will not find his arrows in the middle of the sea.”
Rick snorted. “And Carl… Let me just say the word: Books.”, grinned the man, then his face relaxed to a even more relaxed smile and he laughed a little. “Books… The living dead walk around, it’s the end of the world, the apocalypse… And my son wants a book.”
Michonne smiled with him and hugged him lovingly. “Then we are lucky…”
Nick had followed the exchange silently with a slight frown. “Let’s decide how many more days and then we’ll go.”
“A few weeks.”, Rick said quickly. “If we don’t find anything, we will go anyway and we will continue to travel to try again.” The boy nodded. “Good.” You dropped a lifeboat and Judith stayed on board with Madison and Glenn and Maggie. After a few hours, Carl suggested that he’ll enter a building facing the sea. You discovered that it was an office, a kind of reception. The only positive indication you found in it was a snack machine that you had plundered after Rick and Travis had broken the glass with a pickaxe. Meanwhile Carol walked around the building with a gun in her hand and a knife in her belt. At one point, the woman saw that the hut was half on the beach, while the other half was directly in the water. It probably stood on a scaffolding, because at regular intervals the big trunks under the structure of the building began to end below sea level. A narrow corridor surrounded the building and allowed access to the rear. Carol looked around and saw that the others were now far away, studying other little things. She put the gun in her holster and pulled out her knife. She walked cautiously over the catwalk and, before she reached the corner of the structure, hit her with the heel against the wall and waited. No noise. The woman walked on and as she turned the corner, she was relieved that there wasn’t a single Walker here. Instead of going straight, the wall stayed in place and the sidewalk disappeared into a boathouse. Suddenly Carl appeared behind her, as excited as she was. It had to be a place to rent motorboats and jet skis. The owners made the documentation inside and then brought the customers back to take them out to sea. Looking at the discovery, Carl stepped forward and turned the corner. He entered the shed with a big smile while Carol disappeared. The breath of a Walker struck him just before his teeth snapped at him. Carl raised his knife in defense and backed away. He had no time to do anything when he felt the emptiness under his feet and fell into the water. Large bubbles floated up to reach and burst the surface. Carl, his ears muffled by the water, instinctively moved away and squeezed his hand to look for the knife, but realized at that moment that he had lost it. His head came back over the water and the boy breathed in suffocating, coughed again and saw the Walker a few inches away from him. He curled up and thrust both feet against the dead man’s chest. The boy took a deep breath, only calmer. The Walker didn’t seem to be able to swim normally. Leaving him behind, Carl swam toward the inside of the garage and found with relief that no other Walker was waiting for him. Despite the dim light, the sunlight lit up the room enough. He saw that the catwalk continued along the perimeter of the garage, forming a U, and probably circling the building further. He climbed back up with his arms and looked around. Inside he saw a green plastic tarp attached to the entrance with ropes. It would have been perfect to hide. The only moored boats were a shabby pedal boat with a small integrated slide and a watercraft. Carl wiped his hair out of his face and left the shed. He didn’t even bother about the Walker who passed by and the one who was still in the water growled in his direction. The sun went down and painted the horizon to an intense orange. Carl sat on the roof of the shed, admiring the sunset on the same day was a privilege. He thought the apocalypse might make sense… The boy put the book in his hands and swung his legs back into the room. He noticed that he had a faint smile on his face and for the first time since he was a child, when he and his mother fled with Shane from their homes, he realized that he was happy. Really happy. It wasn’t the relief of happiness when someone from the group returned safely from a mission, nor the little, comforting happiness of being with his sister Judith and he realized that he was getting older and was healthy and strong. He recognized the pale happiness of reading the books he talked to along with Travis and Y/N. That was his true happiness. He already knew that he loved his whole family, but at that moment he felt it. He loved them with all his heart and he knew it would be reciprocated. How could he not be happy under these conditions? “Hey, can I sit down?” Carl whirled around and saw Alicia walking toward him in light steps. “I’m a bad survivor.”, she said with a half smile and looked back to the horizon. “Well, I couldn’t hear you at all.”, said Carl and she sat down next to him. “You can still feel good, Glenn and your father stand guard on one side and the others on the opposite side, so if someome came to attack us, they’d be able to see them a mile away.” They two remained silent for a while. “Tomorrow we will look for useful things, will you come along?”, the boy asked.
“I think so, are you looking for something specific?”
“No, not really, and you?”
Alicia shrugged. “I’d like to look for some of those cookbooks and maybe some spices, you know, the fish becomes almost indigestible after a while.”
“I noticed.”, Carl chuckled and took off his father’s hat.
“Where did you get the hat?” The girl reached out and, after a silent request, took the hat from his hands.
“He belonged to my father.”
“Really? Was he a cop?”
“He was a sheriff…” Alicia whistled and tried on the hat. Carl’s lips tightened. He knew there was an age gap between them and that it wasn’t an illusion, but he could not help but think she was pretty. He blushed at the thought and when Alicia returned his hat, he took it without saying anything. He was relieved to hear someone climb the ladder he had placed on the side of the building and turned to see Nick’s head.
“Alicia, Travis and Mom were looking for you.” He looked around and then decided to join them. “Dinner will be ready soon.” He watched the view and smiled because he had to squint slightly at the sun. “You have found a nice place.”
“Carl found it.”
“A perfect place to flirt.”, Nick added with a grin, slapping Carl on the back of the hand with the back of his hand. Carl was seriously thinking about jumping into the sea. Fortunately, the intense color of the setting sun prevented the Nick and Alicia from realizing how flushed he was. Alicia understood that the boy was ashamed and she pushed her brother away. She liked Carl, it was like having a younger brother to take care of. A fourth person came to the roof. You frowned as you saw the others. “What are you doing, Carl?”
“Not much, I’ve read.”, Carl said, pointing to the book. He was grateful for the arrival of you, the only person who didn’t cause him trouble, if only unconsciously or intentionally, but never meant to be angry. “And what are you recommending Travis this time?” You came over and reached for the book. “This is definitely easy to read, so I have no doubt.” Nick eyed the title. “Yes, Travis is not the best if you just want to spend half an hour in joy.”
“Yeah… But he always comes home.”, Alicia sighed.
“This is true.” You all were silent for a while watching the sunset, each of you lost in thought. You felt united, as part of a family. It was not everyone’s job to grow up during the Apocalypse and to tell it proudly. Not for Walkers or other people, like bandits or plunderers. The brutal world has changed all of them and you knew it very well. You had all done something and said things that you regretted, that you weren’t proud of or even ashamed of today. You had done things for which you would pay dearly one day. All four of you had held out, you had grown up in this world, you had gotten older before you had to, but in the end you were there. You were alive and you were good people. Or at least you tried to be. And basically it was important, Nick told himself. “Let’s go.” Alicia got up and headed for the ladder. “If there’s one thing Mom is still mad about, it’s when we don’t get to the table in time.”
YOU ARE READING
Fight The Dead Fear The Living (Daryl Dixon x Reader｜Nick Clark x Reader)
Fanfiction"Nothing ever happened between us because you've never done anything for it. You always stayed alone." "I understand. But nobody gives me anything here.", Daryl said, still looking at Y/N. Who knows how many outstretched hands he had ignored in his...
