ᗯᕼEᑎ TᕼE ᗪEᗩᗪ ᑕOᗰE ᗩᒪIᐯE [ ᴅᴀʀʏʟ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ]

- 5 -

    Rick wasted no time showing me around Alexandria. The residents were friendly, but admittedly wary of a new comer. I made sure I memorized they layout so I would know my way around if I were to need to escape. I wasn't too fond of the idea of being kept like a dog in a cage, but at the very least Alexandria was safe.

I was informed that I would be staying in the same house as Rick and his group due to being new. I didn't mind as Tara would be there, but I was nervous about staying in the same house as Carol after she pulled a gun on me. I had been able to avoid the situation up until now, but staying in the same house would make such a thing hard.

It was dark out. Most of the group was out patrolling the walls leaving Daryl, Tara, and a boy. I had heard the boy was Ricks son, but I wasn't acquainted with him. The house felt warm, and inviting despite being a foreign place to me. I sat in the corner of the bottom floor. I felt awkward—slightly uncomfortable—being in a fully furnished house again after so long. Since everyone had been doing their own things, I decided to sneak out of the house. I sat out on the front porch, not daring to go anywhere where I could run into trouble with the locals. I stared up at the night sky captivated by the bright shine of the stars. You could see them so clearly despite the lights coming from the surrounding area. I was sure it was a sight I'd remember as I had let my guard down just enough to admire my surroundings; something I hadn't been able to do outside those walls. The fear of walkers had kept me on edge leaving me ignorant to the beauty around me.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when the front door opened behind me.

"Hello" the unfamiliar voice spoke. It was only then that I turned around to see who had come out. It was Ricks son.

"Hi" I responded in what was almost a whisper. He approached me, sitting beside me on the porch stairs. The boy was much younger than me.

"So, how have you liked it here in Alexandria so far?" He asked, joining me in staring up at the sky full of stars.

"It's. . . odd" I said, unsure of how to describe this place or how I felt. He turned to me me with curiosity in his eyes.

"What to you mean by that?" He questioned. It took me a moment to pull my gaze from the sky as I gathered my thoughts.

"I guess it's due to being on my own for so long. . ." I said. I began to second guess what I had meant by odd as I started to think about it more.

"I haven't really been in a place like this that's so. . normal. I mean I avoided people the best I could and yet I still ended up here?" I questioned myself, my thoughts spiraling out of control. I didn't know how to feel about Alexandria yet, or why I was even here in the first place. Daryl could have left me to die back in the woods. My life was of no concern to him, but he choose to. . save me? A stranger. I spaced out as I argued with myself until the boy brought me out of my head.

"Well I think you will enjoy it here" he said with a small smile. I nodded, returning the warm smile.

"Anyways, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Carl, what's your name?" He asked, taking me aback for a moment.

"Oh, I'm Y/n" I stuttered out, not expecting the sudden change in topic but it came as a relief. I took the silence that followed as a chance to take in the boys features. He had long hair, and a soft face; nothing like his father's intimidating appearance that was perfectly fit for a leader. A sudden reminder of my brother popped into my head. The boy in front of me reminded me so much of him. I wondered what he was doing, if he was alive or not. Did he have food? Shelter? Was he with friends? All of this made me question if my friends were alive. I had briefly seen them from a distance before the bombs were dropped on the city, but we got separated shortly after that. I hadn't seen them since then. I couldn't even remember how long it had been since the world went to shit. This made my heart sink as the memories from the days before the dead came back had filled my head. How the sight of the first cannibalizing, less than human creature came into sight and ripped a man apart with his teeth. The fear everyone felt that day. Deep down I knew I feared that day—it was traumatizing—but I pushed that feeling aside so I could survive. Having made it this far has given me some kinda hope in a future.