• 2 •

T W O

2 days later

[ A L E X A ]

I was being idiotic.

My tactics were stupid.

I was risking everything my dad had planned.

I was putting myself in danger just to see a boy.

Sneaking out just to see a boy. A boy from Alexandria.

It was so pathetic. But I enjoyed it. I've been seeing Carl for the past 2 days, even when I told myself not to.

I was on my way to see him again.

Well, I was already here by the tree log, Carl should be on his way. Always when the sun is just rising.

I heard leafs crunching. By the pattern of the walk I knew it was Carl. I have studied him and his ways in these pasts 2 days for information and for my own personal use.

"Sneaking out just for me?" I said as I peered around the tree. A smile appeared on his face."Wandering around just for me?" He got infront of me.

"Well I have nowhere else to be." I haven't been telling him the truth. He still doesn't know. I don't want him to ever find out.

And I had no idea why.

He was just an alexandrian I'm probably going to end up killing. But I didn't like thinking of that.

"You could have somewhere to be if you went with me back to Alexandria-""No way." I shook my head.

"Why not?" Carl pouted, sticking out his bottom lip. I chuckled and sat down, leaning my back against the tree.

"Alexa?" Carl sat next to me."Yeah?" I turned my head to him.

"How'd you get that?" He pointed to my forearm. He had noticed the long scar that trailed all the way to my collar bone from my upper arm.

I had remembered that day like it was yesterday. It was the start of the outbreak.

"Well, it was the beginning of the end. I was only just learning how to use weapons. My mom, dad and I were scavenging for food, there was other people in the same area who were not friendly. They took my mom and I hostage and when my mom escaped, they had killed her right in front of me. Shot her right in the head. There was nothing I couldn't do about it other than fight. One of them caught me with a knife, split that area right open. I eventually got away and I have such a good sense of direction I ended back at my dads temporary camp. He knew how to stitch and he stitched me up." I very un-detailed-y explained.

"I'm sorry that happened." Carl whispered.

"Don't be. Shit happens for a reason." I shrugged.

"My mom died, too... I had to shoot her... she was giving birth to my baby sister, Judith. She had to do a c-section and she died. I shot her before she could turn." He looked down at his legs. I pursed my lips and sighed.

"But I wasn't going to let anyone else do it. She was my mom." Carl said.

"I get that." I nodded."Me too." He whispered."Yeah, you were there." I chuckled. He then laughed at his mistake.

"I'm still half asleep." He explained himself. I giggled a bit.

"Yeah, I've been walking all morning I'm wide awake." I crossed my legs.

"Why were you up so early?" His eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Walkers." I was lying so good that maybe I could even believe it.

"Ah, I get it." He nodded.

"What's it like?" I turned my head to look at him."What's what like?" His voice was low. Deep. "Alexandria." I simply stated. He took a deep breath in and his eye squinted.

"Normal. Oddly." He shrugged."I wanna know about it." I leaned my elbow against the log, putting my cheek in my hand. I guess I could use the information.

"Really good people live there. My group, there were 15 of us. When we first got there, Deanna, she ran the place with her husband redge. They interviewed us and I told them everything... I had to. I met friends. Ron, Mikey, and Enid. They were playing video games when I met them... it was so crazy because I'm so used to being out here and having to always watch my back... anyway, everyone was weak. My dad, rick, he got everyone together. Redge got killed and stuff fell down from there. We got attacked by a group and that's the last time I saw Enid. She was the only one who understood me... Ron started acting strange and maybe 3 days later, our guard tower fell down and we got over run... my dad, Jessie, Sam, Ron, michonne, Gabriel and I tried to escape and Sam got us caught. They ate him and Jessie was his mom so she lost it and started screaming. She got eaten and my dad had to chop her hand off because she had a hold of me... they were a thing I guess... Ron was also her son, my dad killed his dad so he freaked out. He went to shoot my dad but michonne killed him, the gun went off and it... it shot me." He trailed off at the end. I was so intrigued in his story.

"I lost my eye and I lost most of my pride. We met a guy from the group hilltop and befriended them... they told us about this terrible group. I mean like they are fucking insanely horrible. My dad and most of my group went to their sanctuary and killed them all. Alexandria is pretty normal I guess." He laughed.

Not all of them. We still have a hell of a lot of people.. that was just south sanctuary.

My heart dropped."How are they bad?" I softly questioned. What do other people think of us?

"Well, this guy... who runs it, his name is negan. Well, was. He was a dictator. Not a very nice one. He killed people if he didn't get his way. He was just terrible. But my dad killed his entire group so you don't have to worry about them." He explained.

I stayed silent. I breathed out of my nose and looked away."What?" Carl noticed my actions."Nothing... I just... I'm glad that you survived." I put on a small smile.

"Me too. I have to look out for my baby sister." He took his sheriffs hat off and set it down next to him.

"So about this Enid chick... did she come back?" His life was so interesting compared to mine. That's because dad never let me leave.

His expression changed.

"She did... but she died that night. I saw it happen." He whispered."Carl... I'm so sorry. You must've really cared for her." I had a look of sympathy on my face.

"She was a close friend." He nodded.

"Well... now you have me." I tried to lighten the mood up, budging him with my elbow lightly.

I knew he was broken on the inside. You could tell. There was pain hidden in his eye, and maybe that was why I felt so bad for him... maybe that's why I'm dreading his death and holding back.

He was alone. He had no one.

"For however long that'll be." Carl negatively thought. He's right, but I won't let him think that way.

"Hey, don't think like that. I'm here now." My eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah." He pressed his lips together.I sneakily picked leafs up in my hand that he couldn't see.

"Stop being such a Debby downer." I pouted as I threw the dead leafs at him.

Some caught in his hair."You wanna go there?" He scooped up some and tossed them at me. We were like two kids. Because that's what we were.

And it felt good to be a kid again.

I got up with a laugh, the leafs that clang onto me drifted off.

"I think I already did." I had a smile plastered on my face. Carl got up as well, kicking some at me. I used my hands as scoops and threw more at him, but he blocked it with his hat that he picked up.

"Can't get me." I said before taking off deeper in the woods.

I heard Carl's footsteps chasing after me. I couldn't wipe the huge smile off of my lips. I felt so free. I felt like I didn't have to worry about anyone or anything. Not even the dead.

Carl was faster than I was, but not by a lot. He was nearly beside me as we ran without a care.

We just kept running, nothing felt wrong, even though it was. Everything was wrong.

The wind was flowing against my skin, giving me a chill. But the good kind.

The crunch of the leafs under our feet sounded like the world wasn't out to get us. This is what we're supposed to be doing. This is how we were supposed to live.

I weaved in between trees, Carl doing the same.

Carl's arms wrapped around my waist from behind me and picked me up, spinning me. I laughed in enjoyment, not wanting this moment to end.

He put me down and I turned to him.

I looked at Carl, still smiling.

"We're supposed to be out here. We're supposed to feel like this." I said, out of breath.

"We're kids, it's what we do." He smiled back at me.

My breathing was heavy but I was still smiling."I wish the world didn't give up on us." I sighed.

"Me either." Carl was scanning me. "I wish the world was normal. I wish it was like the old days. I miss being a kid so much." A wave of sadness rushed over me."I miss having a family." I added, my smile disappearing.

"Me too... but we have each other now, and that's enough for me." He mumbled. This brought the grin right back."Yeah, same here."

I felt Carl's hand graze against mine and I glanced down, seeing his hand retract. I grinned lightly and gently reached out for his hand and locked our fingers together.

I could see the smile grow on Carl's face. This was fast, but it was normal.

For us at least.

I looked up at the sun and saw it was probably around noon.

"Shit... I have to go-"

"What? Why?" Carl seemed a bit upset that I was already leaving.

My dad always does his check ins.

"U-uh... I'll see you tomorrow, same time, okay?" I told him.

"Yeah.... sure... I had a good time, today." Carl waved as I backed up a bit.

"Me, too. I'll see you tomorrow, Carl." I waved back before I started sprinting.

I ran as fast as I could and took me maybe two hours to get back to my sanctuary.

When I hopped in my window, my door immediately opened.

Dad had the most worried expression on his face.

"Jesus Christ Alexa, where the hell were you?! I've had this whole sanctuary looking for you!" His voice was loud. I always hated being yelled at.

"Um.. sorry dad there were walkers and I just went to take them out and I got distracted and was looking at the leafs I'm so sorry, I should've told you." I've never lied to my dad about anything other than me sneaking out.

Especially to see a boy from Alexandria.

"Alexa Rose Montgomery, I've told you so many times not to leave this sanctuary without my permission. You have no idea how scared I was." He sat down on my bed and let out a relieved sigh.

"I'm sorry, dad." He could never stay mad at me. I was his little girl.

He exhaled deeply through his nose and looked at me.

"I'm just glad you're safe." He got up and hugged me. I put my arms around him tightly.

"I'm safe."

Honestly having negan have a soft side for his daughter is so cute