NOT DEAD YET | C. GRIMES

SEVETEEN

"Where do you wanna go?" Carl asked, leaning against the trunk.

"I dunno, honestly." She shrugged, glancing back towards her old home. "I...I thought we'd find him here, or at least find some clue as to where he went. But there's just nothing..." She sighed, looking back at Carl.

"Maybe we should go back towards DC." He suggested.

"Do you, uh..." She trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck. "Do you think the cabin is still there?"

"Yeah, maybe." He chuckled. "You wanna go check?"

"Better than just sitting around here." She nodded, smiling.

—————

"You know, maybe we could take a road trip." Luna looked over at Carl. It had been a rough few days for Luna, but Carl was always there by her side. She knew that she wouldn't have been able to make it without him. "There's a ton of places my mom always talked about taking me, but we never did."

"Oh yeah? Like where?" She asked, adjusting the book in her lap.

"The Grand Canyon, for starters." He said. "Always wanted to go there."

"How long of a trip do you think that would be?" She but her lip, trying-and failing-to picture a map of the country. Thinking about it, she honestly couldn't even find the Grand Canyon on a map.

"With our luck? Man, I dunno." He shrugged. "We stop every night, have to stop and siphon gas every few days...it'd probably be a few weeks, a month at most."

"That's not so bad." She shrugged, sinking back into her seat as she kicked her feet up on the dashboard. "And it's like Spring now anyway, it's not like we'd come back to a mountain of snow. Honestly...it might be nice."

"Yeah, a little vacation." She couldn't help but laugh. "I think we both need one."

"Yeah, me too." She nodded, flipping her book back open. They sat in silence the rest of the ride to DC, having only been a few hours away now. Luna sat back in her seat with her window down, flicking through her Steven King book though only half paying attention. Her mind was wandering, about what possible places they could go and what the future might hold. She was busy envisioning a huge trip all around the country, and maybe even into Canada and Mexico, when the car slowing down made her look up. They were driving through DC, Carl slowing so he could gaze out the window at a building. "I thought we said we weren't going through DC."

"Consider it the first stop of our road trip." He shrugged, speeding up slightly again. She set down her book, pushing it onto the dashboard as she sat up properly. "C'mon, didn't you come here on schools trips? You lived closer than I did."

"I mean yeah, like once." She said, peering out the window. She frowned upon seeing pink shading the sky once again. "Suns setting, we should find somewhere to stay."

"Yeah, right." He nodded, speeding up again. "Should we just go back to that house?"

"You mean the one with the water?" She scoffed lightly. "I don't feel like getting murdered in the middle of the night, do you?"

"Come on, we won't get murdered." He rolled his eyes. "I'm a light sleeper, I'll protect you."

"Oh, that makes me feel better." She snorted, looking over at him. "Fine, we can stay at that stupid house, but I will let you die if it comes to it."

"Sure you will." Carl nodded, a smirk on his face.

—————

"How are you feeling?" Carl asked, sitting down on the couch next to Luna. She was reading again, though Carl noticed that she looked a little out of it.

"I'm fine." She shrugged, looking over at him. "Just disappointed, you know? But I'll be fine. We'll find him."

"We will, alright?" He scooted closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I promise."

"Thanks, Carl." She smiled over at him. "Really, without you I..."

"Yeah, me too." He nodded, and they both laughed. She leaned over, holding the side of his face with one her hands as she pressed her lips to his. She couldn't help but smile into the kiss as he pulled her closer, his arm tightening around her. Though, the sound of something outside made them jump apart.

"Walker?" She whispered, grabbing her gun. Carl was already off the couch, picking up his gun from the table. She got up, crouching down and moving over to one of the windows. She peaked out carefully, trying not to let too much light through. "Two guys." She whispered, moving away from the window as she spoke. "One of 'em had a crossbow."

"What were they doing?" He asked, moving closer to the door.

"Just...standing there." She peaked back through the window. "Yeah, just standing there. If they're talking I can't tell." Just then, a loud knock sounded against the door. Luna looked out the window again, the man with the crossbow was standing at the door.

"Hey Carl!" He yelled, and Luna was too busy watching them to see Carl freeze. "It's Daryl!"

"Do you know this guy?" Luna asked, looking over at Carl. His face was pale, and his eyes were wide. "Carl?"

"Let me see." He said lightly, walking over to her. She nodded, moving out of the way and intently watching his face. He looked, sitting back on his knees with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Carl?" She put her hand on his arm. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Daryl..." Carl breathed out, his gun slipping out of his hand onto the floor. Before Luna could react, Carl was on his feet and in front of the door. He hesitated before pulling the door open, and Luna finally got her feet. As she rounded the open door, she saw Carl hugging the man with the crossbow.