luna mortimer-smith had long learned not to trust anyone, staying in the middle of the woods as to avoid any contact with the dead or any other humans.
one evening, she'd gone out to check her hunting traps like usual. little did she realize, thoug...
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Luna watched as Carl and Daryl pulled away, a bigger smile on Carl's face than she'd ever seen.
"W-What happened after the prison?" Carl asked. "Is my dad okay?"
"Yeah, he's fine." Daryl nodded. "Everyone is. Your dad, Michonne, little ass kicker-"
"Wait, Judy's alive?" Carl breathed, leaning back against the doorway. "But we...we went to the prison and I...I saw her carrier covered in blood."
"Tyreese got her out, with those little girls." Daryl said. "Carol found them, saved our lives. Then uh...Aaron here found us on the road, brought us to his community."
"It's completely safe." The man standing behind Daryl said, stepping forward. "Everyone is there, waiting."
"T-Then we have to go, come on!" Carl stood straight again, his voice coursing with energy.
"Too dark to keep going tonight." Daryl said, stepping into the house. Luna instinctively took a step back. "We'll go in the morning." Carl and Aaron also stepped inside, and Carl finally met Luna's eyes.
"Oh this uh, this is Luna." Carl shut the door before standing next to her. "She saved my life after the prison and uh..." He gingerly put an arm around her waist. "She's my girlfriend."
——————
Luna's eyes were focused on the book in her lap, scanning slowly across the pages. Each bump in the road jostled the car around, making Carl stir in his sleep. He hadn't been able to the night before, being too amped up, so she was letting him sleep on her shoulder while Aaron drove them back to the community, to Alexandria. Daryl was leading the way on his motorcycle, which rumbled loudly through the open windows. Carl's hand twitched on her leg, and she heard him groan lightly.
"Are we there yet?" He asked, his voice groggy.
"No, we're still about a day or two out." Aaron said from the front seat. Carl sighed and laid his head back on Luna's shoulder.
"You sleep okay?" Luna asked, glancing down at him as he readjusted himself on the seat.
"Good enough." He said. "I'll sleep better when we're there." Luna smiled lightly.
"I'm sure you will." She chuckled, raising a hand and putting it on his cheek. "How are you feeling?"
"Excited." She could hear the smile in his voice. "And...a little nervous, honestly."
"Why?" She shut her book, looking over at him.
"I dunno I just..." He sighed, sitting up. "It's been so long, you know? I...I'm a different person now. I'm just..."
"Carl, I'm sure your dads still gonna like you even if you're different." She joked, and he rolled his eyes. "Look, it's your dad, your family! They're gonna be so excited that you're still alive they're not gonna care if you've changed at all. There's nothing to be nervous about."
"Yeah, you're probably right." He sighed, nodding lightly.
"Course I am." She smiled, leaning over and giving him a quick kiss. "I always am."
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"I spy..." Carl trailed off, craning his neck to look out the back window. Luna groaned, laying her head on Carl's shoulder.
"Aaron, please tell me we're nearly there." She said, making Aaron laugh.
"Shouldn't be far, now." He said. "An hour or less, we'lol get in after dark."
"An hour?" Carl now sat up straight.
"Or less." Aaron nodded. Luna couldn't help but smile at seeing Carl's own smile.
"Carl I don't know if I've ever seen you so happy." Luna remarked, lightly pulling on Carl's hair.
"I don't know if I have been since we met." He shrugged, unable to wipe the smile off his face.
——————
It was dark, but the headlights from the car and the motorcycle illuminated the large metal wall and gate that stood in front of them. Daryl was off his motorcycle, trying to get someone to let them in. Carl's leg was bouncing quickly, lightly shaking the car, and his hand was tight on Luna's knee. Finally the gate started to open to Daryl turned around and got back on his bike. A guy pushed the gate open, and pushed shut after they'd cruised inside.
"Where is everyone?" Aaron asked as he got out, prompting Luna and Carl to get out too.
"There's a meeting, at my parents house." The guy said, locking the gate. "Should still be going on. Pretty much everyone's there." Daryl started to walk away, so Carl followed him and Luna followed as well, interlocking her fingers with Carl's. Luna could hear Aaron's footsteps behind her as she gazed around at Alexandria. Big, pristine looking houses with manicured gardens and lawns. Kids bicycles sitting outside and sports equipment left on porches. It almost looked like before the world ended, and Luna wasn't convinced that she wasn't in some kind of dream. An orange glow flickered from inside a walled courtyard, and the sound of screaming made Luna's heart rate shoot up. The four of them ran, stopping in entrance way.
The scene that sat before them was almost incomprehensible at first glance. A fire pit, a large group of people standing behind it, and a dead walker lying on the ground in front of it. A woman, crying and bloody, holding a man with a large slice on his neck, dead. A man holding down another man who was facing away from them. Another man, standing between the walker body, the woman, and the two men, pointing a gun at the pinned man's head. Luna couldn't hear Carl's gasp over the loud ring of a single gunshot, the pinned man going limp.
