Alyssa Chávez has felt alone for most of her life. She was never good at making friends. She always felt a distance between her and her family. So when the apocalypse happened, her social life didn't take much of a hit. After losing her family, Alys...
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Chapter Ten Chocolate Pudding
As promised, Alyssa continued her search for the group as soon as she woke up. She found muddy footprints on the road, not even a day old. They were walking away from the prison, so she followed them. It could be a dead end, but she was willing to take the risk. Even more so when she heard gunshots in the distance and saw birds flying away overhead.
The road led her all the way to a suburban neighborhood. An upper-middle-class one, judging by the fenced houses. It seemed abandoned at first, but when she walked further into town, she couldn't believe the sight she was met with.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Alyssa chuckled, holding up her hand above her eyes to shield her face from the sun and get a clearer picture. Carl fucking Grimes was sitting on the roof of a house, eating chocolate pudding straight out of the tin with a spoon without a care in the world. A Walker was trying to crawl out of the window behind him, but he just sat there with his legs dangling over the edge.
Alyssa placed her hands on her hips. "Are you really gonna eat that by yourself or are you gonna come down here and share?" she called out to him. Just to see the look on his face when he saw her, it was worth it.
Carl scrambled to get back through the window he came out of. After a few seconds of hearing some things crash in the house, Carl burst through the door and pulled her into a hug. Alyssa smiled as she wrapped her arms around the brown-haired boy. While a wave of relief washed over her, she realized that was the first time they'd ever hugged. Oftentimes times physical contact averted her, but she needed it right now. She needed to feel that he was still there and that they'd be okay.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you," Carl exclaimed after he pulled back from the hug.
"I think I can guess," Alyssa laughed. She wanted to ask about Judith and Rick, but she decided against it. She didn't want to ruin the moment in case they didn't make it. Carl answered the question without her needing to ask it.
"My dad and I are set up in a house. We should go. Grab a change of clothes, you know? Have you eaten anything yet?" Carl asked while picking up his bag.
Alyssa shook her head. "No, not yet. I wanted to find you guys first," she explained as she started to walk with Carl toward the house he and Rick were staying in.
Carl reached into his bag. "Here," he said while handing her a bag of potato chips. "Have you seen anyone else?"
Alyssa shook her head while she opened the bag of chips. "Nope. You're the first. I saw fresh tracks, thought I might give it a shot."
"They could've been from the other group," Carl pointed out, concerned.
"Could've been." Alyssa shrugged. "But it wasn't. You can't play it safe all the time."
Carl led her through the house's backdoor, blocking it with furniture so nothing else could get in. Rick was passed out on the couch. Carl explained he'd been like that ever since he woke up. He was scared, really scared. He didn't say it, but Alyssa knew. She would've been too if she was in his position.
