Our Life (Sequel to "Remnants")

Reminiscence

-Carl-

It took me a moment to realize that Riley had left the church, and I easily - and rightly - assumed that it was not in good circumstances.

Damn, he's really taken this killing to heart.

I wish I'd been there... I could have stopped it - I could have done... something.

Now he's facing a living hell inside his own mind; the one place that I can't reach to help him.

"Carl," I was called over by Sasha and Tyreese, who were stood, as per usual, side by side. They never left one another's side - if one was scheduled to go a run, then the other would go out of their way to accompany them.

It was a beautiful brother/sister bond that they held, and in this world in particular, that bond was a saving grace.

I walked over to them and greeted them with a smile.

"It was Riley, wasn't it?" Sasha asked, "he had to kill that guy on the run?"

I pursed my lips and nodded solemnly in response.

Sasha and Tyreese looked out of the stained glass window beside them, toward Riley's home at the end of the street, just in time to see him walk inside and slam the door shut behind him.

"Ah, poor kid," Tyreese sighed in remorse, "he takes all this killing human stuff to heart, doesn't he?"

That's putting it mildly...

Once again, I nodded in response, before turning around to leave and find Riley.

"Leave him," Tyreese and Sasha instructed me in unison.

"You've already consoled him once," Tyreese justified his command, "trying to do it a second time will probably just irritate him."

Tyreese and Sasha were very understanding people - they knew how mentality worked, and were often very good at judging the best emotional response to a situation, which is why I took their advice once again.

"How did you two know about me consoling him?" I asked.

"Michonne filled us in on your little 'alone time,'" Sasha responded, as she and Tyreese chuckled with smirks on their faces.

I blushed madly - strange, considering Riley and I got caught kissing one another practically every other day. It just always happened, it seemed. Still, I suppose I sort of liked it. It was a human thing to do, after all.

Still, it clearly made the siblings amused - I only wished Riley was here to see it; it might have brightened his dark day a little...