Carol's Other Daughter. (Carl x Reader)

Chapter Two: Silent.

I woke up multiple times as the RV would constantly rock from side to side because the elderly man was bobbing and weaving through the trees and at the beginning, some of those scary people were banging on the walls from the outside. It was either that, or I felt someone accidentally jab their limp into my side from the constant movement.

After a while though, I decided getting rest was useless. I kept my eyes open and looked around in the crowded space, taking in the details of the people surrounding me. My eyes landed on Carl, who was wrapped up in Lori's arms, his whole body trembling as he was wide awake, gripping onto his mother's arms. He had tears staining his face which was slightly rosey from all the tears that must have fallen. Carl's eyes met mine, and I swear, I've never seen such a sadder sight yet.

The look he gave me resembled a kicked puppy. His eyes widened slightly as they landed on me, and his eyes actually lit up slightly, as if he was happy to see that I was okay. The feeling was completely mutual, even though we had only met merely hours before. When we were waiting in the traffic jam, we told each other basically everything, so we knew a lot about each other and shared sympathy.

Basically everything, without the fact that Father was an abusive piece of garbage, though.

We'd been on the road for hours to the point where the sun had almost set. It had gotten eerily quiet outside other than the occasional sticks snapping underneath the tires, and the bumps of the trailer driving over large rocks and tree roots.

The windows weren't covered, so we could clearly see that we were far from wherever those scary people were. The only thing you'd be able to see is never-ending trees.

The trailer suddenly came to a stop and the man in the driver's seat stood up and looked at everyone. "We're gonna have to stop for tonight. I have a couple of rifles and hunting knives for the adults... And I hate to say this, I'm gonna need one of you to cover me so I can change the gas. I have plenty of liters stored," He said to everyone.

"There's no way all of us could stay here. Do you have tents?" A man asked, making everyone quietly mutter to one another before the driver spoke up again, "I've got a couple but I don't know if it's a safe idea," he stated.

I tuned out of the conversation, zoning out into my own head, just like I always did when things got bad at home. It wasn't long before I was shaken out of my trance.

When I looked up, I became face to face with Carl. "You're okay," Carl breathed out softly with a shy smile, making me nod my head and blush slightly. "Yeah... Are you?" I asked, making him nod his head. "Yeah," He said softly, "My mom wants us to stay in the trailer tonight. What's your family gonna do?" He asked.

I wasn't completely sure. I hadn't been paying much attention.

"We're staying in here tonight," Mother said quietly, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder, making Carl glance at her and nod before turning his attention back to me. "Wanna sit with me and my mom?" He asked, making me look up at Mother, who nodded her head encouragingly, as Father was asleep.

"Sure," I say, turning back to him. Carl nodded and signalled me to follow him as he turned his heel to lead me towards his mother and the policeman. The two looked up at us when we approached them, the woman eying me as I sat with her son, who sat between us.

Due to the crowded space, we had to sit shoulder to shoulder, making it slightly uncomfortable. Everyone was sitting on the ground, now, the blinds and curtains closed, and only small amounts of lighting from the ceiling were on, but the driver had dimmed them and put his sun protection up so nothing could see us through the windshield.

After a while of soft chatter, we all heard the unmistakable sound of growling. And it wasn't from any animal like a bear or a wolf.

It was more of a weird, gurgling noise, but it still sounded like it was vibrating through the scary person's chest or the back of their throat. It sounded pained and almost forced, but at the same time, it almost sounded natural.

"Shh, it's one of them!" An Asian guy whisper-shouted, as he had peaked through one of the blinds on the window closest to him. Everyone visibly tensed at his words, a few people smacking their hands over their mouths to keep quiet. Carl grabbed my hand and brought his knees to his chest. Without thinking, I interlocked our fingers while my other hand reached across my body to grab his forearm nervously.

My ears picked up the sound of leaves crunching and twigs breaking under someone's feet. It started from the front of the trailer, and it almost achingly slowly made its way to the back from Carl and I's side until I couldn't hear the footsteps anymore.

An almost deafening silence stabbed into the atmosphere, the tension making it almost impossible to breathe. No one made a sound or moved an inch for several moments. The only sound that was heard was the occasional owl hooting and the quiet chirping of the crickets outside the trailer.

For the rest of the night, everyone was silent and barely moved. We were all scared out of our minds and most of us, including myself didn't sleep. We couldn't sleep. Hell, I was surprised that everyone else could sleep at all.