A teenage girl by the name of Ayla Meadows is held against her will and experimented on by a crazed scientist. Although she manages to escape the horrors with the help of a sheriff and his group, she is forever haunted by the memories of her torture...
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"The good times of today are the sad thoughts of tomorrow." - Bob Marley.
———
Carl finds Ayla an hour later. She is sitting catatonic in their field. The girl has stayed in the same position ever since she collapsed to the ground upon hearing the gunshot. He notices her red eyes, the dried tear stains on her face, and says nothing as he sits down beside her. The boy slides an arm around her shoulder and she allows herself to be tucked into his chest.
"You were right." Ayla whimpers. "She really is gone."
Carl shakes his head. "I didn't want to be." He whispers brokenly.
Ayla stares up at him. "I know." She murmurs.
They stay like that for a long time.
———
Inevitably, the weather worsens and they are forced into the farmhouse. They sit quietly in the dining room as everyone else keeps themselves busy around the house.
Their moods only seem to plummet further as Hershel disappears which causes Glenn and Rick to go into town to search for him. Then, Beth collapses and ends up in some form of catatonic state. The combination of the two causes endless amounts of worry throughout the entire household.
The room where they're sharing each other's company is filled with unnerving silence until Carl abruptly turns to her. "What did you mean?" He asks quizzically.
The question startles Ayla and she looks at him confusedly. "About...?"
"Earlier." Carl says. "At the barn. You were fighting with Shane and you said 'no one knows who you truly are'. What did you mean?"
The breath catches in Ayla's throat. Shit. She'd forgotten she'd said that. It was a heat of the moment type thing. She wasn't thinking straight. The anger she felt had taken ahold of her and forced the words out of her throat. She had thought no one had noticed but...
"Uh..." Ayla tries desperately to think of an excuse. "I just don't think he's a good guy, that's all. He's doesn't take anyone else's ideas into account and thinks he can boss everyone about."
That should do it.
"I don't believe you."
Or not.
Ayla tries not to take offence at how quickly he doesn't believe her. "And why not?"
Carl shrugs his shoulders. "Something happened between you and Shane. I don't know what it is or when it occurred but it did. Before I got shot, you were civil with each other but it seems like by the time I woke up, there was a massive divide between you - don't think I haven't noticed."
