Mae tuned the television off. "Nope. We do not need this negative bullshit!" Carl threw his head back and chuckled. "Whatever you say, Mae."
She smiled. Carl lifted her chin and gave her a soft kiss before pulling away. He grinned like a boy scout. His cheeks were the tiniest bit red, and his smile lit up the world.
Mae got up from the couch, and she was soon followed by Carl. The two faced each other, their faces inches apart. "Tell me something you've never told anyone," Carl said. His hand reached for Mae's, interlocking his fingers with hers.
Mae thought about everything she'd said and done in her life. "I used to see a ghost, you know?" Carl smiled. "A ghost?" Mae hummed in response. "It was a long time ago, okay? I was... lonely," she murmured.
"Hey, none of that negative bullshit!" Carl exclaimed, interrupting her moment of internal self-loathing. He cupped her cheek and whispered, "Mae, you're the best thing that happened to me."
Mae smiled. "Do you wanna go out?" Carl asked, lifting Mae's chin with his long, slender fingers. "Isn't that irresponsible of us, Carl?"
"We're almost adults, Mae."
"I guess so," Mae smirked. "Where are you taking me, cowboy?" His eyes beamed when he looked at her. Carl gave her a small wink. "You'll see."
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
Carl had taken Mae to a fancy restaurant. She wasn't sure how he afforded it, but he paid for everything, even encouraging her to order more food if she wanted to.
After that, they took a long and romantic walk in a park before heading back to the small Grimes' family home. Carl opened the door for Mae. "Thanks, Carl," she said, smirking. "Anything for my lady." He entered after her and shut the door, locking it.
Carl ran into the kitchen and opened the freezer. He took out a bucket of pistachio ice cream and grabbed two spoons. He rushed over to Mae. "Dessert, love?" Mae smiled and nodded.
He offered her the ice cream and handed her a spoon. "And a movie?" she questioned. "And a movie," he replied. They went into the living room and sat down next to each other. "How about The Notebook?" Carl suggested, earning a look from Mae. "That's a book, C. Not a movie."
Carl chuckled. "Well, they turned it into a movie."
Her eyes lit up. "The Notebook it is then." Carl nodded sweetly.
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
After watching the movie, the two fell asleep. Mae's head rested on Carl's shoulder. But their slumber was interrupted when they heard low growling and screaming coming from outside the Grimes' family home.
Mae and Carl slowly stirred awake at the loud sounds.
"What's happening?" Mae mumbled. Carl groaned. "I don't know, love. I'll check." Mae nodded and smiled. "I'll come with you," she muttered before following after him. Carl went to the closest window and gently pushed the curtain to the side. He gasped; this was unbelievable. "What?" Mae asked.
He motioned for her to look, and when she did, she went pale.
There were people running around, blood rushing down their arms and mouths. They seemed to be going after other people, biting them and ripping them open with their sharp nails.
Mae gasped and pulled the curtain. "I feel sick," she confessed, clutching her stomach in the process. "Mae," he said, taking a deep breath. "It's going to be okay, alright?" She nodded hesitantly. "I guess so," she muttered.
Suddenly they heard a loud bang on their door. "Let us in, please!" Mae and Carl backed away from the door, trying not to make a sound.
"Please!"
"—You're killing us." Then the voice went dark, followed by a loud shriek.
Mae slowly went up to the window again and gently pushed the curtain aside, just a tiny bit. There was blood everywhere.
A lone tear fell down Mae's cheek. She slid the curtain back.
"Fuck," she muttered. "What're we gonna do?"
Carl pulled her into a tight hug. "It's going to be okay, alright, love?" He paused, making sure she was stable before pulling away. "I'll try and call my parents, you—just start packing whatever you can find—food, clothes, knives, anything."
Mae nodded. The two went their separate ways.
Mae ran upstairs and searched for an old bag she could use. She opened Carl's closet, throwing a few pairs of jeans and flannels on the bed. Mae noticed a large duffel bag and grabbed it. She opened it, dust attacking her nostrils.
She coughed abruptly before quickly shoving clothes inside the duffle bag, not even bothering to zip it up properly. Mae ran downstairs, almost tripping a few times.
There, she saw Carl with a bag of his own. He was in the kitchen, grabbing anything that was canned. He was also grabbing the collection of knives that Lori had.
He noticed her. "Mae, hey—I just got off the phone with my dad. He said that we should run. Leave. And try to find them. They're in the same situation right now."
Mae nodded. "Where are they?" She asked. Carl looked at her sadly. "I don't know. The call cut abruptly after that."
Mae let out a frustrated sigh. "Shit," Carl continued , shoveling whatever he could find into the bag. Mae ran over to the television and turned it on, switching to the news channel almost immediately.
"—All over the world, this global crisis is occurring. Everyone is being affected by this. There are these things—some call them the "undead." One of the reasons is because if they bite you, you die and come back to life. Do not let them bite you. These monsters can hear you, smell you, and see you. Stay indoors. Keep a weapon on you at all times. Stay safe. Barbara Guillermo out."
Mae turned off the TV, and behind her stood a shocked teenage boy. "Carl? Is everything all right?" Mae asked, getting up from the couch and going over to Carl.
She cupped his cheek. "Hey, are you okay?" She asked softly.
Carl's eyes widened at the gentle touch. He smiled, his eyes lighting up again. "Yeah, I'm great." Mae nodded, but she could tell he was lying. But it wasn't necessarily her business to pry into his.
Mae picked up the duffle bag and swung it over her shoulder. Carl had a duffle bag of his own. "Let's go, love," said Carl.
They left the living room. Carl peeked through the curtains again. There were these people—well, the undead. The undead roamed the streets, searching for victims. There was blood everywhere on the streets. He slid the curtains. He opened his duffle bag and reached for a knife. He gave it to her. "Keep it close, 'k?" Mae nodded.
He took one out for himself and closed the bag.
The screaming from earlier had died down, but that didn't mean that it didn't stop. "Mae, let's go. Keep quiet, okay?" She nodded.
Carl unlocked the door and opened it slowly and carefully. On the front porch, there wasn't a body anymore, just blood. Carl and Mae left the house. The undead were everywhere.
He motioned for her to follow him. The two took careful steps. Their goal was to make it to the woods. As the two headed for the woods, trying to go undetected, they heard low growling coming from behind them.
Carl looked behind him and saw a few of the undead following them. Carl gasped, and so did Mae. The growls coming from the undead grew louder. "Run!" he yelled.
As the two ran, they pushed past the undead. But Mae wasn't that lucky. As she ran side-by-side with her boyfriend, Carl, she felt a hand on her shoulder that wouldn't let go.
She looked back; it was one of the undead. "Help—" it croaked out. Mae gasped. She pushed it back and continued running. "I can lead them away!" Carl yelled.
"No!"
"I can do it!"
"No, please, don't!" Mae yelled back. Beads of sweat were already forming on her forehead. He smiled.
Mae's eyes widened, hoping he wasn't going to do what she thought he'd do. She had to think fast. And only one solution came to her mind. Mae stopped running. The undead staggered towards her.
"Hey, asshole! Hey, shitface!" She yelled, drawing the attention of the undead. After hearing that, Carl stopped in his tracks. "No!" he yelled over the commotion as Mae yelled a few more profanities at the undead.
Then she started running in the opposite direction, leaving Carl in the middle of the street as he chased after her. Soon, they were in the woods. Mae was ahead of him, with the undead following her. Carl was behind them, trying to catch up to Mae.
He was tired, and his eyelids felt heavy. "No, not now," he muttered to himself. Carl's vision became a mix of yellow and green. He staggered back, and his back hit the ground.
His arms felt limp against the fallen leaves and dirt.
Carl's vision was collapsing. His eyelids were dropping. But he could make out a figure hovering over him. "—Hey!" was all he heard before everything was black.
[THE END]
───── ❝ authors note ❞ ─────
And THAT marks the end of Words Burn Hard. I'm crying. I loved writing this book and there will probably be a sequel. I'm very sorry about taking so long to update this book. I've had a lot going on in my life. I swear, when I got Wattpad, I started receiving bad news. Weird, huh? Wattpad reader/writer curse.
Anyway, THANK YOU to everyone who gave this book a chance. I'm eternally grateful for all of you. This book hurt. When I wrote the scene where Mae got !SA!, I cried tears. I love Mae. She's so complex.
And Matteo, oh, my God. He will definitely hold a bigger role in the next book. Can you tell I'm smirking? I'm smirking.
Anyway, thank you so much, everyone. I AM SO GRATEFUL YOU PEOPLE EXIST!
LOTS OF LOVE,
UselessBitch4205
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𓊆★Words Burn Hard-𝘵𝘸𝘥★𓊇
Fanfiction💌The Walking Dead 💌Carl Grimes x OC ⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰ They say home is where the heart is, but that's not where Mae's was. Mae's parents were always stern with her. But Mae didn't care. To Mae, the way her parents behaved with her was pr...
