trustworthy, not • CARL x OC

chapter two • the boy

season 3
words: 1045
warnings: violence and death
unrevised
—

the room hummed with the buzzing sound of the generators, but the noise was drowned out by the constant groans of zombies. the stench filled the room, and we were trapped— they surrounded all of us. everyone except for allen and donna fought fiercely against the zombies, our weapons creating blood splatter. i smashed my crowbar into a zombies head expecting it to fall immediately— but no. it sprang onto me, causing me to tumble on the ground and lose the grip on the crowbar. the zombie staggered toward me, and with uncoordinated precision i kicked it hard in the skull. i grabbed the crowbar, holding it close to me.

suddenly, a boy with a sheriffs hat sitting on his head fired a shot, taking out the zombie heading for tyreese. without a word, he hesitantly scanned the group, his eyes sharp as he focused. i tightened the grip on my crowbar, feeling the tension of the situation, and glanced at mom, who was already looking at me with the same unspoken feeling.

"come on!" he guided us, pointing his flashlight to the end of the hall. i made sure that everyone was on board before proceeding to make sure donna and allen get there in one piece. "hurry!" he said, watching us steadily move.

the boy turned the corner, leading us quickly through the prison halls, glancing back to make sure we kept up. donna cried out in pain as allen dropped her roughly.

"hurry up!" the boy shouted, his voice full of urgency. mom shot him a glare, but the sound of shuffling zombies nearby broke her stare.

"go, just go!" allen yelled in pain, holding donna as tight has he could.

"let me take her." tyreese slowly pulled donna's whole body over his shoulder.

"i'll cover you." mom reassured uncle tyreese. in an instant she sprung into action, killing any zombies in sight.

as uncle tyreese lifted donna's body, a zombie stumbled from the direction we were headed. "look out!" mom hollered to the boy, her voice full of haste.

without hesitation, he brought his gun up, eyes locking on the zombie. i covered my ears just before the shot rang out, my hands trembling.
the boy turned around to the rest of us, a determined look on his face. "you have to leave her!" he barked to tyreese, probably talking to allen too.

"no way!" tyreese replied, killing a zombie while holding onto donna.

after sprinting through the long prison halls, the boy led us to a cell block. it wasn't crowded, but compared to what we were used to, even a few people seemed like many. uncle tyreese layed donna down on the concrete floor, the others eyes glued to the scene. she was dead— eyes wide open. i latched onto mom as tears fell from my face, and also on top of my head. mom was crying too, not as much as me or allen's family, but just a bit. the boy stepped infront of donna's lifeless body and cocked back his gun.

"i'll take care of it." he said whilst aiming at her head. tyreese put up his hand immediately, blocking him from doing the unthinkable.

"whoa, kid." he stuttered. "wait a minute." he said urgently, like he was racing with time.

"she doesn't have that long." the boy retorted. anger surged through my tears as i stepped forward, fists clenched.

"have you no sympathy?" i spouted, my words trembling through hostility. he recoiled slightly, grabbing a hold of his hat.

"who the hell are you?" mom questioned him with me. "how did you get in here— who are you with?" her voice was hinted with uncertainty.

"look, we can help you." he mustered, clearly out of breath. "first things first." the boy nodded towards donna.

"no, we take care of our own." uncle tyreese snatched a hammer out of ben's hands. ben cried out, begging for him to stop. i stepped aside, standing next to the boy, biting my tongue. she has to die, i knew that for a fact, so there's no point in objecting. i knew it was coming. i braced myself for impact until a loud sound of keys and a door closing distracted us.

"hey, what are you doing?" mom spat in desperation.

"kid, did you just lock us in here?" tyreese followed, his voice rising.

"open the door." she demanded.

"the room is secure." he looked at me, nodding his head. "you'll be safe."

why was he looking at me, did he expect me to back him up? how could i ever be comfortable here, there's no where to run.

"you have food and water." he stated, acting like we would just oblige.

"open this door." mom demanded coldly, her eyes wide open, striking fear in me at least.

"i can't." he tilted his head in a sympathizing way.

"come on man, we're not animals, don't do this." she pleaded with him, holding onto the bars of the cell block door. an older man with one leg stared at her, his lips trembling.

this only fueled my moms fury, her patience coming to a drop. "hey!" she shouted, banging on the door. "you can't just leave us in here!"
she continued to yell and shout at him, but he— he was unfazed. uncle tyreese stopped her, holding onto her shoulders.

he comforted mom, pointing out this was a sanctuary for us. "his house." tyreese gestured to the boy. "we don't want any trouble." he told him, pulling mom away from the door.

the boy sat on stairs that faced the cell block door, watching our every move like surveillance. i walked up to the door and sat in front of it. if he wanted to watch, he could watch me. a lighthearted faint smirk tugged at his lips.

"what's funny?" i asked, shifting my sitting position.

"nothing." he muttered, turning his head away. but i didn't stop staring.

"your name?" he asked and stepped closer, only a couple feet between us now— aside from the bars.

"kayleigh," i hesitated, inching back slightly. he nodded, taking account of what i said. "yours?" my voice sharp.

"carl— carl grimes." he stated, smiling through the circumstances.