Safe and sound, Carl Grimes

071. SEARCHING FOR HENRY

Chapter seventy one

"Searching for Henry." 

Katniss had grabbed her stuff, but when she walked up to Carol, she was chopping wood "hey, I thought we were going to track down Henry?" asked, as Carol looked at her "there could be another attack Maggie needs me here." she shared, putting another piece of wood up "Henry ran away cause he was scared. You of all people knows what happens if we don't find him." Katniss shared "then go." Carol told her, going to chop the piece of wood "yeah you do know cause your already thinking it." Katniss shared, as she turned walking off, she passed Ezekiel on the way "she's not coming. I'll find him myself." she shared, heading toward's the gate.

Where Carl from inside watched her head for the gate "what's up with you and Katniss?" Rick asked "we, um..we broke up." Carl told him "I'm sorry." Rick told him "she hasn't been the same since she got back. She knows it. That's why she let me go." Carl shared, taking a deep breath "and anytime I try to even talk to her she..she shuts me out but.." he was saying, as Rick furrowed his brows "but?" he asked, as Carl turned to him "you know that savior? Alden? Katniss called him her alley, her friend even and when I asked her how she stopped talking and walked away from me. So I was wondering if you could.." he shared, as Rick nodded "I'll talk to him." he told him, as Carl nodded.

Rick soon had gone walking out there, heading toward's the cage, Alden came walking out of it with a bucket "you Alden?" Rick asked him "yeah. Look if it's about the gun, I already gave it back to Katniss." Alden shared "it's about Katniss. She seems to care about you and I wanna know why?" Rick asked him "I don't know everything she went through." Alden shared "then tell me your side of it." Rick told him, as Alden took a deep breath "Lincoln had been planning his revolution. He was using the mockingjay to give people hope. None of us even thought she existed. Then one day I get brought out on the road to create a trap for a herd. And I was just trying to do my job when two people whistled like a mockingjay and I spotted Katniss shoving through people trying to get to them so I tackled her on the ground and once everyone else was forced to do the same. Two of Negan's lieutenants then shot them. I was then pulled off of her and they dragged her away." he shared.

As Rick stared at him "and day after day more and more people would whistle and get shot and Katniss wouldn't pay attention so she was safe. And once the dead people outweighed the work force they stopped shooting which was the day I went and introduced myself, she told me not to talk to her but I wasn't afraid of what they'd do to me so I stayed. And because of it, the next day when I arrived, I was dragged out into the woods and had my shirt taken off before they tied me to a tree and whipped me. Where all I could hear was footsteps followed by Katniss telling the lieutenant to stop followed by the sound of her being punched in the face and landing on the ground hard." he shared, putting down the bucket.

"Where he then swung the whip at her, getting her in the face and I told it was okay and to go but she told me she wasn't leaving me. And she stepped in front of me and the liuetenant told her to move but she didn't and he asked her if she wanted another and she told him to go ahead and he hit her with the whip again. Where she landed down on the ground again and that's when they left us both to die. And I've been thinking she was dead until I saw her yesterday. I would never hurt her." he shared, as Rick nodded recalling those two scars on Katniss's face, he turned walking off.

Meanwhile, Katniss had been tracking Henry's footprints, she came across a walker that had Henry's bow staff shoved in it's chest, she walked up to it with her machete and swung it down on it's head, grabbing onto the bow staff, pulling it and her machete out, the walker fell to the ground "Henry!" she called out, running in the direction the walker came from.

Where she had been searching into the night, as she was using her flashlight, she found a piece of his armor on the ground and it looked to have blood on it, she heard a walker growling "help me!" Henry called out, as Katniss went running in that direction "help me! Please!" Henry called out, as Katniss came across a stream, she ran down the hill and into it, running across it, she swung her machete down on one of the walkers heads, the one to the left reached for her, as Katniss pulled her machete out, throwing the dead walker to the side, she stabbed the next one and threw it down as well, as she then kicked the last one into the water, she walked up to it and stabbed it in the head.

Pulling it out, she turned around and as she did, she crouched down, seeing Henry in the alcove "it's safe. Your safe." she told him, as Henry came out of it, grabbing onto her, he was crying "I'm sorry." he told her, as Katniss hugged him back "I'm sorry." Henry told her, and all Katniss could think about was how scared she used to be when she was his age "everyone get's scared. And they run. What matters is that you survive. And you did." she shared.

The two then began making their way back to the hilltop, as Henry was carrying his stick, Katniss was walking beside him, although she did keep missing how Henry kept looking up at her, as the two could see hilltops walls in front of them, the walkers began moving out of the way, as the gate opened, Henry and Katniss walked inside "Ezekiel! Carol!" Henry voiced, running over to them, as the gate closed behind them, Ezekiel and Carol hugged him, the two then looked at Katniss who walked off.

Having gone and and sat outside the cage, Katniss leaned against it, as Alden walked over, sitting on the other side, putting his back against her's "you find the kid?" he asked "I did. But it reminded me of how scared I used to be. And yet now all I am is sad and angry. And I don't sleep." Katniss shared "I think things will be different once the saviors are gone. I mean it has to be." Alden shared "okay." Katniss told him "okay." Alden told her back, as the two sat there in comfortable silence.