Alice was not worried of the unknown. She was worried of what she already knew. She was worried of the promises that the new people were making to her-the ones bringing the people of a fallen Woodbury into their own settlement. The girl felt sorry t...
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A L I C E
ALICE DUNLAP NEVER WANTED to break away from Carl's arms that morning. She wanted to breathe his air, to share the sleep. No more tossing and turning as someone was there to shield her from her own subconscious thoughts. Carl was the only thing to ever make her feel so safe and so needed. She was covered from all angles, and all was right when she found herself exactly where she was.
The girl heard the soft skidding of paper as it was slipped underneath her bedroom door, passing off the noise as the house settling and returning to sleep. But the girl's sleepy eyes wished they'd never closed upon the first shine of light spilling through the curtains and illuminating a folded piece of paper on the floor.
She blinked harshly, beginning to peel herself from the boy who, even in his deepest sleep, refused to let her go. Meticulously, she rolled him over onto his back, loosening his grip on her. She admired him in such a vulnerable state. Lips parted, leaving soft breaths to dry the inside of his mouth.
Alice only allowed her face to soften for a moment before returning her gaze to the paper on the floor. Throughout the darkness of the night behind them and how long it'd been since the sun had risen, the girl could not pinpoint exactly how long ago the paper was delivered.
The girl walked slowly, ensuring that her labored steps went unheard by the boy who still slept peacefully in her bed. Using the tips of her fingers, she bent over and retrieved the folded paper.
Her eyebrows furrowed through the reading of the ominous, handwritten message addressed to her. Before even lifting the paper from the ground, Alice knew exactly who it'd come from. She didn't know exactly what she'd been expecting to come of her conversation with Carol, but the paragraphs before her were dripping with the woman's touch.
Alice raised a shaky hand to prevent gasps from escaping between her parted lips. She allowed the paper to float to the floor, abandoning her need for silence and grabbing one of Carl's flannels from the top of her dresser.
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The girl aimlessly fiddled around the armory. She'd gotten dressed with an unnatural hastiness, not quite sure of her own actions as she continued to move quickly. It'd been so long since the girl needed to prepare for the outside.
Carol was gone. She left in the middle of the night. Something about all the lives she'd taken and how Rick kicked her out of the prison for what she did to Elliot and Karen. She survived on her own and now she was ready to do so again. This time around, no one was forcing her. She was doing it on her own volition. Carol's own free will was the dangerous part.
