Survive ( twd carlgrimes)

Chapter 37

MADISON'S POV.

I wake again to a loud whistle and then snickering. The unusual sound snaps my eyes open instantly, traveling to the source of noise. Maggie and Michonne laugh obnoxiously loud and I groan, still confused after sleep. I look around to see what's so funny but it takes me a second longer than it should have to realize that everybody's eyes are on me.
On US I should say.

My head had been nestled comfortably against Carl's shoulder and his head on mine. His arm drapes lazily behind us both and when I finally sit up it falls limply to the hay covered floor and his body slumps forward, jolting him awake.
"Huh?"
I shove him harshly to wake him up but he's just as confused as I was.

I scoot away from him, creating as much distance as possible. He notices this and the fact that ally every pair of eyes are on us.
I watch as he slowly connects the dots and he quickly scrambled to his feet.
"Well, there's no way to make that look good." Carl mutters above me.
"Nope." I say, stand to my feet as well as walking away, hoping that laughing it off will distract the others or more so my brother who's glaring at me from across the barn.
Thats not good.

"Everybody get ready. We're gonna leave in ten minutes." Rick announces.
"What are we gonna do?" Abbie asks him.
"Huntin' breakfast!" He says with a smile.
She makes her way over to me then with a grin plastered onto her face.

"What are you smiling at?" I ask suspiciously.
"Sooo, you and him then." She teases pointing to Carl.
"Shut up." I roll my eyes.
"So, it is then?" She presses.
"No, its not like that. We just fell asleep"
"Yeah right, whatever." She laughs and walks over to Maggie and Michonne who she has gotten close to since last night.

We all leave the barn and the minute we step outside our shelter, we can feel the winters cold air hit our faces, making our cheeks go numb and when we breath out a swirling fog apears. We all bundle up with our coats and walk in a tight group, hoping that our body heat will keep us warm enough to keep moving.

We keep walking deeper into the woods
"Hey!" Carl calls from behind.
I pull away from our tight huddle to join him away from the others. I don't want people listening into our conversation.

"You know if we keep this up people are going to find out about our midnight barn make-out sessions." I say.
His reaction makes both of us burst into laughter. A quick panic set over his face and his cheeks turned red before he realized it was only a joke.

As much as I don't want to, I find my mind drifting to him sometimes. I really do like him. It's just taken a while to realize that.
"I've been thinking-"
"That's not good."
I shove him but continue. "-about what you were saying before, about there still being people out there."
"Good and evil." He nods.
"Right. Well, what do we know about those people who took Beth?"
"Not much. Just that it was a black car with a white cross on the back window that took her."
"Cross? Like a church?"
He shrugs. "Yeah, maybe."
"Why do you ask?"
"I know you all have your own mission to get to DC but don't you ever think about finding somewhere to live? It just feels like we're running from something all the time."

"It'll happen someday, maybe when we get to DC."
I can tell by the tone of his voice that the subject has been settled.
I look ahead and see that Daryl already has 3 squirrels tied on a rope thats hung on the back of his neck.

I decide to help instead of chatting and I raise my bow. I seperate from the group slightly and find myself surrounded by trees. I try to keep my feet light against the ground to avoid crunching the leaves beneath me. As usual, I search up high first, in the trees, scanning the branches. After a while I grow frustrated and I'm about to head back to the group when I hear the leaves rustle in the distance.