Search (Walking Dead/Carl Grimes Fanfiction)

Over The Edge

The loud snaps and cracks of wood splintering was constant as the guard tower continued to tip towards the interior of the community. Realising what was about to happen, Jason grabbed Carl by the shoulders and threw him to the ground, diving down next to him and covering him with his jacket as best he could. The creaks and groans got louder as the foundations of the wooden tower fragmented. The tower fell into the community, slamming down on the metal wall with a thud that echoed for miles followed by a crash that shook the ground beneath them.

Pieces of debris flew through the air from the impact of the tower crashing into the ground and smashing to bits on top of the flattened wall. A thick cloud of dust erupted from the wreckage and spread into the community, momentarily blocking out the sun and attacking their throats and lungs. Jason coughed deeply as his chest burned from the dust he had unintentionally inhaled, the corner of his right eyebrow throbbed but he ignored the pain as he stood up.

Jason pulled Carl back up to his feet. "Are you alright?"

Carl coughed a couple times as he nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Jason relaxed, grateful that Carl was unharmed. He took a moment to relax, knowing that had they been any closer they could have been killed as it came down.

"Jason, your eyebrow..." Carl pointed out in concern as the dust began to clear.

Jason brought his hand up to his right eyebrow and touched it, spotting fresh blood on the back of his fingerless glove. One of the pieces of splintered debris must have caught him. It throbbed painfully but didn't seem too deep a cut.

"I'm fine." Jason replied. "It's just a flesh wound."

He smiled to the younger teen until reality dawned on him. The tower hadn't been the only danger and for a moment he had completely forgotten about that fact. Jason felt a cold shiver run down his spine when he heard the drumming of slow, uneven footsteps trampling over the metal plates. He looked over at the shattered wall in horror as he watched the herd stumble through the dust cloud. The metallic clangs of the footsteps got louder and more frequent as more and more walkers poured in, rasping and snarling hungrily with bits of wood sticking out of some of them.

Rick looked up in horror as he watched the herd enter Alexandria and start making its way towards him. He quickly scrambled to his feet and ran a few metres away from them to gain some distance. The walkers were slow and easy to kill but there were far too many of them to fight and survive. They had to retreat.

"Everyone! Get back! Get into your houses!" Rick bellowed as he pulled out his Colt Python. "Go!"

Rick shot the closest walker to him, hoping he could distract the herd long enough for everyone to get away. The only way they were going to survive the invasion was by running and hiding. A herd of this size was unstoppable.

Jason unsheathed his machete and Carl unsheathed his knife. They ran towards the solar panels where the herd was flooding in with Ron hot on their heels. They had to get to Gabriel and help him and his congregation get to safety. The prayer group was already running but to their surprise Gabriel was staying at the back with his machete and had already killed a couple of the walkers. One walker was about to grab him but Jason shoulder barged it to the floor before slicing into the head of the one behind it.

"We'll get you to the church, come on!" Jason yelled.

Carl stabbed a walker in the forehead before running with Jason, Ron, Gabriel and the prayer meeting members towards the church. Fortunately it wasn't far from the solar panels so they didn't have much running to do. They made it to the church and threw open the door with the congregation piling inside along with anyone else who was in the street. Once enough people had gone in, Gabriel closed the door behind them.