Keep Close

Fishing for Adventure

Carl's thoughts wandered as he subconsciously fiddled with the hem of his blue shirt that stuck out of his brown jacket. It was a habit he'd picked up from his dad whenever he was lost in thought. His brows furrowed a little.

"Are you okay?" Enid asked when she saw Carl fidgeting.

"Yeah. Why?" Carl returned.

"It just looks like you're thinking about something sort of serious. Lost in thought maybe."

He thought about his response as they continued walking in the forest beyond Alexandria's walls. The sun beat down even in Virginia's fall season.

"Well, in this day and age," he finally said, "focusing on the present is what matters, and with walkers roaming the earth I'd say the present is pretty serious," Carl replied, not moving his eyes away from the trail ahead.

They continued walking up the forested hill, the wind rustling the tops of the trees as they passed. Enid zipped up her light jacket and pulled her hair into a ponytail. Even though the sun's rays were hot, the shade from the tall oaks and chilled wind were cool enough to stop a person from sweating. After a few minutes of silence, she stopped under one such tree.

"Where are we going again?" Enid questioned with a glint of adventure in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Carl asked.

Enid just cocked her head, smirked, and rested a hand just above her knife on her waist.

"Pretend I wasn't listening when your dad sent us out this morning."

"We're going to the nearby river to see if there are any fish left in it to eat," Carl sighed. "Alexandria's food reserves are running low since we've been busy fighting Negan."

"Oh yeah..." Enid faked remembering. 

She pulled her socks up from inside her boots and checked that her knife was in place before the pair started off again. As Enid and Carl neared the creek, a humming bird flew overhead.

"Look! A bird. An actual bird," Enid smiled. "I haven't seen one in a while."

As soon as Carl looked up to see it, something from behind them snapped. Enid whipped around but was met with nothing but tree trunks.

"Must've been the wind," Carl surmised.

"Yeah. Mayb-"

Enid was interrupted by a sudden jolt in her leg. A legless walker had stealthily inched its way towards her and grabbed onto her ankle. She gasped, swiftly grabbed her knife, and stabbed the walker through the head. Blood splattered in all directions, especially on Enid's boots.

"Are you okay? Did it bite you?" Carl knelt to examine her for any signs of a wound.

"I think I'm okay," she examined, her heartbeat slowing.

More twigs snapped. The crunch of leaves could be heard from nearby.

"There's more coming our way. C'mon."  Reaching for her hand, he listened for the footfalls of the dead as the pair slowly crept towards a clearing.

"I don't see anything," Enid whispered.

"Keep looking."

The two separated and searched for a few minutes before finally, Enid whistled, "I found one!"

Carl rushed over and watched as Enid retracted her knife from another walker's skull. Just as she was about to clean her knife, three more walkers appeared in front of them. It wasn't long before all three had gaping holes piercing their fragile heads. 

Stepping back to admire their work, Carl wiped his brow. "That was cutting it close," he joked.

Enid rolled her eyes and laughed. "I think that's the first joke you've cracked since I've met you."

"I think so, too," he agreed.

Enid's heart filled with delight at the wide, pearly-whites that Carl displayed when he laughed.

"That's also the first time I've laughed in a long time," Enid remembered.

However, the moment soon ended as responsibility set in.

"We should get going," the sheriff's son reminded.

Enid sighed contentedly, "You're right. You know what?" she thought.

"Hmm?"

"I like your sense of humor. You should be funny more often."

He scoffed, brushing the hair from his only eye as they set out once more, hand-in-hand.

When they arrived, the two stopped breathing and stood perfectly still at the sight of the river. There, six men stood in the distance, talking amongst each other. Realizing the potential danger, Carl leapt behind a tree for a hiding place. Enid followed. Thankfully, the men were too busy arguing to notice any motion. 

"I say we go north!" one of the men declared.

"Ain't nobody know where north is anymore!" another in a big winter coat shouted, pacing.

"We don't have any other option right now. All we can do is camp out tonight, catch some fish, and head north in the morning. Besides I think north is...that way," the first said as he pointed to his left. 

At this, Carl elbowed Enid.

Guess there's still fish out here.

"That ain't right. We just came from your so-called-'north' a few hours ago," a third man in a black leather jacket and red hair complained.

"The moss is on this side of the tree. That means we go this way," the first argued.

"No. We ain't goin' your way," said a fourth with brown, short hair.

The fifth man with a rifle interjected, "We'll stay here and camp out. You can go any-which-way you please," he said in reference to the first man.

"No. We can't split up," the first man continued. "We'll be weaker that way."

Enid began to feel the dirt under her feet give way. Before she could react, her body was thrown down. A scream escaped her lips.

"Look!" one of the men exclaimed. His shaking, slender finger was pointing directly at Carl and Enid, and he'd heard them.