The Storm Doesn't Last Forever // Carl Grimes

03

•Carl's Point of View•

"How are we gonna get out of here!?" Adelynn's panicked voice rang throughout the dark, empty space behind us, letting fear rush through my veins like ice cold blood. My eyes searched the pitch black, seeing absolutely nothing but the empty space.

Flashlight.

Instantaneously, I swung the backpack off my shoulders, sticking my hand inside the open pocket to search for a flashlight. I let out a triumphant huff just as my hand skimmed over the handle of the metal object.

"Carl! We need to ge-"

"Quiet down." I ordered, letting my thumb travel up the handle until it felt a rubber button, quickly pressing it to let a beam of light hit the ground. "Maybe there's another way out." Adelynn's sigh was filled with both annoyance, and fear, making it obvious she thought what I was doing was wrong.

Nothing out of the usual.

The only noise I could hear were the panicked murmurs of our group behind the heavy door; the crunch of gravel and debris under our feet as we slowly moved around the room; and a distinct sound of water repeatedly leaking from a pipe, striking the cement ground with small taps. I held the flashlight under my wrist, right where I held my pistol, pointing it straight in front of me.

"Do you see anything?" Adelynn called out in a whisper, the echo making my stomach churn uneasily, worries filling my head as to what was in here.

"Nothing." I called back, letting the beam of light roam around the room showing various items; broken chairs, shattered windows, blood, dead bodies. The stench in the room was almost unbearable, a definite stench of rotten meat that had been sitting out in the sun all day.

Great. The smell of death.

Sounds deeper down the hall were becoming more distinct, a clear range of growls, dragging feet, and snapping jaws. Only one explanation.

Walkers.

"Adelynn!" I shouted, my beam of light finding it's way to shine in a few walker's dismembered faces. Some with scratches, some with bites, some with pieces of their faces falling off. It was a disgusting thing to see. Corpses just decomposing right in front of you. "Walkers!"

I spun around on my heels, booking back to where my sister stood, a flashlight under her wrist and a gun on top. She was ready to fight, as so was I. The only light we had was from our flashlights, and a crack in the ceiling that created a sunlit line between us and the dead. Walkers began stumbling towards us in fast, unsteady patterns, making it harder to aim and kill. Just as one came into view, Adelynn fired, hitting it right near the left temple. It fell limp to the ground, making another walker trip over the lifeless body.

I aimed right at the walker's head, pulling the trigger and watching it die for the second time. A few more stumbled forward, Adelynn shooting two that stumbled near her as I shot one coming towards me. My back hit the wall just as two walkers suddenly appeared out of the corner of my eye, the only instinct at the moment was to back away.

Well, that was pointless dumbass.

Anger raged through my body, leaving my fingertips tingly and my head pounding at my own stupidity.

God Carl, get it through your head to just kill.