The Way Things Are

Chapter 3

I traveled with my new group, my teeth chattering. I couldn't believe it, to be honest. It was hard to believe that I was part of a group, I had a group. It felt weird. It didn't feel real.

The priest, whose name was Gabriel, led us to a church. Rick and Daryl (the guy with the crossbow) checked first, and then we all went in.

I slid into one of the pews as the rest of the group conversed with one another. I was the odd man out.

The boy with the hat, Carl, slid into the pew next to me. I looked in his direction, but not exactly at him. "Hi."

"Hey, um, Katherine. You, uh, know my name, right?" He let out a chuckle.

"Yeah. It's Carl. Is Rick your dad?"

He nodded. "I could tell."

"You've been on your own since the start?"

"Almost. A month or two later, I would say. I've been by myself, but I've still done a lot of things that I wished I could take back."

"Like what?"

I shrugged, trying not to remember. "Well, before, you know, the turn, to be honest. Even before."

Carl got the hint that I didn't want to talk about the horrible things that I've done before. He changed the topic. "You said you don't know how to use guns?"

I nodded. "Only the smaller handguns. But I rarely even use them."

"If you want, I could teach you. I could teach you how to use some other weapons, too. You know, like machetes..."

I let a small laugh, thinking he wasn't being serious. I could tell he felt hurt and I immediately stopped laughing. "Oh my gosh, I so didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry, it's just your like the same age as me, so.....yeah, I'm really sorry."

Carl still seemed a little tense, but his expression eased up a little. "I've been trained. You wouldn't understand, you weren't with a such a large group before."

I nodded. "Will you teach me? I want-no, I need to survive out here. I don't want to die, but that's exactly what's gonna happen if I don't learn."

Carl nodded. "Alright. I'll teach you," he got up and motioned me to follow him. I waved him off.

"Not right now, let's just relax."