An Odd First Impression ¦ Carl Grimes

Chapter Six: It's Too Real

Carl's POV:

I sat up screaming and covered in sweat. My face was dried with tears and my eyes we're itchy and red. I was breathing heavily and my heartbeat was faster than Daryl's arrow through a walker skull.

It was just a dream, I thought to myself, reassuring my yet to be convinced mind.

It was just a dream. It was all in your head. You we're asleep and so is Maxi. So far, I was successfully persuading myself. Until that little devil on my left shoulder showed up.

It was too real. There is no way that could've been 'just a dream'. It had to be like a vision. She's gonna die, and soon.

I'm not a big fan of this little devil guy, but it's not like God has done anything for me lately. There's probably not even a such thing as God. He's just some make-believe guy that someone came up worth just as an excuse for their problems.

I leaned up farther and sat criss-crossed and put my face in my hands, waiting for my breathing to calm.

After a minute,  I heard faint footsteps in, what sounded like, the cell block right beside ours.

I got up slowly, being cautious, trying not to make any sound, and I stepped out my cell, making my way over to the gate that closed off the entrance to the other block.

When I got to the barred door, I peeked inside, careful not to be seen. I everyone sleeping with their cells locked, except for one. The one on the very end. Maxi's cell.

I opened the gate slowly, attempting to avoid and noises it might make. Thankfully, the hinges weren't as loud as I thought they would be.

I stepped in, slowly at first. I approached Maxi's cell and peeked in. Empty.

I heard the sudden creaking of the jail door, leading outside, startling me. I spun around, just seeing the door close.

I sprinted over to the steel door and eased it open, and stepped outside into the cold, hard, dark night. The freezing atmosphere pierced my skin like a thousand tiny needles on my bare skin.

I went out into the field and looked around, searching for any sign of somebody. Well, somebody that's alive.

As I was attempting to ignore the constants groans from the walkers that were practically tackling each other just to get inside the prison fences, separating them and the live, blood warmed flesh, something caught my eye.

I looked back to the roof of the prison, concentrating on finding something. Then I saw it. Her. She was sitting there, on the roof, alone.

I sighed, and proceeded over to her. As I climbed the rusty, old latter, she turned her head, glancing at me. Her eyes were red and puffy. It was clear she had been crying. They showed fear, sadness, and despair, but as soon and they met mine, relief came over her.

She quietly sighed and returned her sight back to her lap. I moved over beside her and sat down, criss-crossed, copying her posture and expression, poking out a tiny bit of my lip. She gave me a glare, as if to say 'Really? You're so stupid.' I chuckled a little and she relaxed a bit, then gave me a small half smile. I returned it.

"Why are you out here?" I asked.

"I could ask you the same, Mr. 'Save the Damsel'." I silently laughed, as did she.

"I'm here because you're here. What's wrong? You've been crying." She frowned, depressing the mood even more.

"Nothing. I'm not in the mood to be the host of today's pitty party." A tear strolled down her cheek, pathed to her jawline and to her chin, dripping onto her hand.

I wiped away the salty excess water from her rosy red, warm cheek. She looked up, her soft, brown eyes connecting with my icy, blue ones. A smile lightly tugged on her pink lips, sending a serge of sparks through my body.

The rest of the night was filled with conversations about what would've happened if this never happened, or where celebrities would be right now, if they're even alive still.

Eventually, we ended up laying down, laughing ourselves into a quiet, calm, comfortable sleep.

But something was still bugging me. Why was that dream so... vivid? It looked real. It felt real. It was too real.