Daughter of the Fallen

What Happened and What's Going On

That night, Maggie and I were keeping watch by the fire while the others slept. She was crying next to me and my head was resting on her shoulder. I held her hand and rubbed her back to comfort her.

Carl came over and put his hand on my arm.

"You should get some sleep," he told me softly. "I can take over."

I sighed and nodded my thanks. I hugged Maggie before getting up and walking over to where my parents and uncle were sleeping and laying down.

My mom pulled me close and I sighed.

"I feel so bad for her," I whispered.

"Me, too, honey," she replied.

•••

The next night, I was trying to get some sleep when I overheard a conversation between Rick and the newcomer, Noah.

"She was gonna come to my home with me," Noah said, probably referring to Beth.

"How far?" Rick asked.

"Outside Richmond, Virginia."

•••

Soon, Rick had convinced a small group consisting of him, Noah, Glenn, Michonne, and Uncle Tyreese to go find Noah's home and see if it was secure while the rest of us held up the camp.

My parents and I were preparing meat for dinner while Carl kept watch. Maggie hadn't left her spot since this morning but none of us told her to get up. She needed time to mourn and we were gonna give that to her.

"Do you trust the place?" I asked them. "Where Noah's from? Do you think it'll be safe for us?"

My dad sighed. "No. But Rick's in charge. We do what he says."

I nodded. Once I got done cleaning the fish I was working on, I went to the river to wash the blood off my hands.

As I was watching the red liquid leave my skin, a twig snapped behind me.

I whipped around to see Carl.

I exhaled, my heart beating fast.

"Carl, you scared me," I scolded, slapping his leg.

He sat down next to me. "Sorry." He chuckled softly.

"It's not funny!" I claimed but I found myself starting to laugh, too.

We just sat there laughing for a good moment before returning back to silence.

"I thought you were on watch," I said after a minute.

"Carol took over for me," he clarified simply.

I nodded. "Can I ask you something?" I looked over at him.

He looked back at me. "Yeah."

"Do you ever get nervous when your dad leaves?"

His expression darkened and he nodded. "Every single time. I'm always worried he won't come back."

I sighed. "I'm scared Uncle Tyreese won't come back. That something will happen to him. Noah was forced into the group so quickly, how do we know we can trust him?"