The Future is Nigh (TWD Fanfiction)

08- Reflection

Judith won't put the dog down. I follow Carl up the stairs once we have the first floor checked. He goes first. Carl holds a knife now, his gun in the holster of his belt. In the hallway there is no belongings, all the doors are closed, thank the marsh mallows in the chocolate fountains all over the world! 

Carl walks over to a smirk and chuckles, smirking to himself. 'What?' I ask and he traces his fingers over the carved words. "Don't open".

'I did this once before, years ago.' he emphasizes and I smile weakly. He survived that die, lets hope the person who wrote this escaped too. I pat his shoulder, one of those many friendly gestures I had never gotten used to before. The only shoulders I have been patting have been my own after a good days killing/surviving or from slicing a walkers shoulder. Mostly the second one.

I head down the hallway and reach the second door, when I reach for the knob Carl lifts his knife. I twirl the knob and push it, giving a good kick so it does not jam. The room is a bathroom, on the opposite wall is one window. The light is shining in, blinding my sight for only seconds. Nothing rams into us and tries to eat our flesh.

Carl doesn't spare any time going in, he only pushes the shower curtain and checks inside the shower. Nothing.

Once he leaves the bathroom I walk in. I curl my hand around the tap of the shower, giving it a twist and waiting for water. Beautiful, clear, glistening water... that will never come. A sorrow is chocking up inside of me. Even after twelve years, I still do miss the chance of nice, cool water. 

I turn around, the room is quite small so the back of my knees hits against the showers bath. If I reach out I can grab for the sink.

With one hand I reach out and wipe the mirror. The dirt smudges more both after another quick scrub a girl glances back at me-

A girl staring at me through the mirror. A stranger. Someone I have never seen before... Her hair is much longer, fuzzy and leading to dead ends. Her skin, once a light pale tone is now sprayed black with dirt and red with blood. Her eyes are still the same shade, they always will, but the under part is bruised blue from not enough sleep. She has long eyelashes and hairy eyebrows that have never been plucked.

My hand is still high in the air, touching the mirror as if reaching out for her. The collar of her shirt is torn, ripped. If the mirror were longer I would see her scabbed knees through the jeans and the converse that she stole from a walker. Children grow, it's a well known fact.

'Dee?' I hear and glance over at the door. My eyebrows are lowered, considering and liking the new nickname. Carl has a hand rested on the door frame watching me, watching the stranger. 'Are ya okay?' he asks. His voice is sincere and I look back at the girl.

Not strong but a still a soldier. Not a woman but no a girl like Judith. I am the the girl in the mirror and we are different. Not a walker but not a human.

I look back at Carl and his question erupts like a storm in my mind, Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you okay?..

Anyone human would usually nod and change the subject. But I am not human. I shake my head and run over to him, closing the small gap in between us and wrapping my arms around his neck.

There is a moment where I am wailing like a baby into his neck, when his arms are still at his sides. But then his voice soothes me, the one sentence making me feel like everything will be okay, 'You've got me Dee.' His arms wrap around my waist. I am not not holding him, he is holding me.

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