The Rocking Dead III

Chapter 15: A Trap?

Tom's POV: We quickly turned our asses around and started heading back to Alexandia. I handed Jonathon to Eric so he could get him to the house. My main concern is finding something for the baby to sleep in, mainly since the crib we found him in was falling apart.

"Michonne, do you still have Judith's crib and is she still using it?" I asked as I walked over to her.

"Yes I do and she does not use it. Why?" She answered.

"We found an abandoned baby out there." I explained, "The crib he was in was decaying so he needs a new one. Do you mind if we use it?"

"Not at all. I'll have Axl deliver it to your place." She replied. I made my way back to the house to find Eric attempting to soothe the baby.

"He won't stop crying what do I do?!" He asked, seemingly panicked, while bouncing the baby in his arms.

"Give him here." I said. Eric handed him to me, and of course, he quieted down. Just like the movies and TV shows.

"Of course." Eric said, throwing his arms in the air. I chuckled at his frustration. Someone knocked at the door. "I got it." Eric opened the door to Axl with the crib.

"Take it up to our room." I said. The two of them lifted the crib upstairs.

•

Axl's POV: An abandoned baby in the woods? A perfectly healthy one at that? No walker parents to be found? This is too fishy to me.

"Eric, don't you think the way you found the baby is just a little...strange?" I asked, setting down the crib.

"Why do you say that?" He asked, grabbing some blankets to put them inside.

"Just think about it." I said, "Look how healthy he is. He was abandoned, yet no sign of the parents? If this kid was truly left for someone to find him, he'd be much more malnourished, if not dead." It looked like what I said was finally sinking in for Eric.

"I've gotta tell Tom." He said, about to leave.

"Speaking of you and Tom." I said, grabbing him to pull him back. "What's going on with you two?"

"What do you mean?" Eric asked.

"You know what I'm talking about." I said, "You two are way too close with each other. More than friends it seems like." Eric shook his head and looked away.

"I don't wanna talk about it. And if Tom doesn't, then deal with that." He said.

"Look Eric, I don't care what you two say anymore." I said, "I wanna know exactly what's going on between you two and I'm not taking no for an answer anymore." He let out a sigh.

"Fine. You wanna know what's happening?" He said, giving in, "We're together. Ok? We're a couple. Happy now?" He was clearly getting irritated.

"All I wanted to know." I replied, leaving.

Do I feel bad that I essentially forced him to tell me? A little. But I was curious. I had a feeling what was going on, so I'm not too suprised. I'm actually happy for them, they seem perfect for each other.

•

Tom's POV: Axl quickly left when he came back downstairs. Eric came down behind him.

"Wanna take him up there now?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure." Eric replied.

"You ok?" I asked, handing him the baby, "You seem a little off."

"Don't you find it weird how healthy this baby is despite his parents being dead for who knows how long?" He said.

"You do have a point." I said, "But his parents could be recently dead."

"True, but don't you think someone else wouldve taken him anyways?" He said.

"What are you getting at Eric?" I raised an eyebrow.

"What I'm saying is this all could've been a trap." He answered, "How do we know the Whisperers aren't behind this?" What he said made sense. This could've been a trap. Great, now we really have to be on high alert. More than we already are.

"Take the baby upstairs, I'll go tell Blackie." I said before walking out. I eventually found Blackie on his own, and motioned him to come to me.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Look, I need you to take command temporarily." I said.

"What? Why? What happened?" He asked, suprised.

"Eric and I found a baby out there and I wanna take some time away from leading this place to raise this kid." I answered, "Meanwhile, make sure the guards in every community are on higher alert. We're not sure if this whole thing was a trap. And keep working on finding Justin's killer."

"Will do. Good luck with that kid Keifer, make sure you get rest in between the times you wake up." He said before walking off. I went back to the house to help Eric.

Finally, a real break...