Hard Candy [Carl Grimes/The Walking Dead]

A Battle Half-Over

It's nearly pitch black once we muster the courage to return. The only light comes from the sliver of a moon and my reflective tape on my bike. We find our way more or less than by my memory. But it's better than nothing, especially riding on the handlebars while Carl works the pedals behind me.

"So, your aunt was in a vegetative state when you left?" Carl asks. "Something like that," I mutter. "I doubt she's moved. God, Melly and I were joking in the kitchen that we'd kill her once we told her. We may have been right."

"I doubt it," Carl says. "She's pretty tough. Didn't you see how she nearly strangled me?" I giggle at the memory. "And besides," He continues, "Isn't she a registered nurse or something? She could definitely help in delivering her grandkid."

"You bring an excellent point," I tell him. "We'll need all the help we can get." Now I'm thinking. How are we going to deliver it? I doubt the probably-expired painkillers filched from the drugstore will be enough to tide Melly over in labor. She's still a kid; what if the pain killer her? And what if she loses too much blood? How do we sew her back up? What if she needs a C-section?

"What did you guys do when Judith was born?" I ask desperately, clutching the handlebars tightly. The pedaling slows.

Too late, I realize I've asked exactly the wrong question. Carl's mom died giving birth to his sister. Right in front of him.

"No, forget that... Forget... Oh God, I didn't..."

"No, I mean," Carl stops the bicycle completely, his voice weak. Why the fuck did I say that? "My mom, she..."

"I know, I..." I grope for words. "Just..."

"Maggie, she was with me, and her dad Hershel, he was a doctor," Carl says. "She and Beth could be helpful. Carol, too, absolutely. Hershel taught her the basics of giving birth when my mom was pregnant."

"Great," I breathe. "...Great. A team of four. We'll do this." Awkwardly, we push off again.

All of a sudden, we hear a low growl. Oh no. We both know that sound. I jump off the bike before Carl lets it crash to the ground.

A walker, the first we've seen in months, emerges from someone's yard. It's barely a silhouette, but the sounds of it groaning and staggering give it away. Carl wastes no time, shooting it directly in the head immediately before I can yell. But he looks shaken when he returns. "Where did it come from? We haven't seen one since we got here!"

"Behind those houses." I point. "It's all forest. I'll bet..."

"...That's where they all went," He finishes. "No wonder there were so little the first day we got here, they're all in the woods."

"Don't say that." I pick up the bike with slick palms. "It could be just one."

"It could be one hundred," He replies earnestly. "Anyway, we shouldn't take any chances. We need to tell the group, so we can either take them out if it's only a couple, or if not, clear the hell out."

"No!" I grab his arm as he starts to mount the bike. "Don't. They've already got a pregnant Melly to worry about, don't top it off with a possible walker infestation. At least not yet."

"Are you crazy?" He says, incredulous. "By the time Melly gives birth, the walkers could be chewing out our eyes. We need to tell them now."

"You're not listening!" I reply, exasperated. "Do you really want to heap all this on them at once? I'm not saying we should wait until Melly gives birth, but at least until we know for sure it's something to be worried about! We don't want to get everybody up in arms if they don't have to."