Push and Pull || Maggie Greene

Moving On

We buried the dead not long after Andrea had to put her sister down, it was far from a normal funeral but it was the best we could do given the situation.

Soon after that we all made our way back to camp, sorrow hung in the air like clouds on a rainy day. You could hear the quiet sobs from people, their sadness, even I had a few tear tracks running down my face.

Rick, Lori, and Carl all came to a stop ahead of me and when I made my way around the Rick reached out to grab my hand. "Would you mind taking him? Lori and I have to talk." I looked down at my nephew and nodded, "Of course, come on bud." I motioned for him to follow and he came over to me, grabbing my arm and placing it around him as he buried his face into my side.

"Thank you," Rick said to me, his voice quiet and raspy as he did so. I smiled at him briefly and I guided Carl away.

"You want to head to my tent?" I questioned once we were a little bit away from his parents. "Yeah." He responded meekly and I tightened my hold on him a bit.

We arrived at my tent and I unzipped it, motioning for him to head in. I stepped inside and zipped it back up before joining him on my cot.

I grabbed my pillow and hugged it to my chest as I turned to sit cross-legged facing the young boy. "What's on your mind?" I asked him. Ever since this whole thing started I haven't exactly had any one on one time with Carl which was a complete contrast to how it used to be.

Before all this Carl used to be at my house every other weekend, we'd play video games, stay up late, have movie marathons...man I missed those days.

Even after he found out the news of what happened to his father he would still come over, he didn't say much at first, but I guess the sense of normality did him some good.

Then, of course, the world went to hell and here we are.

"I just... don't want anyone else to die." I frowned at that, reaching my hand up to rub circles around his back. "I know, but you know with the way things are-" I cut myself off with a sigh, wetting my lips as I tried to find the right words.

"We'll try our best to protect our own, but sometimes things are out of our control." I opted on saying, I know he's gonna be exposed to these things and he should be ready to face them, but I just want him to still have time to be a kid, at least for a little bit longer.

A forlorn look adorned his face but he nodded nonetheless, "I know, I just want us all to be alright." I wrapped my arm around his small frame and brought him into my side, "I get it, Carl."

I leaned down to place a soft kiss on the top of his head, "Things will get better, I promise." I knew I couldn't promise something like that, but I didn't want him to worry any more than he had to.

We sat there for a while, just enjoying the silence and each other's company before I patted his back. "Come on, let's go see what your parents are up to," I said as I stood up.

I felt a pair of tiny arms wrap around my waist and I smiled down at him, returning the favor, "I love you, Carl." I told him and he returned the sentiment.

We exited the tent and noticed everyone was towards the middle of camp, no one probably wanted to be alone right now.

We made our way over to them and took a seat next to Lori. I looked around and furrowed my eyebrows, "Where's Rick and Shane?" I asked Lori and she glanced up from where she was sharpening a stick. "They went on a sweep."