Got Distracted

“Lin? What are you doing?!” A cool, small voice made me open my eyes.

I twisted my head around and saw Rick’s twelve year old boy.

“CARL, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” I roared, lowering my gun at once, pretending I was aiming for a walker.

“I—I just wanted to help!” I barely heard him over the loud thumps and moans from the walkers.

“You little mother fu—” I growled as I grabbed his arm and dragged him back near the basement. I knelt down to eye level and yelled at him, “You need to listen to your parents once in a goddamn while! If they say stay in the house or stay downstairs or to help out once in a while, or whatever, you just do it! You’re gonna get yourself killed, and I won’t feel sorry for your dumb ass when it happens!”

He glared at me with tears forming in his eyes.

“WHAT THE HELL?” I heard another voice boom from behind me. Rick made his way towards us and looked down at me still gripping Carl’s arm.

“I told you to go downstairs! Lin… LIN, LET GO OF HIM!”

I gripped Carl a little tighter before letting go and then stood up.

“I don’t have time to talk to you. You go back downstairs and I will see you again once this mess is finished with!” his voice was sinister; I had never heard him talk in that tone of voice to his own son before.

Carl kept his glare at me but nodded again, as he did when Rick had told him to go downstairs the first time. Rick reloaded his gun before going back to the window and continued firing.

I snatched Carl’s arm again and ripped open the basement door. I came face-to-face with his mother who was struggling to make it up the stairs. I saw that most of the other women who had gone down were trying to hold her back.

“Carl!!!” She yelled at him in relief.

I shoved him (a little harder than I intended) at Lori. She caught him with both of her outstretched hands, cradling him and kissing the top of his head. I slammed the door in her face. I heard a lock turn and then some thumping noises that I supposed was them rushing back down the staircase. I went to turn around when I heard screaming from the living room. My stomach sank and I gripped my pistol in both of my shaky hands, prepared to fight (walkers this time, not Rick). I only took a couple of steps from the basement door when Rick came flying out of nowhere, grabbed my arm, and dragged me up the stairs. I turned to look behind me and saw a group of walkers huddled over something; something screaming… Hershel Greene.

My vision of him was skewed by other undead cannibals that had stumbled past him into my field of view. They were headed our way. I was lurched forward, stumbling up the stairs and crashed into Rick.

“What are you—” I went to say, but saw that he had been stopped by Andrea and Glenn.

“Go, go!” he screamed at them and they made no hesitation.

Rick and I continued to ascend and rushed into the bedroom Andrea and Glenn must’ve been shooting from. I turned around and slammed the door behind me, locking it.

Rick and I were panting, trying to catch our collective breaths.

“Th-thanks for lettin’ us in.” I managed to get out.

“You’re welcome.” Andrea had her hand up to her chest, as if she were about to have a heart attack.

Rick started to explain what had happened with the window breaking open, Carl showing up, and the other two not making it.

“I tried… ya know, I always try.” He was saying when something started to make the door thump. The walkers had figured out we had locked ourselves in.

Glenn and Rick rushed up to the door to hold it shut.

I slumped down on the bed, now knowing that we were definitely screwed. I couldn’t help but think that I had almost shot Rick in the back. I had wanted to so badly. I didn’t know whether or not Carl appearing out of nowhere again was actually beneficial or not. Could I have totally lost my mind if I did pull that trigger? Was the thirst for revenge really that strong? All of these thoughts were interrupted by two noises.

First was the door splintering as the walkers pounded and slammed on it. The other was a ginormous BOOM and the ground rumbling underneath our feet.

A Huge Explosion