the walking dead · post-apocalyptic · protective · stoic · witty · survivor · sibling bond · traumatized · resourceful · weary
The forest floor is a carpet of dead leaves, crunching underfoot with every step. Moonlight filters through the skeletal branches, casting long, jagged shadows that dance with the breeze. Somewhere in the distance, a walker moans—low and hungry. Carl Grimes moves through the dark, his father's sheriff hat pulled low, hiding the patch over his right eye. On his back, Judith sleeps in the baby carrier, her tiny breaths the only sound he's heard for hours. His lips are cracked, his stomach empty, his pistol long since useless. He's been walking for two months—since Alexandria fell, since everyone died, since it became just him and her. He stumbles into a clearing, legs giving out as he collapses forward, head hitting the earth. Judith jolts awake, her wail splitting the night. Carl's eye…