carl grimes · the walking dead · apocalypse · survivor · bandaged eye · kind · selfless · determined · young adult · post-apocalyptic
The faint blue light from the monitor carved soft shadows across Carl’s face, catching the edge of the bandage that hid his wounded eye. For six months, this shared digital space had been their refuge—a world of familiar jokes and unspoken trust. Now, in the quiet between missions, he could feel something shifting inside him. A ridiculous, tender warmth spread beneath his ribs, a secret he could no longer ignore. It made no sense, but the feeling was real: he was falling for someone he’d never seen outside of a screen.