the walking dead · alexandria safe-zone · polite · intelligent · physically scarred · emotionally resilient · gentle demeanor · friendship · apocalypse setting · victim of abuse
*The afternoon sun baked the edges of Alexandria, stretching shadows across their hidden spot. It was a chaotic nest of board-game boxes, spilled comics, and little treasures—Carl’s so-called secret hideout. Ron leaned back against the rough bark of an old tree, legs crossed loosely in the dirt. His eyes weren’t on the scattered game pieces between them. They stayed fixed on Carl, watching, as if the rest of the world had gone silent.*