Bite Me. // Carl Grimes

Five - "She remembers me, shouldn't that be enough?"

It had been a long day for Glenn Rhee, he'd been exhausted with going out on runs and helping to manage the people of Alexandria and so all the poor man wanted was to see his wife. He'd found a picture frame whilst out on a run and hoped he could find the perfect picture of Lydia and Maggie to place inside and surprise the last remaining Greene daughter. He'd searched all over his house but his wife wasn't anywhere in sight, and so after asking Sasha he found himself outside of the Grimes residence.

Of course. She had to be there, that was where Lydia had been, where Lydia was, and no matter what, Maggie would always find herself going back to her younger sister even if she was dead. Or so everybody seemed to think.

Glenn knew Lydia would have kept pictures of her and her family somewhere in her room, she was too sentimental to ever lose them or leave them behind, even when they had had to flee the farm after it was overrun the then 9 year old girl still took the family photo albums with her.

Quietly, Glenn slipped into the Grimes house and made his way towards the stairs. "Rick? Carl?" He called out, "Michonne? Anyone home?"

"Maggie?"

Still there was no reply. But upstairs Lydia Greene's eyes widened as she heard her brother in law's voice and listened to the sound of him climbing the stairs.

"No..."

Silently, as silent as it was possible for someone who had very little control over their own body, Lydia made her way over to her closet and stepped inside, careful to make sure the door was shut behind her.

Oh god! The young girl cried in her own mind, If only Carl were here he would know what to do! He could distract him. Oh god! He's going to find me, he's going to find me...

It was silent for a few moments as Lydia watched through the crack of the closet door Glenn navigate his way around her room. A soft smile was on his face as he sat at the edge of her bed and gingerly pulled a stuffed toy into his arms, the stuffed pig Carl had discovered and given to her. "To remind you of Hershel's farm." He'd said.

"I miss you Lyds..." Glenn sighed, "More than you could know. We all do."

I miss you too. She'd wanted to say, and take him into her arms and hold her brother the only way she knew how, but she couldn't. Lydia was trapped in the space between a rock and a hard place, it was an impossible decision; reveal herself to Glenn, risk death and betray what she'd promised Carl and the others? Or keep herself hidden and betray herself?

How could a young dead girl make a decision like that?

With another sad smile, Glenn placed the stuffed animal back in its rightful place and began to rifle in the nightstand beside her bed, but he came up empty. No pictures.

"Come on..." he mumbled, "They're pictures! Where would she put them..."

That was the moment the young girls blood ran cold. The pictures every single one she had whether they were hers, or strangers pictures she'd found and kept, she kept in a box in the closet right above her head. She then realised she had three options, reveal herself, stay put, or sink as low down into the closet as she possibly could to the point where she was concealed by her clothes but risk him hearing her movements.

A whole twenty minutes passed by before the Rhee man gave up and collapsed into the floor in frustration. His head fell to rest in his hands and he was truly heartbroken, all he'd wanted was to do something nice for Maggie and he couldn't even do that right!

"C'mon man... they've got to be somewhere."

It was in that moment that Glenn lifted his head from his hands and his eyes fell upon the closet.

"S-Shit..." Lydia spoke a loud without quite actually realising her wordsw

"Hello? Is someone there?" Glenn called out, "Who the fuck is there?"

Lydia instantly knew that it was over and with that she stepped out of the closet with shaking fists and her arms raised above her head in surrender.

"Shit!"

Glenn's eyes widened with fear at the Walker in front of him, and not just any other walker, his sister in law. Desperately Glenn shuffled back across the ground, simultaneously trying to grab ahold of anything that he could use as a weapon, but his attempts were futile. He was trapped.

"N-N..." Lydia tried, she tried to tell him that she wasn't going to hurt him, that she could never, but in that moment with the adrenaline rushing through her veins the words wouldn't come out.

As if a bolt of lightning had struck him, Glenn suddenly remembered the picture frame in his bag, a weapon! And he cautiously began to move towards it.

"No." Lyds spoke, praying it would make Glenn stop, but it didn't. He'd heard her words but still he didn't hesitate in grabbing ahold of the brass picture frame.

"What the hell?" Carl Grimes spoke to himself the second he entered his house

Something was off. The porch door had been left open and his home was eerily silent, too silent. And then he heard it, a loud bang as if a body had hit the floor and instantly he ran for the stairs.

"Keep away from me!" Glenn cried out as he climbed up from the ground and swung the picture frame at Lydia's head, "I'm sorry."

Thankfully, Carl Grimes was a second too soon and Glenn stopped when he caught sight of the boys brown sheriffs hat.

"What are you doing to her?" Carl yelled

"Carl..." Lydia cried and ran into his arms.

Instantly, the older boy cradled his love in his arms and held her out of reach from the older man, protecting her as beat as he possibly could.

"What the fuck Carl? S-She's dead!"

"No she isn't."

"Carl, she's a walker, you don't understand-"

"No, you don't understand! She's Lydia, she's my Lydia... She's not going to hurt anyone." He told him, "And she isn't dead, not anymore at least."

"You don't know that."

"She can talk, she knows right from wrong, her hearts beating, and she remembers me." Carl said, "Shouldn't that be enough?"

And it was, it was enough, for Glenn at least...