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When Morgan decided he'd keep one of the Wolves tied up, instead of just killing him, no one was too thrilled. Everyone understood why Morgan didn't want to kill anymore, of course, but these people broke into their home and killed their people. Why the hell would Morgan want to keep one of them alive?
His biggest argument was that the Wolf he'd capture was just a kid. Maybe 16 or 17. He was young, he could be changed, all that nonsense. Rick reluctantly allowed the Wolf to stay, on the condition that someone watched him at all times.
The people of Alexandria knew they couldn't keep him locked in a cell forever, however they were reluctant to let him out. No one really wanted to kill him now. If he were to harm someone somehow, they would have to. It seemed to be the better option to just keep him locked away.
However, Carl knew that this wasn't the right way to go about it. Keeping him tied up just meant they were feeding someone who was just sitting around. Their food supply was limited already. Everyone had to help out around the community and earn their meals. It wasn't the way Noah described the hospital, of course. There were no points or anything like that. Everyone just did their part in the community so that limited resources weren't being wasted on someone useless. So why was this guy any different?
Carl was often the one to bring the boy his food. Two meals a day, breakfast and dinner. Every damn time he entered that room, the kid tried to get him to stay. Said he was bored and wanted to talk to someone. If Carl was free, and he knew his dad wasn't around, he'd stick around for a little while. Heath was often the one guarding the Wolf, but he just stayed outside the door. He didn't pay attention to their conversations.
Carl was careful. He didn't reveal anything that the Wolf could use against them, in the event he got free and tried to attack. They talked about simple things, like where they came from, who they were.
The kids name was Ron, Carl learned. He'd been with the Wolves since the outbreak started. His family were all dead. When Carl asked how old he is, Ron asked how long it'd been since everything turned to shit. Carl told him its been 3 years, and Ron told him he was 16.
Ron tried to convince Carl that he'd never killed anyone unless it was to survive. Of course, Carl didn't believe him. Coming from a group like the Wolves? No way he wasn't a killer.
"Really, I haven't," Ron swore, yet there was something about the way he smiled that made it seem like some joke. His smile was too wide, all teeth and devious eyes. "I've killed people, sure, but only if they were gonna kill me."
With a stone-cold eye, Carl stared the boy down. "That makes you better than me, then."
Cocking an eyebrow, the teen smirked. "So, you're some kind of ruthless killer, huh?" He questioned, leaning back against the wall and wolf-whistling. "You better stop talking like that. You're turning me on."
Though he was a little appalled, Carl didn't react. He didn't want to show any vulnerability.
"How about you, Carl? What gets you hot and bothered?"
Carl rolled his eye, but couldn't help the blush that crept onto his face. "You wish I'd tell you."
With eyes twinkling curiously, Ron scanned his eyes over the boy's face, noticing the pink tint to his face. "Blushing virgin, huh?"
Without another word, Carl turned and left, ignoring Ron's pleading "aww, no, come back!".
As they continued to talk, Carl released that Ron wasn't as bad as he originally thought. In fact, he grew quiet fond of the boy. He just seemed like a normal teenager who came from a bad group of people. It didn't feel right to keep him locked up in a room all on his own, with no one treating him like a human, aside from Carl.
So one afternoon, Carl convinced Rick to let him take Ron on a tour of Alexandria. To get him out of that room, and show him what could end up being his home, depending on what Rick decided. It took a lot of persuasion, but Rick agreed, on the grounds that Carl kept his gun and knife on him at all times, and that he watched Ron carefully.
When Carl entered the room that afternoon, he immediately got to work untying Ron's hands and ankles.
"You're letting me go?" Was Ron's first question as he fixed Carl with a confused stare.
"No," Carl said, his voice assertive, "I'm showing you around. You've been in here for a while. Thought you'd like to get out."
"Oh, wouldn't I ever," Ron sighed dreamily, shaking out his wrists once the rope was dropped to the floor.
"Don't make me regret this," Carl sighed, eyeing the boy warily.
"Don't worry, I'll be a good boy. Scouts honor," the Wolf said teasingly, following Carl out of the room.
"No one uses this house," Carl explained as they headed for the front door, "Maybe it'll end up being yours."
"Mine?"
Carl glanced back at the boy, raising his eyebrow. "Yours. If my dad lets you stay."
All Carl received in response was a short nod. He led Ron out of the house and down the front steps, gesturing down the road. "That's one of the back gates. We don't use it much. There's more houses down there too."
"Yeah. I've seen some pictures. What is this place? Like.. How'd it become this?"
Carl shrugged gently, starting down the road. "I don't really know. I wasn't here when it started. I think the army moved people here. Reg put up the walls and Deana was the leader for a while.. But now my dad is."
"Where were you?" Ron asked, looking around at Alexandria.
"Around," Carl sighed, not too keen on sharing his past with an almost-stranger. "That's the pond over there. It doesn't really serve much purpose."
Ron stopped, eyeing up the pond. "Can we stop here for a minute? It's pretty."
With a quiet sigh, Carl nodded. "Okay," He agreed, leading Ron to the other side of the pond. It was concealed from the streets fairly well by trees.
The pair sat on the grass, Ron sitting cross-legged and Carl sitting with his knees up, resting his forearms over them. "How did you live?" Carl asked quietly.
Shrugging, Ron watched the water ripple gently in the wind. "We didn't live like this, that's for sure. We moved around, slept outside most of the time."
"What about food?"
"The land provides," Ron said, turning to look at the boy beside him.
"What? Really?"
"Sure," The older teen said casually, shrugging, "We'd find berries or gardens that'd grown wild fruit and other things. We hunted too, sometimes we'd find herds of animals and follow them. We didn't eat every day. Sometimes the dead would kill an animal and we'd share it."
A worried expression covered Carl's face, and he looked at Ron out of the corner of his eye. "Did you ever.. Y'know.. If they killed a person..?" He asked, voice full of hesitation.
The Wolf's eyes widened in surprise. "No. Definitely not. Gross." Ron muttered, sounding almost hurt that Carl thought he would do such a thing.
"Sorry," the younger teen said softly, turning to face Ron, "Really. I just.. There were some people that did that."
"Some of your people?"
"No.. Bad guys. They ate one of our people. His leg. But.. We killed them." Carl said, all emotion fading from his eye as he remembered Bob and Terminus.
"So that's how you survive? Kill people that threaten you?" The corners of Ron's mouth turned up in an amused smile.
Carl's eye narrowed at the boy. "Like you do any better?"
Chuckling softly, Ron rose his hands in surrender. "Touché."
The teens fell into a comfortable, yet short-lived silence. For a moment, they simply watched the water, until Ron scooted closer to Carl.
"I'm cold," Ron said, a small smirk on his face as he leaned against Carl.
At first, the younger boy tensed, unsure of the Wolf's intentions. Hesitantly, he wrapped an arm around Ron's shoulder after mumbling a quiet "okay". Still smirking, Ron placed his hand on top of Carl's.
"You're nice," He said softly, closing his eyes. "I like you."
"I.. like you too," Carl said, sounding a little unsure, as Ron slid his arm around Carl's waist.
For a little while, the boys stayed in that position, holding each other while making what could be considered small talk. The conversation ranged from Ron's family, who Carl found out were all dead, to the grossest walkers they'd seen.
Eventually, Ron let his curiosity get the best of him, and pulled away from Carl. "Take them off," He ordered, reaching for the glasses Carl wore. "I want to see you."
"Huh?" Carl mumbled, taken by surprise. He leaned away from the Wolf's hand. "No. Stop. You don't want to.. Trust me."
"Why is one of the lenses blacked out?" Ron pressed, his eyes scanning over the skin around the dark lens. "What happened? What are those scars?"
Carl looked down, turning his head away from Ron. "I was shot.. I lost an eye, it's.. Most of the bone healed over eventually.. But it's not easy to look at." He said, his voice small and self-conscious. "It's gross, okay? I don't want you to look."
"Carl. Please. I want to see," the Wolf requested in a soft tone, gently grabbing the black plastic frames.
"No.." Carl mumbled, still looking down, yet he didn't make any move to stop him.
"Too late," Ron teased, pulling the glasses off the boy's face.
Immediately, Carl turned away, shaking his head softly. "See? It's gross."
With his pointer finger under Carl's chin, Ron made him look at him again. "No it's not," Ron said, smiling deviously at the boy.
"I think it's sexy," the Wolf whispered, leaning forward. He opened his mouth slightly, his tongue sliding out to gently trace over the middle of Carl's scar.
The other boy gasped, his eye widening as Ron licked the hole in his face. When Ron pulled back, licking his lip, Carl stared at him in shock. "What- Why did you-?"
Ron cut him off by gently shoving him back, pushing him to the ground. Fear flashed through Carl's eye as Ron crawled on top of him, holding him down.
"Have you had sex before?" The teen whispered as Carl's hands gripped his waist.
"What?" Carl mumbled, his cheeks turning pink. "Uh..."
Chuckling, Ron leaned forward so his mouth was next to Carl's ear. "It's okay. I can show you," Ron said in a seductive tone, pressing his groin down against the younger boy's.
Carl paused, looking around the pond. Nobody could see them where they were, hidden by the trees.. He felt Ron's hand grasp his own as the Wolf moved his lips closer to Carl's.
"Okay."