Ellie Moore

The next morning I woke up and stepped outside. I decided to check on Carl since it has been a while. I walked inside the house and Beth walked by. "Good morning." She handed me an apple. I thanked her and opened Carl's door.

He wasn't in there.

I looked around and noticed him following Lori to the chicken pin. I skipped outside and made my way towards them. "Hey," I said. Carl turned and smiled. "Hi." He said shyly. I gave him a confused look but shook it off. "Lori." I nodded at her.

She laughed and shook her head.

"Wanna help us feed the chickens?" Carl asked. "I have nothing to do so, yeah I guess," I said as Lori stepped inside. I sat next to Lori as Carl pet a chicken. Patricia walked in to get the eggs. Lori tensed up.

"Don't be so worried," Carl said.

"It's my job," Lori said. Carl shook his head. "No, you're a housewife." He chuckled. I stifled my laugh. Lori gasped. "Ya punk." She threw seeds at him and Carl laughed.

"They don't have a mother," I said.

"She might be somewhere else," Lori said to me. Carl shook his head. "She probably got eaten." Lori gave him a strange look. "Everything is food for something else." Carl shrugged. I looked over a Patricia and looked scared. I kept my eyes on her and she looked at me.

No one broke contact.

"Ellie!" Carl called I turned to see what he was doing. Soon chicken food flew at me. I laughed and threw some back. I turned back to Patricia but she was gone.

I couldn't find her. I sighed and went back to feeding the baby chickens.

~

I laid next to Daryl as he played with his arrows. He stuck the pointy end through the tent, making a small hole. I hummed lightly to myself and heard the tent open. Andrea stepped in and I tensed up. She gave me a soft smile. Daryl turned to look at me. "Ellie, why don't you go play with Carl?" He said.

I rolled my eyes.

"If I come back and there's a hole in him-" Daryl cut me off. "Ellie go!" He yelled. I stomped off. I ran into Glenn and Lori and they were whispering. I tried to listen in but I couldn't hear. Shrugging, I looked around for something to do.

I walked towards the barn and looked around. Rick called me and I ran up to him. "Daryl wants me to teach you how to use a gun." He said.

I nodded.

"Go with Shane," Rick said. I rolled my eyes walking towards Carl and Shane. As I did Shane threw something and it hit the RV. He called for Lori and she ran our way. "He has a gun," Shane said. Lori took it and asked how he got it.

"He said he wanted a walky-talky that you sent him for one," Dale said. "So he lied," Lori said. I stood there. "I told him to him get it," I spoke up.

Carl looked at me.

"No-" He began to speak. "Carl I'm old enough to handle my responsibilities." I winked. Carl nodded and looked at his feet. "I was mad that Andrea shot Daryl and I wanted payback." I lied.

Rick nodded.

"Dale keep an eye on Ellie and Ellie I don't think gun training is going to happen for you today." He said. Carl walked up to me. "You didn't have to do that." He whispered. I shrugged. "You deserve to be able to shoot a gun," I said walking away. "Besides I'll be fine."

I met up with Alexis and she began to draw.

~

I'm falling for him.

Everything he does.

Hearing his voice makes my stomach erupt in butterflies. I'm only 12, should I be thinking of him as.... my first crush.

"Hey." Carl's voice rang threw my ears. I stopped writing and look up at him. "What's that?" He asked. I pulled the journal back and shook my head. "It's nothing."

"Obviously something."

"Shouldn't you be in gun training," I said rolling my eyes. "That's why I'm here." He held out his hand. "You're coming with me." Carl dragged me to the car with Shane and we got in.

After 5 minutes, we arrived at the gun training space. We shot at bottles and I aimed at my gun and shot it off. Carl stood beside my struggling. I laughed and looked at me. "What?" He said.

"Nothing," I said.

"Something." He answered.

"Don't squeeze so hard," I said as he missed again. Carl looked at me then at his red hands. He loosened his grip and shot the gun.

The bullet broke the bottle and he smiled. Rick patted his back. "Good job." He nodded.

~

"Hey, Ellie," Dale said as I read the book he gave me. "Hi." I smiled. "Where's your mom?" He asked. I looked around. "Daryl said she left him in the woods." I shrugged. "How's he doing?" Dale said.

I looked down. "Why don't you ask him?" I spat. He nodded. "If you want someone to talk to I'll be here." He got up and walked away. I began reading when Maggie ran up to Lori and started screaming. She threw down bottles and I walked over to her. Glenn ran after Maggie.

I picked up the bottle and read it. I didn't say anything and handed it to her. She just stood there and I smiled walking away.

"I won't say anything," I said as I sat back down. She just nodded walked in her tent.

I opened my journal and wrote.

I like the farm.

It's a happy place here.

Quiet.

Maybe we found a home.

😬🍆

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