"Exactly," Sam said, with a slight smile. And he thought again, smart kid. "They might have come from different points in their lives, too. Even from your past, though you wouldn't have noticed them going missing. I don't know how it works, exactly, I just know that it does. My brother's from about a year in my future, for example."
He stopped just outside of Granny's to tie Bolt's leash to one of the tables. Patiently, the dog lay down to wait. "I'll go in and order real quick, you can keep an eye on him out here, if you want."
What he really meant was, Carl could keep an eye out for walkers. Not that there were any to be looking out for, but he knew that the boy wasn't just going to let go of the fear of them that easily. He knew all too well what it felt like to be jolted out of the fighting and be somewhere safe-- it still felt like danger was going to be lingering right around the corner. Hell, he'd been here for months and he still felt that way sometimes.