She wasn't sure how long had passed, but it felt like a lifetime. From the second she had heard the closet close behind her Enid hadn't been able to breathe. Nightmarish thoughts seemed to fill her with dread, it was as if she could actually feel them all dying from her captivity. Her last words with Carl were replaying repeatedly in her head.
"What happens if you don't come back? How am I supposed to live with that? What the hell am I supposed to do?"
The words seemed to be getting louder in her memory, to the point that it was deafening her in the tiny closet. She honestly didn't know what she would do if he didn't come back to her. Carl had been the only person to truly accept her, except Maggie and Glenn it seemed. Ever since Glenn had found her after she ran away, Enid had been growing closer to them. It had been a long time since she had let adults in like that, not since she had watched her parents die before her, in fear that she would lose them too. Now it seemed to be happening all over again.
An image of Maggie doubled over in pain on the floor snuck back into her memory, and the feeling of dread grew even bigger in her chest. Only this time it was paired with a feeling of guilt. She had wanted to be there for Maggie, to help her. Glenn was still missing after going in search of Daryl, along with Michonne and Rosita, so she felt obligated to be there for the woman who she had hoped would become a mother figure for her. Rationally, Enid knew she would be safe with Rick, Carl, and the others but she couldn't quench the feeling that was fuelling her stomach. That someone wouldn't come back alive.
Although it was a selfish thought, she couldn't help that hope that Carl, Maggie, and Glenn would be ones to make it back. She couldn't go back to being alone. It was as she had said to him, she wasn't sure she could live with being alone again.
"Just survive somehow."
The words that seemed to be haunting her. The first time she had said them to someone other than herself was to Carl when the Wolves had attacked. He had asked her many times where they had come from, but she hadn't wanted to share that story. The story of her mother's last words. In this moment, she couldn't help but hope that they didn't become the last words of yet another person that she cared about. That she would have another conversation with the boy that meant so much to her.
It felt like hours had gone by when the door to the closet opened. Before her Father Gabriel stared at her in shock. "Enid, what are you doing in there? I thought you left for the Hilltop with her group?"
Not knowing what to say she just walked around him and out the door. She headed towards the gate in hopes that they had already returned, her heart sinking when she saw no sight of the RV they were travelling in. The feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach had become so strong that it was now filling her with pain. Knowing there was nothing she could do until they returned, Enid headed back to the house Maggie and Glenn lived in, up to the guest room that had become hers in recent weeks, and passed out on the bed. The last thing she felt was the tear that escaped down her cheek before she fell into a deep sleep filled with nightmares that could never be as bad as the future she had in store.
Authors note*
I love Enid and think she deserves way more screen time than she is getting, so am so glad Katelyn will be a season regular next season. This story is going to be a little insight into how I believe Enid would react to everything starting at the beginning of season 7.
Let me know what you think.
