a/n: hi everyone. these next to chapters are going to be mostly focused on Enid and how she tries to find Carl. Enjoy!
Chapter Two - The Long Road Ahead
The night was the worst in Enid's life. Stuck, buried under walker with others walkers roaming and growling all around her. She was scared and just prayed that she would just survive long enough to see Carl again.
When morning came, the dead were gone but her sense of fear and dread remained. She pushed the walker off and staggered to her feet. She was weak and dehydrated and almost fell down the moment she stood up but managed to prop herself up against a thick tree trunk.
She stumbled through the forest where she had been happily playing with Carl the day before, knock-kneed and slouching, she could barely walk. Somehow she made it out of the forest and onto the side of long stretch of road. She had no idea where it led. She had no idea where she was nor did she have any idea where home was. But she closed her eyes and thought about Carl and there she found the strength to continue. She took a gamble and headed north. She didn't know where it would take her, but she couldn't just do nothing.
The sun was hot and beating up above. The sweat was pouring off Enid'S forehead and her shirt was soaking wet. Each step on the hard gravelled road seemed like a thousand miles, the effort of lifting her foot each time and placing in down in front of her, a feat of heroic strength.
Thoughts now evaporated from her mind as the hazy horizon grew ever further and further. A solitary walker came of the forest and made its way towards her. She was so out of it though she didn't even turn to look. The walker was moving faster than her and gaining ground on her fast. It was about to grab her when it was suddenly sliced in two by a man wielding a large battle axe.
"Are you all right, fair maiden?" asked the man.
It didn't register with Enid the first time but he called out to her again and she slowly turned and saw the man. He was a well-built bearded man but that wasn't the odd thing, nor was it the fact that he was holding a battle axe, nor was it the fact that this man was wearing really weird armour that he must have found in an abandoned Walmart or something. It was the fact that he was straddling a huge brown horse.
It was beautiful. Enid hadn't seen a real horse in years.
The man asked her again if she was all right.
"My friend, they took him." she managed to stammer out.
"Yes, there are a lot of bad people and dangers around here. It is not safe. We must return to the Kingdom at once."
The man got down from his horse and walked towards her. She had no idea who this guy was or what the hell the Kingdom was. He looked like a medieval role-player and he might have been one of the people who took Carl. Enid took a step back and wanted to swing a punch at the guy but she was too tired. The man had long black hair tied up in ponytail and was at least a foot taller than her. He strode forward and took a hold of her upper arm.
"Let go of me!" she shouted.
Enid threw a few weak shots aimed at the man's face but only managing to brush the front of his wide chest.
"Come, child. The King would be honoured with your presence at the Kingdom. We have clean water and food."
King? Kingdom? What was all this stuff? Thoughts swirled in Enid's mind but they always came back to one place - Carl. The sun continued to beat down and she was burning up. The man could see she was suffering. Her lips were cracked and dry and she looked like she hadn't slept in days. She craned her neck to look in the man's eyes. He smiled at her and pulled the horse by the reigns towards them. It was too much for her to take. When he released the pressure on her arm to pull the horse, Enid started swaying. The man became concerned and reached out to her again but when he did Enid's eyes rolled in the back of her head and she fainted.
The man caught her before she fell and scooped her up.
"You are not one of them." said the man propping her head up on his shoulder. "We will help you."
Enid woke up on a comfortable bed. She thought for a moment that she was back home at Alexandria. Her head was racked with pain and when she tried to get up her head slumped back down again on her pillow. She turned to her side and looked out the window. She definitely wasn't in Alexandria. There were huge stables and several horses and people growing crops on open land. This must be where Carl was taken, she thought. She remembered a man on a horse who grabbed her and took her and then everything went black. It must be the same people. She remembered lying slumped over the horse drifting in and out of consciousness hearing the sound of metal creak and squeal as the gates opened. The weapons they held were not machine guns or sniper rifles but spears and axes. She had no memory after that.
She looked down and gasped. She was wearing new clothes - a light plaid shirt and denim shorts. She looked across and saw her boots neatly placed by the door. Who did all this, she thought to herself.
Enid checked the door. It was locked.
"Hey, let me out of here!" she screamed.
She pounded at the wooden panel and tried turning the knob four more times. It was no good. She was locked in. Suddenly a large man burst into the room. It was the same large man who took her the day before. Enid's eyes widened when she recognised the man and she moved back towards the bed.
"What do you want?" she yelled at him. "Why did you kidnap me?"
Enid grabbed anything she could find, which in this case was an old book and a candle she found on the dresser and threatened him with it.
"My dear lady, we do not wish to harm you. You are free to leave whenever you wish. However the King requests your presence."
"Who the hell is the King?"
Then there was a knock at the door. A man with long grey dreadlocks stood at the door. The large man knelt down as soon as he saw him.
"Timothy, thank you, you may stand."
"Hello, young lady." said the man with long dreadlocks. "My name is King Ezekiel."
This guy is the King, you've got to be joking, she thought. He looked more like a homeless bum than a king. Then her eyes wandered down and saw the tiger. It roared and Enid jumped back onto the bed.
"Do not be scared, child. This is my pet, Shiva."
Shiva roared again. Enid stared at its sharp fangs. It looked like it was going to run and attack her but Ezekiel and Timothy were calm and smiling.
"I feel I must explain myself." Ezekiel said. "Welcome to the Kingdom."
Enid looked out the window and saw the large thriving community outside and the looked back at Ezekiel with his pet tiger, Shiva.
"You're the king of all this?" she asked.
"Why yes, isn't it spectacular. We've been living comfortably here for several years with a few exceptions of some nasty people."
"Those people?" Enid snapped. "Who are they?"
"They call themselves 'the Saviours' ." Timothy said. "They came here around this time last year. A guy called Negan bashed up one of our guys and now they own us."
"We want to fight them but there are too many of them."
"My friend, he was taken by them, the Saviours. Last night a white van came into the forest where we were and took him."
"If the Saviours have him, there's nothing we can do." said Timothy with a stern look on his face.
"But we have to! The Saviours have attacked our community too! I want to stop Negan as much as you do."
"And do you have a plan as such?" Ezekiel asked.
"No, not as such. But I have got to save him. I have to get to where the Saviours are. That must be where they took Carl."
"If you are thinking of going to the Sanctuary, you are out of your mind." said Timothy. "I realise you took a nasty fall yesterday and maybe you're still not feeling well. I think you should really think about this more carefully."
"He is right." said Ezekiel. "Going to Sanctuary is simply suicide. I completely forbid it."
"You're not going to stop me! I'm going!"
Enid tried to push past Ezekiel but she didn't get far. Timothy grabbed Enid around the waist and lifted her up. Enid squirmed in his arms and managed to scratch him on the cheek which was enough for him to let her go. He dropped her and she landed just inches from Shiva. Shiva roared again so loud it was almost deafening.
Enid's head lopped backwards and maybe it was fear or maybe it was dehydration but her world felt like it was falling into blackness and she fainted again hitting the ground with a thud.
She dreamt of Carl. She dreamt of Carl and her together alone sitting back to back ready to defend their town against the Saviours. They were ready. She tilted her head as Carl leaned in close and whispered. "We'll survive this. I will just survive for you."
"I love you, Carl." Enid whispered back.
They then stood together, armed with knives and pistols ready to take on the Saviours.
A shadow appeared against the corrugated glass door. Enid held Carl's hand for a moment.
"I'm not afraid." she said. "We can win."
They both lunged towards the door and everything turned white.
Enid woke up screaming in and in a panic. She was lying on the same bed as before but standing over her she saw Morgan wiping her brow.
"Morgan?" she said in a raspy voice.
"Here, you need to drink something. Your body has become weak."
Morgan handed her a glass of water and she took it with both hands and gulped the whole lot in just a few seconds.
"Thank you." she said lying back down on the bed.
"You know, you won't survive another day unless you rest."
"What are you doing here Morgan?"
"I like these people. I like the way they live their lives. This is a peaceful community."
"But the Saviours still come here?"
"They do. But we just give them what they want and they don't cause any trouble."
"They took Carl. We've got to help him and we've got to tell Rick!"
"You know Rick is not in the best frame of mind at the moment. He's not the person he once was. He was too over-confident and he paid for that. You should always be humble and stick to your roots."
"But Carl, I have to save him."
"It won't happen today, Enid, I'm afraid, nor tomorrow. When you're back on your feet then maybe we can talk about a plan but nothing until then. Now, would you like another glass of water?"
Enid nodded her head.
Morgan took the empty glass and left the room. Enid put her hand on her forehead and closed her eyes. Carl, that stupid idiot, she thought. Why did he run off like that? He was the one who was reckless and irresponsible and now he was kidnapped and she knew she may never see him alive again. She knew that he would probably be used as negotiations with Alexandria and she felt like it was all her fault. She could have saved him then and there, she had a knife and the skills but she was too scared.
Enid snapped herself out of it and noticed that Morgan was gone. She quickly decided to make a move. She walked towards the door and luckily for her, this time it wasn't locked.
Outside, it was like another world - so completely different to the one she had experienced in Alexandria. There were horses everywhere. Several old people were harvesting crops and to her left she saw men with spears wearing the same weird body armour as that bearded man she encountered.
Enid wandered around slowly looking around a little bewildered at everything around her. She stopped by one of the horses and stroked its thick brown fur. It looked so pretty. Enid had always wanted to ride horses ever since she was a little girl. Her mom and dad took her to a farm one time. That was before all of this. That was before she watched her mom and dad being devoured on a roadside from the inside of their car by the walkers that surrounded them.
Enid stroked the horse again when she felt a large hand clamp down on her shoulder.
"Hey Enid." A soft spoken voice from behind her called out.
Enid spun around. It was Morgan.
"What are you doing out here?" Morgan asked.
"The door was unlocked. I just thought I would have to look around."
Morgan grinned. "Listen, I know you want to protect your friend and I admire that. It's just the people here, they've had too many bad experiences with the Saviours. They don't want you or anyone else risking their life."
"I don't care what you think, Morgan. I'm going to save Carl even if I have to kill Negan myself."
"I understand. You're young. You're full of hope and ideas. You're what this world needs. But Ezekiel plans to negotiate. We should wait until then."
"I'm not waiting Morgan, now get out of my way!"
Enid tried to push past Morgan but grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her back towards him. Enid winced in pain under his strong grip and Morgan immediately released the pressure. He sighed and turned away.
"Ok, I'll help you, but you keep quiet about this, OK?"
"Got it." Enid replied suddenly surprised by Morgan's change of heart.
"Meet me here after midnight. I'm going to take you back to your room but I'm going to leave the door unlocked."
"Thanks Morgan."
She reached up and hugged Morgan. She was so relieved and all her thoughts were now on her plan to save Carl. Morgan took her gently by the arm this time and led her back to her room. The large bearded man, Timothy apprehended them both on their way back.
"What is she doing out?" Timothy shouted. "King Ezekiel ordered her to stay put."
"She's with me." Morgan said. "She said she was feeling better and I was just giving her a guided tour of the Kingdom. She won't cause anyone any trouble, I promise."
"That's good to know, Morgan."
Morgan took Enid back to her room and closed the door. Morgan had told the truth, it wasn't locked. Enid slumped herself down on the bed and stared at the ceiling for hours until she drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
She awoke a few hours later. It was dark and Enid was sure it was past midnight. She opened the door quietly and tiptoed her way outside. During the day, the Kingdom was a bustling and thriving community but at night it was silent. No one was around except for the two watchmen standing on top of the front gate.
Enid wondered how she was going to be able to sneak past them.
It was pitch black and there was no sign of Morgan.
She walked to the stable. The beautiful horse was still there. She went to stroke it one more time. That was when Morgan showed up. He was holding to large bags and a ten six foot long spear.
"Morgan!" Enid whispered. "What is all this stuff?"
"You're going to save Carl, right? Well you can but not without some help and some supplies, right? The Sanctuary will take over a day on foot. I suggest taking the horse."
"The horse? Are you crazy?"
Morgan then leaned down and unzipped one of the large bags. He pulled out the same body armour that many members of the Kingdom wore. Morgan handed it to her and she put it on. It was heavy and her knees almost buckled under the weight of it.
"You'll get used to it." said Morgan leaning down to pull more things out of the bag.
This time he took out a knife and a gun.
"They're mine!" cried Enid.
"Yeah, I stole them from Timothy. He took them from you after you fainted, right?"
"Why are you doing this for me?"
"You're one of group, Enid. And Carl is Rick's son and I owe Rick everything. He was the reason I kept on going and never gave up hope. I came all the way from Atlanta hoping I could see him again. I have to do it for Rick and for Alexandria."
Enid slipped her knife and gun into her belt underneath her thick padded armour. Morgan then gave Enid his spear.
"I can't use this." Enid whispered.
"You're going to have to. If walkers get too close, you can jam them in the head with this spear. If it's people, there's no need to kill. Just use the other end to knock them out. Remember, Enid, all life is precious. Even Negan's life and all the Saviours'. They're just people like you and me."
"Except they took Carl and now I'll make them pay."
"Take this too."
Enid looked down. Morgan was holding a walkie talkie in his hand. He handed it over to Enid.
"If you get in trouble or need any help at all, you just call on here and me and the rest of the guys at the Kingdom will come running, you got that?"
"Thank you so much, Morgan!"
"I'm sorry I don't have time to train you with the spear but try it out on a few walkers and you'll soon get the hang of it."
"But how am I supposed to get out of here?"
"I'll distract the guards, don't worry. Just get on the horse and wait for my signal."
Enid nodded and then hid behind the stable as she watched Morgan approach the watchmen. She was too far away to hear their discussion but they were talking for quite a while. Eventually she saw the watchmen leave and Morgan turned and gave her a thumbs up.
Enid then jumped on the horse and Morgan opened the large metal gate which sealed the community from the deadly monsters which roamed outside.
As soon as Enid jumped on the horse she felt unbalanced. She took the reigns with her left hand using her right hand to hold the long wooden spear. She shook the reigns and the horse moved slowly towards the gates. She looked down at Morgan below and smiled.
"Good luck, Enid!" he said. "Just call anytime! Just survive somehow!"
"Thank you, Morgan!"
The gate closed behind her and suddenly all was quiet across the grassy plains as she focused on the long road ahead.
"I'll save you Carl! I promise!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
a/n: so Enid on a horse wielding a six foot long spear is going to try and infiltrate the Sanctuary. Will she call for back up? Find out next time... :)