Carl carefully lowered Judith to the ground, taking care not to jostle her. He hoped she would sleep through what he was about to do. It wasn't likely.
"Get a tourniquet," Carl said firmly, "and something for her to bite on." He pulled out the long carving knife he'd been carrying since they'd left New Jersey. It would be difficult to cut through the Tibia bone with it, but not impossible.
No one moved. His friends stared at him, stunned.
"What?" Claire whispered in horror, gaze flicking to the knife in his hand. "No!"
They stared at one another for a moment. Carl's hand tightened on the carving knife. The sickness spread quickly. First, she'd get weaker, with flu-like symptoms. Headaches, a sore throat, fatigue. Plenty of people would still be in denial at that stage, but once symptoms set in, the person would be as good as dead. A fever would soon follow, mild at first, but persistent, cooking the body from within. There was no time to waste. The only solution was to remove the infected limb before the poison spread itself throughout Claire's body.
His gaze flickered to the bag next to Claire's feet. They'd depleted most of their medical supplies taking care of Castiel, but the bag still held some alcohol, as well as an arterial tourniquet. It wasn't nearly enough, but Claire was strong. She'd survive it. He knew she would. He just hoped that she'd forgive him one day.
"It's the only way," Carl said before he lunged for the bag.
Claire managed to snatch it from under his hands. "I said no!" she shouted, throwing the bag as far as she could, scattering its precious contents on the ground. "You're not chopping my leg off, you psycho. What the hell's wrong with you?"
"It's too late for that, man," Jake said quietly, coming to stand between them. He took Carl's shoulder. "C'mon. You're freaking her out."
"It's not too late," Carl gritted out. He shoved Jake away, harder than he had intended.
Jake stumbled back but didn't fall. He held up his hands, a guarded look on his face. "Alright, take it easy."
Carl shook his head. He forced down the rising lump in his throat. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to his friend, pleading, "Please, Claire. You'll die."
"Get the fuck away from me," Claire spat out. She tried to stand, but her legs gave out from under her. Scott tentatively reached over to help her, but she shoved his hand away roughly. Shivering, she grabbed her head, hair clutched between her fingers. "Oh, God," she moaned, huddling into herself, bringing her knees to her chest and rocking slightly.
Carl's shoulders slumped, the fight draining from his body. To his horror, his eye became blurry with tears. He wiped at it angrily with the hand still holding his knife. He wasn't the only one getting choked up. The teenagers crowded around Claire, none of them knowing what to say. Claire flinched when Enid tried to hug her, snapping at them not to touch her. Enid wrapped her arms around herself instead, weeping silently.
"I'm sorry," Carl said after several long moments, his voice cracking. "I just…"
Claire jerked her head up, glaring. "Ask first, asshole." She sniffed, scrubbing at her face clumsily. She took long, shuddering breaths, trying to calm herself down. "It's too late anyway. I think… I think it happened yesterday." She nodded to herself. "I'm so stupid, I didn't even notice it till now."
Enid gasped. Her hand flew to her mouth. "It was that hunter I shot, wasn't it? Oh, God, I didn't…"
Claire tried to smile. Her mouth quivered. "Hey, it was a good shot."
Enid stared at Claire in horror. "I killed you."
"I'm not dead yet," Claire said softly. Untucking her legs, Claire rolled down her pant leg, covering up the small bitemark above her ankle. She looked around at her friends. Some of them were still openly crying. "Pity Party's over, alright? It is what it is." Her voice shook, but she squared her shoulders, putting on a tough appearance.
"Shit," Jake said softly, coming to sit beside Claire. He sniffed a little, pulling at his nose. "I just realized - this never would've happened if you'd actually worn those damned rain boots."
"You guys never listen to me," Mikey said sadly.
Claire burst into giggles. It was such as unexpected sound that it even caught Claire by surprise. She hid her tear-streaked face in her hands, still giggling. She was then besieged by a bout of hiccups, each one rattling her frame. Jake thumped her helpfully on the back.
"Cut it out," she grunted, elbowing him away. "You're not helping."
Jake snorted. "Least I'm not trying to cut your damn leg off."
Carl shot him a glare.
Claire laughed again, still hiccuping. She gave Jake a nudge with her shoulder, jostling him a little. "Looks like you're gonna have to deal with my sick ass after all."
Jake grimaced. "You know I didn't really mean that."
"I know," Claire said softly. The laughter drained from her eyes, as quickly as it had appeared. Her gaze shifted to where Castiel was lying on a stretcher, unconscious and injured. "I thought… maybe Cas could…" she trailed off, biting her lip, not daring to voice her hope out loud.
Silence fell on the group. She didn't have to say it out loud. Carl knew what Claire was thinking. What they were all thinking. Maybe, once Castiel woke up, he'd make things right again. He'd brought Judith back from the dead, after all. What was a tiny little bite in comparison? He said he couldn't heal anybody, but… that was before. And Claire was important to Castiel, they all knew that.
But then, Castiel would have to wake up first. He'd have to be okay. He'd have to be able to fight off this sickness that had ruined all of their lives time and time again. Castiel was in pretty bad shape after the explosion. Not to mention the walkers tearing into him. His wounds were severe. Anybody else would've turned already, but Castiel wasn't just anybody, was he? Carl had no doubt in his mind that he'd recover. He would save Claire. He had to.
"Cas will fix this," Carl said firmly, nodding his head. He resheathed his knife before kneeling down in front of Claire, meeting her gaze. "He will, you'll see. You have to hold on, Claire."
"I don't know if I can," she said with a small sigh.
"Some people last days," Carl reminded her gently. "You're strong, Claire. You can do it. Just hold on."
Claire's eyes glistened. Her breath hitched suddenly, and she drew her hand to her mouth, gasping a little. All her bravado slipped away when she whispered, begging, "Don't let me turn into one of those things."
"You won't," Carl said resolutely, meeting her gaze. There was a murmur of agreement from the others.
Privately, in his mind, Carl sent a prayer to Castiel. He asked for nothing. He didn't even urge Castiel to hurry up and recover. Castiel needed time to heal. Carl knew - he knew- Castiel wouldn't let them down. So he prayed, not to ask for anything, but to make a promise that he wouldn't let anything happen to Claire. Not to any of them.
No one was going to die. Not on Carl's watch.
They took turns standing guard for the rest of the night. Carl didn't end up getting much sleep; something scuttered around in the branches overhead every time he managed to doze off. Then, just before dawn, they spotted real movement. Pinpricks of light in the distance, growing larger and brighter with every passing moment. Hoping they had not yet been spotted, they left in a hurry, gathering up the children and picking up Castiel's stretcher.
They kept going even as the sun rose. Every time they stopped to rest, something creaked or rustled behind them. It might have been animals or even walkers, but they didn't want to stick around long enough to find out. They were in no shape to fight.
The crisp morning air felt sharp in Carl's lungs. The woods seemed to stretch on forever, until finally, up ahead, a road was coming into view. Carl hastened his steps, Judith's weight heavy in his aching arms. But then, something suddenly occurred to him. Something that made him stop in his tracks. It occurred to him that for hunters, the Hunters were not exactly acting stealthy.
"What is it?" Enid said, pulling next to him, her breaths coming fast. She'd been carrying Castiel's stretcher together with Scott at her back.
"They're herding us," Carl told her, frustrated, staring at the road up ahead. He'd bet his life that there were men there, waiting for them. "We're walking into a trap."
Enid gave a nod to Scott over her shoulder. Gently, they lowered Castiel to the ground. He was extremely pale in the light of day; as if all the blood had drained from his body. He was still alive, however. Still breathing.
"Fuck this," said Claire, slumping to the ground. Her skin glistened in the morning light. Her knee was still bothering her. She'd been leaning on Mikey for the past couple of hours. "Of course they know we're here," Claire said, pained and irritable. "They've got that spectrometer thing. They're tracking us."
Enid frowned. "I don't think that's what they called it."
Claire's answering look suggested that she didn't actually give a fuck.
"Now what?" Scott asked, rubbing the tension out of his shoulder. Castiel was heavy. They'd been taking turns carrying him.
In Carl's arms, Judith gave a few pitiful whimpers. She was hungry, he knew. Judith never cried out of hunger. Hadn't done so since she'd been a little baby. Carl shushed her, apologetic. To his friends, he said, "We can't stay here."
"Something doesn't sit right," said Enid, squinting in the direction they just came from.
"What's on your mind?" Carl wondered. He could practically see the gears in Enid's brain turning.
"I think they're scared of us," Enid spoke like she was trying the idea out loud. She bit at her fingernail, frowning to herself. "Or, Cas, I guess. I mean, look what happened last time." She turned to Claire. "That English guy, Victor. He was going to do something to Cas. He said he needed blood."
Claire's mouth thinned. "Yeah, so?"
"For what?" Carl asked. He set Judith down, giving his arms a break. He couldn't help but look around, waiting for someone to jump out at them. Nobody did, even though they'd been chased all morning. Why weren't the Hunters coming after them?
Enid shrugged. "A spell? I don't know. He was planning something." She began to pace a little, taking a few steps here and there. "That's just it, though. It was just him, Victor. The others were scared. You could tell they were. I think that's why they're not really chasing us. They're trying to lead back in the open. Victor was missing a leg, wasn't he? That peg leg he was wearing was shit. It must hurt like crazy just walking around. He's not gonna come running into the woods. I think they're trying to steer us toward him."
The teenagers mulled over that for a moment. Something cracked behind them, making them jump. "Let's get out of here," said Mikey, anxious. Like all of them, he looked rough and tired, covered in sweat and dust. "Just - go somewhere else instead. A different direction."
Jake bent down to pick up Judith, giving Carl's arms some respite. "So now what?" he asked as they walked, looking around furtively. "We just stay in the woods? For how long?"
"It's a big park," Enid answered, grimacing.
A gun went off somewhere. It was hard to tell where. A flock of birds soared off above them, making their displeasure known. They all dropped to the ground on instinct. Oliver tripped and scraped his elbow, leaving blood dripping down his arm. The little boy looked at it with a quivering lip but didn't make a sound. Enid and Scott managed to keep a hold of Castiel's stretcher. The coat they'd covered Castiel with slipped halfway off his body.
A minute passed. Nothing else happened. No one came after them.
"Fucking assholes," Claire hissed. She stood up slowly, leaning on a tree for support. She breathed in deeply, closing her eyes. "Wait," she said, eyes flying open. "They're not tracking us. They're tracking him." She pointed at Castiel, lying unconscious on the stretcher. "That device, the spectro-whatever, they were using it to track, like, angel heatwaves."
Carl had a vague idea of where Claire was going with this. "So what?"
"So I'llstay back here with Cas. The rest of you can run to Alexandria. You guys get the kids out of here, then come back with help." Claire grinned suddenly, adding, "Maybe bring that rocket launcher you were telling me about."
"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard," Jake said flatly.
Claire punched him in the shoulder.
"Ow." Jake rubbed his shoulder, wincing. "Aren't you supposed to be dying?"
"It's a good idea," Claire insisted. "And it'll be faster for you. Me and Cas are slowing you down."
Carl was shaking his head before Claire could finish her sentence. "Absolutely not."
Enid added, "We're not leaving you alone here. Are you crazy?"
"Fever's getting to her," Jake muttered. He backed away when Claire raised her fist again, holding up his hands in surrender. "I'm joking! I'm joking!"
"Splitting up is always a bad idea. Haven't you ever seen a horror movie?" Mikey said with a heavy frown. He glanced around, conscious of the Hunters' presence nearby.
Claire rolled her eyes. "This isn't a horror movie, Mikey. Or any kind of movie. And it's not some kinda 'woe is me, leave me behind to die' sort of thing, either. Fuck no. I wanna live. You assholes are coming back for me. I'll haunt you if you don't." She turned to Enid. "Victor's too chickenshit to come into the woods. You said so yourself."
"It's just a theory," Enid pointed out. "I'm not about to bet your life on it."
"I also have a dumb idea," Carl said, frowning down at Castiel. The angel's expression was peaceful, despite the ugly bitemark on his face. "We know they're following us. We know they've got a way to track Cas." He lowered his voice slightly. It didn't seem like the Hunters were in hearing distance, but he didn't want to take any chances. "Some of us could break off, cause some kind of distraction. If they're too busy to follow us, we might be able to slip away."
"What kind of distraction?" Claire asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Walkers?" Carl suggested with a one-shouldered shrug. "There's that herd we left under a bridge. Can't be that far."
"We don't even know where we are right now," Enid pointed out.
"We do," Scott interrupted. He didn't seem happy about it.
Jake's gaze snapped to his brother. He worked his jaw for a moment, shaking his head minutely. Scott returned his gaze evenly. They seemed to be in the midst of a silent, secret conversation.
"What?" Carl asked, glancing between the two.
"We need a distraction, Jake," Scott told his brother apologetically.
"What is it?" Claire demanded, impatient.
Scott closed his eyes briefly. "You said these guys hunt monsters, right? Well, I say we give 'em one." His mouth curved in a joyless smile, adding, "This is Saviors' territory."
A/N: Please drop a review to yell at me about these last few chapters. That'd be really swell :)