The Wolf You Feed

Chapter 89

Sherry fought the urge to roll towards the other woman and ask her why she was getting out of bed at such an ungodly hour. Normally, she would assume that Katie was just getting up to pee or have a drink of water. But she heard the woman's watch alarm go off. And she heard how quick the woman was to shut it off and check to make sure it didn't wake Sherry up. So Sherry feigned sleep. She didn't roll over and question the other woman. Instead she forced her body to relax. She kept her breathing slow and even. Katie pulled the covers up over her bare shoulder, tucking her in before she crossed the small room and began pulling her clothes on.

The moment the door clicked shut behind Katie, Sherry tossed the covers off and leaped to her feet. She yanked her clothes on, pulling her shirt down over her head while she stuffed her bare feet into her sneakers. Sherry wasn't sure why she was so desperate to find out what Katie was doing. The woman hadn't given her any indication that she wasn't to be trusted. It was more of a strange feeling of foreboding Sherry had down in her gut. She didn't think Katie meant to hurt her personally. But she was up to something. Sherry was sure of that.

Sherry felt a moment of panic when she stepped out into the night and quietly eased the door shut behind her. She didn't see Katie anywhere. And if she couldn't see her, she would be able to follow her and find out what she was hiding. But then Sherry saw the beam of a flashlight. Katie was headed down a well worn path in the woods. Sherry wished for a flannel shirt or jacket. But she settled for wrapping her arms around herself and following the other woman deeper into the woods.

It felt like she was walking forever. Sherry listened closely for the sound of the dead. In her haste, she hadn't remembered to bring a weapon. Not even a knife. She was cold and scared. But Sherry pressed on, determined to discover what was being kept from her.

The woods finally opened up into a small clearing. When Sherry got closer, she saw it was more than a clearing. It was a crossroads. The roads were gravel. But there was an overgrown street sign in one corner. Sherry kept back, keeping a large tree between herself and the woman she was stalking. Katie pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and snagged one between her teeth. She lit it, pacing back and forth while she smoked it down to the filter. By the time she finished and flicked the butt down onto the gravel at her feet, Sherry saw another figure approaching. At first she could only see enough to know it was a man. When he got closer, Sherry felt her stomach bottom out. She knew the man. He was Gavin. One of Negan's lieutenants. She couldn't hear what they were saying. But Sherry could see enough of their body language to know that the conversation was friendly.

The crunch of a stick behind her caught Sherry's attention. It was followed by the low moan of a walker. She froze for a moment, unsure of what to do. But then she looked up. There was a low hanging tree branch above her. Sherry jumped, catching the branch and swinging her legs up to wrap them around it. Scratching her arms and tearing her shirt in the process, she managed to maneuver herself up further into the tree. Sherry must have made more noise than she intended. Because Katie and Gavin were headed in her direction. She swung herself around to the backside of the tree and held on, clenching her eyes shut and trying to breath as quietly as possible.

"Just a walker," Gavin said, stabbing the undead creature through the head and letting it fall at his feet. Katie shined her light up into the tree, flashing it around. But since Sherry was on the other side of the trunk, the woman didn't spot her.

"When's the attack?," Katie asked.

"Two days."

"And Alexandria, they know it's coming?," she confirmed. Gavin nodded.

"They should know by then. But they won't know you and your girls are about to turn traitor on them."

"How do I know you'll follow through on your promises after we help you?," Katie asked, clearly skeptical of trusting the man.

"Negan keeps his word," Gavin told her, the conviction strong in his voice. "You'll have everything he promised you. You'll be a lieutenant. With your own outpost. You'll get your revenge on the people that killed your sister."

"If you're lying," Katie warned, "I'll cut you up into little pieces and feed you to my cat." Gavin laughed.

"I'd expect nothing less," he joked as he stuck his hand out for Katie to shake. Katie grasped his outstretched hand, giving it a firm shake. "Welcome to the new world order," Gavin added, "I'll see you in two days."

Sherry stayed in the tree longer than necessary. She didn't climb down until the first few streaks of light started to paint the morning sky. Now she knew Katie's secret. But she wasn't sure what to do with the information. She also wasn't sure where she fit in. Was Katie planning to take her to her new outpost with her? Or turn her back over to Negan? Was her clemency part of this deal? Or maybe Katie hadn't even given a second thought about Sherry's fate while she made her well laid plans of revenge against Alexandria. Katie seemed sincere about her whole woman power routine. But then again, she seemed sincere about helping Alexandria fight Negan too. Sherry believed her. And she knew the people Katie promised to help had put their faith in her.

"Where have you been?," Katie asked. Sherry stepped inside the small one room cabin, closing the door behind her. She smiled, putting on the well practiced smile that she used to fool Negan, hoping that it might work on Katie as well.

"I woke up and you were gone," Sherry said, "I was looking for you."

The moment Katie smiled back, only the unmarred side of her face turning up, Sherry knew the woman believed her. Katie pulled Sherry into her arms, hugging her.

"You shouldn't go out without at least your knife," Katie scolded. Then she caught Sherry by the hand and suggested they go down to the lodge and get some breakfast. Sherry agreed. She played along. She slept in Katie's bed again later that night. Just like she slept in Negan's bed. She hugged Katie goodbye and made sure to look worried when the other woman geared up with her weapons and left to help defend Alexandria from the Saviors. The moment Sherry heard the vehicles pull away, she darted out of the small cabin and took off at a full run for the other side of their community.

Some of the residents still called the place Twin Oaks, its name before the turn. But more and more they were starting to refer to their home as the Kingdom. And to their new leader as King Ezekiel. Sherry was given a tour of the place. When she first arrived. But then she was taken out to the outskirts of the place. To small cabins in the woods. Where Katie and her group of women warriors lived. There was a young man and a boy that lived there with them. They seemed oddly out of place. Katie took care of them. But the boys didn't seem to like her.

"Are you ok?," the younger one asked, rushing over to help Sherry up off the ground. In her rush to get into the main area of the camp and alert the other residents of the place of what Katie and her women intended to do, Sherry wasn't watching where she was going. She started out at a full run. And quickly caught her toe on an exposed tree root, flopping to her face on the ground.

"I'm okay," she assured the boy. "Thanks…"

"Henry," he said, helping the woman out since she seemed to be racking her brain for his name.

"Henry," Sherry repeated.

"She's up to something bad isn't she," the boy asked. It was clear who he was referring to even without naming her. Katie.

"She is," Sherry confirmed. "She made a deal with the Saviors. She's going to turn on those people she promised to help."

"Carl's group?," the boy asked. Sherry nodded, wondering how the boy knew who Carl was. They had no interaction that she had seen. Henry didn't come with them to Oceanside. And Carl had not been out here to the cabins where he lived. "He helped us once," Henry explained. He grabbed Sherry by the hand and gestured for her to come with him.

"Where are we going?," she asked.

"Well we can't stop them by ourselves," the boy said, "We're gonna need some help."