The Wolf You Feed
Chapter 92
Announcing that they were going to war was easy. Actually planning a war was proving to be a little more difficult. It took three days just for Negan to call all his lieutenants in for a meeting. Gavin was the last to arrive. Negan was surprised to see the man had Katie with him. When those bald headed bitches tucked tail and ran at the last battle, Negan figured that was the last he would see of them. But clearly he underestimated her level of crazy.
Negan paused in the doorway of the medical bay. David bowed his head, offering him a proper greeting. But the two women inside hadn't noticed him yet. David started moving to alert them but Negan waved him off. Rowan and Olivia were sitting cross legged on one of the cots, facing each other. They both had their shirts pulled up, revealing their rounded stomachs. They each had a stethoscope in their hands. And they were pressing the drums to each other's stomachs, listening to the babies inside. Rowan's giant black dog was lying on the floor, staring up at them like he was enjoying the show as much as Negan was.
"All I can hear is you laughing," Rowan said, clutching her own stomach to try and stop her giggles.
"I think I hear your breakfast," Olivia teased. Rowan lowered her stethoscope, putting the earpieces on her stomach but leaving the drum on Olivia's. She rubbed her hand over her belly, telling the little baby inside that now she could hear her friend.
"Oh!," Olivia exclaimed, yanking her shirt down and nearly taking a nose dive off the exam table in her hurry to greet Negan properly. He moved fast, catching the woman before she fell flat on her face.
"It's fine," he assured her. "I just came to tell my little kitten here that it's time for the meeting." Negan placed his hand over Rowan's stomach, smiling when he felt a strong kick underneath his touch. Rowan was quick to adjust her scrubs and swing down off the table once he removed his hand. Negan only came to tell Rowan about the meeting so she would know where he was. He was surprised when she grabbed her bag off the hook near the door and followed after him. He let the woman catch up to him, offering her his arm. David followed a few paces behind them. But when they arrived at the meeting room, Negan instructed the man to wait outside. Rowan stopped short the moment they entered the room, her eyes focused on the woman with the scared face on the other side of the table.
"What the hell are you doing here?," Katie hollered, pushing back from the table and rising to her feet.
"I live here," Rowan hollered back. She narrowed her eyes at Katie before she pursed her lips and spit on her. "WENDIGO!" Gavin got hit with the brunt of Rowan's spittle. He wiped his face, casting a curious glance at the two angry women.
"Don't you start your crazy Injin shit with me you bitch," Katie cursed.
Rowan didn't say anything else. She just whipped a knitting needle out of her bag and started rounding the corner of the table, holding it in her hand like a spike. Her intent to stab Katie's eyes out with the item was very clear. And Tank was ready to back his mistress up. The dog had his teeth barred and his hair was standing up as he also advanced on the woman. Negan caught Rowan by the arm and pulled her back. Then he slammed his bat down on the table. The loud noise startled Rowan's dog and he sat back on his haunches and let out a loud howl.
"Not one bit of that shit is going to fly here," Negan said, pointing his bat at Katie. "You talk to my wife like that again and my dog here will have your fucking brains for breakfast. You understand me?" Katie's eyes widened. She quickly sunk back into her chair and nodded her head. "Whatever this is about, it's over," Negan declared, casting a warning glance at both women.
Negan sauntered over to the head of the table, pulling his chair out and taking a seat. He expected Rowan to take the seat next to him. But instead she hiked herself up onto the wide window sill behind him. She pulled a second knitting needle from her bag along with some yarn. Negan never had anyone work on a craft project while he was holding a leaders meeting before. But he figured as long as she wasn't trying to stab anyone else's eyes out, she could do what she pleased. And that included knitting a baby blanket square while he planned a war.
Rowan kept quiet while the people at the table talked. She worked on her blanket square, taking occasional breaks to glare at Katie. Rowan didn't really have anything to add to the meeting. She had no idea how to plan a war. And since she was hoping these people would lose the war they were planning, she didn't think her advice would be very helpful. It wasn't until Simon started spouting off about killing everyone at Hilltop that she rose from her perch.
"Are you planning on taking up farming?," Rowan asked the man. Negan was ready to open his own mouth to yell at Simon. He was surprised to suddenly find Rowan at his side, already doing it for him.
"What?," Simon asked. Not only was he surprised that the woman spoke up. He wasn't sure he understood what she was asking him. Or why she would be asking it.
"Three quarters of the food supply here comes from Hilltop," Rowan informed him. "If they are all dead, who's going to grow our food? You?" Rowan pointed her knitting needles at him. "You don't look like a fucking farmer to me Simon," she announced. Dwight snorted out a laugh before he could stop himself. He tried to turn it into a cough, but he wasn't doing a very good job. He wasn't sure what was funnier, the look on Simon's face, or the way Rowan kept threatening everyone in the room with her craft project supplies.
"People are a RESOURCE," Negan hollered, slapping his bat down on the table to emphasize his point.
Before the conversation could go any further, a series of loud bangs from outside caught all of their attention. Negan got up and headed for the window, peeking out through a clear space. Rowan edged in next to him, trying to get a look at where the noise was coming from. Her heart started pounding harder in her chest. She felt like a big bat was flapping around in her stomach. And her baby started doing wild acrobatics inside her. Took them long enough! Her people were outside. Finally! They were standing behind a caravan of armored cars. So Rowan couldn't get a very good look at exactly who was out there. But through the cracks she was sure she saw the feathered top of Tony's mohawk.
"Want us to light them up?," Simon asked. Rowan turned and scowled at him. She was relieved when Negan told the man there was no point in burning metal on metal. But her heart sank when Negan turned to her next and ticked his jaw towards the window.
"It's your people out there," he told her, "So unless you want a whole lot of them to die, I suggest you get rid of 'em."