The Wolf You Feed
Chapter 100
It was dark by the time they got close to Oceanside. Carl and Enid took shelter in the back of an abandoned van, tethering their horse nearby. They weren't sure how their presence in this camp was going to be received. And Carl didn't think sneaking up on them in the dark was going to help matters. Enid's head was resting on his chest, her bare leg hiked across his thigh. He thought about their adventure earlier in the day and smiled, pressing a kiss into her hair.
"I think I found something," Enid hollered. They passed by a small cluster of parked cars. Since they weren't covered in layers of dirt and dust, Carl and Enid decided to stop and search them. The most exciting thing Carl found was a box of condoms. Too late for these. He chuckled a little to himself as he stuffed the rubbers into his pack. While people used the prophylactics for obvious reasons, they could also be used to keep things like boxes of matches or spare pairs of socks from getting wet in the bottom of your bag.
Enid found something much less practical but more fun. The trunk of one car was full of nothing but pairs of rollerskates. Carl had seen some odd things during his time in the apocalypse. But never a whole trunk full of something so random. He laughed as Enid poked through the skates, looking for a pair in each of their sizes.
"What in hell are we going to do with roller skates?," Carl asked. Enid just flicked her eyes towards their horse and favored him with a wicked grin. About ten minutes later they were both flying at top speed down the abandoned roadway, holding on to ropes that were tied to the horse's saddle. It was probably one of the most reckless and stupid things he and Enid had ever done. They could have both been seriously injured. But goddamn was it fun. Carl couldn't remember the last time he had that much fun.
He sketched down a note with the approximate location of the car that was still full of more pairs of skates. Carl figured once the whole saviors war situation was over, maybe they could come back for them.
Enid let out a small soft groan. She shifted her body, turning away from him. Carl mirrored her movements, snuggling in behind her and wrapping his arm around her. They were both still naked from their earlier activities. And while Carl knew it was stupid to fall asleep like that, he decided that he was too tired and comfortable to care. He was just falling asleep when he heard the door handle of the van being yanked at.
"Psst," he hissed, poking Enid. She woke up with a start. Carl clamped his hand down around her mouth, keeping her from making any noise. Once she was fully awake and aware, he let go and pointed towards the direction the noise came from. He heard the person trying the door knob on the other side. But he wasn't too worried yet, since he knew they locked the van up before they took their clothes off and had a romp in the backseat. It was when he heard their horse start to knicker and huff that Carl bolted from his spot. He grabbed his gun and leaped out the back hatch, not caring that he was naked. Enid pulled a shirt over her head before she grabbed her own weapon and followed after him.
"Get the fuck away from our horse asshole!," Carl hollered. The shadowed figure did step back from the horse. But then the person came running full speed in Carl's direction, hitting him and knocking him to the ground with the force of the contact. His gun fired off. The person let out a strangled grunt. And then Enid yanked the person off him, rolling the hooded figure onto the ground next to him.
"Oh shit," she cursed. Carl climbed to his feet and added about every dirty word he knew to Enid's foul declaration. The person was not a random scavenger or marauder. It was Natania, the leader of Oceanside. And Carl just killed her.