The Wolf You Feed
Chapter 21
The last bits of light in the sky had given way to the paler shades of moonlight. A breeze blew in from the window that Enid insisted on leaving open at night. Even if it was cold out, she had to have at least a tiny bit of fresh air blowing in or she couldn't sleep. The breeze blew in, carrying with it the smell of smoke. Not the bad smoke smell of burning rotting corpses this time, but the summer odor of a charcoal fire and the good smells of food being cooked over it.
Carl guessed the smell was coming from the bonfire he and Enid had been invited to. Jessie's two sons and some of the other kids had been planning to roast smores and smoked sausages that Olivia made. Some of them were camping out in Deanna's backyard. Just for fun. Ron invited Carl and Enid to join them but they had declined the offer. They were both exhausted from being on the road all day and also from the stressful events that led up to their unexpected road trip.
Carl pulled the blanket up higher, tucking it under his chin. Enid had shoved the blankets down on her side of the bed. She must be hot again. He swore the girl turned into a human furnace the moment she fell asleep. Come winter he would be even more grateful to have her warm body next to him at night.
The moonlight reflected off the pale skin of her back. Her hair was tied up into a sloppy bun on top of her head, exposing the smooth line of her spine from the cords of her neck all the way down to the curve of her hip. Just a hint of the cleft of her buttocks was visible before her body was covered in the thick downy quit they were sleeping under.
Being so physically exhausted, Carl thought sleep would come easy for him. But now that things had settled down, he found he was playing out everything that had happened over and over again in his mind. Scaring himself with thoughts of all the horrible things that could have happened but didn't. He had always been afraid for himself. For his father and his sister. But none of that compared to the horrible piercing fear in his heart that hit him like a bullet the moment he thought something might happen to Enid. He had never felt anything like it before in his life. The sounds of the motorcycle engines roared in his ears again and he squeezed his eyes shut, reminding himself that it was over.
Reaching one hand out from under his cocoon of blankets, Carl brushed a stray lock of her hair away from Enid's face. He traced down the curve of her spine with his knuckles, until it disappeared under the blankets. His hand opened, caressing the curve of her hip before he grasped the blankets and pulled them over her. He cuddled in close, tucking his knees behind hers. She hummed at his touch, shifting her hips so her firm backside was flush against his hips.
"Still worried about those bikers?," she asked. Her voice was soft and sleepy. Once Carl had his nose tucked up into her neck he noticed the faint smell of horse that always seemed to linger in her hair.
"Mmmmhmm," he admitted. He was going to be worried about those guys until his dad figured out who they were and what they wanted. They looked like serious bad news. And the thought of what might have happened to Enid of they had gotten ahold of her made him feel that feeling again. Like someone had reached right into his chest and squeezed his heart until he couldn't breathe anymore.
"We're home now," she reminded him, "...safe. Your dad'll find 'em." Carl nodded and planted a small kiss on the back of her neck. She had come a long way from just survive somehow. Somewhere along the line she had turned hopeful. He felt her body shudder against him and he smiled, knowing he must have tickled her with his kiss. Within a few moments, Enid's breathing was slow and even again. She had fallen back to sleep. But sleep was a long time coming for Carl. He laid awake and replayed the events of the last few days out of his mind.
He and Daryl had been taken captive. They had almost been killed. But Rowan and Enid saved them. He had already known he was in love with his girl before that, but seeing her riding in on their horse with gun up and her wild hair flying around her head. That was an image he wasn't going to forget anytime soon. Maybe not for as long as he lived.
When Carl had been little he had been what his mother liked to call a bit of a handful. She was fond of saying that everyone had a guardian angel, but that his was a wild angel. And those were the words that came to his mind when Enid had rode into that camp and saved him. Fierce and brave with his hat perched on her head. For a moment he thought he was already dead and she had rode back to take him to heaven with her.
Rowan and Daryl stayed behind. To keep an eye on the people at that camp while Enid and Carl rode back to Alexandria for help. Enid was more familiar with the horses, so she rode Rowan's black horse Molly. And Carl rode Comet, Enid's horse. They took the highway back. Carl knew it was a bad idea, but he agreed because he was just as desperate as Enid to get back and get help as quickly as possible.
The highway offered no cover. The only people that really use it were people that were not from the area. Travelers or people that were lost and trying to get their bearings. Which is why other people hung around the highway. Bad people. There were groups, or at least one group, that liked to keep watch and ambush people that were passing through. Aaron had warned them about it before they left.
The morning ride had gone by quickly, he and Enid had not seen anyone. Not even walkers. This was a bad sign. Where there were no walkers, that meant people were around. They stopped by the side of the road to water the horses when Carl started to feel like he was being watched. Nothing noteable had happened. He just suddenly felt the hair on his arms standing up despite the heat of the day. And Carl had been through enough crap that he not longer questioned his instincts. He and Enid got back on their horses, keeping their hands in their loaded guns.
The sound of motorcycle engines was suddenly echoing all around them. They spotted the men coming from behind them first, so they charged forward, dodging around the snarls of abandoned cars on their horses. But the men had let themselves be seen on purpose. They were chasing Carl and Enid directly into a trap. More men had been waiting for them. A huge pack of them, all armed with guns and bows. They were blocking the entire road.
Carl had been ready to panic, pulling back on the reigns of his horse and trying to decide which way to go. It had been Enid's quick thinking that saved them. Without hesitation, she had turned Molly towards the woods and kicked in her heels. Comet was used to following Molly. And Molly was used to Rowan riding her at breakneck speeds through the woods. If it hadn't been for that the situation might have gone from bad to worse in a hurry.
Molly jumped the guard rail, clearing it by only a few inches. Carl was willing to admit, he kicked in his heels and leaned forward, clutching the horse he was riding by the mane and closing his eyes. The men couldn't follow them through the woods on their motorcycles and they were moving far too fast for them to follow them on foot.
What Enid had not been expecting was that more men were hidind in the woods, just behind the tree line. One stepped out in front of her and made her horse rear up. She barely held on, gripping the horse with her thighs and holding on to Molly's long raven mane. Carl was able to stop his horse in time, since he was a few feet back. He yanked his gun out and shot the man in the face. Then he screamed for Enid to go. All he remembered after that was the thundering sound of Comet's hooves and the whooshing sound the trees made as they whipped by. They ran until they were sure the men were far behind them and then they slowed down and made their way back home to Alexandria.
After that nasty woman Amanda had been killed, Carl only stayed long enough to know everyone was going to be alright. Rick had left a few hours later to come back and let everyone at home know the group that had left to help Daryl and Rowan was fine and would be back in a few days. Since Carl had not been eager to spend another second of his time in that terrible place, he and Enid came back home with his dad.
Carl thought he was eager to get home. He wanted to see Judith and his new baby brother. Sleep in his own bed instead of in a tent. But now that he was here, he just felt restless. He hated to say he had a feeling something was brewing, Enid would tease him and tell him he had been spending too much time with Rowan listening to her mumbo jumbo. But the truth was he did have a feeling. Not a premonition. He wasn't even sure exactly what that was. What he felt was more of a general sense of foreboding. Somehow he just knew. Getting away from those men was not the end. It was only the beginning.
