The Wolf You Feed

Chapter 32

Jesus had reached the gas station he had marked in his mind as a halfway point between Hilltop and the small town he was heading for when the beat up old moped he was driving broke down. He was debating whether or not to stay and try to fix it or to leave and look for another form of transportation when he heard a vehicle appraoching. As the large truck pulled up, Jesus hid out of sight to observe the people driving it without their knowledge. After watching the group for a few minutes he became reasonably sure that they were not part of Neegan's army. That made them fair game to steal from.

It was easy to bump into the man with the thinner build and lift the keys to the truck from his pocket. Jesus had gotten a good look at both the men but only a glimpse of the women before they had entered the small store to search around. Since they were now standing in plain sight he took a better look at them. One was muscular, dressed in a leather vest that was unlaced at the top to accomodate the fullness of her breasts. She was dark skinned with long dreads that were twisted up into a messy bun at the nape of her neck. There was a sword in her hands that she was holding in a way that made her skill with the weapon obvious. She looked like a survivor.

The other woman had a completely different vibe from the first. She was dressed in a well worn pair of flared jeans that were ripped at the knees and a colorful top that was snug enough to show the small hard bump of her pregnant stomach. Her hair was long and dark, braided in two long pigtails that fell forward over her shoulders. Every part of her body that was visible was covered in freckles.

Unlike the rest of the group the long haired woman didn't seem to find it necessary to point her weapon at him. Instead she was holding onto the collar of the large black dog in an attempt to keep the animal from lunging at Jesus. She even smiled at him. Not a full force grin, but more of a shy tentative look that made Jesus feel instantly terrible for what he was about to do to her and her companions. If he had run into just this woman, he would have offered to take her back to Hilltop straight away. But while she came off gentle and sweet, Jesus wasn't sure he trusted the other three people with her.

"What's your name?," he asked, hoping to bridge some sort of communication with the woman. If Jesus had been wondering which one of the two men she was affiliated with, he got his answer when the man with the longer hair and sleeveless vest on charged forward and took up a protective stance in front of her. Jesus didn't blame the man for being careful. He knew from experience what kind of people one was likely to run into on the road. Sick nasty violent people that might want to hurt these women or take them from their men.

"You don't talk to her," Daryl hollered. With that the large black dog broke free from the woman's grasp and charged forward. When it became clear to Jesus that he was about to become dog chow he took off running, the keys to the truck jingling in his hand. He threw a few firecrackers in a trash barrel to draw the group out behind the gas station while he stole their truck and all it's contents. As he ran around the building he saw the long haired woman was the only one still standing there. He watched her in the rearview mirror as he drove away.

TWD

Rowan ran as fast as she could, which was about twice as fast as everyone else could run. Along with the protection of her dogs, the only other reason she had made it so long on her own was her ability to outrun almost anyone and anything that came at her. She could hear Daryl screaming behind her, telling her to stop and wait for him. But Rowan was afraid if Tank got out of sight that she might lose the dog and never find him again. So she ran. The rubber soles of her shoes pounded against the pavement and her pigtails flew out behind her, swinging with the movements of her body.

Daryl cursed as he ran. Rowan was getting further and further away from him. He was angry with her for taking off and a little angry at himself for getting out of breath so easily. He really needed to quit smoking. When Rowan disappeared around a bend in the road, Daryl felt his heart bottom out into his stomach. Rick smacked at him to get his attention, also so out of breath that he couldn't speak. He pointed towards the woods. Daryl nodded. It would be faster to cut through the woods instead of taking the road around. They might catch up to Rowan quicker that way.

As Daryl hurried through the woods, his heart was pounding so hard in his chest that he could hear it in his ears. He ducked under branches and pushed through bushes, scratching his arms and face. Seeing the large expanse of white metal appear through the breaks in the trees that could only be the truck that had just been stolen from him gave him a second spurt of energy. A thousand thoughts were flashing through his mind, the worst one being that maybe that Jesus guy had met the rest of his group there. He might have left the truck and taken Rowan, just like Beth had been taken. If Rowan was gone Daryl was afraid he might never find her again.

Rick caught Daryl by the back of his vest, slowing him down and signalling for him to wait instead of charging in head first. It took every bit of willpower Daryl had to force himself to stop and creep silently through the woods for the rest of the distance. When got close enough to see through Rowan through the trees he let out a sigh of relief. She was sitting on the back bumper of the truck talking to the man that had stolen it from them. Tank was lying on the ground near her feet. Jesus was standing nearby, speaking to her. It didn't look like she had been hurt or molested in any way, but Daryl could see that the man had Rowan's gun tucked into the back of his pants. And that pissed him off.

Rick signalled that he and Michonne were going around the other side of the truck. Daryl was going to stay put and box the man in, making sure he didn't get away. Once he got this guy the jerk was going to get the ass beating he deserved. Not only for stealing the truck but for taking Rowan's gun. For even getting close enough to her to take her weapon away.

Rowan knew something was about to happen when Tank was suddenly on his feet despite being worn out and tired from running so far. She was talking a little with the man that had taken their truck, trying to begin the conversation that should have happened back at the abandoned gas station. Their conversation was flowing awkwardly, neither of them being too willing to reveal much information to the other. She wished Aaron was with her. He was so much better than she was at talking to new people. Jesus had admitted that he had a camp that he was living at. From how clean he was Rowan had already guessed that. Before she could ask him any more questions Rick came out of nowhere and grabbed the man.

"Hold still and maybe we won't hurt you," Rick ordered as he seized him. Jesus kept still for a moment. But then he started fighting back. Rowan shreiked out her surprise and Tank started barking. The dog didn't charge either man yet, maybe because he was undecided as to which man he ought to be going after. Rick had been the one that startled his mistress but Rick was a friend and the man he was now wrestling with was a total stranger.

"Stop it right now," Rowan hollered, shocked at how hard the two men were hitting each other. Jesus kicked Rick in the hip hard enough to leave a nasty bruise. Someone was going to get hurt if they didn't stop. Tank growled at the strange man, still hesitating to charge since the man wasn't threatening Rowan directly. But when Jesus grabbed Daryl and slammed him against the side of the truck he made Tank's decision easy. The large dog lunged at the man and knocked him onto the ground. Jesus looked up to find a large set of bared teeth in his face and Rick standing over him with his gun pointed at his face as well. He couldn't see Michonne but she had already circled around behind him with her sword out in case he tried any more of his tricks. Daryl was checking Rowan over to make sure she wasn't hurt while he loaded an arrow into his bow and cocked the string back.

"This is done," Rick told him. Rowan could tell the man on the ground was scared to death of her dog so she smacked her hand against her thigh and called Tank back to her side, making sure to give him lots of praise and affection for doing a good job and helping Daryl. The man was lucky he didn't get bit grabbing Daryl like that. Even Rowan was a little angry. She didn't like anyone laying hands on her husband and their unfortunate encounter with the women that took him by force had left it's impression on her. Jesus was getting no further compassion from her. Daryl gave Tank a quick scratch behind the ears before he took his place at Rick's side and pointed his loaded bow at the man.

"Do you even have any ammo?," Jesus asked, pulling Rowan's gun from the back of his pants and tossing it over where it slid and landed near her feet, "I know she didn't have any." He eyed Daryl's bow with a little more concern. A walker was stumbling out of the woods behind Michonne and Rick lifted his gun and shot it point blank in the head. Then he pointed the gun back at the man on the ground.

"Okay," Jesus said, putting his hands up in a mock gesture of defeat, "Are you going to shoot me over a truck?"

"There's a lot of food on that truck," Rick said. He didn't really want to shoot this man but he also wasn't willing to give up the truck or its contents. Michonne edged forward, holding the tip of her sword down where the man could see it. She was tired and sweaty. Her breasts hurt from being away from her son for longer than she was used to. Unlike Rick she was ready to stick this man like a pig if he gave them any further trouble.

"Give us the keys to the truck," she ordered. When Jesus hesitated she brought the tip of her sword down, pushing the razor sharp edge of it close enough to make a tiny line of blood swell up on the line of his jaw. The man yelped, fear showing in his facial expressions for the first time since they met him. He kept perfectly still until Michonne pulled the sword back, giving him a little room to move. There were no further tricks. Jesus pulled the keys from his pocket and handed them over.

"Come on, let's just go," Rowan suggested. She stood up and pulled the rolling door of the truck down, locking it into place. Jesus watched the four people, wondering with some concern for his safety what they planned to do with him now that they had what they wanted. He knew he had been right about these not being Neegan's people, if they were they would already be beating him to death. But despite not being associated with the biggest bully in the tri county area, these people were tough. Much tougher than the people in the group Jesus was a part of. And they had to be part of a bigger group. There was no way four people would need as many supplies as they had loaded up in that truck. The wheels in Jesus's head were turning. He was staring to think that having his moped break down was the best thing that had happened to him in a long time. Maybe he had stumbled upon the very people he had been searching for.

"We should kill him," Michonne announced, glancing towards Rick and Daryl to see what they thought. She could already guess Rowan's opinion on the matter. And thinking of Rowan, Michonne was surprised to see that she was leaning against the truck with her arms crossed instead of charging over and insisting they let this man go. She even had a little scowl on her face as she stared at him. Daryl shrugged before he turned and walked away. He couldn't care less what Rick and Michonne did with the jerk as long as he wasn't going to be any further trouble to them. He had bigger concerns at the moment.

"I told you to load this gun," Daryl reminded Rowan and he snatched the empty handgun up off the pavement. Not only had he told her to load it, he had made her load it while he watched. Since it was unloaded again it could only mean she waited until he wasn't looking and shook the bullets back out. Again. "Where'd you put the bullets?," Daryl demanded, "and ya betta not have thrown 'em out the window again so help me Rowan!" Daryl thrust his open had towards the woman, motioning for her to give him the bullets.

Rowan thought about refusing him. Or lying and saying she tossed the bullets out the window of the car. But she could see that Daryl was actually rather angry with her and did not appear to be in the mood for her games. Rowan gave him a sheepish grin as she dug deep down into the pocket of her jeans to retrieve the bullets she had hidden away there. Daryl took them, poking through and tossing out the pocket lint and bits of colored string that were tangled up around the ammunition. Then he loaded up Rowan's gun, mumbling curses under his breath as he worked. "Don't take 'em out again," he warned, "this ain't no damn game."

Once it was loaded, Daryl shoved the gun back at Rowan who took the weapon and held it away from her body like it was a disease. She was afraid of the gun now that it was loaded. Daryl shook his head at her and unbuckled the leather utility belt he had around his own waist. Wrapping it around Rowan's slimmer waist, he tightened it up to the smallest precut hole in the leather, grateful that being pregnant had made her rounder or else the stupid thing wouldn't have stayed on even on the smallest notch. After buckling the belt around her, Daryl took the gun and showed her the small metal switch on the side of it.

"This is the safety," Daryl told her, even though he knew Rowan's father had tried teaching her about guns until he was blue in the face and ready to shake her silly, "When it's up, the gun is off. Works the same as taking the bullets out." Rowan nodded, her eyes big and round as she stared at him. Daryl took the gun and stuffed it into the holster on her waist, fastening the leather strap down over it with a snap. Having the leather belt snug around her hips accentuated the swell of her stomach and Daryl found his hand resting there next, rubbing her softly through her shirt.

Rowan's hand came up to cup his face. Her bottom lip began to quiver. "Are you alright?," she asked, "He hit you so hard." Daryl chuckled and hugged her against him. The soda cans in his bag had taken a worse beating than he had. Merle used to hit him harder than that when they were play fighting. He liked how worried she was about him though. It made him feel good inside. No one in his life ever cared about him like Rowan did. If he hurt she hurt along with him. Like they were two halves of the same person.

Once he let go of Rowan, Daryl turned to see what Michonne and Rick had decided to do with the asshole truck thief. Rick was tying him up, which made Daryl smile. That dick was lucky he didn't run into pre-Alexandria Rick. Marriage and a new baby had softened the man up and not necessarily in a bad way. Rick wasn't weak, but he was less bitter and more willing to give people the benefit of the doubt than he had been before.

"You're just going to leave me here like this?," Jesus asked. He knew that he was going to be able to escape from the ropes the moment Rick turned his back. But he was curious so see what the man's response to the question would be.

"The knots aren't that tight," Rick said, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "You'll be able to get free and we will be long gone from here."

With that the small group turned away and headed towards the cab of the truck. Jesus watched the long haired woman. She was chewing her lip, looking like she wasn't as comfortable as everyone else was with leaving a defenseless man tied up on the side of the road. Pausing at the corner of the truck, she looked back at him. Quickly she pulled a knife that she had hidden under the leg of her pants and slid it across the pavement towards him. She gave him a pretty smile and a wiggle wave of her fingers. And then she was gone. Jesus heard the passenger door of the truck slam shut.

As Rick drove, Michonne handed him small pieces of a candy bar they were sharing. Daryl took the one unbusted can of soda and popped the top of it, sucking the foam off before he handed it to Rowan. She sniffed at the beverage first, her nose wrinkling up. Slowly she lifted the can to her lips and took the tiniest sip possible. Michonne laughed and Daryl pulled Rowan close to plant a kiss on her cheek.

"How was it?," Rick asked, also curious to see what her reaction to the drink would be. He could still remember Carl's first taste of soda. He had a belly ache and Lori gave him a cup of watered down ginger ale over ice.

"Spicy," she declared. The cab of the truck exploded in laughter. Rowan coughed a little into her free hand as Michonne reached for the can to get a sip for herself. They passed the can around until it was gone and shared another candy bar for dessert. Tank got a package of turkey jerky that he devoured like it was the best thing he had ever eaten in his life. Rowan giggled at her dog. She didn't care too much for jerky, and she liked the chocolate better than the soda. That stuff had a weird sugary bite to it that she didn't think she could ever get used to. Daryl had been cute getting it for her though, so she had made sure to pretend she really liked it. Daryl and Rick started talking about the man that had been seen spying on Enid and Carl and what they planned to do about it.

"Look there," Michonne said, tapping Rick's leg to get his attention and pointing out the driver's side window, "A barn."

"We should stop," Rowan added. She wanted to check the barn. But what she really wished was for a way to take some of the heavy farming equiptment back to Alexandria. The larger scale farming they were doing would go a thousand times faster with a proper tractor.

As they pulled off the road onto more bumpy terrain a strange thumping noise could be heard. At first Daryl was worried it was a flat tire. But the noise was coming from the roof of the truck, not the wheels. He motioned for everyone to keep quiet. Then he pointed up.

"That sumbitch is on the damn roof," he announced.

"Hold on," Rick hollered, holding his hand out to keep Michonne from flying forward. Daryl gripped his seat with one arm and Rowan with the other. Rick slammed on the brakes. Sure enough a body came flying down from the roof, landing in the soft grass in front of the truck. There was a collective gasp, everyone except Tank leaning forward to see if the man was hurt after his fall. Jesus popped up. He stared at them through the windshield for just a moment. Then he began to run.

Rick stepped down on the gas, intending to chase the man down. Daryl shifted Rowan from his lap and grabbed for the door. Rowan squeaked out his name and grabbed at the back of his vest, trying to keep him inside the truck. But the rough fabric slipped through her fingers and he was gone. Michonne was next, climbing over Rowan and leaping out of the moving vehicle, ignoring Rick as he screamed at her to stay in the truck.

The three people outside the truck were running around after each other like total maniacs. Rowan wasn't even sure what Daryl planned to do if he caught the man. She supposed he might want to beat him up a little even though she wasn't sure what that would accomplish. Jesus was using the truck, trying to keep it between him and his pursuers. So Rick jammed on the brakes and threw it into reverse, backing far enough away that he figured the truck was safe.

"Watch the truck," Rick ordered. Then to Rowan's absolute horror he leaped out as well, leaving her in a running vehicle.

"No!," she hollered after him, "I can't watch the truck! I don't even know how to drive!" Tank jumped up into the seat Rick had vacated and started barking. Rowan leaned around him and made sure the door was latched. She had no idea what was going on outside the truck but the last thing she wanted was for Tank to get involved. Everyone around her seemed to have gone completely insane. Now Rick and Michonne were cutting down a bunch of walkers. She didn't see Jesus and Daryl coming at her until it was too late or she would have locked the door to the truck to keep the man from getting back inside.

The sudden jerk of the door being opened startled Tank and the big dog fell back, landing on his back between the seat in a very awkward position, his giant paws clawing at the air. It took Rowan a moment before she even realized what was happening. Jesus was still trying to steal their damn truck. Again. Rowan had never struck a person in anger all her life. But without thinking she cocked her hand back and slapped the man. She had been aiming for his face but she had squeezed her eyes shut at the last moment and ended up bringing her open palm slapping down across his ear. The man grunted and twisted in the seat like he meant to start fighting her. Rowan opened her mouth and screamed, flattening herself back against the passenger door of the car.

For a moment Rowan was really afraid. Her arms came down, wrapping protectively around her stomach. But then Daryl was there, hitting the man and trying to drag him from the car. Rowan watched them struggle, trying to keep from being hit herself. But then she saw the walker. It was coming up behind Daryl, looking ready to bite him. Rowan grabbed for the gun at her waist, struggling to get it out of the holster. She gasped as she felt it being yanked from her hands. Jesus took her gun and he was pointing it at Daryl. Rowan felt her eyes already filling up with tears. Time seemed to slow down and she could only think one thing. DUCK!

"Duck!," Jesus yelled. Then to Daryl's surprise the man shot the walker that was coming at them. Saved or not, Daryl still wanted the man away from Rowan. He grabbed at the gun, knocking it from Jesus's hands and onto the floorboards of the truck. By this time Tank had managed to get back onto his feet. And he was none too happy about a strange man not only being in Rowan' space but fighting with Daryl as well. While Rowan was number one, Daryl was a close second when it came to the large dog's affections. And Tank didn't tolerate anyone hurting the members of his pack. He opened his large mouth and clamped down hard onto the part of the man that was closest to him. Luckily, or unluckily depending on one's perspective, he bit down hard on Jesus's backside. Tank's teeth sunk straight through the man's protective clothing, not stopping until he could taste the man's blood in his mouth.

Jesus turned, yelping and trying to shake himself loose from Tank's hard pinching bite. Daryl used the opportunity to punch him in his face and grab hold of him, dragging him from thr truck. He wasn't sure what sort of game this man was playing at but he was sick of it. To keep from being drug to the ground, Jesus grabbed for anything that he could hold onto. The gear shift slipped through his fingers but not before the truck was knocked into reverse. Jesus and Daryl hit the ground as the truck started rolling backwards towards the lake. The door swung shut, hitting Jesus in the head and knocking him out cold.

Rowan was in a panic. She hurtled herself over her dog and back into the driver's seat. She would have been better off just leaping from the truck and letting it roll empty into the lake but she was desperate to try and save the large supply of food that was stacked neatly inside the back of the truck. They needed that food badly if Alexandria was going to make it through another winter. Rowan grabbed the steering wheel and pounded on it. All that did was honk the horn and scare her more. She knew Rick had been controlling the truck with the pedals on the floor. She had enough knowledge to understand that the pedal on the right was the one he used to make the truck go forward. So Rowan stomped down on it with her foot. The engine roared. But instead of lurching the van forward and away from the water behind her, it sent her and the truck splashing and sinking right down into the murky water.

Daryl scrambled to his feet just into to see the truck flying down the steep incline into the lake behind it. The water must have been a lot deeper than it looked. Because within seconds it had swallowed the entire van. The last thing he saw of Rowan was her pale hands pressing against the driver's side window in her vain attempt to get the door open. The water muffled the noise but he could hear Tank howling as the truck disappeared under the water.