The Wolf You Feed

Chapter 33

Tank was howling. The noise reverberated off the insides of the cab, almost sounding like it was getting louder instead of being muffled by the water that engulfed them. Rowan grabbed the large dog and hugged him close to calm him as the engine of the truck sputtered and died. Water was pouring in from the bottom, the cab of the truck slowly filling up like a fishbowl. The dome lights inside the truck flickered on, filling the inside of the truck with with an artificial glow before they flickered off again. Rowan knew she had to get herself and Tank out or they were both going to drown.

Rowan lifted her feet into the seat and away from the dark murky water that was quickly inching towards her. The moment she let go of Tank the large dog started barking again. He jumped up in the passenger seat, snapping and snarling at the rising water like he could scare it into draining back out of the truck. Rowan ignored the noise and tried not to think about how much it was making her already sore ear hurt. Her first thought was to try the door. If she opened it they could just swim out. The water wasn't that deep. As she peered up through the windshield she could still see a bit of light breaking through the surface of the water. The air above felt like it was close and a million miles away at the same time.

Grapsing the handle of the door, Rowan yanked it and shoved at the door as hard as she could. The door not only didn't open, it didn't even budge one tiny inch. She knew one of the controls on the door was bound to open the window. Rowan tried all of them with no sucess. The water had risen up even further, sloshing up above the seats and wetting her pants and shoes. Rowan could feel the panic rising up inside her and she started pounding on the window with her fists. She even lifted up her foot and tried to kick at the glass in a vain attempt to break it.

Rowan forced herself to slow her breathing down and concentrate. She pawed through her bag, looking for anything that might be of help. She had her slingshot and a few small rocks. Loading one up she pulled the cup back and fired it directly at the window. The rock hit the glass with a ping and bounced back, lodging itself in the roof of the truck. Rowan shrieked and held her arms to keep from being hit. She had given her large knife to Jesus. She still had a smaller knife but she doubted that would be of any more help than the slingshot. Rowan shoved her feet down into the water and braced her feet against the floor as she again attempted to force the door open. She couldn't get any traction in the water. All she suceeded in doing was almost twisting her ankle stumbling over something hard.

The water was rising quickly and soon they only a small gap of air to breathe. Rowan's mind was racing and suddenly she realized what had just happened. She had stepped on something hard under the water. But not just anything. It was her gun. The one Daryl had loaded for her. It dropped to the floor after Daryl and Jesus got done fighting over it. Rowan took a deep breath and ducked down under the water. Her long braids floated up above her head as she dove down. She combed the floor of the truck with her hands until she felt the hard metal of the weapon in her hand. Rowan swam back up and sucked in a lungful of air. Pressing the muzzle flush up against the window she pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

Rowan started to really panic. Tank was treading water to keep his head above the water line. They were going to drown inside this truck. She had assumed at first that the gun just wouldn't work under water. But then her thumb brushed against the little switch on the back of the gun. The safety. That's what Daryl called it. That had to be flipped down in order for the gun to fire. Rowan shoved it down, ripping her nail back in her rush to save herself and her dog. She pressed the gun against the window and pulled the trigger a second time. This time the window shattered with a satisfying crack. Rowan used the gun to break the rest of the glass out.

Tank was in more of a panic than she was. He was snorting water, all four of his legs paddling frantically. Rowan grapsed his collar and pulled hard. He didn't want to put his head underwater and she knew he was going to fight her. She yanked as hard as she could, her own head going under as she swallowed a large mouthful of the dirty lake water. It tasted like rotten fish and dirt. She braced her feet against the opposite seat and shoved the large dog towards the open window with all the strength she had inside her. Tank popped out the opening like a cork and then he was gone, swimming upwards towards his freedom.

Rowan was almost out of air. There was only a pocket of it left in the windshield area. She spun and turned her body, pressing her lips almost against the glass to suck it in. Then she pushed off and swam through the opening. It got a little scary again when her shoulder bag caught on the rearview mirror and threatened to hold her inside the truck. But she kicked it hard with her foot and the mirror broke loose and released her. Within moments her head was bobbing above water. Daryl was in the water with her and he pulled her to him. They treaded water together for a moment before he started swimming her towards the shore.

The solid ground under her feet had never felt so good. Daryl was barefoot and shirtless and he was squeezing her so hard she could barely breathe. Are you alright? Is the baby okay? Don't know what I would have done if I lost you. Tank ran over and chose the few feet of space between Rick and Michonne to shake himself off. Both of them got splattered with dirty lake water and as he hurried back to Rowan's side, Tank kicked up a little dirt at them as well. Rick laughed and sat down in the dirt to pull his shoes back on. He had been ready to dive into the water after Daryl if Rowan hadn't popped up when she did.

Tank flopped down in the soft grass near the edge of the lake and rolled over onto his back. Wriggling his legs in the air he rubbed the smell of the grass into his fur in an attempt to rid himself of as much of the lake water as possible. Daryl ducked back, keeping his hands on Rowan's shoulders as he looked her over to make sure she wasn't hurt. The thumb she used to click the safety of the gun down was bleeding a little and she had cut her arm on a sliver of glass when she swam through the window of the car. But other than being wet and having a few minor scratches she was unharmed.

Daryl hugged her against his chest a second time. He didn't squeeze her as tightly as he had the first time but she could still feel his fear and desperation at the thought of losing her. His strong feelings were catching and Rowan found herself being swept away by them. Her hands rubbed up the marred skin of his back and she pressed her lips to his. The kiss started rough and sloppy as their noses bumped. At the warm press of his tounge Rowan parted her lips, her hands that had been softly caressing his back now gripping his flesh hard enough the he could feel the pinch of her fingernails.

A low moan from the man on the ground caught Daryl's attention. He pecked Rowan on the mouth one more time before stepping away from her and approaching the man he felt was responsible for almost killing his wife. The man moaned again and rolled over onto his back. Daryl waited until his eyes fluttered open before he punched him in the face. The blow knocked the man back out. Daryl stood up and brushed himself off before turning to see what Rowan's reaction to his sudden act of violence might be. She was twisting one of her long braids up like a rope, trying to squeeze the water out of it. She didn't seem to be anywhere close to being upset about his actions and that surprised Daryl a little.

"Feel better?," she teased.

"Yeah," Daryl admitted, "I do." Rowan giggled. She tossed the first braid behind her back and started twisting up the second one.

"He's lucky my dad's not here," Rowan added, gesturing to the unconcious man on the ground, "or he would've got a lot worse." Seeing that Rowan was paying attention to the man on the ground made Tank curious. The large dog padded over and started sniffing at the man. After pawing at him Tank leaned in close and began giving the man a thorough tounge bath. Rowan shook her head at the dog. Tank had his own ideas about who he liked and why. She wasn't sure why he had decided that Jesus was his friend but watching his lick the man like he was one of Lily's pups made her smile.

"What are we going to do with him?," Michonne asked.

"You mean if he has any skin left after Tank gets done with him," Rick quipped. Rowan smacked her leg and called the big dog away. She felt like she ought to give her opinion but she honestly wasn'y sure how she felt about the man on the ground. He had been nice to her when they were talking together by the truck. But then he had gone and attacked Daryl after that. And his reckless behavior had almost gotten her killed. On the other hand he had saved Daryl from being bitten by that walker. It was hard to know what the right thing to do would be. She didn't want to leave Jesus out here to die. But bringing him back to town might be dangerous. Once he knew where they lived there would be nothing to stop Jesus from taking off and telling his group where they were.

"We can put him up a tree," Daryl suggested. Michonne spoke up, saying she wanted to leave the man where he lay. But Rick had other ideas.

"He's clean. His beard is trimmed. He has a camp somewhere...," Rick said. He moved close to Michonne and spoke mostly to her since she was the one he expected an objection from. His arm wrapped around her waist and she leaned into him. Watching Daryl and Rowan kissing after her brush with death had Michonne feeling more romantic than usual. She kissed Rick on the cheek and smiled at him, suddenly feeling like she was in the mood for something other than another argument.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take him with us," she conceded, "...just to find out what he knows." The man had been a royal pain in the ass. He called himself Jesus. He had mucked up their perfect day. But he had never pulled a weapon on them or seriously hurt anyone even though he had ample opportunity. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy.

"Hey!," Rowan said as she pointed across the field, "we can use that tractor to get the truck out of the lake."

The cardboard boxes were hopelessly soaked. But most of the items inside them were canned or packaged. As long as they set everything out to dry once they got back to Alexandria so that nothing molded or rusted, most everything inside the truck was salvageable. It took just over an hour to get everything loaded into the back of one of the working pickups they found on the farm.

Michonne drove on the way home. Rowan rode shotgun with Tank between the two women. He sat between the seats panting with his long pink tounge hanging out. As she drove, Michonne reached over to scratch behind his ears. Rick and Daryl rode in the back with the supplies so they could keep a watchful eye on their guest. Lulled by the cooling breeze and the soothing motion of the truck, Rowan leaned her head back and let her eyes blink shut. When she woke up she was in Daryl's arms and he was carrying her up the steps to their house.