The Wolf You Feed
Chapter 41
The temperature in the room was rising, simply due to how many bodies were squeezed into such a small space. Dr. Carson seemed friendly enough. But Rowan was still nervous about the large machine he was operating. She was more than happy to let Olivia take her turn first.
The doctor smeared some suspicious looking gunk on Olivia's stomach. Then he rubbed a large wand around, touching her with it. A grainy image appeared on the screen next to them. It didn't look like much to Rowan, but Dr. Carson said it was a picture of Olivia's baby. They did get to hear the heartbeat, which made Olivia cry. Rowan liked that part. The doctor said he could tell from how fast it was beating that the baby was healthy.
"Your turn," Olivia told Rowan as she climbed down from the table. She wiped the gunk from her stomach with a hand full of tissues before she pulled her shirt back down.
"Are you sure this is safe?," Rowan asked for at least the tenth time. She wasn't sure how the machine worked. Rowan didn't want her baby exposed to anything that might harm her.
"The machine sends sound waves out. They bounce off your baby's body and the echoes are turned into an image on the screen," Dr. Carson explained.
"Won't that hurt her ears?," Rowan asked. She was edging behind Daryl in an attempt to get as far away from the exam table as possible.
"It ain't gonna hurt her," Daryl coaxed, twisting and turning in the small space to try and get ahold of Rowan. Once he had her in his arms he added, "Ya don't hafta do it if ya don't want to." Rowan knew he meant what he said. Daryl would never try to force her to do something she didn't want to do. But she could see the disappointment in his face. He really wanted to see their baby.
"Okay," Rowan said. She darted forward and climbed up onto the table before she lost her nerve. Olivia had done it and lived to tell about it. If it was important to Daryl then Rowan didn't want him to miss out because she was afraid of modern medicine.
Unlike Olivia, Rowan was wearing a dress instead of a shirt and pants. She hiked it up to give the doctor access to her stomach, revealing her legs and a very skimpy pair of black panties in the process. As soon as she let her legs relax against the table Olivia started laughing. On the inside of Rowan's pale thighs there was not just one or two, but three huge purple hickeys.
After Rowan leaned up and peered between her legs to see what the laughter was about she flopped back down on the table, her body shaking with laughter of her own. Daryl's face was so flushed that even his ears were turning red. She reached over and gasped his hand, pulling him forward until he was sitting on the exam table next to her.
Deanna took a small step forward, stopping to hesitate near the foot of the exam table. She cared about Rowan like a daughter and wanted to be included in the ultrasound but she also didn't want to intrude. Rowan lifted her hand and gestured for Deanna to come closer. Once she was next to the table Rowan gripped her hand. The way she was squeezing, it was more like she was preparing to give birth instead of only to be gently touched with an ultrasound wand.
"I had an ultrasound done when I was pregnant with Spencer," Deanna whispered. Rowan nodded and loosened her grip on the woman's hand. But it was obvious that she was still nervous. When Dr. Carson squirted the cold jelly on her belly Rowan shrieked like she was about to be axe murdered. If Daryl and Deanna weren't both holding onto her, Deanna was certain she would have fled from the room. Outside the door Tank let out a low growl. Then he started barking and scratching at the door.
"Tank!," Daryl hollered, "Lay down!" The large dog barked a few more times, making sure to let everyone know that he was angry and upset about being separated from Rowan. But at least he stopped trying to break the door down.
Dr. Carson placed the ultrasound wand on Rowan's belly, trying not to laugh at the way she responded to his gentle examination. Most women looked forward to having an ultrasound. Some were nervous about what the test might show, especially if genetic abnormalities ran in their families. But he had never seen one so frightened before. It was like Rowan had fallen out of another dimension. Or had suddenly appeared from the past, sometime before modern technology existed. It made him curious about what her life had been like before the turn and how she came to meet the group of people she was now a part of.
"Look at the screen," Dr. Carson suggested since Rowan had her eyes squeezed shut, "There's your baby!"
Rowan opened one eye at a time, turning her head towards the black and green image on the screen. Since she hadn't been able to see much during Olivia's turn her expectations were low. But there on the screen was a clear image of a baby. She could see the face and the hands, even the little fingers were wiggling.
"I can see her!," Rowan exclaimed. Deanna laughed and Daryl chewed at the side of his thumb in an obvious attempt to control his emotions. "What color hair does she have?," Rowan asked.
"I can't tell that," Dr. Carson explained. Now that Rowan seemed more relaxed and had stopped acting like she was being put through some horrible method of torture, he started moving the wand around and pointing out the different parts of the baby. He showed them the heart and the spine and the feet.
"Would you like to know the sex?," he asked. Rowan shrugged. She already knew she was having a girl. So having this confirmed by a doctor seemed harmless enough. Daryl nodded his head so Dr. Carson started moving the wand around, changing the angle of it so he could get a look at the private parts of the child.
"Congratulations," he sang out, "It's a boy!" The joyful announcement proved to be too much for the expectant father. Daryl turned his back on them and wiped his face up with his shirt. Rowan considered telling the doctor that his machine was broken but instead she just smiled. Dr. Carson pressed a few more buttons on his machine before he switched it off and presented Rowan with a small black and white picture of her baby's face and hands.
Rowan handed the picture to Daryl, who had recovered enough that he was able to face her again. He helped her wipe the jelly from her stomach so she could pull her dress back down before he pulled her into a tight embrace. She could feel all the strong emotions that seeing their baby had stirred up inside of him. His love for her and their unborn child was beautiful. It made Rowan feel like she was wrapped up in a bubble of pure white light. She tilted her head until her lips found his, not caring that she was kissing him passionately in front of a room full of people. Outside the door, Tank couldn't stand being separated from them any longer. The dog let out a mournful howl that made Rowan laugh through the happy tears in her eyes.
TWD
Daryl had taken possession of the small black and white photo. Rowan could only laugh at how excited everyone was to look at the small grainy image. It seemed a little silly to her. It would only be a few more months and they would all be free to look at her baby anytime they wanted to.
Rick and Abraham were crowded in on either side of Daryl, both of the men trying to get a good look at the picture at the same time. Rick got very excited when he found out that Daryl was expecting a son. He expressed his hopes about his son and Daryl's growing up together and being friends, which was one of the sweetest things Rowan had heard in a long time. She hoped he wouldn't be too disappointed when her daughter was born and they found out that the Dr. Carson had been wrong about the baby's gender.
The majority of the farming that took place in Hilltop was being done outside the tall walls of the community. But people had their personal gardens growing in large raised beds near the FEMA trailers where they lived. Rowan wandered over near one where several large tomatoes were growing on a repurposed box spring frame that was being used as a trellis. The plants weren't bearing much fruit considering their size. Rowan guessed the reason for this was that the seeds used to grow them had been gathered from a hybrid plant the year before. Back in Alexandria they had a least ten different types of heirloom tomatoes that Rowan would been happy to share enough cuttings from to get these people started growing better fruit. She found herself getting frustrated that the trade negotiations with Gregory had gone so poorly.
The clink of glass on glass nearby caught Rowan's attention. Two young girls were playing marbles in a small patch of even dirt. Rowan signalled Tank to stay close to her so that he wouldn't frighten the children.
"That's a big dog," said the older of the two girls. The younger of the two girls looked scared so Rowan stopped and signaled for Tank to sit. She guessed what the older girl's next question might be before she asked it.
"Can I pet your dog?"
Rowan nodded and crouched down next to Tank, wrapping an arm around his neck to keep him from charging the children. Tank loved all the children in Alexandria. He only wanted to sniff and lick these new girls but Rowan knew he might get too exited and knock one of both of them down. His long thick tail wagged back and forth, stirring up a small cloud of dirt behind him.
The girl approached slowly, dragging her younger friend behind her. She ran her hand down over Tank's head, laughing when he tried to lick her. Rowan showed the girls how he liked to be pet. Then she pulled out a small drawstring pouch from inside her shoulder bag. She could use almost anything for ammunition in her slingshot. Small nuts and bolts, rocks, even stale acorns worked. But the more symmetrical her ammunition was the better her aim was. Recently, she had taken to using marbles. They were easy to find. No one else really had much use for them. Aaron had brought her back a whole crate of them that he had swiped from a hobby shop on one of his runs.
Rowan dumped half the contents of the bag into her open palm. Then the trading began. Pretty marbles didn't fly any straighter than the plain ones. So Rowan gave the nicer looking ones to the girls and took a few of the more common designed marbles off their hands. It wasn't the type of trading that she had come to do but Rowan felt like she had to start somewhere. Even if Gregory wasn't willing to talk trade, it was possible some of his people would have a different perspective. Maybe if they were lucky they could bypass him completely.
To think of the devil was to draw him out into the light. Rowan stood up and brushed the dirt off her red dress. Gregory was walking down from his big fancy house. He stopped and began to speak to Deanna. Maybe he felt bad for the way he behaved earlier and was coming to apologize but Rowan doubted it. He still had his chest puffed out like a peacock. Deanna's aura was full of little red lightning bolts. Red was an unusual color for the woman. Deanna was a grounded person who was always slow to get angry about anything. She was most often surrounded in soft pastel shades of violet and teal. Her color meant Gregory was pissing her off. That scared Rowan a little. If Deanna got angry enough she would let Rick take over. And he was even more pissed off than she was.
Rowan concentrated on Gregory. She just wanted to get a better feel for him. People were always easier to deal with if you knew how their minds worked. But Rowan only saw the same thing she had seen in his office. He was nothing but a greedy little coward. Then suddenly his aura was gone. Rowan blinked, hoping that she had just lost her concentration. Her pregnancy had thrown off her internal balance. Lately she had been seeing people's auras when she didn't want to and when she did want to she had been having a harder time concentrating. But even after she shook her arms out and refocused on the man, there was still no light surrounding him.
Rowan started rushing towards Deanna, the red fringe on her dress swinging and bouncing with her rapid movements. If something was about to happen to Gregory, Rowan wanted to get Deanna away from him.
A group of people had just been let in through the tall guarded gate of the community. One of them, a tall man with a beard, was approaching Gregory. The situation seemed harmless enough. Gregory obviously knew the man and didn't seem afraid of him. But Gregory could't see what Rowan saw. The man's aura was on fire with anger and fear. His hand was on the hilt of his knife. Rowan wasn't going to get close enough to them in time to stop the man.
"Tank," Rowan commanded, "Get him!" She only had to point at the man. Tank surged past her as the man was pulling his knife out. He had his hand on Gregory's shoulder, saying something about delivering a message. Deanna saw Tank charging in her general direction. She wasn't afraid of the big dog but she knew the animal well enough to know when it was time to get out of his way.
The man got one good shot in. He stabbed Gregory in the side of his stomach. Blood immediately began to pour from the wound. Deanna screamed. And then the man was on the ground. Tank had his paws on the man's chest, snarling and barking menacingly into his face. Rowan arrived at his side a moment later. She was about to call the large dog off, mostly because the man still had a knife in his hand and she didn't want Tank to be hurt. But before she had the chance another man grabbed her hard by the arm.
"Get that fucking dog offa him!," the man screamed into her face. Rowan yanked and twisted, trying to escape the man's grip. The sleeve of her dress ripped but the man refused to let her go. She screamed. The sound seemed to last forever.
Daryl wasn't sure what had happened. One second he was tucking the picture of his unborn son away in his pocket and thinking about checking to see how functional the blacksmith area was. He had a few knives that he wanted sharpened properly. The next thing he heard was Rowan screaming. A man had his hands on her. He was hurting her. Everything Daryl could see took on a strange red tinge. He charged the man but Tank got there first. The dog chomped dog hard on the man's leg. The man cried out in pain and released Rowan. She fell backwards to the ground, landing hard on the side of her hip. The man pulled a knife and took a swipe at Tank. He caught the corner of the big dog's ear.
Before the man could take another swing Daryl had his hands on him. He grabbed for the man's arm first. The arm that was holding the knife. Daryl snapped the man's arm like a twig. Then he tossed him to the ground and started kicking him. Tank joined in the attack. He grabbed the man's pant leg and shook him like a ragdoll until his pants ripped apart. Daryl had always had a temper but he had learned to keep it in check. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so enraged. He might have kicked the man to death if Eugene hadn't stepped in. The large man simply bear hugged Daryl and started dragging him backwards. The entire time he was chanting the words please don't hit me please don't hit me please don't hit me.
Rowan hit the ground so hard that her vision clouded with little black spots. Everything around her felt like it was happening in slow motion. The man that Tank had been holding down got up and tried to go after Gregory again. He was screaming something about his brother. Rick tackled him and the two of them started fighting. Rick was a good fighter but the other man was much larger. He got on top of Rick and threatened him with a knife to his throat.
It felt like everyone around her was yelling at the same time. Rowan's hip and knee were throbbing. Time slowed down and she felt like she could feel every horrible thing that was happening around her inside her head at the same time. Then suddenly a gunshot rang out. The head of the man that was on top of Rick exploded. Blood sprayed everywhere. It soaked Rick and the ground around him. Rowan turned expecting to see Abraham or one of the other men on the other side of the gunshot. Instead she saw Deanna. The woman was standing with her feet apart, holding the small handgun she favored in both her hands. Hands that were now shaking.
