The Wolf You Feed

Chapter 56

Reg rubbed his face, trying to hide his smile. Rowan's eyebrows were knitted together. She scratched the back of her head and looked around the small space in confusion. The walls of the room were reinforced with thick cement blocks. Metal bars covered the only window. A toilet and sink had been secured in one corner. Only the reinforced metal door was yet to be installed. Abraham wanted to add an opening and cover it with bars before he hung the heavy door on its hinges.

"What kind of animal are you going to keep in this stall?," Rowan finally asked.

Reg smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling the younger woman close to him. Even though Rowan hadn't ended up as the daughter in law he had originally hoped for, he still cared for her like a daughter. She was really too precious for words. It amazed him that she didn't look at the small room he had built and instantly know what the space was meant to be used for. He longed for the type of life Rowan had lived before the turn. A life with no knowledge of jail or prison or the need for it. He hoped to build that type of life here in Alexandria. But the darker side of human nature seemed determined to continue rearing its ugly head.

"It's not a stall honey," Reg explained as gently as he could, "It's a cell." Rowan nodded but he could tell from the perplexed look on her face that she still didn't fully understand what he had told her. He was grateful when Enid spoke up from the doorway.

"He's not going to put an animal in here Roe," the younger woman added, "It's for locking up a person." Rowan's eyes lit up with understanding. She had been trying to figure out why the toilet had been added to the room. No animal would have any use for it. Then just as suddenly as her eyes had lit up, her face collapsed into sadness.

"What kind of people are you going to put in here?," Rowan asked, looking at Reg. The idea of the room disturbed her but she was also starting to imagine the possibilities of such a space. Derek's face suddenly flashed across her mind. His deep set eyes and full lips contorted into hideous rage. A shiver shot up her spine and shook her shoulders. Rowan edged in closer to Reg. He held her, stroking her long hair and trying to think of a way to answer her question without upsetting her further.

"Bad people," Enid explained in the simple way that only a young person could. Before Rowan could ask Reg anything else, Enid stepped forward and grabbed her friend by the hand. She pulled Rowan from the room, heading outside where the horses were saddled and waiting for them. If Rowan wanted to talk about prison cells with Reg, she could do it later. Enid was itching for a ride on her horse

Both girls already had mostly empty backpacks on. And there were empty baskets clipped on to the sides of the horse saddles. They were going out foraging in the woods behind Alexandria. Enid knew the wild raspberries were ripe. She had packed lots of smaller plastic containers inside the larger baskets to keep them from smashing up on the ride back. And with Rowan along, they were sure to find lots of other edibles to bring back.

The girls invited Olivia and Eric to come, but they were busy helping Rosie and Nokake sort out the rest of the pig carcass from the picnic the day before. The bones would be roasted and turned into a savory broth. Every scrap of shredded meat would be consumed. Even the pig skin would be deep fried into crispy chips and salted for later snacking.

Spencer pulled the gate open. Rowan paused, whistling for her dogs before she exited. Tank and Morgan came running, both their muzzles covered in soft brown dirt. Rowan smiled and shook her head at the large dirty beasts, hoping they hadn't completely ruined anything important with their naughty digging. Since Tank was involved she knew the dogs had probably been digging another hole at the bottom of the wall around Alexandria.

Since their time on the road when Daryl had taken her to see her old home, both dogs had developed a habit of rolling around on the bodies of old walkers and liked to escape from town for this purpose. It made them smell absolutely putrid but Rowan had noticed it also acted as a sort of camouflage. The walkers didn't notice the dogs unless the large animals were making a lot of noise.

"I'm kind of glad it's just us today," Enid announced once they were out of earshot of the gate. Rowan smiled at the girl.

"Me too," she admitted. Rowan enjoyed all her friends. And sometimes it was fun to forage with a large group. But she and Enid had developed their own system. Less communication was required because they were in sync with each other. When Rowan was out with Enid she was able to listen to the sounds of the forest and feel like she was a part of it in a way she couldn't when they went out in a bigger group. She always came back feeling refreshed even though her body was tired.

"Up ahead," Enid hissed, ticking her head to the right, "it's Carl and Rick. Let's give 'em the business." Rowan giggled and nodded her agreement. A little harmless mischief never hurt anyone. Enid turned down the path that would lead her towards the guys and kicked her heels into Comet's flanks. Molly never needed any encouragement to run. Rowan simply turned her horse in the same direction and leaned forward, holding tight to the horn of the saddle with her right hand and keeping a firm grip on her fighting stick with the other.

Both horses pounded down the walking path, small overhanging branches whipping by as they ran. They were almost on top of the guys before Rick heard them. He turned, reaching for his gun. The girls split off, thundering by on either side of the two men. As they rode away, Enid could hear Carl laughing as his father cursed at both girls for startling and nearly trampling him. Rowan and Enid slowed their horses, both their bodies still shaking with laughter.

"Rick's going to holler at us later," Enid warned as she clutched her ribs.

"Let'im," Rowan answered, "the look on his face was worth it."

Thinking about Rick's shocked expression sent both girls back off into another fit of laughter. Molly nickered and tossed her head, displeased with the noisy shaking fit that was happening on her back. Rowan leaned forward and stroked the horse to calm the animal as she attempted to also get some control over herself.

Once their laughter was done, the girls swung down off their horses and led them over to a nearby stream. Rowan knew the horses would stay there, happy with fresh water to drink and nearby plants to nibble. Then she and Enid got to work. They started where Enid and Carl had left off before they got the wild pig. The girls picked berries until their hands were stained. They chatted happily as they worked, passing a thermos of cold iced tea between them. People in town had been asking them when they were going to put on another play. They were trying to decide what sort of play to do. Rowan thought a native american legend might be fun and she tucked a reminder away in her mind to ask her father for some good stories later.

Almost all the containers Enid had brought for the berries were full so the girls sat down near the horses for a lunch break. They split a piece of cornbread and a container of raw snap beans. They had a good haul for just a mornings worth of work. Besides the berries, Rowan had found a huge patch of lemon balm that could be used to make a medicinal tea or to flavor food. She had put on the leather gloves that Enid had been smart enough to pack and pulled up a whole basket full of stinging nettle. Cooking took the sting out and the leaves could be eaten just like cooked spinach. The girls had also pulled up some garlic mustard and picked the tops from a large crop of dandelions. Deanna had asked for the small yellow flowers. The woman was planning another attempt to make wine with them. Her last wine making attempt had turned out so foul that only Abraham had been willing to drink the slop. Rowan hoped the dandelion wine would turn out better. For Deanna's sake. Wrangling all of Alexandria's crazy residents would be enough to make anyone need a drink. And how calm Deanna managed to stay was amazing. Rowan figured the woman not only needed a glass of wine at the end of the day, but deserved one as well.

"Want to go back?," Enid asked. She wasn't tired yet, but was worried Rowan might be. The other woman was pregnant. And while Enid didn't know much about being pregnant, she assumed that growing a whole human inside you must take some serious energy. She didn't want Rowan to over exert herself.

"We have one basket still half empty," Rowan said as she glanced over at the horses. "Might as well fill that up before we go back." Her statement came out sounding more like a question. Enid nodded her approval.

The girls grabbed the horses and moved them further downstream. Enid nudged Rowan and pointed across the water. There was a small broken down looking cabin on the other side. Rowan shrugged and pulled up her dress to keep it from getting wet as she waded through the shallow stream. Enid walked down a few yards and crossed by hopping from rock to rock. The cabin was empty inside but there was a small garden area that had been fenced off around the back side. A lot of the plants had either bolted or been picked at by the local wildlife. But there was a section of zucchini plants that had overgrown almost into large bushes. Rowan gathered up the skirt of her dress to use it as a basket and the girls filled it with the large green squashes they found hiding under the foliage of the plant. Enid used her shirt to gather several bunches of small yellow cherry tomatoes that were clinging to the side of a dilapidated looking tomato plant. Tank and Morgan took off chasing after some poor little rabbit that had picked an unfortunate moment to come looking for a garden snack.

Enid was careful not to smash the fruit as she crossed back over the stream. She dumped them into the basket with the wild herbs they had gathered, hoping that would help to keep them from getting squished on the way back. She was tying the lid of the basket closed when suddenly a chill crawled up her spine despite the heat of the day.

Enid turned and looked at Rowan. The woman had paused mid motion, a zucchini in her hand that was halfway to the basket. Her face was frozen in terror and as she turned towards Enid, she dropped the vegetable she was holding in her hand. It hit the ground with a soft thud. But Rowan didn't reach down to retrieve it. She was already hoisting herself up into the saddle on Molly's back.

"Something's very wrong," Rowan hissed, "we need to get back NOW." Enid didn't attempt to argue. She had felt it too. A surge of terror that had come over her for no explainable reason. Enid pulled herself up onto Comet's back, her hand moving to the gun in her holster. Feeling the hard metal of the weapon brought her some small amount of reassurance.

There had only been a few times that Enid had ridden so fast and hard. The one that came to mind as she rode like hell was when she had Carl behind her and they were escaping from those crazy amazon women. She just held tight with her legs and let her body move with the motion of her horse. Rowan's hair was flying out behind her and she had a hard grip on the long stick she used to whack at walkers.

It didn't take long before Enid could see the walls of Alexandria looming up ahead of them. And only a moment after that she could hear screaming coming from inside. Enid yelled for Rowan to slow down. They had no idea what they were about to ride into. But she either didn't hear her or didn't listen. Rowan kept up her relentless pace and turned Molly down the path to their left, the one that led straight to the front gates.