The Wolf You Feed

Chapter 57

Carl laughed as Rowan and Enid disappeared down the path. His dad was hollering after the two women but the woods had already swallowed them up. They hadn't been riding as fast as Carl had seen them go before but they had still been hauling some serious ass. He had heard the horses coming but from his dad's reaction, Carl knew the girls had startled the man. And his dad didn't scare easily. Which of course made the whole situation even funnier.

"One of these days those girls are going ta kill someone riding around like that," Rick grumbled. He turned towards Carl, ready to continue his tirade. But the look on his son's face stopped him. Carl's eyes were lit up with laughter and excitement. His hat was sitting cockeyed on his head. And his face was full of life and his love for the girl that had just ridden by and nearly decapitated them both.

"You really like her, dontcha?," Rick asked his son. Carl cocked his head to the side and stared at him, the smile still lingering on his face.

"She risked her life to save mine," Carl answered, "I think it's a little more than like at this point dad." Rick smiled back at Carl. He supposed the comment was fair. Enid and his son seemed just as in love as any other couple in town, despite their age. But that still didn't prepare him for what Carl said next.

"We are planning on getting married in the Spring."

Rick's mouth popped open. He was even more startled than he had been by the girls riding by him on their horses. He stopped himself from immediately responding to Carl's casual announcement of his marital plans. Before the turn, if someone had told him that his son would be ready to become a husband before he was old enough to drive, Rick would have laughed them out of the room. But now the idea didn't sound so crazy. The old world idea that his boy was far too young to make such a commitment was still nagging at the back of his mind. But in this new world, Carl had been forced to grow up fast. Not only was he mature enough to take on the adult responsibility of being a husband, he was essentially already fulfilling it.

"I suppose I'd be alright with that," Rick announced with a shrug of his shoulders. Carl laughed again.

"I didn't ask for permission," he announced. Rick snorted out a laugh before he could stop himself. He grabbed his son and wrapped the boy up in a tight hug. Carl didn't hesitate to hug him back. He hadn't been happy when his dad made him start patrolling with him, but he had come to enjoy their time together. Their relationship was shifting into something that was still part parent and child but also slowly becoming a friendship as well.

"Well are you at least going to invite me?," Rick asked. Carl nodded and squeezed him tight one more time before he let go and straightened out his shirt. Of course he wanted his dad there. Though doing something totally private like Daryl and Rowan had done wasn't totally unappealing. But Carl thought he would be happier having his friends and family there. He and Enid hadn't really thought that far ahead. They had only talked about getting married and how they thought it would help everyone to stop treating them like children.

Rick and Carl walked back towards the front gate, chatting mostly about women and girls and relationships. They stopped once to plug up a hole the dogs had dug along the base of the wall. A few rabbits and one fat groundhog were trapped in the small game snares. It only took a few minutes to grab the game and reset the snares. The new ones Eugene had built were much easier to work with.

"That car door is open," Rick commented, as he pointed towards the guard tower. He was fairly sure it had been closed the last time he passed by. An open car door didn't necessarily mean anything sinister. But he was carefully checking for anything that was out of place since they still weren't sure where that woman had gone after she escaped. Rick was about 50 percent convinced that someone had killed her. He wasn't sure who, it was just a hunch. When Deanna had spoken to her, the woman had not given the appearance of someone that was desperate to escape.

"I got it," Carl announced. He jogged over and peeked inside the car, checking to see if anything looked out of place. There was nothing inside the vehicle to steal anyway. Seeing nothing of interest, Carl shrugged and pushed the door shut. Before he could turn around and head back, the windshield of the car exploded. The sound of breaking glass seemed to come from all around him.

Carl felt the ground against his back before he realized that he had been knocked down. The sensation of something wet on his face hit him before the pain did. His dad already had a grip on him before he started to scream. The pain was a white hot pulsing ball that started in his eye and seemed to radiate out to every nerve in his body. His instinct was to shut his eyes but that only made the pain intensify. Somewhere in what felt like the distance he could hear his dad screaming for help. He could feel his body being moved. His hand being held down to keep him from clawing at his face. But all that was removed. Like it was happening to someone else. Here there was only him and his pain. Other voices started to swirl around him. They were coming through the pain like people screaming under water. There was a small pinch in his arm. Carl would recall later that he thought he had been stung by a bee. And then the pain slowly began to recede as the darkness took it's place.