The Wolf You Feed
Chapter 58
With the death of Denise, Alexandria had lost their only formally trained medical professional. Tara knew where the woman had kept her cheat sheets. And Rosita wasn't squeamish about blood. Rowan could treat minor illnesses or ailments with her mother's herbal medicine remedies. But no one in town was prepared to deal with the giant bloody shard of glass sticking out of Carl's eye. This was a full on medical emergency. One that would have required surgery even before the turn.
There was no other choice to make. Deanna pointed at the RV and hollered for them to take Carl to Hilltop. She knew everyone had all agreed to stay close to town until the ongoing threat of the saviors was over. Especially after what that woman they captured had told her about the group. But Carl needed medical attention. At the very least he was going to lose the sight in his eye and Deanna was worried if he didn't get some help the boy might lose his life as well.
Michonne sat across from him, watching Carl's body slowly shift with the movements of the RV. Rosita was sitting on the floor near his head in case he woke up. Tara had already injected Carl with a pain pill she had crushed up. After some debate and much screaming, Rosita had pulled the shard of glass from Carl's eye and held a clean compress to the area until the bleeding stopped. There was gauze taped over it now but no one knew how long the pain medication would keep Carl asleep. Rosita was worried he would wake up and start clawing at his eye.
Nokake had grabbed Judith and taken Michonne's small son from her arms before pushing her towards the RV. At that moment, Michonne had been desperate to go with Carl. She loved the older boy as much as she loved her young son. She wanted to be with him and make sure he was going to be alright. But now she was almost regretting coming along. She felt helpless and useless as she sat and stared at Carl's limp body. There was dried blood plasted to the side of his face and matted in his hair. Just looking at Carl's eye made her feel sick to her stomach. Michonne longed for a fight or a walker to kill. Sitting and waiting was worse than a battle.
"He's a tough little shit," Daryl whispered to Michonne. He lifted his arm and awkwardly patted her back. Physical affection was an uncommon gesture from the man and Michonne appreciated Daryl's rough words and his special variety of caring. She knew he cared for Carl as much as she did. Michonne followed his hand with hers as he pulled it back, catching his fingers and giving them a quick squeeze. Rick was at the table with his head in his hands. Michonne knew he was blaming himself for what had happened even though it clearly wasn't his fault or anything that he could have prevented.
"Rick, you better get up here now," Tara called from the passenger seat. Tony was slowly bringing the RV to a halt. Up ahead the road was blocked. And not by walkers. Three vehicles had been set up in an obvious attempt to stop anyone from passing through. A small group of men were standing in front of them holding guns.
"We doing this now?," Daryl asked. He glanced out through the windshield. The men looked well armed but there weren't many of them. They could take this group if they had to. But something about the situation was unnerving. Daryl felt a tingle down deep in his stomach. This was a trap. He had a strong urge to tell Tony to turn the RV around and head back to Alexandria. These men were waiting here specifically for them. Which meant they knew they were coming. Which meant they had someone watching Alexandria. Which also meant they knew where the town was. And Rowan was there. Without him. Outside the walls. With only her dogs and a stick for protection. Daryl glanced back at Carl. The boy needed a doctor.
They climbed down out of the RV, guns in hand. Rick spoke to the man that seemed to be in charge of the other group. In Daryl's opinion Rick was being far too cocky. He was making threats they had no way to back up. But it wouldn't do them any good to show their fear and desperation now. That would only make them appear weak. Although the other group was already treating them as if they were nothing to be feared. One man had simply stared at them while he spray painted the shirt of another man he was holding on the ground in front of him.
Tara looked over the map and found another road that led to Hilltop. It wasn't as direct a route but they had plenty of gas to make the drive. They made it to within a few miles of the other town before they found their path was blocked again. This time there were more cars and more than double the amount of men blocking their path. Rick did not get out of the RV this time. They turned the RV around and Tara started looking for another route. The small tingle of worry in Daryl's stomach caught fire and started to burn.
The third route they tried was also blocked. This time by at least 40 men. All of them were heavily armed. The anxiety inside the RV was building. Carl was moaning and thrashing. Rick was holding his arms while Rosita tried to get him to swallow a pain pill. She didn't want to inject him again if she could help it. Michonne gripped her sword as she watched the boy thrash. Her breasts were engorged with milk. The hormonal urge to get back to her baby was making the panic rise up inside her. But she adjusted her shirt and took a deep breath, willing those feelings back down.
"There's only one more road that heads North," Tara announced. Tony looked at Rick for guidance. Even Tony believed they ought to head back. They had been in a complete panic when they left Alexandria. They had brought minimal weapons. Minimal supplies. There were only six of them. Six against at least sixty. Those weren't good odds. And they couldn't run without leaving Carl behind. Tony knew the boy needed a doctor. But getting all of them killed wasn't going to help him. Rick nodded, indicating that he wanted Tony to head towards the road that Tara had mentioned. Tony sighed and against his better judgment, turned the RV north once again.
This time a group of walkers was blocking the road. They were chained together in a line. Rick got out of the RV. Daryl and Michonne followed him. When he moved to kill the first walker, gunshots rang out from the woods around them. Rick slashed the arm of the closest walker to break up the chain and ran for the RV.
"They were shooting at our feet," he told Daryl. The other man nodded but didn't seem to really be listening to him. Daryl was glancing back towards the string of walkers with a look of perplexed concentration on his face. There was something strange about those walkers but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. One had been the body of a woman with long raggedy hair hanging down from one side of her head. He couldn't get the image of her out of his mind.
They didn't have to drive for long before they saw the next roadblock. This time a huge pile of cut trees was blocking the road.
"We aren't fighting wasichu this time," Tony announced as he stared up at the giant blockade, "We are fighting ozuye."
"What's ozuye?," Rick asked. Before anyone could answer a man was thrown over the edge of the bridge behind them. He dangled from a chain around his neck, the red spray paint on his shirt clearly visible. This was the same man that the Saviors had been holding on the ground at the very first roadblock.
"Ozuye means warrior," Tony explained. The tone of his voice was ominous. Rick looked up. The bridge was full of armed men. They weren't firing their weapons. They weren't panicking. They were not afraid. They looked like they had already won.
"Get back in the RV!," Daryl shouted. The way the man ran for the vehicle made everyone else run with him. He screamed at Tony to drive back the way they had come. Back to the chain of walkers. When they got there, Daryl charged out before anyone could stop him. He could feel the flame in his gut burning. Consuming him with fear. She was nowhere near them but he could hear Rowan's screams just the same.
Daryl grabbed the female walker and stabbed it through the head with his knife. Then he grabbed for the necklace that had been placed around the undead monster's neck. That's what had seemed so out of place to him. He had seen that necklace before. Because it was Rowan's. The crystal she kept on a silver chain. The necklace she never took off. It had been a gift from her mother. Daryl yanked the chain free, ripping skin and hair from the walker as he pulled.
"This is Rowan's," Daryl screamed as he turned. Rick's eyes widened as he realized the implications of Daryl's words. They needed to get back to Alexandria and they needed to get back now.
