The Wolf You Feed

Chapter 75

Carol woke up to the feeling of sand in her mouth. The sun was beating down hot on her back and she could feel her damp clothes sticking to her body. Slowly she pushed herself up and into a sitting position, assessing what damage had been done to her body. She was sore all over. And thirsty. But otherwise all her extremities felt like they were in working order.

She took in her surroundings, blinking her eyes against the sunlight that was reflecting off the water. The tide was coming in, water was splashing up over her feet and ankles. The beach around her was deserted. But nearby she spotted a full bottle of water and a small bundle next to it. Her shoes and sock were off her feet and sitting near the water bottle, drying in the sun.

Carol smelled the water in the bottle before she took a sip. Not knowing where it came from, she was hesitant to drink it. But after a moment of indecision, her thirst won out and she began gulping down the warm water. There was a small smoke dried fish in the bundle and she ate that too, washing the salty bits of meat down with the rest of the water.

Carol had no idea where she was and she racked her brain, trying to think of the last thing she could remember. The situation she woke up to was strange. If someone she knew had found her passed out on the beach, they would have taken her with them. And if someone she didn't know found her, she was confused as to why they would have left her food and not simply searched her body for anything they could steal and moved on. The idea that someone might be waiting and watching her made Carol uneasy.

She closed her eyes against the blinding sunlight. Think Carol, THINK! The first image that came to her was vividly sexual. Grey Wolf was on top of her, pushing inside her as she came. His long silky hair falling down around her face when he kissed her. Carol felt her cheeks start to heat up. She gave herself a few light slaps across the face. Get it together. Carol focused on where she had been when the act in question happened. They had been taken hostage. She was in the sanctuary. BUT WE GOT OUT! Dwight had kept his word. It shocked her a little but made more sense once the man told Carol she had to take his wife Sherry with them. Negan had taken the woman for himself. And Carol guessed it had been against the woman's will. Rowan's still there. They had not been able to get Rowan out of the Sanctuary when they fled. Carol worried for her. And for Daryl. It was clear that Negan wanted Rowan for himself. And Carol guessed Daryl would take the idea of another man raping his wife about as well as any man would.

Can't worry about that now. Carol had escaped. Grey Wolf was with her. And Dwight's pretty wife. And Jesus. They rode motorcycles they stole from the saviors. She rode behind Grey Wolf, her arms wrapped around the hard planes of his body. How thin he felt under his raggedy sweatshirt was vivid in her mind. Once they were out, they weren't sure where to go. Alexandria was the first place the Saviors were going to look for them. They couldn't go there.

Jesus offered to take them to the Hilltop. The Saviors might still look there. But as the community was larger and more spread out, they would be much harder to find. But just to be safe, Jesus wanted to take some alternate back way of getting there. He thought the Saviors were watching the main roads. Grey Wolf agreed. And so did Carol because she eavesdropped on the Saviors as much as possible and had actually heard them saying they were watching the roads.

They rode the bikes most of the day. THE BRIDGE! Carol shuddered at the memory. There was a bridge they needed to cross. But someone dumped the contents of an entire gravel truck in the middle of it. Blocking access. They decided to hide the bikes in the woods and continue on foot. Climbing over a mound of gravel didn't seem that daunting. Until they were halfway up and the walkers started coming out of the rubble. All Carol could remember after that was screaming. And then the feeling of her body hitting the water under the bridge. Being underwater muffled the screams that were coming from the bridge above her.

She needed to get back and find her friends. Now. Carol pulled herself to her feet. Her head began to spin as she walked. She forced herself forward. She knew she had to at least get herself out of the beating sun and into the shade. Or she could die of exposure. Once there, Carol pulled her dry shoes and socks onto her feet. With that small effort, she was already drained of energy. Carol lay back onto the sand and closed her eyes until the world around her stopped spinning. She fought hard to keep from losing consciousness again. Falling asleep out in the open like she had was like an open invitation for a walker to eat her. She was lucky she hadn't already been torn to pieces.

The sound of a branch breaking snapped Carol back into survival mode. She peeked out from under the eyelashes of one eye, relieved to see it was not a walker that was approaching her. It was a young woman with long dark hair and a tanned complexion. The girl had another full water bottle in her hand. Carol closed her eyes and faked like she was passed out again. Which wasn't hard because she felt like all she wanted to do was sleep. The girl moved carefully around her, not touching Carol except to place two fingers on her neck and check to be sure she was still alive. A few moments later the girl headed quickly back in the direction she had come from. Carol opened her eyes. The girl had left her two bottles of water, another bundle of fish, and a long spear. The pointy end was stuck in the sand to keep the weapon upright.

Carol grabbed one of the bottles and chugged down the contents. She couldn't remember the last time she was so thirsty. The rest of the items she left where they were. Instead of taking them, she got to her feet and followed after the girl that had left them for her.