The Wolf You Feed

Chapter 91

"Where'd you learn to do this?"

Tony glanced up from the bundle of wires at the young woman next to him. She rubbed a hand over her freshly buzzed head and smiled at him. He shifted his body, making it easier for her to see what he was doing.

"My friend Eugene taught me," he told the girl. He and Eugene spent a lot of time trading knowledge over the winter they spent living together. He taught Eugene how to ice fish and hunt. And Eugene taught him bomb making and some basic chemistry.

Tony looked the girl over. If he had to guess, he would say she was about the same age as Enid and Carl. The small bit of stubble left on her head was blonde. She had big blue eyes framed by darker lashes. Despite the oncoming battle, she didn't seem afraid. She seemed more curious, peppering him lots of questions while he was rigging up the bomb.

"After this is over, I could give you a proper lesson if you want," Tony offered. A strange expression washed over the girl's face. Almost like his polite offer made her feel sad. She looked down at her hands. When she looked back up, she was forcing a smile.

"Thank you," she said, "I'd like that."

They were finished with the bomb. Tony took the remote and attached it carefully to his belt. Then he helped the girl climb down out of the truck. As they were about to head back through the gates and into Alexandria, the girl stopped.

"Oh," she exclaimed, "I forgot my knife in there." Tony nodded.

"Pull the door down after you grab it?," he suggested. The girl nodded and took off around the back of the truck. Tony heard the metal door slam shut. And then a moment later the girl was back by his side. They headed into Alexandria together.

Rick looked around. He didn't have the army he was hoping for. Enid and Tara left for Hilltop to try and get more help, but they hadn't returned yet. At least his people were well armed. Katie was next to him. And half her girls lined the fencetop. The rest were down on the ground mixed in with his people. Rick could only hope that the presence of another group might be enough to give Negan pause. When they heard the sound of Negan's armored trucks approaching, everyone but Rick ducked down. Rick felt a surge of apprehension when he heard a familiar voice ringing out over the noise through a loudspeaker.

One large truck pulled up outside the gates. Eugene was standing on the flatbed, hollering through a megaphone. He was telling them to stand down. This in itself was not a huge problem. The problem was that tht truck pulled up right in front of the dilapitidated furniture store truck that had Tony's homemade bomb in the back. Eugene's back was facing the metal door. If they set the bomb off, he'd be killed for sure. Rick glanced down at Tony. He had the detonator in his hand. But he was shaking his head. Rick stalled for time. He told Eugene he wanted to speak to Negan, hoping that their friend would climb down and that the man they wanted to blow to bits might climb up and take his place on the back of the truck.

"I am Negan," Eugene announced. Rick cringed. He turned to Tony, signaling for him to set the bomb off. They had to do it now, before the Saviors got inside the gates. Tony shook his head. But he allowed Grey Wolf to snatch the small remote from his hands. Rick ducked for cover as the man pressed the button that would blow at least half of Negan's men to pieces. He braced for the impact. But nothing happened. When RIck stood back up, Katie had her gun pointed at him. Her other girls had done the same. It only took him a moment before he realized that they knew the bomb wasn't going off. And used that opportunity to get behind his people and train their guns on them. They tricked him.

"We made a deal," Rick said, narrowing his eyes at her. Like the other girls in her group, Katie's head was freshly shaved. The long jagged scars on her face were fully revealed. When she smiled, only the unmarred side of her face turned up, giving her a frightening twisted appearance.

"I made a better deal," she informed him, "And your asshole friends got my sister killed. So fuck you!" Katie mentioned her sister. But a little part of this was about revenge. Mandy was crazy and deserved what she got. Mostly, Katie just wanted the hell out of Twin Oaks. Or the Kingdom. Or whatever that over the top douche Ezekiel was calling their community these days. The people there barely tolerated her and her girls. Katie hated it there. And Negan offered them their own outpost. It was too good a deal to turn down. Especially when she really had no loyalty to these assholes she was helping anyway. She signaled to Cassandra, gesturing for the woman to open up the gates. Negan hollered for everyone to drop their weapons. Katie was surprised when Rick spoke up. He had to know he was fucked. He had little chance of beating Negan before she and her girls disabled his bomb and turned on him. He had absolutely no chance now.

"Don't drop anything."

Negan laughed as Dwight and Simon pulled a casket out from under a tarp and set it upright on the back of the truck. Then he climbed up next to it.

"You were willing to blow Eugene up," he said, "But I know you still like Nokake. And she has a kid in this town somewhere that I bet would be happy to see his mommy again." Negan wrapped on the coffin with his bat. Then he started making his demands. He wanted all their weapons. He wanted Rick to personally choose someone for him to beat to death. He wanted all the giant ass dogs they had. And he wanted the pool table. And then he pointed at Grey Wolf and said, "And you know I've got to have my new father-in-law back. My kitten just isn't the same with her father gone. And you know what they say, happy wife, happy life."

Rick glanced at the Negan was gesturing to. Tony had a death grip on his arm. But Rick could tell he wasn't going to be able to hold the man back for long. The old jagged scar on his forehead was red and his jaw was clenched so hard his teeth were grinding together. Negan had his wife in a casket, threatening her life. And if that wasn't bad enough, he just insinuated that he had been raping the man's pregnant daughter as well.

"Let me see Nokake," Rick hollered, "I want to know she's alright."

Negan knocked his bat against the coffin a few more times. Then he swung the door open. Nokake's body fell out, slipping forward out of the plush lined box and onto the ground in front of the large truck. Rick could see that even Negan was shocked by this. He jumped down and put his hand to her throat.

"She's dead. Like for real dead. She didn't turn." Negan twisted the woman's head around, looking for some injury. But there was nothing. She was simply dead. "How did she not fuckin' turn?"

As Negan was momentarily busy pondering the mysteries of the undead, He didn't see Grey Wolf barrelling at top speed in his direction. The man collided with him, knocking him back on the pavement. One of Negan's soldiers was quick to yank the man off. Grey Wolf plunged his knife into the man's throat, slicing him open like a stuck pig. Then Rick watched as total chaos broke out all around him.

He went for his gun but Katie already had hers in her hands. She shot him in the side, the force of the bullet knocking him back off the platform. Rick fell hard, his head hitting the ground. The pain in his side was radiating throughout his body. The world went in and out of focus. He could hear gunshots ringing out around him. And he could feel his body being dragged through the street. When he was able to focus again he was on his knees next to his son.

His people were overpowered. Negan had a busted lip and a cut on the side of his head. But he was still strutting around with his bat resting on his shoulder.

"Now I'm gonna kill Carl," Negan announced. He told Rick that it was his fault he was about to see his son die. Somewhere further into town, Rick could hear a woman screaming. It sounded like Michonne. And he could hear the dogs barking. They had all the animals locked up in one house to help protect the kids that were inside. Negan got behind Carl and lifted his bat. Rick closed his eyes. He heard a loud wet smacking noise that he assumed was his son getting his brain caved in. But when he opened his eyes, Carl was still unharmed. And Negan was covered in sticky wet red slop. The smell hit Rick like an assault. It was congealed blood. A nearby soldier was hit next. Rick spun, looking in the direction the mess had come from. A bunch of women with long hair and colorful dresses were launching water balloons full of the dirty bloody muck at Negan's soldiers. They even had a few older children with them. Rick realized instantly who they were. Rowan's crazy hippie friends. The ones from her old community.

A few of Negan's soldiers raised their weapons. But they seemed unsure on what to do. They weren't being attacked or shot at. The women were only distracting them and making a mess. And it was all women and children. Dwight glanced at Negan, waiting to see what the big man was going to do. He had his red scarf off, trying to wipe the blood out of his eyes. It was then that Dwight heard the roar. He turned in the direction of the noise. And it took him a moment to believe that what he was seeing was real. His wife was on the back of a horse, holding a long rope. The other end of it was tied to a giant angry tiger. A black man with white dreads had another rope. And they were riding in, pulling the large angry cat between them. Most of Negan's men were still distracted by the water balloon assault, which was coming from the other direction. They didn't turn until the man on the horse yelled.

"Alexandria will not fall! Not on this day!," he hollered. Both he and Sherry dropped their ropes, releasing the large beast and splitting their directions, riding as fast as they could away from the Tiger. The angry animal looked for a moment like it might give them chase. But then it smelled the blood. The large cat lunged at the soldier closest to Negan, tackling the man to the ground and ripping him apart. He was still alive and screaming when it started to eat him. Everyone else that was covered in blood began to panic and run. Rick got to his feet and grabbed the man's gun from the ground. Then he started shooting. He felt the rush of air next to him when another savior soldier was knocked to the ground. But this time instead of a large cat, it was Michonne's giant black dog that tackled the man to the ground. All the dogs were loose. They could smell the blood and the gunpowder in the air. Lily was leading a giant pack of her pups, surrounding and attacking anyone that she deemed as a danger to her human companions.

Katie hunkered down behind a car and exchanged glances with Cassandra. From the other side of town, she could see Enid and Aaron leading a huge group of Hilltop residents into the fight. The Saviors were starting to retreat. And it was obvious that it wouldn't be much longer before these people had them on the run.

"I think we bet on the wrong horse," Katie grumbled.

"Ya don't say," her friend responded with a shrug. Katie pulled out a flare gun and shot it off into the sky. It was the signal she and her girls worked out ahead of time. And the signal meant it was time to get the hell out of town. Cassandra pulled out a smoke grenade next, popping the top and tossing it out into the street. All of them were armed with the bombs and it wasn't long before all the street were filled with enough smoke that the small group of women was able to climb their way over the walls unseen and scamper off into the woods. They would live to fight another day. But which side they would be fighting on when that day came was yet to be determined.