Chapter 17: Breaking Bread

The topic was broached on the first night of their journey. They had spent the better part of the day getting past a large herd, and most of the evening diverting it in the opposite direction. Then they settled down for the night at a clearing in the woods. After they ate, the younger children - Judith, Oliver, Daliah and Annabelle - were sent to sleep in the back of the van, while the teenagers (and Castiel) stayed up by the campfire.

As they sat by the dwindling fire, the teenagers argued on how much, if at all, they should say on the topic of their abduction. They knew, of course, that people would want to know where they've been all this time. Some of them had left families and friends behind, people who likely had been hurt by their disappearance. Castiel had suggested that they simply tell the truth. For reasons unbeknown to him, a few of them expressed reluctance to do so. Claire, to Castiel's surprise, was the biggest advocate for censorship.

The fire had gone out by the time they came to a decision: they would tell the truth. From a certain point of view. The truth was: they were kidnapped by a madman. They killed the madman. They freed Castiel. They made their way home.

"And if that's not enough," said Enid, jabbing at the remains of the fire with a long stick, "There's always Plan B."

"We don't need a Plan B," Claire insisted.

"Come on, Claire." Enid let out a sigh, annoyed by the long debate. "Why is it such an issue? Monsters have been real for years. People aren't going to lose their minds if they find out there's, like, a variety."

"Enid's got a point," Carl said. He threw some dried leaves on the embers, watching as they crumbled away. "Besides, without a Plan B, Plan A is just a plan."

Plan B was, of course, to tell the truth. The whole truth.

They were kidnapped by a madman (an ancient pagan god). They killed the madman (with a holy blade). They freed Castiel (an angel of the Lord). They made their way home (with said angel, their protector and sometimes driver).

"It sounds like crazy talk," Mikey muttered.

"Who cares?" Enid pointed toward the van. "It's going to come out sooner or later. What if one the kids blabs?"

"I won't tell!" Oliver's petulant voice carried over.

"You'd better not wake my sister, Ollie," Carl called in the boy's direction. "Go back to sleep." To the rest of them, he said, "What's the problem when we've got proof? Cas has, like, super powers." He threw up a hand in excitement. "He could lift the van!"

Mikey snorted. "Yeah! And then they'll think he's on something! Ever seen how strong somebody gets in a 'roid rage?"

"Have you?" Claire asked Mikey in disbelief.

Mikey's shoulders squared defensively. "What? You don't know where I've been."

"What's a roid?" Castiel had gotten lost in the conversation. "Is that some kind of a potion?"

"No one is going to think Cas is on steroids, man. Have you seen him?" Carl looked incredulous. Then his face whipped toward Castiel and he added, sheepishly, "No offense."

"None taken, I think."

Jake sighed loudly. He was lying on the ground, arms pillowing his head, and so far hadn't shown a decisive opinion. "You guys are overthinking this. Just flash 'em if it comes down to it, Cas."

"Dude," Scott gasped. He punched his brother's arm, who yelped in response.

Jake sat up, rubbing his arm. "A wing. I meant flash them a wing," he spluttered. "Jesus Christ."

"Dude!"

"Was that innuendo?" Castiel wondered. "That's very inappropriate, Jake."

"Nobody's flashing anybody. Just stick to Plan A," Claire snapped, glaring at each of them in turn until they all looked suitably cowed.

Several days later, when they had reached McLaren, and before the soldiers came to collect them at the outer barrier, Claire had repeated the very same thing to all of them. Later, when she hugged both Annabelle and Daliah and promised that they wouldn't leave before saying goodbye, she also told them to remember what they had talked about.

The exchange didn't escape Rodriguez's attention. She had been trying to urge them back into the vehicle, telling them, "The girls can go with their families. The rest of you will be staying at the base." Rodriguez added, "You'll get a chance to rest and have a meal that's not expired, for once."

"And we'll meet your superior, of course," Castiel supplied.

The rest of the children had been reluctant to leave the two young girls behind, even with their families. They only climbed back into the jeep at Castiel's encouraging nod. He didn't miss the angry huff Rodriguez let out at that. She said nothing, but this time she joined them at the back of the jeep, sending one of her subordinates to sit at the front instead.

McLaren turned out to be a much larger community than any Castiel had seen since the outbreak. Outwardly, it appeared to be flourishing. It seemed they had a working electricity grid, access to a water supply, and enough fuel to have people driving their vehicles even inside the walls. On the other hand, many looked thin and tired, townspeople and soldiers alike.

Castiel had noticed a strange scent on their arrival. Inside the walls, he noticed another one. A cloying, too sweet scent. Rotten produce, he suspected. The crops fields they passed had too many empty patches and too many dark leaves. As if they had been struck with blight. No doubt, McLaren had exhausted all scavenging opportunities nearby, and now they were attempting to grow food on their own. And by all appearances, they were struggling.

Castiel wasn't the only one to take notice.

"Those apple trees are way too close together," Carl said, off-handedly, as they passed the small orchard. "It's going to destroy their roots."

A few minutes later they arrived at the military base. It was a closed off area, with sturdy looking fences that were too well put together to have been placed there after the outbreak. Rollins, the soldier who had chatted so amiably with Jake before, was all too happy to tell them all about the community's history.

"We've expanded a lot since the beginning. Actually, it started out with just the base," Rollins told them when they parked. He and a few other soldiers escorted them into one of the buildings. "Way it was, we took in any decent people who'd shown up. Pshh, now? Now we can barely feed the ones we got…" He trailed off when his commander gave him a smoldering glare.

They were led up the stairs and into what the soldiers called "the rec room". By Rodriguez's orders, one of the soldiers stayed with them - the young blond one who had glared at Castiel throughout the entire drive over. He didn't say anything to them, just stayed standing by the door. The room itself was furnished with a threadbare couch, a few sitting areas, a large television, and shelves with stacks of well-used board games (Castiel eyed the familiar Trivia Pursuit with interest. He had found it quite educational before).

Rodriguez had been true to her word. A few minutes past their arrival, someone came by with a cardboard box filled with food and water. It surprised him that they would be so generous, despite their obvious struggles. To Castiel's further surprise, the children had looked to him for approval before reaching for the meal. Then they happily tucked into the fresh food, all except for Claire, who sat down on the window sill next to Castiel, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"It's like we're under arrest," Claire muttered darkly, glaring at the soldier standing by the door.

Castiel sighed. "Claire, they haven't been unkind to us. Cautious, yes. As you would have been." He raised an eyebrow at her scowling face. "What are you doing back here? Go. Eat a vegetable."

She turned her glare to him. Unfazed, he stared her down until she gave up.

"Fine," Claire said, stomping her foot, and didn't return his answering smile (which was all right by him). The others dragged over a seat for her, which she accepted by flinging herself down with probably more attitude than such an action warranted. She picked up a peach from the box, only to toss it to the table in disgust. "Gross, there's a worm in it."

"Don't throw that away. It's great fertilizer," Carl said without looking up. He was busy trying to wrestle food into Judith who was shaking her head and smacking her lips at every morsel he offered.

Mikey asked in surprise, "How would you know?"

"We used to grow our own food at the prison," Carl replied. "Dad was really into it."

"Your dad? Rick Grimes?" Mikey asked, mouth agape. "You're screwing with me."

"Nope. He was going through a pacifist phase," Carl said with a shrug.

A knock sounded at the door. Rodriguez stepped inside, followed by another woman who carried a small bag to one of the tables. Castiel assumed that she was the general he was supposed to meet. Then again, the woman didn't carry herself like the soldiers did, and she wasn't dressed like one, either. She wore a bright orange blouse and her graying hair was set loose around her shoulders.

"This is Dr. Ganguly," Rodriguez said, inclining her head at the older woman.

Castiel considered the unfamiliar woman. "You are a physician?" he asked. Come to think of it… he had no idea what human physicians actually did. He'd observed them in hospitals, a few too many times, in fact. Yet, in hospitals, they had all of those blinking machines, which he doubted fit into Dr. Ganguly's bag. There were also physicians in Dean's strange television show, where the doctors spent most of the time kissing, which… no, unlikely.

Dr. Ganguly smiled. "Among other things." She turned to the children and said, "General Ulysses asked me to make sure you guys are all okay. I'll also ask you some questions. If you're comfortable with that."

Castiel looked at the children for guidance. Claire was scowling. Judith was thoughtfully chewing on a cucumber. The rest appeared a bit baffled but otherwise didn't look as though they caught onto any threatening social cue that he himself had missed.

"And in the meantime..." Rodriguez held the door open and looked at Castiel.

"You'll interrogate him?" Claire shot, grabbing Castiel's wrist as he went past her. "Is waterboarding still a thing?"

"Claire-" he started to say. She dropped his wrist, still scowling.

So far, there was nothing about these people that stood out to him as a threat. Nevertheless, they obviously didn't trust him, in particular, and he had learned that people who were afraid tended to react in strange ways. Perhaps with waterboarding, whatever that was. He could do his part in reassuring them. As far human allies went, they didn't seem half bad.

"They'll stay right here, correct?" Castiel looked at Rodriguez meaningfully, who nodded once in reply. "Then let's go see this commander of yours."