Between the Thorns
Chapter 25
Carl's body was stiff and the muscles in his legs were cramping up. But still he stayed hidden, waiting for his opportunity to kill the madman that was threatening his family and friends. The Saviors were unloading the truck he was hiding in. He wanted to wait until he was sure he had a clear shot at Negan. But the back of the box truck was quickly being emptied of its contents. Soon, they would catch him and he wouldn't get any chance at all. Carl gripped his gun tighter in his hands and stood up, pointing it towards the back of the truck. He knew someone was inside the truck with him. He felt the truck sway slightly as the person climbed inside. But Carl assumed it was one of Negan's soldiers. When he stood up, he was shocked to find himself face to face with a girl his age.
One of her arms was in a sling. And her face was a colorful map of bruises. Her long curly hair was twined into two braids. Her eyes widened as she took a step back, putting a little more space between herself and Carl. She looked as surprised by his sudden appearance as he was to see her there. It took her a moment to find her voice. Then she screamed.
"Daryl!," the girl shrieked. "DARYL! HELP!"
A moment later, Daryl appeared, snatching the girl up and pushing her behind him. Carl gasped. He wasn't expecting to see Daryl. He thought these people had the man tied up somewhere. Carl lowered his gun, pointing at the floor of the truck. Though the gun was no longer being pointed at him, Daryl clearly wasn't willing to take any chances. He stepped forward and snatched the gun from Carl's hands. Then he grabbed the boy by his arm and dragged him from the truck, grumbling a string of the foulest curses Carl ever heard under his breath.
"Carl! What the fuckin' hell were ya thinkin' coming here?," Daryl asked. "Yer gonna get yerself killed."
Once Daryl pulled him down out of the truck, Carl let out a dejected sigh. Negan was right there. Outside the truck. If Carl just rushed past the girl that surprised him in the truck, he would have had a good chance of killing the man. Now, all he accomplished was to get himself in a giant heap of trouble.
"Well what do we have here?," Negan hollered, pointing his bat at Carl with a big smile on his face.
"He was hiding in that truck with a GUN!," Rose hollered. Daryl gave the girl a pointed glance, hissing under his breath for her to keep quiet. Lily was also outside with him. She was supposed to be helping unload the truck. But she seemed more interested in poking around inside the boxes that were already unloaded, looking for something she might want. Now she was edging in, eager to get a better look at the stowaway Daryl caught.
"Playing with guns is against the rules," Lily announced, taking another step closer.
"I WASN'T PLAYING," Carl spit back. His angry tone was enough to scare Lily off. She darted over to hide behind her sister.
"Carl didn't come here to play," Negan announced. "You know, I believe he came here to kill me!" Carl opened his mouth to respond. But Daryl tightened the grip he had on his arm until it was almost painful. Carl assumed that meant Daryl wanted him to keep his mouth shut. But Carl didn't care. His anger towards the man that killed his friends was overriding his common sense.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!," Carl hollered. His threat brought on a round of laughter from the men around them. Negan laughed the loudest and the longest. Then he approached them, leaning down into Carl's personal space.
"Well aren't you just a little serial killer in the making," he joked. Carl was surprised to see that Daryl didn't seem to be concerned with Negan's close proximity to him. Carl recoiled slightly away from the man. But he noticed Daryl didn't.
"Yer not gonna hurt 'im are ya?," Daryl asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Carl was curious to see what Daryl was going to do if the answer to his question was yes. But he didn't get to find out. Because Negan assured the man that he was only going to have a little chat with him. And then he would bring Carl back for Daryl to watch him until they could take him back to his dad.
The talk Negan had with him wasn't what Carl would consider pleasant. But it was better than being shot to death. So he tolerated the man's foul intimidating behavior until Negan was satisfied with their talk and ready to take him back to Daryl. Carl looked around him as they walked, trying to gain as much information as he could about the place. He was eager to gain any information that might help his dad take down the Saviors. But other than learning the general location of their base, all Carl really saw was the inside of a few rooms and a maze of winding hallways. Negan arrived at a closed door and pounded on it with his fist. A moment later, Daryl swung the door open and ushered Carl inside.
"If he does any bullshit," Negan warned, "...it's on you." Daryl nodded. Carl noticed the man looked relieved when Negan left without any further interaction between them.
"What does that mean?," Carl asked. Daryl gave him a pointed glance.
"It means ya better not try any bullshit," Daryl explained. Carl nodded his agreement to this as he looked around the space. The small apartment wasn't as large or grand as their houses in Alexandria. But it looked like a comfortable cozy space. Much better than the prison had been. There was a couch against the far wall. And a small kitchenette area with a table and chairs. The two girls Carl saw earlier were sitting at it and he wondered what their affiliation with Daryl was. A pretty woman was hovering nearby, regarding Carl with a suspicious watchful eye. She didn't ask who he was or what he was doing in her home, so Carl assumed Daryl must have already explained the situation to her.
"This 'ere is Carl," Daryl said, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. Daryl pointed towards the small group at the table, telling Carl their names. The girl in the sling was Rose. Her younger sister was Lily. And their mother's name was Jean. After their awkward introduction, Carl was surprised to see that Daryl approached the girls' mother and touched her. He put his hand on her back. And then she wrapped her arms around Daryl's waist, resting her head on his chest. Carl had never really seen anyone in Daryl's personal space before. Not unless he was hurt or there was no other option, like when they all had to sleep in their vehicles. And even then, Daryl would often choose solitude over comfort and sleep outside on the ground. It made Carl smile a little to think that Daryl was only human after all. And clearly not immune to the charms of a pretty girl.
"You must be hungry?," Jean asked, giving Carl a sympathetic glance. People were always hungry when they got to the Sanctuary. And despite his many flaws, Negan always kept his people well fed. Carl nodded. He hadn't thought about it until she asked, but he was hungry. Being hungry was just something Carl was used to now. It seemed there was never enough of anything. And with the high metabolism that came with being a growing boy, he was always hungry no matter how much he ate. "What do you want to eat?," Jean asked. Carl stared at her like he didn't understand the question. He couldn't remember the last time he had a choice in what he ate. He just ate whatever he had.
"What have ya got?," Carl asked. Jean glanced at Daryl. He shrugged and ticked his head towards the older of the two girls.
"Let's just take him down to the cafeteria," Jean said. She placed her hand on Rose's shoulder. "Do you want to come with us, or do you want me to bring your dinner back here?" The girl didn't answer right away. She chewed on her lip for a moment. Then she looked at Carl. Rose didn't get to meet new people very often. And this was the first time since they arrived that she was meeting a new person her own age.
"I'll go," she said. Her mother seemed more excited about this than Carl expected. She moved forward and wrapped her arms around the girl, telling her she was proud of her. Carl guessed there was something more to the situation than he knew. Because it seemed a little silly to be proud of someone for just going to dinner. Carl was grateful when Daryl leaned in and very quietly explained that Rose was attacked in the kitchen a few days before. Carl felt bad for the girl, having to live here with the kind of people that attacked young girls and tried to hurt them.
Once the girls had their shoes on, the small group headed out the door. Carl walked ahead with Lily, answering the curious questions the younger girl was peppering him with the best he could. He glanced back over his shoulder a few times, smiling a little when he saw that Daryl had his hand intertwined with Jean's. His other arm was wrapped around Rose's shoulders and the three of them were walking close together.
Carl's eyes widened when they arrived at the cafeteria. He wasn't sure what he was expecting. Something smaller, he supposed. There were probably close to fifty people eating at the same time. And not even all the tables were full. He was in awe of the space. And that's before he saw the food.
"How much can I have?," Carl asked. Daryl shoved a large plastic tray at him.
"Just ask for whatever you want," he told the boy. Carl stared at him for a moment in disbelief. Then he turned back to the food. It wasn't like there was an endless array of items. But just getting to choose between three or four options felt like winning the lottery. Carl asked for a scoop of pasta and a scoop of mashed potatoes. He got himself a slice of peach pie, placing it carefully on his tray. When he got to the end of the buffet, he noticed the door closest to the food line was propped open. There were two large charcoal grills going outside. And a man in a long black apron was flipping over some meat he had grilling.
"Can I have something from out there?," Carl asked. The woman behind the counter nodded and asked if he wanted pork or lamb. "Can I have both?," he asked. The woman didn't have any outward reaction to his request. She just hollered out the door to the man at the grill that she needed one of each. A few moments later, two long wooden skewers of meat were brought inside and placed on Carl's plate.
Carl held his tray tightly and stuck close to Daryl and the girls as they weaved their way through the large room, looking for an open table. A young black man waved them over. Daryl headed in the man's direction and took a seat, setting Lily's tray down in front of her. There were a few other men at the table. Daryl seemed familiar with most of them. He and Jean chatted a little with the men while they ate. Carl was glad no one seemed interested in making conversation with him. Because he was only interested in destroying the pile of food in front of him. When he lifted his plate and literally started licking it clean, he felt Rose tug gently on his shirt sleeve.
"If you're still hungry," she said. "...just get back in line and get some more." Carl glanced at the girl. He didn't realize that was an option. Rose nodded and rose from her seat. She grabbed Carl by the hand and pulled him back through the maze of tables. When they got back up to the counter, Rose asked the woman if there was any cake in the back. Carl was surprised when the woman nodded and asked how many slices. Rose got five and set one on Carl's tray. He assumed she was taking the rest back for her sister and mother. And Daryl. Carl got another large plateful of food and followed Rose back to the table. She handed out the cake slices. Daryl handed his over to one of the other men at the table. But Jean kept hers, saying she was going to take her dessert back to the apartment and eat it later. Carl noticed that a funny look passed between her and Daryl. And she put her hand on his thigh when she said she was saving her cake.
After Carl managed to pack on his second helping of food, they headed back to the apartment. After some encouragement from Daryl and Jean, Carl sat down at the table and played a board game with Rose and Lily. He felt silly at first. But soon enough he was having fun, moving his pieces around the board and trying to win. Daryl sat on one end of the couch. And Jean stretched out on the rest of it, using Daryl's lap as a pillow to prop her head on while she pursued a worn out old paperback book. The whole situation felt like a weird episode from someone else's life. Carl found the routine domesticity of their behavior oddly comforting. Almost like the turn never happened. If Carl was truly honest with himself, he wouldn't mind staying longer than just a day. Even if it was just to stuff his face again. And he wondered if Daryl ever planned on coming back to Alexandria. The man made no mention to him of any sort of escape plan. And Daryl certainly didn't look like he was in a hurry to flee the place. On the contrary, he looked quite comfortable and relaxed as stroked his fingers through Jean's long dark hair, mindlessly twining the strands around his calloused fingers.
When it was time for bed, Jean made up the couch for him. Carl listened quietly as she read her daughters a bedtime story. They seemed a little old for bedtime stories, but Carl found himself enjoying it along with them. When she was done, Daryl entered the room and hugged the girls goodnight.
"Ya need a hug too?," he joked, grinning at Carl on his way out of the girls' bedroom. Carl laughed, reaching out toward the man with his arms up. Daryl chuckled and crossed the room, leaning down and wrapping his arms around Carl. They held on tight for just a moment, both of them getting more comfort from the small gesture than they thought they would.
"Get some sleep," Daryl told him, ruffling his hand through Carl's hair. Jean was hovering outside the girls bedroom door, watching their exchange with a soft smile on her face. Daryl put his arm around her waist and they headed for the other bedroom door together. Carl stifled a laugh when he saw Daryl snag the piece of cake off the kitchen area counter as he went. From the muffled sounds that started emanating from behind their closed door a few minutes later, Carl was sure that cake eating wasn't the only thing going on in there.
Carl was hesitant to let his guard down in this unfamiliar place. But the long day and his full belly had other ideas. And before long, he was fast asleep.