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AJ felt his shoulders tense as he got up from his bed. That nap had gone as well as all the others had before. He didn’t know what it was about naps but he could never seem to relax well enough to take them. This became even more clear with each year he got older. AJ couldn’t help but feel like he could be using that time to patrol instead. With patrolling he was using his time efficiently and the walking helped him relax. Knowing that the school was safe always helped him recenter.
Silently AJ strolled over to his desk, rolling his arm to help loosen his muscles before grabbing his hatchet and knife. Just as he finished securing the weapons on his person he heard a knock on the door. Without waiting a beat, Willy stepped inside.“Hey, AJ, ready to check the traps with me?” The tall teen gave a bright smile and placed his hands on his hips, causing the bow on his back to shift slightly.“Yeah, let’s go,” AJ moved past his friend and led the way down the hall. Willy jogged up beside him and walked with the usual pep in his step. Soon a casual conversation sparked between the two of them as they gave friendly waves to the others they spotted along the way.
“Heading out?”AJ turned around to see Louis standing there. Sleeping in the wrap-around his chest was Lee Kenny who seemed to have finally settled down for a nap. The movement of Louis’ walking and being near one of his parents helped the little guy out a lot.“Yeah, we’re checking the traps,” Willy smiled as he checked his quiver to make sure it was full of arrows.“Okay, just be careful,” Louis’ voice took on a softer tone.“We’re always careful,” AJ replied but saw the look in his dad’s eyes. He knew as well as Louis that when Willy and AJ got together things tended to get a bit hectic. But that was always within the walls, not outside of them.“Okay, well, why don’t you take Rosie with you,” Louis gave a quick whistle, causing the pitbull’s ears to perk. Slowly Rosie got up from her spot by the picnic tables and trotted on over. Giving a small woof she sat in between the pair of friends.“Sounds good to me!” Willy’s energy was pretty chipper today. After giving a few more reassurances the boys left outside the gates.
“Alright, let’s check those traps,” Willy gave a wave to Prisha who was on watch duty then took out his bow and notched an arrow. AJ immediately followed suit, unclipping his hatchet and preparing for any potential threats.
It didn’t take long for them to stumble upon one as a walker let out a low groan and stumbled forward.
“I’ve got it,” AJ spoke casually as he guided the walker a few paces away before kicking out its leg and embedding his hatchet into its skull. Silently AJ worked to free his weapon but paused when he heard the sound of an arrow flying through the air. A muffled thunk made him look to the east of his position to see the walker Willy had shot downfall to the ground, lifeless. Giving a sharp whistle, Willy directed the pitbull’s attention to the right. Rosie immediately spotted the threat and with an audible growl she lunged forward, piercing through the skull of the walker and making blood and brain matter splatter on the ground.
“Good girl,” Willy scratched the top of Rosie’s head who basked in the praise before Willy jogged over to retrieve his arrow.
After making sure the path was clear, they continued forward, always vigilant for more walkers until AJ paused. Faint critter sounds came nearby the first tree where the trap stood. “Do you hear that?” AJ looked over at Willy who nodded.“Yeah, whatever is making those noises sounds like it’s in pain,” Willy cautiously took a few steps forward to investigate. AJ quickly followed with Rosie right on his tail.“No, Rosie, stay there,” AJ instructed and waited until the pitbull had listened before going over to join his friend.
The two of them searched for a minute or two until AJ spotted something. His eyes landed on a creature with black and white fur. The white of its fur that covered a portion of its head and went all the way down its back was spotted with red flecks. AJ knelt down to look for any signs of life. He waited a moment until the critter continued to make small sounds as it gave shallow, labored breaths.
“Willy! I found the animal!” AJ called out and heard his friend scamper on over.
Willy looked back the way they had come. “Shit, we need to get it back inside. Ruby can help it!”AJ nodded and carefully picked up the creature who felt sticky with blood. Silently the two made their way back to Ericson, trying to be as quick and careful as possible.
“What even is it?” AJ studied the creature that was tucked in his arms.“I think it's a cat,” Willy commented, glancing over briefly. He tried his best to make sure Rosie didn’t get too close.
AJ’s nose scrunched up at the answer. “Really?”“Yeah,”“Okay,” AJ had no reason not to believe Willy. Besides, Willy knew tons about animals so he had to be right. AJ immediately grew attached to the creature in his arms. As he ran he tried to think of a name to help convince Clementine when he asked to keep it.
His attention quickly shifted from the animal to making it home safe. Luckily there weren’t too many walkers on the way and Willy and Rosie made quick work of them. As soon as they got back inside the gates they were greeted by Clementine.“You two got back quick,” Clementine strolled forward followed by Aasim who she had been making plans with for the next caravan trade. Her eyes picked up on the creature resting in AJ’s arms. “What’s that?”“It’s a cat and it got hurt so we need Ruby,” AJ explained.Clementine nodded along, “Huh, that’s a weird-looking cat.”Her answer made Aasim blink in confusion. How could she assume this was a cat when it was clearly a skunk? “Actually it’s a sk-”Before Aasim could finish his sentence the skunk’s eyes shot open. Immediately the creature tensed up and he gave a warning sound.
“What are you doing, Shiv?” AJ asked as the skunk turned around, facing its backside towards Aasim and Clementine.“You already named it?” Clementine quirked an eyebrow. She never got a direct answer though as the skunk sprayed them, hissing and stamping its little feet. The smell of spray was overwhelming, making the four who got hit reel in disgust.“Ew! Shiv farts worse than Willy!” AJ choked on the smell.“Hey! My farts aren’t this bad!” Willy swatted the air in front of him, trying to get the spray away from his face.“I was trying to explain that this isn't a cat but a skunk,” Aasim plugged his nose causing his voice to get nasally.
Clementine coughed roughly, trying to speak but someone else beat her to it.“Good Lord, what is that smell?” Ruby bustled forward, her hand on her baby bump.
“My dove, get back! A skunk sprayed us!” Aasim’s voice was still nasally from his plugged nose which made Louis snort as he strolled forward.“Why does your voice sound so funny, Aas-” Louis’ nose immediately scrunched in disgust from the smell. “God, did you fart out rotten eggs, Aasim?”“It wasn’t me, it was the skunk!” Aasim answered with a huff.
“Good heavens, what is that putrid smell?” Prisha walked forward while carrying Zachariah in her good arm and Maisy on her back having just come back from the music room. Allison and Violet weren’t far behind, returning recently from fishing.
“Prisha! You won’t believe it, we found a stinky cat!” Willy beamed. Clearly, the effects of being sprayed had no fighting chance against his optimism.
“That’s a skunk,” Prisha corrected.“That’s what I was trying to say!” Aasim shook his head.“Cat, skunk, whatever! It’s hurt!” AJ shouted. “Ruby, you gotta help it!”“I’ll do what I can but y’all need to deal with that stank. We have some tomatoes ripening in the greenhouse. I heard my old man talk about how tomatoes helped. If we press them into juice then hopefully we can get the smell off you four,”“Alright, I can make the tomato juice with Aasim,” Clementine offered.“Oh, are we taking tomato baths? Then I want Allie’s help!” Willy chimed in.“Okay,” Allison shrugged with a small smile and wandered off towards the garden with Clementine to help out. Soon everyone worked on ways to help with this situation, each lending a helping hand.“Hey, Ruby,” Louis called out and walked over to his friend while still carrying Lee Kenny. “Are you sure tomatoes will work?”“Yeah, my old man was never wrong about his wilderness tips,” Ruby replied, gently carrying the wounded skunk. “Just watch, that stink will be gone in no time. Tomatoes will do the trick!”
They would all soon learn that Ruby’s Pa had been wrong. The smell lingered for weeks.