Author's notes: Take place after season 6. Possible spoilers. I didn't read the comics. I read some info on different websites to know more about Negan and the Sanctuary. So, please, be indulgent.

I don't know if you're going to like this story, but if you do, leave a comment, follow or favorite it. I won't keep writing a story if no one is reading it.

Thank you!

Warnings: violence, angst, characters' death.

Unfortunately, I don't own The Walking Dead.

Chapter 1

After the last stroke of Lucille on their friend's head, they knew everything was going to be different. Yes, they knew the moment they stepped into that clearing and were surrounded by the Saviors that they were screwed. But seeing their dead friend on the forest ground, his head bashed by the baseball bat made them realised that they were ignorant of so many things in this new world.

They thought they were strong survivors who were able to win against anyone who would dare to want to destroy their group, their family. But at this moment, when the only noises that could be heard were sounds of despair, they understood that they were wrong.

Most of them were still on their knees, except Maggie. Despite her sickness, she was trying to reach the lifeless body of her husband but was held back by Abraham. Negan was pacing in from of them, studying them.

"Alright!" he said, stopping in front of Rick, his bat, his precious Lucille, still in hand decorated with blood. "I guess you got the message."

Rick was still looking at Glenn but he couldn't see anything. He was totally petrified, despondent and lost. He felt so responsible, so guilty. He felt he had failed his family, the people he loved the most. His ears were buzzing but he could hear screams, sobs and cries coming from far way.

"You can let her go," Negan proposed, looking at Abraham.

The moment the man removed his hands from her, Maggie managed to get up and run to Glenn. At this moment she couldn't feel how weak and sick she was anymore. The only thing she could feel was the emptiness of losing her lover.

Negan resumed his pacing in front of the knelt group for a moment, until he stopped again but this time in front of Daryl who was now half kneeling half sitting on his butt. He was keeping his head down, not able to look at his dead friend, a few tears running down his cheeks. He was shaking from the cold, the blood lost or because he was in shock. He didn't know and he didn't care.

"Dwight! Is he the one you were talking about?" Negan asked, pointing at the injured man with his bat.

"Yes, he is," the blond man answered, making a few steps to stand behind Daryl. "He's the hunter and tracker."

"What the hell did you do to him? Why does he look like fucking shit?" the man in charge asked again, reproach perceptible in his voice.

"I had to shoot him. He may don't look like that right now, but he's strong and he's trouble; it was the only way I could control him," Dwight hurried to explain.

"Mmm, interesting," Negan noted, crouching in front of Daryl to be at his level. He extended his hand and removed the blanket from Daryl's shoulder. "Does it hurt?" he asked, looking at the bloody wound.

But when Daryl didn't move or answer, Negan moved Lucille under the hunter's chin and used it to raise his head.

"Hey prick! I'm talking to you!"

Daryl looked at him. He wanted Negan to see how wrong he was to kill his friend and how bad he would make him pay for what he did but nothing like that could be seen. He was so weak, so scared, and so sad that only pain could be seen in his gaze.

"No," he lied, trying to hide his trembling voice.

"Really!? What's your name?" Negan demanded, lowering his bat.

"His name is Daryl," Dwight answered after a few seconds when the injured man stayed silent.

"So Daryl, I have good news for you; you're coming with us!" Negan informed, standing up.

At this moment, Negan's words were like a wakeup call to Rick. He just lost Glenn, he couldn't lose Daryl, his second in command, his friend, his brother.

"No!" he objected as loud as he could, standing up and looking at Negan. "You never said anything about keeping one of us!"

"You think I have to fucking tell you anything?! Fucker, if I say I'm taking something, I'm taking it!" the man in charge stated. He took a few steps toward Rick who was being forced to kneel back by two Saviors. "Not like you can do anything about it anyway," he said, a smile appearing on his lips.

With these words, Rick saw red. He punched one of the man holding him with his elbow and threw himself on Negan who was ready for him. In less than a second, Rick fell on the ground after he received a hard punch in the face. He gave a hard look at the other man and just wanted to return the favor.

"Rick stop! It's ok," Daryl interrupted with a weak voice. Even if he didn't want to go with the Saviors, he didn't want any more of his friends being hurt or killed by that bastard.

At that moment, the hunter felt light headed, his ears began to buzz and his vision became blurry. Not able to stay sit and on his knees, he felt on his left side, his head next to Michonne's knees.

"Daryl, Daryl! Are you ok?" he heard the black woman ask, the feeling of a hand lightly shaking his arm.

"Dwight, how long has he bled like that?" Negan demanded, coming back next to Daryl and looking at the trembling man.

"A few hours…"

"Alright! Take him in the back of my truck. I want him alive," the leader commanded before getting his attention back on Rick who was being restrained by three men now. "Don't worry, Rick, I'll take good care of him."

Daryl could feel someone put the blanket back on his shoulders. Hands were on his arms and waist, standing him up and dragging him toward a grey truck parked a few meters away. He could hear his friends protesting, but he knew it would not change anything.

"Ok, Rick," Negan began, pacing again in front of the group. "You can take your shit and go. You can have your RV back; I don't need it," he added, pointing at the vehicle with his bat. "I even gonna give you back your weapons… But remember that you all work for me now. Or we'll have to get back to this shit again. And keep in mind that I have your Daryl now. We'll see each other soon. And when we do, you'll better have what you owe me."

On this, Negan signed to his men to let them go. The Saviors dropped a few of Rick's group weapons on the ground and reached their vehicles. After a few minutes, the Saviors were gone, like nothing had happened. Only the lifeless body of Glenn showed that something terrible had happened in that clearing.

After the Saviors had disappeared, Abraham went into the RV to get a sheet to wrap Glenn's body with it. They took a few minutes to cry together next to their beloved friend and to calm Maggie who was getting weaker by the minute. They got their weapons and all climbed into the RV, Abraham and Rick taking their lifeless friend with them.

They needed to reach the Hilltop Colony as soon as possible; Maggie needed it. But they didn't look forward to explain to their new allies what had just happened. Rick's group had promised them to kill the entire group of Saviors. They not only failed, they were now as well under the power of Negan and his men.

When the Saviors roughly put Daryl in the back of Negan's truck, the hunter was drifting in and out of consciousness. He noticed being lain down between two armed men and covered with a plastic blue tarp. He saw Dwight climbing in the back of the truck with them.

"We gonna take him to the Sanctuary," Negan said, approaching the vehicle. "They'll be able to take care of him," he added opening the driver's door. "And Dwight, if he dies before I have the chance to use him, it's on you."

On this, Negan climbed on the driver seat, closed the door and started the engine. For the first few minutes, Daryl could feel each bump of the truck in his injured shoulder. The pain was getting worse and his body was totally frozen. They were still in the woods when he fell unconscious.

When Daryl woke up, it was still dark. The truck had been pull over on the side of the road. Dwight was sitting next to him and was making a pressure on his wound with a piece of fabric. He noted that he was shirtless but a warm jacket was covering the left side of his torso and his arm.

"He's awake," Dwight announced to someone Daryl couldn't see, relief perceptible in his voice.

"Fucking finally!" Negan said, joining them in the back of truck. "You're still with us?" he asked, looking at Daryl.

But the hunter wasn't in the mood to use his energy to answer that bastard. So, when Dwight increased his pressure on the wound, Daryl let out a whine of pain and nodded.

"Good!" Negan approved, getting down and going back behind the wheel. "Guys, let's get going…"

Once the truck was back on the road, even if Dwight was trying his best to keep him awake, it didn't take long before Daryl was out again.

This time, when Daryl woke up he was feeling a bit better. He noted that he was in an unknown room which looked like an old office and that he was lying in a small but comfy bed. He was still really weak but the pain had decreased considerably. He was even feeling a bit numb; making him guess that someone had probably gave him pain killer or something.

He looked at his chest and remarked that someone had cleaned him up because there was no trace of blood anymore and a white bandage was covering his wound. He began to shake lightly; the thin sheet covered him wasn't warm enough so he was getting cold again.

Daryl could hear muffled voices coming from the other side of the door. He could distinguish at least two men and a woman. After a few seconds, he heard the door being unlocked. A short woman, probably in her mid-sixties opened the door and entered the room, a metal tray in balance in one of her hand. She had short curly grey hair and was wearing a white coat which was covered with a few stains of blood.

"Oh! You're awake!" she said with a big smile on her face. "Wonderful! Negan will be glad to know that," she added, putting the tray on a table beside the bed and sitting on a chair next to it.

At the name "Negan", Daryl remembered what happened and panicked. He was so weak and so groggy that he hadn't thought about the fact that he was somewhere he didn't know and the reason of his presence there. So he tried to sit up, to get out of that place, but the woman quickly pushed him back down on the pillow.

"Shhh, you need to calm down or you gonna brake you stiches," she warned, keeping her hands on his chest to be sure he stayed where he was. "And Negan won't be happy about it."

Daryl decided to do what she said; he was too weak to do otherwise and was already beginning to feel sleepy.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked when the woman had let go of him and had sit back on the chair.

"I'm Helen and I'm a doctor," she told Daryl, the smile back on her face. "I'm the one who took care of you when Negan brought you here about two days ago. You were almost dead, dear. You had lost so much blood…" she added, something like pity appearing on her face. "Dwight had a hard time because of that. But he'll be ok now."

"What's this place?" Daryl asked almost in a murmur. He wanted to know as much as possible before falling asleep.

"We call it 'The Sanctuary'. It's our safe place, our fortress," Helen said, taking a pair of gloves from the metal tray. "When you'll feel better, Negan will probably giving you do the grand tour. But for now, let's take a look at you."

After the doctor had put her gloves on, she lowered the sheet from Daryl torso and removed gently the dressing, revealing a red and swollen stitched wound. It wasn't looking good.

"Don't worry," she assured, like she had read the man's mind. "When the bullet got stuck in, the flesh got infected. I removed the bullet and gave you antibiotics and pain killers. You have a light fever but nothing to worry about," she explained taking a clean bandage from the tray. "I was more worried about your blood lost. But you're awake, it's a good sign."

After she had fixed the new dressing, she covered Daryl's torso back with the sheet.

"You are frozen, dear," Helen remarked, shaking her head. "I'll give you another blanket."

She walked to a wardrobe and opened it. She grabbed two thick blankets from it and walked back to Daryl. She covered the injured man with them just like she would do it if he was a child that she was tucking into bed.

"There…Better isn't it!"

"Why are you doing this?" Daryl asked, suspicious.

"Doing what dear?" the woman questioned, taking the metal tray from the table.

"Being nice with me…"

"Why would I do otherwise?" the doctor inquired, looking at the injured man with sympathy. "Negan brought you here so you can work for him, for us. So, since you're part of our group now, it's normal that you receive the best care I can give you, no!?"

"What makes you think that I'll do what he wants?" Daryl asked, wondering what Negan wanted to do with him.

"Well, knowing him, even if you don't want to, he'll make sure you do it. And since you seem to be good man, don't go in that direction; just do what he wants."

Helen gave him a warm smile and headed for the door.

"If you need anything, just ask loudly. There are two men outside your room guarding the door. I'll come back to see you in a few hours and I'll give you your meds and something to eat. Get some rest, now."

She opened the door and closed it behind her. Daryl could hear that the door had also been locked.

Falling slowly asleep, the hunter was thinking that he had no idea what Negan's plan was for him. How could he trust Daryl to do whatever work he wanted to be done? And how would he force him to obey his orders? What would be the consequences if he would not want to listen? The doctor seemed to be a bit worried about that part, so maybe he should worry too…

Thank you for reading... More coming soon...