"This is your way of life now. The more you fight back the harder it will be". Negan's voice rang through the clearing. There was an air of finality in his tone, he was stating facts.

In front of him, Carl swallowed a cry. Truthfully he wasn't sure how much more he could listen to. He didn't want this to be their new life, and he definitely didn't want Negan to own them. Negan was now stood in front of the groups RV. Technically it was the Saviours RV now. The wired bat in his hand glinted off the cars headlights. Carl looked down as it flashed in his eye. Negan was moving it around in a power play. Carl knew he was trying to scare them as much as he could before killing them. The Claimers had done the same thing, killing wasn't enough, everyone wanted their victims to suffer first.

"So if someone knocks on your door, you let us in. We own that door." Negan was still talking. The man moved towards his dad again.

Carl discreetly eyed the gun in front of him. He had never felt so useless. There was a gun right there in front of him and he couldn't even use it. The Saviours had taken it from him earlier. Technically it was their gun but they'd left it in Alexandria. And Carl had taken a liking to it. It was his now. There were exactly four bullets left in that gun. In his gun. Four bullets. One for each of Negan's limbs.

"You try to stop us and we will knock it down". Negan shoved his bat into his dads face. That statement was for him.

Carl knew what Negan was saying. There was no hope. There was no way to fight back against the Saviours. They were too strong, too powerful, too large, too everything. His group could do nothing.

Negan stood menacingly in front of his dad. Carl watched silently as he continued. "You understand?"

God, they were so fucked. He looked on hopelessly as his dad said nothing. Carl felt his blood boil with fury. This wasn't fair. In that moment Carl felt another tear welling up in his eye. Furiously blinking it back, he tried to control his emotions. He was getting too scared and angry. That was a deadly combination. In the old world in would have been okay, but not in the new world. Not in this one. Anger made you stupid, Michonne had said that once, in some far away town filled with the dead, and Carl couldn't afford to do anything stupid now. Especially with that gun near him. Oh the things he could do with that gun. He wanted nothing more than to blow Negan's brains out.

Negan mockingly put his hand to his ear, "What…no answer?" Negan smirked as he stepped back.

Carl cringed inwardly; Negan appeared more deadly when he did that.

"You don't really think that you were gonna get through this without being punished now did ya?" Negan seemed amused by them. Like he thought it was funny that they tried to fight back. "I don't wanna kill you people, just wanna make that clear from the get go"

The casualness to his sentence sent a chill down Carl's spine. He had no doubt that other people had been in this position before. Other people had knelt down in terror, unsure if they would live or die. In some way, Carl felt an odd comfort in his words. So they wouldn't die today. Truthfully, he didn't know if surviving this would be any better than death. The humiliation of going back to Alexandria, now under the control of Negan would be strong. They would all live in fear, never knowing when the Saviours would come knocking. Carl blinked as Negan started talking again. He really did not like that bat.

Carl surveyed the surroundings. Secretly he was hoping that there was a heard of walkers nearby. Maybe they would get distracted by the car headlights and come this way. Maybe Negan would get bit. Carl sighed; the odds of that happening were slim to none. It was ironic, the one time in his life where walkers would be helpful, they weren't there.

For the second time that night, he knew this was his fault. If he hadn't been so careless, if he had been leading the way properly like he was supposed to, none of this would be happening. They would be at the hilltop, getting Maggie help. He felt shame wallow inside of him. This was all his fault. Carl looked at his dad. The shaking had only gotten worse. His knees were buckling and his shirt clung to him, damp with sweat. Carl wanted nothing more than to hug him. To be in his father's embrace and be told that everything was fine. He wanted to be in Alexandria playing with Judith, reading comics with Enid.

Rick swayed to the side slightly and Carl let out a silent prayer that he wouldn't faint. The situation was bad enough as it is. Negan was talking about the men they had killed. Shit. It didn't take a genius to figure that Negan wanted revenge. Carl felt a pit in his stomach form. If a man like Negan wanted revenge, it would be painful.

"So now,"

Carl swallowed as Negan paused for suspense. He wanted them to be scared. Don't show fear. Don't panic. The thoughts ran through Carls head quicker than a bullet. He didn't want to hear whatever came next. He swallowed as Negan carried on, his words making him sick to his stomach.

"I'm gonna beat the holy hell outta one of you", Negan spoke in a calm voice. There was a moment of silence as he let them take in the information.

Carl felt the words wash over him. So this was it. This was their punishment. He shifted uncomfortably; his shirt was clinging to his back. His eyes flitted back and forth through his group. He felt his mouth go dry and he watched as a stunned silence briefly fell over them. He didn't know how to react. The only thought going through his head was "Oh god not me, not me, not me".

Carl cast his eyes down in shame. He knew he should be thinking about saving Maggie, or Glenn, or Sasha, hell, he was the last person he should save. But that's how the world was now, you looked out for yourself, and yourself only.

He looked at the bat in Negan's hand and internally grimaced at the thought of "Lucille" hitting anyone. There was no way you could survive. Even if the world was how it used to be, with ambulances and doctors and hospitals, there was nothing that could be done. That bat would obliterate whoever it hit. The barbed wires wrapped around it would only serve to make the process more painful and bloody. And hey, what was a beating without blood?

Carl watched as Negan walked round the group. He felt his heart skip when Negan cast his bat over him. He couldn't breathe. But then the man moved on to the next person and Carl shut his eyes in anger. Negan was fucking playing with them; like pieces of meat. Chanting a child's nursery rhyme.

And then. Carl couldn't hear the chanting anymore. An eerie silence washed over the clearing. He looked up. Negan had chosen his victim.