Chapter 2: The Spy
You couldn't believe what you'd just heard. Your whole body was frozen in horror and your brain seamed to have shut down. Jesus on the other hand, vibrated with a rage you'd never seen before.
"What did you just say?" he asked in a cold anger that chilled you to the bones.
Gregory stood up and faced Jesus with a proud arrogance.
"You've heard me. Rose will leave for the Sanctuary; that's what they call their home, tomorrow at sunrise. You'll accompany her to the old farmhouse down the road where some of Negan's men will meet you. She will be our Ambassador over there."
"You mean a hostage, a prisoner!" Bellowed Jesus, his eyes burning with hate and betrayal.
You saw his fists clench at his side and you wondered if he would really punch Gregory. At this more than appealing though, you woke up from your frozen shock to feel your blood burning trough your veins with a violent anger. For one second you saw red and wanted to jump forward and kick Gregory in the nuts.
As if you weren't even here, your uncle added with a little smile: "She'll make sure our deal with the Saviors is genuine. And I hear that Negan is very fond of gifts".
But any violence left you suddenly to be swapped with disgust and incredulity. What Gregory implied overwhelmed you with revulsion. It hinted so many awful things that you suddenly felt sick. You knew of those men who used their power to subject people, and more often women since the beginning of the Apocalypse. Just before finding Gregory at Hilltop, you had met a man like that.
His name had been Michael and he had travelled with you and your college friend, Laura, for a few weeks. Back then, your mother, Gregory's sister, had just died and made you promise to find him. On your way, you and Laura had met Michael and his people. Believing you would be safer with a group then on your own; you had agreed to join them on your way to The Barrington House in Virginia, where Gregory supposedly lived. It was far away from everything and probably safest than any other place you had visited since the rise of the dead. Anyway, one day, Michael, your group leader, had force himself on Laura. You dear friend had tried to fight him off and had died as an aftermath. Witnessing the end of the assault, you had lost your innocence when you had killed him on the stop. Then, you had stabbed Laura in the head and buried her before running far away from Michael's group. They had found you eventually and it had been how you had met Jesus… but this was not the time for reminiscence. You had more pressing things to do, like ripping your uncle eyes out!
"What the fuck does that mean?" You yelled. "Are you really going to whore me around like this? I'm your fucking niece for christsake!"
"Don't be crude. It's because you're my niece that they agreed to go easy on us. I give them something of value and in exchange, they will be nice to us. I'm not a monster. You going there will unsure our people survival."
This time, you had to take Jesus arm to prevent him from punching the hell out of Gregory. This was between you and him and as much as you loved the way your best friend always jumped to your rescue, you needed to deal with this on your own.
Literally shimmering with hatred, you put yourself in your uncle personal space and fixed him unblinkingly. He must have seen the burning fire in your eyes because he suddenly seemed far less self confident.
"Don't you dare using our people as an excuse!" You started, "I bet you're very proud of yourself knowing that you've finally found a way to get rid of me. Admit it! You're afraid of me and the influence I have on our people. When they'll hear…"
But Jesus, laying a gentle hand on your shoulder, predicted:
"They won't, won't they? That's why you're asking me to bring Rose outside of Hilltop, because you don't want people to know what you've done to her."
A spark of satisfaction gleamed in your uncle face at Jesus words. Your friend had guessed right. It was like a rock had fallen on your stomach. Your emotions were all over the place. You wanted to cry, scream and hurl at the same time. If you had had your throwing knifes on you, Gregory would have been dead, one of them stuck in his left eye.
"And they will never know", he taunted. "The official story will be that Rose chose to be our Ambassador at the Sanctuary and you'll make sure they believe it."
The nerve of this guy!
"Are you fucking blackmailing us? What in the fucking name of God made you think we would agree to such a despicable thing? "
You knew you were really on the edge of breaking point now. You only used a shitload of "fuck" when you were beyond angry.
Gregory took a step towards you, nearly walking on your toes. You backed out just an inch, your back hurting Jesus torso. But he didn't move and you were grateful. He was your rock at this moment and you needed to anchor yourself to him. Especially when your uncle threatened:
"Because if you don't, Negan will come back and we'll all pay for your selfishness. If he doesn't have you, he'll probably pick someone else… maybe a married woman or even a mother, tearing a family apart. And it'll all be your fault."
You couldn't believe it. You had always known Gregory was an asshole, but he had never been so cruel before. Why did he hate you so much?
Because he had you cornered. He was well aware of the fact that you would do anything to keep the people of Hilltop safe. You always had been the first one to put yourself at risk to protect the community. He knew you were doomed to accept. You had no other choice.
But Jesus wasn't about to let this blackmail slide.
"I won't keep silent", he swore. "I'll fight you with every breath I take…"
"If you do, nothing would keep me from telling the Saviors that Rose is quite rebellious and needs a rough hand."
This time, you couldn't control yourself. Your fist flew right in Gregory's nose. With a joyous satisfaction, you felt bones crack against your fingers.
"You're despicable!"
His nose bleeding profusely, your uncle looked at you as if you were the one to blame for this entire situation. Pointing his finger at the door with the hand that wasn't trying to stop the flow of blood, he roared:
"Out of my way now, I've some business to attend to. And don't forget. Tomorrow. Say your goodbyes and remember the consequences if one of you try to disobey me."
You felt spent, as if you had run miles and miles without catching your breath. Jesus almost had to carry you out of the door. You must have blacked out because when you managed to escape the blur of your devastating thoughts, Jesus and you were back in your trailer.
You were sitting on your bed, your friend shaking you gently and calling your name. Turning your head to look at him, you only realized that you were crying when Jesus brushed your cheek with his thumb to wipe your tears. You had the awful feeling your whole world had been turned upside down. You didn't know what to think or do. You were trapped. You couldn't even escape or rebelled because someone else would have to pay the price.
"We could kill him", suggested Jesus, making you smile a little.
It was very tempting, but you couldn't. You were afraid of the consequences with those Saviors.
"I'm scared", you admitted.
Jesus put his arms around you in a tight hug. Burying your head on his shoulder, you mumbled:
"One the bright side, I'll stop complaining about our boring routine. I bet I'll be pretty busy 'ambassading' over there. And I won't have to deal with Gregory anymore. But I'll miss you like crazy".
"Don't speak as if you'll never come back. We'll find a way out of this, I promise". It was wishful thinking, but you were grateful nonetheless. Jesus pressed his lips on your forehead and you closed your eyes form a moment, enjoying the heat of his body, his smell, his friendship… Who knew when you'll see each other again after tomorrow?
You stayed intertwined for a long time before you stood up and decided to stop moping around. You were about to be snatch form your home, you didn't know what nightmare would be waiting for you at the Sanctuary, but sulking wouldn't change your situation. Screaming or fighting would be useless as well. So you decided to busy yourself packing your meager belongings to prevent you from thinking too much. Jesus helped you searching for your things in the mess that was your trailer. Most of your clothes were scattered around the room. You had never been very organized but since you and Jesus had started living together, it was even worse. You seemed to bring out the carless side in each other. He even found one of your bra under his bed. When all of your stuff was packed in a duffle bag, you decided to clean your beloved throwing knifes. Sitting across from you on his bed, Jesus lifted an eyebrow at you.
"I'm not sure you'll be able to bring them with you. Usually, prisoners aren't allowed to carry weapons."
"The fucker who will tear me away from my babies is not born", you answered with a vengeance.
You mother had always insisted on you taking self defense classes even before hell had broken lose. So you had decided to take krav-maga lessons and your instructor had also taught you how to throw knives. You soon had become addicted to this sport. You had been a pretty good shot back then but know, with practice and the help of Jesus; who you suspected to be a ninja, you had become very good at this. You hated guns, so they had been your weapon of choice early in the apocalypse. Those three throwing knives were the last Christmas gift your mother had given you. So you refused to be apart from them.
"I've never seen someone so attached to their weapons", laughed Jesus.
"There is nothing wrong with taking care of your weapons. It's safer".
While talking, you put down the old rag you used to clean the blades and started to sharpen them with a special tool you had found on your last scavenging hunt.
"But you gave them names for Christsake", he pointed out.
Holding one of your knives to your chest, you took an affronted expression.
"Don't listen to him baby, he's a bloody ninja. He doesn't like any weapons but shuriken", you joked.
"My body is my weapon, pumpkin", Jesus answered with a wink.
You rolled your eyes.
"Yeah, right. You weren't so smug when I saved your ass with them last week."
You both laughed at the memory. God, you would miss this kind of easy banter so much. To be honest, you would miss everything about Jesus. His laugh, his jokes, his badassness, his voice… He was the best friend you had ever had. Your post-apocalypse life had really begun the day you had met him. It seemed such a long time ago and as the same time it felt like yesterday.
"You know pumpkin, you're calling me a ninja, but you're not so bad yourself. We could try to turn this situation to our advantage", said Jesus, dragging you out of your thoughts.
His face was serious and his frowned eyebrows made you realize he was thinking.
"What do you mean?"
Standing up, Jesus began to pace around the room, one finger caressing his bearded chin.
"You're going to live with the group that is currently threatening us. Maybe you could try to discover useful information about them. Even better, maybe you could find a weakness we could exploit."
You stared at him wide-eyed.
"You want me to become a spy?"
"Why not?"
The more you thought about it, the less crazy it sounded. You could actually try to play it nice over there. Make yourself useful, make friends and learn everything you could about the Saviors and their community. Jesus and you were resourceful and you would find a way to stay in touch. If you managed to find a weakness to free yourself and Hilltop from their clutches, it was worth the risk.
"Alright", you decided, a wicked smile on your face.
Now that you had a new purpose, your future didn't seem so gloom anymore. You would find a way to destroy those Saviors and most of all; you would make Gregory pay for what he had done to you.
"Well Pumpkin, let's turn you into a spy" announced Jesus with a newfound enthusiasm.
Reviews ?
