I made my way back to my quarter after work, powdered with flour I was eager to wash off with a shower. I squatted by my trunk and dug out my bar of soap, travel sized shampoo, and towel. The only clothes I have are the shirt and pants that I have on my back as well as one other shirt and a pair of leggings that I rarely wear just because I'd freeze my ass off in this goddamn factory. But, I can't wash my clothes until Thursday, so I take the clean clothes and put them with the rest.
The showers in the factory that are located in the bathrooms which used to be locker rooms for the factory workers. It cost points to bathe, not too much, but you only get 7 minutes to get clean. Unless you're a Savior, then you get 15. If you're Negan or a wife, you get 30 minutes, but they have their own private bathroom at the top of the Sanctuary. Water isn't necessarily scarce here, but we still conserve. Better safe than sorry.
"Hey, gorgeous, " Hal walks thorough the curtain over to his mattress under the '35' card.
"Hey, handsome," I retort. Hal is handsome, in fact he's the gorgeous one. His dark complexion is borderline flawless and his friendly temperament makes him ten times more lovely. I on the other hand look okay at best and my personality and countenance don't do me any favors. I continue digging for something else I need but I can't remember what.
I can feel Hal's eye bearing into my back and hear one of his feet tapping rapidly on the floor. Usually Hal and I can pass time together with out saying anything to each other. That's why I like him so much, he understands that I'm perfectly content with being quiet. He's a regular chatty- Cathy, but he respects that I like what little solitude I can have here, so we can go for hours without conversing. Our silence feels comforting instead of thick and awkward like with others.
But right now he seems bothered, so I turn to him and raise a concerned brow, waiting for him to say what's on his mind.
"Has Sharon come back yet from the coops?" He inquires.
"Uh, no. Well, not that I've seen," I respond bewildered, "Why?"
Hal stands up, pacing down the aisle of our mattresses twice. "We gotta go see where's she at, make sure she's okay."
"I'm sure she's fine," I answer, looking back at the stuff I laid on my mattress. I just want to take a shower, eat, and then go to bed. Which reminds me that I need something else before I go. What was it?
"She's not fine, mate, " He snaps lowly, causing me to look back at him," She told me this morning that Savior took a pair of her knickers."
He stole her underwear? Wait, that's what I need to bring with me to the showers. Clean underwear.
"What an asshole." I scoff, no wonder she was so upset.
"I think that arsehole, did something else to her," Hal whispered, "I get why she'd be bothered by him pocketing her underpants, but that bothered? She was near hysterical today and you saw how he touched her face."
I suddenly feel nauseous at Hal's words. Consent is a big rule around here. Rape is punishable by death, Lucille style. But fear of consequences doesn't always deter sickos with a sense of authority.
"You think we should go look for her?" I ask anxiously.
Hal nods, "I'll go look around the coops and the garden area where she works, you go look around the commissary and bathrooms. She sometimes cleans some of the Savior's rooms for extra points so maybe peer in the open doors, yeah? I'll come around that way if I don't see her outside," he promptly turns around to start looking, but her stops abruptly and looks back to meet my eyes, "Be careful," he warns before walking off.
I quietly groan when he's out of sight. I didn't think we'd actually go looking for her, especially alone. I'm a little hesitant to go sticking my nose where it doesn't belong, but Hal's concerns force me to muster up some strength to actually go look for Sharon. I grab my shower supplies without the panties and head towards the commissary. I bring my stuff so it doesn't look like I'm snooping around the halls.
The commissary has a line outside of people waiting to use their points. I scan through the line in hopes of finding Sharon. When I don't see her, I look over to open door of the commissary and wait to see if she exits out with some supplies. When an older man comes out along with a Savior who yells "Next!" I make my way towards the bathrooms.
As I nervously move through the halls I glance in at any of the open doors, trying not to look nosy or suspicious. I enter the bathroom and hear showers going. Fortunately, none of the women in there are Saviors, except for the one sitting on a bench down at the end. She's just here to keep time, occasionally looking at her wrist watch, and then going back to reading a book in her left hand. I clear my throat and ask if anyone has seen Sharon. The ladies who know who she is say no. I sigh, not sure of where else to look. I can't go to the higher levels with my shower stuff and pretend to heading to the bathroom. There are only the bathrooms are only in two places. The ones on the second floor and the executive bathroom which off limits to everyone except Negan and the wives.
"You getting in or what?" I jump at the harsh voice of the Savior whose looking at me over her book.
I shake my head quickly and back away towards the exit. "No, I changed my mind, sorry."
After leaving the bathrooms, I decide to head back to my space. Sharon is probably fine. She could've gone outside to smoke or something, or maybe Hal had better luck finding her. Three saviors stride towards me in the hall. I sheepishly keep my eyes down and try to shrink to avoid being heckled. A radio in one of their hands crackles, "Negan wants everyone whose going to be out front by the trucks in an hour."
"Roger that," one of the Saviors answers into the radio. One of them starts to whistle that fucking tune that sends shivers down my spine every time I hear it. And I hear it a lot. Even in my dreams.
I'm almost to the stairs that'll lead back down to the first floor when I heard some crying coming from behind a door on the left side. It sounds familiar.
"Please, p-please stop. Please, " I hear between sobs and my mouth falls open as I realize it Sharon. Oh, fuck, oh fuck.
"P-plea-" I hear her start to plead again but she interrupted by a sharp voice that low, but not low enough that I can't hear on the other side of the metal door.
"Shut the fuck up. Stop talking or I'll cut your throat, " the gruff voice threatens. This must be the Savior from this morning. Sharon's cries a little louder before the sound becomes muffled.
Like I said, before, I'm no savior. I usually keep my head down and try my hardest to be invisible, because its the smart thing to do. I know its weak and selfish, and I hate myself for it.
I stand there for what feels like hours, but likely only a few minutes, unsure of what to do. Help her, Nan I hear Hal's voice in my head. That's what he would do, because he's a better person than I can ever claim to be. I set my things down gently to avoid making noise. I stick my hand above the door handle and tell myself on the count of five to open the door.
I count to five in my head, but I hesitate to grab the handle and open the door. I count to five two more times but remain frozen. Do something you coward!
I hear a sharp, painful cry come the room and I panic. Okay, okay! I grab the handle and fling myself forward with the door. The light from the hall unveiled on the scene in the dark room like the opening of a curtain. I'm sickened by what I see, so much so, that I don't notice that the Savior has turned his head right in my direction. My eyes are fixed on Sharon who struggles underneath her attacker to pull down the ripped dress to cover herself. The Savior moves towards me which draws my attention to him, I step back into the empty hall. The Savior stalks forward, adjusting his pants. I look to his right hand and the buck knife he has gripped in it. He looks from side to side when he gets into the hall and upon realizing that no one is around, he lunges forward.
My neck has a hand around it instantly, holding me firmly against the wall behind me. I struggle to breathe and get free from the Savior's grasp. He shushes me softly as I gasp for air. He doesn't speak he just lifts the knife up to my chest and sticks the point below my right collar bone and presses down. I wince at the pain and feel blood start to trickle.
All of the sudden, the Savior pulls the knife away and loosens his grip. My eyes shoot open when he lets of a grunt as if in pain. Sharon is holding a hard- cover book, which she must of hit him with to try and stop him. "You little cunt," he growls as he starts to turn to go after her. No!
As he began to move to attack Sharon, I grabbed his shoulders to stop him and brought my knee up to this groin with much force. He doubles over in pain, dropping the knife which I kick away. I look at Sharon whose eyes are filled with terror. "Go!" I shrilly whispered at her and she frantically nods before hastily running off towards the stairs. I'm about to do the same when the Savior grabs my ankle and with one brute tug, floors me.
I try to kick and crawl away, but his grasp is hard and firm, preventing me from breaking away. I notice the knife I kicked is within my reach, so I struggle away from him as much as I can to get it. He let's go of me briefly to get up from the floor which allows me to scurry over to the knife. I hear him laugh behind me as he advances on me, grabbing my hair. I let out a whimper, but I get the knife which I desperately plunge behind me, hoping I hit him.
I feel the knife make contact and the Savior lets out a sharp grunt before releasing me. When him remove his hand from my hair, I scramble to my feet eager to run before he attacks again. I make it just around the corner when my eye catches a side glimpse of the Savior slumped on the ground. I know it seems stupid to turn around, but I do, glancing over the corner. That's when I see what I've done.
The Savior is sprawled out on the floor with his back against the same wall he had me up against, blood pooling under him. He sputters a bit, before his head hangs down. I wait a few minutes before I nervously walk toward him. I see the blood continue to drain out of the side of his thigh where I must have stabbed him. He's dead, motionless. For now. I just stand there staring at the body. I did that, I killed a Savior.
"What the fuck?!" An shocked voice pulls me out of the daze. I look away from the body, Dwight and a female Savior are at the other end of the hall. They swiftly make their way down the hall to the body and I with furious steps, both pair of eyes furiously set on me. Dwight has me by the arm and shoves me into the wall opposite of the body.
"What did you do?! He yells in my face. I look at him and then back down to the body where the other Savior is knelt, inspecting it.
"Hey!" Dwight shoves me into the wall again to get my attention, "Answer the question. What did you do?"
I just stare at him, trying to think of what I can say that'll help me. Dwight grabs his radio from his belt and brings it up to his lips. "This is D, we got situation on the second floor. Ronnie is dead."
A voice that I recognized to be Simon's answers after a few seconds. "How the hell did that happen?" He questions.
"Stabbed. By a baker girl," Dwight answers tersely. I can feel my cheeks heat up. You know my name, you limp dick.
"He's a rapist," I manage to rasp out. Dwight's flicker to mine. I look at him firmly, not breaking my gaze. His face squints as he continues to look at me, taking in my words.
The radio cracks, "Negan said locked her up in the cell. He'll handle it when we get back." Dwight breaks eye contact to answer back, "Got it," he says briefly.
He looks down at the body. "Move the body. Have 'em add it to the wall," he tells the woman with no trace of sorrow in his voice. No sympathy for his fallen comrade.
Dwight guides me through the corridors that lead to the holding cells. We pass several people and I keep down to the side, focusing on Dwight's hand, once again, cuffed around my forearm. I can't even bring myself to look up with hopes of seeing Hal.
Dwight stops me in front of a door that he unlocks with keys that he produces from his pocket. He opens the door of the cell and thrusts me inside. I stumble in, almost losing my balance. The cell is a small, dirty room with no windows.
"Enjoy your stay, baker girl," Dwight calls behind me. I turn back with dagger in my eyes at him and his fucking snide tone.
He scoffs, amused by my glaring, "I mean it," he smiles, " enjoy it while you can, 'cause once we get back...well, I think you get the picture." He steps out of the door frame and shuts the door. The room turns pitch black with the exception of the line of light come from the bottom of the door.
The sound of the door locking makes tears form in my eyes. I fly forward and slam my fists to the door. "Fuck you! Fuck you!" I hoarsely yell. I feel tears fall down my face, ashamed at the failing in my voice. I saw Dwight's shadow move from the door, indicating he left.
I'll be okay. I backed away from the door to the left side wall. I put my arm against trying to control my breathing which began to heave. What had I done? I killed that guy, a rapist. I told Dwight that, why didn't he tell Simon that the guy was a rapist? Baker girl. Was it because of the look I gave him this morning? Did I give him a look? Will he tell Negan that the guy was a rapist? The fucking bastard! I'm going to die for killing a rapist, by accident. I'm going to die because Dwight's a vindictive asshole! What's going to happen to me when Negan gets back from wherever he's going?
My arm goes limps and I slide down to the floor trying to force down all the panic that's surfacing and trying to surface. I'm going to die. Because of Dwight.