She'd gotten over the wall. He wasn't sure how with the state she was in, but she'd scrambled up one of the beams, and dropped down much quicker than he could.

He'd been walking for three hours, maybe four, and with each passing minute, the panic set in deeper.

"Eve?" Negan whispers, trying not to raise his voice in the dark, even a big bad wolf such as himself being afraid of what may be out here, especially since he doesn't even have so much as a knife. If she gets hurt, it's on you, Negan scolds himself. You shouldn't have fucking told her. Yet he knows it was the right thing to do. To carry on the way they were, to have her keep looking at him as if he were some kind of.. savior. It's better this way, he's sure of it. But with every step, he becomes more and more unsure.


Eve was a fair distance ahead of him, maybe four miles. She was used to travelling in the dark, used to lurking in the shadows unseen. Her feet hurt, but she had learned to dull out the pain of walking barefoot years before. Even so, it had been a while since she'd been out, and she'd forgotten to tread carefully, resulting in several cuts already.

She feels sick, physically sick. Eve leans against a tree, emptying the contents of her stomach, then spends a good few minutes dry heaving. She moves on, not wanting to stay in one place for too long.

"You hear that?"

Eve freezes, crouching down behind a bush at the sound of someone on horseback.

"I didn't hear nothing. You're just hearing shit. Anyway, shift's over. It's the Saviors problem now. Come on, let's head back."

Eve's eyes widen at the mention of Saviors, and she's eager to know more, so eager, she almost steps out.

"Isn't their bridge down?"

"Yeah, they're gonna have to come round the long way on the dirt road. I got through not long ago on the radio, they're only two miles East. They'll be fine. Come on, i've got a bottle of Whiskey, and a warm bed with my name on it."

She waits until they're a fair enough distance down the road, then she heads East.


Eve had fashioned a weapon out of a broken stick, and it had proven sufficient when she'd come across a walker five minutes later, swinging it at it's head, and plunging it through it's skull as it dropped to the floor.

She hides in the woods, her heart pounding at the sound of horses.

"Gareth, you take this section, i'm gonna ride on up ahead."

"On my own?" Gareth complains.

"Don't be such a fucking pussy."

"But it's dark. You know i hate the dark, Simon."

"Here, have a fucking flashlight. It'll be light in less than an hour anyway," Simon says before riding off with his companion.

She watches them leave, her hands clenched so hard around the broken stick that they draw blood, and yet she doesn't flinch.

Gareth jumps at the sound of a branch snapping in the woods. "Shit! Wait here, girl," he says as he gets down off his horse. He switches on the flashlight, taking the knife from his belt. He braces himself, fully expecting to come face to face with a walker, so he's surprised to see a woman stood in the distance. "Hey, what are you doing out here?" She stares at him, her arms shaking as she holds what looks like a stick covered in blood. "Are you okay?" Gareth frowns.

"You're all the same," she whispers.

"I'm sorry? What was that?"

It's the last thing he says, before Eve runs forward and thrusts the stick into his throat. He lets out a few choked gurgles, then his body goes limp. She finishes him with his own knife, then falls down on her ass, tears spilling down her cheeks.


Negan stumbles across a walker, relief washing over him as it's another sign that she's okay, or as okay as she can be, considering the circumstances. He'd slipped on a puddle of vomit earlier, almost throwing up his dinner in the process, and he was certain it was her. The thought of his revelation making her sick had pained him considerably, and his feet had somehow picked up the pace, yearning to find her and explain as best he could.

As the sun begins to rise, he worries he won't find her at all, that maybe she'd headed in a different direction. But as he turns his head at the sound of a horse whinnying, he sees her through the trees.

"Eve." Negan breathes a sigh of relief, which only lasts a few moments as he catches sight of a dead body laid out in front of her. "Is that a walker?"

Eve looks up at him, her eyes red. She shakes her head slowly.

"What have you done?" Negan asks, his eyes wide as he walks over to the body.

"He was one of them."

Negan turns the body over. "Oh, Jesus." He looks down at Eve. "Why did you do this?"

"They're all the same. They're all dirty rapists, and i'll kill every last one of them."

"Am i a rapist? I was their fucking leader once upon a time." Eve turns away from him, refusing to answer. "Hey! You fucking look at me when i'm talking to you!" He yells. Eve flinches, and Negan's face softens momentarily. "Have i ever hurt you?"

"You lied to me!"

"Yeah, i did. And i'm fucking sorry. I had no fucking idea what they were doing." Negan steps closer to her. "If i'd known, i would've killed those fuckers myself."

"I hate you," Eve sobs, wiping at her nose with the back of her hand.

Negan tilts his head, his heart dropping down to his stomach. "Why him? What the fuck did he ever do to you?" He gestures towards Gareth.

"He was one of them!"

"So was i!" Negan shouts. "So why didn't you do that to me?!"

Eve shakes her head, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I knew him, and out of all the Saviors you could've killed, you couldn't have killed a nicer guy."

"They hurt me!"

"Yeah, they fucking did, but not everyone is like that. He didn't do anything. Did he try and hurt you?" Eve shrugs in reply. "What did he say to you? When he saw you out here?" She shrugs once again, and Negan kneels down in front of her, grabbing her shoulders. "What did he say?!"

Eve's lip trembles. "Are.. you okay?"

"Does that sound like the words of someone who wants to hurt you?"

"I don't know."

Negan shakes her shoulders. "You do know! You can hate me all you fucking want, and you can hate them. But he didn't do a fucking thing to deserve this!" Negan tilts his head. "Do you realise what's gonna happen now? What they're gonna do when they find him? They'll lock you back up, Eve."

"I.." Eve looks over at the body, and for the first time, sees it for what it is. He was just a guy, a young guy at that, and he was most likely going to help her. She looks at Negan. "I'm sorry."

Negan wipes at a tear rolling down her cheek, and though she clenches her jaw a little, she doesn't move to stop him. "Maybe i can fix this?" Negan says, running a hand through his hair as he rises to his feet. "We could bury the body. People still get bit. So maybe if he doesn't go back, they just assume he got bit and turned."

Eve looks over at Negan, and though half of her hates him, the other half craves to have him hold her, to take her in his arms and protect her.

Negan's eyes widen. "Shit!"

"What's wrong?" She whispers.

"There's men on the road, i can hear them."

"Can't we move him?" She asks, pointing at the body.

Negan shakes his head. "There's no time, they'll have seen his horse, they'll be here soon." He turns to her, his face falling at how childlike she seems, shaking like a leaf in spite of what she'd just done. "You need to go."

"What?"

"Run back to Alexandria, get yourself showered."

"No."

"This isn't a fucking discussion. You sneak back in, it won't be hard."

"But, i-"

"Now!"

Eve flinches, getting up off the ground. "What are you gonna do?"

"Now, Eve!" He watches as she leaves, his heart aching as she walks away. His attention is quickly drawn towards footsteps coming towards him. Negan goes back to the body, standing in front of it with his head hung low.

"Negan?" Simon smiles. "The hell are you do.." Simon looks down at Negan's feet, his face dropping as he sees Gareth. He quickly takes the gun from his hip, aiming it at Negan. "Hands up."

Negan raises his hands, taking a step back.

"Don't move," Simon orders, taking the radio from his belt. "Craig, this is Simon. I need.. assistance, over."

The radio crackles in his hand. "I'll be there in two, over and out."

Simon stares at Negan in confusion. "Why the hell would you do this?"

Negan shrugs. "He pissed me off."

"Gareth? Come on, Negan. Gareth didn't have one bad bone in his body. The fuck happened out here?"

"Like i said, he pissed me off."

Simon raises an eyebrow. "Is this some kinda power play? You planning on trying to take over as leader?"

"Fuck no. You couldn't offer me anything to fucking lead again."

"Then what the hell is this? Because i don't believe for one damn second that he pissed you off to the point where you had to kill him. Gareth was a damn teddy bear."

Negan takes a step forward, his eyes cold. "I told you, he pissed me off."

Simon cocks his gun. "Not one more step, you hear me? Trust me, Negan, if you were anyone else, i would've killed you on the spot. I kinda still have a loyalty to you, what with everything we've been through, but that only stretches so far, so don't push me."

Simon's men arrive, their eyes going from the man who's now in charge, to the man who used to be.

"Simon," one of his men steps forward, his knife drawn should things get ugly.

"Pat him down and tie him up, we're taking him back to Alexandria."


Negan sits in the cell, the cell where Eve sat not so long ago. He wonders whether she got back safe, or if she even got back at all.

He glances up as footsteps creak down the stairs, Rick's no doubt, as they sound uneven.

Rick stands in front of Negan's cell, leaning on his cane. He tilts his head, taking a set of keys from his belt and unlocking the cell door. "Out." Rick gestures with his head.

Negan stares at him in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"I said out."

"Yeah, i heard what you fucking said, Rick. I just don't understand why you fucking said it."

"You think i'm stupid?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Negan smiles.

"This is no joke, Negan. Someone's dead."

"Yeah, i fucking know that." Negan frowns.

"If you expect me to believe that you killed Gareth, then you really must think i'm dumb."

"Well, i did kill him."

"The hell you did. You're not that fucking stupid. When Simon got through on the radio, i thought, there's no way in hell Negan would be so stupid. And Gareth? Come on, Negan. So it got me thinking, why would Negan say he'd done something like that? So, i asked Simon to have his men check the weapon, and what do you know, they found some teeny, tiny, bloodied handprints on it."

"What's your fucking point?"

"You and i both know, that there's only one reason you'd take the wrap for something like this." Rick shifts his feet. "Where is she?"

Negan gets up off the cot. "Rick, she didn't know what she was doing."

"She killed a man."

"I told her.. about who i was. This is on me."

Rick drops his head. "What the hell do you expect me to do? She can't just go round killing people, Negan. That's not the way things work."

"Rick, please." Negan shakes his head. "If we lock her back up, i don't think she'll ever come back from it."

"It's out of my hands. Gareth was Simon's man. I can't go to Simon, and say, 'hey, how about you just let her off?' He'll laugh in my fucking face. This could even start a war between us."

"Let me talk with him," Negan pleads.

"Negan.. i'm not sure i want her here anymore. She's dangerous."

Negan clenches his jaw, tears on the brink. "So you're just giving up on her? Just like that? She needs help!"

"Yeah, and she's not been willing to take it," Rick points out. Negan does something that he never imagined he'd ever do, he drops to his knees. Rick looks down at him, his eyes wide. "What are you doing?" Rick asks, looking down at him uncomfortably.

"I'm on my fucking knees, asshole, what's it fucking look like?" Negan says sarcastically. "I'm fucking begging you, Rick. You see this shit? Me.. fucking begging you. She's been through so much. Tell me that you'll try, that you'll try and talk to Simon, and that you'll do every fucking thing you can to convince him to let her go."

Rick rubs at his temples. "Negan, get the hell up, you're making me really uncomfortable." Negan rises to his feet. "Look, i'll try, but i can't promise anything. But, in the meantime, you need to get back to your house. If she's there, you keep her there, you hear me?"

He nods. "Thanks, Rick."

"Don't thank me yet. Because i doubt very much that Simon is gonna be lenient."