Chapter 14
"Shit," Dwight muttered as he heard more gunshots sound off. He leaned down to Yolanda and started to pick her up. "Jason! Come help me out!"
Jason obliged to the request and lifted her up as she leaned in between both of them for support. Terri wanted to get a closer look at her ankle but Yolanda shook her head violently. "No! We need to just keep going! We'll check it later!"
Terri looked to Jason and reluctantly stood back up. They started inching slowly away from Sanctuary on their guard for more walkers. "We'll stay away from the roads," Takuya said out loud for everyone to hear. "We have the advantage of the night!"
"They have trackers!" Dwight hissed angrily. "It won't take too long for them to be on our trail if they aren't already!"
Sherry led the way but looked behind at her group and their slow pace. They practically carried Yolanda but even then still weren't the fastest. On top of that, they were vastly outnumbered and once they were caught, they would be taken back to Sanctuary in no time. All the hope that she had felt with her group escaping had dwindled into nothing.
They travelled for a mile more when they could hear trucks from Sanctuary out and about from nearby roads. It was only a matter of time that they would have been cornered. Dwight and Jason were slowing down becoming exhausted in holding Yolanda for as long as they did.
Dwight held his face down in defeat as he could hear the cars get closer. He had to act on his own "Plan B" that he had planned and he had to do it soon. "Jason," Dwight urged and looked to Jason knowingly. "It's time."
Jason looked to everyone and couldn't help but curse under his breath at the devastation that would no doubt ensue. "All the women and children come with me! We are going to go on." Jason announced.
Sherry's eyes widened as she looked to Dwight and then back to Jason. "What?! What's going on?" She asked in a panic.
Dwight couldn't keep eye contact with her as he stared down at the ground. "You go on without us. I think if Negan sees us that he won't bother searching for anyone else. We'll just say that you got attacked by walkers." Dwight reasoned.
Sherry shook her head and stood firmly while folding her arms. "No," she started. "I'm not going anywhere without you."
Dwight closed the distance between them with instant worry on his face. He grabbed her upper arms gently with pleading eyes. "Sher, be reasonable. You have to get out of Sanctuary!" He contended. "Please understand!"
"I can't leave you!" Sherry cried. "If I'm not in Sanctuary, you guys will be dead! I can't do that!"
Dwight's gaze softened at her concern for him. "Don't worry about us! I already talked to Takuya and Dean." He explained.
"I would be honored to die tonight if it meant that the children could get out of Sanctuary!" Dean stated boldly with pride.
"I felt bad for leaving Haruki anyways," Takuya admitted. "He might be enduring the same punishment now, thanks to us."
Sherry shook her head again. "Well, I'm not going." She said firmly.
Dwight grumbled something under his breath but brought her into a tight hug. "Sherry, please go," he whispered in her ear. "I can't stand to see you in Sanctuary one more day."
Tears sprung from her eyes as she held him close. "And I don't want you to die." Sherry sobbed into his shoulder.
Yolanda rested her head on a tree trunk and motioned for Jenna to come towards her. Jenna quickly rushed to her side as Yolanda started to whisper in her ear. After a couple of seconds, Jenna pulled back and started to cry. "No!" She shrieked as she covered her mouth.
"If you guys even have a chance to get away, you need to be fast!" Yolanda said to Jenna and the whole group. "I won't be able to make the trip with you. I'll be fine."
Jenna looked to Sherry desperately. "But you'll die if Sherry isn't Sanctuary." Jenna wailed in between cries.
Sherry gazed at Dwight and started crying more. "Please don't make me go! You can't put that guilt on my shoulders! Why don't you go and I'll stay with everyone?" She suggested knowing it was just as important that Dwight left Sanctuary as it was slowly killing him inside.
They heard voices yelling in the far distance as Jason groaned in anxiety. "Fuck!" He whispered. "Listen, I want my family out of here. We are leaving now! Who's coming with us?"
"Take Jenna with you!" Yolanda pleaded and embraced her daughter one last time as Jenna cried into her shoulder. Yolanda started to weep as the realization sunk in that she was going to say goodbye for probably the last time. "I have to stay."
Dwight's head was bowed as he deliberated to himself. Sherry made eye contact with him and hugged him tighter. "Dwight, I'm staying. I'm sorry but this is my choice." Sherry said while her voice broke. The thought of returning to Sanctuary made her want shout with enmity. Yet she couldn't have her family be killed while she ran away from Negan. She refused to leave them behind.
Knowing that her decision had been made, Dwight kissed Sherry on the lips with sweet tenderness. He quickly broke it apart as he looked her in the eyes. "I promised to make things better for you. You are making me a liar." Dwight complained slightly as he tried to hide the pain that he felt.
Sherry shook her head. "You tried," She comforted. "This wasn't your call. It was mine." She then walked over to Jenna and hugged her close. "Your mom will be okay with me. I'll make sure of it."
Jenna embraced her in return with silent gratitude. Sherry gave a quick hug to everyone in Jason's family hoping that they would find a real sanctuary somewhere else. The others that were staying behind did the same. Terri's farewell with Sherry made her the most tearful as she had bonded with the woman so much in the last seven months. Teegan and Troy had tears rolling down their cheeks while Jason appeared to be on the verge of an emotional breakdown himself. Yet he had to keep himself together as they were still in terrible danger.
Once the goodbyes were all quickly said, Jason looked to everyone in his family and Jenna with a nod. "We need to leave now," he stressed as he started backing away from the group that was staying behind.
Dwight still held Sherry's hand as he started walking away from Jason's group as well. "We'll walk towards Negan's men to create more distance." Dwight said to him. "Be safe out there."
Jason nodded in thankfulness. "We'll see you guys again someday." He declared hopefully. "In this life or the next."
With that, they were on their way. Dwight and his group turned back around and headed towards the Saviors. Dwight and Sherry helped Yolanda along so she would travel a little faster for Jason's family's sake.
"What's life going to be like when we get back in those gates?" Yolanda asked no one in particular as her voice carried some anguish within it. Sherry could faintly see flashlights up ahead of them. Throughout the whole entire day, she experienced a roller coaster of emotions. She had felt sheer terror while trying to deal with Negan and keep him out of the way. She felt pure joy when Dwight crawled out of the fence behind her. She even felt pride when she was able to kill walkers once more. All of the emotions could no longer be contained with what she felt now. She was beyond dispirited knowing that she would have to return to live with Negan.
She then imagined what their life would have been like if they all successfully made it away from Sanctuary. Maybe they would find a secure home where others lived. Children could roam around with no fear. Community members would have taken care of each other. She hoped that they could have found a real safe place if they had escaped. It would have been far from a true reality but she hoped that she could share a home with Dwight. One where she could cook and garden like she would have done in the world that seemed centuries ago. All she wanted was a normal life.
The flashlights got closer as they walked towards the light. She didn't know what life was going to be like when they got back into Sanctuary. She could imagine that Negan wasn't going to be too happy with her true intentions of getting him drunk. She had seen him unhappy before and it always ended up with someone dead.
"'A hero is somebody who voluntarily walks into the unknown.'" Dean quoted as he looked to Sherry. She couldn't help but feel an emotional tug at his words while the tears rolled down her cheeks.
The flashlights steadied on all of them as they could finally see the men that were in the search party. "We found them!" Someone yelled.
Sherry closed her eyes and just released all of the grief that had been building up in the last several months. Yolanda was crying beside her as well. One by one, they were all handcuffed as each of them were dragged away from each other.
"Please, be careful with her!" Sherry yelled towards a Savior who was pushing Yolanda around. "She broke her ankle!" The Savior didn't pay her plea any mind as he continued with his business while Yolanda shouted in obvious pain.
They were all dragged back towards Sanctuary as Sherry could sense someone staring at her. She turned to see Dwight watching her with worry and never took his eyes off of her for the whole entire trip back to the gates. With one look, she could feel both fear and comfort within the same gaze. Whatever the future held for them, they were together. Together as we'll ever be.
…
The group found an empty pharmacy that they took shelter in for the night. Dwight was exhausted. They hadn't found a decent place to sleep in weeks. He started losing track of time altogether. Had weeks, months, or years passed, he would have never known.
He glanced to the rest of his group. Everyone appeared as if they hadn't slept or eaten in ages. He was especially worried about Sherry. Ever since she had to leave her belongings behind that included her cell phone, something was off about her countenance. She was like the Sherry that he first met and was distant from everyone. Dwight couldn't pretend that her cold attitude towards everybody didn't hurt. They were beginning to have something together that took away from the pain that he felt with their new world. Sherry distancing herself from him didn't make it easy on him.
Dwight didn't know what he had done wrong but wished that he could do whatever needed to be done to have her smile in his direction once more. He concluded that she probably just needed space and time to work out a few things. He understood that but still wanted to be a person that she could confide in.
"Look what I found!" Dean said while breaking Dwight's thoughts away. The older man held up a guitar case and beamed in delight. "Anyone know how to play?"
Everyone stayed silent as they looked to Dean with blank stares. They all knew that he was only trying to lighten the mood for once. But the lack of food and morale was eating them up with what seemed too far beyond repair. Dwight felt impressed to take Dean's offer up as his musically inclined mother put him in guitar lessons a couple of years before she died. He stopped taking the lessons immediately after their car crash. It had been a long time since he picked a guitar up.
Then Dwight looked to Sherry's face as she stared off into the distance while the sorrow lingered. He shook his head and gestured Dean to bring the guitar to him. "Hand it over, old man." He muttered as Dean looked over the moon that someone stepped up to the plate. He didn't know where to start with making Sherry happy but felt at a point that he would try anything to do so.
Dean smiled a mile wide as Dwight started opening up the guitar case. "This place is secure enough. I think if you play quietly, we won't have to worry about the walkers." He ascertained.
Dwight observed the guitar and nodded in approval. "Baby Taylor. Never owned one myself but always found myself playing it at Guitar Center whenever I went to mess around with all of their instruments." He commented while tuning the guitar by ear. "Any requests?" He asked.
Already the mood seemed to lighten up as they all looked to each other and shrug. Sherry still appeared as if nothing was happening around her. "I almost forgot what music was," Hannah confessed. "I don't think I can remember names to songs if I tried."
Dwight smiled grimly. "You know, I have had this song stuck in my head almost since this entire thing happened. It isn't a cheerful melody but I think it's fitting with how we all feel. Anyone opposed to depressing music?" He asked.
They all shook their heads in unison almost too tired to respond or care. Dwight figured he was heading in the right direction at boosting Sherry's mood as she was finally staring at him. He surmised that it was a positive step forward. Dwight finished tuning the guitar and strummed all the strings together. He was satisfied and then started playing around with the tune while trying to remember it. A minute later he nodded that he was ready.
The music played as they all became lost in the music. Dwight couldn't believe how much he had missed music since the playlist on the iPod that Sherry took from the mansion had been abandoned. It was such an integral part of his life before.
"Hang me, oh, hang me,
I'll be dead and gone.
Hang me, oh, hang me,
I'll be dead and gone.
I wouldn't mind the hanging
But the laying in the grave so long.
Poor boy,
I've been all around this world.
I been all around Cape Girardeau,
Parts of Arkansas.
I been all around Cape Girardeau,
Parts of Arkansas.
Got so goddamn hungry,
I could hide behind a straw,
Poor boy,
I've been all around this world.
Went up on a mountain,
There I made my stand.
Went up on a mountain,
There I made my stand.
A rifle on my shoulder
And a dagger in my hand.
Poor boy,
I've been all around this world.
Hang me, oh, hang me,
I'll be dead and gone.
Hang me, oh, hang me,
I'll be dead and gone.
I wouldn't mind the hanging,
But the laying in the grave so long.
Poor boy,
I've been all around this world.
Put the rope around my neck,
Hung me up so high.
Put the rope around my neck,
Hung me up so high.
Last words I heard him say,
'Won't be long now
'Fore you die.'
Poor boy,
I've been all around this world.
So hang me, oh, hang me,
I'll be dead and gone.
Hang me, oh, hang me,
I'll be dead and gone.
I wouldn't mind the hanging,
But the laying in the grave so long.
Poor boy,
I've been all around this world."
Dwight finished and put the guitar back in its case. The group appeared somber but there was a different look as well. Hopeful didn't seem like the correct word to Dwight so he settled on content. They accepted that their lives weren't going to be the same again. Regardless if they were living an ideal life or not, they were still alive and able to fight for another day.
…
Sherry woke up on a floor in a white room. After they were captured by Saviors and taken back to Sanctuary, they were all knocked unconscious. She didn't know how long she had been out of it. She peered at her surroundings and saw the room had zero furniture. The tiles were white. The walls were white. There were no windows to let her know what time of day it was. There was only one door.
Sherry looked down to what she was wearing. She had been stripped down to a bra and underwear. She stood up feeling slightly violated and walked to the middle of the small room to try and figure out what her next move was. She then heard voices on the other side of the door but they didn't sound like anyone that she knew personally.
Sherry walked over to the door and tried the knob but wasn't surprised that it was locked. She started banging on it as hard as she could. "Hey!" She yelled. "Let me out!" The voices on the other side quieted down as she stopped hitting the door while trying to listen to what was going on. Seconds later, men slammed their fists on the other side of the door while mocking her pleas to be let out.
"Assholes," Sherry muttered to herself. She went to sit in the corner and waited for whatever her fate ended up being or until she thought of a plan to get out. Whichever one came first.
The doorknob made a sound as if someone was unlocking it. She stood up on edge while preparing herself for whoever appeared into view. The door opened as Negan stepped inside. Her whole heart filled with alarm as she saw what was leaning casually on his shoulder. She had never seen it before as it sent shivers down her spine. It was a baseball bat with barbed wire on the end of it. Sherry tried not to look as terrified as she was and instead looked at Negan with as much defiance as she could.
Negan saw the expression on her face and looked to the bat with clarity. "Relax, honey. I'm not going to use Lucille on you," Negan assured while Sherry looked to the bat that he nicknamed Lucille. "Someone is getting Lucille tonight though." He then placed the bat in the corner as he shut the door closed and clasped his hands together.
"You really screwed up this time." Negan scolded calmly as Sherry stood tall trying to be brave. "Not only were you unable to escape, you have broken my trust." He started walking closer to her as Sherry took a couple steps backwards to keep the distance between them. He smirked at her continuous spunk that she had given him but then quickly grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. Sherry protested as she tried to move away from his grasp but he dug his fingers into her skin and refused to let her go.
He violently guided her to the wall as her whole body was held against it. "We know one of you in your group planned this escape," Negan started behind her while pressing his body against hers. Sherry tried to ignore the fact that she barely had any clothes on. "We need to find out who. Everyone is being interrogated in different ways. So far, no results. What will we have to do to get you to talk?" Negan asked as he let her go. "Don't move!" He barked to Sherry.
She could hear him playing with his belt buckle as she closed her eyes with dread. She shuddered visibly as she thought of the worst scenario coming to life. Son of a bitch, she thought. I will kill him for this.
Sherry's fear of being sexually assaulted quickly turned into a sudden sharp pain on her back. She instantly screamed at the rapid pang that came but was put into shock as more twinges of pain sprouted up. With each whipping noise that Negan's belt made, the soreness that she felt increased exponentially. She only yelled once when the first whip made impact on her skin while she felt a determination to not give Negan the satisfaction. Instead she tried to remain silent as he continued to whip her back, legs, arms, and whatever else he could see.
Her legs started to shake as Negan slowed his pace with the belt. She had probably been whipped over fifty times but she followed through with her silent protest. Her body, however, was screaming bloody murder. The more that Negan took his time with making another strike, the more her body tensed with anticipation. Once he took another swing, her body felt passed the breaking point as each nerve was on high alert. It was becoming incredibly tiresome after a while. Deep down, she knew Negan wasn't near finished.
"I was going easy on you," Negan said with half enjoyment. "How about this?"
Her breath sharpened as she felt a metal sting on her back for the first time. Sherry could tell that he was using the buckle side of his belt on her. He used it countless times on already reddened skin as she could feel blood trickle down in multiple areas as he continued his tirade on her. He stopped for a couple of seconds as she panted deeply but still didn't scream. Then what felt like he was whipping her as fast as he could, she held her breath and fought back the tears while she willed herself to not breakdown.
She could hear him step closer to her as he made one final barbarous whip on the right side of her neck. With that, she finally let out a shriek of pain as he turned her around sharply and pressed her freshly wounded back against the wall. The cold wall provoked her newly opened marks which made her gasp in distress as she tried to move away from the wall on instinct. With all of his strength, he forced her on the wall again with both hands around her neck as he raised her effortlessly off the ground. Sherry could feel the blood slide against the wall as her bare feet dangled from the floor beneath her. Negan squeezed his palms and fingers around her throat while she started fighting for breath.
"You are one selfish bitch, you know that?" He began while Sherry could only see black in his eyes as his pupils were dilated. "I have given you shelter. I have given you food. A nice warm bed. You don't have to worry about anything! I haven't even fucked you yet and I still don't get a thank you. Instead you try and leave your good husband. If that doesn't sound bitchy, I don't know what does." He lectured as she continued to hang from off the floor. She could feel the consciousness leave her as she became more asphyxiated.
He let go of her neck as she fell limply to the floor. She breathed as much air as she could and started to cough while her lungs filled up with air too fast. He picked her up by the shoulders so she could stand once more. He put his forehead to hers while she attempted to fight him off of her once more. Tired of her antics, he backhanded her cheek and crashed her against the wall once more with his full force. Feeling completely disoriented, she stopped resisting as he again rested his forehead on hers.
"You will never do anything like that again, Sherry." He commanded her with a deep voice. "I keep on showing you what a good husband I am. I could fuck you right now and not lose any sleep over it. But I choose to give my wife the proper respect that she wants. I'm a good husband, aren't I?"
Out of fear of what he would do to her, she could only nod her head slowly in agreement. She avoided eye contact as she looked to the walls that seemed to close in on her.
"Next time that you do something stupid, I'll punish you far worse than this. You deserve to be punished more now. You were a bad girl yesterday but I love you. I hate to see you like this." Negan said in a suddenly calm voice as he grabbed her jaw and forced her to look at him. "Be a good girl and say that you love me too."
Sherry's body shook as she looked him in the eyes. She could see a mixture of both tenderness and greed. A sob broke from her lips as she furrowed her brows. She had no choice but to appease him in that moment. "I love you," She lied in a voice that sounded dry and calloused.
Negan smiled and kissed her on the lips with his tongue entering her mouth. She turned her head quickly in hopes that he would understand that she had had enough. Luckily, he relented and walked away while picking Lucille back up and opening the door. She could hear the sound of other members in her group screaming through the hallway and then looked to Negan in horror.
He grinned back to her and shrugged. "It sounds like my guys aren't finished yet. We'll get you sometime soon though. Don't worry about that." He said and closed the door while she was once again alone in complete physical and mental turmoil.
…
The Saviors removed a burlap sack from Dwight's head after escorting him into another room. Already they had removed his clothing except for his pair of boxers and beat him harshly. They asked him multiple times whose idea it was to escape Sanctuary. He had already explained that it was his plan the entire time but no one listened to him. He was to a point where he was shouting it as loud as he could only for them to stop beating him up while his arms and legs were bound. Dwight knew it was futile to say anything as they just wanted to serve him justice.
In the new room which he stood, a chill overtook him as he had seen enough war documentaries to know what each piece of equipment was supposed to be used for. There was a handmade bench that was tilted to one side, a large bucket of water in the corner, and several plastic pitchers beside it. A Savior had a cloth in hand as he nodded to the other men to place Dwight on the bench.
Dwight started breathing heavily as they pushed him down on the wooden surface. He tried to fight back but Negan made sure that they were plenty of Saviors nearby to prevent him from struggling too much. He felt multiple hands grab his head and shoulders as they yanked him to lay downwards. They unbound his hands quickly to wrap them around the bench as well as his feet once more.
He tried to stay calm even though he was about to endure one of the worst torture methods known to man. Once the Saviors felt that he was securely tied enough, they stood by the wall and waited. Dwight laid there for several minutes as the room was painstakingly quiet. He looked to all of the men and saw that they weren't even chatting to themselves.
Dwight didn't want to ask what they were waiting for but instead was glad with every second that passed. At the same time, he was still waiting and the more they sat in silence, the more the anticipation was killing him.
"We standing around for something important?" Dwight asked sardonically.
"Negan wanted to do the honors." The Savior with the cloth said.
"Of course he does," Dwight commented but didn't say anything more.
They waited for about twenty more minutes when the door opened while Dwight could hear Negan immediately chuckle with delight. He glanced up to see Negan fastening his belt on but saw the buckle dripping with blood. Negan's hand were covered with blood as well but looked to be unfazed by it. Dwight's mind started to wonder whose blood it belonged to. It made him irate to think of it being anyone of his group member's but even more infuriated if it was Sherry.
"You ready for this?" Negan asked Dwight and took an empty pitcher to the bucket to fill it up. "This is our first time using all this shit and I'll be honest, I'm fucking stoked." He turned around to look at Dwight then gestured towards the water. "Don't worry, this water is lukewarm. We made sure to accommodate so it's not too cold to freeze you out and not too hot to burn your face. That would just be fucking unfortunate with a mug like yours."
Negan took the piece of cloth from the Savior and walked beside Dwight. "Should I believe you when you say that it was you that planned everything? No one else helped you out? It was you throughout all of it?" Negan interrogated.
Dwight nodded. "It was all me." He said without a hint of fear.
Negan sighed as he looked to the bucket of water then back to Dwight. "Well, we already set this shit up…" He complained but then placed the cloth on top of Dwight's head. Dwight tried to wiggle it off him but then a Savior held his head and forced him still. It didn't take long for Negan to get everything started as Dwight felt water pour into his mouth and nose. Dwight tried to hold his breath but the water had already sat inside the back of his throat as he could feel it start to rise. His whole body tensed as he tried to cough it out but more water came. He attempted to lift his head but a Savior held his forehead down.
Dwight's body lurched and as the need to breathe was overriding everything else. The water stopped coming for several seconds as Dwight tried to cough everything out once more. However, Negan started pouring more on top of him as Dwight felt all hope leave. Thoughts became irrelevant and Dwight could only wish that it would end soon. He couldn't think about Sherry or any other silver lining. All Dwight could imagine in his head was to do whatever Negan asked him to do so his nightmare would cease. It didn't matter that for the last month, he tried to defy Negan at all costs. Soon Dwight started second guessing the reason why he wanted to escape in the first place. Had Negan asked him to kill Drew twenty more times, in that moment he would have done it. Only so he didn't have to be water boarded again.
Dwight could feel himself slip into unconsciousness when his lungs finally ran out of breath. It was like being trapped in a box under six feet of dirt. He felt himself slowly dying and saw pitch black around him. It was literally suffocating him. He had no thought of time or how long he had been in that state. He just knew that time was slowly slipping away.
He felt something press heavily on his stomach and his body move to an upright position. The water that was trapped inside his throat was being pushed out as he puked it out of his mouth. The cloth fell away as he tried to lean over to get his throat as cleared out as he could. Air finally returned to his lungs while he started shaking his head. "What do you want?" He gasped out. "I already told you everything!"
"Dwight, you have been fucking impossible to deal with at times but I keep you because it's just so goddamn entertaining." Negan divulged as he prepared more pitchers. Dwight groaned in protest as he filled each pitcher to the very top. "And you could be telling the truth. But maybe you aren't. Should we go through this again?"
Dwight lowered his head feeling his mind being torn with. "I swear that I was telling the truth before. There is no need to do this again." Dwight said while hearing the desperation in his voice. Negan nodded to another Savior who came him another piece of cloth. "Negan…" Dwight could hear the plea in his voice as the men lowered him back down. "Jesus Christ, Negan!"
"Call it my odd sense of humor or curiosity, but I just want to try this shit out again." Negan said as they tied Dwight back up to the bench. Dwight gasped for air as his eyes watered up. "Doesn't really matter what you say to make it all go away either. We're still going to do this two or three more times to really let it sink in. Don't you ever try and smuggle people out of Sanctuary again, Dwight." With that, he placed the cloth over Dwight's face and began pouring water again.
…
Negan repeated the same process three more times. Dwight was given several hours to recoup in another room. Badly shaken, he was left alone to rethink everything in his life and had to remind himself that Negan wasn't a good person. At the end of his torturing, Dwight had convinced himself that he had been in the wrong for escaping. Had he stayed put and listened to Negan's commands, none of it would have happened. While sitting in his room alone, he had to take a couple steps back and remember that Negan was messing with him. He didn't deserve that sort of punishment. He had a human right to escape at all costs.
Things were blurred together and the right things seemed terribly wrong and vice versa. While mentally trying to piece everything together, his door to his room opened as he was quickly escorted into the hallway. Still with only boxers on, they guided him into a larger room. He first saw Yolanda whose ankle looked far worse than when she actually broke it. Takuya looked to be in worse shape as Dwight saw that his fingernails were partially missing. Dean looked to be tarred on various places on his body while his skin looked to be stripped away. Dwight's eyes wandered around the room and saw that Sherry was nowhere to be found.
The men that guided him in the room kicked the back of his knees so he would kneel down. Everyone else was placed in a straight line as they all grunted in pain from each of their wounds being irritated with every move that they made. The door opened again as Negan walked in with Sherry in tow. Dwight took a sharp intake of breath as he watched Negan hold Sherry by her arm and bring her to the end of their line. She knelt beside Dwight as he got a quick glance at her entire back. The skin was battered with various colors of dark purple to bright red as lines crisscrossed with what looked to be in the hundreds.
His heart sank knowing that indeed Negan had used his belt on her. He gulped down the lump in his throat as Sherry stared at Dwight with worry forming her face while Negan sauntered out of the room and shut the door behind him.
"Are you okay?" Dwight asked Sherry in the quietest whisper that he ever muttered.
Sherry did her best to respond but her bottom lip started quivering.
"Hey!" A Savior said as he walked up to Dwight. The man punched him in the eye as Sherry shrieked. "No talking to each other!" Dwight looked up to Sherry to see that she started openly crying while he nodded that he was alright. He could already feel that side of his face swelling.
Negan finally came back into the room with Lucille in hand. Dwight knew what was going to happen and that someone in their group wasn't going to be alive within the next hour. Negan nodded at Takuya and two Saviors stalked towards him with knives. One man unbound his hands and then held his elbow and the other grabbed his wrist.
"Who really was the one who orchestrated everything?" Negan asked as he eyed Takuya. Negan walked around the room and started swinging Lucille for practice. Dwight wanted to believe that Negan was only threatening and that it didn't have any merit. However, he was just water boarded for the fun of it.
Negan rested Lucille on his shoulder and walked over to Takuya. The two Saviors still held his hand and elbow as requested. They held on tightly while Takuya started to struggle unsure of what was going to happen. They held his arm out in front of Negan as Negan quickly stomped down with great force onto Takuya's lower arm. Dwight could hear his bone crunch while Takuya yelped in pain.
"Negan, it was…" Dwight started to say but was soon interrupted by Dean beside him.
"It was me!" Dean shouted intensely. "It was my plan to leave Sanctuary and I dragged everyone into it. Now children are dead because of me. Please don't shed any more innocent blood! Punish me instead. I deserve it!"
Dwight vehemently shook his head. "No! Negan! Dean didn't do it and you know it!" He argued as Negan didn't even look in his direction.
"Negan, it was me!" Sherry confessed while tears rolled down her cheeks. "Don't punish Dean! It was me!"
Negan nodded to his men. "Gag them!" He ordered.
Amidst everyone's multiple protests and confessions, they were all constrained with cloths over their mouths.
Congratulations, old man! You were the first to answer honestly! You are the one that is royally fucked though. Deservedly so." Negan said as he brought Lucille to be right in Dean's face. Dean looked at it in distress while Sherry started crying uncontrollably. Dwight stared widely at the bat as Negan toyed with his prize. "Do you have any last words? Say whatever the fuck you want. I got all fucking day." Negan insisted in a surprisingly kind voice.
Dean gulped but nodded as he looked side to side towards his group members. "I have missed my wife every day since this whole thing started. I can finally be with her again. But I also want to tell my group that it has been a great privilege to be in their company. There could be finer people than you have been." Dean thought to himself and looked to both Sherry and Dwight with a wink. "'Courage will now be your best defense against the storm that is at hand.'" He then nodded to Negan. "I'm ready, Negan. Hit me with your best shot."
Negan gazed at Dean with mild enthrallment. Then he snorted as he tightened his grip in Lucille. "Good last words," he responded. "Too bad they won't save you."
Negan brought Lucille high over his head and slammed down on Dean's skull as Dwight turned his head in shock. Dean's body dropped down head first instantly being blacked out. In a way, Dwight thought it fortunate as he didn't have to suffer. Negan continued to swing as Dwight was so close to the impact zone that he could feel the wind every time before Lucille collided. Blood splattered all over his own body from being so near to the horrendous scene. It was hard to imagine being somewhere else when the pain that he felt for himself and for his friends was so raw and gut-wrenching. Negan's cackles echoed throughout the room as Dwight fought to keep bile rising from his throat.
Dean was dead because of Negan. He had to remember that. No matter how much he wanted to place the guilt on himself, Negan was first and foremost responsible. Yet a part of himself felt the guilt. The longer he stayed in Sanctuary, the more he was becoming one of the Saviors. The more he was becoming a man like Negan.
Courage, Dwight continued to say to himself as Dean's voice rang throughout his mind. Courage.
AUTHOR'S NOTES, TRIVIA, & FACTS
#1 – The first quote by Dean is from Tom Hanks. The second quote is from Lord of the Rings penned by the great Tolkien…obviously.
#2 – The song that Dwight sang is Hang Me, Oh, Hang Me by Dave Von Ronk.
#3 – For obvious reasons, this was a difficult chapter to write. I had to look up many methods of torture and which ones Negan would actually utilize. But the more I think of Negan and the things that he has done in the comics, nothing is too heinous in the lines of torture. He is a messed up SOB.
#4 – As per Walking Dead tradition, the moral compass NEVER lasts long. Rest in peace, Dean! You were a gentleman and a scholar.