Chapter 14

The torrential downpour continued as a large crowd had gathered around the court house. Sherry saw her sisters up on the front steps beside Negan as she slowly walked towards them. She kept her face down in shame as she made her way in the crowd as some men threw catcalls at her. She didn't pay them any attention as she dejectedly made her way up the steps where Negan stood.

"The lady of the hour has finally arrived!" Negan exclaimed happily and took Sherry by her arms and kissed her on the lips. When he broke their embrace apart, more tears fell as she looked down to her feet. Negan threateningly took her chin and forced her to look up at him. "All of this will be for your own fucking good. You'll see." He said assuredly as he gestured for her to join the other girls as they stood by the court house with dread on their faces.

Sherry looked to the fire next to the steps that had been made inside a metal barrel. On top of it was a metal fence with an iron over it. Sherry scanned the iron with dread and felt as if she could throw up at that moment.

The crowd made way for some men that were dragging something that Sherry could not yet see. As the crowd in the front stepped aside, Sherry saw the men were dragging a bound and gagged Dwight and threw him to the ground. He grunted loudly in protest and anger as Sherry took a step forward in horror. The Saviors helped him back up in a standing position as blood started trickling down the right side of his forehead. They then led him to the top of the stairs near Sherry as they ungagged him. Dwight looked to Sherry as she stared back at him with wide eyes that were filled with terror. He tried to smile back in comfort to ease her nerves but it couldn't read through for the own worry that he carried for himself.

Negan walked up to Dwight and lightly slapped the left side of his face. Dwight looked like he could kill the man standing in front of him as Sherry saw that same look in Dwight's eyes before Haruki met his demise.

Negan turned around and faced the crowd of bloodthirsty Saviors. He put his hands up as they all cheered. Yolanda made her way through the crowd and walked up to Sherry and held her hand tightly in support. Takuya was the only one not cheering in the crowd as he looked on the spectacle with sadness.

"Everyone listen the fuck up!" Negan yelled. "Listen to what I have to fucking say!" They all cheered again as he addressed them. "We need to go over some ground rules! Sanctuary has a code here! I don't always feel the need to go over the rules but some guidelines were broken while I was gone!"

He took a step towards his audience and smiled wide. "I need Frank, Eddie, Howard, Ray, and Kirk to fucking step forward!" Negan yelled.

Each of the men that Negan had called started to frown as they knew Dwight ratted them out for sneaking into the women's house. They all made their way to the steps of the courtyard with trepidation except for Frank who fought to get away from the ceremony. The crowd instead tugged him to where Negan wanted him to be with the rest of his group as they all laughed at his pain. He yelled and screamed to be let go but was eventually shoved right in front of Negan. Negan quickly took action and grabbed him by the beard while yanking him to the ground.

Frank yelled in pain as Negan stomped on his face with his heel. The man immediately passed out from the force while Negan looked to the Saviors and cleared his throat to address them again. "We do not rape. These fucking fuck men snuck into my fucking wives' home and intended to do the most unspeakable things to them." Negan pointed to Dwight who breathed heavily with resentment as he eyed Negan. "Luckily, Dwight came to save the day and made sure these fucking thugs didn't lay a hand on those poor women." He said but laughed at the end of his speech. "But as you can see, Dwight isn't without sin so we'll get to him later." All the other Saviors laughed along with Negan.

"It shook these ladies up! My poor Amanda killed herself because these men scared her to death." Negan shouted as the masses shared their dismay with words like, "boo" or "death!" Sherry could sense the crowd's hunger for blood as she could feel the girls around her shake with fear. All of them either had a hand on Sherry or Ashlyn in support. Not one of them had a dry eye as the men continued to shout in a hateful manner.

"What should we do with these men?!" Negan yelled. They continued to yell the word death as Negan feigned a moment of pondering while the crowd grew even more impatient. Negan then motioned for a man near the bonfire as the man stepped towards him to produce Lucille. The Saviors applauded uproariously while Negan took the bat and started some practice swings.

Yolanda and Sherry both turned to the other ladies with warning. "Close your eyes and cover your ears!" Yolanda instructed. They did as they were told while Negan swung at Howard's face; his first victim of the day. The man yelled when Sherry looked away no longer able to see more. She continued to hear the sound of heads being beat in while Brittany started screaming at the top of her lungs as if to drown out the horrendous noise completely. For once, Sherry was grateful for the maddening crowd as they helped the noise be less poignant.

Sherry looked to Dwight as Negan progressed with the other men who were in Frank's company that night. Dwight was already gazing at her, his nose flared and his mouth in a tight line. Sherry quickly view the men dying by Lucille and then to Dwight as a sob escaped her. She started to shake her head as a paralyzing thought came to her mind. No, she thought. Negan won't kill Dwight, will he? Sherry couldn't keep the sobs from coming as the wave of tears started to pour like the rain that fell upon them. She almost knew one of them was going to die on that day.

Negan made one last blow to the final man still alive as his life quickly slipped away. The men cheered as Negan took several bows in front of them with his jeans covered from the knees down in blood and pieces of flesh.

"Alright!" Negan yelled as he put a finger over his lips so the crowd would know to quiet down. "On to the next rule. Sherry! Come get your ass over here." He yelled to her. Sherry could hear her friends start to cry behind her while she took the steps towards Negan.

…

Dwight watched Sherry step forward slowly as she looked to the ground unable to meet Negan's eye line. Negan then grabbed her by the waist and peered to Dwight with a smirk on his face. Negan patted Sherry on the backside and winked in Dwight's direction as he kept his hand there. As if Dwight didn't hate the man already, he vowed to kill him one day. Or he promised to at least haunt him if he ended up dead before nightfall.

"You may know this is one of my beautiful wives." Negan stated with a small sense of pride. "And I fucking love her more than anything else in the world." He said with pride and kissed her check. "But there is one thing that I ask of my wives. I only ask that they love me in return and remain devoted to me and only me." Negan guided Sherry a couple of feet of him and stepped back to where he originally was. "No, but this bitch didn't do as I asked! No! This fucking bitch of a cunt was sleeping around!" He yelled angrily.

Negan scratched his head and started pacing behind her while Sherry faced the crowd with her head bowed. Dwight watched Negan breathe loudly in pants almost in growls that made Dwight on edge. He could only describe it in comparison to tantrum. It was frightening to him because there was no one who could talk Negan out of whatever he thought of doing. Negan had all the control.

Negan stopped his pacing and drew a deep breath to keep his composure. "I haven't thought of a good punishment for this kind of scenario yet." Negan addressed. "I never fucking needed to until now." Dwight's blood ran cold as Negan produced a gun out of holster attached to his belt then checked to see if it was loaded. "Maybe I should just give up on this relationship of ours. Maybe I need to do something goddamn fucking drastic to send a message to my other wives to make sure this shit will never happen again." He took the gun and pointed it to the back of Sherry's head. The girls started to scream Sherry's name as she started to visibly shake.

"Negan!" Dwight yelled with warning in his voice.

It was almost as if Negan didn't hear him and continued to point the gun at Sherry; his eyes showing how enraged he was. He cocked the gun then moved the gun slightly to the right of Sherry's head and fired. The bullet whizzed by Sherry's ear while Sherry's body jolted at the sound. The other girls did the same and started to break down at the thought of losing another friend. He heard Megan yell for Sherry in complete and utter despair.

"Negan!" Dwight boomed again. "This has gone too far! Stop!"

Negan cocked the gun once more and aimed it at Sherry once more.

"GODDAMMIT, NEGAN!" Dwight warned as he saw Negan put his finger on the trigger. Dwight couldn't stand and do nothing anymore. He would rather die than have Sherry be killed for something they had mutually done. With his hands bound behind him, he barreled into Negan before the Saviors behind him could grab him from doing so. Negan fired his gun but the shot missed Sherry from his aim being askew. Negan toppled to the court house main landing as Dwight landed on top of him. Dwight head butted Negan's face as one Savior came to Negan's rescue but Dwight immediately pushed him away full force as he fell down the court house stairs. Negan tried to push Dwight off of him but Dwight came at him like a raging bull. Even with his hands bound, he managed to pin Negan to the ground and wrap one of his legs around Negan's arms and middle. With his other leg, he cornered Negan's head to be wrapped around the back of his knee as he jammed his upper and lower leg together with the intent of choking Negan out.

Negan grabbed at Dwight's legs as he tried to break free from Dwight's overwhelming grasp. Two Saviors tried to pry him off of Negan but their leader was becoming short of breath quickly. More men started coming to their leader's aide and began to relentlessly kick Dwight anywhere vital to let his grip go. Dwight got kicked in the face, the back, and the ribs as he continued to try and asphyxiate Negan. The kicks seemed to be progressively worse the more he held his stance, especially when a Savior kicked him in the exact spot over and over again. With every jarring blow, Dwight would feel something inside of him crack. Dwight almost fell into a daze at the continued forces to his head but he could faintly hear someone call his name.

The noise became more apparent as if it came out of a fog as he saw Sherry behind the men that were hell bent on letting Negan go free. "Dwight!" She yelled as he could see her trying to fight one of the men closest to his face as she climbed on his back and tried to stick her fingers in his eye sockets. The man grabbed at Sherry and threw her over his shoulders in a flip as she fell to the ground on her back. Sherry had the wind knocked out of her as she tried to find her breath again. The man looked disoriented as she successfully did what she wanted with his eyes. One eye looked to be in pretty bad shape as he yelled in pain.

"You bitch!" He screamed and stormed towards her with purpose as Dwight could almost see fire flare out of his nostrils. He watched as Sherry tried to get up quickly and away from him. Negan still tried to get free from Dwight and hadn't passed out yet. The man coming after Sherry picked her up effortlessly and held a gun to her temple.

"Sherry!" Dwight yelled and released his leg hold on Negan. He tried to reach her but was held back by many Saviors and propped up to a standing position. Other Saviors gathered around Negan as he recovered and gasped for air. Once he seemed stable and less blue, he started to chuckle. Tears started falling down his face because of his uncontrollable outburst.

"Leave it to Dwight to be able to beat the fuck out of a man while his hands are tied behind his fucking back!" Negan bellowed between his fits of laughter. He stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants then saw the man that held Sherry at gunpoint. "Sherry! You still have that spunk in you that I adored when I first met you. Glad to see you haven't lost it yet!" Negan said as he grabbed for Sherry and snapped his fingers towards the gun that the man held at her temple. The man instantly gave the gun to Negan as he smiled at the man whom Sherry nearly gauged. Negan then cocked the gun and shot the man without a second thought. "Like I said, gents!" He muttered. "Don't touch my fucking wives!"

The men cheered at another man dead. Dwight tried to break free of the men but the effort was hopeless as the Saviors held onto him and his injuries were very evident. Negan held Sherry close then addressed the crowd once again. "I have finally come up with a punishment for any man who defiles my women!" He proclaimed excitedly.

As if the shouts couldn't get any louder, the Saviors yelled for bloodshed once more. Negan shook his head. "No! No, no, no! They don't get off that easily!" He shouted then guided Sherry over towards Yolanda and the other women. Sherry started kicking and screaming

"No!" She screamed in Negan's face. "Dwight!"

Negan looked around and spotted Takuya in the crowd. "Tak, man!" He yelled as he tried to hold Sherry's arms to her sides so as not to get punched in the face. "Hold her the fuck still! Don't worry, I won't shoot you." Negan commanded.

Takuya walked up quickly and grabbed Sherry. Sherry shook her head in protest. "No!" She cried in anguish. Takuya held her close as they looked to Dwight who was bloodied and bruised and could hardly return the look to them as it made too much effort to lift his head up. But he still tried so he could make sure Sherry was still safe.

Sherry tried to hit Takuya to be let free but Negan put his gun towards the girls as they screamed in horror. "YOU STOP THIS SHIT RIGHT NOW!" He yelled in Sherry's face. "OR I WILL FUCKING SHOOT!" Sherry quit her fight with a sob while her knees buckled underneath her. She wailed as Takuya kneeled beside her and held her as per Negan's instructions but Dwight could see the comforting behind it. Takuya held her tightly but looked to be helpless as he watched Negan walk away.

Negan stepped over to the bonfire with an almost cheerful stride. "Bring that fucking bastard over here!" He yelled to the men holding Dwight. They consented and dragged him over. "On his knees!" Negan instructed. "Hold his arms!"

Dwight could hear and feel a clicking noise from his ribs as pain took over his whole body. Suddenly he knew what the iron over the fire was for as his eyes grew wide with alarm. He tried to fight the men as he indeed put up a struggle for them but was too tired and weak to be hostile. He yelled in turmoil and defeat as Negan put an oven mitt on his hand. Dwight eyed the iron as Negan grabbed it and presented it to the crowd. The mob cheered yet again as Negan placed it back on top of the bonfire to keep it's heat. Dwight watched as steam arose above it from the rain and could already feel his body stand on the verge of shock that soon the iron would taste his own flesh.

"Gentlemen! If you ever touch my wives, your punishment will be worn and seen for the rest of your sorry fucking miserable lives!" Negan stated. "You'll forever bare the mark of an adulterer!" He shouted.

Negan walked a couple steps towards Dwight and bent down so they were nose to nose. "You will never touch Sherry again." Negan warned as his voice got dangerously low. "She is mine! She will always be mine."

Dwight breathed heavily through his mouth as he tried to mentally prepare for the torture. He said nothing in return but once again vowed to himself that Negan would one day die by his own hand. Negan smiled at Dwight's suffering and retrieved the iron once again. Dwight could hear Sherry screaming in the background. Inside, he could feel his heart wrench at the sound but he tried to soak in every detail of that moment only to add more indignation when the time came for his retribution. He tried to remember each man that held his arms and every man that had previously kicked him. Dwight swore that he would remember.

Negan walked closer to him with the iron in hand. Negan grabbed the hair on the back of Dwight's head and held it firmly. "Let this be a lesson to all of you!" Negan announced as the crowd grew silent. He looked to Dwight. "I always win." He said quietly. With that, Dwight spat at Negan's feet then closed his eyes and kept his mouth shut in a tight line as he waited for impact.

Negan firmly placed the iron on the left side of Dwight's face while Dwight could physically feel the layers of skin disintegrate into nothing. Dwight did his best not to yell but couldn't help it as it burned like no other heat he had experienced in his life. He instantly felt his body go into shock as his muscles tensed then shook uncontrollably. The movement only made the iron sway in more areas as his face felt engulfed in flames. He could feel burns from the temple of his forehead to his cheek. His eyelid felt unharmed still but he hoped the pain would soon end.

Dwight could slowly feel himself relax his muscles as he heard the laughter from the crowd and Sherry's cried fall into darkness. His last thought before he slipped into unconsciousness was that he would remember that day. Negan will suffer for this, Dwight thought as he felt his body slump to the muddy and cool ground.

…

Sherry saw the men let go of Dwight's passed out body at the same time that Negan took the iron off of his face. Negan appeared puzzled and looked to the two Saviors next to the bonfire for answers.

"I thought his skin would come off all fucked up. Why isn't it doing that?" Negan inquired of the men.

"The rain." One of them explained. "It's cooling off the iron fast."

Negan looked slightly disappointed at the response and stared down at Dwight's unconscious body at his feet. "He'll still have a scar forever, right?" He asked.

They nodded. "Hell yes, sir!" The other Savior said.

Sherry stood still as she saw Dwight's blacked out body splayed on the ground. Takuya eased his grip on Sherry as he also stared on in disbelief. Sherry had a desperate need to know that he was still alive. When she felt Takuya completely let go of her, she took the chance and sprang over to Dwight as fast as she could.

She reached him as all the Saviors around him made way and made sure that they didn't even touch her for fear that Negan would make them pay for it in the same way that Dwight did. He was on his right side as Sherry rolled him over to his back and knelt beside him. She glanced at the burns on the left side of his face and started to rock herself to calm down. "You son of a bitch!" She yelled with fury at Negan. Sherry searched for breath but then saw Dwight's chest move up and down steadily. "Oh, Dwight. I'm so sorry!" She cried as she tried to wipe the rain away from the right side of his face. She didn't dare touch the other side. She felt an incredible guilt as the responsibility of his pain landed directly on her shoulders. She would bear the scars as much as he did for the rest of her life. "I'm so sorry, Dwight." Sherry continued to weep.

The mob surprisingly looked on and stood in reverence as she kneeled beside Dwight. Satisfied, that he continued to breathe, she cried with relief as he put her hands to her face. She continued to cry while Negan watched her with a hurt look on his face. He could visibly see the way that she cared for Dwight. And not for him. And it made him angry.

"Yolanda!" Negan ordered. Yolanda let go of the girls' hands reluctantly and walked timidly towards him. "Send Sherry to my house," Sherry heard him say. The rest he said quietly so only Yolanda could hear. Sherry took Dwight's hand carefully in hers as she silently refused to leave his side but she watched as Yolanda's face sunk as she shook her head.

"Sir! I can't!" Yolanda begged. "Please don't make me do this!"

"Sherry! Follow Yolanda to my house and do the instructions that I told her to give or she fucking dies!" Negan shouted towards Sherry. His demand almost sounded more animal-like and beastly than it did human.

Sherry looked down to Dwight once more as he showed no signs of waking up. "What are you going to do to him?" She asked protectively.

Negan forcefully picked Sherry up by the shoulders and shook her violently. "IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT I DO TO HIM! HE ISN'T YOUR FUCKING HUSBAND!" He yelled in her face. "I AM!"

Sherry gawked at him with wide and tearful eyes. "I hate you." She said quietly and grabbed for Yolanda's hand as they both walked away. Sherry didn't dare look back at Dwight for fear that another member for her group would die at Negan's hand.

"Sherry!" Yolanda stressed as she tried to speak without emotion getting the better of her. "I can't do what he's asked me to do."

"If you don't, he'll kill you." Sherry reasoned with her voice shaking from the sorrow. "I can't have that happen. No one else can suffer because of me."

"It's not your fault, Sherry." Yolanda said with a pained voice. "Everything that happened today. It's not your fault!"

Sherry winced as she replayed the iron landing on Dwight's face. "It is." She said. "So many people would still be alive if only I just listened to Negan." She cried.

"Sherry, no!" Yolanda sobbed as they walked through the white picket fence in Negan's front yard. "You don't know what he has asked me to do."

Sherry looked up at the house and then glanced at Yolanda sadly. "I can only imagine." She said softly and walked closer to the house. She turned around towards Yolanda who hadn't moved from her spot. "He's a man of his word. He killed Hannah and I won't take chances anymore. If he says he'll kill you, he will."

Yolanda put one hand to her face and cried. "I will never forgive myself." She wailed.

Sherry stood in between the steps and Yolanda as she watched her cry. "Tell me what he asked you to do and I'll do it myself." She offered and walked closer to Yolanda to hear what her fate was.

Yolanda stared at the ground and shuddered while shaking her head in protest. "Please," Sherry pressed. "Please, Yolanda." Then Yolanda whispered what Negan had instructed into Sherry's ear as Sherry immediately felt tears fall down on her face as a new wave of emotion set in. "Okay." She said while her voice broke. "Go back to your house, Yolanda. I can do it myself." She assured but the tears continued to fall. It was as if someone threw a brick at her stomach yet she walked to Negan's house regardless of the outcome. Whatever kind of person she was stepping into Negan's home would be someone else stepping out. Even as she crossed the threshold she almost felt a chill settle in as she shut the door behind her leaving Yolanda alone in Negan's front yard. When the door was completely shut, Sherry leaned against it and cried in her hands at what happened to Dwight and what was going to happen to her. She didn't care how loud she cried or how long the tears flowed. They seemed never ending as she tried to find the strength to walk up the stairs and do what Negan requested. So she stayed there until she gathered more courage. But with each passing second, the bravery she sought only turned into misery.

…

Yolanda could hear Sherry's cries on the other side of the door as she also bawled for her young friend. She fell to her knees as the rain fell on top of her without restraint. Yolanda turned around to see the crowd disperse into their homes from the rain as she saw Takuya and Carson carry Dwight's body to Sanctuary's makeshift infirmary. Negan looked on the men carrying Dwight as the bonfire behind him started to extinguish. He held Lucille with one hand as he continued to watch the men walk further and further away. Yolanda cried as she could she the devil clear as day. And he took the form of no other than Negan.