Thanks for reading and reviewing the last chapter! I appreciate all the feedback. I have some crazy stuff coming up and I am thinking about making this fic into a two part series.

I'm toying with having the second part in Negan's POV since this one is all Kayla with a few random Daryl POV's for a third party perspective. I haven't written a lot of Negan POV, only Rear Window features it, so let me know your thoughts. Can I pull off the big guy? ( Hehe. I wish ;-) )

I don't own the Walking Dead etc etc. OC and non-canon is mine and done for fun, not profit. Just a reminder, I took inspiration of the skinwalkers from the TWD comic group whisperers. I haven't read much of the comics so I didn't want to use the name without knowing their whole schtick. Skin suits belong to TWD.

ENJOY!

Negan glared at Ezekiel and his right hand man with a look of contempt for close to an hour. They were planning for war and everything the other communities suggested as possible strategies were shot down by a disgruntled tall, dark and handsome big mouth. Kayla couldn't help but roll her eyes as he continued his goading.

"Listen Zekkie, you can shove your lilting tongue up my asshole all you like, I'm not letting a bunch of horse humpers make decisions that might get me and mine killed. You can play medieval times on your own fucking dime. Right now we need the big boys to suss this shit out, not sword wielding, scepter holding, cock gobblers."

Kayla glanced at Ezekiel who looked as if someone had pissed in his stale cheerios that morning, his eyes narrowed and mouth downturned. Negan grinned in return, his teeth blinding and eyes twinkling. If there was one thing he loved, it was pushing buttons and busting balls, literally and figuratively.

"There is no need for such vulgarity." The man with gray dreads replied, his tone haughty and tight.

"That's where you're wrong Princess Pickle Puller, vulgarity is awesome and I happen to be fucking boss at it." Negan bragged, leaning against the small dividing wall in the RV, which now doubled as a meeting hall.

"We're here to coo-."

"If you say cooperate one more time I'm jamming my fist up your urethra and out your ass. I will ream you like an apple corer."

Kayla shook her head slowly, admonishing his behavior, the man only smirking wider. She couldn't stop the twitch of her lips however, her eyes leaving him as he tried to break her disapproving façade.

Rick sighed deeply, his hand roughly scrubbing his eyes before he cut into the tension. "Look Ezekiel, Negan does have a point if you ignore all his bullshit. We need to do this in stages. We can't charge in."

Negan gloated silently, his eyebrow raised and head tilted back with superiority. Kayla elbowed him in the ribs and whispered, "Tone it down jackass."

Negan ducked his head to reply back into her ear, "Did you just say you want a bone up your ass? Because I am fucking Downtown Julie Brown if you are."

Swallowing a bark of laughter, she forced herself to ignore the class clown and continue to listen to Rick as he spoke with Simon. The mustachioed man was the one with the most knowledge of the compound having spent multiple weeks watching and fighting them.

"They got outbuildings, little trailers and shacks all around. The center building is their home base. I have their numbers at between fifty up to seventy but it's hard to tell. The whole place is crawling with the dead. The yard and even in their actual living quarters. At least the bottom level. They never take the skins off to my knowledge."

He traced a few areas on the hand drawn map. "These areas are fenced in, looks like crops and composting. Back here they have a different kind of trailer, they look like holding cells maybe. The windows got bars and we only saw one of them go in there. A big fucking dude."

Rick and Jesus peered down as the man spoke; Maggie listened while jotting down notes for herself. The entire meeting was such an odd collection of individuals that Kayla often found herself people watching more than listening. It was interesting to read their dynamics and to throw in the fact that Negan stood next to her, the man who had extorted from them by brute force and extreme acts of violence. The whole experience was jilting in a way.

It was also strange to spend so much time with Rick, the man having been a fixture in her life for so many years only to be ripped away by the worst plague in history. She couldn't honestly deny that it was enjoyable to be around him again but it was also painful. Looking at him, hearing him talk, it often had her stuck in memories of her brother. The trio had spent most of their time together, Kayla always tagging along. Shane was not like most older siblings when it came to wanting to shrug off the younger brother or sister. He never forced Kayla to stay behind, not once. If she didn't want to go was one thing but he never excluded her and Rick had never made her feel unwelcome. He truly had been an older brother to her.

Swallowing through a large knot quickly forming in her throat, she forced herself to blink away the chest cinching pain and tuned into the conversation.

"So we do this in layers. We got groups pulling their defenses away. We cut through fences and get the dead to wander off." Rick drawled, his eyes scanning the group for agreement. Stopping at Negan and Kayla, there was a pregnant pause while Negan pretended to think about it.

Kayla groaned inwardly at the man's constant desire to strain everyone's patience. "I think that sounds great." Kayla jumped in, pushing the conversation on while avoiding Negan's pouting. "So cars I'm assuming?"

"Yeah." Rick replied, "Loud music, horns."

"What happens when they see what we're doin'?" Maggie inquired, her green eyes rising to Rick's and Jesus's. "They ain't gonna like it."

"Fucking fuck them." Negan sneered, crossing his arms and cocking his head back. "I don't give fuck all what they like and neither should you peach."

"Obviously." Maggie snapped, her teeth clenched, "I'm asking what course of action we'll take."

"Damn dollface, calm your tits. It was just a little teasy weasy. No reason to get all puckered about it."

"I can't take this shit." She muttered, climbing to her feet and speaking to Rick. "Keep me up to date on actual plans." The woman exited the Rv without looking back, her feet loud and angry. Negan smirked at her back, the man savoring the ire like a well aged bourbon.

"Okie Dokie." Negan spoke jovially, clapping his hands as though Maggie had been holding up their progress. "Where were we? Oh yeah, cars with music pulling undead fucks away, yada yada yada. Cue the skinbags getting all riled up. They don't have many guns. They obviously use the biters as weapons."

Rick stared at him a moment, surprised that he went right to business. "Yeah."

"And they probably don't use guns because of all the meat sacks they tote around. It doesn't matter how much dead fuck blood you wear, you shoot off a few rounds of lead and those cannibal bastards will be eating your coin purse like your grandmother's candied yams. Which means we can't fire a round without bringing the whole horde back to us."

The room was silent as they realized the dilemma. They could pull the undead away but if they instantly began shooting down the skinwalkers, their undead defenses would turn around and come back.

"Silencers." Kayla suggested, "If we do a combination of camouflage, silencers and hand to hand, we might get us enough time to kill them and escape the inevitable return of corpses. We won't be able to stop at least the back half from returning so we'll have to be fast."

"Why camouflage also?" Ezekiel asked.

"When they come back it'll give us enough coverage. It'll also hide us amongst their ranks. I can't imagine they have all their friends creepy skin suits memorized."

"You're suggesting we wear skin like them?" Jesus asked, his throat bobbing with nausea. Kayla shrugged, "I don't know maybe?"

"The danger is not recognizing each other either." Rick commented, scratching his chin.

"Could wear something to let each other know. A mark or somethin' small that they won't notice." Daryl suggested, chewing on the corner of his thumb.

"See I knew you weren't as dumb as you look." Negan quipped, his grin sly and taunting. Daryl ground his teeth, his fist clenching with the strain of controlling his irritation with the man.

"We'll figure somethin' out." Rick drawled, avoiding any detour in the conversation. "So we do hand to hand. Hilltop and Kingdom both have blacksmiths right?" Rick asked, waiting for them both to nod in affirmation, "Do you have more of your spears or weapons that will work in close combat? We can use knives and machetes but it might be useful to have something specific for this."

"I will check in with our weapons man." Jesus replied, drumming his fingers on the table top. "Do we have numbers yet? How many fighters are we looking at?"

The discussion continued, numbers of soldiers and the break down of how many people in each group and phase would be required. Arguments about merging teams or separating fighters had voices raised and angry. The trust was tenuous at best and nonexistent at worst. It would take one wrong move or a slight misunderstanding to bring it all down and most of the time Kayla was just bracing herself for the other shoe to drop. Things were moving slow but surprisingly easy with everything considered, she couldn't stop from expecting it to go all to shit.

They were going to war the following morning. A week had gone by from their last meeting and the time had come to bring death and destruction to their collective enemy. Kayla lay next to Negan as he read over the inventories lists from the pantry. From the grim look in his eyes, she could only assume their situation was dire. Without the supplies from the other communities, Sanctuary was floundering. They did have a good stockpile but with attention being mainly applied to the threatening forces, food and amenities had been placed on the back burner.

"We are fucking fucked." Negan huffed, tossing the papers away in disgust. "Our gardens aren't producing enough, we're gonna be tits up in two weeks if we don't find a major fucking haul. If those dead fucks have shit, it's ours."

"I doubt that's gonna fly." She remarked, chewing on her lip in thought. "It'll be split up amongst them, their gonna say it's back tax refunds."

Negan growled, standing up to grab himself a stiff drink. She watched his jerky, angry movements and listened as glasses and bottles were picked up and slammed down with crushing force. He gulped a mouthful of amber liquid and then growled, "Bull fucking shit. They're not cutting me out, it's going to be my goddamn crew that makes the difference. All those pussy fucks who can't fight worth shit don't deserve a goddamn thing. It's our sacks on the lines. The Alexandrian sheeple, maybe four good fighters out all those frumpy fucks."

Pacing he gulped his drink, waving the glass at her and continuing his rant, "don't even get me started on Hilltop. Those farmer fucks, shouldn't call it Hilltop with all those fucking power bottoms there. And holy shit snacks how have I not mentioned King-Shit-dom. I mean, plastic fucking armor, really? Really? Are they going to joust with those motherfuckers. Christ I feel like I'm in a badly written college production."

Kayla scrubbed her face and muttered, "I get it Negan but seriously, we need to cut our losses."

"And how are we gonna feed ourselves in two weeks doll? You uh.. got some secret fucking grocery store in your back pocket?" He sneered, cocking an eyebrow high and haughty, "you find the twenty four hour Piggly Wiggly?"

"No but-."

"No buts… except yours. We're workin', so we get fucking paid. If they got shit we get half." Negan growled, sitting down next to her. Leaning against the headboard, Negan sipped his drink and then sighed deeply. "Shit is gonna come falling down soon doll."

"I know." Kayla replied, rolling onto her side to wrap an arm around his middle. Kissing his chest she murmured, "It's going to get pretty shitty but we'll make it."

"People are gonna starve to fucking death. That's something I fucking swore would never happen here."

"Maybe, maybe not. Once this shit is done we start getting some scavenging done and we figure out our farming techniques. Maybe one of the other communities can loan us a farmer or something. There's gotta be ways to boost our productivity."

"I'm not asking for fucking help from those douche nozzles." He grunted, setting his empty glass aside. "All I need is them looking down their crooked noses at me like I'm shit on their shoe when the only reason any of those fucks are alive is because of me. How many times did we save their asses from those herds? Fuck if we hadn't been making them be productive they'd probably be dead already. Lazy fucks"

Kayla sighed, her fingers tracing an imaginary pattern on his chest in thought. "We can look up local farming communities, maybe garden stores. Find more crop materials and most likely books and shit about farming. There is a ton of space out back to make more plots. Maybe we can try hydroponics also, indoors or on the roof. There's gotta be some potheads who used to grow in their damn closets or something. Hook up a gray water system for crop irrigation, the shower water is just wasted when it could be reused."

Negan's hands stroked up and down her back and arm, his eyes gazing off considering her ideas. Chewing his lip, he finally rasped, "I think there was a few of those home improvement stores with garden sections off Route 1."

"Be a good place to check." She replied, hoping he would calm down for the evening. Everything was stressful enough, lying in bed thinking of every doom and gloom outcome would drive them insane.

Deciding it was time to change the mood and break the tension, Kayla slide on top of him, her thighs framing his hips.

"Well hello there beautiful." He rasped low and rough, his lips curling up crookedly and his hands gripping her thighs. "You uh… come here often?"

"Oh I cum here often and hard." She flirted, her head dipping to suck a hot path along his neck. Kayla's hands rested on his broad chest, the muscle flexing under her splayed palms. She moaned into his shoulder as his hands gripped her ass tightly, rolling his hips into her. With curled fingers, Negan squeezed her hips and thighs as they kissed deeply. Grinding into him, Kayla panted as things became frantic, the air around them humid with panted breaths. Tugging off her t-shirt, his greedy hands yanked off her bra and his mouth firmly attached to her heaving chest.

"God I love these titties." He moaned into her sticky skin, his lips brushing back and forth across her nipple, teasing the flesh hard. "I'm like a fuckin' fat kid at the sundae bar. I wanna suck on your maraschino cherries all night long baby."

Kayla clutched his shirt while shoving her chest further into his face, begging for him to do just that. "Fuck. Negan. More."

"You sound kinda wound up," He mumbled while licking her cleavage. Growling she pushed his shirt up and whined, "Come on, take it off."

"You anxious sweetheart?" he purred, his hands smoothing over her skin, his fingers dipping and tracing circles around her breast and belly button.

"I wanna fuck you." she murmured, looking at him from under her lashes while biting her lip. The man's switch flipped instantly at her words and tone, her hooded eyes pushing him off the edge.

Rolling them over, Negan sat back on his knees, tearing off his clothing while raking his eyes over her nude form. "You are so damn sexy." He rasped, his voice hoarse with need. "These fuckin' legs doll, I wanna wrap them around my neck."

"I won't stop you." she replied coyly, watching him prowl over top of her. His hands slid up her legs, spreading her knees flat on the bed. His chest was heaving at the sight, his mouth going slack and eyes heavy. "Fuck." He gasped, the darkened gaze slowly rising to meet her own wanting eyes. "You have no fucking idea how much I love looking at you like this. Wet and pink, holy fucking shit my dick could punch through cinderblock."

Kayla smirked, her hand sliding down her own body, palms squeezing her flushed chest and hips squirming for attention. "Are you going to just sight see or would you like the full tour?"

"Fuck yeah," He grunted at her undulating body while his fingertips barely dipped into her core, teasing her. "Can I have the VIP behind the scenes tour?"

Standing near the large flat table strewn with blunt instruments and blades, Kayla watched as Saviors were given their choice of weapons. Most were opting for their favorites but others took some of the spears and short swords Hilltop and Kingdom had provided.

A hand tapped her elbow and she found Michael nodding a silent greeting.

"Hey." She replied looking him over for a weapon. "You getting something new?"

"Nah." He grunted, crossing his arms as he watched two idiots argue over a weapon. Kayla glanced back at him after seeing the fight broken up by an irate Simon.

"You been okay?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow when he shrugged. Michael huffed out a breath and rotated his neck, popping out tension. "M'fine."

"Don't look or sound fine." Kayla replied, taking in his shadowed eyes and filthy clothes. "You working nights?"

"Better that way." He rasped, looking down at her a moment. She could feel his eyes soaking her in, a longing in his gaze that she knew he was struggling to suppress. Forcing herself to ignore the faint tug in her chest, the desire to take his turmoil away only to be unable too. The only solution was one she could never give him.

"Why?" She whispered, her brow furrowed.

"Because you don't anymore." Michael replied, pulling his gaze away allowing her to breath. Kayla bowed her head slightly, the heaviness she felt on her chest returning. She ached with guilt. The man had feelings for her and intellectually she knew it wasn't her fault that she didn't feel the same but it didn't change the situation. He wanted her in ways she could never give him, their friendship was now a delicate balancing game. She had to make sure she never over stepped or gave him the wrong impress, it was straining what little time they had together.

"Don't apologize." He commented, the man knowing her far too well. "It isn't your fault and it's not your problem."

"That doesn't make it any less troubling." Kayla replied softly, chewing her lip anxiously. They stood in silence for a long moment until he spoke again, changing the subject. "I'm on the west side today, so you're gonna have to watch your own ass." He rasped, his lip twitching as she scowled at his teasing.

"You seem to have forgotten all the times I saved yours." She huffed, crossing her arms as if angry. Michael smirked, bumping his shoulder into hers.

"How could I forget, all you do is bring it up."

"Fuck off." She exclaimed with a chuckle. "Smartass."

"Yeah well, better than a dumbass."

Kayla snorted, her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. "You better be safe out there. I'll be really pissed off."

Michael rolled his eyes, his grin flashing for a moment before he doused it. "Well we don't want that, you're a real asshole when you're pissy."

Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "shuddup."

Bumping her shoulder again he spoke softly, "You stay safe Kay…. Keep close to him."

"I will." Kayla nodded, watching as he swallowed passed the irritation at the advice. He wanted to protect her, not Negan.

"Promise if things start falling apart you get outta there." He added, his dark eyes looking at her with something close to desperation. "You run."

Staring at him silently, Kayla finally nodded. "Alright."

"I'll find you." He murmured, his gaze flicking to the door as Negan strolled out.

Kayla knew it was going to upset Negan but she couldn't stop herself from stepping forward and hugging the man who'd become a close friend. They may not be what he wanted them to be but he was still closer to her than most. Only Negan knew her as well.

His arm wrapped around her shoulder and he whispered, "Remember what I said Kay… you run."

With those final words he pulled back, looking her over for a moment before leaving the common room. She watched his broad back fade away, her heart thudding hard and fast. A heavy feeling of dread seemed to weigh her down, her chest feeling compressed and tight. She felt eyes on her and tilted her head up to see Negan watching her closely. A weary smile curled her lips, as though trying to convince him, she was alright. After a moment, Negan was called to the side to speak to Simon and Javier, his attention pulled from her thin façade much to her relief. She wasn't sure she wanted to explain her emotional upheaval, especially as they were about to head off to battle.

The plan was formed, everyone was on board and willing to go the lengths it took to take down the group who had been picking them off for close to a year. The strategy was one off multiple attacks as well as defensive actions to draw protective herd away. As teams assaulted the compound other groups would drive vehicles, leading the undead away from their shepherds.

Kayla was crouched next to Negan, their eyes scanning the large area while Rick and Jesus knelt nearby. Everyone's eyes were on the first crew's approach, the men and women luring the group's security defenses away.

"Everybody knows their part, stay tight. Watch each other's backs. No matter where you're from, we gotta stick together. We can do this. We will do this. And when it's all done, we'll work together, not apart." Rick spoke over the radio, his voice strong and words convincing.

"Holy balls that's down right goddamn presi-fucking-dential Prick. My dick is hard right now, like zipper busting, steel cutting, ass pounding hard." Negan sneered, his eyes shining with excitement. "If I wasn't such a pussy slave I might even switch hit with you."

Kayla snorted, shoving her elbow deep in his ribs before muttering, "Shuddup. I'm not saving your ass when you're too busy jacking off to pay attention."

"Oh come on doll. You fucking love watching me jack off." He purred into her ear, nipping her lobe playfully. "Later I'm gonna slap that ass pink for your back talk. Gonna get it, sweet-cheeks."

"We get through this, "she whispered back, her breath hot and heavy on his neck, "you can do anything you want Daddy."

Negan growled into her neck. "You stay near me."

"Always."

Leaning in his kissed her softly, his gloved finger tips grazing her jaw.

"Always." He repeated, both of their eyes looking up to see the teams drawing the herd away, the loud music and horns pulling its attention.

The dead shuffled along, hordes passing by camouflaged living. Kayla ducked under the gore covered tarp as the corpses continued to walk away. A sharp whistle rang out alerting the next wave of intruders to head in. Groups of people moved forward, their silenced rifles going off with puffs of air. Shouts echoed out and another signal was released bringing the final groups. Kayla and Negan ran along the trees, killing stray undead while dodging the incoming skinwalkers. Their numbers were unknown, the scouting groups unable to decipher the living from the dead while watching. It was going to be a difficult fight but the leaders of every community were determined.

Negan was bludgeoning the dead and living alike, blood arcs over his shoulder as he buried Lucille into a man wearing a skin mask. Kayla swung a machete around, burying it into a feral woman. She dodged the swing, her own knife plunging towards Kayla's stomach. Pushing it away, Kayla kneed her in the ribs and shoved her towards a tree. The woman crashed into it, her hands gripping the bark as Kayla came up behind her. Yanking her hair back, Kayla dragged her machete across her neck, splitting her open and bleeding her dry before her body hit the ground. Spinning around she found Negan sinking his giant knife into the face of a biter, his face speckled with blood.

"Come on doll." He shouted, shoving the body away and motioning to the others up ahead. They were coming to the center of the property, several outbuildings scattered around. Everywhere Kayla looked, people were fighting, knives out and silenced guns being fired. She could see Rick dealing a brutal fist into a large man covered in gore, the two battling for control. A shadow passed by, the shape flickering in her periphery and before she could react, she was tackled to the ground. Grunting in pain, Kayla held onto the wrists of her attacker, their blood covered blade poised above her chest.

"Fuck." She growled, struggling to shove the weapon away from her. The man above her was wearing a filthy set of coveralls, the fabric stiff with blood. His face was hidden behind a gruesome mask sewn together from the skin of a few different dead.

"You will be striped of your skin and sacrificed for your sins." He snarled above her, a set of wild green eyes piercing her. "I will wear your face while gutting your loved ones. You're face will be the last they see."

Growling with rage, Kayla brought her knee up and worked her leg between them. Using brute strength and desire to live, she jammed her boot into his stomach. The man groaned, his hand trying to plunge his knife only to be pummeled from behind. Lucille cracked his skull in two, the blood fountaining down and onto Kayla. Her attacker was tossed away and Negan appeared above her, his eyes wide and fearful.

"I'm good." She huffed, accepting his helping hand to pull her to her feet.

"You sure."

"Yeah." She spoke with conviction despite her shaky hands, following him to the edge of a rundown trailer. They knelt by a rusty car, both jumping when another set of people showed up next to them. Rick was bruised, his eyebrow split open and bleeding.

"Ya a'right?" He rasped, his concerned eyes taking in her bloodied state. Nodding she replied, "you?"

"M'good. The west teams haven't checked in."

"That's not good." Negan drawled, peering around the corner to see figures moving in the large building. "S'pose they got them?"

Kayla felt her chest seize, the woman knowing Michael was working on the crews that were now missing.

"We're going to assume they did." Rick drawled, listening to his walkie as Daryl came on the line.

"They got hostages. Over"

"Fuck." Negan grunted, his dark and narrow eyes watching the building as a group of skinwalkers showed themselves. "There those fucks are."

Rick used binoculars to see whom they'd captured, the man cursing under his breath. "They got Morgan."

Kayla used a riflescope to see what was happening beyond the field, her throat closing as Michael came into focus. The man was on his knees, the tall man blocking the shorter individual behind him.

"Michael." She gasped, squeezing her eyes shut before staring down her scope at her friend. Negan was nearby, his hand touching her lower back in support but she could only gaze at Michael's bloodied face. He was seething, his teeth sneered and eyes slowly blackened. She could see deep cuts in his chest and thighs, blood pooled at his knees.

"What's the plan Deputy Dooright?" Negan growled, "we need to get people in there now."

"We've planned for this. Snipers are in position." Rick replied, his hand touching Kayla's shoulder. "Do you got a shot?"

"Yeah but... they got blades on their necks. If they fall the wrong way, flex their arm as I shoot, one of ours is gonna die."

"Use your judgement." He replied, his words interrupted as the skinwalkers called out.

"You will not succeed. We will cleanse the earth of the living. Only the dead deserve the it. We are merely their vessels."

"These are some crazy fucks." Negan murmured, his arms cradling a rifle as he watched them hold their men and women hostage.

A chain of events slowly unraveled as several gunshots were released. Two skinwalkers fell from well placed rounds, as the throat of a female soldier from kingdom was slit. Her body fell as shouts erupted from the tree line, her name screamed by loved ones. An explosion went off nearby as grenades were tossed towards the enemies barracks. Shrapnel rained down on them, shards of wood and cement.

Kayla couldn't see through the smoke until the wind swept in bringing with it the smell of rotting flesh. The herd was returning, drawn back by the noise. Their window of escape was closing quickly.

"Do you have a shot?" Negan growled next to her, his finger hovering over the trigger as the haze cleared. In the distance the remaining skinwalkers had managed to vanish, only two remaining in place with one remaining hostage. Michael was up front, his throat bleeding from the knife still holding him in place. Time stopped as Michael seemed to find her amongst the obstacles, his dark eyes drilling into her through the scope she peered down.

Kayla knew what he was about to do, his hands tipping her off as he pulled out the blade she'd given him forever ago. "Don't." She murmured, "please."

With a sudden move he tried to escape his captor, his arm slashing at the man behind him. Gunshots rang out and Kayla could hear the walkers returning behind her as time slowed down.

Michael was knocked to the ground by the butt of a shot gun, his body sprawling out on the ground. He rose to his knees, blood dripping off his face and onto the ground. She fired off a round hitting the man with a knife poised in the air, his body falling back. Her aim moved to the second attacker, her sight blocked by a sudden explosion and cloud of dust. She had one last glimpse of Michael, his eyes rising up and meeting hers again before the sound of a shot gun blast echoed from across the grounds.

Kayla was moving before she knew what was happening, her body tackled from behind as she screamed. She clawed at the ground as Negan wrapped her in his long arms from behind, his hands locked around her torso as she struggled.

"Nooooo." She screamed, kicking and elbowing Negan as she saw that the shotgun slug had torn through Michael's stomach. A giant wound had burst open spraying blood to the forest floor as his body buckled. He held himself up on one arm, his other cupping the blood spilling from him.

"Let me go!" Kayla snarled, tearing at Negan's forearms and hands as she watched Michael curl up and hold his guts in. "Michael!" She screeched, a sob choking out of her. "Noooo! Michael! Let me go!"

"You can't go. Kayla I'm sorry you can't go." Negan was rasping, his voice tight as he pulled her away from the scene. She kicked her legs out, tears pouring down her cheeks as she watched the dead circle the man's writhing body.

"End it." Negan ordered, one of the men firing off on round to end Michael's suffering.

Kayla cried, her body shuddering as she saw them descend on the fresh meal. Snarls and groaning erupted loudly as they tore into him. Negan carried her passed the other soldiers, her head bowing as she sobbed violently.

Negan got her into a vehicle, strapping her in before hollering to Simon. "Get everyone back. We need to circle the wagons for the time being."

Kayla was suddenly quiet, her tears still flowing but not another sound came from her. She felt numb, beyond numb. Kayla was an empty husk.

"We're home Kay." Negan spoke from the drivers seat as the car stopped. Kayla didn't remember him entering the car or the drive home but suddenly they were pulling inside Sanctuary.

"Okay." She croaked, her blood covered hand clumsy as it pulled the door handle. Stumbling out of the truck, Negan was suddenly cupping her elbow and gripping her waist. He guided her inside, voices spoke loudly around her but she was in a daze. Kayla kept seeing Michael's abdomen being blown out of his body, the blood seeping through his tan fingers as he fell. The finality of the gunshot that Negan ordered to put the fallen man out of his misery echoed in her skull.

Squeezing her eyes shut she felt Negan suddenly pick her up, the woman ducking her face into the curve of his shoulder. The leather was sticky with blood, new scratches and holes showing how close to the action he was.

She was placed on the bathroom counter, her eyes blinking in confusion. Negan was removing her layers, unzipping her leather jacket and yanking off her mud covered boots. Kayla helped with her other clothing while he shucked his own gear. She was naked, still leaning against the counter as Negan started the shower. The water thrummed on the tile as he moved her into the shower stall. Climbing inside with her, his hands went to work washing off all the blood and dirt. She rested her forehead against his chest, his fingers digging into her thick locks.

"You with me Kay?" Negan murmured, his voice hoarse and tone soft.

Nodding silently, Kayla pulled back to look at him. she wanted to cry, sob and scream but didn't want to hurt Negan. She didn't want him to misunderstand.

He watched her warily, his hands smoothing away soap and water from her eyes. "You sure?"

"Mmm." She hummed, her throat closing as her mind tortured her with the sight of Michael bleeding. Negan's fingers threaded into her hair, cupping her head to his chest as his other arm wrapped her up.

"Easy." He whispered as a surprising sob tore from her throat. "You're gonna be okay. I gotcha sweetheart. I gotcha."

Clutching onto him, Kayla let the gut wrenching cries free, her tears mixing with the warm water. She couldn't hid the devastation from him, it was too overwhelming to worry about his reaction. Negan did not speak he only held on, his hands still washing her clean while she fractured into pieces.

"I… I." Kayla choked, her head throbbing at the pain of her cries. "C-couldn't get the shot. I should've. I should've and I couldn't."

"I know." He rasped, wiping away tears from her flushed cheeks. "You did what you could."

"It wasn't enough." She growled, her hands turning into tight fists on his chest. "He's dead… Michael… I should've saved him."

"There was nothing you could've done." Negan replied, cupping her face and peering down at her with nothing but understanding. "There wasn't a way to do it better. You did what you could."

Yanking her face away she growled, "well it wasn't fucking enough! He didn't deserve it… he… deserved more."

"Of course he did but this world isn't fair. War isn't fair and just. It's brutal and bloody. Creep-."

"Michael." She snapped, her eyes flooding with tears at speaking the name. Negan stared at her a long moment, his gaze becoming too knowing, too understanding.

"He knew what he was getting into, we all did. Death has always been imminent." He rasped, his hands pulling her back into his chest. Combing a hand into her hair, he gazed down at her and spoke softly, "I know you two were… close. I know that he had feelings for you, more than friendship and I can't fucking blame him. If I could make this better I would but you know as much as I do, we will lose more people than we get to keep."

Kayla's body curled into his, clinging to the slick skin for comfort.

"Let's get you out baby. Okay?" Negan rasped, his voice rough and emotional. "I got you sweetheart."

It was mere hours later when a tow truck came crashing through their fences, plowing over undead and living alike. Kayla dropped every sorrowful thought and turned it into unadulterated rage, slicing through the incoming herd with the other Saviors. Negan was next to her, his grunts and snarls giving her peace of mind. She hadn't lost him, she wouldn't lose him.

Two corpses approached, tripping over fallen biters and dropped equipment. Kayla jammed a blade into the nearest one, its skull bursting with gore and smearing her face with splatter. Grunting she yanked the machete out, turning to attack the next one when a boot kicked her legs out from under her. She scrambled to catch herself, falling into the spilled blood and cracking her shoulder onto the ground. Yelping at the pain she tried to struggle to her feet only to be kicked to the ground again.

"Ne-." She croaked out, her eyes finding the man fighting off three undead while pinned to a large piece of machinery. Growling she blocked the incoming hits from the skinwalker who made it inside, the large army boots kicking and pinning her ribs to the ground. Catching his incoming boot heel, Kayla shoved with all her strength, knocking him off his feet. She scrambled for a weapon, finding a large wrench dropped from the nearby worktable. Swinging back, she aimed for his rising head when pain spike through her temple. Her eyes blurred and her head felt as though it were splintering into a millions pieces. The last image flashing before her fading eyes was of Negan burying Lucille into an undead skull. Then nothing but darkness remained.

Thanks for reading, please review!

I know, I know. I kinda killed Michael, I apologize but I had the inspiration from The 100 when Octavia witnesses Lincoln's execution. Check it out if you haven't watched it, they are my inspiration for Kayla and Michael(Creep)

I'm not one for cliff hangers but it kinda just happened. So sorry.