For a moment, everything just stopped. It was as if someone had pressed "pause" on time itself. Then, in like the blink of an eye, Negan ran to Gabriel and tackled him onto the ground. I reached for my gun but stopped when I remembered it was empty.

Shit! What do I do?

I pulled out my knife and held it in front of me. If he makes one wrong move…

Negan took Gabriel's knife and gun. "Well, that's handy." He said. "This one still has a full clip."

"There wasn't any point in firing it." Gabriel stated. "I didn't have enough."

"Yeah, but you could've gone down fighting, you big baby." Negan chuckled. "I'm just pulling your dick, breakin' your balls a little bit. You done good. Smart play. Let's get you properly on your feet." He tucked the gun in his pants, held out his hand and pulled Gabriel up onto his feet.

What's going on? Why didn't he try to kill him?

Time stopped again. Negan and Gabriel were just staring at each other. Then, Negan grinned that evil grin that he has. I got a worried feeling. Before anyone had time to do anything, Negan grabbed Gabriel, opened the door and shoved him out.

"NO!" I screamed. I took a step forward but stopped because I knew there wasn't anything I could do at this point. I heard him screaming and wanted to throw up. Thankfully, it didn't last that long, though. I tear fell down my cheek and I impatiently wiped it away.

Negan turned quickly to me. "Well," he smiled, "if it isn't the other Grimes progeny. I'd be lying if I didn't say I longed for some alone time with you."

I gave him a fearful look still holding my knife up. I was about to charge at him.

"Drop it." He said. "If you're smart."

I hesitated but then put the knife down.

He held out his hand. "Gun."

I glared at him but handed over my gun. "It's empty."

He checked it then looked at me and laughed.

"Have a sit, baby girl." He smiled. "We'll be in here for a while."

I was confused. I watched him walk a little ways away from me and sit down with his back against the wall. I blinked but then slowly sat down right where I had been standing. He put his finger to his lips, telling me to be quiet.

Why hasn't he killed me? Maybe he's not going to. I exhaled a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Well, isn't this a sucky situation for you?" Negan spoke after some time. "Plan worked but you're stuck here…wonder if you're dad knows?"

I shot him a glare. "If he doesn't, he will eventually then he'll come looking for me and when he does, he'll kill you."

He laughed. "Sorry, to break it to ya, baby girl, but no one is coming for you. Wouldn't risk it."

I scoffed.

"Would you?" He questioned me.

I looked away from him. "Look, just because we're trapped in here together doesn't mean we have to talk." I became angry and looked back at him. "In fact, you're not allowed to talk to me."

"Is that so?" He raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"Yeah, because you killed my friend just now!" I snapped. "Not to mention the ones before."

"Well," he started, "that right there was because of this. One of ya had to pay. It could have just as easily been you, so be worthy of his sacrifice."

I just shook my head.

He laughed. "You are adorable, you know that?"

I didn't know what to say so I just put my head down and tried to ignore him.

There was a brief silence…well besides all the noise the walkers were making outside.

I took my jacket off because it was getting really hot in there. I had a tank top on underneath. I noticed Negan looking at me.

"What?" I snapped. "I'm hot."

"You sure are." He said creepily.

I could feel my face heat up and became angry. I couldn't think of anything to say or do so I gave him the finger. He laughed.

"It's hot is what I meant." I crossed my arms.

"Yeah, you're right." He slipped his leather jacket off.

"How can you wear that all the time in this heat?" I spoke my thoughts out loud.

"Well, look who wants to talk now?" He said sarcastically.

I gave him an annoyed look.

"Anyway, it's my signature look. Makes me look pretty cool, doesn't it?"

"Whatever you say." I said unenthusiastically.

"Doesn't it?" He pressed. He got all serious all of a sudden and held his bat up.

"Yeah." I reluctantly agreed. "It makes you look cool."

He chuckled. "I know, right?"

"Your dad is an asshole." Negan finally said after a long time.

"You're an asshole." I said.

"Yeah." Negan chuckled. "I am. But he's gonna get people killed."

"By you." I snapped.

"See, I killed the widow's husband and the ginger, but I didn't get them killed." Negan's smile faded. "That was your daddy. Big difference."

I looked down.

"You know, I saw you stop for that Gregory idiot." Negan stated. "You were there. You saw the whole thing. You heard his little speech. Why would you stop for that bearded prick?"

I thought about what he said. "Gabriel is the who stopped."

"Well, maybe I should have killed you instead of him."

"Yeah, maybe you should have."

He grinned. "Yeah, but you did, too. You were in a car, could have taken off. Left both those idiots. But you didn't. Why?"

He's right. I could have just left. I wanted to. What stopped me? I can't remember. "I don't know." I shrugged. "I didn't think about it, I just did it. I'm used to saving people. I used to be a lifeguard." Did I really just say that?

Negan laughed. "Jesus Christ. You got to be kiddin' me. He split on your pretty, little ass. The point of your life would be saving a priest and a dickhead…because you used to be a lifeguard?"

"But I didn't die, not yet at least. So, no that wouldn't be it." I paused. "But I do believe that everything happens for a reason."

"You believe in that crap?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

He laughed. "Okay, if everything happens for a reason, then tell me, baby girl, what is the reason for this?" He motioned with his arms.

"I don't have the answer for that." I shook my head.

I suddenly thought of Carl. What he's been saying about not killing people. Maybe he's right. Maybe we should be working together and not fighting. Maybe that's the reason I'm trapped in here with him.

"Maybe I'm supposed to help you."

"Help me?" Negan questioned.

"To save you." I paused. "Change you, show you the way."

"What?"

"Tell me your confession." I absentmindedly put my hand to my face. It was really hot, almost as if I had a fever.

He was looking at me like I was an idiot. I didn't quite know why I was saying the things that I was, but I feel there is a reason why this happened.

Negan stood up and walked to the window. "We can wait it out a little bit, see if my people can figure something out. One thing that I'm sure of, baby girl, is if my people think I'm dead a lot of folks are gonna die in there."

"Why?" I jumped. The walkers were growling loudly outside.

"Listen to me." Negan started. "When I killed that creepy priest earlier, did his soul possess you or something? Why all of a sudden do you want to know my confession?"

I shrugged. "Absolution, I guess."

"Well, I don't have shit to confess. Except maybe the fact that I rubbed one out right where you're sitting just to calm down a bit."

I grimaced and moved over.

He chuckled. "Let me ask you something."

I looked up at him.

"Why'd you become a lifeguard?"

"I was good at it." I shrugged. "I like helping people. Kids, the elderly, people who are disabled or just can't swim. People who are weaker than me."

"Well, look at that." Negan got all uppity. "That's my thing. I like to help people through their weaknesses, too. Been doing it one way or another my whole life."

I gave him the dumbest look. "How do you help people?" I snapped.

"You want to know why people are gonna start dying in there? Because I'm not there to stop it." Negan said angrily.

"Why haven't you killed me yet?"

"Because I need you." He smiled. "We need each other. To get out of this. It's the only way."

He needs me? Yeah right? Maybe to use me as walker bait.

Suddenly, a walker put their arm right through the wall. I jumped. This might not hold for much longer. We could die. I gasped. I stood up and walked closer to Negan. "You helped the weak before this?"

He turned his head and smiled his creepy smile. "Kids. You don't show them the way, well, they turn out like garbage. Little assholes become great big ones, so you show them the way."

"I'm one of those." I smiled. I was just trying to be a smart ass.

"Well, baby girl, then maybe I'm here to show you the way."

I glared at him. "Not what I meant."

He laughed. Anyway, adults, they need it, too - the government, laws, religion, guilt. People are weak."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone." He stated.

"You're weak. Killing the innocent." I said angrily.

"Right and goddamn wrong." He reciprocated. "I'm weak, but me 'killing the innocent?' That ain't why, baby girl."

The growling from the walkers intensified. I actually felt a little scared.

"We'll wait a little bit longer, see if my people can pull it together."

"Why are you weak?" I really wanted to know.

"That's the wrong question. It is how I am weak. You see, the thing is, I am also strong. Everyone is a mix. You can use your weaknesses to drive your strength, and obviously, I am strong as shit."

I rolled my eyes. Talk about being over confident.

"I took this place," Negan continued, "and it was a damn free-for-all - a loose confederation of assholes, an army made up of gangs of animals, and I brought it all together. The last guy that was in charge, he wasn't in charge of shit. He allowed people to be weak. I don't. I make them strong, which makes this world strong."

Damn. He really doesn't stop talking.

"You're gonna see, baby girl." Negan said making me look up at him. "See, I'm gonna make you my new special project. Gonna make you nice and strong, too. We're gonna find your special purpose."

I gave him a startled look. He plans on keeping me here? Of course he does.

"Hell yes, we are." He smiled that evil grin. "And if that doesn't workout then you could always agree to be my wife."

I grimaced. Doesn't he mean one of his wives? That will never happen.

"I'm strong." I stuck up for myself. "I've killed. I was there when you and you're people attacked us. I killed some of your people. I planned on killing you, too." I smirked. "I was a part of that."

"Oh." Negan said. "I don't recall seeing you there. I'll take your word for it." He cleared his throat. "You planned on killing me, huh? "Well, look at you, swinging your invisible dick."

I rolled my eyes again. He noticed.

"You are so much cuter than your brother, you know that?" He smiled.

I just glared at him.

He laughed then continued. "Sure, baby girl. That's strong. But that's not what I'm talking about."

"Tell me how you're weak." I pressed. "We might be dead soon. You may be dead. Wouldn't you want to confess before all that happens? Wouldn't you want just one person, one person to know? You don't think you have anything to confess? People you've killed?" I started to get angry again. He killed my friends.

"I haven't killed anyone that didn't need it." Negan said all joking aside.

"The workers you treat like slaves." I pushed some more.

"It's an economy." He said. "Some people win, some people lose, but no one's a slave, no one's going hungry, and you couldn't say that before all this."

This is going to be harder than I thought. Although, I think he may be cracking.

"Carl told us about your wives." I blurted out next. "The women you pressure into marrying you?"

Negan seemed to get angry and turned his back to me. I noticed Gabriel's gun that he hand tucked in the back of his pants. If I got that, maybe I could…

"Every one of those ladies made a choice." He said.

He got angry when I mentioned his wives. Stay strong, keep pushing.

"Was there a first?" I said referring to his wife if he had one. "One before all of this? A wife you promised to love and no one else? One you told that lie to?" I cocked an eyebrow. I slowly and quietly walked over to him.

"Lucille, give me strength." Negan whispered. I'm not sure if I was supposed to hear it. Was he going to kill me?

Suddenly, I grabbed the gun but he was too fast. By the time I pulled the trigger, he spun around and pushed my arm. I held onto the gun, though. I quickly ran into a room, the only other room there was in that place, and locked the door.

I heard Negan hitting something with his bat on the other side. Was it a walker?

"All right, baby girl! He said loudly. "No one's coming for us. "You took your shot - shots. It's time to go."

I can't go back out there. I just tried to kill him. What if he kills me now like he did Gabriel? I swallowed.

"We have Lucille to help us get to the Sanctuary." Negan said again. "We have that gun. We should use it. Most importantly, Abby, we have each other."

That's the first time he's called me Abby. I thought maybe he had forgotten my name.

"People are a resource." He continued. "We make it inside, we live. We can take a chance, we can "gut up," play dead ones across the courtyard. Or…Or I can just kill you, but that is not what I want. What I want is for you to work with me. That is all I ever want."

I looked down and sighed. This is my only chance. I need him to tell me why he's weak or this whole "try to change him thing" isn't going to work. I have to tell him, it's the only way.

"I've killed before, but that's not the worst thing I've done. No." I looked down. "A while back, before you found us, a group attacked us. They had 'W's on their foreheads." I paused remembering. "We fought back. I was killing them, I got lost and someone grabbed me from behind. I didn't even stop to look or think, I just spun around and shot them. Well, it was one of our own. A man. I killed him." I paused because my voice became shaky. I took a deep breath and steadied myself. "Most of my group doesn't even know about it. Only two people—uh, one now." I finished and took another deep breath. That actually felt good to tell someone else. "Now, I will go with you. I will show you that working together as equals is the only true way that this will work, for a future…a better one. I will do this if you confess."

"Jesus, baby girl." Negan finally spoke. "What you did, that is some horrible, cowardly, spineless shit. But I guess that's what a confession's supposed to be, right?" He paused for a moment. "My first wife was a real wife. My only real wife."

Oh my God! He's talking! I gasped and put my ear up to the door. I didn't want to miss a single word.

"Till death did us part." He continued. "It was before this. I lied to her, I screwed around on her. And she was sick."

And he called what I did horrible?

"And when she went…when she went, it was during this." He paused again. "I couldn't put her down."

The way he said it, I believed him. It somehow made him…more human. I heard the emotion in his voice.

"That is how I was weak. That is what I will confess. Because, yeah, maybe we do bite the big one here."

He's just as unsure as I am. I thought about all that he just confessed to me. I told him I would go with him if he told me why he was weak.

I slowly opened the door and held the gun out. "Okay. Absolution complete."

He quickly slapped the side of my jaw. It didn't really hurt just took me by surprise.

"Thanks." He said. "You can keep your gun."

I touched my face where he hit me still in shock.

"Sucks, baby girl, but it looks like we got to risk eating it," he punched the dead walker that he pulled in from outside, "by eating it."

"I don't understand." I said a little confused.

"You ever done this trick with the guts before?"

"Uh, yeah…unfortunately."

I heard a bone crack from the walker and Negan grunting as he cut it open. "These are putrid, decaying organs, dead blood, piss, and shit that have been cooking all day in the Virginian sun." He sighed. "None of your people ever gotten sick from this?"

"We're from Georgia." I informed him and put my hoodie back on. I grimaced as he was ripping through the sinew.

He chuckled. "Look at you lucky shits." He began putting the organs on him. I made my way over to him and got down on my knees. I copied what he was doing. I sighed then grimaced. This is beyond disgusting.

Once we thought we had enough guts, we stood over by the door. Negan looked out the window. "All right. Let's make some noise."

He pounded on the wall with his bat. I did the same with my fist.

"Hey!" I yelled. "Hey! Hey!"

Negan yelled one loud, long scream then opened the door. I braced myself. The walkers poured inside. All of them ignoring us. I would be lying if I didn't say I wasn't relieved. Still nervous, though.

When the room was mostly full, that's when we made our escape. I looked at Negan for him to go first. He did and I followed right behind. He seemed to just push through the walkers with ease. I, on the other hand, was having some trouble. I'm kind of short, not like Negan. He towered over most of them. He was way ahead of me by now. I grew more nervous. He's going to leave me. They're going to noticed me eventually and I'm going to get swarmed and die. Then, he'll be able to escape while the walkers are distracted by gnawing on my flesh. I shook that thought. I closed my eyes for a moment and before I knew it, I was on the ground. I tripped over one. I quickly got back up. I turned my head just as a walker came at me. Before I could react, Negan hit it with his bat. I blinked. He helped me? I didn't have time to think about it, though. One was going for him. I shot it without thinking and kept shooting them. We were fighting walkers together, Negan and I. He pushed through some, I was struggling with a very tall walker. I saw his bat hit it, he wrapped his arm around my waist and lifted me. He got us over to underneath the balcony then put me back on my feet.

"Shit." He said.

I looked up. There were walkers up there as well. Some of which were coming down. I turned and shot more walkers leaving Negan to think of what to do.

"I'm gonna climb up there." Negan said. "Cover my ass. Once I'm up, I'll pull you up. Got it?"

I was unsure at first. I feel like he's going to leave me. Eventually I just nodded. I stayed turned around. I pushed walkers back occasionally. I couldn't keep using my gun. I probably only have two bullets left. However, one got too close, too close for me to think so I pulled the trigger. Then, the same thing happened, only when I pulled the trigger this time, nothing happened.

"Negan!" I yelled. "I'm out!"

"Come on!" He extended his hand down to me. I quickly took it. I felt myself being pulled back down by a walker. I screamed. I kicked it once, but it was still on me. I kicked it a second time and the same result. I began to panic and just started frantically kicking. It wasn't until the seventh kick that it finally let go. Negan hurriedly pulled me up.

We stood there for a moment and caught our breath.

"I thought for sure that was the end for me." I said out of breath.

"Not today, baby girl."

I unzipped my jacket and quickly took it off, throwing it over the balcony, I grimaced.

Negan was watching me carefully.

We heard a gunshot while walking down the hall. "I am Negan!" Someone, a woman I think, yelled. "Anyone else want a bullet? Anyone?"

Negan started to whistle as we turned a corner.

He chuckled. "Ah, Regina." He said. I realized that everyone was down on one knee. I'm not kneeling for him. I don't care that he just saved me. I'll never "bow down" to him.

"Now, why'd you have to go and do that?" Negan continued. "I am guessing that a lot of you fine folks thought I was dead, chewed up, never to be crapped out again. Well, here's a little refresher on who the hell I am. I wear a leather jacket, I have Lucille, and my nutsack is made of steel."

I rolled my eyes for the billionth time that day.

"I am not dying until I am damn good and ready." He said. "Now, if you'll all excuse me, I am in deep need of a sandwich, a shower, and some of that, uh, wilting lion orchid deep-tissue shit that Frankie learned in San Francisco. Hell, I might do it all at once." He became serious. "But after that, we have some serious business to attend to. Like talking to my right-hand man. You see, we got to figure out how all this could've happened like it happened. And then well, and then we're gonna get back to doing what we have always done. We will save people."

"Thank you, Negan." A woman said. "Thank God for you."

I was so confused in that moment.

Negan turned to me. "And that is why I am here."

I didn't know what to think. Do his people seriously look at him like some kind of God? Do they know the horrible things he has done? Surely, they couldn't.

"Gentlemen, gently take her to number 2." Negan said. "Gently."

Two guys grabbed my arms and I realized he was referring to me. I looked back at him and watched him walk away. They walked me down a couple hallways before approaching a door. They opened it and put me inside. Once the door closed, I heard it lock. Great. What am I going to do now? How do I get out of this? It's so dark in here. I don't like it. I started thinking about my dad and the others. I hope they're all okay. I wonder if they realized yet that I'm still here?

"Abigail." I heard a voice say. "It's Eugene Porter…Dr. Eugene Porter here."

Eugene? What does he want? Wait, I need him!

"We were, uh, neighbors, traveling companions." He continued. "We've eaten dog together, so I imagine that joins us in some manner for life."

I think I did enough eye rolling today for the rest of my life. "I know who you are." I finally spoke. I suddenly felt a pain in my pelvic area. It was sharp and very painful. It was familiar. Oh no! Please not now! I got down on my knees and grimaced.

"Well…I'm here to formally welcome you to the Sanctuary." He said. "In our current state of siege, the prickly heat alone might be enough to turn you off the place, so I took it upon myself to bring you some welcome-wagon items in hopes of providing some relief." He paused.

He knocked on the door. "Abby?"

"Eugene." I said weakly.

I heard keys rattling and then the door opened.

"Abby!" Eugene got down next to me. "You need to see Dr. Carson 2.0 A.S.A.P."

Dr. Carson? Oh Dr. Carson! Something in me snapped. That's the reason why I'm here! I'm supposed to get Dr. Carson out so he can help Maggie delivery the baby! Everything happens for a reason.

"I d- I do." I said in pain. "That's why I'm here. That's why - It's the reason we're here, I think." The pain hurt so bad. I was feeling weaker. "Carson is Maggie's doctor. W-We have to get him out of here. We have to get him out of here." I got extremely hot. I think I'm going to pass out. "We have to get him out of—