Chapter 49

"Negan, don't! Please don't hurt him!"

My pleas fell on deaf ears as Negan completely disregarded me, pulling me down the stairs while I cried all the way outside to an expansive caravan of vehicles. He advanced towards a large black truck as I protested and shoved me inside, sliding in after and slamming the truck door; Lucille resting between his knees. Finally, he looked at me, his eyes and mouth forming a disarming glower.

"Please," I muttered, my voice barely passing through my trembling lips.

Negan regarded me, tacit and astute, his gaze drifting over my face before focusing on my eyes. In a tense moment, we stared as I begged silently, willing to abdicate everything so long as Daryl was safe.

"I'll do anything," I broke the silence, and the corner of Negan's mouth lifted slightly.

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about the other night?" He asked, ignoring everything that had just happened.

"Negan, please." I was hopeless.

"Answer me," he demanded in a soft but coercive tone.

I closed my eyes, no longer worried about whatever stupid game he had been playing at before. It was as trivial as the world that was now dead, and it was hard to concentrate on anything else but Daryl surrounded by Negan's men, alone.

"I came to-," I choked, my throat suddenly closing. I steadied myself before continuing. "-to ask you why you set Daryl up. Why you tried to push us apart."

"Everly," Negan drawled out my name in reproach, smiling. "You know I would never do something like that."

"You did." My sorrow was transforming into ire. "You can't lie, Negan. I know everything about what you did."

"You do, or you think you do?" He asked, donning a look of short incredulity. "How are you so goddamn sure that Daryl isn't blowing air up your skirt to make me look like the asshole? Maybe he's a fucking liar."

"I just know." Each word was a strain past my clenched teeth.

"For sure." Negan nodded. He squinted and pointed a finger in my face. "I bet you know every single fucking thing that's going on, don't you? You've known from the fucking start what a two-faced piece of shit Rick is because you are a two-faced piece of shit. Just like your bumpkin boyfriend who's getting his ass kicked right now."

"What do you mean?" I shook my head, wanting to know the answer and how it pertained to me and Daryl.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough, sweetheart."

The driver's side door opened and a large Savior climbed in the seat. As he started the truck, I saw the same doors Negan had dragged me through burst open. Simon strutted into the daylight, leading a gang of men who carelessly escorted a beaten, bloody and angrier-than-hell Daryl to a load of vehicles in front of us. Impulsively, I leaned over Negan's lap to reach for the door handle, but he pushed me back into the seat with his forearm. I ripped at his leather sleeve defiantly as he increased his strength, his elbow digging painfully into my chest, and another provoked glare marred his clean-cut features as he warned me.

"Unless you want pretty boy Daryl to be a groaning twat on my fence, I suggest you sit the fuck back and keep your fucking hands to yourself. My temper has worn paper-thin dealing with you assholes and our trip hasn't even started."

I let him go and put my hands in my lap as the tears started again. I looked after Daryl as his eyes searched the yard for me before being roughly shoved into a truck at the beginning of the line. I turned back to Negan, desperate.

"Please, don't hurt-"

"Ssh," Negan hushed as he pushed a gloved finger to my lips. He petted my hair with his other hand and watched the tears roll down my cheeks, his voice full of honey. "Shut up. I can think of a hundred things you can do with that pretty mouth, but begging for Daryl's safety doesn't even make the fucking list. We don't roll out of here until I say so. There is plenty of time to take him out of that truck and tie a chain around his neck."

Deliberately, Negan slid his finger down my lips, gazing at them as I struggled to keep them from quivering. He cupped my chin and thumbed my bottom lip, stretching it as the gloved digit swept across it haltingly.

"You wanna help me put him on a spike out there?"

I shook my head and kept my mouth a straight line as I sniffed back leftover tears.

"I didn't quite catch that, Everly. You see, even a child can learn the difference between when it's appropriate to talk and when it's not. For example, I just asked you a motherfucking question. It's funny how much shit you can talk when I say something you don't like but when I actually ask for your input all I get is a pathetic shake of the head."

"No," I stated, my tone hard despite how fragile I felt.

"That's a good girl." Negan smiled and his fingers on my chin tightened. "You're still my good girl, right?"

I nodded, briefly pondering if I should leave my answer at that as a silent 'fuck you' but quickly threw out the idea. "Yes."

"Sure doesn't fucking seem like it." Negan's eyes danced with mine. "When we reach Alexandria, show them how much of a good girl you can be. Maybe you can set a fucking example for the fuck heads. Otherwise, Lucille will have to do it for you."

With that he let me go and grabbed the barb-wired bat between his legs, stroking it suggestively. I maintained a calm front as a sneer fought just beneath the surface, and Negan laughed when I finally looked away from him. He indicated to the driver to radio that he was ready and too soon we were passing through the Sanctuary gates.


"You're not going, Maggie," Sasha said as the pregnant woman scampered to strap a gun to her hip.

"Yes, I am. I can't leave you guys to defend yourselves," Maggie argued, finally securing the holster on her belt and sheathing the gun. "Just because I'm pregnant don't mean I'm worthless."

"Maggie, no one is saying that. It would be best for you and the baby if you stayed here, though," Jesus piped in.

Maggie scoffed, annoyed. She had been woken up in the middle of the night when Sasha had come barreling up to the Hilltop gates nearly in a panic. She had explained to her and Jesus that Dwight had shown up at Alexandria no more than an hour earlier to warn them that Negan somehow found out about them staging a revolt. Apparently, the Sanctuary leader was planning a surprise visit to the rebellious town the following day to teach them a lesson in civil obedience, and he was coming armed.

Now that is was morning time, Jesus and Sasha were ready to depart to help Alexandria, but Maggie wasn't willing to let them go alone. She knew her pregnancy was a large downside in going to a potential war-zone, but she couldn't sit back and do nothing. She had to help somehow.

"Paul, no one is going. Let the Alexandrians deal with what they've buried themselves in," Gregory intruded, and Maggie cringed at the sound of his voice. He glanced briefly at Sasha. "You're welcome to stay for a few hours, but then you'll have to leave. I can't have you here if the Saviors show up again. It was close enough that they nearly found Maggie the last time."

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Maggie hissed at him and pulled on a light jacket to cover the piece at her side. "Funny how they were here only the other day and suddenly they're aware of everything we've planned. I wonder how that could have happened."

"What exactly are you implying, Maggie?" Gregory narrowed his eyes at her.

"I think you damn well know." The country beauty turned to face the leader she'd come to resent, ready to give him a what for.

"I would back off if I were you," Gregory warned, taking a step away from her.

"Or you'll what?" Maggie spat, but Jesus stepped between them.

"Could we not?" He asked the both of them, but gave his leader a lingering, scorching look; one that said this subject was far from over.

Maggie addressed Sasha again, breathing through her anger as she continued to glare at Gregory. "Dwight never said how Negan found out?"

"He only said that Negan knows about our relationship with Hilltop, but didn't elaborate on the who's and how's. Then Dwight said he would buy us some time by tearing trees down in the middle of the road and left. He was barely there for twenty minutes before he was gone." Sasha explained, her anxious eyes darting from Maggie to Jesus to Gregory. "I'm scared. I don't wanna lose anybody else."

"I know. It's going to be okay." Maggie softened and took Sasha by the shoulders to hug her to her chest. "Everything will be okay."

She wanted to tell her that no one else would be lost either, but that was one promise Maggie was not willing to make. Especially not to Sasha who shared her grief of losing someone she loved by Negan's bloody hands.

"No, it won't." Sasha pulled away as she tried to maintain her composure. "We've got no guns except for the few from Oceanside, but that isn't enough. We barely have anything to fight with."

Maggie took a step back to run her hands through her short bob. The baby started to kick her side and she rubbed the hard swell of her belly tenderly. "Wasn't that part of Rick's deal with Dwight? To get us weapons?"

"Yes, but he hasn't followed through yet." Sasha shrugged, defeated. "We're out of time."

"Just as well," Gregory commented. "No one will follow you without weapons, and I will not allow a single soul here to be sent to a massacre."

"We might not be." Jesus ignored Gregory. "If Negan comes and finds nothing, then he won't have a reason to punish anyone. He might do some harm based off of whatever information he's gained, but how true can it be if he finds no evidence of it?"

"We are already prepared to fight. Anyone who is capable is armed," Sasha shot down Jesus' idea.

"And Negan knows we're connected. That might be enough for him to destroy all of us anyway," Maggie considered logically and shot daggers at Gregory once more.

Jesus rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "It might be last minute, but we can go to King Ezekiel. He'll help us fight if that's how today ends up, but we need to go now."

"Will that be enough?" Sasha asked.

"Maybe not, but it's something."

"Ha," Gregory let out a derisive scoff, throwing his hand up in the air at the trio before him. "You're all fools."

"We're fools if we keep standing here listening to you," Maggie bounced back at him. "We're leaving."

"Don't bother coming back then!" Gregory hollered at her and Sasha's retreating back. He looked at Jesus incredulously as the young, bearded man stood staring at him in disappointment.

"What has made you so bitter, old man?" He asked before turning his back on him too.

"I mean it, Paul! If you leave, you're leaving for good!"

But his threatening words were no match for the determination of the people they were aimed after, and the study doors clicked shut, leaving him alone.


"Fuck a whore's ass," Negan cursed as the caravan came to a sudden stop. "What the fuck is wrong now?"

The CB radio mounted on the dashboard crackled just as Negan finished speaking. "We've got some downed trees up ahead. Dwight's crew is here trying to clean them off but they're some big ones. May take a while."

"Fuck me," Negan sighed irately and opened his door. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me along with him as he climbed down, slamming the truck door after us. "You stay by my side."

I marched dutifully next to him, not wanting to spark his anger into something more than it already was. As we walked along the road to view the peculiar barricade of trees, my eyes swept the vicinity of the trucks, looking for Daryl but not finding him. I knew he rode in the first one and as we drew nearer, I finally saw him huddled against the side, an arm holding his waist.

I nearly ran for him but chastely remembered Negan's words. My worried eyes found his and he straightened at the sight of me. His bottom lip was busted and swollen as was his nose. He already had a black eye forming, but I was thankful to not see any more damage. The way he held his stomach, though, made me concerned about possible internal injuries or broken ribs.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, free loader? Get off your busted as hell ass and remove those trees if you want to go home... Now." Negan's booming voice had me practically jumping out of my skin as he pointed Lucille at Daryl. "Chop, chop."

Daryl shifted on his feet, the animosity evident in his inability to stand still. The spit from his mouth landed in a bloody blob on the road, and while it was nowhere near Negan, it was a direct insult that unfortunately fell short of its target. With one last look of hate, Daryl turned away and strolled as normally as he could to help the other men with the downed trees as Negan began to chuckle at his limping gait.

"Fucking pussy," Negan remarked and turned to me, a sadistic glimmer in his eyes. "Speaking of fucking pussy, I heard that's what Daryl's been up to with you."

My eyes widened marginally, humiliation starting to burrow into my gut. He had spoken so loudly with everyone around purposely, and I lowered my eyes to avoid anyone's gaze. I honestly didn't care if everyone in the Sanctuary knew about Daryl and me, but what happens in my private life was none of their business, and Negan knew exactly how to pick at me.

"Must've been some damn good pussy to have him snarling like a sick fucking dog. I had to snatch you away from the son of a bitch just to get you alone."

I refused to bring my head up. I didn't even want to look him in the face. I remained silent, studying the gravel at our feet as he continued to pester me in the same brash tone.

"Aw, what is that look for? Are you ashamed?" Negan touched my shoulder, shaking it slightly. "While it's pretty damn gross you let that loser inside of you, it's a nice compliment on your behalf. Daryl has basically hit his all-time high. Question is do we consider it a low for you or charity?"

I jolted away from him and hit the hand that was left suspended in the air in my wake. My throat burned with the harsh words I wanted to yell at him, but Dwight's presence interceded the strained air, putting a stop to my looming mistake.

"Hey, uh," Dwight stopped short at my outburst, eyeing me curiously, "we probably got another hour out here. In the meantime, I've sent some guys ahead to search for ambushes and keep a look out while we finish this up."

"Thanks, Dwight," Negan said, his sight never leaving me. Dwight nodded and turned to go but Negan's voice stopped him. "Do you think it's odd that on the day I'm supposed to make a very important visit to Alexandria there happens to be random ass trees littering the road?"

"Is that a question for me?" Dwight asked unsurely, a small smile on his face but I could sense the tension behind it.

Negan's eyes rolled as he languidly turned to look at the burned man.

"Do you fucking think she would know the answer?" Negan flicked a thumb at me. "She's too busy thinking about getting screwed by fuck-wit over there to form a coherent thought. She won't even talk to me."

The smile drained from Dwight's face as he answered with a no, and I examined the ground again, counting how many rocks were there but listening to the conversation in front of me nonetheless.

"Let's think about this logically, D. There are about three trees down and all of them were conveniently right by the fucking road. Mind you, there was a storm last week, but if you take a moment to look at our motherfucking surroundings," Negan yelled the last two words, his voice slipping through the trees and bouncing back to us, "you'll see that not another damn thing is disturbed. Kind of makes you wonder a bit, don't it?"

"Yeah, I don't know. It is weird when you think about it," Dwight agreed and my gaze drifted up to notice his fingers tapped on the crossbow in his hands. He was growing nervous. "They probably had weak roots or the soil was eroded by the rain; could have been pushed over by the wind or something. Just our luck, huh?"

"Yeah." Negan nodded and smiled. "Just our luck… Get the fuck out of my sight."

Dwight stepped back as a fleeting sneer sullied his face, but he caught my eye as he walked away. He dipped his head imperceptibly and it was enough to tell me that he was the one behind the downed trees. I grew paranoid that Negan would notice our exchange, so I quickly plastered on a frown, crossed my arms, and diverted my stare.

The rubber tread on Negan's boots sounded on the asphalt as he approached and they entered my line of sight, halting in front of mine. Reluctantly, I peeked up at him and waited for another smart-ass remark to come flying from his mouth. He didn't leave me in suspense for long.

"That girl, Rachel, did you ever learn anything useful from her?"

I shrugged, my silence marking me as insolent. Annoyed by my lack of response, Negan inched up to me and the corners of his mouth turned down as his brows sunk.

"You know, I could offer that girl anything and she would tell me all I needed to know. I'd even let her lick the bottom of my shoe and she'd get down on her knees for it, don't you think?" He paused to let me ponder the implication. "But I gave that job to you so I didn't have to fucking deal with the headache. She's not exactly the buttoned up type. It doesn't take a whole lot to get her talking, so I'm having trouble understanding why you can't do the one fucking thing I asked."

Voices buzzed all around us. The sound of bark being stripped as the trees were dragged off of the road filled my ears. We were making a lot of noise; maybe too much noise. I wondered what would happened if I screamed.

"You don't have an answer?" Negan asked, tilting his head closer. "No lecture about her fragile state?"

I blinked and rolled my glare away from him, finally speaking through tight lips. "I tried. She didn't give me much."

"What did she give you?"

I clenched my jaw in frustration. "Her leader is a woman named Alpha, and they live somewhere near where we were at. Apparently, her group lives like animals, taking what they want when they want it… She said it wasn't the first time those men had raped her. That's all."

"See, that wasn't so fucking hard, now was it? I'm sure I've mentioned it a couple of times already, but compliancy looks good on you." Negan remarked and then moved on. "That shit is fucking fucked up, though. Think Lucille and I should pay the rest of those child rapists a visit?"

"I think you should leave everyone the fuck alone," I snapped. "I think we should go back to the Sanctuary and forget all of this bullshit, whatever the hell it is. If you want to protect Rachel and your people, then start by being a good leader and stop being a sadist. You killing her old group or punishing those who piss you off does nothing because create more problems. If you took a moment to remove your perfectly gelled head out of your ass, you would see that."

A simper lifted Negan's lips broadly as he chuckled.

"Whew, goddamn! Compliant my lily-white ass." He chortled once more. "I can't help but fucking love it when you talk dirty to me. Remind me to show you how much I fucking love it when we get back home. For now, sit your ass in the truck and look pretty. Use your imagination to think about all the things I'm going to do to you to help pass the time."

I scowled, hoping it sent shivers up his spine but knowing they probably went somewhere else less desirable, and turned on my heel to stomp to the truck. His outstretched hand caught my arm, pulling me to back into his chest before I could make it too far.

"I want you to know that I'm really looking forward to spending this day with you." His breath tickled my ear. "You haven't gotten the rest of your surprise yet, and I am so going to enjoy watching your face when I give it to you."

His words cemented my insecurities. He had definitely found something out. Why else would he be taking us to Alexandria? Why else would he be so upset? I wouldn't truly know until he was ready to share, and I had a horrible feeling he would use Lucille to tell me every last detail.


Edited by lolasskicker.

Thank you, Blue Moon! Yes, I enjoyed writing the tension between Negan and Daryl. Both of their jealousies are showing, and it's gonna get crazy real soon! I might actually disappoint a lot of you with what will happen. I've already asked one reader to not hate me, but it's okay if you do. But remember! The dawn always...follows the night...or the night is darkest before the dawn or some profound shit like that... SEE YA!

P.S. I'm seriously so fucking psyched for the next chapter! You guys are gonna straight up hate my guts, haha. Yeeee!