"Hey!" Arat's loud whisper came as she held her arm out to halt Dwight, Simon and the small group of Saviors that followed her. "There's someone out here."
They all dropped down into a dried up gully, listening intently.
"Do you think it's just a lurker?" Dwight asked.
"No," Arat shook her head. "The footsteps were too fast. Too deliberate"
"Was there more than one?" Simon strained his eyes to peer off into the distance into the night but saw nothing but darkness. They listened quietly a moment longer before a distant voice carried in the open woods.
"I'm going to go in there and let this Negan character know who's boss!" The voice boomed in an almost theatrical capacity. Arat whipped her head around to look at Simon. "That's right! Me! Spencer Monroe! I'll rescue Belle, take down Negan and get all the glory while Rick, Daryl and the rest of those schmucks clean up the rest of the Saviors. I'll get Belle's attention once and for all!"
"Shit," Dwight muttered as the unknown voice carried on it's monologue, but became less clear as it disappeared into the night. "They're going to the Sanctuary."
"We've got to get back there. We might be able to get ahead of this guy enough to warn them," Simon said confidently.
"That's our only choice," Arat sighed. "Maybe we can get to them first. Belle would stop a fight from happening. Maybe we can negotiate with Alexandria."
"Do you really believe that?" Dwight looked to his friend for reassurance.
"I don't know," Arat admitted. "But I believe in Belle."
Negan had left me at the door to #113 with a promise of returning for me in a couple of hours, but that he had something he needed to take care of.
A date. Negan and I were having a date tonight. My emotions were all over the place as my brain struggled to continue to process everything I had learned in the last few hours and tried to reconcile it with the destruction that had taken place. As I watched Negan's frame disappear down the corridor I headed toward the bathroom. Lost in my own thoughts, as I rounded the corner I ran right into Sherry.
"Belle!" She reached out and pulled me into a hug. "Are you okay?"
"I am," I nodded. "As okay as I can be. Listen, I'm really glad you talked to me earlier. I just….I had no idea. I talked to Negan. It turns out there was so much more than I ever could have known. I don't know how we go forward from here. I just know I have to get back to Alexandria and talk to the others before any further damage gets done."
"Surely, you're not leaving now?" Her eyes flashed with concern. "It'll be dark soon. Besides, maybe you should let someone go with you. I could accompany you?"
"I would like that. And no, I was thinking of leaving at first light tomorrow. But tonight I have another situation at hand," I said biting my lip nervously.
"Oh? Is it anything I can help you with?"
"Look, I know this is going to sound really, really weird. And frivolous."
Sherry laughed lightly, eyeing me curiously. "Okay. What is it?"
"Do you by any chance have a dress I could borrow?"
Sherry cocked her head to the side as she began to process the hidden intent behind my request. Finally, she took my hand in hers and guided me down the hall in the opposite direction from which I came. "Come with me. I've got just the thing."
"Don't you worry about a thing, Mr. Negan," Mrs Potts reached out a squeezed my arm. "I'll have the perfect dinner prepared."
I scooped her up in a hug, spinning her around, causing Chip to dissolve into a fit of giggles. "Thank you, Mrs P. I don't fucking deserve you. Do you think we can set something up? Make it….I don't fucking know….pretty? Belle deserves fucking beautiful!"
"I think something can be arranged!" Mrs. Potts laughed jovially as all of the Saviors filed into the dining hall, taking a seat to await the emergency meeting I had called for. The fucking meeting where everything would change for the better. "I'm just so proud of you, love." She reached up and patted the side of my face.
"I wish fucking Simon and Arat and Dwight were here," I admitted, glancing back towards the door. They had already left on their supply run earlier in the afternoon. I caught Sherry's eye as she entered the dining hall and she smiled knowingly at me. I nodded a silent thank you to her as Chip hugged me around the legs.
"You should get on up there, love," Mrs. Potts urged me. "Deliver the good news. Chip and I have a dinner to prepare! Come on, Chip!" She extended her hand to the little boy who had glued himself to my side like a little fucking spider monkey.
"Thank you, Mrs P," I said, ruffling Chip's hair beside me. "For everything." Her eyes welled up as she nodded her reply to me and disappeared into the kitchen.
"I'll catch ya later, Mr. Negan!" Chip bounded clumsily after his mother and I took a deep breath before heading to the front of the dining hall. A hush fell over the entire room so that the only sound was the occasional squeak of someone's shoe against the floor.
"You're probably all wondering why the fuck I asked you here," I began, swallowing hard. I looked out into the faces of the people who I had grown to care about. People who I had treated unfairly all out of fucking fear. My eyes settled on Dr. Carson, his daughter Emilia and Sherry who stood just off to the side. "To be totally honest, I asked you all here to apologize." I shoved my hands into my pockets as confusion registered across the faces of everyone in the room. I felt the emotion filling my eyes as realized I no longer fucking cared what anyone thought. These fucking people deserved to see the real fucking me. "I owe you all a fucking apology. I've not been the leader you fucking deserved. I've made a lot of mistakes and done some things I'm not fucking proud of." Tears streamed down my fucking face and I let the truth pour right out of me. "There's a lot about me you don't fucking know, but I owe it to you all to tell you the truth. To fucking explain. I haven't always fucking been this way. I wasn't always a goddamn monster. When the world went to shit, I had a group of people that started looking to me to fucking lead. I wasn't the best guy for the job, but I tried because I wanted to fucking help. To make some sort of sense out of this damn world. When we came across new people, I accepted them. We all fucking did. We invited everyone who didn't have their own people. I wanted to create a fucking sanctuary for everyone. But in doing that, I let in some people who ended up not being fucking trustworthy." I paused, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I was out on a fucking supply run and while I was gone, my wife Lucille was left alone guarding the supplies. It wasn't even fucking long, but these assholes saw their opportunity to steal everything we had worked so damn hard to get. They knew my wife was one of the weaker links in our group. But she was brave. She was so fucking brave. She tried to stand up to them but they killed her." A sob escaped me and I glanced over to see Sherry crying and Dr. Carson's face wrought with emotion. "I never should have fucking left her. She was pregnant. We were gonna have a fucking baby and they killed her." The room erupted into gasps and cries as they looked at me with expressions that could only be described as fucking pity. "And something in me fucking snapped. I couldn't fucking let what happened to Lucille happen to anyone else. So I ruled by fucking fear. I tried to control every little thing so nobody else could ever do what those fucking assholes did. I did some things I'm not proud of when I felt like there was a fucking threat on the Sanctuary. But no matter what the fucking reason was, I was wrong. I was no fucking better than those fuckers who took my Lucille from me. There's a special person who helped me to see that the only way to make my wife's death mean something is to fucking be better. It shouldn't have taken me this fucking long, but I'm sorry. I want you to all know you are free. If you want to leave, I'll fucking understand. If you stay, just know the points system is abolished. I'm gonna make sure you have what you need when you fucking need it. We're going to do what we have to do to work together with the other communities. I'll do whatever it fucking takes. I don't want you to fucking fear me. Hell, I'm just a fucking man. I'm a goddamn nobody. But there's a girl here who makes me wanna be fucking somebody."
I looked down at my feet as I thought of Belle in Room 113 and I smiled to myself as one by one all of the Saviors rose to their feet and began to clap. Sherry ran to my side and threw her arms around me.
"I'm so sorry, Negan," Sherry cried softly. "It was our fau-"
"No," I stopped her immediately, pulling back to look her in the eye. "Let's set one thing fucking straight right now. None of this was your fucking fault. And it wasn't Dwight's either. It was none of your fucking faults. I was wrong to blame you and fucking treat you the way that I did. I'm so fucking sorry, Sherry. Can you ever fucking forgive me?"
"Of course," she nodded, reaching out to squeeze my arm. "And by the way…..I heard you have a date this evening."
"I do," I said, a smile creeping onto my face. "I don't know how someone as amazing as her ever fucking said yes to me."
"Not only did she say yes, but I happen to have it on good authority that she even went through the trouble of finding a dress to wear."
I felt my heart twist with excitement. "Sherry, I know I don't deserve it, but do you think you could help me? I just want to make this night as special as fucking possible for her. And I need all the help I can get."
"Of course I will." A smile spread across Sherry's face as she glanced back at the Saviors who stood behind her. Not one of them had fucking had taken the opportunity and left. Every last one of them stayed. She looked over to where Dr. Carson and Emilia still stood and motioned them over. "But I better call in some reinforcements. We need to do this right."
I nervously paced the room as I waited for Negan to arrive. Sherry and the rest of the girls had scoured about and found a sweet pale yellow sundress for me to wear. It set just off my shoulders and had a beautiful v neck, the sleeves fitting snugly just below my elbows. It cinched in at the waist but flared out at the hips and landed just above my knees. This was the kind of dress that before the turn I would have worn to have brunch with a friend, but right now it may as well have been a ball gown for as fancy I felt. I had washed my hair and braided it while it dried so that when I took out the plaits, my hair had a soft wave to it. It wasn't exactly a curling iron, but it would do.
One of the other girls actually had a pair of nude pumps in her room that she had found one day on a run. She'd held onto them in case the world ever returned to normalcy. Yet here I stood wearing them in a world and a life that could be described as anything but normal. Another girl found a soft rose colored lipstick that had been mostly used up. But it was just enough for me to add a little flush to my cheeks and some color to my lips. For a moment, I felt a lot more like the old world than the new one.
Finally, there was a soft knock on the door and I took a deep breath, opening the door to find Negan standing there with a small bunch of autumn wildflowers wrapped in twine. I felt my breath catch as I took in Negan who wore a simple white button down with his jeans and boots. He beamed down at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
"Wow," he breathed as his eyes fell over me. "You look fucking stunning, beauty."
"You got me flowers!" I grinned as he handed me the small bouquet. "They're beautiful. Thank you." He gazed down at me, a soft smiled playing on his lips. "What?" I asked, nervously tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear.
He cleared his throat and flushed slightly before extending his hand to me. "Are you ready to go?"
Belle was always beautiful but tonight she was fucking stunning. The most exquisite fucking thing I'd ever seen. I felt my heart twist as she took my hand and I guided her wordlessly down through the corridors of the Sanctuary. But it wasn't one of those fucking uncomfortable silences. It was the kind of fucking quiet that's easy and safe. Finally, we reached the dining hall and I took a deep breath and I opened the door, my eyes on her.
She gasped, bringing her free hand to her mouth. She looked around, taking in the room. The dining hall had been transformed into a romantic fucking oasis. While I had been busy being an asshole there had been a whole ass candlemaker just living here at the Sanctuary making a surplus of candles. When he offered up his services I was fucking floored. The tables had been moved, stacked around the edges of the room and covered in candles and wildflowers the Saviors had pitched in and helped me pick. There was a small candlelit dining table in the center of the room with a white sheet as a makeshift tablecloth where Mrs. Potts had already placed a delicious spaghetti dinner for us. She had even broken out a bottle of red wine we kept on hand for special occasions that never seemed to happen. But the thing I was most excited about was the music that played softly in the background. I'd had an old CD player in my room for a long time with a few discs I'd managed to scrounge up over the last few months. Though I had batteries for the damn thing, I just kept saving it. I wanted a good fucking reason to use it, and now, here it was. Finally she turned to face me with tears in her eyes. "You did this?"
"I had a little help," I admitted. "Do you like it?"
She reached up and touched my face and her smile told me her answer before she even fucking spoke. "I love it."
Taking her hand, I guided her over to the table and pulled the chair out for her before taking my seat across from her. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I watched her take her fork and begin twirling the noodles gingerly.
"What?" she asked, suddenly self conscious.
"You're just fucking breathtaking, Belle." And she was. The most goddamn beautiful creature I'd ever seen.
She reached across the table, taking my hand in hers and little did she know, she'd taken my heart too. "Thank you for this."
"You deserve this and so much more, Beauty," I held her tiny hand between both of mine. "Now, as promised this is going to be a real fucking date. And on dates you get to know the person you're with."
She sparkled as the candles flickered around her, casting a golden glow over her skin. "What do you want to know?"
I sighed, taking in her beauty and reveling in the second fucking chance at life I had just been given. "Everything."
Spencer observed The Sanctuary from his self made perch in the treeline. It appeared relatively quiet with the exception of the snipers on the roof who seemed distracted as they talked amongst themselves. The sun had already set, but he was waiting a little longer. He was counting on the darkness to conceal him and give him a vantage point to sneak inside. Tonight, Belle would finally be his. He just had to be patient.
He hadn't bothered to wait on Rick, Daryl, Michonne and the rest of those fools because he knew damn well they were just going to mess this up. They never should have let Belle sacrifice herself for Daryl in the first place. They couldn't protect her the way he could. Tonight she would finally see that she should have been with him all along.
But just as his mind was slipping into a reverie about everything he hoped to do with Belle to celebrate their union, he saw a small group of Saviors rushing into a side door of the Sanctuary.
Daryl's heart raced and his legs were so fatigued, but he knew he couldn't let himself give in to the pain. He had been running for so long that his legs and lungs burned as if someone had poured liquid nitrogen onto them, but he had to keep going. He knew he had to get to the Sanctuary before Spencer did or Belle could have to pay for that moron's stupidity with her life.
As he pictured Belle's face in his mind, he felt a renewed sense of vigor and picked up his pace, the leaves crunching beneath his feet. "I'm coming, Belle," he whispered to the night air. "Just keep holding on."
He continued on, pushing himself to run faster and faster until he finally had the shadowy outline of The Sanctuary in his sight.
Rick, Michonne, Maggie, Sasha, and Carl led the Alexandrians to the Sanctuary on horseback. They were ahead of the group, hoping to catch up to Daryl to help intervene before Spencer could do something stupid, leaving Aaron, Father Gabriel and Jesus from Hilltop to lead the rest of them on foot. Michonne expertly took out walkers along the way with her katana, not slowing her pace one bit.
"We're getting close," Rick said taking a deep breath.
"It's going to be okay," Michonne said, sensing his nervousness. "We're going to be okay."
"How do you know?" Rick asked softly.
"Because we have to be," she replied simply.
"That's right," Maggie agreed. "We're going to get Belle back and end Negan once and for all."
I felt my face flush and I wasn't sure if it was the wine or the way he looked at me. As if I were the only woman in the world. We'd spent the evening talking about our lives, both before and after the turn. I told him about my dad, about Rick and Michonne. He asked me to tell him about Glenn and Abraham, which I did with tears in my eyes. He cried as I finally told him about Maggie and the reason we had been on the road that night he found us in the clearing and we wept together, both of us grieving everything that had happened and all the things we wished we could take back. I told him about Daryl, recounting the ways he had been there for me since my dad died. He told me about his life with Lucille before the turn and the boys he coached. We wondered aloud about all those we lost track of when the turn took place. We talked about his love for Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley and how I used to sing in my college choir. We talked about our favorite books and agreed that this life we were living, the things we'd all been through and witnessed needed to be written about. Because future generations deserved to know not just what we had all been through and what we fought for, but the resiliency of the human spirit. We talked until both the food and the wine disappeared.
We settled into a warm silence as the music turned to a slow piano version of the old Elvis song Can't Help Falling In Love. "Will you dance with me?" Negan finally asked, extending his hand to me.
"Of course," I replied, placing my hand in his. He led me a few steps away from the table, placing one hand on the small of my back. I slid one hand onto his shoulder as he took my other hand in his, lacing our fingers together. We moved slowly across the floor and he twirled me away from him only to reel me back into his embrace.
"Belle," Negan began. "I know you're leaving tomorrow to go back to Alexandria. But I would hate myself if I didn't tell you how fucking grateful I am for you. I'm so thankful you stepped in for Daryl because if you hadn't I don't know what kind of man I would have become. But I'd say there's a pretty good chance that I wouldn't have been proud of whoever that man was. You've shown me that though I may not be able to change the fucking past, I can still change me. I can still change the fucking future. And I owe all of that to you. You changed my life, Belle. You made me a better man. And I just needed you to fucking know that."
"It sounds a lot like you're telling me goodbye," I said softly, gazing up at him. "And this isn't goodbye. I'm coming back for you."
"I just….." He trailed off and his eyes fell to the floor. "Beauty, I just know I don't deserve you. And your friends have every right and reason to fucking remind you of that. And if you change your mind and you don't want to come back, I will understand. I don't want you to feel like-"
"Negan," I said, stopping to take his face in my hands. "I'm not changing my mind. I'm coming back because I want to. Because I want you."
"You do?" He leaned in, pressing his forehead to mine, his lips just inches from mine.
"I do," I whispered. I felt my heart in my throat as he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and leaned in slowly till I could feel the warmth of his breath on my lips. I closed my eyes, ready to receive his kiss when the door from the kitchen flung open, startling us apart.
"Belle! Negan!" Arat shouted as Simon, Dwight, Sherry, Mrs. Potts and Chip followed her into the room. "We have a problem."
"What is it?" Negan asked, as we registered the concern on all of their faces.
"Someone from Alexandria is coming here," Arat looked me in the eye. "Right now."
"We already told the snipers to stand down, but to be on the lookout." Sherry wrung her hands nervously.
"They may already be here," Simon added. "It was just one guy. Some pompous guy who was talking to himself, but from the sounds of it, the rest of Alexandria may be close behind him."
"It's Spencer," I sighed, knowing there was only one Alexandrian that could fit that description. He was not the one I wanted to try to reason with first, but it looked like I wouldn't have a choice in the matter. "I've got to find him. I've got to talk to him. He is not the one I would have chosen to try to reason with. He's always had a thing for me so he's not going to take this well."
"I'm going with you," Negan said, reaching for my hand.
"No," I replied flatly. "None of you can go out there with me. Not yet. Right now, they all still see you all as the enemy. I have to talk to them first."
"Belle…" Negan's eyes pleaded with me.
"It's going to be okay." I reached up and kissed him softly on the lips, my hand grazing down his chest. "It's all going to be okay." And I said a silent prayer as I ran out the door in search of Spencer that it would be.
I looked around the entrance out near the garden but saw no signs of Spencer. I walked carefully towards the front, my eyes studying the shadows of the treeline. I made it to the front entrance but still saw no signs of him. "Spencer!" I called out into the darkness, hoping he would hear me.
"Belle?" Daryl's voice came from behind me.
"Daryl?" I whipped around to see him standing there, his crossbow slung across his back. Tears flooded my eyes as we rushed toward each other, falling into each other's arms. "Daryl…..God, I missed you. I love you so much. I can't believe it's really you! That you're here. I have so much I need to tell you."
"I love you too. It's okay. I'm here now." He gripped my shoulders, pulling away from me enough that he could look at me. He began examining me, checking me for wounds. "Has he hurt you, Belle? What did he do to you?" As he realized I was not only uninjured, but I was extremely clean and wearing a dress of all things, a look of confusion spread across his face.
"Daryl, I need to talk to you," I said urgently. "You can't hurt these people. You can't hurt Negan."
"The hell I can't," he spat. "That man is a murderer, Belle. And he took you."
"He did," I nodded. "But that's not the whole story."
"Do you hear yourself right now?" He was incredulous, yet he still hadn't released me, too afraid to let me go. "You sound crazy!"
"Merle killed his wife," I blurted. "His pregnant wife." Shock registered on his face as I barreled on. "Merle and some other guy had joined Negan's group, likely sometime just after we lost track of him. Merle killed his wife Lucille and stole everything they had. There's so much more to this story but I don't have the luxury of time to explain it all right now. But what I can tell you is that event changed him and made him do things he regretted. He didn't take a life until Glenn and Abraham. He did that because he thought we were going to hurt his people. The people he cared about. After we took out that outpost, we were a threat. So he tried to make himself a bigger threat."
"Merle did that…." Daryl said, still in disbelief. "How do you know it was Merle? My Merle?"
"He had one hand," I answered, tears streaming down my face. "Look, I know that nothing will ever bring back Glenn and Abraham. And that kills me. But no one else has to die. What he did was wrong. No matter what. But we all have blood on our hands, Daryl. None of us are innocent here. He isn't the monster you think he is. Not anymore."
He narrowed his eyes, still processing the information I was giving to him. "What are you trying to say?"
"I love him," I admitted. "And I know that's complicated and messy. Trust me when I tell you I have battled with my feelings for him because he is the cause of a lot of loss for us. But he's also the cause of a lot of hope for me. You know me enough to know I wouldn't tell you any of this if I didn't believe it with my whole heart. And I know Spencer is also on his way here and he wants to kill Negan. I have to stop him, Daryl. Please help me."
Daryl studied my face for a moment, considering what I had to say. "You're sure about all of this?"
"The Saviors could have killed Spencer if they wanted to, but they didn't. There's been snipers on the roof that could have taken you out this entire time, but they didn't." I reached out and hugged him, feeling his arms wrap around me. "I wasn't a prisoner here. He told me to leave one night and I did. I ran right out of here and these men found me. Daryl, he saved my life. He took a bullet for me. I stayed to care for him as he healed. I was coming back to tell you all. Tomorrow, in fact. To try and come up with some way we could all live in peace."
"Okay. Alright." I heard him sigh into my hair as he held me. "Then we'll stop Spencer. We'll stop everyone. But just know it's not going to be easy."
"I know it won't be," I agreed. "But I think it can be done. And I think we can all peacefully coexist."
"And you?" Daryl pulled back and looked into my eyes. "What will you do? Does this mean you would stay here? Forever?"
"I honestly haven't gotten that far ahead yet. I just know I want him in my life. Whatever that means."
But before I could say anymore, I heard Negan's voice call my name as he rushed toward us, Arat, Simon, Dwight, Sherry, Mrs. Potts and Chip on his heels.
"What are we waiting for?" Maggie hissed to Rick as they watched the scene unfolding in front of the Sanctuary from the treeline. From their vantage point they could hear and see everything taking place.
"Because there's something going on," he whispered back to her. "If they were trying to kill Belle or Daryl or Spencer, they'd be dead already. It doesn't even look like any of the Saviors out there have weapons."
"We need to listen," Michonne agreed. "We need to be stay here and listen while we still have the element of surprise. Spencer already went in there half cocked and we don't want anybody else getting killed"
"But-" Maggie started, but Rick cut her off.
He cast his eyes back toward where Belle, Daryl and Spencer stood with Negan and a handful of other Saviors. "We all want vengeance for Glenn and for Abraham. But we need to wait. Let's just listen for a moment."
"Negan!" I cried, reaching out for him. "You need to get back inside. All of you. Until I know it's safe."
"I can't have you out here fighting my fucking battles for me, Beauty." He pulled me close and kissed my forehead. "I want to apologize. I want to show your friends what you're saying is fucking true." He turned his attention to Daryl, but didn't release his hold on me.
Before he could open his mouth to speak, I heard Simon whisper from behind us. "We've got company, Boss."
"I see you couldn't do the job, Daryl." Spencer shook his head as he approached us, his gun drawn. "It's a good thing I'm here."
"Spencer," I said evenly. "You don't have all the facts. Please. Put your gun down and let's talk."
"Put the gun down, Spencer," Daryl warned.
"Look, I'm sorry," Negan started. "I am so goddamn sorry. And I know that there's not words I can say that can ever fucking take back the things I've done. But those things aren't who I am. And this girl right here helped me to fucking realize that. Long before I ever encountered your group, a guy named Merle murdered my wife, my pregnant fucking wife, in cold blood so they could steal everything we had. Something inside me fucking snapped. I became cold and mean, but I did it to protect the people that still relied on me. And I took in more people and I became fucking determined I would never let what happened to Lucille happen to anyone else. Not on my goddamn watch. When you took out that entire outpost after what those assholes tried to do to you…..I was fucking scared. These people were all I had left. And I did what I fucking did to your friends and I will fucking hate myself every day for the rest of my damn life." He raised his hands to show he wasn't armed and stepped away from Belle slowly. "I'd give anything if I could take it back. The only thing I don't regret is bringing Belle here. And that's just because without her I don't fucking know if I ever would have stopped going down the path I was on. She helped me realize that I don't have to be my fucking past. I can change right here, right fucking now and be the man I was always supposed to fucking be. That I could be the man she deserves. Knowing that I caused her and the people she loves so much pain fucking kills me. And I will pay for that every day for the rest of my life. Knowing that I did to someone else what was done to me will fucking haunt me forever."
To my relief, Spencer began to lower his gun as he seemed to ponder what Negan had just said. Finally, he turned to me. "Is all of this true?"
"Yes," I nodded. "It's true. I wasn't treated like a prisoner here, Spencer. I was treated like a friend. And I know how this all sounds, but I'm telling you that the Negan I've come to know….the Negan I have fallen in love with…..he's no monster. He's just as broken and hurt as the rest of us. We all have suffered unimaginable losses and we've all had blood on our hands at one time or another in the name of protecting the people we love. But no one else has to die." Negan looked over at me, his eyes a question. I'd never said the words to him. But hadn't this all taught me at least one thing? To tell people how we feel before it's too late. I nodded softly at him and I saw emotion fill his eyes. "I know this is all messy and confusing. But I know we can grow from this. We can all move forward together somehow."
Spencer eyed me and tilted his head in thought just as Rick, Michonne, Carl, Sasha and Maggie emerged from the trees. Suddenly it was as if an electrical charge had fired through the air. Negan's eyes shifted to watch as Rick approached and Spencer raised his gun to Negan's chest. "No. We can't. Not all of us."
"No!" I screamed as Spencer's finger moved over the trigger and I leapt in front of Negan just as the gun fired.