All Nightmare Long

Chapter 496

Author's Note: Well that last chapter was long wasn't it? If you haven't reviewed it, go back and review it. I worked hard on it. I'll wait. Ok, you're back? Yay, let's just jump back into it alright? Review please.

Negan looked at Jewel. "I'm really sorry that your asshole of a husband is making me do this. You want to be mad at someone be mad at him," he said as he bent down. "Rick this needs to happen now. Chop, chop. Or I will crush the little fellow's skull myself," he said as he pointed the bat at Carl.

"It…it…can be me….it can…be me," Rick said in broken breaths. "You can do it to me. I…can go with you…"

"No," Negan said as he got up. "This is the only way. If there was another way do you think I would have let Jewel and Summer beg like they have? No, this has to be done. Rick, pick up the ax. Not making a decision is a BIG decision," he told Rick as his voice got louder. "You really want to see these people die? You will. You will see every ugly thing. Oh my God, are you gonna make me count?" he asked. "OK Rick, you win, I am counting. Three," he said in a loud voice as Rick cried louder.

"Please, please it can be me," Rick begged.

"Two!" Negan said as he got down in Rick's face.

"Please don't do this!" Rick begged.

Negan slapped Rick and grabbed his face. "This is it. You know what, Momma Bear over there already hates me. Bring the girl up. You don't do it, I'm going to have Simon here blow Summer's brains out first," he said as Simon grabbed Summer and pushed her down in front of Rick.

"NO!" Jewel yelled as she tried to fight off the man holding her.

"I…got her…" Aaron said as he scooted over to Jewel. "Please," he said as he looked at the man who gently released her. Aaron quickly put his arms around his friend.

"Your son's arm or your daughter's blood spattered all over you, your choice Rick," Negan said as he stood up. "One," he said as Rick glanced between both of his older children.

Summer sat up straighter, meeting Rick's eyes and nodded at him as he cried.

Rick went to grab Carl's arm, him shaking not wanting to do it.

"Dad, just do it…..just do it," Carl whispered.

Summer looked at him then at Rick. "Dad….we understand….whatever….we do…"

Rick screamed as he lifted the ax grabbing Carl's arm. Right as he lifted it, Negan bent down and Rick looked at him, hysterically crying.

"You answer to me. You provide for me. You belong to me. Right?" Negan questioned.

Rick nodded through his cries.

Negan grabbed his chin and made him look at him. "Speak to when you're spoken too! You answer to me! You provide for me!"

"Provide for you," Rick cried.

"You belong to me! Right?" Negan yelled.

"Right," Rick answered in a whisper.

"Right!" Negan said as he removed his hand. "That is the look I wanted to see," he said as he picked up the ax.

Jewel closed her eyes and took a couple calming breaths.

"You did it. All of us, together, even the dead guys on the ground. Hell they get the spirit award for sure," Negan said as Rick lowered his head. "Today was a productive damn day. Now I hope for all your sakes that you get it now, that you understand how things work. Things have changed, whatever you had going for you, that is over now. Dwight, load him up," he said pointing the bat at Daryl.

"NO!" Jewel and Summer both yelled as Dwight grabbed him, Daryl fighting.

Negan bent down. "He's got guts, not a little bitch like someone I know. I like him, he's mine now. I was going to take Summer here, try to convince her to be one of my wives, but honestly I think Jewel would take out a few of my men to try to get to me before she could be put down. See I know Jewel wants to rip my balls out and feed them to me, but she has the brains not to threaten me, unlike you. And, I know that taking her brother there, she's ready to do it again, but see, she knows that her kids are still in danger, she's behaving," he said as he kneeled. "You still want to try something? Not today, not tomorrow, not today, not tomorrow…I will cut pieces off…" he said as he looked at Simon. "Hell what's his name?"

"Daryl," Simon answered.

Negan laughed. "Wow, that actually sounds right. Jewel and Daryl….yeah alright," he said as he shook his head. "I will cut pieces off of Daryl and put them on your door step. Or better yet, I will bring him to you, and have you do it for me. And if you still haven't learned, I'll take your daughter's boy toy with me. But, well hell, I do need some able bodies to actually get me shit," he told Rick as he patted him on the back and stood up. "Welcome to a brand new beginning you sorry shits. I'm gonna leave you a truck, keep it to cart all that crap you're gonna find me. We'll be back for our first offering in one week, til then," he said as he threw the ax backwards, "ta ta." He walked away leaving the group traumatized.

The group sat unmoving until Maggie started to stand, Sasha and Beth both started to make movements to help her.

"Maggie, Maggie," Rick said. "Maggie, you need to sit down."

Jewel stood up. "Beth, see if there's any water in the RV," she instructed. "Maggie, Rick's right…" she said, her voice wavering.

Rick stood up. "Maggie."

"No," Maggie said as she walked over to Glenn's body.

"Maggie, you don't need to do this….not now," Jewel said as she went over to Maggie as Beth came out of the RV.

"I…found a few bottles," Beth said as she opened it up. "Take it."

"We need to get you to the Hilltop," Rick told her as Beth helped her take a drink.

"You need to go get ready," Maggie hissed at him.

"For what?" Rick asked as Jewel looked at him.

Maggie took a few breaths. "To fight him."

"They have Daryl…they have an Army," Rick said. "We would die all of us."

Summer looked up at him then stood. "Now you're the one who doesn't want to go into a fight? Now we're supposed to listen? If you had listened to me, then this wouldn't have happened! Glenn and Abraham wouldn't have been killed, Uncle Daryl wouldn't have been taken!"

"Summer, this isn't the time…" Beth said as she looked at her. "We need to get her hand looked at."

"Go home, take everybody with you," Maggie begged. "I can get there by myself."

"Maggie, you know we can't let you do that, you know that we won't do that. It's not an option," Jewel told her.

Rick reached out to her. "You can barely stand."

Maggie turned. "I need to go. You need to go to Alexandria. You…you're out here for me."

"We still are," Rick and Jewel told her.

Maggie started to cry. "I can make it now. I need you to go back, I can't have you out here, I can't have you all out here anymore. I need you to go back."

"Maggie, we're not letting you go, OK?" Michonne said.

"You have too," Maggie told her.

"No, what we have to do is get you to the Hilltop," Beth said.

"It's not going to happen," Rick told her.

Sasha looked at Lexi and nodded. Sasha stood up. "I'm taking her. Beth and me. Summer needs her hand looked at, by a doctor. I'm going to keep her safe. I'm not giving you a choice," she said in a whisper.

"The three of…us will, we aren't going to let you do it alone. I…I owe it to Glenn, to make sure you and sprout are OK," Summer said. "I…promised him that I'd help you…with sprout…" she said as she looked at her. "You don't get a say OK?" she asked as she touched her shoulder.

"I'm taking him with me," Maggie said in tears. She went over to him and started to bend down, Summer reaching for her and helping her.

Sasha looked at Rosita and then went to her and bent down. "I'm going to take him, that's what I'm going to do," she said in tears.

Lexi hugged Rosita from behind. "She'll take care of him," she whispered to her.

Rosita nodded.

"Lex, do you want to come with us? To the Hilltop?" Sasha asked quietly.

Lexi looked at the group then at Sasha. "I'll go back with them….with Rosita. Maggie needs you….and Summer….and Mitch is going to take it bad that Daryl is taken…and since Summer won't be there….and Carl has his sisters, Mitch is…he's going….to need someone. I want to do it, I want to be there since Summer can't."

Sasha nodded as she squeezed her hand.

Aaron, Joey, and Carl walked up to Maggie. Joey and Aaron bending down beside her. "I need to do this, please."

Aaron touched her back. "We need to help you."

"We are going to help you, so don't argue with us alright?" Joey questioned as he squeezed her hand.

Carl bent down and took her shoulders. "I got it. I got it," he told her.

"Pl…please let us…he's our family too. He's our family too," Rick told her.

Eugene walked over to Abraham, Joey going with him, the four of them picking him up carrying him.

Carl hugged Maggie, letting Jewel take her as they went to get Glenn's body.

"I am so sorry," Jewel told her as she kissed the side of her head. "I would have gladly have taken those blows for him, I would have," she told her.

Negan voiceover:

"Bet you thought you were all going to grow old together, sittin' at the table, at Sunday dinner, happily ever after. No, doesn't work like that, Rick, not anymore."

Jewel kept her arms around Maggie as the other's carried the bodies to the truck. Summer taking over from the other side hugging her.

Joey came over and hugged Summer. "I'll go check on everyone for you…the babies…Jes…we'll come to Hilltop," he said as he hugged her.

"We need to fight, Maggie's right," Summer said as she kissed him. "Watch mom for me….please."

"Yeah of course," Joey assured her.

"I love you," Summer told him.

"I love you too, go Maggie needs you," Joey said as he released her and went into the RV. He noticed Jewel sitting in the bedroom with her hands in her head. He looked at Rick as he got in the RV. "I'll go keep her company….." he said. "What Summer said….she didn't mean it."

"Yeah, she did, and she had every right to say it," Rick said as he looked at the blood spots and closed the RV doors.

Joey went and sat next to Jewel. "I…don't even know where to begin. I promised Summer I'd watch out for you…."

"I don't think there's anywhere to begin," Jewel said as she shook her head. "She asked you because she knows that I'd be tempted to take a drink. She's right, I am. But, I also want to think of ways to make Negan suffer right before I kill him. I would have taken that bat to the head….to save Glenn and Abraham. Abraham wasn't going to back down, he was going to be a problem. If Jes was there, she probably would have…she would have been chosen."

"Then he had to taunt Rick with Carl and Summer….and you would have done anything for them not to go through that," Joey told her.

"I didn't think," Jewel admitted to him.

Joey gave a small laugh. "Momma bears don't think, they just protect their young. You know when I was a kid….I wanted you as a mom. You'd do anything for Summer and she would rush to you with open arms when you picked her up and you could just see…I knew that she had something that I didn't have. Then, when I saw you with Carl the first time, that same look was there. It's there with Mika, Lexi, Enid, Mitch, Jenny, the babies. You are a momma bear, and we're all lucky to have you," he said. "She'll be OK, she's tough. She's a Dixon."

"And Daryl?" Jewel asked.

"He's not going to bend to Negan, just like my brother didn't," Joey told her. "I can tell…Mar and Mitch. It shouldn't be you."

"Thanks…but I need too," Jewel said as she hugged him. "You're my cub too now."

Joey hugged her back. "I know."