Ok, here is the next chapter, and it has the scene in it which basically inspired most of the storyline. All I'm going to say, or rather ask of you before you read it, is to trust me.

Thanks for the follows and favourites, as well as to celia azul for reviewing:) Also, I'm 6 reviews away from having a 100 reviews, which would make me incredibly happy and awe-filled, so please be amazing and leave me a review!

Enjoy!

Chapter 30

"Which one of you pricks is the leader?"

Anamika glared at the savior who stepped forward, his hand pointing to Rick, "It's this one...He's the guy." She watched as Negan strolled over to Rick, looking down on him as he observed their leader. She bowed her head, trying to remain inconspicuous, but intently listening to everything the man said.

"Hi. You're Rick, right? I'm Negan. And I do not appreciate you killing my men. Also, when I sent my people to kill your people for killing my people, you killed more of my people. Not cool... Not cool. You have... no... idea... how not cool that shit is. But I think you're gonna be up to speed shortly. Yeah... You are so gonna regret crossing me in a few minutes," A demented grin, that could have looked charming if she didn't know the type of man he was, crossed Negan's face, "Yes, you are.

"You see, Rick, whatever you do, no matter what, you don't mess with the new world order. And the new world order is this, and it's really very simple. So, even if you're stupid, which you very may well be, you can understand it. You ready? Here goes. Pay attention." The bat finally came down from his shoulder and Anamika's shoulders tensed as he lifted it to Rick's face, her entire being bristling at the threat posed to Rick.

"Give me your shit... or I will kill you."

She squeezed Carl's hand, which was still in hers and swallowed, trying to curb her bloodlust. Her animal side, the side that controls the white haze she goes into and consists mostly of her bloodlust, was telling her this guy was her prey, that he was frightened of her and that she almost killed him once and she could do it again. Her human side, the side ruled by logic and rationality, told her she was in the worst position possible and she could do nothing against him now, surrounded as he was by his minions and liberated of her weapons. She gritted her teeth, glaring at the ground in front of her.

"Today was career day. We invested a lot so you would know who I am and what I can do. You work for me now. You have shit, you give it to me. That's your job. Now, I know that is a mighty big, nasty pill to swallow, but swallow it you most certainly will. You ruled th-"

Fucking hell, but this guy loved the sound of his own voice. He continued to speak and some part of her paid attention, but she couldn't help but let her mind wander as he monologues like a cliche villain. She examined and discarded various plans of escape or victory, since none actually lead to either escape or victory, her mind spinning and turning on itself. She considered showing herself, taking the brunt of his attention, but even if she sacrificed herself, she couldn't be sure it would save her family.

Family. It's amazing how she's only known these people for a few months and yet she was so close to them. She, who had sworn to not get close to anyone again, who has innocent blood on her hands and doesn't even know who she had been before all this. She glanced up, watching Daryl as he shivered where he kneeled, his gaze a bit unfocused but still managing to burn with a fire, a flame that she knew ignited in her the moment she saw him and realised the saviors had hurt him.

Negan was still going strong and she closed her eyes, his voice fading to the background like the buzzing of an annoying bug as she inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. The world became quiet around her, the night settling over her like a blanket, muffling the events that was happening at the moment. White creeped into her mind, but this time, she didn't feel out of control, she didn't feel like a berserker who was going to go on a murder spree. She didn't know for how long she was wrapped in this silent world, but she found that she didn't care.

She felt a calm acceptance. She might die this night, some of her family might die this night, but hell if she was going to let it happen quietly. She would do her best to protect her family, even if that meant sacrificing herself. As if the world was waiting for her to reach this conclusion, to strengthen her resolve, sound rushed back in, just in time for Negan's words to filter back into her mind.

"So, now... I'm gonna beat the holy hell outta one of you... This- this is Lucille, and she is awesome... All this, all this is just so we can pick out which one of you gets the honor."

Anamika looked up, seeing the defeat on her family's faces and she knew, she knew she had to stop this. Negan was walking in front of the line, his smug grin a permanent fixture on his lips as he observed each one of them. He looked at Abraham, running a hand over his beard as he made a quip about shaving it in response to Abraham's admittedly impressive moustache. When he turned to Carl, she bent low, certain it was not yet time to reveal herself, still not sure if it would help any.

"You got one of our guns. Whoa. Yeah... You got a lot of our guns. Shit, kid, lighten up. At least cry a little." Negan chuckled as if he was making a little joke and out of the corner of her eye, she saw his gaze turn to her, his eyes narrowing in curiosity and lips opening in question or one of his hilariously not-funny quips, but at that moment Maggie moaned and slumped forward, breathing heavily as her hand clutched at the fabric at her stomach. Negan's head turned towards the pregnant woman and he stood up from his crouch and walked over to her. Anamika bit her bottom lip, not sure if she should be glad for the reprieve or worried that Negan would do something to Maggie. Not even Negan would kill an obviously sick woman right?

"Jeesus. You. Look. Shitty," As Negan was talking, Anamika cast her gaze around the saviors, trying to find a way to distract Negan, when her eyes landed on Arat, hidden behind the plethora of men circling them. The woman's gaze met hers and narrowed, then widened, her mouth opening.

"I should just put you out of your miser-"

"Negan." Negan paused and Anamika saw Glenn give a shaky sigh of relief as the man turned away from Maggie, his flinty gaze landing on Arat. For the first time that night, Anamika could see a hint of irritation in the man's eyes and she take it he didn't take too well to being interrupted.

"You better have a damn good reason to interrupt my little love chat with this fine young lady." Arat swallowed, but stepped forward nonetheless, jerking her chin in Anamika's direction. His gaze shifted to her, his eyes calculating and oh so curious.

"The one with the headwrap. She feels… oddly familiar. Why is she hiding her face?" Anamika tried as hard as she could to keep her body from tensing, but in the end it didn't matter, as every single person in her group who knew it was her underneath the headwrap, tensed and seemed more worried than ever. Negan, the stupidly smart bastard that he was, noticed their reaction right away and turned fully towards Anamika, his gaze becoming suspicious.

"Mighty good question that. I had assumed it was some towelhead, but maybe not. Take off the scarf, little lady." Anamika glared at him and for the first time that night, Negan met her eyes. For a moment, his body stilled as their eyes met, before Negan twitched, almost like he was trying to keep himself from flinching or stepping away. She gave a bloodthirsty grin, even knowing he can't see her face, but it seemed he didn't need to, as he, in forced casualness, took half a step back and rested his hand on his leg. She could see his fingers spasming on the material of his pants and assumed that was the leg that got injured in her attack.

"Simon! Take that fucking thing off her head!" Negan's voice was hard and confident, but she could hear the slight pitch to his voice that hadn't been present during his smooth monologue. She saw the savior who had lost his fingers to her step forward and she straightened for the first time since Negan stepped out of the RV. In the corner of her eye, she saw Daryl's narrow gaze trained on her, confused and then turned to meet Rick's panicked gaze.

A hand grabbed the material covering her head and face and pulled harshly, making her grunt and bow her head as her hair got pulled along with the material, pulling it out of the low messy bun she had placed it in. She heard more than one person gasp as her auburn hair tumbled over her back and face, glowing red in the harsh light and then she looked up.

Simon and Arat had stumbled backward, their faces twisted in fright as they moved away from her, as if her mere presence would burn them and Anamika saw the confused face of the other saviors. Negan had flinched, but she could see his jaw clench as he tried not to show any further reaction and she smiled in satisfaction, which only caused the slight fear in Negan's eyes to grow.

Chancing a glance to her side, Anamika fought not to react when she saw Daryl's wide, horrified gaze trained on her, his body leaning forward as if he could negate the distance between them with sheer will. He hadn't even known she had woken up and this was the most horrible way to discover that, as he couldn't come to her and they were surrounded by thugs and murderers who had it out for them.

As much as she wanted to reassure him, to show him how much she cared for him, she couldn't, as that would be handing Negan her weakness on a silver platter and she would lose her, admittedly small, advantage over the man. The man in question cleared his throat, swinging Lucille up to his shoulder as he strived for nonchalance, but she could see he was unnerved.

"Well well well, who have we here… If it isn't my old friend A. Look lads, it's miss A, our resident rat! What, no hello?" Anamika glared at him, her eyes burning and Negan shifted slightly. She smiled, her eyes cold and triumphant in the knowledge that she still inspired slight fear and trepidation in the man, despite being on her knees in front of him. Now that the rest of the saviors knew exactly who she was, she could see them shifting nervously, glancing at each other and some actually taking a step back, same as Simon and Arat.

She could practically feel her family's confusion at the widespread reaction to her presence, as it was one thing to hear about her encounters with the saviors, but another to see the actual evidence of it. Negan cleared his throat and swung Lucille down, thrusting the bat into her face. Anamika didn't even flinch and that seemed to piss him off and frighten him in equal parts. He pressed the barbed wire against her cheek and she saw Daryl tensing, but before he could react, a youthful voice spoke next to her, his tone strong and full of hate.

"Get that thing away from her, now."

Negan turned to Carl, Lucilly falling away from her face, with only a small scratch left behind to show it had been there at all. He tilted his head, glancing at Rick and then back to Carl.

"This is your kid, right?" Negan laughed, swinging Lucille in Carl's direction to gesture and Anamika tensed at seeing the bat so close to Carl, "This is definitely your kid."

Rick, it seemed, didn't like the bat close to Carl anymore than she did, as he shouted out, his voice gruff and desperate, "Stop that!"

"Hey!" Negan barked, his brow furrowed in a scowl, before it smoothed out and Anamika knew he was enjoying this, the power he had over them, "Do not make me kill the little future serial killer. Don't make it easy on me."

Anamika glanced at Daryl again, his eyes burning into her and she tried to convey through her gaze alone how sorry she was, how much she missed him and loved him. Love. Yes, she truly did love Daryl, the gruff man had managed to carve out a space in her heart and had made himself comfortable in it, and she knew she would never get rid of him. Not that she would want to, oh no, she was quite happy with him reorganizing the inner sanctum of her heart to his own preference.

"I gotta pick somebody. Everybody's at the table waiting for me to order." Negan whistled as he strolled in front of her family and she glared at him. She noticed that he never turned his back on her entirely, always making sure he could see her out of the corner of his eye and this made the beast in her roar in smug satisfaction.

Negan seemed to be doing a good impression of his cocky swagger, his face split in his usual charming-not-charming grin as his eyes slid over each of them like oil, his gaze lingering on her for a bit before he moved on.

"I simply cannot decide," the demented man chuckled, rubbing his forehead as if he was plagued with a problem of magnificent proportions. He paused, then turned and the look on his face caused the hair at the nape of her neck to stand on end, "I got an idea."

His chuckle was deep and full of malice, same as his voice when he finally spoke, pointing the bat in Rick's face.

"Eenie…" The bat moved to the next person in the line up, Maggie shivering and sweating in pain.

"Meenie…"

"Miney…" Abraham's gaze was strong as he met Negan's gaze, not backing down.

"Mo…"

"Catch…"

"A tiger…" Anamika tensed when the bat came near Daryl, but breathed a silent sigh of relief as Negan moved on. She instantly felt guilty, as she didn't want anyone to die and felt like she betrayed the rest of her family by this feeling of relief.

"By…"

"His toe." Negan was now randomly pointing the bat at members of the group, making it impossible to figure out who he was going to end on.

"If…"

"He hollers…"

"Let him go." She could see tears in Sasha's eyes, in Michonne and Glenn's. She could see the despair etched on the faces of her group, the hopeless slump to their shoulders and the wide-eyed incomprehension in Rick's eyes as he watched Negan peruse his family.

"My mother…"

"Told me…" Anamika glared at the bat in Carl's face, her body burning, though she couldn't tell anymore if it was because of pain or because of anger and hate.

"To pick the very best one…"

"And you…"

Negan's glanced at her and in that moment, Anamika knew. This was all a play, a big melodramatic performance he was putting on for the group. He knew who he was going to kill, he just wanted everyone to sweat it out, to truly feel despair.

"Are…"

But he had made up his mind since the moment he saw her.

"It."

She met his cold eyes, her body strong even as the bat hung in front of her face, Negan's mouth for once not stretched in a smile. His face hard, she knew that there had been no chance of him letting her go forth from this place alive, no chance of him letting her grow strong again just to attack him once more. This was the inevitable outcome and she only hoped that with her death, the rest of her family could live.

She didn't dare chance a glance towards Daryl, not when Negan was this close and this aware of her. As much as she wanted to see the man -her man- one last time, she'll have to do with her memory of him. That was probably better, she didn't want to die with the vision of his horrified eyes in her mind, preferring to remember his loving gaze, so gentle and warm as it was shy.

"Anybody moves, anybody says anything, cut the boy's other eye out and feed it to his father and then we'll start. You can breathe... you can blink... you can cry... Hell, you're all gonna be doing that."

Anamika breathed, her world slowing as Negan lifted his bat and her heart thudded in her ears. She would not fight back, because this was how she fought, how she protected her family. With her back straight and her head held up proudly, she would make this sacrifice and hope for her family's continued survival.

Lucille came down, the air rushing past the wood as Negan's face twisted in hate. Anamika saw movement from the corner of her eye, but she didn't have time to think about it, as the next moment, barbed wood connected with her head, her skull ringing and exploding in pain. Her body swayed, her eyes darkened and she fell forward.

I love you Daryl...

She was gone before she hit the ground and only blackness remained.

WD

Daryl swallowed, his entire body shivering as he gazed desperately at the figure that had just been uncovered by Simon. Red hair glowed in the light, tumbling loosely down her back, her head bowed. He felt his breath leave him, his heart stuck in his throat as he looked upon the one person he had never expected to see here.

Anamika

He paid no mind to the saviors or Negan's reaction, strange as they were, his eyes instead burning into her, into the smooth line of her nose, the strong slope to her jaw, the soft curve to her lips, the beauty of the fire in her blue eyes. He could see the slight sweat beading on her forehead, the way the small curls of her hair stuck to her skin and clothes, but she had never looked more beautiful to him than in that moment.

Or more tragic.

She wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be safe in Alexandria, even if it was in a coma. She wasn't supposed to be kneeling in front of a madman, her life on the line when it looked like she might collapse at any moment. His eyes were drawn to the bandages wrapped around her neck and he flinched at the grit that covered them, the sweat stains that showed they needed to be changed.

His body shook as he held himself in place, wanting nothing more than to go to her, but he knew that would only paint a target on her back, if not from Negan, then from Dwight, the fucking asshole that he was.

"Well well well, who have we here… If it isn't my old friend A. Look lads, it's miss A, our resident rat! What, no hello?" Daryl's eyes narrowed as confusion filled his mind. He should have known it from the reaction when she was unveiled, but apparently, Negan knew her. How did this madman know her? Knowing Anamika, it could be for no good reason and that made his fear for her just that much stronger. She already had a target on her back.

He bristled as he saw the bat pushed against her cheek, ready to jump up and show Negan hell for touching his girl, but Carl beat him to it.

"Get that thing away from her, now." Daryl breathed a sigh of relief as Negan dropped the bat from Anamika's face, but growled when the man turned to Carl instead. He saw the way Mika tensed and knew she wouldn't suffer any injury to Carl.

"This is your kid, right?" Negan laughed as he taunted Rick, and Daryl wanted to wring his neck at the sound, at the way he swung that bat around like a toy, "This is definitely your kid."

Daryl flinched slightly when he saw the desperation on Rick's face, the red rimmed eyes and sweat soaked appearance, his voice loud and tortured as he yelled, "Stop that!"

"Hey!" Negan barked, and Daryl glared at him, hating the man for the games he was playing, "Do not make me kill the little future serial killer. Don't make it easy on me."

Daryl turned back to Anamika, trying to burn the image of her into his mind, still not able to believe she was here and that it wasn't just a hallucination. Her eyes met his and he could see the apology in them, the regret, but also the strength and fire that made up who she was in her core. That fire that he cared for, that he wanted to cradle and bury deep inside him so no one can take it away from him.

"I gotta pick somebody. Everybody's at the table waiting for me to order." Negan whistled, but Daryl, for one, paid him no mind, his eyes still caressing Anamika as his own body shivered from the wound on his shoulder.

He saw that Negan seemed to be strangely aware of Anamika, his gaze resting in glances on her far too often and Daryl bristled, his face twisting into a scowl while his mouth snarled silently.

"I simply cannot decide," the man chuckled, rubbing his forehead like a douche before he turned with that smile on his face again, "I got an idea."

"Eenie... meenie... miney... mo…catch... a tiger..." Daryl glared at Negan as the man pointed the bat to his face, smiling before he moved on. He blocked out the man's stupid rhyme, focusing on Anamika. He knew one of his family was going to die tonight, but he didn't want to accept it. Didn't want to admit that he couldn't protect them. This was all his fault, because he came out here on a stupid revenge mission. He didn't know why Rick and the others were out here, but by the look of Maggie, he assumed she needed a doctor.

Another thing that is his fault, if he never took Denise out, if she wasn't killed on his watch, Maggie wouldn't need to go to Hilltop for a doctor. His family would still be safe at Alexandria, where they had the advantage if Negan showed up. Instead, he had ruined everything and now one of them was going to die.

His unease grew as he saw the glances Negan couldn't seem to stop himself from giving Anamika and a terrible truth started to fester in Daryl's heart. He felt sick and light-headed and his shaking got worse as adrenaline rushed through his battered body.

"You...are...it." His heart stopped. His breath stopped. His thoughts stopped. It seemed like his entire existence stopped.

The bat still hung in Anamika's face.

He saw the acceptance in her gaze, the strength that was draped over her shoulders like a cloak, but he had never felt weaker.

Not her

"Anybody moves, anybody says anything, cut the boy's other eye out and feed it to his father and then we'll start."

Not her

"You can breathe…"

Not her

"You can blink…"

Not her

"You can cry."

Not her

"Hell, you're all gonna be doing that."

NOT HER!

Daryl was barely aware that Abraham had jumped forward the same time as he did. All he knew was that he had to stop that bat, that bat that was aiming for her head, that bat that would take Anamika away from him. He grunted as Dwight dived him to the ground, the sharp point of his old crossbow pressed to the back of his head as hands held him down, but he didn't care.

All he cared about was the crack as the bat just met Anamika's skull, followed almost simultaneously by a grunt as Abraham tackled Negan to the ground, Lucille flying through the air, even as a choked gasp left Anamika's lips. Her eyes glazed over and Daryl felt like his own life left him as she slowly slumped forward, a dull thud reaching his ears as she fell to the ground. Blood oozed from her head, coating her hair, the only thing he could see, her face hidden underneath her blood matted curls.

He wasn't aware of anything else but her. He saw the tremors in her body, the ripples that travelled through her in twitches and jerks, the spasms in her fingers… and then she fell still, like a puppet who had their strings cut.

In the corner of his mind, he was aware of the saviors pulling him to his knees, of them rushing Abraham, pulling him off Negan and forcing him to his knees, of Negan grabbing Lucille and standing up, wiping his mouth as he grinned, a strange glint in his eyes.

"All right, listen! Don't any of you do that again. I will shut that shit down, no exceptions. First one's free. It's an emotional moment, I get it. Saying goodbye to little miss A here can't be easy," He walked to Rick, the man's wide, disbelieving eyes fixed on Anamika, "Sucks, don't it? The moment you realize you don't know shit."

Daryl was gasping, his cheeks wet and cold in the night air, his eyes searching for any sign of life in her as his body trembled where he sat.

But she was still.

"Arat. Check her, see if Lucille did the job there, or if she needs another go."

Daryl saw the woman, one of the only woman he could see among the men, inch forward, her entire body coiled tightly like a spring and her face set in a grimace. She slowly kneeled besides her and Daryl jerked forward in vain, as hands on his shoulders kept him in place, to stop her from touching his girl with her filthy hands.

The female savior hesitantly reached out, her fingers pressing lightly to Anamika's wrist, as her neck was still wrapped in bandages, before retracting her fingers, standing up and quickly moving away.

"She's dead, no heartbeat." Negan smiled, an ugly smile that set Daryl's blood aflame just as Arat's words had doused any hope in him.

"Huh. Well, she did look mighty shitty, practically on death's door. She was no match for Lucille," The man turned his gaze to the group, smiling as he looked at them, before turning back to Anamika's body, "But I'm just getting started. Need to pretty her up for the photo right?"

And he raised his bat again.

WD

PLEASE READ! IMPORTANT!

Ok, so before I get rants and flames and people swearing to stop reading this story, I'm going to ask one thing. PLEASE WAIT UNTIL YOU'VE READ THE NEXT CHAPTER. If, after reading the next chapter, you still don't want to continue with the story or criticize something, feel welcome to it. But the next chapter is vitally important, which is why I made sure it was fully typed before I posted this chapter. Also, you get to see a small Carl PoV;) Let me know how much you hate me for this chapter!