Ok, so this chapter was supposed to be up last night, but my wifi decided to pull a rebellion and killed itself and I just now managed to revive it, stupid thing. So here you go, hope this is what you've been waiting for. Beware, it is a difficult and angst-filled chapter, as nothing can be sunshine and rainbows in the current situation and it's, well, Negan.

Thanks for the favorites and follows, as well as to Devil Nightmare, boule de suie, FaithfulReader92 and Guest for reviewing! Sadly, we didn't make the 100 mark ~pouts~ but maybe next chapter yeah?

Enjoy!

Chapter 31

As Negan raised his bat again, intent on bashing Anamika's skull to a pulp just for shits and giggles, something in Daryl snapped. He would not allow this monster to defile Anamika's body like that. She was already dead, he would not let the bastard make her unrecognizable as well. Before Negan could bring the bat down on her skull, Daryl punched the savior holding him, leaping forward, crossing the distance a a few fast strides and punching Negan, his mouth twisted in a snarl as he yelled, "You fucking bastard!"

Again, he was wrestled to the ground, grunting as he struggled to throw off the men who held him down, vaguely aware of Rick yelling his name, but not caring. This bastard was not going to place another finger on Anamika, not on his watch.

"No!" Negan yelled, his face twisted in anger that disappeared as quickly as it appeared, a smile once again on his face as he chuckled, "Oh, no. That? Oh, my! That... is a no-no. The whole thing - not one bit of that shit flies here.

Daryl grunted, his teary eyes trained on Anamika, grunts and whimpers falling from his lips. He didn't even pay attention to Dwight aiming his crossbow at his head, asking Negan if he should kill Daryl. At this point, Daryl welcomed him to it, if it would mean not having to look upon the corpse of the woman he was certain he loved.

And love her he did.

"No... No, you don't kill them... not until you try a little." Daryl snarled as Negan grabbed his hair, his glare burning into the man and then Dwight and some other saviors pulled him up, dragging him back in line. His shoulder kept sending lances of pain through his body, but he couldn't care about that, not when her body was lying cold a few feet away. Negan was talking again and Daryl knew he should pay better attention, but she called to him and he couldn't take his eyes off her, still in a state of disbelief.

"And anyway... that's not how it works. Now, I already told you people - first one's free, then - what'd I say? I said I would shut that shit down! No exceptions. Now, I don't know what kind of lying assholes you've been dealing with... but I'm a man of my word. First impressions are important. I need you to know me.

"So... back to it." Daryl's eyes shifted to Negan, just in time to see the man swing around and slam the bat into Abraham's skull, the large man grunting as he fell forward. Sasha made a strangled sound, her eyes wide as tears wetted her cheeks. Daryl felt a coldness surround him, the innermost part of him feeling dead as the redhead struggled to get back on his knees.

"Oh! Look at that! Taking it like a champ!" Negan laughed.

"Suck...my...nuts…"

The bat came down on Abraham's head again, the military man falling forward to the ground as Sasha cried out. Daryl stared on in disbelief as the bat came down again and again on Abraham, the man's skull breaking and blood and brain matter spilling out over the ground, only to be crushed by the bat into a bloody mess.

"Did you hear that?" Negan chuckled, glancing at his saviors, "He said, "Suck my nuts."" Negan exhaled loudly, laughing, before he brought Lucille down on the mess that was Abraham's head again.

This was wrong. Abraham wasn't supposed to die, Daryl was. He was the one who had jumped up, who had punched Negan, he was the one who should die. Instead, the redhead had paid the price. The cold encompassed Daryl's entire body, the guilt weighing on his mind as he watched Sasha flinch with every blow and Rosita stare at the ground in front of her with an unfocused, horrified gaze.

This was his fault.

Negan looked up, looking at their tearful faces, their shaking bodies and smiled in mock concern, his voice soft, "Oh. Oh, hell. I can see this is hard on you guys. I am sorry. I truly am... But I did say it. No exceptions!" Daryl flinched, and he could hear members of his group crying as Negan rendered Abraham unrecognizable.

"You bunch of pussies. I'm just getting started." Negan laughed as he brought Lucille down again and again, before swinging the bloodied bat up, and Daryl flinched as blood sprayed in an arc.

"Lucille is thirsty. She is a vampire bat." Daryl bowed his head, filtering out the world and the horrible events that was happening right in front of him, his eyes swollen and red-rimmed as he caught sight of Anamika's lifeless body again.

A shiver travelled through his body and he could feel the fight almost drain out of him. He had gotten Denise killed. He had gotten Anamika killed. He had gotten Abraham killed. Why was he still alive, tortured with this knowledge? He closed his eyes as tears finally escaped them and a broken sob left his body as he slumped in on himself.

Anamika

WD

Rick couldn't process what was happening. Anna's body lied on the ground to his left, while Abraham's mutilated corpse was to his right, Abraham's blood still warm on his face from when Negan had swung Lucille around. He was aware of the man himself coming towards him, but his eyes were on Abraham and then turned to Anna, her bloodied appearance driving a spear in his heart.

His eyes dropped to the ground, the pain festering in his heart lashing out at his mind, causing chaos to reign supreme as he tried to get his thoughts straight. But all he could see was Anamika's still body, her hair spread in a shower of red, much like Abraham's broken skull…

"What? Was the joke that bad?" Rick's thoughts halted, an anger filling his body as he processed Negan's words.

Joke…

This wasn't a fucking joke! Two of his family members lied dead before him and this Negan thought he could laugh about it?

"I'm gonna kill you." He almost didn't recognise his own voice, hoarse and soft and feeble, his mind still preoccupied with trying to understand how this all happened.

Negan kneeled in front of him, the bloody bat in front of his face, but Rick couldn't focus on that.

"What? I didn't quite catch that, you gonna have to speak up." Negan was mocking him, was playing games still, but for Rick, this was anything but a game. He almost snarled, but his eye caught Anamika's body again and he bowed his head, shutting his eyes tightly as he breathed in. He remembered how strong she was, her determination as she laid on a bed they had all thought would be her deathbed. How she was gravely injured and should have died, but instead pushed through and made him a promise. That promise now echoed in his mind, giving him the strength to straighten and look Negan in the eyes.

'Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but we will get those arseholes and show them to not mess with us.'

"Not today," Rick started, his voice stronger as he reaffirmed her promise, "Not tomorrow… But I'm gonna kill you."

Negan met his gaze, his face set in perpetual amusement, but Rick could see he was listening.

"Jesus… Simon. What'd he have, a knife?"

"Uh, he had a hatchet."

"Uuh hatchet?" Negan's amusement seemed to grow as he glanced at Simon.

"An axe."

Negan turned back to Rick, smiling. "Simon's my right-hand man. Having one of those is important. I mean, what do you have without them? A whole lot of work. You have one? Maybe one of these fine people still breathing? Oh… Or did I… I don't know about Red, but Miss A was definitely right-hand man -sorry, woman- material."

Rick glared at the man, his mind remembering all the effort Anna had made to get Alexandria safe and secure, the trust she inspired and the strength she projected. He remembered the gruff, but well-meaning words Abraham so readily gave out, the raw power the man exuded and his efforts in helping to rebuild and expand Alexandria. His gaze was hard and unforgiving, her promise -his promise now- filling his mind.

Not today, not tomorrow…

Despite the amused expression still on Negan's face, Rick could see the distinctly unamused glint in the man's eyes as he gazed into Rick's own determined ones, sighing before he spoke, "Sure. Yeah. Gimme his axe."

Negan placed Rick's axe in his belt as he stood up and Rick blinked, still trying to get his heart back in working order, but then he felt Negan grab the back of his jacket, dragging him forward as he walked towards the RV.

"Be right back, maybe Rick will be with me. If not, well, we can just turn these people inside out won't we. I mean… the ones that are left." Rick struggled, not able to properly get his feet under him as he was dragged along, Negan being surprisingly strong as he threw Rick into the RV. As Rick fell into the darkness, Negan closing the door behind him, he made himself a promise.

No matter what happens, he will remember Anna's words and the strength in them.

WD

Carl breathed deeply, trying to process what just happened, how he had almost lost his arm and how Negan would have forced his father to do it. He breathed deeply, still lying on the ground, eyes staring straight ahead as Negan talked in that smug, irritating tone.

"Oh, and as a little gift for taking Daryl off your hands, I'll leave little Miss A all pretty for you guys, just so that you can see the blame in her pretty blue eyes. After all, I'm mighty sure she would still be alive if she didn't get involved with you people. Gonna leave you a truck, keep it. Use it to cart all the crap you gonna find me. We'll be back for our first offer in one week, until then, tata."

Carl lifted himself from the ground, glaring at Negan and the rest of the saviors as they left, hate filling him like he had never felt before, not even with the Governor or Terminus or the police officers in Atlanta. Everyone was silent as they waited for the saviors to leave, still in shock about the events of the last three hours. He himself couldn't believe everything that had changed in such a short amount of time. He remembered Negan killing A-Anna and Abraham, taking his dad away in the RV, threatening his dad to cut off Carl's arm or have the entire group killed.

He had never seen his dad break down like that, not even when his mom died had his dad looked as broken as he had in that moment. The sheer and utter panic and despair on his dad's face cracked something in him and he wished Anna was here, because he knew she could give them strength. He remembered the way Daryl fought as the saviors wrestled him into the van, the tears on the usually strong man's face as he cried out Anna's name, further shattering Carl's spirit as he had to bite his own lip to stop himself from crying. He could only stare at the ground, remembering everything that had happened and wishing it didn't.

It was when the last of the saviors left, that he saw Glenn rushing to Maggie, holding her shaking form as he panicked, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. Sasha was kneeling silently, but he could see how she blinked tears away, how she tried not to look at Abraham's mutilated body. Rosita just looked shell-shocked, same as most everyone else there. Aaron was hovering around Maggie and Eugene was crying, hiding his face in his hands as his body shook. Michonne's eyes were wide and tortured and Carl knew exactly how she felt.

"Rick," Glenn called out, "Maggie needs help." Carl looked up at his father, seeing him come back to life slowly, as he nodded and heaved himself up, his movements hesitant and unsteady.

"We need to get her to the Hilltop."

"No, you need to go get ready." Maggie suddenly spoke up, her gaze on Anamika.

"For what?" His dad asked softly, his gaze on Maggie, her own eyes still caught on Anamika.

"To fight them."

"They have Daryl, they have an army. We would die, all of us."

"Go home, take everybody with you, I can get there with Glenn. You need to go to Alexandria. Anna died for us, Abraham died for us, we need to fight for them." Carl looked up, his eyes landing on Anamika. He slowly stood up, walking over to her. He kneeled besides her body, fighting back tears as his dad still tried to reason with Maggie, Glenn and Sasha getting involved as well.

He couldn't believe it's only been two hours since one of his closest friends died, since one of the people he looked up to was taken from them forever. It felt like much longer. He still remembered the last time he properly spoke to her, without her being unconscious or distracted by Maggie's situation. It was before she left on her run the day his dad and the rest went to Hilltop.

"Do you think they'll have food?"

Anamika looked up at him from where she was playing with Judith, his little sister giggling and trying to squirm away from Anamika's tickling fingers. She had a smile on her face, but when she saw his own pensive expression, her smile slowly died down to a thoughtful purse of her lips.

"I don't know, they might. That Jesus guy certainly didn't look starved and I'm sure he wouldn't mention our food stores and offer trade if they didn't have any themselves."

"But what if he was only trying to trick us? What if my dad's walking into a trap?" Anamika smiled softly, poking Judith's side as she answered.

"Well, that's why your dad made sure he took the fighters with him. They'll be well able to handle anything and you know your dad, he's not going to trust anything they say at face value. Trust in him, your dad is a good leader with even better instincts."

Carl nodded, mulling her words over in his head, smiling as Judith waved at him.

"Yeah. It's just… this needs to work out. I want a place where Judith can grown up safely, without having to wonder if there'll be food the next day."

"I know Carl," Anna had come to him, placing a hand on his shoulder as she smiled, her eyes containing a warmth that made Carl feel like everything would be alright, "I'll make sure she gets to grow up in that kind of world. Making allies only helps us get closer to that goal. What we can't do alone, we can do together, even if it's just our family against the world. Don't worry alright?"

He nodded, his heart feeling lighter as he picked his sister up, pulling a silly face to make her laugh and grinning at Anna when the little girl threw her entire body into the motion. Anna chuckled, ruffling his hair and brushing Judith's hair out of her face, the back of her finger stroking Judith's soft cheek.

"I'm going to go out for a few hours, to get something that should help us last a bit longer in the food department. I'll take a long distance radio, but you got everything under control here boss?"

Carl grinned, nodding his head as he watched Anna walk out the door, waving after her as she walked down the street.

Yes, he was sure that even if Anna didn't manage to make their goal of a safe community come true, their family together would.

Carl blinked, his eyes focusing on the red curtain of Anna's curly hair, spread like a cloak across her face. Reaching out shakily, he gently brushed the hair that had fallen over her face away, tucking the strands behind her ear and brushing the back of his fingers over her cheek.

It was then he saw it.

A small strand of hair that was still draped across her face fluttered, as if it was caught in some unseen breeze. He paused, his eyes widening as he bent forward, hope clogging up his throat. His fingers moved down to her lips and Carl froze, unable to believe what he was feeling, tears finally escaping his eyes.

Soft puffs of air escaped Anamika's lips, barely there and when he looked closely now, he could see the ever so subtle lift of her torso as she breathed.

She was still alive.

But she wouldn't be for long if they couldn't get her help. Afraid to move her, his head shot up as his hands hovered over her, uncertain what to do as he searched out his dad.

"Dad! DAD!" His dad spun around, his eyes panicked as he searched for the threat.

"Dad, she's breathing!" There was a pause, a quiet moment as his words hung in the air, before amost everyone spoke at once, his dad rushing forward.

"Wha-"

"But she wa-"

"How i-"

"Not possibl-"

"Are you sur-"

"LOOK!" Rick knelt down and Carl shifted to the side to make space as his father carefully bent down, bringing his face close to Anamika's. Then he leaned back and placed his fingers on her wrist, his brow furrowed in concentration. Everyone fell quiet, their eyes trained on Rick, waiting.

"It's true," Rick's voice was soft and awed, his eyes wide as he looked up, "It;s faint, but she's got a pulse."

"But that savior said she didn't." Aaron said, his expression hopeful but confused.

"She might just not have felt it, it's really faint. We need to get her to Hilltop, right now!" Carl nodded and, seeing that Glenn hefted Maggie into his arms, dragged the makeshift stretcher they had used for her closer to Anamika. His dad and Aaron, with him and Michonne helping them, carefully shifted her onto it and Carl shrugged off his flannel, pressing it gently to her head where he thought the bleeding was, hoping it helped but too afraid to push harder, as he didn't want to damage her skull more.

Rosita, Sasha and Eugene were lifting Abraham's body, whose head, or what was left of it, had been wrapped in the cloth Anamika used to disguise herself. They carried him onto the truck the saviors had left behind, lying him down in the truck bed. Carl helped his dad and Aaron carry Anna over to the RV, lying her down on the floor and Maggie lying down on the bed, with Glenn next to her.

Sitting by Anna's side, Carl gently stroked her hair as his dad got in the driver's seat, starting the RV, with the truck behind them. He looked down at Anamika's pale face and the barely there shallow breaths.

"Don't worry Anna. You'll be alright. I'll make sure you're alright."

You'll be alright...

WD

Soooo, what did you think? Explanations and so forth will come next chapter, but at least you guys know for certain she's not dead:) And she's not superhuman either, which is why she didn't jump up and bash Negan's skull in, despite all of us wanting that, myself included.