"You're here," I said shakily, looking up at Negan. It hadn't been a week. He was here early and I knew right away this was his way of messing with us.
"No shit, Sherlock!" he proclaimed, smiling down at me in amusement.
"I thought we had more time." I looked over to see if Vivienne was okay. She smiled thinly and nodded at me, reassuring me she was.
"Well it just so fuckin' happens I missed your pretty face. So I figured I'd swing by and visit my new school friend." He lightly punched my shoulder and I stood stiff as a board in front of him. This couldn't be happening right now.
"We don't have much to give," I explained, hoping he would just leave.
"Bullshit, Elle! We both know for a fucking fact you've got some goodies in that car over there. Aren't you gonna share with the class?" He spun the wired baseball bat over his shoulder and I nodded at him, knowing if I just did as he wanted he would be out of our hair.
I led him over to the car and opened the trunk, showing him our great find. He glanced into the trunk and then turned to me with a wide smirk.
"Well looky here!" he bellowed. "She DOES deliver!" He turned and ordered his men to start unloading our car. I took a step back as two men began taking the boxes from the trunk, exposing the medication containers.
"Well, what the hell do we have here?" Negan asked, taking a lid off of one of the plastic bins.
"Wait!" I protested, reaching out to stop him. Negan turned, narrowing his eyes at me and pulled the container out of my grasp. He took out a pill bottle and studied the tiny writing.
"Microzide?" he inquired, looking up at me.
"It's a blood pressure medication," I answered, and I knew I must look worried. "Our friend John needs it. I thought maybe we could split it up."
Negan's expression was impossible to read as he stared at me. I felt like my heart was in my throat.
"We're not splitting shit." he barked. He handed the bottle to one of his men and they continued to take the rest of the medicine bins from the trunk.
"You can't do this!" I cried out as Negan began to turn from me. He stopped at my sudden outburst. "We need those meds!"
He slowly spun back to face me and I could see he was surprised at how I was standing up to him. Before he could chew me out I continued, knowing that this was probably going to get me into serious trouble but I needed to take the risk.
"If Doveport is yours, then my people are your people. Don't you look out for your people?" I challenged, hoping my argument would get through to him.
Negan leaned towards me, scowling. I gulped, wanting so badly to take a step back but I held my ground.
"I thought you knew your place, little girl." His grip on the bat tightened and I narrowed my eyes at him. After everything that had happened, I wasn't about to let this bully walk all over us.
"My friends worked their asses off to get those meds. Amy almost died! You're not taking all of them," I growled, leaning in towards him, matching his scowl. It became eerily silent as we stared each other down.
We both remained like that for what felt like an eternity, till Negan slowly smiled and his eyes widened. It was more frightening than his previous expression but I didn't move.
"Look who's got her big girl pants on today," he announced, and before I could respond, he wrapped his hand around my arm and started to pull me towards a truck.
I stumbled as he dragged me forcefully and I heard Amy call my name in a frightened voice. I turned to see Eric sprinting towards us, only to be stopped by a Savior who pointed a gun in his face.
"Elle and I are gonna go for a little drive. If any of these sorry shits tries anything, kill them all," he ordered, and pushed me into the passenger side door. I fell into the seat and heard the car door slam behind me. Negan walked around and got into the driver's side door.
I sat up to see a Savior threatening Seth with a gun as he opened the gate to allow us to leave. I looked over to see Philip was now outside and had tried to approach us, but was also being held at gunpoint. My friends watched in horror as Negan drove out of the school gate with me beside him.
I stared out the car door in fear as the truck sped down the road. Oh boy, I had fucked up. He hadn't spoke since we entered the car and I had no idea what was happening. My gut told me he was going to kill me, and I shivered at the idea of this being the end. But wasn't this my plan? I had lied to him in order to protect Phil and now my hardheadedness was going to cost me my life. I had really thought my demise would be from a walker, but maybe Negan would make it quick.
Glancing over, I saw he was completely focused on the road. I wondered how bad it would hurt if I opened the truck door and jumped out. I figured whatever he had in store for me had to be worse.
We were in the middle of an empty road when the truck slowed down and came to a stop, preventing any attempts of an escape.
"Get the fuck out," he ordered, opening his door and getting out of the truck. I placed a nervous hand on the door handle and opened it, stepping out. My legs were shaking and I slowly pushed the heavy car door closed.
We were completely alone.
Negan walked around to where I was standing and regarded me. I looked down at the ground, scared out of my mind.
"Not so tough anymore, are we?" he taunted.
I didn't answer him and kept my gaze down.
He didn't say anything. I felt like I was about to hyperventilate. He was going to torment me before he killed me, like an animal playing with its food.
I jumped when I felt something touch me. He was placing the barbed wire baseball bat into my trembling hand. I looked up at him confused.
"If you're gonna do something, here's your fuckin' chance!" He held his arms out leaving himself completely exposed. I looked from him to the bat, still not understanding what was happening.
"If you wanna be a big bad boss lady, you had better take Lucille and bash my fuckin' head in right now." His expression turned serious as he stood there waiting for me to respond. I furrowed my eyebrows at him. Was he serious? Did he have a death wish? He wanted me to kill him?
No. He was teasing me. Negan didn't want to die. This was a test. And I knew what he wanted me to do, but I wasn't about to give it to him.
I shook my head and looked up at him.
"I won't," I answered him, and I held the bat out to him. Part of me wanted to lunge at him with it but I wasn't going to kill him.
Negan approached me slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. I held his gaze, not willing to give in still. Even if he killed me now, I wouldn't stand down to this man.
"It's a dog eat dog world, Elle," he said lowly. "If you have a chance to kill the enemy, you fucking take it."
He took the bat from my hands that were no longer trembling. I wasn't afraid anymore–I was just angry. He was trying to toy with me and I wasn't going to let him.
"I wanted to share those meds and you're the one acting like a child!" I yelled at him.
He stepped closer to me.
"This isn't a fucking compromise," he hissed, moving his face inches from mine. "That's not how shit works anymore. Those pills are mine. That school is mine. I decide who fucking deserves it. And if you're not willing to play by my damn rules, I don't have any use for you."
We both stood there, in each other's faces and both unwilling to back down. I glared up at him, and started to feel sick to my stomach. Where was this going? How long was I going to keep this up? Until he beat me to death? Something told me that's exactly where we were headed.
Realizing I was pushing him too far, I looked down while frowning.
"Okay," I conceded.
"What the fuck was that?" he growled.
"You win," I answered, hoping it would amuse him enough to stop scowling at me.
His eyes narrowed a bit more as if he was gauging me. I sighed, not knowing how else to convince him I wasn't going to put up a fight anymore.
"You can have all the meds."
Negan stared at me silently and I waited for his reaction. I wondered if he really thought I was going to attack him with the baseball bat. He seemed thrown off that I didn't, and now that I was submitting he seemed even more confused.
After peering at me for a while, Negan smirked.
"Good," he simply said and swung the bat over his shoulder. As he walked by me, he placed a hand on the top of my head and ruffled my hair, messing it up. I flinched when he touched me but he just kept walking to the truck.
I stood there frozen, wondering what had just happened. He went from stone cold killer to playful in a matter of seconds, like someone flipped a switch. I turned to look at the truck and he was already getting into the driver's side and gestured for me to come on.
Feeling I had no other choice, I took a deep breath and walked back to the truck. I got back in next to him and I watched him carefully till suddenly he leaned over, making me freeze in fear again as he opened the glove compartment. His arm brushed up against me as he dug around inside. I half expected him to pull out a gun and shoot me; instead, he produced a bottle of whiskey.
"Thirsty?" he asked, showcasing the glass bottle to me. I shook my head.
"No thank you. I don't like it." I wasn't trying to be rude, but I really hated whiskey. Negan shrugged and took the lid off, and took a swig straight from the bottle. He turned the key in the ignition and started driving. I couldn't help but let out a little sigh of relief at the realization we were headed back to Doveport.
The sun had started to set as we drove in silence. We were back within minutes and the gate opened as we pulled up. We had maybe been gone an hour, and yet everyone seemed to be in the same place they had been when we left. Negan's men were still aiming their weapons and my friends were frozen in place. Negan parked the truck and turned to me. I wanted so badly to go but I waited for his permission.
"Good fucking talk, Elle. Same time next week then?"
"Okay," I said, staring out the front windshield at Philip who was still outside the front of the school. He was looking directly at me with a worried expression.
Negan chuckled.
"Cool. Now get the fuck out of my truck."
I opened the door and got out. Negan shouted to tell his men to load up.
None of us moved as Negan's men drove out of Doveport. We waited for them to leave, and once the last truck pulled out of the school's parking lot and exited through the gate, Seth went over and pulled it shut. The sun had almost finished setting and the daylight was almost gone as Philip ran over to me, along with Amy, Eric, and Vivienne.
"Are you okay?" Phil asked, looking over me for injuries.
"Did he hurt you?" Amy demanded.
"What happened?" Vivienne insisted.
"I'm fine, guys," I said while smiling at them, doing my best to appear reassuring. They were all trying to figure out what Negan had done to me. I was probably still trying to figure out what he had done.
"We were worried sick," Vivienne said, reaching out and rubbing my arm. "I'm so glad you're okay, sweetie."
I nodded and looked back over to the gate to make sure they were completely gone. I felt paranoid because of Negan. Was I even allowed to talk about what happened? He hadn't said I couldn't. I thought about telling them about him giving me Lucille. I had the opportunity to kill him and I had turned it down. Would they understand why I hadn't?
I don't think I even understood why I hadn't taken the chance.
"I tried to negotiate for the meds," I explained. I decided I wouldn't tell them about wielding Lucille. "He wouldn't budge."
"They took everything," Amy muttered. "The car has been completely cleaned out."
I nodded. I had already figured they had. If we were lucky, Negan's men wouldn't find the traffic jam and we could go back and continue looting the cars. There was potentially enough stuff out there to keep Negan happy for months. We just had to go about it the right way.
"We can go back and scavenge more this week. It's gonna be okay," I tried my best to reassure them. Maybe I was trying to convince myself. At this point, it was going to be a weekly occurance of dealing with Negan and his men.
They nodded and Phil turned his attention on the sun that was disappearing over the horizon. "We should get inside. It's been a long day and we all need some rest."
I nodded in agreement and we all headed inside the school.
I retired to my bedroom after saying goodnight to everyone. We were lucky to have beds at Doveport. Phil and Seth had not only found mattresses for everyone, but had also constructed bed frames so we weren't forced to sleep on the floor. I loved having my very own bed and even had my own bedroom. Each member of our community got their own room in the form of the old classrooms. The rooms were huge, but it allowed for privacy and a sense of normalcy. Of course, couples like Amy and Eric bunked together in one room. I had mine all to myself.
I had just started to get comfortable and drift off to sleep when there was a loud knock at my door. I sat up and rubbed at my eyes.
"Come in!" I called.
I squinted in the darkness to see Seth open the door and stand there awkwardly.
"Seth?" I asked, confused as to why he would be coming to me in the middle of the night.
"I went to make sure the gate was locked and there was a truck parked outside." He was speaking fast, and I stood up from my bed and walked over to him.
"It's Negan," he said, and I could see his expression better as I got closer. He looked sick to his stomach. "He wants to talk to our leader."
I didn't know what to say or do. I just stood there with Seth in the darkness.
"Does anyone else know?" I asked, grabbing a grey hoodie from a chair and pulling it on. I was only wearing some sweats and a tank top, but didn't think I would have enough time to get dressed. Seth shook his head.
"No. I think everyone is asleep."
"Good. Stay inside." I stepped out into the hallway and headed towards the front door of the school. Doveport didn't have a lot of power supply, but we did have a gas generator we tried to use sparingly. In order to conserve, we didn't use any lights at night so I moved carefully until I reached the front. I opened the doors and quickly made my way to the closed gate. I looked behind me to see Seth had obeyed and wasn't following me. I could see light shining from under the large gated doors; I unlocked and pulled them open.
There was a single pickup parked right in front of the gate with its headlights shining right at me. I squinted and held up a hand to shield the light from my eyes. I could see a figure standing next to the truck and heard a chuckle.
"Took you long enough," Negan said, moving in front of the truck to block some of the light that was shining in my eyes. I continued to squint at him. "Enjoying your rest, sleeping beauty?"
"Has it been a week already?" I asked, trying to be playful; but I could hear the caution in my own voice. I had no idea what was happening. Had he figured out our lie?
Negan laughed.
"I just missed you too damn much," he teased. I let out a nervous laugh. Negan turned from me and walked to the back of the truck, opening the hatch. I tensed up, thinking he was getting something to hurt me and tried my best to see what it was.
He was dragging something heavy when I heard a snarl come from my left. I twisted to see a walker was making its way towards us. I reached for my knife only to realize I had left it in my room. I took a few steps back out of the way of the headlights to get a better view of it. The walker was moving fairly quickly and stumbled towards me, and I moved backwards towards the bed of the truck. I gasped when my back hit something, and I turned to see it was Negan. He was watching the walker and clutching his beloved bat.
"Friend of yours?" he asked, and didn't move as I remained pressed up against him, all of my attention still on the animated corpse before us.
"No," I whispered, wanting to run, but I was frozen in place. I was now in between the approaching walker and Negan.
"Then fucking kill it," he ordered.
"I don't have anything!" I cried. "I left my knife inside."
The walker began to near us as I spoke.
"Of course you fucking did." Negan moved past me, bringing the bat up and in one swoop, he hit the walker in the head, killing it. The body fell to the ground in a slump. Negan hit it once more and then pushed it away with his boot. He turned back to look at me.
"Thank you," I said before he could make a snarky remark. He moved past me to the back of the truck again.
"Lucille is tired. We've had a long ass day and I didn't fucking come out here so I could kill walkers for you all night." I watched as he dragged a box out from the truck bed and carried it over to me. He held it out to me and I confusedly stared down at it. I squinted, trying to see what was inside but it was too dark.
"It's pretty fucking heavy. I'm not sure your little arms can carry it."
I reached out and took the box from him. It was really heavy, but I would manage. I looked back up at him in the darkness and couldn't see his face very well. Why was he doing this? Why was he giving us something? This had to be a trick…
Negan stretched and yawned as we stood next to the truck.
"Well I don't know about you princess, but I might just turn into a fuckin' pumpkin if I stay out any later." He brushed by me towards the driver side door, and then leaned down by my ear.
"Never say I didn't do anything for you, doll," he murmured while opening the door. He got into the truck and started the engine. I stood there for a few moments, then walked back into the school yard and set the box down. Negan didn't leave until the gate was closed and I locked it quickly. I listened as the truck pulled away and I bent down to pick the box back up. I was way too curious and had to know what it contained.
I carried the box inside to find Seth was standing by the front door. He smiled at me a bit, and then his attention went straight to the box.
"What's that?" he asked.
"I have no idea. But we should get some sleep. He's gone," I said, carrying the box towards my bedroom. Seth sighed in relief. I knew he was curious about the contents of the box too, but he headed down the hall towards his room and disappeared inside.
I pulled my bedroom door shut and set the box on my bed. I went over to the teacher's desk and opened a drawer. I had collected a few items that I kept inside, including a flashlight. I turned it on and the light immediately made me blink a few times. I returned to the box and shined the light over what was inside.
It was full of an assortment of items, including fresh vegetables, canned food, some clothing, and some knifes. I started pulling things out of the box and found a compass, a hair brush, some jewelry, a few canteens, and a box of pens. I furrowed my brow as I pulled out a book of crosswords, some toothbrushes, and toothpaste.
I continued to pull out items and then heard a little rattle. I reached my hand inside and pulled out a pill bottle. Microzide. I reached into the box and pulled out another. And then another. He had given us some of the medication. I stared down at the little pill bottle and couldn't help but smile.