The Sanctuary was an interesting place. It wasn't so different than the Firehouse, people doing their daily jobs to ensure the livelihood of the community was maintained. The inhabitants were nice, friendly even, immersing the pair after little trepidation. It would seem they were all part of something else at one point before coming there. After being forced to live within it's walls for over a month the grey cloud that hug over the two outsiders started to clear. When Riley arrived she expected to see prisoners. People being forced around and constantly at gun point. She was surprised to see that when they had pulled through the guarded metal gates that first day that the people living being the walls looked the same as those she had back home. There was one thing that was different however. Negan. Ryan was nothing like Negan, no one in the Firehouse came even close the the crazed leader of the Sanctuary. The way his eyes twinkled when he saw someone suffering that he thought deserved was sick. In her opinion, the scariest thing about Negan was his unpredictability. Riley found she could never see what was coming next from the dark haired man. He always wore his charming smile and had a deep laugh on his lips, but his eyes always held a dark fire in them. She always felt like he was looking at her with an intensity, a challenge. And he had challenged her since day one. That seemed so long ago now.
The woman rolled on her back, her unrelenting thoughts stopping any form of sleep from coming to her. She sighed as her eyes stared at the ceiling. Her mind drifted to the day she arrived at the Sanctuary.
Riley saw a few weary eyes dart towards the truck as it pulled into the compound. The people of the Sanctuary stopped their tasks and watched curiously as Dwight climbed out. Everything seemed relatively normal until the people saw their leader. It wasn't until the Negan got out that a heavy wave of fear settled in the air. People averted their eyes while some hurried away to continue their tasks elsewhere. The most disturbing part was that some people dropped to their knees, just like the man had commanded at the Hilltop. Negan's heavy boots crunched on the gravel as he took a few steps away from the vehicle before turning back around. Dwight opened the door and gestured with his gun for the pair to get out. Jeremy climbed out first before turning to help Riley out. They turned to face the leader of the compound, unsure of what would happen next.
"Welcome to the Sanctuary!" Negan shouted with a large smile. "The best fucking place this side of the apocalypse. Now, we have some rules here. Simple, clear, and un-fucking-breakable. " Riley felt her stomach tighten with worry. "Every fucker has to earn their keep here too, this isn't a fucking charity. So before we welcome you to our fucking family, what are you two going to bring to my fucking table?"
A silence fell as the two newcomers realized he actually wanted an answer. Was he expecting them to say one was a good cook? Jeremy shared a worried side glance with Riley. A look that Negan caught.
"Well, come on! What the fuck did you do where ever you came from?What about you, dollface? I'm sure I can always find you a suitable job here if needed." The man laughed. She turned her brown eyes to Negan and scowled at way he wiggled his eyebrows at her. In his damn dreams maybe. "We led the runs back home."
Negan laughed again. "So you're good at killing then, doll?"
Riley's face contorted into a scowl. "Walkers, yeah."
He clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Well, if you wanna be part of our team here your gotta be good a killing the living too sweetheart." He scratched his beard as a malicious twinkled filled his eyes. "Although, we do have some opening after Calvin and his crew got fucked, and I know the perfect was to see if you're Sanctuary material. Dwight, take 'em to the yard."
The yard. Riley still felt her blood boil every time she saw that place. She tried to avoid it, yet every so often she'd find herself strolling beside it's wire fence and her day would be ruined. While the 'yard' hadn't sound so bad on it's face at first, the small intake of breath from the crowd that had formed around them had let her know it was trouble. She remembered the feeling of dread that filled her when Dwight had let them there by the tip of his gun.
The pair stood in front of a large metal fence with an open field behind it. There were large wooden poles scattered throughout grass and the faintest sound of grunting could be heard. Two men came from behind them and pulled the gate open before Dwight nudged them inside. Once the gate was closed Negan spoke from the balcony he now stood on. "Now, I gotta know I can trust you if I'm going to be sending you out with my men. Saying you can handle a run seems like a good way to sneak outta the situation you're in here. So! We're gonna see if you two really are walker killing material. If so, we can work on the killing living fuckers part. We've got some enemies out there, people who don't appreciate the deals we offer and want to take what we have. But first thing is fucking first, I need to see your skills! You wouldn't hire a painter without seeing his work right? So what better way then to put you in a pit full of the living fucking dead. Oh did I not mention that? Yeah, the Yard is where were put the people who don't quite mesh here. You said you can killer walkers, doll, well here ya go!" Negan laughed as he leaned over the rail and smacked his bat against the metal. The grunting sound became more prominent, shuffled footsteps getting close.
"Shit" Riley whispered, more to herself than to Jeremy. "I'm sorry I got us into this."
Jeremy reached out and squeezed her arm as he looked around. "Let's focus, Ri. Nothing we can't handle."
Riley was lucky it had been Jeremy with her. The two had always gotten along and worked well together in planning the runs back home. She trusted Jeremy with her life, and he kept her sane in the messed up situation they now lived in. She turned her head to look at the bed on the other side of the room. Jeremy was still asleep and snoring slightly. They had been lucky they were able to share a room. Riley wasn't sure she wanted to sleep near some stranger. Who knows, they could have been just as crazy as the leader of the Sanctuary. No.. she doubted anyone was like Negan. He lived off of peoples fear and especially the fear of him. That moment in the yard was the day she first saw the true malice and controlled chaos that Negan fueled.
Brown eyes scanned the yard. Three more bodies lunched from behind a cluster of wooden poles to Riley's left. She ducked, using both her arms to shove one of the bodies to her other side. She was getting tired and her arms were getting shaky. How long had they been in here? The brunette saw Jeremy grabbed a piece of fallen wood from the ground and thrust it into the second corpse. While she looked around her for a weapon of her own, the third walker stumbled towards her. Riley kicked the walker in the stomach sending it backwards. Behind it she could see more walkers emerging.
A loud laugh rang out followed by the sound of metal creaking. The pair turned to see Dwight standing by the now open gate, motioning with his head for them to come out. They did so without hesitation. As the adrenaline started to stop pumping through her veins Riley felt her limbs get heavier and start to burn. Her tired eyes watched as Negan walked down the stairs with a smile on his face.
'Well, well, that was quite a fucking show. You guys got spunk! While I do love spunk, I like fuckers who follow they rules and listen to orders even more. So, can you two follow rules?" All traces of laughter and twisted mirth left the man's face as he stared hard at Riley and Jeremy. They didn't want to follow any rules or orders put in place by a man like Negan, but if they ever wanted to see the Firehouse again they would have to. So they nodded, slowly lowering themselves to one knee.
The dark joy return to Negan's face as he smiled widely. "I gotta say, I like you two already. Dwight, find our two new members some rooms. "
Now, after a month a being in the compound, they were going on their first run with the Saviors. Riley wasn't sure she's ever be able to call herself that. Stretching her arms above her head, the woman pressed herself deeper into her bed. She needed to get some sleep, who knew what would happen if she wasn't on the top of her game tomorrow.