Chapter 13 - Saints and Sinners

Negan let out a scream as he slammed Lucille into the pile of pallets outside one of the warehouses. He swung the baseball bat over and over again, screaming louder as the scrap wood shattered under his weight. Debris started flying, and soon enough, a crowd gathered to see what was happening.

In his rage, Negan spun around noticed the few people, now staring.

"What the fuck are you looking at? Back to work!" He commanded.

Still full of rage, but unsatisfied, he left the mess of wood and headed towards the walker pen. There, a few men and women were fending off the dead inside the makeshift metal cage. These folks were at the bottom of the Sanctuary food chain. They had either broken the rules, or had refused to submit to Negan.

Signaling to a guard, the gate opened and Negan stepped inside. He took a deep breath and looked around. Finding a walker chained to a poll, he went straight for it and bashed it's skull in. He continued beating it with Lucille until there was only pulp left on the ground.

Next, he moved to a walker with a bag over it's head. He smashed it's legs out from under it, crushing it to the same fate as the last.

Meanwhile, Kate was at work. A supply run had proved fruitful and she had a lot of inventory to catalog. Medicine, mostly, and she had to weed through to see what was even remotely useful. Many of the pills in the hospital were starting to expire, and lose their potency.

There was a knock on the door. Kate found Joseph, aka 'Fat Joey', standing in the doorway.

"I need your help." He pleaded, eyes wide.

"I'm a little busy," Kate replied, preoccupied with her inventory sheet.

"Negan's lost his mind. Please." Fat Joey pleaded.

Kate was worried. Fat Joey seemed scared, so she followed him. Together, they found Negan beating walkers in The Pit.

At first, Kate simply watched, dumbfounded. She was trying to understand what was happening. But when Negan started to go after a living person, she ran to the chain link fence wall.

"Negan!" Kate shouted.

Negan looked up, his expression one of homicidal rage. The innocent man below cowered on his knees, crying.

"Stay out of this, Kate." Negan ordered.

Kate drew in a sharp breath. She was probably going to regret her actions. But none the less, she leaned over to the guard, and took the gun out of his shocked hands.

"Negan, stop this." Kate attempted to reason, gun pointed at Negan and ready to fire.

Negan looked down at the man who was now screaming. He drew Lucille back, poised to strike.

Kate fired the gun, and hit the walker in the head that had been approaching Negan. She then shot a second one in the knee, slowing its ascent.

Negan and Kate locked eyes, and he lowered his bat. He kicked the innocent man in the stomach, walked to the gate, and headed towards Kate. He grabbed her by the arm and the gun fell from her hands to the ground.

"We need to have a fucking chat. Right. Fucking. Now!" Negan yelled as he pulled her with him towards his rooms.

Negan forced Kate inside, and locked the door behind them. He was covered in blood, his clothes and his face stained with it.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? You challenge me in front of my men? You must have a fucking death wish!"

Negan raised Lucille, ready to hit Kate. But she didn't move. She didn't even flinch. Instead, she fell to her knees before him, never breaking eye contact.

"Go ahead, if it will make you feel better. Kill me. Then Simon won't have me, but neither will you."

Tears stained Kate's face. She had no idea how this was going to end. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer. She was tired. Her heart was broken. In this moment, she knew that Dwight had been right. How did she ever let herself believe that she could have her fairytale? That life with Simon would be anything that could last. This was the end of the world. Nothing that came before seemed to matter any more. The rules were all different.

It was only when Kate heard the sound of wood hitting the floor, did she open her eyes. Negan had thrown Lucille to the side, and now he was on his own knees in front of her.

"I don't like things being held in front of me that I can't fucking have. Do you have any idea what you do to me? How you make me fucking feel?"

"Negan?" Kate stood, and held out her hand to him.

"What?"

"You look like shit, and smell worse. Go take a shower. "

Negan started to laugh. He climbed to his feet, taking Kate's hand.

"Wanna join me ?" he asked.

"You have walker guts in your hair. I'll pass. But I'll wait here, until you're done. We should talk."

As Negan walked to his bathroom, Kate sat down on the couch, and poured herself a shot of whiskey. She had no idea what she was doing, but she figured a little booze wouldn't hurt.