Negan sits on his sofa swirling a glass of whiskey in his hand. He'd barely slept, dark circles beneath his tired eyes.
He lifts his head as someone knocks on his door. "Yeah," he says, taking a sip of his whiskey.
"Hey, Negan. I just-," Frankie stares at him. "Jesus, Negan. Sun's only been up an hour."
"Well thanks for stating the fucking obvious, you must've done real well in high School," he says, sarcastically.
"The hell is wrong with you?" She frowns.
"Nothing's wrong with me, sweetheart," he smiles, knocking back the rest of his drink. Negan stands up, placing his glass down on the coffee table. "Did you fucking want something?" He chuckles, rubbing at his temples. "What the fuck am i thinking? Of course you want something. Why the fuck else would you be here?"
"I wanted to borrow a book, but i can see you've got issues," she says, turning to leave.
Negan grabs her arm, pulling her close to him. "Don't get fucking smart with me. Or would you like to go mop up piss with the rest of the workers?"
"Negan," she frowns, trying to shake herself from his grasp.
He moves his face closer to hers, their noses almost touching. "I'm starting to wonder why i keep you around anymore?"
"Negan, you're hurting me," Frankie whimpers.
Negan looks down at his hand, his fingers buried deep in her arm. There's a knock at the door, and he loosens his grip, his eyes widening briefly. "Yeah," he says, running a hand over his hair.
"Hey," John smiles, as he steps inside. He looks over at Frankie and Negan, tension thick in the air. "You want me to come back later?"
Frankie shakes her head, biting back tears. "No, i gotta go anyway," she smiles weakly, not looking him in the eye as she leaves.
John frowns as he watches her head out the door. "She alright?" He asks.
"She's fucking fine," Negan says, waving a hand. "You want something?"
"Just to give you some good news," John smiles. "We just came back with a whole shitload of supplies. Canned shit."
Negan frowns. "I'm confused?"
John stares at him. "About what?"
"About the entire fucking thing, i didn't realise you'd gone out?"
"Yeah, we went out yesterday. Didn't Simon tell you?" John asks.
"Does it look like i'm in the fucking know? How many of my men did you take out there? And who the fuck authorised it?"
"Calm down, Negan," John frowns.
"Don't tell me to fucking calm down. I'm in charge around here, and don't you fucking forget that!" He spits.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? We brought back supplies, shit we need. I don't see what your damn problem is?"
"They're my men!" Negan yells, his eyes red.
John squints his eyes, staring at him bemused. "Have you been fucking drinking or some shit?" He glances over at the table, finding the empty glass. "I'll take that as a fucking yes."
Negan takes a step towards John, clenching his jaw. "You think you're better than me, don't you?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" John frowns. Negan stares at him coldly, and John doesn't fail to notice. He places a hand on Negan's shoulder. "What are you doing, Negan? You're losing it, and i don't wanna see you do that again," John squeezes his shoulder gently. Negan looks away from him, biting on his lip. "Hey," John says. Negan turns to him, his eyes welling up. John places his other hand on Negan's chest, looking him in the eye as he shakes his head. "Don't go there, you're better than that, i fucking know you are."
Negan drops his head, his shoulders sagging. He nods, looking at his brother. "Fuck, i'm sorry."
John nods, pulling his brother close as he hugs him. "It's alright," John assures him, unsure of any such thing.
"Oh, fuck!" Simon groans, his hips snapping against Lisa as she writhes beneath him, moaning with every thrust. She pulsates around him, tipping her head back as she claws at his shoulders, her release coursing through her like lightning.
Simon pulls out of her, shooting his hot load all over her stomach. "Fuck!" He grunts, as he strokes himself slowly, his cock twitching in his hand as he spasms out the last of his juice over her.
Lisa smiles, biting on her lip as she watches him. He leans over her, kissing her sweetly before stretching over to her bedside table to grab her a tissue.
She wipes at herself before resting her head against his chest, Simon wrapping an arm around her.
"You keep spending all your points on me you're gonna waste away," she smiles.
"How's that?" Simon asks, raising an eyebrow.
"You'll have nothing left over to buy food," Lisa giggles.
"To hell with food. Anyway, you're good enough to eat," he smiles. "How's the big man?"
Lisa lifts her head. "You really wanna waste our time together talking about Negan?"
"No, i wanna keep pounding that pussy of yours till you can't walk," he grins, squeezing her ass.
"So why are you asking?"
Simon breathes deeply, staring up at the ceiling. "I don't know. I've just been thinking a lot lately."
"About?" She asks, her fingers playing idly with his chest hairs.
"The way things are around here. I think this place is falling apart."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I'm starting to think..," Simon shakes his head.
"What is it?"
"That Negan might not be the right person to be in charge anymore."
Lisa stares at him wide eyed. "What do you mean? Are you thinking of taking over?"
He shakes his head. "No, i don't want that kind of responsibility. I'm happy being a right hand man."
"So what are you talking about?"
"John."
"John? Negan's brother?"
"Yeah. I'm starting to think he'd run things much better than Negan. I mea-," Lisa places her hand over his mouth.
"Don't say stuff like that," she shakes her head.
Simon gently takes her hand from his mouth. "Why? You disagree?"
She opens her mouth then closes it, staring at the door as if Negan might appear by magic. "No, he's.. he's been different lately. But that doesn't mean he's not the right man to lead us anymore, things might get better?"
"I'm not saying i'm gonna do anything rash, just that i'm thinking, that's all."
"Well you should keep it that way, i wouldn't want you to get hurt," Lisa frowns.
Simon brushes her cheek with his finger. "You falling for me? Because that would be worse than getting caught talking shit about Negan."
"No, i'm only interested in one thing," she smiles, rubbing her thigh against his crotch.
"Don't worry about it, i'm not the only one who thinks it."
"You haven't spoken to anyone else about this have you?" She asks, her eyes wide.
"No, but i've heard whispers. A lot of people seem to think the same way as me, that John's more up to the job, that he'd make a better leader."
"Just don't go doing anything stupid. Anyway," she smiles, sitting astride him. "We've got another hour, let's make the most of it. "
John speeds down the corridor, opening the door to his bedroom to find it empty. "Shit!" He grabs his backpack off the floor, dropping it down on the bed as he grabs whatever belongings of his and Katie's he can find, cramming them inside. John pulls the drawers open, taking out what little clothes Emma has and adding them to his backpack.
He sits down on the edge of the bed, taking a deep breath as he rubs at his temples. Are you really gonna leave? Maybe you can make things right? But he knows it's too late for that. Negan wasn't just slipping, he was falling, and fast. John knows it's only a matter of time before Negan cracks, and he doesn't want to be there when that happens. John knows it'll be a risk, taking Katie and Emma out there, but he's not sure being here is much better.
Negan knocks on John's door, Lucille hanging over his shoulder. He turns the handle. "Anyone home?" He smiles, as he pushes the door open. Negan steps inside, shrugging his shoulders as he turns to leave. He stops, frowning as he sees John's backpack on the floor. Negan kneels down, pulling back the zip, his eyebrow raised as he rummages through. His eyes go cold. "You fucking fucker!" He spits, rising to his feet and kicking at the backpack.
Katie sits with Emma in the hall, watching Emma push food around her plate.
"You should eat, sweetie," Katie smiles.
"It's yucky," Emma says, scrunching up her face.
Katie laughs. "I know it is, but it's good for you. Especially if you really wanna be a superhero," she looks across the hall, seeing Negan making his way over. "Negan, will you tell Emma that if she wants to be a superhero she needs to eat her greens."
Negan stands in front of them, his breath heavy. "Erm.., yeah, can't be a superhero if you don't eat that shi-,"
"And that's enough of that," she says, cutting him off. "You okay?" She frowns.
"Yeah, i'm fine," he nods.
"You seem a little on edge," she says.
"Aren't we all?" He smiles weakly. "You seen John?"
"Erm.., not for a few hours actually. You sure everything's alright?"
"Everything's fine," Negan assures her. "I think Arat wanted some help on the wall, you up for that?"
"What about Emma?"
"I'll find someone to watch her, you go," he nods.
John races down the corridor, heading for the hall. He stops at the sound of Emma's voice, backing up as he looks through an open door. "Emma."
She runs out to him, hugging him tightly. "Where you been, you were s'posed to play hide an seek, you said we could."
He smiles. "I know, sweetie, we can play later," John puts her down.
"Hey, John," Julia smiles.
"Hey. You seen Katie?" He asks.
"Yeah, they needed her out on the wall, Negan asked me to mind this little one."
"I don't need minding, i'm not a baby," Emma insists.
"Of course you're not. I hope you're being good," John smiles.
"She's an angel," Julia says.
"Well, i'm gonna go find Katie, and then i'll take Emma off your hands," John says.
"Okay, well there's no rush," Julia nods.
"Back in five," John says, waving at her as he heads down the corridor.
John pushes the door open, stepping outside.
"John!" Negan shouts from behind him.
John turns, stepping back inside. "Hey, what's up?"
"Katie, she's in the brewing room, said she wants to see you."
John frowns. "You sure? Julia said she was working the wall."
"Yeah, but she had shit to do there first," Negan says, swallowing deeply as he rests Lucille against his shoulder.
John nods as he walks off.
John turns the handle, stepping inside and taking a quick scan. He frowns, staring around the empty room. Fuck sake! John takes another step forward, slipping and almost falling on his ass. He grabs onto a table beside him, steadying himself. John's nostrils flare, his brows furrowed. Kneeling down, he brushes his fingers against the floor, bringing them up to his nose. The fuck? He pulls his hand away quickly, the smell of gasoline making his nose crinkle.
The door slams shut behind him. John turns, making his way over. He turns the handle, the door refusing to open. "Hey, who the fuck's out there?" He's met with silence, but as he steps back, he sees the shadow of a pair of feet. "Hey! Open this fucking door!" He yells, whacking his hand against it. "Stop fucking around!"
"I'm sorry."
John frowns. "Negan? What the fuck are you doing?"
"This is how it has to be, it's for the best," Negan says.
John's eyes widen as he hears the sound of a match striking. "What the fuck? What the fuck are you doing, Negan? Don't you fucking do that!" John is met with silence once again, silent except for the sound of the match dropping. He jumps backwards as fire races under the door, making it's way towards the spirits that are currently brewing in the multiple jars on the table. "Fuck!"
Katie wipes at her brow, taking a drink of water and passing the bottle to Arat. "Jesus! It's unbelievably hot out here."
"Tell me about it," Arat says, handing the bottle back.
"I'll get back at it in a minute," Katie says, gesturing towards the school fence.
"It's alright, nothing i can't handle," Arat smiles.
Katie rises to her feet. "Hey, i can-," the sound of an explosion cuts her off, Katie ducking instinctively as she covers her ears. She looks up, thick, black smoke pluming at the back off the school. "What the hell?" She frowns, barely hearing her own words through the ringing in her ears.
She watches as men and women pile out of the school, smoke coming out with them as they open the doors. Julia runs out with Emma on her hip, Katie breathing a sigh of relief. "She okay?" Katie shouts over the ringing in her ears.
"Yeah, she's fine, just upset," Julia says, rubbing Emma's back.
"Where's John? You seen him?" Katie asks.
"I thought he was out here," Julia frowns as she looks around. "Said he was looking for you."
Katie shakes her head. "I haven't seen him."
Negan runs through the doors with Lucille, sweat pouring down his face. "Is everyone out?" He turns to Arat. "Do a head count."
Arat nods. "Everyone over here."
"Negan, have you seen John?" Katie panics.
Negan shakes his head. "I thought he was out here."
Katie's eyes widen as she watches more smoke drifting out of the doors. "Oh my god, he's in there," she goes to run at the doors, Negan grabbing her arm.
"Hey! You can't go in there," he frowns, pulling her back.
"John's in there!" She spits.
"Oh shit!" Gareth frowns, standing at the top of a supply truck. "There's a herd!" He yells, looking down at Negan and his men.
"Fuck!" Negan yells, rubbing at his temples. "We need to get outta here!"
Katie shakes his hand from her arm. "I'm not leaving without John!"
"Katie, we have to go, it's not safe here anymore, the dead will rip straight through this fucking place," Negan frowns.
She runs at the doors, Negan wrapping his arm round her waist and pulling her back. Katie screams, kicking out as she tries to escape his grasp. "We can't leave him! He's still in there!"
"Katie, he's gone," Negan shakes his head. "If he wasn't, he'd be out by now."
"No! You don't know that!" She screams.
Negan looks all around him as the dead begin to appear from all directions. He turns to his men. "Get everyone in the trucks, now!"
"I'm not leaving! Let me go!" She yells, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry," Negan shakes his head. "He's gone, Katie, and we have to go."
Simon runs out of the double doors, coughing into his hand.
"Simon!" Katie shouts. "Have you seen John?"
Simon stumbles his way over, shaking his head. "I'm sorry," he says, his voice raspy.
"He's still in there," she cries.
Simon shakes his head. "If he's still in there then he's not coming out, i barely made it out of the laundry."
Katie shakes her head. "No. Please, we have to go get him," she whimpers.
"Simon, help me get her in the truck," Negan says.
