Set during 6x15 "East", 6x16 "Last Day on Earth", and 7x01 "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be."
I don't want to be touched by the fear in your eyes
I don't want to be left for my demons to find
When the leaves are gone and the beating sun
Brings the world bang drums
Tell me you will hold me in the golden after life
Yeah, you
You don't have to die alone tonight
"Sacrifice" – Zella Day
Flashbacks will be in italics
Chapter 12 – You Don't Have to Die Alone Tonight
"How did you know him?" Rick repeated as he held Mia's gaze.
"The Outcasts had the same deal with the Saviors as the Hilltop. They gave them half of everything in exchange for protection and the promise that they wouldn't attack us. A few drops were light so the Saviors and Negan came and killed three of our people. For some reason, I caught his eye. He requested to see me in private and if I turned it down he said he would kill someone else. So, I talked to him," Mia explained as she leaned against the car. Rick stood in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest. "We talked for a while about a lot of things, but it didn't change what he did or who he was. He came back the next week and the week after that and we talked privately each time. Then I left the Outcasts and Matt was killed and I thought that was the end of it."
"The end of it?" Rick asked. "You two just talked?"
"We just talked," Mia told him. "Oddly enough, that's all he wanted."
"Mia," Rick said, "why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Until last night, I didn't think it would have made a difference," Mia said. "Jesus already told you everything I knew about the Saviors."
"How big were the groups that came to your camp?"
"15 at the most," Mia answered. "I knew there was more, but Negan never told me how many or where his base was. When Andy told us about the satellite station I thought that's got to be it. It has to be where Negan lives."
"So, Negan's still out there," Rick sighed.
"He must be."
"We'll have to tell everyone when we get back," Rick said. "We should also set up more watches just to be safe."
He started to walk around the front of the car, but Mia grabbed his arm to stop him. "Rick, I've seen what some of his people can do and… trust me when I say that we've just burned a bridge we shouldn't have."
"Why didn't you say something before?"
"Because you wanted to do this and nothing, not even me, was going to stop you," Mia said.
"You should've said something," Rick said before he rounded the truck and got into the driver's side.
"I'm sorry," Mia said even though she knew he couldn't hear her.
Thud. Amelia Monroe woke up quite startled to find herself lying on the floor. She rolled onto her back as her heart rate began to settle. Her eyes landed on the ceiling and she let out a heavy sigh.
"You okay?"
Mia turned her head to see Rick peering over the side of the bed. She nodded before sitting up.
"Yeah," Mia said. "I just… fell."
She stood up and sat on the bed beside him. Rick placed a hand on her thigh as he laid back. "Was it a nightmare?"
"No," Mia lied easily. She didn't want to burden him anymore than she already had.
"What are you doing today?" Rick asked as he sat up beside her.
"Maggie wanted me and Michonne to help put up more bins and watch points," Mia said.
"Do you have to go right now?"
"Maggie has us on a schedule and I am not going to be the one to ruin that," Mia told him with a smirk.
"Yeah," Rick sighed. "Let's not piss her off."
"She's worried about an attack so she's a little on edge," Mia said.
"When they come, we'll end it, the whole thing," Rick said. "This won't be like before. We're putting everything in place and these people know what to do now. The world is ours, and we know how to take it. Everything we need is right here inside these walls. We're not losing any of it again. I'm not."
"No, you're not," Mia agreed. "We're not."
Mia stood and started getting dressed. She glanced over her shoulder at Rick once she was done.
Mia sighed silently and sat down beside him. "Rick?"
"Yeah?" He asked.
"Kiss me," she told him.
Rick smiled before closing the distance between them and kissing her softly. Mia melted into him and Rick pulled her closer, running one of his hands through her hair. The other gripped her waist while his hand tangled in her hair trailed softly down her back.
"I love you," Mia said against his lips.
"I love you, too," Rick responded. He kissed her again, quicker this time before smiling at her. "Now, get out of here before Maggie comes looking for you."
"Will do, Sheriff," Mia said, smirking.
"We'll have these, but we should hide a few. That way, we can find them, but strangers can't," Maggie said as Michonne and Amelia joined her and Glenn. "In case anyone gets in."
"They won't," Glenn said.
They turned around when an engine roared in the distance. Mia sighed when she saw Daryl riding towards the front gate on his motorcycle.
"Oh, no," Michonne said.
"What the hell is he doing?" Glenn asked.
"Something he shouldn't," Michonne said before running off towards Daryl.
"We gotta stop him," Glenn said as he grabbed a riffle from the bin and his jacket off the cart.
Mia and Maggie followed him to the van and watched as he and Michonne got into the van.
"You coming?" Glenn asked Mia.
"Uh..." Mia sighed as she looked at Maggie. "Tell Rick that I went to find Daryl. I should be back soon."
"Okay," Maggie said as Mia got into the van.
Glenn started to drive out of the community, but Abraham jumped in front of the car.
"Make room for my freckled ass!" He demanded.
"No," Rosita said as she came up behind him. "Cover my watch. You stay."
"Hey," Glenn said. "We should keep numbers here."
"I know where Daryl's going," Rosita said before getting into the back of the van.
"That's where she died," Rosita murmured as Mia and Glenn walked up behind her. Michonne went to take care of a walker on the side of the tracks.
"All right, so he had to start from here," Glenn said.
"He did," Michonne said. Mia looked over to see Daryl's bike under some branches.
"Which way did Dwight run?" Glenn asked.
Mia shared a look with him when Rosita didn't respond. She stepped towards her. "Rosita?"
"We should let him do this," Rosita said.
"But he doesn't know what he's doing. We don't," Glenn told her. "Maybe him trying this makes you feel better about it right now. Maybe they keep knowing more about us than we know about them. Or maybe Daryl's gonna get himself killed. Which way did Dwight run?"
Rosita motioned behind Glenn and Mia after a moment of hesitation. They followed her across the field behind them and eventually saw Daryl in the distance. They stopped short when he shot an arrow into the tree beside Rosita.
"Watch the hell out, asshole," Rosita said as they walked towards him
"I did. You shouldn't have come," Daryl said. He grabbed arrow out of Rosita's hand and started to walk away.
"You shouldn't have left," Michonne said.
"When I split off from Sasha and Abraham, he was out there in the woods, in that burned-out forest with them girls, put a gun to my head, tied me up," Daryl explained. "I even tried to help him."
"So, you think it's your fault?" Glenn asked.
"Yeah, I know it is," Daryl answered. "I'm gonna go do what I should've done before."
"What, for her?" Glenn asked. "She's gone, man. You're doing this for you."
"Man, I don't give a shit," Daryl muttered.
"Daryl… we need to get back there and figure this out from home," Glenn said. "Our home. We need you, and everyone back there needs us right now. It's—it's gonna go wrong out here."
"We'll square it," Michonne said. "I will. I promise you. Just come back."
Daryl looked between the four of them and shook his head. "I can't."
"Daryl, if you go out there and something happens back at home while you're gone, you'll never forgive yourself," Mia said before he could get too far.
"I'll never forgive myself if I don't do this," Daryl said and walked away.
"Daryl," Glenn tried.
"Man, I can't!" Daryl shouted.
"I can't either," Rosita said and went after Daryl.
"I need to get back," Mia said as she watched Rosita and Daryl disappear between the trees.
"We need to get back," Michonne corrected politely.
"Let's go," Glenn said and walked off in the opposite direction of Daryl and Rosita.
Mia and Michonne followed closely behind him as they made their way back to the train tracks.
"Thing is, those men could be back in Alexandria right now," Glenn said as they walked.
"If they are, they're dead," Michonne said.
"I hope not. We need them alive. We need to find out more," Glenn said.
"Yeah, we do," Michonne sighed.
They slowed to a stop as they reached a small pond.
"We just got stuck with each other. We were lucky. We figured it all out together. It felt like we did. After everything, we did. The world's not what we thought it was," Glenn explained. "Hilltop, the Saviors, it's bigger."
"You knew Negan," Glenn said, turning to Mia. "What was he like?"
"He was…" Mia paused, trying to think of the right words, "capable of doing very terrible things without allowing it affect him. He was… is a charismatic, smart, ferocious, frightening, oddly friendly sociopath that is a leader and a killer. Negan is a brilliant strategist. He's pure, dangerous, murderous, and yet still has both discipline and a code."
"Do you think we should have attacked the compound?" Michonne asked.
"Honestly, I don't think it was—"
Mia was cut off by the sound of a whistle. She raised her gun at the same time as Glenn and searched the surrounding woods. She stiffened at the sight of a man facing her with a gun. There was another whistle and Mia laid eyes on another man. She spotted several more before a man with a burnt face stepped out from behind a tree with a gun in his hand.
"Hi," he said.
Mia sighed when Glenn lowered his gun and followed in suit a moment later. They didn't stand a chance against the number of Saviors in the forest. They handed over their weapons when the Saviors asked and were quickly tied up and gagged. Mia straightened up when she caught sight of Daryl and Rosita through the trees. She knew Dwight and some of the other Saviors had gone off to set up a perimeter so it couldn't be safe. She shook her head to try to tell them that, but Daryl just lifted a finger to his lips, motioning for them to be quiet. Mia turned her head when she heard Glenn trying to shout through is gag. She looked back to Daryl and Rosita just in time to see Dwight and another Savior sneak up behind them. She flinched noticeably when Dwight shot Daryl through the shoulder.
The Saviors took Rosita and Daryl and tied them up beside Mia, Glenn, and Michonne. Mia tried to get a good look at Daryl's wound, but was hindered by her arms being bound behind her back. She started to shout at the nearest Savior until he took out her gag.
"Please let me check his wound," Mia said as she nodded towards Daryl.
"No," the man said and started to put the gag back.
She turned her head out of his reach. "Negan won't be happy if you guys let him bleed out."
Dwight stepped up behind the man and tapped his shoulder. The man stood up and walked away while Dwight kneeled in front of Mia. "How do you know what Negan would like or dislike?"
Mia exchanged a look with Michonne before turning back to Dwight. "Because I know him."
"Bullshit," Dwight chuckled.
"Fine. Call bullshit," Mia said. "But are you really willing to risk it?"
Dwight watched her for a few moments before smiling wide. "Turn around."
Mia obliged and rubbed her wrists once Dwight untied her. She shuffled on her knees until she was in front of Daryl and moved his shirt to the side. She cleaned away the blood with a cloth that one of the Saviors handed her and inspected the bullet wound. She bit her lip nervously when she saw that it was still bleeding steadily. She took the gag out of Daryl's mouth.
"I need to cauterize the wound," Mia told Daryl.
"Just do it," Daryl said. "I can handle it."
"I know," Mia sighed. "But I don't have…"
"What?" Daryl asked.
"I have an idea, but it's gonna be painful," Mia explained.
"I can take it," Daryl muttered.
"I know you can," Mia said as she cleaned some blood off his face. She looked up at Dwight and sighed. "I need a bullet."
"Hell no," Dwight said.
"I'm not asking for a gun to fire it with," Mia said as she cocked her head to the side slightly. "I just need the bullet without the bottom on it. That's it. Well, that and a match."
"A bullet and a match," Dwight repeated.
"Are you going to give it to me or are we back to letting him bleed out?" Mia asked.
Dwight pulled out his handgun and took out the magazine. He dumped one bullet into his hand and pried off the bottom of it with a knife. He gave it to Mia and got a box of matches from a fellow Savior, giving that to Mia as well.
"Thank you," Mia said reluctantly. She looked to Daryl and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Daryl said.
"Okay," Mia said before instructing him to lie down.
She poured half of the gunpowder onto the wound. She took the match, lit it, and put it to the gunpowder. It ignited and Daryl let out a pain-fueled groan as it burned. Mia put a towel over the cauterized wound.
"Now I have to do the back," Mia said once Daryl quieted down.
"Damn," Daryl murmured.
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah," Daryl said. "Just get it over with."
He turned over and Mia repeated the process on the entry wound. Once she was done, she tossed the bullet and matches aside. She cleaned up the rest of the blood and handed the box of matches back to Dwight.
"Thank you," Mia said as she sat back down between Glenn and Michonne.
"Negan better know who you are," Dwight told her. He got behind her and started to tie up her hands.
"He does," Mia said before he gagged her again.
"He better," Dwight said.
"Take off your jacket," Dwight said when he stepped in front of Amelia. He had taken off her gag and untied her hands before taking her out of the van.
"What?" Mia asked.
"Take it off, now," Dwight repeated.
"Why?"
"Because we need it," he said.
Mia clenched her jaw as she pulled her jacket off and handed it to Dwight. She had watched as he cut a piece of Michonne's hair. She had no idea why they needed it, but she was in no place to ask questions.
"Negan wants to talk to you," Dwight said once he handed off her jacket to someone else.
Mia did a double take. "What?"
"He wants to talk to you," Dwight repeated.
"Now?" Mia asked.
"Now," Dwight said. "Come on."
"What about—"
"They'll be there when you get back," Dwight said and took her by the arm. She glanced over shoulder at the others as he led her away.
"Where are we?" Mia questioned. She could see they were in a clearing in the woods, but she couldn't see very far beyond the tree line.
"You don't have to know," Dwight answered.
Mia tried to take a calming breath, but it didn't work as well as she wanted it to. Dwight led her across the clearing and her breath hitched when she saw Negan sitting on the bed of a truck.
"Amelia Monroe," Negan said as she approached him.
"Negan," Mia said quietly.
"What, you scared?" Negan asked as she came to a stop in front of him.
"Of you, no," Mia answered.
"Well, you look scared," Negan told her.
"I didn't think I'd ever see you again, that's all," Mia said.
"Yeah, I thought that, too," he said. "But I was pleasantly surprised when Dwight came to me and told me that he'd found you in the woods with some people from Alexandria."
"I'm from Alexandria," Mia said.
"I figured," Negan responded with a smirk. "I heard that you talked Dwight into letting you cauterize some wounds on one of your friends."
"I thought… I knew you would want him alive for whatever you have planned," Mia explained.
"You were right," Negan said.
"And I'm guessing you're not going to tell me what it is you have planned," Mia added quickly.
"Bingo," Negan said with a smirk. He let a few moments of silence pass between them before continuing. "So, tell me about your life now."
"I don't… Negan, with all due respect, that's none of your business," Mia said. "It hasn't been your business since I left the Outcasts."
"Maybe you'd be more inclined to tell me if I threatened to take one of your friends out of the back of that van and cut their fucking arm off," Negan told her.
Mia pursed her lips as she let out a deep breath. "I found my family. Of course, now they're all dead except for my brother Spencer."
"That's a shame. I had my money on Aiden," Negan said.
Mia laughed out loud before she could stop herself. "You haven't changed one bit. You're still an unrelenting jackass."
"And you're still the only person who would say that to my face," Negan said as he stood up from the truck bed and stepped towards her. She stepped back on instinct. "That's why I like you so much, Amelia. So, who did you have your money on?"
"They were my brothers, Negan. I just wanted them alive," Mia said.
Negan stepped towards her again and she fought the urge to step back. "We don't always get what we want."
"No shit," Mia sighed.
"But you know what I want?" Negan asked quietly.
"What?"
"You," Negan whispered. "I want you to come live with me at the Sanctuary."
"I met someone in Alexandria so even if I sustained major brain damage and forgot all the horrible things you've done I still wouldn't go with you," Mia said.
"Do you love him?"
"Yes," Mia answered hesitantly.
"What's his name?" Negan questioned.
"I can't tell you that," Mia said.
"I could make you," Negan said.
"But you won't," Mia told him.
"And why's that?"
"Because I'm asking you not to," Mia said. She dropped her head and sighed quietly. "Can I go back to the van now?"
"Yeah," Negan said. "It was nice catching up with you, Amelia. I'll see you again really soon."
"Thanks," Mia responded. Dwight came over and took her by the arm, leading her back to the car. He opened the back door and helped her inside. "I told you I knew him."
"You got lucky," Dwight said. "Luck runs out."
Mia sat back against the side of the van as Dwight closed the door.
Daryl leaned against Mia as they sat in the back of the van, waiting for something to happen. They could hear muffled voices outside, but they couldn't make out anything in particular. Mia bit her lip when she felt Daryl's forehead. He was burning up, probably from the initial blood loss.
Suddenly the doors opened, revealing Dwight.
"Come on," he said as he and another Savior pulled them out of the car. "You got people to meet."
Mia jumped out of the back of the van, but stopped short when she saw Rick, Carl, Sasha, Eugene, Maggie, Aaron, and Abraham lined up in the middle of the clearing. It was dark out by then, but there were plenty of cars with their headlights on, lighting up the clearing.
"Mia?" Rick asked when they met each other's gaze. She shook her head lightly, knowing she should have suspected this. Dwight forced her to the ground so she was on her knees beside Abraham.
"Maggie?" Glenn said after he was dropped on the floor.
"On your knees!" Dwight demanded.
"All right! We got a full boat. Let's meet the man," one of the Saviors said. He backed towards the RV and smacked the spot beside the door.
Mia inhaled slowly as she waited for the door to open. She trained her gaze on the floor when it finally did.
"Pissing our pants yet?"
She squeezed her eyes shut when she recognized Negan's voice.
"Boy, do I have a feeling we're getting close," Negan said. Mia looked up to see him walk in front of her people. "It's gonna be pee-pee pants city here real soon. Which one of you pricks is the leader?"
"It's this one," a Savior said as he pointed at Rick. "He's the guy."
Negan came to a stop in front of Rick and placed his bat on his shoulder. "Hi. You're Rick, right? I'm Negan, and I do not appreciate you killing my men. Also, when I sent my people to kill your people for killing my people, you killed more of my people. Not cool. Not fucking cool. You have no fucking idea how not fucking cool that shit is. But I think you're gonna be up to speed shortly. Yeah. You are so gonna regret crossing me in a few minutes. Fuck, yeah are. You see, Rick, whatever you do, no matter fucking what, you don't mess with the new world order. And the new world order is this, and it's really very simple. So, even if you're fucking stupid, which you very may well be, you can understand it. You ready? Here goes, pay attention."
Mia pursed her lips when Negan dropped his bat from his shoulder and pointed it at Rick. "Give me your shit… or I will kill you."
Negan smiled wide as he squared his shoulders. He started to walk the line, gesturing with his bat. "Today was career day. We invested a lot so you would know who I am and what I can do. You work for me now. You have shit, you give it to me. That's your job. Now, I know that is a mighty big, nasty pill to swallow, but swallow it you most certainly motherfucking will."
Rick stared up at Negan when he stopped in front of him. "You ruled the roost. You built something. You thought you were safe. I get it. But the word is out. You are not safe. Not even fucking close. In fact, you are fucked, more fucked if you don't do what I want. And what I want is half your shit. And if that's too much, you can make, find, or steal more, and it'll even out sooner or later. This is your way of life now. The more you fight back, the harder it will be."
"So, if someone knocks on your door... you fucking let us in. We own that fucking door. You try to fucking stop us and we will fucking knock that fucker down. You understand?" Negan asked. He leaned down and placed a hand to his ear. "What, no answer? You don't really think that you were gonna get through this without being punished, now, did you? I don't want to kill you people. Just want to make that clear from the get-go. I want you to work for me. You can't do that if you're fucking dead, now, can you? I'm not growing a garden. But you killed my people, a whole fucking damn shit load of them. More than I'm comfortable with. And for that, for that you're gonna fucking pay. So, now… I'm gonna beat the holy fuck fucking fuckety fuck outta one of you."
Negan transferred his bat to his other hand and swung it down in front of Rick. "This—this is Lucille, and she is awesome. All this—all this is just so we can pick out which one of you gets the honor."
Negan inhaled sharply as he walked in front of Abraham. Mia let out a heavy breath when Abraham sat up straight, holding Negan's gaze. He rubbed his beard. "Huh. I gotta shave this shit."
Mia watched as Negan strode in front of Carl. Her eyes began to sting with the threat of tears. "You got one of our guns."
He kneeled down. "Whoa. Yeah. You got a lot of our guns. Shit, kid, lighten up. At least cry a little."
He laughed shortly before standing up and placing the gun he was holding into the front of his pants. He cleared his throat as he strolled down the line, stopping in front of Maggie. "Jesus. You look fucking shitty. I should just put you out of your misery right now."
"No! No!" Glenn shouted as he stood and tried to charge Negan. Mia shut her eyes and let out a rugged breath when Dwight took him down and punched him several times.
"Stop it!" Maggie pleaded.
"God—" Glenn groaned as Dwight placed the crossbow to his head.
Negan scratched his face as he faced away from the line. "Nope. Nope, get him back in line."
"No. No. No," Glenn repeated as he was dragged back into line. He yelled as a sob escaped his mouth and got back to his knees. "Don't. Don't."
Negan smiled wide as he stared back at Glenn, chuckling softly. "All right, listen. Don't any of you do that again. I will shut that shit down, no exceptions. First one's free. It's an emotional moment, I get it."
He came to stand in front of Rick again. "Sucks, don't it? The moment you realize you don't know shit."
Mia dropped her head when he gestured from Rick to Carl, her eyes brimming with tears. "This is your kid, right? This is definitely your kid."
"Just stop this!" Rick demanded.
"Hey!" Negan shouted. "Do not make me kill the little future serial killer. Don't make it easy on me. I gotta pick somebody. Everybody's at the table waiting for me to order."
Mia tried to put a strong face when Negan walked in front of her, but couldn't keep the uneasiness from creeping into her heart. He gestured to one of his Saviors and back to Mia. "Get her to her feet."
Someone came up behind her and picked her up from under her arms. Once Mia was on her feet, she yanked away from them. Negan laughed as she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, holding his gaze. She glanced over her shoulder at her family when he took her by the arm and pulled her towards the R.V. He slowed to a stop a few feet from it. He turned her around and gathered her hands behind her back. Mia could feel the cold metal handcuffs as Negan placed them on each of her wrists before spinning her around to face him. He pointed to another Savior before gesturing back to Mia.
"Make sure she doesn't move a muscle," Negan instructed and pushed Mia to her knees.
"No!" Rick shouted from his spot. Mia looked up at him and shook her head, silently begging him to stop. She felt a tear drop onto her cheek and roll down her face when she met Rick's gaze. "It can be me! Please! Kill me and spare her."
Negan raised an eyebrow at Rick before turning his attention back to Mia. He was smirking uncontrollably. "That's him, ain't it? He's the fucking one?"
Mia clenched her jaw, refusing to speak, but she knew her tears said it all.
"I'm gonna take that as a yes," Negan said as he motioned from Mia to Rick. "This old fucking geezer got his hooks in you, didn't he? He might be dead in a minute so it might not even fucking matter now."
Negan walked away from Mia and turned to face her family after he let out a chuckle. He whistled a slow tune as he walked down the line. "I simply cannot decide."
Mia tried to test the strength of her handcuffs by pulling on them until they bit into her skin, hoping that they would break somehow. Negan smiled again. "I got an idea."
He came to stand in front of Rick and used his bat to point at him. "Eenie…"
Negan stepped in front of Maggie. "Meenie…" He moved in front of Abraham. "Miney…" He stood in front of Michonne. "Mo…"
He continued up and down the line as he completed the rhyme, stopping in front of each person.
"catch… a… tiger… by… his toe. If… he hollers… let him go. My mother… told me… to pick the very best one… and you… are… it."
Mia squeezed her eyes shut when she saw who he had settled on, a couple of tears rolling steadily down her face. She let out a shaky breath and pulled at her cuffs as hard as she could. The metal bit into her wrists and she could feel a thick, sticky liquid run down her hands. She knew it was blood, but she continued to tug on them anyways. She began praying for some kind of miracle to stop Negan.
"Anybody moves, anybody says anything, cut the boy's other eye out and feed it to his father and then we'll start," Negan instructed and Mia let it sink in that there was nothing on earth that was going to stop him now. "You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry. Hell, you're all gonna be doing that."
Mia looked away when Negan slammed Lucille down on Abraham's head. She could hear someone cry out and inhaled sharply. A part of her wanted to try to stop Negan herself, but she remembered what he had said after Glenn's outburst. There was no telling what he would do to the people she loved if she tried something.
"Look at that," Negan said, causing Mia to glance up. She bit into her lip harder than she meant to when she saw Abraham's head wound. Blood began spilling onto his forehead as he straightened his back. "Taking it like a champ!"
"Suck… my… nuts," Abraham told him while the blood continued down his face. Mia knew he was in pain, but he didn't show it.
Negan cocked Lucille over his head and smashed it on top of Abraham's head over and over again, not letting up until he let out a deep chuckle.
"Did you hear that?" Negan asked no one in particular. "He said, 'suck my nuts!' Phew…"
He laughed again before beating what was left of Abraham's head with his bat. Mia flinched every time she heard a blow land, her cheeks moist with the few tears that had broken free. She was praying to anybody who would listen for Negan to stop his rampage after Abraham, but she knew there was a chance that he was far from done.
Mia sniffled quietly when Negan let out another laugh. "Oh, my goodness! Look at this! You guys, look at my dirty girl!"
Negan walked in front of Rosita and pushed a bloody Lucille in front of her face. Even from her spot by the R.V, Mia could see that each member of her family was having a hard time dealing with what they had just witnessed. Mia hoped that her people had enough patience in them to stop them from retaliating.
"Sweetheart, lay your eyes on this," Negan said as he held out his bat. When Rosita refused to look at it, he glanced to where Abraham's body was laying. "Oh, damn. Were you together? That sucks. But if you were, you should know there's a reason for all this. Red—and hell, he was, is, and will ever be red—he just took one or six or seven for the team! So, take… a damn look. Take a damn look!"
"No!" Mia shouted when Daryl shot up from his spot and punched Negan in the face. But it was too late. The damage was done. All Amelia could do now was sit and wait for the other shoe to drop. She could only hope that Negan wouldn't keep his word… even though she knew he would. They were going to pay the price.
"No! Oh, no," Negan said as he pointed his bat to Rick, who had cried out as well. Daryl was being held to the ground by a couple of Saviors and Dwight as Negan walked back to him, laughing softly. Mia pulled on her handcuffs. "That? Oh, my! That… is a fucking no-no. The whole thing—not one bit of that shit flies here."
Dwight rushed up to Negan, who was kneeling beside Daryl, and pointed the crossbow he had stolen from him at his head. Mia's only consolation was that Daryl would go quickly if Negan allowed Dwight to kill him.
"Do you want me to do it?" Dwight asked. "Right here."
Negan grabbed a chunk of Daryl's hair and pulled his head back. "No… you don't get to kill them. Not until you try a little."
Dwight and the other Saviors picked Daryl up and dragged him back to the lineup. Negan stood and sighed. "Anyway, that's not how it works. Now, I already fucking told you people—the first one's free, then—what'd I say? I said I would shut that shit down! No exceptions."
Negan came to stand at the end of the lineup in front of Glenn and Rosita. "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 fucking important. I need you to know me. So…" Negan paused as he gripped Lucille with both hands "…back to it."
Mia gasped when Negan brought Lucille down on Glenn's head twice. She could hear Maggie scream and Glenn groan and gasp as he tried to speak. Blood was running down his face and his eye was bulging out of it's socket when he sat up.
"Buddy, you still there?" Negan asked as Glenn gasped and stuttered. He was bent over, holding his bat behind his back. "I just don't know. It seems like you're trying to speak, but you just took a hell of a hit. I just popped your skull so hard, your eyeball just popped out, and it is gross as shit!"
"Maggie, I'll find you," Glenn said as well as he could. Maggie sobbed in response, making Mia screw her eyes shut.
Negan stood up straight and glanced at the rest of the group. "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!"
Mia doubled over, squeezing her eyes shut, when Negan swung the bat at Glenn's head as if he was playing baseball. He kept beating Lucille into Glenn's head while the rest of the group cried quietly. Mia straightened up as much as she could, but kept her eyes on the ground. She could hear the impact every time the bat hit Glenn.
"You bunch of fucking pussies," Negan said between blows. "I'm just getting started." He landed more blows. "Lucille is thirsty." He laughed. "She is a vampire bat." He went to stand in front of Rick with his bat in his hand. There was a piece of flesh caught on the end it was dripping blood. "What? Was the joke that bad?"
"I'm gonna kill you," Rick responded and Mia let out a quiet cry.
Negan kneeled in front of him. "What? I didn't quite catch that. You're going to have to speak up."
"Not today… not tomorrow… but I'm going to kill you," Rick said. Negan said something short in response, but Mia couldn't hear him. She tugged on her cuffs and felt the blood run down her fingers.
"Simon, what did he have, a knife?" Negan asked.
"Uh, he had a hatchet," Simon answered.
"A hatchet?" Negan questioned.
"He had an axe," Simon clarified.
Negan laughed shortly. "Simon's my right-hand man. Having one of those is fucking important. I mean, what do you have without them? A whole lot of work. Do you have one? Maybe one of these fine people still breathing?" When Rick didn't answer he continued. "Oh… or did I…" Negan clicked his tongue as he moved Lucille in front of Rick's face. He sighed heavily when Rick stared back at him angrily. "Sure. Yeah. Give me his axe."
Simon went and got the axe from another Savior before handing it to Negan. He remained kneeling in front of Rick for a while longer. He slid the hatchet into his belt after he stood up. Mia tried to stay calm when he grabbed onto the back of Rick's jacket and started to pull him across the clearing towards the RV, but her fear won out.
"Negan, please," she said when he came to a stop beside her. Rick met her gaze and she could see that, in that moment, he wasn't the confident man she had come to love. She looked up at Negan and pulled at her cuffs again despite the pain. "Please, don't hurt him."
"Well, since you asked so nicely I'll definitely consider the idea of not hurting him," Negan said. A second later he continued. "I've considered it. Let's go."
He shoved Rick into the RV and turned back to the rest of the group and his Saviors. He pointed to Dwight and gestured for him to approach. The blonde man walked over with the crossbow in his hand and stood in front of his boss. Negan picked Mia up by her arm and touched her bloody hands lightly before removing her handcuffs.
"Take Amelia and clean and bandage her wrists," Negan instructed as he pushed her towards Dwight. The other man took her by the arm and nodded. "Give her the V.I.P. treatment and keep her out of the lineup until I get back."
Negan looked down at Mia. "Don't try anything stupid, Amelia. I might just decide to put you back in the fold."
"I don't care about me," Mia told him.
"Fine. If you try something I'll kill your boyfriend," Negan paused, "and his son while you watch."
Mia gritted her teeth as she glared at him. "I won't try anything."
"That's what I wanted to hear," Negan said and grabbed her by the chin roughly. She tried to yank her face away, but he just tightened his hold, making her grimace. He looked to Dwight. "You know, she reminds me of your ex-wife. She's prettier and more rebellious, but a lot like Sherry."
Mia let out a strained breath through her clenched teeth as she looked at Dwight. He was hiding it well, but he was angered by Negan mentioning his ex-wife. "Yeah, she is."
Negan let go of Mia's face and clicked his tongue as he smiled at her. "Maybe they'll even end up in the same place."
"Doubtful," Mia growled.
"We'll see," Negan said before gesturing for Dwight to walk away. She looked over her shoulder as he pulled her away. Negan stepped up into the RV and addressed the entire clearing when he spoke again. "I'll be back. Maybe Rick will be with me. And if not, we can just turn these people inside out, won't we? I mean, the ones who are left."
Negan shut the door behind him and Dwight pulled on her arm roughly. She tried to slow him down by digging her heels into the gravel, but Dwight just grabbed onto her other arm and led her to one of the trucks behind her family. He opened the car door and pushed her up into the driver's seat. Dwight told another Savior to get the first-aide kit and sat on a cooler that someone had placed in front of her. She refused to look at him, though. Mia let out a sad sigh when she looked at the rest of her group. They were all kneeling in a straight line, forced to wait beside the dead bodies of their loved ones. She could see the bodies, too. They were untouched until the place where their heads used to be. Instead there was a puddle of blood, brain matter, bone, and hair. The sight made her shoulders fall. Glenn and Abraham were gone… dead. Beaten to a bloody pulp and left in the dirt. Mia was racked with grief and guilt.
Dwight took one of her hands in his and she winced when he touched the cut on her wrist. He looked up at her and sighed. "Sorry."
Mia glared at him. "Are you? Because you seem pretty relaxed after watching two men get beaten to death."
"I was talking about the cut," Dwight said as he continued to clean the wound. Mia looked at her wrist and saw that she had done a number on herself. The cuts were deep and her hands had trails of fresh blood that reached her fingertips. Dwight tried to wipe it off, but not all of it would come off. He moved on to the other hand and repeated the process.
"Your wife, Sherry, where did she end up?" Mia asked once the curiosity won out.
"I don't have to talk to you," Dwight responded and Mia tilted her head to the side.
"No, you don't," Mia sighed. "I guess I'll just ask Negan when he gets back."
Dwight looked up at her. "She's one of his wives."
"Figures," Mia whispered and bowed her head when Dwight wiped a cloth across her cut a little too hard. "How many is that now?"
"Six," Dwight answered and continued working.
"Why did you go back?"
He met her gaze and sighed. "Because everything is already his… or will be."
Mia's expression faltered when she glanced at her friends and family. "That's not true. If it were, he'd be invincible… and he's not. One day, I'm going to prove it."
Dwight held her gaze for a moment longer before dropping his eyes to her hands. Mia looked back to the bodies of her dead friends. She never looked forward to killing, but for Glenn and Abraham and everyone they left behind she was going to make sure that Negan ended up dead in the ground... even if she had to do it herself. He was going to pay the price for what he's done.
A/N: I didn't want to go too off script for this chapter because they're probably the most memorable episodes in The Walking Dead, but Mia's presence will change a few things next chapter. Please favorite/follow/review. Thanks for reading!