Chapter 5

The next couple of weeks passed by the same way as the first two days had, cold and solitary with only the little window and the sky outside it to keep me company. Most days Dwight would show up a few times a day with a meager cheese sandwich to which I would gratefully devour, my stomach aching and empty, with a small dixie cup of water to wash it down. Sometimes the water had a slight bitter aftertaste, and I would feel worse after I had consumed it; my head spinning, an invisible weight heavy on my body. I knew I was being drugged, but I only got it on the days Dwight took me out of my cell. The brief moments of freedom every few days felt worth it.

I had asked Dwight about Daryl every time he came to me. Sometimes I would start asking before he had even gotten the door open, but I was never given an answer. It got to the point where I would repeat myself until Dwight would get annoyed and threaten me. I only stopped asking after he threatened Daryl. If my imprisonment was any indication, he was faring about just as well as me, and I was surviving okay, if hardly at all.

A look in the dirty locker room mirrors told me all I needed to know, though, if I hadn't known already. I was slowly dying, starving and withering away to nothing. My bones were beginning to stick out, my face sunken in and pale, my auburn hair stark against my skin. If I hadn't been so deprived of any true human contact, and the effects of the tainted water weren't constantly present, I might have cared. But the truth was that I had lost hope. I had nothing to look forward to other than thirty minutes of freedom whenever my captors felt like giving it to me, and even then I wasn't truly free. Not even close.

My stomach made a loud grumbling noise and I started to salivate when I heard Dwight's key slip into the lock; a regular Pavlov's dog. He opened the door, his lanky frame filling the doorway. I held out a hand, eager for my paltry meal. Instead, he told me to get up.

"What?" I asked stupidly.

"I said, get up," he replied with impatience.

Confused, I slowly got to my feet and took a step toward the door. I furrowed my brow and gave him a questioning look, but all he did was step aside to let me through. In the hallway, he took my arm as usual and led me to the locker rooms.

"Be quick," he said and took a seat on a bench.

I stared after him for a moment before slowly turning around to do my business. What is going on? I thought. He hadn't given me the water, and he wasn't following me into the showers. Something was happening and my heart beat in excitement. Was I getting out of this place?

No. I told myself. Don't be stupid.

No, they must have found some use for me other than keeping me locked up in a tiny room. Maybe Dwight was tired of having to look over me. Maybe I had proved something to them. Either way, I was looking forward to what was going to come next, or maybe I was dreading it if the knots in my stomach were any indication.

I had taken the advice Dwight had given me the first day I was let out. I hadn't opposed the rule of knee-bending and no eye contact anymore whenever Negan was around. I got on my knee and kept my head down like a good little subordinate despite wanting to stay standing. It was against my nature to submit so easily, but I reminded myself that I had more to worry about than just me. More than my life was on the line and it was petty of me to be difficult. But if there was a way out, a chance at getting free, I would take it. Wouldn't I?

I thought of the others back home, wondering how they were holding up; if Maggie and the baby were okay and if Negan had shown up in Alexandria yet. I closed my eyes as I put my face under the stingy cold spray of the shower. I hoped they were fine and that no other tragedies from Negan's hands had befallen them.

I turned the shower off and grabbed the towel provided to me, drying off. I turned to put back on the same clothes I had been given two and a half weeks before to find that they were gone. Instead, I saw a clean set of clothes; jeans, t-shirt, sneakers, underwear. My chest tightened because now I really knew. I wasn't going back to that fucking room.

"This is one of the common areas. There are two and we call them the Commons, naturally," Dwight said as he led me into a large, dimly lit room. "This area is more a place for sleeping and getting your everyday essentials. The other is more…recreational."

It looked like any typical warehouse with rafters and air ducts exposed above. There were walkways high up as well and stairs on either side of the room that led up to them. Multiple windows lined the building, gritty but clear. I could see more than just the sky outside, see the silhouetted trees sway against the twilight. I smiled.

On the ground floor, I saw cots with numbers above them lined up in a row, belongings stacked up at the foot of them. There were also a few stands set up around the floor. People were standing in lines behind them, getting things like food or clothing. They didn't exchange money but instead used a card which would get hole punched a certain number of times for what it was they wanted.

"You earn points here," Dwight said. He must have noticed me looking. "The more work you do for us, the more points you earn. We do have a ranking system here, as most societies do. The higher the rank you have, the more points you garner. I can tell you now that you're on the lowest one."

"Well," I swallowed, "how do you go up?"

"You," Dwight said, he eyes leveling with mine, "you don't."

He started to walk off as I took that in. I would be stuck on the lowest rank, pulling in minimal points for as long as I was here. I believed that fully. It was a start, however, at some sort of life until I could get back to Alexandria. I will get back home, I promised myself. Dwight turned around, snapping his fingers at me and whistling. My eyes narrowed at him, but I remembered myself and lowered my gaze to the ground, starting after him.

"This is you."

He had come to a stop in front of a small cot, a flat pillow and tattered blanket on the mattress. A cardboard box sat at the end of the bed and I looked inside to find several items of clothing, all old and used.

"The last person who occupied this cot isn't here anymore. You can have what they left."

"What happened to them?" I asked, curious. I wasn't exactly keen on wearing a dead person's clothes.

"Not any of your concern," Dwight retorted, annoyed. He looked my face over. "Don't worry, though, she was marginally hygienic; although fatter than you. You can wash the clothes yourself if you want. In fact, that's one of your assigned jobs. You'll report to the wash and supply room everyday at sunrise and you won't leave until sundown. The others there will get you acquainted with the rules."

"What about bathrooms, meals?"

"Bathrooms are located just outside this common room. You buy the privilege of a meal and shower before and after your shift. Sometimes you have to choose between the two. Same thing goes for toiletries, but I guess I can let you finish up what you've already been using."

"Thanks," I said, hopefully not too sarcastically.

"I'll be back in the morning to show you where to go," Dwight said, a hint of sympathy on his face, or so I thought. "In the meantime, here's your card. One of us Saviors will mark it when you earn points. I've given you five so you can eat."

He held up an index card, five slashes marking the top. I took it from his hand, a feeling of disbelief coming over me. This was what I had to look forward to.

"At least you're not in the cell anymore," I heard him say.

"Yeah," I rolled my eyes. "Thanks."

I stuffed the card in my pocket as he walked off. I looked around, taking in the people and their habits, gauging what to expect as I spent my time here. Many people seemed worn out and haggard, their bodies frail and dirty. Some of them were exchanging their points for small amounts of food or other items while the rest were at their cots, getting ready for bed. The ones who looked healthier and cleaner seemed to either be patrolling or running the stands. It was easy to tell where the differentiation among the ranks lied. Work for Negan and you would want not, unless you were someone he found undesirable. Then he bestowed upon you the gift of hard work with hardly anything in return. Basically, he was a slave master.

I bent over to look at the items contained in the box; just some old clothes and random personal belongings. I spotted a necklace with a golden heart and pulled it out. A name was engraved on the back of the medallion: Amanda. I squeezed it in my fist, feeling sorry for whoever it belonged to and let it fall back into the box.

I stood up and looked to the walkways up top, trying to figure this place out and look for any potential opportunities. I turned to my left, eyes scoping for anything interesting when I spotted him staring at me from the shadows. He wore his usual black leather jacket, his beloved baseball bat Lucille propped up against the railing beside him. No one paid him any mind, not knowing he was there, and went about the business that was in front of them.

He had been smiling when I first spotted him, as he usually was, but his smile got wider the longer I stood there and stared back at him. He placed his hands on the railing in front him, bringing his elbows down to lean against it, one foot crossing in front of the other.

I knew I was glaring, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't look away. I stood there, my hands fists at my sides and my emotions a raging boil inside of me. I wanted nothing more than to dig my nails into his skin and rip that fucking smile off of his face.

"Last call before lights out!" I heard a Savior yell.

The sound of people making their way reluctantly to bed broke my concentration and I looked away from Negan. The dim lights that had lit the room began to flicker as a warning and the others began to either settle down or line up for their last chance of the day at the stands. I looked back up to the walkway where Negan was and saw that he was gone.

Sighing in relief, I chastised myself for what I had done and made my way toward a stand that had food. I had just done something I told myself I wasn't going to do anymore. I needed to learn to control myself, especially now since I was out of that room. This would be my chance to get out of here. I just had to find Daryl first.

HIIII! Just wanted to thank those who are following, "favoriting" and leaving me reviews. I appreciate it, and I'm glad you guys are enjoying it so far.