Chapter 35
"So, what's this 'way in' you were talking about?" Maggie asked as she set Eugene's glass of water down beside him. She leaned against Gregory's desk as Jesus shut the door behind himself.
"A way in? Into the Sanctuary?" Jesus quirked an eyebrow at Rick.
"Yeah, in a manner of speaking," Rick said. "We had a visitor yesterday. It was one of Negan's men, Dwight. He said he wanted to help us, knew we had be plannin' somethin', and he started going on about Hilltop, the Kingdom, and some place called Somerset."
"Yeah, I know Somerset," Jesus nodded, looking beyond the bodies in the room and out the large windows to the front yard. He turned a curious gaze back to Rick. "Dwight came to you? Alone?"
"Yeah, but he talked to me first," Carl piped in, stepping up and looking at his dad shyly. "I sneaked into the Sanctuary, spent the night there."
"You what!" Maggie asked him unbelievingly.
"It was stupid, I know!" Carl agreed with everyone's silent judgments. "I went to try to kill Negan and get Daryl and Everly back, but that didn't quite go as planned."
"Yeah, no shit," Maggie cursed at him, baffled but also relieved. "You could've gotten yourself killed."
"I know, I know," Carl sighed heavily, looking away from her scornful gaze.
"What Carl is failin' to tell you is that Dwight first approached him durin' his time there," Rick said, feeling just as guilty as his son. If he'd been watching him more closely, Carl would never have been in that predicament in the first place. "He told him about several communities that'd be willing to form a mutiny against Negan as well as some people at his dwelling that would easily turn against the son of a bitch. My first instinct was not to believe jack shit from the asshole, but then he shows up at our doors out of nowhere by himself. He told me the same things Carl mentioned."
"You know, and you guys might think I'm full of shit when I say this, but I saw this coming," Jesus said, crossing his arms pensively.
"How exactly did you surmise that?" Rosita spoke from over her shoulder. She was keeping watch on the gates through the window.
"I know a bit about Dwight's history. That scar on his face? Negan gave him that when he, his wife, and his wife's sister decided to make a break for it and run," Jesus started to pace, taking one step forward before turning and stepping back to where he started. "They came here for asylum, at least for a day or two, but Gregory refused. He didn't want to get caught in the cross-hairs. When we saw him a few weeks later… Well, anyone could guess what happened."
"Okay, so Dwight has a motive," Rick reasoned, his faith in the man of topic rising a bit.
"Negan also took his wife," Jesus revealed.
"Oh, shit," Tara remarked and Rosita curled her lip, mumbling insults about Negan under her breath.
"Okay, so Dwight is our way in if we are trusting of him?" Maggie was connecting the dots and looking to Rick for confirmation.
"He hasn't quite given much of a reason for us to accept his trust yet, but I have a feelin' we might need to just take it," Rick replied.
"Then what?" Maggie continued. "He finds a way to prove himself, but we have no weapons. I'm not entirely sure how many people here would be willin' to fight - and even if everyone does that still isn't a lot compared to Negan's numbers."
"No, but that's where the Kingdom and Somerset come in," Rick gestured to Jesus, silently asking if he had any more information about these places.
"I think King Ezekiel could be into it," Jesus nodded his head. "As far as Somerset goes, I'm not so sure. I know Negan has one of the originals running a partition of the community."
"Partition?" Michonne questioned.
"Yeah," Jesus nodded. "When he took Somerset over, he split up all the families and sent the kids to an orchard about ten miles away called Somergrove. He's got them farming while the parents stayed behind in Somerset to learn how to fight more than just the dead. It's his own little training facility, and the adults will fight for him because he's basically got their kids hostage. Any new people he takes in," Jesus paused and shrugged. "Well, they're just new recruits."
"Jesus," Maggie shook her head. "Do you think they'd revolt? Fight against him?"
"There's no way to tell for sure, but I think our best bet is to hit Somergrove first. Now, I'm not sure what direction you would want to take that in," Jesus looked Rick in the eyes now, holding out a hand palm up. "On one side you could release them, connect them with their parents, but there's no telling if they'd stick around or would want to risk fighting against Negan. On the other," the scout sighed and made a fist, "we hold their kids hostage and make them fight for us."
"I don't know about that," Tara shook her head.
"It's not about decency anymore, it's about winning our lives back. Once all of this is over, they'll understand that," Jesus tried to reason, but it sounded like he didn't believe it himself. "We'll make amends. Let them choose to stay or leave."
"Can I interject my two cents in this deliberation?" Eugene inquired from the antique sofa he sat on, his glass of water now empty. Everyone turned expectant eyes on him. "If I'm not mistaken, intimidation and marauding is what got us here in the first place. I'm not sayin' by our hands, but by the steel cuffs of Negan. We might have started the whole charade, but he would've shown up on our doorstep in time, that is with certainty."
"What's your point, Eugene?" Rosita asked him impatiently.
"The point I'm tryin' to make is that we can't expect to win if we act like him." Eugene looked at Jesus now. "I understand your reasonin', but it would not due to take innocent children hostage to leverage their parents to our benefit. They need to make the choice just as we'll be fightin' for the liberty to make one on our own again."
Rick smiled. "That's a very good point, Eugene."
Jesus nodded, whispering a 'yeah' in compliance. He didn't like the idea of using force to build an army, but the trepidation he felt building up inside of him had his thoughts irrational.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to suggest that we do anything unsavory," Jesus apologized.
"No need for apologies, man," Rick put a hand on his shoulder. "We're just talkin' this through right now. Nothin' is set in stone."
Rick stepped back, looking at everyone in the room before settling on Tara. "You think we can get Oceanside with us? Use their weapons?"
"It's possible, but I think we'll have a fight on our hands," Tara glanced at Jesus. "Natania, the woman who leads it, doesn't take too kindly to strangers, and she certainly wouldn't want to get involved."
"Think she can be convinced?" Michonne asked and Tara shrugged.
"Guys, we got company!" Rosita called from the window.
Just then, a series of shouts and the roaring of engines emanated from the front of the yard. Rick rushed to peer out the window and saw a few of Negan's Saviors pull through the gates. This was exactly what he was afraid of happening.
"Shit!" He cursed, and turned to face everyone. "We need to hide."
"Everyone, this way!" Maggie waved them to a small door at the far back corner of the room. She led them through a short corridor and into a kitchen, past a set of curious faces and out a back door. "Carl and Rosita, there's broken lattice under that trailer. Hide there. Tara and Eugene, get in the cellar. I'll come get you when they're gone."
They all rushed to their hiding spots as Maggie pointed them out, no one needing to be told twice. Maggie faced Rick and Michonne, and led them around the backs of some trailers near to the front yard.
"What're we doing?" Michonne whispered harshly. She wanted to hide from the Saviors, not get closer to them.
"Shh," Maggie whispered. This was the typical group of guys that came by to collect from them, but they were a bit early. She had a feeling their visit was for something else and wanted to see why. She also thought it would be important for Rick and Michonne to witness it firsthand with her.
"Maggie," Rick's tone was anxious.
"It's okay, Rick. You see that wooden container there?" Maggie nodded to a deep looking bin next to the log walls. Michonne and Rick shook their heads in affirmation. "If need be, we'll hide there. It's empty right now and the left side opens like a door. It'll be easy to get into."
Rick looked at Michonne to see if she was okay with this plan and she shrugged her shoulders, her eyes saying, I guess. The three of them peered stealthily from the side of the trailer.
"Where's Harlan?" A long-haired Savior yelled as Gregory came stumbling down the mansion steps.
"Well, good afternoon, Jared. What brings y'all here?" Gregory greeted them.
"I said, where's the doc?" Jared got into Gregory's face, and an older Savior stepped forward, pushing on Jared's chest.
"Hi, Gregory," the man greeted him back. "We're looking for Dr. Carson. Any way we can speak with him?"
"Well, I don't see why not, Gavin," Gregory smiled. He glanced over his shoulder at Jesus who stood on the porch steps, communicating with him to bring Harlan outside. He turned back to the Saviors in front of him. "Is everything okay? Did something happen to…Emmett?"
"You tell us, asshole," Jared demanded.
"We're all fine, Gregory. We just have some questions for the doctor if you don't mind," Gavin said and indicated to the group behind him to start searching.
"Whoa, what's this all about?" Gregory asked as the Saviors marched off, flipping things over and kicking in trailer doors.
"We're looking for Emmett Carson, but I have a feeling you already knew that."
Maggie turned to face Rick and Michonne. Hiding wasn't going to be so easy for any of them now. They huddled behind the trailer, Rick still keeping a look out, and continued to listen to the conversation.
"Gavin, I swear," Gregory pleaded with an apologetic smile. "I have no inkling of what you're talking about."
"Jared," Gavin sniffed, taking a step back.
Jared stepped up and socked Gregory in the stomach once, a self-satisfied grin spreading on the young man's face. Gregory struggled to draw in air as he bent down to his knees. Rick and the two women pressed further against the trailer as couple of Saviors stomped up, slamming in the door and rummaging around inside.
"We need to move," Michonne whispered.
"Quick," Maggie whispered, and led them carefully to the back of the house again. Hiding in the wooden bin wouldn't do now.
Maggie watched the windows of the mansion and saw activity in each one by Negan's men. They couldn't go back in the house. She started to worry about Eugene and Tara who hid in the cellar. The Saviors would scour every inch of the place looking for Harlan's brother.
"You guys get under the trailer with Rosita and Carl," Maggie said to the two behind her. "I've got to get Tara and Eugene."
She didn't wait for a response as she rushed off toward the cellar doors, not wanting to waste a second lest they be discovered before she could reach them. She was wracking her brain on where else they could hide as she opened the cellar doors and stepped down inside.
Rick and Michonne rushed to the broken lattice. Michonne took off her sword to hold it in her hand as she lied flat to crawl under the confining space. Rick peered under the trailer after a quick look around and told her to stay with Rosita and Carl. He was going to watch the rest of this unfold.
"Rick!" Michonne hissed at him.
"I love you," he said, looking both her and Carl in the eye before shooting off around the trailers again.
He quietly flattened himself against the side of a trailer as he came upon two Saviors digging through the bin Maggie had suggested they use as a hiding space before. Once he heard their rummaging cease, he cautiously peeped past the edge and saw they were gone. Rick took up the spot he, Maggie, and Michonne had before, whipping his head back and forth to make sure he wasn't surprised by any unwanted company.
He squatted low to the ground and counted the second until Negan's search party regrouped themselves. Sweat started to pool under his arms and run down his back. He kept a nervous eye on the people crowded in front of the house, Dr. Harlan Carson being one of them. The doctor looked around worriedly as Gregory gingerly got back to his feet, the Savior who allowed the attack looking bored as his men ravaged the home of the people who surrounded him.
"This would go much faster if one of you would just tell us where he is," Gavin told Gregory and Harlan.
"I told you," Gregory gasped and held onto his stomach, unable to stand up straight, "I don't know what you're talking about. Emmett is not here."
"We'll see," Gavin nodded, and a few remaining men joined their commander.
When no one drug out a scared and cowering Dr. Emmett Carson, Gavin gave Gregory and Harlan a long, searching look. He ran his tongue over the front of his teeth, putting his hands on his hips impatiently as he waited for one of the men to confess Emmett's whereabouts, but both men simply stood there and stared, puzzlement governing their faces.
"Okay," Gavin said, throwing his hands up in surrender. "You don't have him. Fine… But we will find him. And when we do, it won't just be his head Negan is after if it turns out you had any part in harboring him; that much I can guarantee you."
Gavin surveyed his men as he tried to determine his next steps. He had sent part of his caravan to a small town that sat about 20 miles below Hilltop. It was a good spot for someone to hide out or rest if they knew certain people were looking for them. That was where Negan presumed Carson may be if he wasn't already at Hilltop or dead. Considering his absence at his original community, Gavin could cross that off of his list for now.
"Donovan, Troy, Terry. You three will stay here with Jared to make sure Emmett is in fact not sulking around here somewhere. If he happens show up before we return, try to keep him alive and come to us." Gavin faced the Hilltop colonists now, a short smile crossing his features, "The rest of you all can make sure my guys are nice and cozy. Until we meet again…"
Gavin brought two fingers to his forehead in a farewell salute. Rick watched him and his travelling brigade climb into their vehicles and leave. Jared and the three remaining Saviors took up post around and inside the Hilltop mansion. Rick sighed, closing his eyes and hoping for some sort of respite because this day couldn't possibly get worse. Or so he imagined.
Daryl walked through the windy, deserted streets, keeping his ears alert and eyes peeled for any source of sound or movement. He and Negan's men were exploring the abandoned town and looking for any signs of the missing doctor. So far, the search yielded nothing which left Daryl unsurprised and disgruntled. He was cognizant of how fruitless the prospect of finding Dr. Carson alive, or at all, was and he felt stupid even putting in the effort to find the guy. He was doing so nonetheless, and Daryl gritted his teeth as the hunting knife he carried glistened in his anxiously twitching hand.
Where are ya at, ya bastard? Daryl thought as a harsh gust of air blew his hair in his eyes. He wanted this done and over with. More importantly, he didn't want to give Negan a reason to be upset with him if he blundered locating the fleeing man. It was more than his life he had to worry about, and even if Everly wasn't an equation in the outcome of a failed mission, she would still be impacted by the repercussions.
"You spot anything?" Alan asked Daryl as he came up behind him.
"Shh," Daryl shushed him, roving his eyes back and forth over the road, looking for anything suspect. He didn't spot shit.
"At least there isn't any dead jumbling about," Shawn said and rotated his shoulders as if getting ready for a fight.
Daryl glanced behind him at the two men. "If y'all are gonna follow me, shut the hell up and keep lookin' 'round."
"Whatever you say, master hunter," Shawn exhaled in a whisper but he began scrutinizing more of his surroundings and silently questioning any oddities he saw.
"Over there," Alan whispered, using his index finger to indicate something to the far left. "I thought I saw something move."
Daryl examined the direction Alan was pointing but he failed to notice anything that interested him. He suggested Alan go look himself to which the larger man agreed and set off sneakily in that direction. Daryl snorted, knowing his friend wasn't going to find anything other than the wind or the dead; he could get lucky, though.
"Check that building," Daryl nodded his head to the right. "The doors are ajar. It's possible someone or somethin' could be inside of there."
"Aw, hell," Shawn drew in a deep breath and sidled up to the doors, peering left and right before stepping inside. Daryl kept moving.
Concentrate, Daryl. Where would a desperate man go if wild hogs haven't eaten him by now?
Anywhere. Anywhere safe; which once again alluded to the possibility of finding the doctor being nearly impossible because "anywhere safe" was almost nowhere at all. Daryl trekked on, holding onto that sliver of false hope that he or someone else would stumble upon the missing man.
EEEERRRRK! BANG!
Daryl whipped to his right and rushed down a street in direction of the noise. Pressing against the mortar of a brick building, he peered over the corner. A door was flapping lazily in the wind down a littered alleyway. He edge into the mouth of the alley, observing the undulating door and listening for any other sounds under its high pitched creak. Nothing immediate stood out, but Daryl found it peculiar that the door could produce this much noise and not have walkers drawn to it; couple that with the doors inability to latch and it had to mean it was broken open rather recently. And seeing as he was the only one to venture in this direction of the town, it was no one from his group.
He moved forward cautiously, glancing back and forth between the opening of the alleyway in front and behind him. He didn't think there would be an ambush, but shittier and crazier things had happened to him in the past two and half years. If it wasn't Carson that was here, it was somebody else, and Daryl prepared himself for that fact.
As he got closer to the door, Daryl stayed clear of its entrance, not wanting anyone or anything inside to see him just yet. He shifted his weight down, bending his knees and hunching forward to get a glance inside. It was too dark and Daryl could only see a few feet past the threshold; nothing but tile, dirt and a few stationary shapes scattered around. He wouldn't be able to look in from the other side as the banging door would obscure his view of anything past it.
Instead, Daryl decided to go for it. He shifted forward and shot past the rushing door as it slammed and jolted behind him, the light shifting as it opened and closed. He didn't have a flashlight on him, but as he wandered further in his eyes began to adjust to the dim light that seeped in from broken windows and the screaming door behind him.
He was in an old department store, racks of bundled and scattered clothing surrounding him. The place smelled of mildew and mold, a faint rotten stench reaching his nostrils from somewhere deeper in the store. It could either be from the living dead or the dead dead; either way, he wasn't curious about it and wanted to get back outside.
You gotta look around first, man.
"Fuck," Daryl mumbled as the door continued to screech behind him like a warning. He wasn't going to find anything in here but trouble.
The hunting knife was held out before him, guiding his way as he coursed through the myriad of debris and forgotten merchandise. He found the source of the pungent smell at the front of the department, a decaying deer carcass so badly eroded that he could only make out what it used to be based on the leftover bones. He moved away from it, keeping his mouth and nose covered until he arrived at the back of the store.
He looked to his left, then right, but seeing nothing of great significance, the desire to pursue either direction rapidly dwindled until he heard a noise. It accumulated from the back left corner of the building, the scurrying sound of something struggling to drag itself across the laminate floor a faint signal. Daryl crept around clothing racks, bending down to scope the stained ground. He saw the sole of a shoe as it disappeared around the corner of a far shelf about 30 feet away, and Daryl bolted up, his eyes wild as they swept over the area. He circled around quietly, not wanting to go directly to the unknown person. He didn't know if there were more or what they had on them, but whoever was here knew that he was, too. And they were scared and hiding. That lent Daryl a bit of an advantage.
"Please, don't kill me! I'm sorry! I swear! Please!" A masculine voice reached out to him.
"Show yourself!" Daryl demanded, bringing his knife up and tightening his grip. He started to take slow steps forward.
"I don't want to die," the voice moaned, obvious pain lacing the plea.
"Come out and you won't have to!" Daryl called again.
"I can't move well. I think I've broken my leg," the veiled man reasoned.
"Don't make me come and get ya."
Daryl heard a resigned sigh then the sound of shifted weight and groans as the man began to drag himself from around his hiding spot. He was tall, thin, a balding man of middle age. It was Dr. Emmett Carson.
"Stay there," Daryl warned as the doctor drug himself into viewing.
"Please, don't hurt me," Carson attempted to raise his hands. He looked like high hell with dirt and muck covering him from head to toe, his cheeks and eyes sunken in. He practically resembled the walking dead that he might as well be one.
"I'm not gonna kill ya, ya dipshit. Got anything on you?"
"No," Carson forlornly shook his head. "Are you with Negan? Are you going to take me back to him?"
Daryl nodded.
"Oh no," the doctor whimpered as spit dribbled out of his trembling lips and onto his chin. He began to cry. "Oh no, no, no, no, no."
"I'm sorry," Daryl apologized sincerely, lowering the knife in his hand. He would let them man go if he could, but it was him or the doctor, and Daryl chose himself.
"I had to. They were coming," Carson turned eyes dilated in terror onto him. "They were whispering…to me," the doctor muttered through broken sobs, his lips wet and wriggling like worms. "They told me that I was going to rot."
"Who did?" Daryl dared to ask, the memory of the incoherent man from the road surfacing to the forefront of his mind.
"The dead."
I rummaged through my bag, pulling out a change of clothes before stripping my soaked ones off. I didn't know where to put them, so I let them plop to the floor as I hurriedly dressed. I was zipping up my jeans, my gray-blue t-shirt waiting for me on the bed when there was an easy, but firm knock on the door.
"Just a minute," I yelled, grabbing my shirt and pulling it over my head.
I grabbed the knob, closing my eyes for a brief second to rein in any disparaging emotions that festered under the calm I attempt to impress on myself. I opened the door with a neutral demeanor and met a face I didn't recognize.
"Hello," the woman said politely with a brilliant smile following suit. "I'm Merrit. May I come in?"
"Uh, sure," I stammered and nodded. It was her house.
She stepped past me, her slender frame tall but well built. She had very dark skin, so dark that her complexion was nearly flawless and it seemed a smooth, luminous as polished granite. She laughed when I continued to stare.
"I know. It's like looking into a coffin at midnight, right?"
"Oh no!" I held up apologetic hands. "You're just very beautiful. I didn't mean to stare."
"It's okay, and thank you," she smiled and inclined her head to the open door behind me.
I shut it, and she held out a friendly hand to me. I took it and her skin was a smooth as it looked. I was deeply envious.
"I wanted to introduce myself. You're a new face and after that prodigious act of heroism, I had to meet you before you departed."
"Oh, well," I blushed sheepishly. "I was acting on instinct. Anyone else would've done the same."
"No, they wouldn't have. Not any of Negan's men," she shook her head, becoming serious. "What's your name?"
"Everly."
"It's very nice to meet you, Everly." Her curious, dark eyes analyzed me. "How'd you come to affiliate yourself with Negan?"
"Coercion," I remarked truthfully. Merrit nodded her head and quirked an eyebrow.
"That shouldn't come as any surprise," she released a short, sour laugh. "What made you do it?"
"Huh?" I asked.
"Rescue that little boy. Why'd you do it?" Her tone changed slightly. It was less friendly now and more probing.
"Because I had to," I answered honestly. What more was there to it?
Merrit took her time to gaze at me, her eyes just as piercing and intimidating as Negan's. The girl's earlier descriptions of the woman before me had initially seemed embellished, but I was getting a glimpse of the actual person she knew.
"Call me curious, but that doesn't seem like a good enough reason. Not for a stranger."
"What other reason would I have?"
"Enlighten me," Merrit shrugged.
"I'm sorry," I began, feeling confused and more than a little offended. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No," she shook her head simply, her stare unwavering. "I'm just trying to get to know you."
"To what end?"
"To mine." Merrit paused as I considering her meaning and we watched each other. "Who were you with before you joined Negan?"
"A group of survivors like myself," I answered vaguely.
"And where is this group located?"
"Why does that matter to you?"
"Like I said," Merrit shrugged benignly, "I desire the knowledge."
I crossed my arms, communicating with her that I was becoming uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation. I didn't know what she was after or what plan she had in mind, but I didn't appreciate the extra trouble.
"I think I should get back down stairs. I'm sure Negan is waiting for me."
I went to grab my wet clothes off the floor, but Merrit's legs blocked my way. I straightened up and met her penetratingly shrewd gaze once more.
"I want to thank you for what you did for this community today, Everly. It's not often one gets to see such overtly selfless acts like what I witnessed from you. It's rare," Merrit dipped her head at me in appreciation. "And if there comes a time when you need to move on from your current circumstances, I'm inclined to help."
"Alexandria," I whispered, going against every instinct in my gut, but her words swayed me.
"Is that a person?" Merrit asked, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She knew it wasn't.
"A place," I clarified anyway. "My home."
"Thank you again, Everly," she smiled, squeezing the tops of my arms in both of her hands and left.
I stood there for a second more, boggled at who I just met and the random ass conversation we had. Did I just make a friend or did I dig the hole I was already neck deep in that much deeper? I'd find out eventually, one way or the other.
I collected my belongings, throwing my bag and Negan's jacket over my shoulder as I carried my wet clothing in my hands. And I was essentially barefoot. I didn't want to wear my boots until they had dried. Wearing them now was like walking in mini pools shaped specifically for my feet which made the skin very sensitive. I chose to adorn my wrinkled feet in socks instead.
Once outside, I went to the truck to throw my belongings in the bed, but it was chock full of food and other items. I noticed the wicker baskets filled with fruit, legumes, and fish; fish from the boy who almost lost his life to catch them.
"You feeling better?" Negan came up beside me and leaned against the truck.
"Yes," I forced myself to say. I couldn't look at him.
"Go ahead and throw your shit up there," he spoke, the crunch and smell of an apple filling the temporary silence. "Find a spot for yourself too. I'd suggest one in the middle; less chances of falling out on your ass if we hit any bumps."
He held the apple up to my face, offering me a bite. I looked at him then, feeling those disparaging emotion poking through the delicate shroud of cool acquiescence they hid behind. I shook my head and handed him his jacket. He accepted it from me with a grin, taking another bite of his snack as I threw my stuff into the truck bed and climbing inside after.
"Roll out!" Negan called. "Merrit, as always, it's been a pleasure seeing your gorgeous-as-hell face. I look forward to pestering the shit out of you to come home with me every time I get the chance to spend time with your sweet ass."
"And I look forward to declining the invitation at every opportunity," she smiled sweetly at him and then imperceptibly caught my eye. "Take care."
"One day!" He promised her as she went inside the house and closed the door. Negan shook his head with a smirk and turned to Simon. "Fucking tease."
Simon laughed and they both climbed into the cabin of the truck. Simon opened the rear window to speak to me. "Hold on tight, buttercup. It might be a bumpy ass ride! I know the sun is setting and all, but it still is pretty hot. If you wanna take off your shirt to cool down, neither one of us will mind. The trick is to face forward, though, to get more air."
"I'm going to fucking kill you," I whispered to myself and scooted down into the bed as I turned my back to the cabin.
The truck shook under me as Simon started the ignition and revved the engine. He backed up suddenly, causing me to pitch forward when he slammed on the brakes and I nearly toppled a basket of food as I used it to catch myself. I quickly sat up and righted the basket, muttering raging curses under my breath.
"Oops!" Simon yelled and turned on the radio as he drove to the exit, the bass and lyrics a battle cry. I could hear him singing as we left Somergrove's gates. "Mother, tell your children not to walk my way, tell your children not to hear my words, what they mean, what they say, Mother!"
The song synced almost too perfectly with who was singing it that it was hardly coincidental. This was a taunt, and whether it was for me, the people of Somergrove, or both, I understood the point. As always, Negan was full of reminders, and this one told me that he and his Saviors were going to do what they wanted and no amount of pleading or reasoning could change their minds.
"Not about to see your light, but if you want to find hell with me, I can show you what it's like, till you're bleeding!"
Not unless they were forced to. And in the end, whose hell would I open my tired, sore eyes to see?
Edited by lolasskicker.
So, who watched "Origins of Negan"? The show is definitely going to make things interesting. It's curious to see the difference between the show and comics.
Thank you to my guest reviewer! I get people are busy and don't have a lot of time to read/review, but I'm happy you guys still stop by when you can. :)
Song is Mother by Danzig.