Chapter 4
The dining area was an organized sort of chaos. Lucy's second favorite time of day, aside from the few solitary minutes she would sometimes manage to wrangle. Rich smells of herbs and roasted meat wafted from serving tables, where kitchen kids were filling up plates. Both of the Abby's were serving tonight, they'd whisk away the completed plates to the eager, hungry masses. Children watched the servers with intensity, trying to catch sight of the beefy stew in a thick gravy, roasted carrots and zucchini, and a dollop of buttery mashed potatoes…oh! The kids chattered and wiggled and pointed excitedly. It was their favorite time, too. Dinner was the highlight of Littlechapel, for breakfast was typically buffet-style. Grab-it-and-go, no ceremony about it. Lunch was whatever the chefs had placed in paper sacks for each worker to take. If you missed pick-up, well, sorry: no dice.
But dinner… it was where the action happened. Trades were made (granola bar rations were in particularly high demand, as well as pocket-sized toys) stories were swapped, and plans for Off-Days solidified. Friendships solidified, alliances struck, and rarely: an enemy made. That didn't last long though, Lucy always tried to nip those in the bud.
She looked around the dining room, a happy flush spread from her belly to her throat. She always got a little emotional at suppertime, looking over all the happy, healthy faces humming in excitement. The children waited politely, as they were taught, until everyone had a plate in front of them. They'd come far, and prosperity had come at a price. A costly one.
A door clanged open on the opposite side of the room. The Doubles filed in. Ethan and Nathan were perspiring heavily, the younger twins looked jittery and nervous. But they were all in one piece.
They finished the offering. She wanted to pull them aside to check in, but she spotted Negan across the room eyeing them curiously. He caught her eye and flashed a smile. That thing could light up a room. Lucy wondered if he was a salesman, or some sort of Wall Street type before the collapse. Probably not, but she wouldn't be surprised.
Nathan and Ethan, towering over the other twins, shot Lucy a thumbs up before taking seats at the newcomer table. The offering went fine. Uneventful, hopefully. She glanced around: the servers had nearly finished setting out plates, and food was getting cold.
Lucy panicked for a moment as she watched the twins settled in with Negan and his men. She considered moving them, but decided against it. Too suspicious. They knew not to say too much, they knew the arrangement. She'd just have to trust the Twins. She worried too much, Cupcake always told her. Maybe now was one of those times.
Eager, impatient eyes were on her and she realized they were waiting for the Daily Gratitude before digging in.
"Right!" She held her hands out, and everyone joined hands at their respective tables, bowing their heads. The newcomers looked startled for a moment, eyeing each other with hesitation, before holding one another's hands as loosely as possible. Lucy bit back a smile.
"Ahem! We are grateful for this food and for our home," Lucy said.
"We are grateful for this food and for our home," the children repeated.
"We are grateful for one another."
"We are grateful for one another."
"We will live each day with kindness, respect, and integrity."
"We will live each day with kindness, respect, and integrity."
"Together we are one."
"Together we are one."
"Rub a dub dub…"
"…thanks for the GRUB!"
A few of the kids cheered, then dozens of forks and spoons attacked the heaping plates voraciously. A happy hush fell over the room as the children shoveled food down, hungry after a hard day's work. Lucy looked around and smiled, then joined in.
/ / / / /
Over at the Saviors' table, Snake and Daryl were having a silent war as they ate. Shoulders and elbows bumped between the two as they inhaled their dinner, and each party refused to assent to the other. Normally, Negan would have sent Daryl to go sit on the floor or go fuck off in general, but he was just too tickled to be irritated. They had been relegated to a far corner, isolated from the rest of the kids at a large round table.
Except a set of gigantic, hulking twins had decided to sit at their table for some reason. Their faces still retained hints of youth, little spots here and there indicating puberty was taking hold, but they were already almost as big as the other men sitting around the table. They'd be great linebackers, or formidable on a rugby team. They were already eating like athletes anyway, shoveling food from the plate to their mouths.
"You likin' it here?" Negan asked when one of them came up for air. The boy didn't make eye contact, and just shrugged. Negan smiled. "Well, I'm new here and I'm already fuckin' crazy about it!"
Blank stares. "Not s'pposed to swear," one of them said finally.
"Shit, sorry. Oops, did it again. Shit." Negan said. He shook his head and chuckled. "Ah, fuck it. Can't do it. You all will just have to deal with my goddamn potty-mouth. What's your name again?"
"Ethan. This is Nathan," said Ethan or Nathan. Negan had already forgotten.
"I'm Negan. Nice to meet you."
Blank stares. A shrug.
Jesus, is this what teenagers are like? Still? Christ.
Ethan or Nathan swallowed a big gulp, his Adam's apple bobbling like a buoy. "How come he don't have a leather jacket like the rest of you?" He jabbed a thumb towards Daryl.
"He doesn't have one because…" Shit. You're gonna look like a dick to these kids. How to water down the truth? Hey kids, I took this guy as a hostage that does my bidding because his leader is a prick that annoys the fuck out of me. Yikes.
"Haven't earned it yet," Daryl finished. Damn, it was a pretty good answer. Even if it was a lie.
The twin nodded slowly. "You some sort of gang? Initiation type stuff?" He kept eyeing the leather jackets. Had they been on mannequins in the mall, the kid would likely have his face pressed to the glass, fogging it with his breath. Negan filed that away for future reference.
"You could say that." Daryl shot Negan a look. You're welcome.
The twins finished their plates. They seemed to try and outdo one another with big belches and half-hearted pardons, then scanned the room, bored.
Negan would have to play this carefully. The twins didn't seem like geniuses, but they weren't particularly chatty. Skittish, nervous. They knew they weren't bright, which was smart, in a way. Idiots that thought they were smart were easy. But these guys…if he pried too much too early, they'd shut down. But instead, he found himself on the other side of the interrogation he'd hoped to initiate.
"There more of you?" asked Ethan. Or Nathan.
Negan broke into a slow smile. "Shit, yeah. We got a settlement of our own, just a hop, skip, and fuckin' jump away. Mainly adults though, not a lot of kids. How'd all you end up together?"
Ethan had a small scar over his eyebrow. As long as Negan was facing them, he could tell them apart. Ethan shrugged. "Field trip. Before the biters came. Overnight camping trip for school. We were supposed to go on a cave tour." He eyed his brother. "We got stranded here."
Negan pointed across the room to the food-smeared toddler taking little bites from Lucy with a toothy smile. "She was born after the biters came. Where'd she come from?"
Ethan looked to Nathan, who nodded in approval. "We just find kids sometimes. Some people knew where we were in the beginning. Kids got left by the gates a few times. Usually little babies. Not no more though."
Nathan stepped in. "Anymore, dummy. Kids trust other kids. Some of the other kids we found out scavenging. They'd hide if adults came around."
Negan nodded slowly, scanning the room once more. Lucy was at another table, crouched next to two scowling kids, playing mediator. Her plate was still full.
"You guys pretty safe here?"
The twins eyed one another. Voices rose in the room as the children finished their plate.
Negan raised his hands in surrender. "Look, I know you don't fuckin' trust me. I'm sure you've gotten fuckin' burned in the past by shitbags. I come in fuckin' peace."
The twins didn't respond. Negan shrugged and stabbed at a big piece of stew meat. It was good, seasoned well and not too tough. The gravy was thin but not watery- he'd have to talk to this Cupcake girl, get some pointers to share with his own disappointing kitchen.
Nathan poked Ethan's arm. "I'm gonna go check if we got guard duty."
Ethan nodded and handed his empty plate to his brother, who took both their plates and dropped them into a bin before disappearing through the kitchen doors. Finally, Ethan spoke, though his eyes remained on the table. "We're safe enough."
Negan put his fork down. Now they were getting somewhere. "Get many biters?"
"A few, not many. We got plenty of warning systems set up. When a herd comes, we go inside and stay quiet, let them pass around the fences."
"Not a lot of people around here to turn to biters, I guess."
Ethan agreed. "We don't get too many clear up here. There's an old mine shaft downhill from here where some biters fell down awhile ago. There were a few that survived, somehow. The noise draws in others who fall down the shaft sometimes. It's kinda funny to watch a small herd go plonk, plonk, plonk down into the mine."
"Any outsiders? People, good or bad?"
Ethan glanced around the noisy room, then shrugged. "Nah, not anymore. Not much around here. Little piddly towns and cabins. Like I said, we're safe enough." Ethan glanced towards Lucy, who was clearing plates, than back to the Saviors. He looked at them with dark, appraising eyes, sizing up the men at the table. "Except…"
"Yeah?"
Ethan weighed something around in his mind. Just then, he spotted Nathan lumbering back through the doors. The twin nodded, then jerked his thumb back towards the doors.
"Nothing, never mind. Gotta go, I'm on guard duty. See ya." Negan pictured a puff of Looney Tunes dust as Ethan jettisoned out of the room. Poof.
Negan leaned back in his chair. "Now what the fuck do you think that was about?"
Kevin drummed nervously on the table. "Think there's a Bigfoot here?"
"A what?"
Snake snorted into his hand, turning it into a cough. "That's enough, buddy."
Negan put his chair back on four legs. "No, tell me, Limp Di-uh. Shit. Kevin."
Kevin lifted his head at hearing Negan say his actual name and smiled. "A Bigfoot. Big monkey bear looking guy that walks like a human."
"I know what a fuckin' Bigfoot is."
Kevin leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. "You know… lots of woods here, unpopulated. You think a Bigfoot's out here? Causing them trouble? Maybe that's what's got them so nervous. You know the government knew probably and was covering it-"
Snake snorted and punched Kevin lightly on the arm. "Government ain't here anymore to cover up shit. Bigfoot is about as real as that girl you said you banged in January."
"I did bang her!"
"We don't got any hot redheads with glasses and a heart tattoo on her tits at Sanctuary. I checked."
"Well maybe-"
The two began to bicker once more, their default mode. Negan bit back a smile, and tried to keep a serious face pasted on.
Daryl eyed Negan, then leaned in. "Mebbe it is something like that. They're real, you know. My brother and I nearly shot one, once. Years ago. Cops said it was probably a mangy bear, but I knew." He squinted off into the distance, his jaw set. "I knew."
Kevin leaned in with interest, attempting to stutter out fifteen different questions at once. Negan kicked his shin and shook his head. "I don't know what the fuck you guys are smoking, but I'll bet my left nut that it's not a fuckin' Bigfoot."
"Alright," Kevin said, with only a slight pout. His fingers danced over his bulging shirt pocket, where his Marlboro pack nestled. "Are we excused?"
Negan cocked his eyebrow. "What?"
"Can we leave the table do you think?"
Snake rolled his eyes. "You're a grown fuckin' man. I don't think you gotta wait to be excused by Teacher over there for a smoke break." Kevin grinned sheepishly and shrugged. The two stood up to leave.
"Well, I didn't fuckin' excuse you."
At Negan's voice, they sat back down and looked at him with innocent, expectant eyes.
"Clear your fuckin' plates like the rest of the good kiddos, then scram. We're not fuckin' barbarians." He turned to Daryl. "You can join 'em. Kev, let Daryl-boy here bum one of your smokes."
Kevin elbowed Daryl like an old buddy, but Daryl remained unreadable as usual. "Alright," Kevin said.
The dining room was emptying out as kids finished their dinner and scattered to wherever the hell they were going. Negan sat for a few more minutes, enjoying the suspicious glances and whisperings of the little kid cliques. When it was only Lucy and a handful of stragglers, Negan took his plate to the cheerfully labelled "Klean-up Korner." One of the Abby's, Negan couldn't remember which one, stood watch, chirping instructions like she was born to.
"Any meat scraps go here in the black bin," she said, pointing. "Everything else goes in the green bin for compost. Then, drop your plate in the brown bin, utensils in the baskets. Thanks!" She gave him a big smile, the first he'd seen from any of them.
Negan followed the directions under her watchful eyes, then waggled his fingers at her. "Where to wash up?"
"Boy's room is down the hall, first door on the left. Ain't any hot water, just so you know."
"'Isn't' any," Lucy corrected. "You and your men can have a more thorough wash-up at the workshop later tonight. We'll bring you some hot water for the inconvenience." She was wiping down the squeaking toddler. Cupcake emerged from the kitchens and scooped up the little girl.
"I'll give her a bath," she told Lucy, already halfway out the door with the little girl giggling in her arms. Lucy thanked her and started wiping down tables.
Negan found another clean rag and started wiping down too. Shit, already whipped into fucking cleaning up after the little shits.
They cleaned in silence for a minute before Negan spoke. "Mind if I ask you some questions?"
"By the looks of it, you've already got all your questions answered by Ethan and Nathan."
She was sharper than he'd expected. Good.
"Oh, I'd say they answered some, and left some unanswered."
"Good. Maybe I'm doing somethin' right with them."
"Maybe. Looks as if you're doing alright here. You ever get trouble here?"
Lucy set down the rag and put a hand on her hip. She watched him for a second like a Catholic school nun eyeing for shenanigans. "We get plenty of trouble. This many kids, trouble is our constant companion every day." She glanced at the stragglers, then grabbed Negan's elbow and pulled him further away from listening ears. "Listen Mister-"
"Negan, doll."
"Listen, Negan. We got trouble since day one. This many kids here with one woman looking out for them? You name the trouble, we've probably had it. Both man and nature. But I don't need your help because, no offense, I don't know you. You all seem halfway good and halfway bad, and likely in the spots that it needs to be. But you've got trouble of your own, and I'd like it very much not to add to our own. So, with all due respect, Negan, get some sleep. You'll get breakfast in the morning, and a ride out of here. Your friend looks like he's going to pull through, despite his bitching and moaning.
She took a deep breath and looked him square on. "Our paths do not cross any further, and I don't want them to. End of story."
Negan felt a bubble of anger rising. This broad had a lot of fucking nerve…
The door from the main room burst open. A little girl was dragged in by two older ones. She was staggering and crying, smudged with mud. Lucy dropped the rag in her hand and ran over, pulling the girl into her arms. Negan followed.
"God- what happened, Kira?" Lucy looked the girl over for injuries, finding none. "Negan, get out of here."
He didn't. The scene was chaotic, more kids trailed in to investigate the crying. The girl had trouble breathing in between chocking sobs. One of the older kids wiped her face, smeared with snot and tears. Lucy made soothing sounds, rubbing the girl's back.
"Negan, get-"
"I saw her," Kira burst out. "I saw her and she saw me!" She squeaked with terror and buried her dirt-streaked face into Lucy's shoulder. "I didn't mean to! One…one of the goats knocked over the fence and got out! I wanted to find him before the bears did!"
"Shhhh," Lucy soothed the girl. "It's alright, it was an accident. Negan, please-"
"But she saw me! We'll have to give her more so she isn't mad!"
"Who?" Negan asked, crouching next to Lucy. "Who saw you?"
Lucy turned to holler at him once more to get out, when the little girl grabbed Negan's hand. It was ice-cold, and so small.
"The Witch!" she said, before collapsing into sobs once more. "The Witch saw me, and now she's going to kill me!"
/ / / / /