Chapter 37: Not Yours
Riley's first few days at Negan's "Sanctuary" were hell. On the way in, they covered her head so she couldn't see where she was and then she was thrown into a dark room with only a bucket for a bathroom. The only time she was ever granted light was when she received her meals twice a day. She heard murmurings about Daryl's resistance to being here and it made her wonder how well he was faring. Probably worse than her.
She had no idea what they were going to do with her or when. All she had been doing was wallowing in the darkness and trying not to think about Glenn twitching and groaning in his final moments. There were times she cried quietly to herself about it, trying to keep her noises quiet so they didn't know they had gotten to her. Other times, she became angry and even once threw her meal right in Dwight's face. Her emotions fluctuated strongly and it was hard to control them when all she was left to do was deal with them.
Finally, on her third day, the footsteps to her room were different. Heavier. She crowded herself in the far corner and lifted her chin, locking her eyes on the door and setting her jaw. She would be ready for whatever she had to face. The more she knew about this place, the better it would be for her. Because not only did she want to get out of here and go home; she also wanted to kill Negan.
The festering she was left to inside that dark room only confirmed it and the opal around her neck reminded her every second that Glenn was dead because of him. One way or another, she was going to see Negan breathe his last breath.
Light flooded into the room as the door creaked open and she peered up through cracked eyelids. The familiar silhouette of Negan with Lucille over his shoulder towered over her and she held her breath as he laughed.
"Hey there, lover girl. Enjoy your solitude?" he chuckled, slowly bending down so he could look her in the eyes.
She stared hard at him, her jaw clenched so tight she was sure she'd break a few teeth.
"Lighten up, sweetheart, I've got some good stuff for you today." He grinned, holding a hand out to her to help her up.
Her stare turned to a glare and she scooted away from him, pushing herself to her own feet.
"Alright, independent, I can appreciate that."
He gestured for her to follow and with hesitant steps, she did so. As they walked down the hall, an obnoxious song blaring in one of the rooms grew louder and louder until they stopped right in front of the door it was coming from.
"Ol' Daryl boy here's been pretty resistant. He's a hard sucker to crack. Got the balls not many do. You see, I learned something about him, Riley. When he's on his own, he doesn't care what happens to him. But when others are involved, people like you, he'd chop his own dick off and swallow it if it meant they'd be safe," Negan snickered, reaching over and opening the door to the cell.
In the very corner, Daryl brooded dressed in a light tan prison-like suit with an "A" across the chest. Dwight reached in and grabbed Daryl by his shirt, dragging him up and out of the cell.
"Up and at em, sunshine!" Dwight sneered, giving him a kick in the ribs.
Riley's fingers twitched toward him, but Negan placed an arm in front of her and gave her a sickening grin. Her skin shivered and she locked eyes on Daryl's slumped figure as he slowly got up.
"I think it's about time I showed you two around, get you acquainted with what you'll be doing from here on out. Cause you two? You're mine now," Negan said, patting Daryl on the shoulder.
Her fists clenched, but she didn't say anything as the two of them were ushered down the hall to a large area that seemed to be where everyone else was hanging out. Lines of people from different stands for food and items situated off to the side of the room while tables took up the vast majority of it. A large fire stove sat in the center of the room across from a set of stairs.
"Now this, this is where you get all your shit! Food and whatever other garbage you need, I don't really give a shit unless you have the points. And points are made by earnin' em. Little hard work and you get to eat for the day," Negan explained, gesturing around.
When neither her nor Daryl responded, he rolled his eyes.
"Look I get it. You ain't happy about being thrown in here. But you should at least be a little more damn enthusiastic about your new home. See I could be killing you. Or not giving you shit. But I am giving you that shit. Lighten up and enjoy it!"
Daryl merely glared at him and she shifted her gaze to the wall. He tutted and shook his head, but moved on, leading them down the hall. He showed them a few other places, like the infirmary and some of the other rooms that the important people stayed in. They got a glimpse of the stairwell that led up to his room and the room of his wives, specifically wives plural.
Negan began to get impatient and frustrated with their lack of enthusiasm. "Alright, since you two both got a stick up your ass, I'm going to put you to work early. Can't appreciate anything, then you're gonna work until I see you cryin' damn blood from your ass."
He reached over to grab a mop resting on the wall nearby and proceeded to hand it to Daryl, who didn't attempt to take it. She bit her tongue, gaze flickering between the mop and Daryl.
"Take the damn mop, Daryl."
At those words, the hunter smacked it right out of Negan's hands, sending it flying across the hall. As much as she loved seeing him resist, she knew there would be a consequence for him for not doing as he was told.
Negan's smile turned into a sneer. "You want to play that game? Alright."
The next thing she knew, the two of them were being roughly shoved down the hall to a door that led outside. The light blinded her and she tumbled to the ground, blinking to try and clear her vision. Pressure from her shirt on her throat caused her to splutter as someone dragged her across the concrete. The growling of multiple walkers reached her ears and she gained her vision back just as she was tossed next to a fence.
"You asked for it!" Negan shouted, reaching over to unhook the fence before grabbing her once more and tossing her inside an enclosed area.
An enclosed area full of walkers.
Immediately, she scrambled to her feet, looking around madly for something she could use as a weapon. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Daryl scrambling to try and help, but being pushed and punched back.
"You disobey me and the other gets a consequence. Your choice!" Negan cackled.
Riley ducked under a walker's arms as her heart picked up, a siren going off in her chest and pushing her to move. She was able to fling one of the walkers on the ground and curb stomp its head in, but not before one grabbed onto her.
Tumbling onto her back, it pinned her to the concrete and another piled on top of it, both of them snarling and trying to get at her. She let out a cry of frustration as she used all of her strength to keep them from getting to her, but as another one joined the pile, her arms began to shake. Negan and the others were merely laughing and she couldn't do anything. Sweat trickled down her neck and the weight of all the walkers began to suffocate her.
Bang!
Bang!
One by one, Negan had taken out a handgun and shot down each of the walkers piled on her until all of them were dead. A shaky breath left her lips and she let her head roll back onto the pavement. Sadistic bastard...
Dwight entered the fenced area and tossed the walkers off her body before ripping her to her feet. She was getting really tired of them manhandling her like she was a doll. Gritting her teeth, she stumbled forward, wiping the rotten blood off her face.
"Now you pull any shit again, I won't step in next time," Negan growled, waggling Lucille in Daryl's face. "Wouldn't want Golden Boy's girlfriend to get harmed now, would we?"
He shot a smirk over at her and she clenched her fists, nostrils flaring.
"Now if you want her pretty little body to stay in tact, I want you to tell me who you are. Dwight, who are you?"
"Negan," he responded, a blank expression on his face.
"See? Not so hard. So I want you to tell me who you are," he growled, glaring hotly at Daryl as he waited for a response.
A few times, he even waggled the bat near her face to try and make a point. She knew how Daryl was and she didn't want him to give in just because she was being threatened. Trying to catch his gaze, she gave a small shake of her head, barely noticeable. His eyes briefly flickered over to her and she shook her head again.
"Daryl," he finally responded.
Not the answer Negan had been expecting. He stared at the hunter for a few moments, anger swirling in his eyes, before he gestured for the others to go at him. Swarming like a flock of birds, they started to beat him, not stopping even after he'd hit the ground. She winced, flinching every time she heard a particularly loud punch.
Negan turned to her, tilting her chin up with the tip of Lucille. "Now who are you?"
A sharp piece of barbed wire poked into her jaw, stinging as it cut through her skin. She had two choices. Resist or give in. She knew her actions would have consequences, especially here. But could she call herself the man that killed Glenn and Abraham? No.
Carl, if I die here, I hope you know I love you, even if I haven't said it yet.
"Not yours," she hissed, slowly reaching her hand up to grab onto Lucille.
The flesh of her palm dug into the sharp barbed wire and blood began to trickle down her hand as she slowly pushed the bat away from her face.
"And never will be," she added, prying her hand away from the bat and letting the blood seep into a puddle on the ground.
His eyebrows rose and a low chuckle thundered from his throat. "Shit, kid. If you were an adult, I might just be scared of you."
Everyone underestimates a kid.
After a shake of his head, the men surrounding Daryl finally let up and she ground her teeth, looking down at his bruised form.
"Take them back to their cells. I need some time to think up some special shit for them," he ordered.
Riley pressed her palm to her pants, hoping to stem the blood flow a little bit. She had a feeling they weren't going to tend to her wounds. Her theory proved correct as she was shoved roughly into her darkened cell and left there without another word. Whatever they were planning up for her and Daryl would likely be bad. Not obeying Negan's orders was humiliating him in front of all his men. That wouldn't go over lightly and sooner rather than later they would find out.
Unable to see, she stuck to her corner once more, keeping her palm pressed against her leg until the blood stopped flowing and crusted over. She slumped a little, feeling physically exhausted after trying to escape those walkers. At least in here she didn't have to worry about letting her true feelings and emotions show. No one could see her and she could let herself actually feel exhausted and tired.
After a while, her eyes closed and she curled herself up. She tried to get comfortable on the hard floor, but it was nearly impossible. Still, she had been sleeping here for the past three days and she was beginning to adjust. The warm, comfortable beds back at Alexandria had turned her soft to the regular survival conditions she faced in the early days.
Just as she was about to drift off, she heard quiet footsteps outside her that jolted her. Sitting up, she pressed a palm against the wall, listening carefully and looking at the small crack beneath the door. It darkened as someone stopped in front of her room and she heard the softest rapping of knuckles against the door.
"Riley?" an unfamiliar voice whispered.
She didn't respond. Who was this?
"My name is Sherry... I went to check on Daryl and he wanted me to make sure that you were okay too."
She still remained silent. Daryl had sent her? Did that mean she was talking to him?
"I know you don't know me... I'm not here willingly either, if that would help..."
It didn't really, but... She sighed gently.
"You can tell Daryl...I'm okay," she murmured, shuffling a bit closer to the door.
"Are you...sure? I heard what you did and...," she trailed.
"Yes. I'm...I'm fine. I'm not bleeding anymore. It doesn't hurt. I'm okay."
There was a small pause.
"Okay. And hey listen... I've never really...seen anyone act the way that you and Daryl did. And I...it feels different. If your group is like you two... Just don't stop fighting, okay? Because then he wins," Sherry breathed.
Her words were barely a whisper. Like she was almost afraid of saying them. Though she had a feeling that if anyone else had heard them, she would be in trouble. Even whispers of revolts against Negan were dangerous around here. He didn't tolerate anyone trying to overthrow him. It was why she and Daryl were in so much trouble. They crossed the line and possibly gave ideas to his own men.
Though part of her thought it might not be a bad thing. If anyone else had gotten the thought of fighting back...it might make escaping much easier and getting a hold of a weapon much quicker. Because no matter what, she was determined to see Negan dead.
"Why are you telling me this?" she asked, letting her forehead rest against the cool wall.
"Because I think your group might have a chance. And you have an advantage... Negan doesn't like to kill kids and women if he can afford it. You're both. So you can push his buttons more than anyone else here and still be okay," she explained.
"Yeah but...they'll hurt Daryl instead. I can't do that."
"He can handle himself. They won't kill him. They want to see him break before they do."
Daryl would never break. Because that's just who he was. Maybe for select people, but... Maybe this was a perfect outcome. She didn't want to see Daryl hurt, but if she could keep fighting back...
"Okay. I'll...try," she murmured.
"Good... Thank you. I'll...tell Daryl that you're okay," she whispered. "I'll be in touch."
And just like that, Sherry was gone like a ghost. Barely a trace of noise in her wake. If what she said was true about Negan...maybe this could work. But she didn't know this woman well enough to know if she was lying. She would start out by being cautious and pressing forward one toe at a time until she knew for sure Negan wouldn't do anything. But for now...for now she just needed to focus on doing what she could to stay alive and making sure Daryl did too.
A/N: Okay so I actually got this up on time! Woo! Anyway this was a short one. I don't want to keep Riley too long here since I was mean enough to have her and Carl reunite and then get torn apart again. So Carl will be in the next chapter! Since she's pretty much stuck at the Sanctuary, I'm going to be skimming through a good portion of the first half of the season since there isn't much she can really do. But luckily the show is coming back soon so by the time I get to her actually reuniting with everyone, the show should have a couple more episodes. And I have an extra special treat for you guys once they all finally reunite, I'm really excited! Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks so much for all of the awesome feedback! I think the last chapter was the most reviews I've ever gotten for a single chapter. You guys ROCK SO MUCH! :)
