Red River Blue
Chapter 6
…Abraham's blood was slowly leaking from his mangled skull, spreading out around what remained of his body and leaking into the hard packed dirt. Glenn tried not to look at it. He looked at Maggie instead, his fear for her rising inside him like bile. Her face was drawn and pale. She was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and her breathing was erratic. Glenn wanted to reach for her but he was terrified that any movement on his part might draw unwanted attention to them.
Negan was still hollering, waving his bloody bat around. The group on their knees in front of him was silent. But suddenly, there was a commotion coming from outside the lit circle. Negan didn't look pleased with the disruption and he yelled at his men, asking them what the fuck the issue was. A moment later a man with a large gun strapped to his back rushed up to the man and thrust a well worn magazine into Negan's hands. Glenn could tell from his vantage point that it was the type of magazine that had pictures of naked women inside. The man pointed to the page the magazine was open to and then gestured towards River. Glenn saw her eyes widen. She flipped her hair out from behind her ears, hoping it would disguise her face. But it was too late. Negan was already approaching her, glancing back and forth between her and the magazine in his hands.
"Well what do you know," he hollered. "We have a genuine celebrity here." Negan leaned down and thrust the magazine into River's face. "This is you isn't it?" River shook her head. But it was obvious from the way she was refusing to look at the picture that she already knew the image was of her. Negan walked around the circle, shoving the magazine into all their faces one by one. Glenn glanced at the image, hoping there was a chance the woman just resembled River. She was blonder. And younger. And the crook in her nose wasn't there. But there was no denying it was the same woman. The picture featured River's naked body as she leaned back with her legs spread, displaying her waxed pussy for all to see.
"I'm pretty sure it's you," Negan announced. "...but it's hard to make a real comparison with all your clothes on. You know pussies are just like fingerprints. No two are alike." He approached River, holding the picture up next to her face. She sniffled, unable to hold her tears back any longer. They streaked down her face and dripped off her chin. "Take off your clothes so we can get a better look."
Glenn felt his stomach clench when Daryl moved. He struck like a rattlesnake, his hand already clenched into a fist as he rocketed up off the ground. His fist connected with Negan's jaw before the man could even think to move out of the way or defend himself. His men seemed more ready than he was to deal with such a maneuver. They pinned Daryl to the ground, pointing a gun at his head. Glenn was sure he was about to see Daryl get his brains splayed out all over the hard packed dirt. Wren was clinging to Carl's hand, screaming in terror. Negan was yelling. But then he told his men to put Daryl in a truck. Glenn felt himself relax just a little.
"Back at it!," Negan hollered.
Glenn saw the man coming at him. The bat swinging for his head. But then he heard the scream. Her voice pierced the air like the shriek of an eagle. The startling force of the sound threw Negan off balance and his bat landed in the dirt next to Glenn's feet. The man righted himself and turned in the direction of the noise. Just in case he was wondering who made the horrid noise, River screamed again. Negan cringed back until her scream taped off. Then he approached her.
"Just exactly what in the fuck was that?," he asked.
"You said we were allowed to scream," River answered. The big man considered this for a moment. He did say they were allowed to scream. So technically, she didn't break the rules. But she startled the fuck out of him and he clearly didn't like it.
"Screaming is allowed," he said, "...but you make another banshee ass yard devil noise like that and I will fuckin' gag you. You understand?" River nodded. Her eyes flicked towards Glenn. And then back to Negan. Then she grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up over her head. Her bra went next. She reached behind her back and unhooked it, tossing it to the ground near her discarded shirt. Her nipples pebbled up against the rush of cold air. But she made no move to cover herself. Her eyes flicked to Glenn one more time. And then she spoke.
"Don't hurt anyone else. And I'll do whatever you want," she offered.
"Is that so?," Negan asked, his eyes raking over her exposed flesh. To emphasize her point, River slowly rose to her feet. She toed off her boots. Then she unbuttoned her jeans, wriggling her hips as she pushed them over her hips, her underwear sliding down with them.
River stood before the man, her body posture much more confident than a woman standing completely naked in front of an entire army had any right to be. She stared at Negan, waiting to see if he was going to take her offer. Glenn saw her in that moment. Not the woman that babysat Judith for Rick. Or helped Carol make cookies for all the kids in town. But the real River. The woman that wasn't afraid to face Merle down at his worst. The woman that used any means necessary to make sure her daughters never wanted for anything. The woman that raised Harley to be a warrior. She was the one standing in front of everyone, wearing only a pair of mismatched socks. Her hand was cocked up on the naked curve of her hip.
"I never buy a car without test driving it," Negan informed her suggestively. He took a step closer, his eyes roaming over her naked flesh.
"You me to blow you right here then or what?," River asked, gesturing to the small crowd of people still kneeling in the dirt around her.
Glenn already felt sick. But the thought of watching this man rape River right in front of them was more than he could take. He gagged and wretched, spilling the meager contents of his stomach on the ground in front of his knees. He wanted to do something to stop it from happening. But he felt paralyzed. Rooted to the spot. Unable to move because he was scared of what might happen to Maggie if he did. Negan laughed. Then he took River by the arm and walked her towards the RV. He pushed the woman up the steps and through the door in front of him. The door slapped shut behind him. The sound seemed to echo, breaking the quiet around them…
The scene played out over and over again in Glenn's nightmares. While the dreams became less frequent over the years, he still had them. Sometimes River didn't scream, like she did that night in the clearing. Sometimes Glenn felt it as the bat crashed down, caving in his skull and popping his eye out of the socket. Sometimes it was Maggie that screamed and was pulled naked into the RV. But no matter what, it was the slap of the door against the metal frame of the RV that haunted him. It echoed around him, becoming louder and louder until it was a roar in his ears that drowned out the sounds of River fucking that madman inside their RV. She saved his life that day. Maybe all of their lives. Glenn hoped that was what stayed with her over the years. That she was brave. And a hero. Not a whore.
Glenn heard the slap of the door again. And again. He scrubbed his face with his hands, trying to wake himself all the way up so that the nightmare would finally stop. He sat up. Maggie was in bed next to him, groaning into her pillow.
"Glenn! Maggie! We got a problem!"
The voice came from outside their trailer door. Maggie snatched up her pillow, holding it over her head to drown out the noise. This was supposed to be their day off. The night before, Maggie put Hershel and Annie to bed early while Glenn made a little fire outside their trailer. They stayed up drinking wine and holding each other as they watched the flames finally die down to embers and sputter out.
"Come in," Glenn finally hollered. He ran his fingers through his hair. His head was pounding. "What's the problem?," he asked, not even trying to hide his frustration at being ousted from his bed. And this better be good. Because he was hung over and not in the mood to deal with some petty nonsense.
"There's people down at the gate. One of them is this crazy ass pirate looking guy," the young man informed him. "He's refusing to say who he is. He just keeps swearing at everyone and asking for you."
Glenn shook his head. He could already feel Maggie's body shaking with laughter. Glenn tossed the blanket off and swung his legs out of bed.
"Go let them in," Glenn told the boy. "I'll be down there in a minute."