Chapter Text
They were lined up in a half circle, all of them on their knees with guns to their heads. They looked forward in terror, fear running through their veins as Negan spoke to them.
“Now, I hate to do it, I really do, but somebody’s gotta pay for what y’all did to the outpost.” Negan swung his bat from around his shoulder. “Any volunteers? No? Guess I’ll have to do it the hard way.”
The air rushed out of Carol’s lungs as Negan stood in front of Daryl, his bat pointed at him. She felt her world stop, barely stopping the whimper building in her throat.
“Eeny, meeny,” Negan moved to the next person.
“Miny, moe,” He moved down the line again.
“Catch a tiger.”
“By the toe.” Negan pointed his bat at Carol, her gaze not lifting from the ground. He knelt next to her, pushing her chin up so she was looking at him. “Come on darlin’, it’s rude not to make eye contact.” He said before moving away from her to continue taunting the rest of the group.
“If he hollers,”
“Let him go,”
“Eeny, meeny,”
“Miny, moe.” Negan said before swinging his bat down hard, striking Abraham’s head. Some of the group looked away, some forced themselves to watch, but a moment later Daryl got up from his place to lunge at Negan. Negan clicked his tongue.
“Now, now, I thought you all had a clear understanding of the rules. You’re gonna have to pay for that” He said after a few Saviors shoved Daryl back into his place forcefully. Negan held his bat, shaking his head, before raising it above him in a swinging stance. Tears flooded Carol’s eyes as she squeezed them shut, bringing her head to rest on her knees. She couldn’t bring herself to watch the man she loved be brutally murdered. Negan held the pose for a moment, before lowering the bat. “Nah, I ain’t gonna kill you.” Carol raised her head, frantically trying to wipe her tears so she could see what was going on.
“I will kill him, though.” Negan said quickly before slamming the bat down onto Glenn’s head, repeating the action multiple times as Maggie sobbed.
Negan backed away from Glenn’s body when he was done, slinging his bat over his shoulder. “I think the rules are pretty clear now, huh?” He said to the group before pointing his bat at Daryl again. “He’s coming with us. Put him in the van.” Negan ordered.
Just as fast as the Saviors had swooped in and obliterated their worlds, they were gone.
Maggie, Carol, Rick, and Michonne sat at the table discussing what their options were.
“We have to do what he says. He’ll kill more of us if we don’t.” Rick said.
“He killed Glenn. And Abraham. We have to kill him.” Maggie argued. Michonne and Carol looked at one another, sighing softly as they realized there was no way for this argument to end with everyone happy.
“He’s got Daryl, Maggie. We can’t go in guns blazing.” Carol offered. “I want him dead too, but we have to be smart about it. And we can’t do it without Daryl, we need his help.”
“How are we going to get him out?” Michonne asked. The group sat there silently, trying to come up with ideas.
“I’ll go back to the Sanctuary with Negan’s men the next time they come.” Carol finally said. “I’ll see what I can do about getting Daryl out, and keep an eye on things there. Make sure there’s no surprises for us.”
“How?”
“The same way I did to get us in here. Pretend I’m someone else and strike when they least expect it, when they trust me.”
“They’ll kill you if they find out what you’re up to. Or worse.” Rick sighed, shaking his head as he thought about what worse could mean.
“They won’t suspect a thing.”