This Animal I Have Become (A Negan/Bitten Fanfic)

Part 51: Compass

Every Tuesday and Wednesday mornings it was Aaron's job to watch the gate. They all took turns monitoring it, sometimes two at a time now that they had a new threat of the Whisperers lurking around but for the most part Aaron was by himself. Sometimes his daughter Gracie would hang around to keep him company, but today was not one of those days. 

He had just finished off an apple that he had brought for breakfast and right after he threw the core over the fence, he began to hear a loud banging against the gate entrance. Letting out a sigh, he grabbed a spear and slowly unlatched the handle. 

Nine times out of ten when this happened, it was usually a walker or two on the other side that may have gotten a whiff of the potential food selection they had on their side, eager to get in. 

But today was a different story...

Aaron slowly opened the gate and kept a firm grip on it, just enough to get his spear through. Once he saw what (or who) was on the other side, he paused. He set down his spear and opened the gate all the way. 

"Bree?" He questioned. 

There was Bree, on her knees, banging her fists on the gate. She looked like absolute hell, Aaron almost didn't recognize her at first and mistook her for a walker. She had been running the whole night with her injuries that she had gotten while trying to escape the house fire on the farm and she was dehydrated and delirious from trauma and exhaustion. 

"What happened? Are you okay?" Aaron asked, squatting down on her level. 

Bree slowly looked up at Aaron with a look that was foreign to him and she jumped from her place on the floor and grabbed his shirt. 

"We gotta go...We gotta fight...They have Clay and Elena...I...I can't...We are not safe...No one is safe, the bond is gone" She stammered out. Her voice was horse and her lips were chapped. 

Aaron stood up and tried to pull Bree with him. She grabbed ahold of his wrist and tightened her grip, making Aaron flinch. 

"Bree, what are you talking about? What happened?" Aaron questioned her again. 

Bree's heart was racing. Even though she was now safe, her mind was in panic mode and not letting her believe anything. She felt her wolf right under the surface and with the combination of everything she was losing her mind. 

"He told me to run, so I ran...I never stopped...We can't stop...It's already too late, I can't feel it anymore" Bree growled out. 

"Bree, let's go inside. We can talk and you can tell us everything that happened" Aaron said nervously. Her behavior was making him uneasy, especially knowing her history. 

She still had a grip on his wrist so Aaron pulled her though the gates the best he could. She was all over the place in panic and clearly not in her right mind so he was trying to be cautious. He had heard about her wild streak before and was familiar with what she was. As he tried to usher her though, her grip got stronger to the point where he could feel her nail tips bite through the surface of his skin. 

"He's gone...The bond is gone!"

"Bree, you are hurting me, I know you are scared but you need to let go, it's going to be okay, you are safe" Aaron said trying to get through to her as he tried to pull out of her grasp.  

He got her to let go once they were on the other side and he went to go close the gate. Bree started pulling at her hair and muttering words that he couldn't understand. He grabbed the handle and slammed it shut, creating a loud banging noise that made Bree lose it.