"𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥."
It was a chant Madalyn Taylor told herself every day. Every day since the world ended. She didn't believe it most times, but if she said it enough times it had to come true at some point. Right?
"𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦."
...
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Evan Hayes tapped his fingers against the metal railing, watching as people moved through the ground level of the Sanctuary. His home. Well, he supposed 'home' wasn't the right word to describe the place. It was a factory that had been fashioned into the headquarters for the Saviors.
Evan hadn't had a home in a long time.
The Sanctuary was merely the place he lived. The place he slept. The place he ate. It had never and would never be his home. A place that had taken away the one person important to him would never be his home.
But he couldn't leave. Perhaps he didn't want to leave. The place provided for him. He lived quite comfortably. He had everything he needed to survive in a world ruled by the dead. No one would ever let him leave anyway. Not Negan. Not him.
There were fewer people meddling around far below Evan than there usually were. Negan had assembled a mass of men and women to meet a group of people from a community known as Alexandria. He had to teach them a lesson apparently. Bring them to submission like he did with the Hilltop and the Kingdom. They were just another group of sorry souls forced to work for Negan.
He had been forced to stay behind. Apparently, it wasn't a place for a sixteen-year-old. Which definitely made complete sense. Nothing with the Saviors was made for someone Evan's age, but he had to stay. He supposed it was probably for the better anyway. When Negan dished out punishment, it wasn't pretty. Not that Evan feared some blood.
Truthfully, he feared nothing. That had been instilled upon him since before Negan had taken control of the Sanctuary. It had been instilled upon him by the one man he did fear.
A commotion from below drew Evan's attention. He peered over the railing and watched as a group of Saviors flooded into the building. They were back. He should go down to greet them, but frankly, he didn't feel like moving from his spot. No one would miss him down there anyway.
His eyes landed on Negan who strolled into the building with his baseball bat resting on his shoulder. The crowd parted for him, kneeling as he passed. Then he saw who seemed to be Dwight forcefully dragging a man toward the side of the factory they used as cells. The rooms there were practically metal boxes with doors―no light, no windows. Evan briefly wondered what that man did to warrant becoming a prisoner of Negan.
