𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔽𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 | Daryl Dixon

79 | THE DAY WILL COME WHEN YOU WON'T BE

"Anybody moves, anybody says anything, cut the boy's other eye out, feed it to his father, and then we'll start."

"You can breathe. You can blink. You can cry."

"Hell... You're all gonna be doin' that."

Her entire stomach cramped up as if her guts were tangling with each other, a heavy nausea rising up like sharp talons scraping their way up her throat. She couldn't fight the way her body flinched when the bat came slamming down, wood and wire colliding with bone with each hit.

Down the other end of the line, Sasha's sobs were the loudest, her eyes slammed shut as she turned her head away from the brutal sight forced upon her. Tears streamed down her cheeks as each hit of the bat brought a new memory flashing in her head. Her days with Abraham replayed again and again before her mind, as the sadist with the bat tore apart the face of the man she'd fallen in love with.

Negan cackled maniacally as he swung down once again, causing Sasha's tears to fall faster. Abraham was gone, his bulking body left lying in the dirt as blood pooled around him, his skull shattered down to nothing.

"Did you hear that?" Negan laughed, "He said 'suck my nuts'!" He hit what was left of Abraham's head again, and again, and again, grunting as he put all his strength into the now-pointless attack.

Abraham Ford was battered down to nothing. His blood congealed on the ground, mixing with the dust and gravel lacing the forest ground. The iron within the crimson dissipated through the heavy night air, and the sharp metallic stench wafted across the line of survivors, smothering all of them in fear.

Their Abraham. The man they'd all grown to care for and respect, the man who'd encouraged them all to keep moving when they were about ready to settle for a life on the road. The man who was able to make anyone cringe and laugh at the same time with just his words, his crass and blunt-ended comments strong enough to snap through any tension in any room. That booming, powerful voice wouldn't be heard again outside of memories and stories.

"You guys, look at this!" Negan beamed, taking a small step back as he admired what he'd done. "Oh, just look at my dirty girl!"

The bat in his hand swung in a circle, Abraham's blood splattering into the faces of those closest. Rick's eye twitched when the hot crimson hit his skin, layering with the sweat and tears pouring down the sheriff's cheeks. Still, Rick's expression remained still. He focused his gaze straight ahead, the corner of his vision stained with the redness seeping across the ground to his right, where his friend had bravely knelt just seconds ago. Grimes blanked it all out, keeping himself silent, his breaths calm despite the rage creeping through his muscles.

Negan strolled along the line, presenting his blood-stained bat in front of him, showing it off along the line. His eyes fell on Rosita, who slumped on her knees weakly, eyes wide and soaked in disbelief at what she'd seen. "Sweetheart, lay your eyes on this!"

He poked the bat out further, holding it right under the woman's nose. All she could do was stare at the red remains dripping from the barbed wire, her heart-shattering at the loss of the man she was once in love with. In that moment, it was like all her days with Abraham were erased, the memories of her relationship with the redhead now tainted with this night.

"Oh, damn. Were you together?" Negan wondered smarmily, taking notice of Espinosa's shock. "That sucks," he tutted. "But if you were, you should know, there was a reason for all this. Red, and hell, he was and always will be red. He just took one, or six or seven, for the team! So take a damn look."

His voice dropped deeper as he leaned closer to Rosita, poking the bat even closer to her face, not giving her space to look away. "Take a damn look!"