Irresistible Danger

The Punishment

                  

You and Ben led the group of kitchen staff into The Great Hall right before Negan's 10 minute warning was up. Since you were one of the last individuals to enter, the room was already teeming with compound members, leaving you with little choice but to stand near the back of the crowd and close to the exit. However, you didn't have to worry about missing any part of the "show" thanks to the setup of the large room.

The space was nondescript with its lack of any furniture or decoration. This was a room where only serious business and announcements were discussed, so it felt more cold and sterile than warm and inviting. There were hushed whispers echoing off the walls as people discussed their hypotheses about why the meeting had been called. You had a feeling that you already knew, and that it had something to do with the man who had fallen asleep earlier while on outpost duty.

Looking upwards, you focused on the main feature of the room: the large, metal catwalk that extended the entire way across the far side of the room. It was from that high perch that Negan typically delivered his announcements and, you guessed, his punishments. The catwalk was currently occupied by Negan's Saviors, who all (except the ones probably still outside on guard duty) stood in a line across the length of the metal platform. Each one had their arms crossed menacingly and a serious expression on their face. You immediately noticed that Dwight was missing from the lineup. Scanning the sea of compound members, you caught a glimpse of Trixie's bouncy ponytail up near the front of the crowd, which ruled out the possibility of her and Dwight being off on some secret tryst. Perhaps he was one of the guards who had instead been left outside to watch the fences.

Negan was not yet present, and you felt nervous butterflies enter your stomach in anticipation. During the two months you had been living here, there had only been one other public punishment. It had occurred a few days after your arrival, and the announcement for this punishment had also been sent out near the end of the dinner rush. However, it had been Negan's Saviors who came to make the announcement, and they hadn't said that it was mandatory for everyone to attend, just "strongly encouraged". Since you had still been at the bottom of the kitchen totem pole (aka on dishwasher duty), Ben had told you and another young woman to stay behind and finish cleaning up. You hadn't minded, especially when later informed that Negan had given someone the hot iron treatment, which was sure to be an unpleasant sight.

There had also been the instance about a month ago when Negan had Lucilled one of Rick's men, but that hadn't been a public execution. Sure, a lot of Negan's men had been present, according to Dwight, but it had happened out in the woods, not here in The Sanctuary. You realized that you were probably one of the few individuals here, except those newer to the compound, who hadn't seen Negan dole out a punishment.

Course, if you had seen him put a hot iron to someone's face after first arriving here, chances were you never would've risked leaving the compound to go scamper around in the woods. Also, if you had been able to witness Negan's cruelty firsthand, the last time he had doled out a punishment, it was likely that you wouldn't have made the same decisions that led to him finding you that day out in the woods. Which also meant that you wouldn't have then interacted with him in his private rooms, or kick started the domino effect of events necessary to end up in this morning's situation: pushed up against a tree with his hand down your pants. So, do you resent not being able to watch the last punishment? your subconscious inquired.

It only took a couple seconds of pondering this question before you knew that the answer was a solid 'no'. Despite the roller coaster ride of emotions that you had been on these last few weeks, you were only slightly surprised to realize that you didn't regret any of it. And, if given the choice, you wouldn't go back to the beginning and do things differently. It felt as if you were supposed to meet him in the woods that day. And it also felt as if everything leading up until now had been preordained...like fate in a way...God, that sounded so cheesy. You almost wanted to gag at your own thought process.