No Exceptions

Four

It was first light when we arrived at Sanctuary, rays of pink and orange softly caressing every mountain and tree on the horizon. Any other day I would've been perfectly content with its beauty, feeling optimistic about the day ahead.

But not today.

The building stood in stark contrast as I compared it to Alexandria. It was all metal, concrete and glass. There was no love put into this place, chosen for protection and intimidation purposes.

Just like its owner.

Alexandria was a slice of heaven; an homage to the suburbs. Beautiful heritage style houses with personalized furniture and treasured items making each property unique to it's owners. I rubbed at my eyes as I the thought of my home.

My OLD home, I reminded myself.

My eyes traveled down to the fence and I gasped. There was an outer ring filled with hundreds of walkers, snapping at the chain link. All of them had been impaled, chained and otherwise restrained. The Saviors had created a live barrier between themselves and the outside world, daring anyone to try and enter. I turned to Negan, a big smug smile developing on his mug. 

"She's a beauty aint she?"

Was he blind?

"She's a marvel, that's for sure," I responded. Thankful that he hadn't picked up on my sarcasm.

The truck in front of us sped ahead and opened the gates, the RV not having to stop once. Simon drove up to the entrance and pulled up the brake, walking out of the vehicle leaving us alone.

The beast turned toward me slowly and took my hand into his, kissing it like you would royalty. 

"Welcome home Miss Alexandria, you're gonna love it here!"

I wanted to punch the arrogance off his rugged face. How could he possibly think that I could love it here after being dragged away from my family? I settled for a teeth clench before scooting out of the booth and walking out of the vehicle, hoping that I just might see where they were taking Daryl.

Negan jogged behind me and took my hand, yanking me to a halt. He pulled my back to his chest, grumbling in my ear. "What's the rush baby? He's alive... for now."

My captor tugged at my hair and put pressure on my thigh with the blood covered bat. The barbs scratched at the fabric of my jeans, leaving strokes of red in their wake. The image of Abraham's mutilated corpse punched me right in the stomach.

I'm so sorry I couldn't save you, friend.

Negan grazed his teeth over my helix. "Just play by my rules baby and you'll do just fine here, capiche?"

The contact made me shiver accompanied by a wave of nausea. Nevertheless, I nodded in defeat. There wasn't much I could do now if I wanted to keep Daryl and I alive.

He gave me a swift kiss on the cheek. "Good girl."

The beast finally released me. But before relief could set in he grabbed my hand, leading me inside. Before we'd gotten too far down the corridor he stopped at a white door on the right with the label 'admin' clumsily stuck on it.

Inside was pretty small. Piles of papers were stacked shoulder high with filing cabinets covering every wall, making the already small room downright claustrophobic. In the middle of the administrative chaos a young woman with auburn hair busied herself, typing on an old-fashioned type writer. Negan cleared his throat, causing her to jump.

As she realized who it was a Cheshire grin formed. "Anything I can get you sir?"

His grin widened in response as he looked at me then back to her. "I'm just gonna need you to log in our latest member sweet beets! She's hopefully going to be part of the Harem, so could you organize that for me?"