Poker Face

Chapter 16 - Making Enemies

"Back off her," the man with the crossbow growled. Negan clenched his jaw and took one large step back, holding his hands out to the sides to show he wasn't a threat. Neither he nor Aven had heard the man pull up down the road on his motorcycle.

"I'm fine," Aven said flatly to the man, holding up both hands, one still holding her knife. "It's fine, he's fine. He's not gonna do anything." She turned back to Negan. "Leave."

"F- come on, Aven. Don't fuckin' do this," Negan said taking a step towards her but freezing when the man tightened his grip on the bow threateningly.

"Hey buddy, she said leave," he grunted. Aven cocked her head as she looked at him; he looked familiar but she couldn't quite place where she'd seen his face, especially since it was hidden behind a wall of long, greasy brown hair.

"You don't have to-" Aven said taking a step towards the man, who immediately switched his aim to her, warning her to stay back.

"Hey!" Negan barked, stepping in between her and the crossbow in two long strides. Before anyone had a chance to state their case, a biter came up behind the man, who turned and struggled for a moment with it before finally pushing it away so it went barreling at Negan. Negan was quick enough with his knife that the biter hit the ground before ever making contact with its target, but then several more came stumbling through the trees.

"Shit," Negan breathed. It was the herd he'd been alerted of, the one he'd hoped would trap him and Aven together once they got to their destination. The herd was right on time; Negan and Aven had been running slightly behind. Negan's heart dropped when he realized the danger he'd directly brought her into for his own selfish reasons.

"Get back to the car!" he yelled, approaching an oncoming biter and sticking his knife in its skull before turning back to Aven to see her doing the same with one walker after another. Negan faced the group of them coming towards him and realized he'd left Lucille in the back of the truck. "Aven!" He yelled, trying to deter her from taking anymore of them on, but she didn't listen and he had to dash back to the road to get Lucille.

Meanwhile, the man with the crossbow had shot several biters and was walking through the crowd, sticking his knife in skulls as he went, to retrieve his arrows. Before Aven knew it, both men had moved away from her in different directions and she was being surrounded by the herd. She took out her loaded gun and fired all ten rounds, downing five walkers and slowing three others. It didn't make a dent in the oncoming herd. She couldn't see Negan but screamed out his name as the dead closed in on her. No sooner than she did, a wall of walkers beside her was swept away with one swing of Negan's bat.

"Come on!" he yelled, grabbing her arm again. This time, Aven complied and let him lead her back to the car where they jumped in and pulled the doors shut. Negan turned the key in the ignition and the engine strained and stalled. He cursed and looked up at the road, assessing his options, and saw the man with the crossbow running through the trees to get back to his bike. Without a second thought, Negan got back out of the car and stalked down the road with his gun drawn, Lucille swinging by his side in the other hand, and Aven calling after him. The man hopped on the bike just as Negan came up behind it.

"Get off the bike," Negan barked, cocking his gun. The man tensed and gripped the handles tighter but ultimately complied. He swung his leg back over the bike and backed away a few steps with a stone-faced expression. Negan turned back to Aven, who was hesitantly coming towards them down the road, keeping distance from the walkers who were stumbling up out of the woods. "Aven, get the fuck over here and let's go," he ordered.

"Negan, we don't have to do this-"

"We're going," he barked, stupidly taking his eyes off the man in front of him, who immediately lunged behind the bike, punching Negan square in the jaw, Lucille falling from his hand and rolling out of his reach as he fell to the ground. The man followed him down and knocked the gun out of his hand but Negan headbutted him with full-force. It only stunned the man for a minute before he reared back and punched Negan again.