Poker Face

Chapter 66 - Act One: Tearful Confessions

"You're not getting out of here, not alive," he hissed. Aven struggled with him but he kept her pinned to the ground before poking the sharp tip of his knife into the soft flesh of her hip. A belabored growl escaped her throat but she didn't scream or cry, at least not in front of him. The knife dug deeper and she tried with all her strength to push him away, but she could only lift one arm. The other seemed to be stuck at her side.

As she woke, the darkness of the man's basement was replaced by bright, fluorescent lights as the weight on top of her lifted. She was shaking, trying to catch her breath when she moved to run her hands through her hair and noticed that one of her arms was restrained. She quickly came fully into the moment and began tugging frantically at the handcuffs that locked one wrist to the side of her bed.

"No, no, no, no, no," she hissed tearfully, the cuffs rattling against the metal bed frame as the skin on her wrist began to turn pink from the force and friction.

"She's awake," Jesus said from the doorway before he, Maggie, Rick, and Daryl filed in. It only took a few seconds before they noticed something was wrong. Aven was shaking even more violently than when they'd captured her; she looked more like she was freezing and shivering, but that wasn't the case. Her eyes were wide but didn't cast any inkling of a distinguishable emotion, her gaze fixed on her restrained wrist as she pulled at it wildly. The other people glanced at each other, unsure what to do before Jesus stepped forward with his hands out towards Aven to show he wasn't a threat.

"Hey, calm down, it's okay," he said carefully but confidently. "Do you remember me? Do you know where you are?" Aven's rough movements died down and she sat staring at him, her chest visibly heaving. She tried to catch her breath but she couldn't and her heavy breathing began to make her feel light headed. She brought her free hand to her forehead and shook her head to steady her vision, immediately worsening the headache she already had. She groaned and hid her face in her hand to pull herself together. "You're okay. Try to calm down, I think you're having a panic attack." Behind him, Rick sighed frustratedly and shifted restlessly on his feet. Aven was their hostage and he didn't feel like sitting around and coddling her.

"Y- you're not him," Aven breathed a few seconds after remembering where she was and what she was trying to do. It was a split-second switch, but she was now completely lucid and only showing fear because it suited her situation, though the fear when she'd first awoken had been very real. "You're not him," she repeated, letting out a heavy sigh of relief.

"No, not him," Jesus replied with a small smile. "He's not gonna hurt you anymore." Aven was seemingly still trying to catch her breath but again she faltered and broke out in tears. They weren't fake by any means, but again, she only let them fall because she wanted to. Maggie pulled up a chair and sat at Aven's bedside, observing her carefully, looking for a tell. She wasn't convinced Aven wasn't faking it, but the longer the girl went on sobbing, the more comfortable Maggie felt accepting her story.

"What is Negan planning?" Maggie asked, sitting back and watching every little twitch of Aven's facial muscles intently. A woman Aven didn't recognize came into the room and rummaged through a drawer before grabbing something and leaving without a glance back. It was clear the room was still used when people were injured even though Negan took their doctor. They still had a few people with adequate knowledge of first aid who helped out when necessary.

"I- I don't know, he-" Aven began. She was about to say he didn't talk to her about those kinds of things, but she wasn't sure how much they already knew about her. They definitely had inside help in their attacks, which meant they could already know that she attended his meetings and was in on most things he did. "I've been bedridden for a week and he wouldn't tell me anything."