A Barmaid before the world fucked up, now a fighter for survival. Clare Aven, was never anything special, the only thing she was good at was making drinks and seducing men. The one best thing her Military father taught her was how to use a gun. It d...
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I watch as the frightened group frantically scans all the faces, they position themselves into a small circle, all their backs against a makeshift stretcher that two men hold. A figure steps away from the group circling them, it's hard to see him as the lights shine behind him. He gets close and a chill runs down my spine.
"Good, you made it. Welcome to where you're going." He says holding his arms out, the group shift on their feet uncomfortably. I take notice of a few people in the circle, people that I have seen around the Sanctuary. I pray that maybe Simon has just left and taken a few men with him creating his own group.
"We'll take your weapons." He pulls a gun out and points it at a larger man with red hair. "Now."
One of the men speaks up but I don't hear what he says from where I am, I only hear Simons response to him.
"We're done talking. Time to listen." More men split from the circle and approach the group, removing all the weapons off of all of them.
I watch as Simon talks to a boy only to be about sixteen maybe seventeen, I clutch Axal closer to me not wanting to ever let anything like this happen to him. Simon leans up and addresses the group.
"Okay, let's get her up and get y'all on your knees. Lots to cover." More of his men approach, but someone from the group must have said something because they step back with Simons order. The group helps a very pale and sickly women up from the stretcher and down onto her knees.
The rest soon follow suit after Simon talks to one man who soon drops to his knees, until they are all lined up in a long row on their knees in front of Simon.
There's a flurry of commotion as Simon barks orders and I watch as a man called Dwight opens the back of one of the trucks. Four more people are pulled from the truck and forced to their knees, I assume they are all from the same group.
"Alright, looks like we got a full boat. Let's meet the man." Simon walks backwards to the RV parked directly behind him and knocks on the door, walking away from it just as quickly.
The RV door swings open and a man jumps down the steps, he stops in the darkness of the RV's shadow.
"Pissing our pants yet." A chill runs down my spine, that voice, how I've longed to hear it for all these years, but not like this, I didn't want my sons first encounter to be like this. I watch as Negan steps out of the shadows looking over at all the people on their knees.
"Boy I got feeling, we're getting close." A smile spreads across his lips and it makes me feel sick, even from here, where I'm hidden. He paces in front of the group.
"It's gonna be pee-pee city here real soon. Which one of you pricks is the leader." Simon speaks up pointing to the man he made get on his knees earlier, Negan eyes him off.
Negan talks to the leader of the group but not loud enough for me to hear, he seems unimpressed and rather angry with the man, I don't understand what these people could have done to Negan to put on such an event like this.
Negan continues to talk to the group, I don't really pay attention as Axl let's out a whimper, telling me he's cold and hungry. I try to as quietly as I can calm him down, keeping an eye on the man standing a few feet away from us.
I put my gun away into my makeshift chest holster, so I can hold Axl with both hands trying to keep him quiet as best as I can. I over hear some of what Negan is saying, it seems like he is forcing trade from these people, threatening them all with violence.
I hear him mention that these people have killed his people, I wonder how many and who it was? If I knew any of them? I can see why Negan would be mad but is this worth it. Negan kneels down and talks to the boy for a moment, before moving on to the sick women.
A man breaks from the group screaming at Negan getting ready to defend the women his screams break my heart and what makes it worse is Negan seems so comfortable with this, like he's done it before.
Negan starts to whistle and he seems flustered as he talks about not being able to decide, suddenly he starts going through a nursery rhythm, holding the bat over each ones head.
Suddenly he brings the bat down hard over the red haired mans head, the man sits back up. A sob slips past my throat I didn't expect this at all, this is so much worse then I could have ever imagined.
The man in front of me looks around the woods, I cover my mouth. They go back to watching the scene in front of them.
"Oh look at that, taking it like a champ!" The man says something to Negan, but is soon struck down with another blow to his head, Negan doesn't stop this time, beating the skull in over and over again.
The sicken crack of bone imprinting on my brain, I cover Axls little ears, hugging him to my chest. Trying to hide the pure evil in front of me.
"Did you hear that. oooo hehe he said "SUCK MY NUTS" haha" Negan continues to laugh before continuing his onslaught of blows to the dead mans smashed in skull.
Negan gets off on the sight of his stupid bat, trying to make a women look at the bat and the broken body, a man breaks from the line, punching Negan in face, but is soon held back.
"Not one bit of that shit flys here." Dwight steps forward with a crossbow ready to kill him, but Negan lets him live.
"I said I would shut that shit down no exceptions. Now I don't know what kind of lying assholes you been dealing with. But I'm a man of my word, first impressions are important. I need you to know me. So. Back to it." Negan rapidly turns on his heel bring Lucille down on the head of the man who defended the women, cries from the women ring out across the clearing.
The man sits up and tries to talk to who I assume is his wife, but the words are a gurgled mess, due to his head caved in.
"Buddy are you still there? I just know, it seems like you're trying to speak, but you just took a hell of a hit. I just popped your skull so hard your eye just popped out. And it is gross as shit. Aww hell, I can see this is hard on you guys, I am sorry, I truly am, no exceptions."
The bat meets the man head again and again, I decide I can't sit and watch this any more, the women's broken cries haunting me, Negan continues to talk, but I've stopped listening at this point.
I climb down the tree just as awkwardly as I climbed up, I slip half way down the tree, landing on my ankle and hearing the snap ring out, I fight back the scream that wants to tear out my throat. A strangled whimper slips it's way past instead. The two men ahead of me turn and look into the tree line once again.
I pull myself to my feet, the pain is horrendous, but I force myself to take a step forward.
"Hey there's a women out here!" The man calls out to Negan. "Well then go get her!" I hear Negan yell back to them, adrenaline courses though my veins and I take off, running through the trees, holding Axal as tightly as I can, the two men close on my heels.
