The Ties That Bind

The Briefing

Sibora walked through the old factory clutching the knife Drake had returned to her.

She held it so tightly her knuckles turned white, and she kept looking over her shoulder after every few steps, making sure he wasn't going to come after her and take it away again.

She had no idea what game they were playing at, but now that she had the knife back she wasn't going to let it out of her sight.

It was her only means of protection, and the only tool she currently had that might help her.

Quite frankly Sibora was exhausted.

While last nights sleep was restful and most welcome, it hadn't helped as much as she hoped it would.

Nothing had gone the way she intended it to, and the constant worrying about what was going to happen to her now that she was one of the Saviors was taking it's toll on her. And all the unanswered questions about the knife were making her head hurt.

Even her room wasn't safe because it had no lock on it. There was nowhere she could go to get away from it all. She felt trapped, like the walls of her very own ribcage were closing in on her lungs not allowing her to take a deep breath.

Sibora saw a window and pushed it open. She leaned out of it and took several deep breaths, trying to pull herself together.

A sound below her made her look down. A chain link fence spanned the perimeter of the building, and there were zombies strapped to it at alternating intervals.

Their groans and the sight of them was too much for Sibora.

She lost her lunch over the edge of the window.

Perfect.

As long as she was face down, Sibora thought she might as well try to gauge the distance to the ground below her.

No, that's definitely too far to jump.

She would break her legs if she attempted it, and then she'd really be useless.

Plus she came here with a mission, and that mission was far from accomplished.

"Security's pretty tight out there, huh?"

Sibora squeezed her eyes shut. "You mean the undead you have decorating your fence?"

She turned around to face Negan.

He smirked, "They get the job done."

"Now come on, its time for the assignment briefing."

He started walking away, not even bothering to see if she would follow.

Maybe this is my chance.

His back was to her, and with the knife back in her possession this could be the best opportunity she would get.

Sibora started after him and sent a swift look over her shoulder to make sure they were alone.

And they weren't. Of course.

Not five steps behind her there was Drake, silently following them and watching Sibora's every move.

She sullenly faced forward again and hurried after Negan.

They arrived in a room about half the size of the cafeteria with an inner balcony on one end.

About a dozen people stood around, seemingly waiting for their assignments.

They parted for Negan as he made his way to the balcony, and Sibora hung back figuring she wasn't supposed to join him up there.

Wanting to keep a low profile, she lingered near the back of the room.

"Alright people you know the drill. You're going after the usual. Food, medicine, ammo.  Drake, keep an eye out for that horde to the northeast. Seth, make sure everybody stays vigilant. We may have gotten used to living in the end times, but that doesn't mean we've developed immunity to the consequences of letting our guards down. Stay sharp, and of course if you find any stragglers out there," Negan said with a smirk, "You know what to do."

With that Negan hopped down from the balcony and started making his way towards Sibora.

Well that wasn't much of a briefing. Sibora thought. She was still unsure what role she was supposed to play.

Negan reached her and said "Drake, you're picking up the stray."

Sibora jumped slightly and looked over her shoulder, not realizing he had been standing right behind her.

She assumed the 'stray' Negan was referring to was her.

Drake nodded and Negan left without saying another word.

"Lets go."

Sibora sighed and turned to follow Drake.

To her surprise he led her through the maze of the factory to the outside. They walked up a small grassy hill until they reached what looked like an outdoor range.

Drake turned to face her. "Gun safety. You're going to be going on scouting missions, as every new recruit does when they first arrive here. After your trial period is over, we will determine how you can best serve everyone here at the Sanctuary. Whether that be out in the fields gathering crops, guarding the fence, making ammunition, et cetera. Or becoming a permanent scout."

"But that happens very rarely, so don't get your hopes up. In the mean time I need to make sure you know how to use a gun since you will be responsible for your own safety once we're outside."

As he spoke Drake produced several guns from a locked box. A couple glocks and one revolver, along with some ammo.

Sibora crossed her arms. "How do you think I've made it this far? I know how to use a gun."

She reached for the revolver but Drake stopped her hand firmly with his own.

"Before we get started, don't go getting any ideas." He said with a nod up the hill.

Sibora looked up and saw a watchtower not 50 yards from them. Craning her neck to see to the top of it, she saw a glint of sunlight reflect off of a scope.

A scope that was attached to a rifle that was pointed directly at her.

She felt a chill run through her as she looked around them a little more closely.

Like the zombies on the fence, there was a secondary perimeter of watchtowers with people patrolling them.

No wonder I got caught without even managing to scratch Negan. This is the highest security of any camp I've ever seen.

Drake released her and launched into a lecture he'd probably given a hundred times before.

"Alright, the number one rule of gun safety: never point a gun at anything you aren't willing to destroy."