So… the last reviews to Chaos :):)

Guest: Thank you so much for the review! I'm not gonna give anything away, but Aly does play a big part in how I decided to move throughout this season, so I think you'll be happy… for a while :P

TheUndeadPlayer: Thanks for the review, glad you enjoyed the story :):) the group meeting Negan was something I was looking forward to the moment I saw Jeff step out of the RV :) hopefully I do him justice thought the series…

Adagio C: I love the cliff-hangers… well, I love writing them :P so glad you enjoyed the last part, I hope you like this one just as much :):)

Amber Skywalker Kenobi: So glad you enjoyed the last part :):) Hope you've watched this season, 'cause I don't wanna spoil anything for ya :P

Ember Joy: Sorry about the wait! I know you wanted it pretty uh straight after Chaos… still, I hope you enjoy this installment as well :):)

jamiexlacoy: So glad you're enjoying the series! Thank you for the review :):)

faithackles: Thank you for the review! Sorry if it took too long :P

Bamby

DPOV

Negan grinned as he stepped up to Rick, pointing his bat at him. "Eeny..." I watched him as he looked at Maggie and the Vic, but walked past them.

Relief flooded me, seeing him ignore Vic. She was the one. She was the one I'd throw myself in front of if he picked her. I couldn't let her die, let alone watch it. I couldn't let it happen with her dad and brother watching. All our friends...

Negan pointed his bat at Abraham. "Meeny..." he grinned.

He skipped Michonne, and I wondered if he was going to skip all the woman. Or maybe he was just doing it randomly, buying time while he made up his mind. Either way, it was torture.

He pointed at me. "Miney..."

I looked up at him, holding my ground. If he chose to kill me, then so be it. As long as Vic was okay. As long as everyone else was okay. Everyone here, they were family, important. They couldn't have picked a better line. All we were missing was Carol.

Walking past Rosita, he pointed at Glenn. "Mo..." coming back, he pointed to me again. "Catch..." he changed it up, stopping in front of Michonne. "A tiger..." then back to Abraham. "By..."

My heart thumped in my chest as I waited. He was just a step from Vic. Was he going to point at her? Was he going to add her to the list of possibilities?

But instead, he moved to Maggie. "His toe..." passing Rick, he pointed to Sasha. "If..." then Aaron. "He hollers..."

Once more, he skipped Carl, and I wondered if he was doing it on purpose. Was he leaving Carl and Vickie out of it so he could use them against Rick later? He'd figured out the three of them were family. He clearly didn't like Rick...

He stopped by Eugene. "Let him go..." he went back to Aaron. "My mother..." now Sasha. "Told me..." he grinned at Rick. "To pick..." he moved to Maggie. "The very..." he hesitated a moment by Vic, but took another step to Abraham. "Best."

I was vibrating. I was scared like I'd never been before. Every second that went by was like hell. We were in hell. Carol had said once that she didn't know if heaven and hell were real, but that's exactly where we were, and Negan was the Devil, here to deliver a punishment.

He nodded to Michonne. "One..." and then came to me. "And you..." skipping Rosita he moved to Glenn. "Are..."

We all waited. This was it. This was the moment. One of us was about to die...

He stopped, looking to everyone until he made up his mind, stepping up to Abraham. "It." he nodded. "Anybody moves, anybody says anything, cut the boy's other eye out and feed it to his father, and then we'll start." he turned to the rest of us. "You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry." he set his eyes on Abraham. "Hell, you're all gonna be doing that."

We watched as he brought his bat down on to Abraham's head. Hard. Cracking Abraham's skull. Blood bled down his face as he fell to the ground, from the force of the hit... But our friend didn't give in as he sat back up after the blow.

Negan grinned. "Ho! Ho! Look at that. Taking it like a champ!"

"Suck... My... Nuts."

Abraham's words just pissed Negan off more. The man brought his bat down again and again. A total of six times. Once he was finished, Abraham's head was nothing more than a mess of skull pieces, brains and blood.

"Did you hear that?" Negan laughed as he stepped back. "He said, 'Suck my nuts'." he grinned, nodding, before bringing his bat down on to Abraham twelve more times.

With each hit I saw Vic flinch.

When it was all done, she looked away, and set her wide eyes in front of her, looking at the ground. Her skin now sickly white, her body shaking. She was terrified and there was nothing I could do to help her...

Negan stepped back. "Oh my, goodness!" he looked down at his bat, which was dripping with blood. "Look at this!" he swung the bat, causing some of the blood to fling over and hit Rick in the face. He chuckled. "You guys, look at my dirty girl."

Looking to all of us, we refused to meet his eyes. All of us looked everywhere but at him. Out of fear, definitely. No one wanted to do anything to piss this guy off. Even though I could feel the need to rip into him, I knew better. I knew to listen to the fear.

Suddenly, he stepped up to Rosita. "Sweetheart." he lifted his bat so it was resting below her face, in front of her eyes. "Lay your eyes on this!" he grinned, but she refused. At that moment, he realized something. "Oh, damn." he pointed the bat at Abraham's body. "Were you... Were you together? That sucks."

"Leave her alone."

All eyes. Everyone. We all turned to Vic as she stared right at Negan.

My breathing began to come out faster as I watched the man grin and turn to Vic. He shook his head as he moved towards her. Everything inside me tensed with each step he took. When he stopped in front of her I felt my body wash with cold fear and hot rage. There was no way I was letting him touch her.

Crouching down so he was at her level, he held her gaze. "What was that, Sweetheart?"

Vic didn't flinch. She didn't show any signs of fear. She just answered. "I said... Leave her alone."

"Hmm... You have a problem with me taking to your friend over there?" he asked het, but didn't give her a chance to speak. "Now, before you say anything, you should know, there was a reason for all this." he nodded, looking down at Abraham. "Red, and hell he was, is and will ever be Red. He just took one or six or seven for the team." he turned back to Vic. "So, do you have a fucking problem with me talking to your friend?"

She continued to look him in the eyes as she answered. "She shouldn't have to look at the remains of her ex."

He shrugged "Fair enough. But... If she won't. You will." he stood, lifting the bat to Vic's face. "So, take a damned look, Sweetheart."

I no longer cared about the crippling fear holding me down. No. There was something more important at stake than my own life. Vic's.

Throwing the blanket off myself, I got to my feet and rushed over to Negan, swing my fist and clocking his right on the jaw. As I went to reach him two of his men grabbed and stopped me, pushing me to the ground and holding me there.

I barely managed to turn my head and lock eyes with Vic as she stared at me with more fear than before. The strength she'd built to defy Negan was gone as she looked at me with fearful eyes.

"No!" Negan snapped at me, moving to stand in a spot so I could see him. "No." he shook his head. "No." he laughed. "That... Oh, man. That, is a fucking no-no." he crouched down next to me. "The whole fucking thing, not one bit of that shit flies here."

Dwight came out of the crowd, aiming my crossbow at me. "You want me to do it? Right here."

"Don't." Vic's voice begged. "I'll do anything!"

Negan grinned at her before he grabbed my hair, pulling my head back as he looked down at me. I grunted and struggled again him, which just made him grin. Chuckling, he looked up at Dwight. "No. No, you don't kill that. Not until you try it a little."

Dwight hesitated a moment before he and the other two men grabbed me and pulled me back into the line, right where I'd been before.

"Anyway." Negan got to his feet, moving to stand a little closer to Glenn and Rosita. He watched until I was back in my spot, before he turned back to Vic. "Sweetheart." he grinned. "Since you said you'll do anything...Why don't you stand for me?"

Slowly, and shakily, Vic pulled herself up to her feet. We all watched her, having no idea what game Negan was going to play now.

He nodded. "Good. That's good." he pointed to the ground in front of him. "Now, come here."

Hesitating a moment, Vic held her head high as she eventually took a step. Moving to Negan, she held as much confidence as she could at this moment. But the rest of us... We were terrified for what might come next.

"All right." Negan looked at her, pleased. Once she stopped a step away from him, he gave a short nod. "Now, kneel." once again, Vic did as she was told, kneeling on the ground in front of Negan. He chuckled. "This is what I'm talking about." he whistled as he kept his eyes on her. "That is a nice view."

Seeing Vic like that, in front of him, kneeling by his feet. It made me sick. I had no idea what he had install for her, but every scenario that came to my mind told me it was not going to be good.

He looked to the rest of us. "Now, I already told you people. First ones free. Then what did I say? I said I will 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..." his changed the grip on his bat, and I died at that moment, thinking he was going to kill Vic. "Back to it." he shrugged before turning around and bringing his bat down on to Glenn's head.

Over and over. I lost track of how many time he hit Glenn. But I didn't miss Vic. Seeing her kneeling in front of her best friend as he was bludgeoned to death like that...

Negan stopped as Glenn mumbled something, sitting back up and turning to Maggie. His eye was bugging out and his head was caved in. It was a wonder he could even move.

"Buddy, are you still there?" Negan asked, leaning forward to look Glenn in the face. "I just don't 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 ball just popped out." he grinned. "And it is gross as shit."

Finally, Glenn managed to get some words out. "Maggie, I... I'll find you."

Everyone was crying. Maggie sobbed, as she watched her husband. We all couldn't believe what we were seeing. Glenn, he wasn't just one of us. He kept us together. He was like the glue that held everyone in place and kept anyone from falling.

Negan looked around the group, his grin falling. "Oh, hell. I can see this is hard on you guys. I am sorry. I truly am. But I did say it." his grin came back. "No exceptions!" he turned and swung his bat again, hit Glenn and pushing him to the ground.

Ten. Ten times he hit Glenn before he stopped. Ten times Vic flinched. Ten hits she had to watch, just inches from her best friend. Ten hits Maggie had to watch, unable to save her husband. Ten hits. Eugene, Carl, Aaron, Sasha, Rick, Maggie, Michonne, Rosita, Vic and myself. Ten hits.

Negan paused. "You bunch of pussies." he hit Glenn again. "I'm just getting started." again, and again, and again, and again, and again. "You see her?" he gestured to his bat. "She's thirsty." he laughed. "She's a vampire bat." he nodded, moving towards Rick. "What? Was the joke that bad?"

RPOV

Slowly, I looked up at Negan. "I'm gonna kill you."

Grinning, he came to crouch down in front of me. "What?" he asked, holding his bloodied bat in front of my face. "I didn't quite catch that, you're gonna have to speak up."

I looked away from a moment, shifting as I knelt on the ground before bringing my eyes up to meet his. "Not today. Not tomorrow. But I'm gonna kill you."

He watched me, clearly not happy with my choice of words. "Jesus." he scoffed, lowering his bat. "Simon, what'd he have? A knife?"

No one spoke for a moment before a familiar voice answered. "He had a hatchet." it was the man from today. The one who'd I asked about his last day on Earth... How the tables have turned.

Negan looked over at the guy, surprised. "A hatchet?"

"He had an axe." Simon answered.

Negan grinned, looking to me again. "Simon's my right-hand man. Having one of those is important. I mean, what do you have left without 'em? A whole lot of work. You have one? Maybe one of these fine people still breathing? Oh... Or did I..." he made a popping sound with his mouth as he lifted his bat to my face again.

When I just stared at him, unwavering, he sighed. "Sure, yeah. Give me his axe." he called, and after a moment, he was handed my axe. Getting up, he tucked it in his belt. "We'll be right back." he grabbed on to the collar of my jacket. "Maybe Rick will be with me." he started dragging me towards the RV. "And if not, well we can just turn these people inside out. Won't we? I mean... the ones that are left."

He threw me into the RV and stepped up before pausing, a grin on his lips, a mischievous glint in his eyes. He had a plan, and I knew, just by looking at him, that I wasn't going to like it.

"Simon." he called, stepping back out of the RV and turning to my people. "Grab the girl." he pointed at Vickie.

Simon shrugged and started towards my daughter.

"No! No!" I shook my head, scrambling to my feet.

But Negan just turned to me, raising his bat to my face. "Don't." he warned. "Don't do anything stupid."

Simon reached the door then, holding Vickie's arm. She was numb, and motionless. She hadn't even bothered fighting the guy as he brought her to Negan.

Stepping aside, Negan gestured for her to enter. "After you, Sweetheart." he grinned.

Still in shock, Vickie looked from Negan to Simon's hand that still held her. Once it let go, she gently grabbed on to the doorframe of the RV and stepped inside. It was like she was on autopilot, the way she moved. I wasn't even sure she knew what was happening.

"Atta girl." Negan grinned before he stepped into the RV and slammed the door shut behind him. He stepped up to Vickie, ignoring me, pressing a hand to the small of her back. "Why don't you just sit down right here?"

I watched with terrified eyes as he looked down at her, over her shoulder, gesturing to the chair behind the driver's seat. She still moved automatically, robotically almost, as she slipped into the booth and just sat there, staring straight ahead of her.

Negan nodded, grinning. He turned his head to me with a knowing look. He knew what he was doing to me. He knew how his actions were affecting me. Being so close to my daughter. Touching my daughter. What was worse was my lack of control. I could do nothing but watch and wait and pray we'd both come out his little game alive.

Pulling my axe from his belt, he lifted it and brought it down hard, causing me to flinch as the blade dug into the laminated wooden table. Turning his back to me, pausing to give Vickie one last look, he then moved towards the wheel.

Sighing, he took a seat. "Let's go for a ride."

My eyes moved form the back of his head, to my distraught daughter, to the axe.

Negan turned the keys in the ignition, only to hear the engine sputter. "Wow. What a piece of shit." he shook his head, catching my eye in the rear-view mirror. "'I'm gonna kill you.'" he chuckled. "Are you kiddin' me? Did you see what just happened, what I just did? You just-" he sighed. "Your best chance is to stand up, grab that ax, and drive it through the back of my head." he shrugged. "See how you do. Keep actin' tough. Go ahead. Grab the damn axe."

I did. I pulled myself up from the ground and grabbed the axe as fast as I could, lifting it above my head, ready to bring it down on to his.

He got up just as fast, grabbing a gun I hadn't seen and pointing it at me.

Vickie whimpered, the first sign of life she'd given. My eyes moved from Negan, to the gun, to my daughter. She was looking at me with eyes I hadn't seen on her in years.

She looked like a little girl. She looked terrified. Her eyes were begging me not to do it. Not to do anything stupid. She was scared. Not for herself, but for me. She didn't want to see anyone else die.

"Drop it." was all Negan said.

Tearing my eyes away from Vickie, I lowered the axe slowly before letting it fall from my hand completely. It landed on the ground with a thump. Vickie jumped at the noise but other than that she simply looked down at the table again, her face returning to the blank stare.

Negan stepped forward, using the gun and his strength to hit my side and push me to the ground with a grunt. I knelt there, trying to catch my breath, having it just taken away from me by the force of his blow.

Bending down, Negan grabbed the axe. My eyes followed it, wondering what he was going to do, sure he was going to hurt me. But instead, he just dug it back into the wood of the table with yet another hard hit.

"Don't make me get up again." he told me before turning his attention to the window by Vickie. "Well, look at that, Sweetheart. Dawn is breakin'. It's a brand-new day." he chuckled lightly as he turned to move back to the driver's seat. "I want you to think about what could have happened, Rick. Think about what happened. And think about what can still happen." he said and with a turn of the keys, the engine roared to life.

...

As we drove down the street I thought about my people.

I thought about Rosita...

"Boom!" Negan laughed as he drove into a walker, it's head bursting at the impact, brains spraying the front window. He turned to look at me. "That remind you of anybody you know?" he asked before looking to the road again.

How he could see outside I did not know. Smoke, or fog, or something surrounded the place. We'd been driving for some time now; the sun was well and truly up.

I thought about Glenn...

The RV came to a stop. Negan pulled the keys out of the ignition and got up, moving to sit next to me as I sat on the bench on opposite side of the vehicle to where Vickie still sat at the table.

I'd been watching her, wondering how much damage had been caused after she'd been made to watch her friends get killed... She'd been right next to Abraham. She'd been a step in front of Glenn.

He reached over and pulled my axe out of the table before turning to me. "You are mine. The people back there, they are mine. This" he showed me my axe. "This is mine. Her." he pointed to Vickie. "She is mine."

I didn't respond. I didn't argue. I didn't know what I was supposed to say, what I could say without getting my daughter hurt or killed.

Standing up, Negan moved to the door, I could see him through the corner of my eyes as he moved. He opened it and waited a moment before using the axe to kill a walker that had walked up to the RV. Then he reached out and tossed the weapon on to the roof of the vehicle, watching me the whole time.

"Hey, Rick go get my ax. Let's be friends." he grinned. Another walker came to the door, this time he used his bat to kill it. When I didn't move, he sighed. "If you don't do it, I'm sure your lovely daughter will. She's already said she'll do anything." he shrugged, grin still firmly in place.

Taking a deep breath, knowing I had no other choice, I got to my feet.

He grabbed my shoulder once I stood in front of him, and pushed me out of the vehicle, slamming the door shut behind me.

I thought about Sasha...

landing on the ground, I wasn't out there two seconds before I heard the sound of a walker close by. They were surrounding the place. But I couldn't see them. The smoke- I could smell it now- was too thick.

More walkers were coming, I had to act fast.

Pulling myself to my feet I grabbed the first walker I saw, shoving it away before the next went for me. I got to it first, pushing that one away as well.

I thought about Eugene...

With a second or two to act, I ran, trying to get out of there. Not to run away. I wouldn't leave Vickie. But I had to get out of this herd, to figure out my surroundings. I had to find a way to survive.

A walker came out of nowhere, snarling and snapping at me. I grabbed it, struggling to keep its teeth from my flesh, just managing to push it away.

I thought about Aaron...

More and more walkers. They kept coming. The more that came, the more noise I made, the more walkers I attracted to me.

Fighting through the gathering crowd I started for the back of the RV, kicking, pushing, and shoving anything that go in my way.

I thought about Abraham...

Growling, groaning, moaning, snarling. I could hear them all. I could smell their rotten flesh. Even through the thick and heavy smoke, I could still smell the distinctive decomposing amour that filled my nostrils and tugged on my gag reflex.

I thought about Maggie...

Finally making it to the back of the RV, I shoved away two walkers, giving me an opening to climb the ladder and get to the roof of the vehicle.

When I got half way up a walker cam and grabbed my ankle, tugging and pulling on me, trying to reach any kind of flesh with its rotting teeth. But I managed to kick it away and climb the rest of the way up.

I thought about Daryl...

Now that I was on the roof, I could see where we were. Negan had brought us to where my people and I had come across the trunks laid out on the road, blocking our path, by a bridge road that we had parked under earlier.

I thought about Michonne...

Turning I looked to the body, hanging from the road above, a red X spray painted across it's chest. It was dead, but that was only because of Vickie. She's put the man out of his misery. Now he just hung there, swaying in the wind lightly, no longer anything. Not even a walker.

I thought about Carl...

With tearing eyes, I bent down before landing on my knees as I began to weep. For my people. For my family. For my children. For myself.

I thought about Vickie...

As if right on cue, Negan spoke, right below where I was now kneeling on the roof of the RV.

"Bet you thought you were all gonna grow old together, sittin' around the table at Sunday dinner and the happily ever after. No. Doesn't work like that, Rick. Not anymore." he paused before speaking again. "Think about what happened."

I did. Through all the groaning and moaning of the walkers below, surrounding the RV, I thought about what happened.

I thought about how all day, I'd been given warnings. They had giving me chances, and I'd ignored them all. Vickie hadn't... I'd seen it. Only once, and only for a moment. I'd seen her ready to give in. But I'd stopped her before she could.

Now I wondered if that was the right thing to do. Had she been right? Was I wrong?

Rolling on to my back, I looked up at the roof, my body going limb as I continued to cry. It was my fault. All of it. Abraham dying. Rosita and Sasha watching him die. Glenn dying. Maggie watching him die. All of us being made to kneel and wait and watch. Even now, Vickie was in the RV with this man, and it was my fault.

"People died, Rick. It's what happened. Doesn't mean the rest of them have to." Negan called. "Get me my ax." but I didn't move, and he could hear that. "Get me my ax!"

I could only imagine what he'd do if I didn't do what he wanted. I was here. The rest of my people back there. But Vickie, she was with him. She was probably still sitting at that table, still staring blankly ahead, still numb, still vulnerable.

Rolling over I pulled myself up. I wouldn't give him a reason to hurt her. I wasn't losing anyone else.

"I thought you were the guy, Rick. Maybe you're not. We'll give it one more go. Now, I really want you to try this time. Last chance. Bring me my axe!" he yelled before he began to shoot at the roof of the RV.

I acted quick, grabbing the axe and making a dash for the end of the RV before jumping off and grabbing on to the hanging body right before the bullets would have hit me.

Walkers began to crowd around my feet, reaching for me like a piece of meat. I struggled to keep myself up, but the chain around the body's neck was cutting through the skin. I knew the head would snap off in a matter of seconds, leaving me to the jaws of the dead.

Gunshots sounded, walkers falling as Negan shot them from the back window of the RV. A pile grew below me, when I fell, it softened the landing.

"Clock is ticking, Rick!" he grinned before closing the window leaving me to deal with the rest. "Think about what can still happen."

He could still kill Rosita...

I'd dropped the axe when I fell from the walker. I had an idea where it was, but I needed it now.

Getting up, I crawled over the bodies as I made my way towards where I hoped the axe would be.

He could still kill Sasha...

Scrambling along the ground I felt around the dirt, trying to feel for the weapon. The smoke was still too thick for me to see ahead of me more than a foot or two.

I could hear the walkers following me. Coming for me.

He could still kill Eugene...

My eyes landed on the axe.

I moved quickly, grabbing the weapon and spinning around to hit and kill the walker behind me. Once it was dead I gave myself a second to breath before I got to my feet. There was a second where I didn't know which way was which, but the sound of the RV honking told me where to go.

He could still kill Aaron...

The horn honking helped me find my way, but attracted the walkers in the direction I needed to go. But with a weapon now in hand I felt a little more confident as I moved forward, killing the walkers that were in my way.

He could still kill Maggie...

I reached the vehicle, killing the few walkers that were too close. I used the axe, and threw some against the RV. I did anything I had to in order to survive.

He could still kill Daryl...

When there was a moment I took the chance, and moved for the door, trying to open it to get inside. But it was locked.

He could still kill Michonne...

A walker grabbed me, it's teeth an inch or two from my wrist. I grabbed it with my spare arm, pulled it away and dug the axe into its skull.

I lost my grip on the axe, just as more walkers got close

He could still kill Carl...

The walkers were coming, and I didn't know what to do. I could fight, but there were too many. I'd die, and it wouldn't take long. Already I was struggling against a few as the crowd gathered again, closing in, getting closer and closer.

He could still kill Vickie...

I got to my knees, reaching for the axe, having no time but no choice.

The door to the RV opened as Negan stood on the step. He pulled the trigger to the gun, killing the walkers that had been about to tear me apart.

When the gunshots ceased and the walkers left over were a distance away, I got to my feet and rushed for the door, seeing Negan walk back in. I was right behind him, slamming the door shit behind me.

Negan stood there, waiting and watching before he reached his hand out.

I gave a short nod and put the axe in his hand before sitting at the table.

Negan grinned. "Atta boy!" he nodded before putting the axe back into the table and turning to the driver's seat again.

Bamby