sin and sawdust

14

The gravelly tone landed like a bullet in Jared's ear, he froze, his hand slipping from Eve's face and he gulped like a cartoon villain. He jumped up out of his seat, turning to face the voice.

A tall, dark haired man had entered the room with another guy with straggly, dirty, blond hair.

"Sh.. She.. She..."

"Ohhhh, Jared," taunted the man, standing face to face with Jared, but looking more intimidating than Jared could ever hope to be in a thousand lifetimes.

"Is there any particular fucking reason why, once again, I catch you with your hands on a fucking woman?" The stranger grinned at Jared, an intimidating smile, honed to instill fear and nothing more and Eve could really see that fear on Jared's face like it had been painted on in neon colours. His mouth opened and closed but no sound came out.

"Didn't I tell you what would fucking happen, if we had to have this conversation again? Cause I swear I fucking warned you, I'm pretty fucking sure I promised you, that I'd take your fucking hands off,"

Eve couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene unfolding in front of her. She wanted to, she should, but she just couldn't. It was fascinating and terrifying in equal measure. The man hadn't raised his voice at all, spoke in measured tones but he may as well have been screaming like a drill sergeant in Jared's face . The silence in the room, save for Jared's fumbling, mumbled excuses, was deafening.

"Dwight," his drawl was a mixture of amusement and anger, "take this fucking piece of shit with ya, you know where to go."

The panic that flew across Jared's face almost had Eve feeling sorry for him, almost. She watched as Dwight pulled him from the room, he was calling out, begging for forgiveness but it fell on apparent deaf ears as the man sat down in Jared's now vacated chair, lazily rubbing at the stubble on his chin with thumb and forefinger.

"Everything good here, Laura?" he asked the blonde girl, but his eyes were on Eve.

Laura nodded, "Yes, Sir,"

"Good,"

He studied Eve for a minute longer, before leaning forward and resting his forearms on the table.

A thousand silent screams echoed through her head, bouncing off her skull and piercing her brain. Eve was frozen in place, not daring or even capable of moving a muscle. This man was terrifying, in all ways and she wondered just how much more she could take of his presence alone. Eve had a feeling she was getting into some deep shit, she just had no idea what and it made her feel sick and just when she thought she couldn't bear it any longer, he stood up without a word and exited the room without even so much as a backwards glance.

"Oh shit," Laura laughed as the general buzz of conversation rose up again,

Eve hadn't moved an inch, Laura nudged her,

"Hey, you OK?" she asked, kindly,

Eve nodded, not trusting herself to say anything just yet.

"He's fucking terrifying, right?" Laura bit into the apple Eve had left on the table, "He's an asshole but he keeps us safe,"

"Who is he?" Eve asked quietly,

"That's Negan," Laura replied bluntly, "King Saviour,"

Eve choked on the water she had taken a swig of.

"King Saviour?" she spluttered, wiping the water from her chin and setting the bottle back down carefully.

Laura nodded, "Don't repeat it, you'll feel the sharp end of Lucille,"

Eve shook her head, "Lucille?"

"His pride and joy," the blonde girl sighed, "A bat, wrapped in barbed wire. Treats it like it's the love of his life,"

Eve rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, everything was like a really weird dream here. She wasn't completely sure she hadn't actually died from that gunshot wound and this was some kind of fucked up purgatory. There was also a niggling feeling that she knew him. Had known him. He seemed familiar but altogether unfamiliar all at the same time.

"So," Laura smacked her hand on the table, "Ready to get to work?"

Eve set her shoulders and nodded, shaking the thoughts from her head. Now was as good a time as any, she guessed.

"Can you cook? Sew? Clean?"

"I can cook," Eve shrugged, "My mom was an event caterer, before..."

The words trailed off as the familiar bubble lodged in Eve's throat. The painful memories simmering under the surface and as always, she pushed them down, locking them away.

Laura let out a shrill whistle, "Val!" she called out and a large woman raised her head, immediately running towards them,

"Yes Laura? Is everything OK? Can I help?"

She seemed nervous, Eve observed, like she was expecting punishment or worse.

"Eve needs a job, teach her," she ordered, her earlier slightly friendly demeanour dropped in an instant.

The woman nodded frantically and gestured for Eve to follow her.

"All done," Laura rose from her seat, "See ya!"

Eve watched the blonde girl leave, weaving her way across the room with her head high. People, she noticed, shrank back from her, dulling their conversations as she passed. She turned to the older woman, Val, expectantly.

"What's the deal with Laura?"

Val looked at her, "She's a soldier, we don't mess with them."

The cogs in Eve's brain started to turn immediately, "How do I become a soldier?" she asked, a plan beginning to formulate in her mind.

"Impress Negan. Be an asset, know how to fight. It's impossible, he has so many men and women by his side, you'll never get close enough to impress."

Eve chewed softly on her bottom lip,

"We'll see," she replied, "We'll see."