crooked heart → the walking dead ⁵

[ 025 ] brielle.

CROOKED HEART.

chapter twenty-five, brielle.
[ season ten, episode four ]

"WHAT THE FUCK?" COMES the voice of the man her biological father once served.

Brielle Grimes has never been a stickler for the rules. She's a teenager, she's going to sneak out. She cusses and she argues. She gets into fights with other teenagers. She took a bottle of scotch from Gregory's old stash.

Everyone's known it'd only be a matter of time before she snapped like her mother did before her. But no one excepted, and no one knows that she'd be here. Standing within the walls of her old home, in front of a cell, the key in her hand and a picked lock inside the home of Michonne Grimes.

Negan smirks in the darkness. "Well, shit."

Brielle simply stares at Negan. She can tell he's grinning like a mad man.

"Whatcha doing here, kid?" He asks.

His eyes shift away from Brielle when he sees a taller person peel away from the shadows behind Brielle. His eyes go even wider with surprise when he catches a glimpse of Carol Peletier.

"Okay," Negan draws out. "What's goin' on?"

"You want forgiveness?" Carol asks him.

"I done what I done," Negan replies. "Matters to you two what I want?"

"What if you didn't have to die?" Brielle questions.

Negan raises his eyebrows. He stands, walking towards the bars. "I didn't know the leader's of the Hilltop's kid had a say on the kangaroo council deciding my fate."

"Neither of us are here for the council." Carol informs the man.

"So I'm gettin' that." Negan says. "What I don't get is you two comin' down here, especially Brielle comin' all the way from Hilltop, and dealin' with me when. . . seems to me you outta be linin' the ole skin queen in your crosshairs."

Brielle's eyes narrow. "What do you think this is, Negan?" She asks him.

Negan smiles. "Damn, Ellie. You're soundin' more and more like your mom everyday. The stones on you, kid. . ."

"So you in or out?" Carol cuts him off.

"Word has it that the both of you are certified badasses but you, Carol, missed your shot. What happens if I muff it, too?" Negan asks. "Could make things a hell of a lot worse for every man, woman, and child behind these walls. And your walls, too, kid. And despite what people may think of me, I am absolutely not down with that."

Brielle knows of the incident at the border. She's been talking to Carol over the radio in secret for weeks, planning their revenge.

"I need this done. And that'll help every man, woman, and child here and the one's in Hilltop." Carol tells him.

"What do I get out of it?" Negan asks.

"You've been eating whatever shit they throw your way, hoping that one day they'll all forget. They won't, especially my mom's. Not unless you to something to make them forget. So, you bring us Alpha's head and that's what they'll remember you for. I'll make sure of it." Brielle says.