The Replacement

Part Thirty-six

Warning: violence, angst

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All the prisoners that remained behind on the bus were busy, hard at work clearing an old trailway line, Negan stops midway to approach one of the guards. "Hey... my wife wasn't with everyone on the bus, wondering if you could just-" before Negan could finish his sentence, the guard strikes in the face with a nightstick.

"You stop to eat, you stop to sleep..." the guard remarks as Negan groans in pain, "understood...?"

With a narrowed gaze, Negan straightens back up, "understood..." he remarks nodding.

During the commotion with Negan, three prisoners take it as an opening to escape, Kelly attempts to follow but Ezekiel stop just in time as the guards open fire on the escapees, killing all three.

Realizing the escaping wouldn't be as simple as they believed, everyone goes back to work after the order was yelled out.

*****

During a lunch break, Negan stealthy approaches Ezekiel, "don't turn around" he states, taking a seat behind him.

"What do you want?" a pissed off Ezekiel remarks.

"I wanna get on the same page" Negan responds.

"I stayed away from you for years, for a reason" Ezekiel comments.

"Well, you need to shelve that shit" Negan states.

"Shit?!" an enraged Ezekiel scoffs, "melting people's faces with irons? Coercing women into marrying into marrying you? Slaughtering my people? That shit I've not forgotten... nobody has."

"Well, just so ya know; I haven't forgotten either" Negan replies, "and for the shit I've done, I probably deserve to be in a place like this. It fits. But Ezekiel, it doesn't fit you, it doesn't fit the others, and it sure as hell doesn't fit my wife and daughter... I don't even have a clue with the hell they are."

"What they do with them?" Ezekiel finally caves in.

Negan silently shakes his head grief-stricken, "I don't know... but I need to find them. I promised Y/N, I'd keep our daughter safe, and I failed... I failed both of 'em."

"Look, man..." Negan implores, "I am coming to you as a father, and as a man who has led people. We have got to put our shit aside and work together... for everyone."

"What are you thinking?" Ezekiel finally speaks up.

"I know this warden's playbook..." Negan comments, "using fear as a weapon."

"You wanna scare people into an uprising?" Ezekiel sarcastically remarks.

"That only works if you're the one holding the gun" Negan responds, "fear's not gonna work. But hope...? Hope will. And that is your thing, Ezekiel... it is definitely not mine."

"This place thrives on separating people" Ezekiel comments, "they're already breaking us down. We have to unite folks, but-"

"But what?" Negan enquires.

"We need a... spark, that reaches into their hearts and wakes them up. I don't know how to do that here... we can barely talk to each other."

Negan silently nods his head in understanding, "I can get you you're spark. But when I do... you need to know that I doubt I'll be getting out here with you."

Ezekiel tilts his head in confusion, "what's that supposed to mean? What are talking about?"

Before Negan couldn't further explain, the guards order everyone back to work.