Casually Cruel - TWD

27. Goodbye.

Eliza shuddered as the door opened. Whatever was about to step out of it was gonna be their fate, placed into some random persons hands. She couldn't move, not that her body would let her, but if she did, the guy standing behind her with a gun would probably put a bullet through her head. Maybe that was the better option out of seeing this through.

Sweat covered her entire body but that was the least of her worries. Because nothing could've prepared her for who walked out of that RV, who was in control, who was going to destroy them.

The man who she once trusted so much. She called him a family friend. She'd go to him when she was having any sort of problem. And now, here stood Coach Smith, a bat wrapped in barbed wire slung over his shoulder.

Eliza's mouth gaped open. Had he seen her? Was this all for her? Would he let them go once he knew it was her?

"Pissing our pants yet? Boy, do I have a feeling we're getting close," he strode forward. Eliza studied his every move, the red scarf around his neck that mirrored the blood on Daryl's. His leather jacket. How tight his hand was around the bat.

He was smiling, but his eyes were cold as they travelled down the line of people. Those eyes that used to welcome her to school every damn day.

Maybe Eliza should've shouted, yelled. Something, anything. But her brain wouldn't let her in this moment. All she could do was watch the man as he walked over to her.

Eliza's eyes landed on his boots. They were polished to the point that she could almost see her own reflection in them. Her eyes were glued to the ground. It was like someone was forcing her, but nobody was.

Then, something landed in the small space between Coach Smith's shoes and Eliza's knees. A badge. Her badge. The one with their old stupid soccer team's name on it.

"Hey, Eliza," Coach Smith nodded. He was grinning so much. Then, he crouched down in front of Eliza. "Not gonna say anything?"

The girl just shuddered in fear. She wondered why she didn't feel relief. She knew him and they were on good terms, right? But no. All Eliza felt was an urge to run or fight. It was all she had known for almost a year, but in this moment, no one could move a muscle.

"Goddamn," Coach Smith reached forward, grabbing onto the elbow of where the lower half of Eliza's left arm once was. "It's been rough, huh? You get bit?"

Eliza just stared at him, a couple of tears escaped her eyes and she could've sworn he smiled wider. Her eyes flickered between his hand on her arm and his face. It was him, she was still processing that, but it just wasn't him.

"Yeah," she rasped quietly. Almost a whisper. In that moment, she knew he wasn't her Coach anymore. He was just Negan. The man who would yell at his wife, the one who would occasionally come out when he was really pissed off. So Eliza just let go of any hope she had for him. It was easier than she thought it would be.

Maybe it was bad that she'd choose a group of people she'd known for months rather than a man she knew for years, but she would.

"Well," Negan stood back up to his full height and Eliza felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest. "Nobody's getting bit here tonight. No need to worry about walkers or anything. I know, I know. Scary in the woods at night, isn't it?" He looked down at Eliza, waiting for a nod, which she didn't give to him, just a firm stare.

Eliza looked down for a moment and saw Abraham's hand, slightly in front of her. He had kept it there for a few minutes now, forming a small barrier between her and Negan.

Then, he chuckled under his breath at her and looked down the row at everyone else. "That's not to say you guys are screwed. Because, oh, you guys fucked up big time!"