million dollar man | twd

ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴘɪɢ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴘɪɢ

[ little pig, little pig ]
꧁꧂

Vanessa stood alone at the gate, refusing to stay inside and rest. The early morning light was just beginning to touch the edges of the world, casting a muted glow over the fortified walls of Alexandria. She gripped her rifle tightly, her knuckles white from the strain. The quiet of the dawn was a stark contrast to the turmoil brewing inside her.

She watched as the shadow of a man appeared behind the gate. He held a baseball bat in his hand and banged it against the metal. The heavy, foreboding rhythm echoed through the silence.

"Little pig, little pig, let me in!"

Vanessa had never seen Negan before. Rick refused to give her details of what happened the night he killed Glenn and Abraham. The night he took Daryl. But there was no doubt in her mind that this had to be him.

With a surge of anger and adrenaline, Vanessa walked up to the fence and pulled it open. The metal gate was now the only thing between her and the man with the wide and unsettling smile, the metal barbed wire around his baseball bat gleaming in the sun. A convoy of trucks was behind him.

"Well, hot damn," Negan said, his eyes roving over her. "I might just have to take you with me."

Vanessa tried to mask her fear with bravado. "Who the fuck are you supposed to be?" she shot back, her tone defiant.

Negan laughed, a sound that was both charming and chilling. "Oh, you better be jokin'. Negan, Lucille. I know I had to make a pretty strong first impression."

Vanessa's eyes narrowed. "Oh, that's right. You must be the guy who killed my friends. I assume all the grandeur is to make up for something you're lacking." Her eyes flicked to his jeans, a cruel smile tugging at her lips.

Negan's smirk widened. "I like you."

Before Vanessa could react further, Rick appeared behind her, pulling her back with a firm hand. His face was a mask of tense resolve as he shielded her from Negan's gaze. When Negan saw Rick, his smile broadened.

"Well, hello there," Negan greeted, his tone casual but his eyes sharp. As Rick made no move to open the gate, Negan's patience wore thin. "Do not make me have to ask."

"You said a week. You're early," Rick replied, his voice steady despite the tension.

Negan's grin remained unchanged. "I missed you," he said with a mock sincerity. "Alright, everybody. Let's get started."

Vanessa's attention shifted outside the gates, her eyes scanning the crowd of people surrounding them. When she saw Daryl, her heart sank. He was bruised, beaten, and clad in a dirty tracksuit with a crude 'A' spray-painted on it. Daryl's gaze met hers briefly, filled with a mixture of relief and sorrow before he looked away.

"Hey, Rick, you see that, what I just did? That is some service! I mean, we almost get turned away at the gate. Who is she, anyway?" Negan's voice cut through her haze of worry.