In a world ruled by fear, survival comes with a price.
When her brother's attempt to overthrow the Saviors fails, Tessa finds herself under Negan's watchful eye-protected, controlled, and dangerously close to the man she should hate. As violence, po...
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Negan didn't look back to see if they were following. He didn't need to. The sounds of boots striking the metal grated through the hallway, steady and unhurried. Lucille rested over his shoulder like a warning.
Carl walked beside Tessa, breathing shallow, still shaken from the singing. His fingers brushed hers once, just to make sure she was still there.
She stayed closed. None of them spoke.
Negan finally stopped in front of a metal door. Two saviors stood guard on either side. They stiffened immediately when they saw Tessa and Carl behind him, but Negan simply lifted a hand.
"Open it."
The door hissed as it swung wide.
Heat rolled out in a suffocating wave.
The furnace room.
Tessa felt her stomach drop. Carl stiffened beside her, every muscle locking.
Negan stepped inside first, humming something under his breath, something faintly familiar, something twisted into something else.
Tessa and Carl followed.
The room was dim expect for the burning glow pulsing from behind the furnace door. A table was set up nearby with medical supplies. A metal chair bolted to the ground.
Tessa locked eyes with Daryl as he stood beside Dwight.
Mark was already there. Pale, shaking, breathing in uneven, choked gulps.
Amber stood in the corner sobbing into Sherrys arms.
Negan licked his teeth thoughtfully as he walked a slow circle around Mark, hands clasped loosely behind his back.
"Well now," he murmured, voice low, "look who couldn't follow the goddamn rules."
Mark flinched. Tessa felt her heart twist helplessly.
Negan turned, making eye contact with the room one by one.
"We got ourselves a situation," he said calmly. "A man who thinks he can take whatever he wants...without consequences."
His gaze cut to Carl. Then to Tessa.
"Pay attention," he murmured. "This is what disobedience looks like."
Carl swallowed hard. Tessa fought the urge to step in front of him. Negan tilted his head toward the furnace.
"Dwight?"
Dwight hesitated a fraction of a second, just enough for Negan to notice. Then he grabbed the irons handle, pulling It from the fire.
It glowed white-orange. Screamed heat into the air. Tessa felt her breath catch. Carl's hand grabbed hers instantly.
Negan smiles faintly as he grabs ahold of the iron, "There it is."
He stepped closer to Mark, who whimpered.
"Mark, i'm sorry, but it is what it is."
Negan pressed the iron to Mark's cheek. The scream tore through the room.
Carl jerked, his grip on Tessa's hand tightening painfully. Tessa's stomach lurched, tears burning behind her eyes, but she forced herself not to look away.
When Negan pulled the iron away, Mark had fainted, leaning forward onto the chair.
"Ah that wasn't so bad now, was it? Jesus, he pissed himself" Negan says with a chuckle.
"Doc, i'm all done. Do your thing."
Negan's gaze dragged across the room until it landed on Carl. "Come on, let's go figure out what to do with you."
Carl stiffened, instinctively moving towards Tessa, but before he could reach for her, a savior stepped between them, blocking her with a solid wall of muscle.
Tessa froze.
Negan finally looked at her. Really looked.
Something unreadable flickered across his expression, curiosity, amusement...interest.
"Well now" he murmured, tilting his head, "don't go getting that look." He stepped closed, just close enough that heat rolled of him. "I ain't gonna hurt him. Not yet, anyways." Tessa's breath hitched. He noticed.
A slow, knowing smirk curved his mouth. Negan reached up, his fingers brushing the curve of her cheek, gentle in a way he had no damn right to be. "Relax, sweetheart," he said softly, almost gentle in a way that made her skin pickle. "if I wanted to make an example outta you...you'd already know."
Her pulse jumped, she hated that he saw it. Negan's smirk widened just a hair. Then he turned abruptly, one hand gripping the back of Carls shirt.
"C'mon kid. Me and you are gonna have a little chat."
Carl reached for her, panic in his eyes. "Tessa-"
"It's okay," she whispered, even though nothing was okay. Negan didn't wait. He shoved Carl foward, boots echoing down the hallway. Lucille tapped easily against his shoulder with each step.
Tessa watched that disappear around the corner, chest tight, helpless.
The room felt colder the second they were gone. Whatever Negan wanted from Carl next...he'd face it alone.
