The Third Dixon [The walking dead OC x OC]

Season seven, episode one

For a few seconds, nobody moved. Nobody spoke. Measi stared ahead, but she wasn't really seeing anything anymore. Her mind had caught on one single moment, replaying it over and over, refusing to accept what had happened.

Abraham was gone.

The man who had always been loud, impossible, stubborn, and somehow always there when things got bad was just... gone.

She blinked hard, once, twice, again, trying to force her eyes away from the ground. Away from the blood. Away from the place where he had been standing only moments ago.

But she couldn't stop noticing it.

The smell.

The silence.

The fact that nobody was reacting because everyone was too afraid of what would happen if they did.

Nathan noticed before anyone else.

Of course he did.

He always noticed.

"Measi," he whispered.

She didn't answer.

Her breathing had become shallow, her fingers trembling slightly at her side. "Measi, look at me," he tried again, softer this time. "Just me, please."

For a moment, she couldn't. Because if she looked at him, she would have to admit that this was real. That Abraham was gone. That there was nothing she could do.

Then Negan's voice cut through the silence, completely unaffected by the horror around him. "Did you hear that?" he said with a laugh. "He said, 'Suck my nuts.'"

He chuckled to himself, looking down at what he had done like it was some kind of joke. "Oh, my goodness. Look at this!"

Measi flinched at the sound of his voice more than anything else. Negan moved through the group, enjoying every second of their fear. He stopped in front of Rosita, and Measi saw her face change.

Saw the pain.

The anger.

The helplessness.

"Sweetheart," Negan said, looking at her. "Lay your eyes on this." Rosita didn't answer. She just looked away. Negan tilted his head. "Oh, damn. Were you together?" His smile faded into something almost mocking. "That sucks."

He looked back toward Abraham. "But if you were, you should know there was a reason for all this. Red — hell, he was, is, and will ever be red. He just took one or six or seven for the team."

Measi barely heard the rest. Because her attention had shifted. Negan was looking at her. Really looking at her. And she hated that he noticed. The tears she was trying so hard to hide. The fact that she wasn't the cold, untouchable person everyone expected her to be.

His smile widened slightly.

"And you..." He tilted his head. "Sniper." The word felt like an insult coming from him. "You must feel pretty hopeless right now, huh?" Measi didn't respond.

Couldn't.

She had spent years being the person people counted on. The person who watched from a distance. The person who could put a bullet exactly where it needed to go. But right now? She couldn't even protect the people standing beside her.

Negan stepped closer.

Then closer.

Until he was right in front of her.

He lowered himself slightly, bringing Lucille into her view. "Look at it." Measi kept her eyes fixed somewhere else. Not on him. Not on the bat.

Not on the weapon that had just taken someone from them.