Fallen Angel (Daryl Dixon)

Welcome To Hell

Why... why is this happening?

The salty tears ran down my face, burning my skin as I looked around at the other women in the dimly lit truck. I could feel their pain from the anguish on their faces. They lost their loved ones also, and we had no idea what was going to happen next. I held on to Jackson, swearing to him that they wouldn't take him from me no matter what I had to do. He cried for Mason, and it killed me inside. He was too young to understand what had happened to his father.

We drove for miles reaching our destination near sundown. When the trucks stopped, I felt like I was going to vomit, but I had to choke it back and show no fear. The group had to band together. I looked at the others and tried to get them to fight, but they just stared out into space.

"We have to do something now. Come on ladies, we have to save our children."

Nothing but silence.

"Please help me"..I could see Carly and began to plead with her to help me..."Please, Carly, we only have one shot at this; we have to do it now."

All she could do was cry.

I was alone.

The back opened up, and there was Casper.

"Well, come on, you sacks of crap..let's get going."

We were pulled out of the truck and then pushed to our knees. The sun was just settling behind the tall trees of the forest. There was a beautiful glow that shadowed the tree line. A cool breeze blew through my aurburn hair. My jeans became damp from the wet ground, and a chill ran up my spine.

As I looked around, I could see groups of men eyeing each one of us. A feeling of hatred came over me. I had never experienced this much rage in my life. It was something I never knew lurked inside of me. The urge to lash out and kill every last one of them became overpowering, but I knew my job was to protect Jackson.

Another group of men came in led by a tall, dark man who looked in charge. The others bowed down at his presence. I could tell he was well respected, and he willed a bat wrapped in barb wire. I watched as Casper walked over to the man and presented him with their findings.

"Well, this is it boss...a whole new crop."

I watched him as he carefully scanned each woman one by one. By the look on his face, I could tell he was making decisions on what to do with us, and I became very afraid of what that might be. I put my head down when he made eye contact with me.

The ground crunched under his boots as he made his way to my place in line. As he knelt down to be at face level, I could see that he got most of the rewards from the supply runs. He didn't smell as horrible as the others. His clothes, skin, and teeth were clean. I could feel his breath as he brushed the hair away from my face. I looked up, staring into his eyes. One thought came to mind.

I was looking at the devil himself.

"Well, hello there."

His voice had a southern raspy sound like a complete gentleman and a smile that was sweet but terrifying. I could see Casper roll his eyes from behind the man, knowing he had lost, which he knew all along.

"What's your name, darlin?"

I couldn't speak out of the rage I was feeling. There was an explosion about to go off in me, but I knew that if I acted up, Jackson could pay the price.

"Well, answer me, girl."

I could tell he was becoming impatient with my lack of respect.

With a huge lump in my throat, I was able to spit out, "Leah."

His smile grew deep.."Awe...yes, Leah, a sweet name indeed."

He stared deep into my eyes as though he could see my most inner thoughts. I feared that he would see how much I wanted to kill him and his men.

"Where you from, Leah?"

Again, my throat caught, and I struggled with my words,
"A... Atlanta."

He took a deep breath, "My sweet, Georgia peach!" His voice almost sang as he smelled the air.

"She smells real sweet too," Casper mouthed in the background.

Negan cocked his head towards Casper, squinting his eyes in disgust and sucked his tongue back. Another man tapped the back of Casper's head. Casper then realized the mistake he had made and stepped back into the crowd.

I looked up into his eyes when he focused back onto me... the panic was building, my breathing became labored, and a strange wave of heat filled my body until beads of sweat ran down my face. The fear grew stronger and spread through each muscle, making them tense up.

Stay with it, Leah, is all I could concentrate on.

He continued to smile, keeping eye contact with me, pausing for a moment. My mind raced as I stared into his dark eyes. I was memorized by his deep gaze and solid posture.

"The name's, Negan, it's a pleasure."

Negan....I remember the man saying his name. He was the man in charge, and now he would decide my fate.

Still kneeling down in front of me, he looked down at Jackson, gave a slight laugh, and gave the order that I had feared.

"Take all the children to the truck."

My stomach dropped, and my body began to shake.

"No..No..Please don't take him."

Jackson was ripped out of my arms by a large man. He began screaming out for me. I jumped up and hit Negan, then tried to run after Jackson.

He rubbed his chin, "Oh, she's a feisty one. I like that, but you'll have to pay for that shit."

He grabbed the back of my hair as I tried to take off. He then dragged me to an isolated room just off camp. I could barely keep up with his pace.

What have I done?

I could still hear Jackson calling for me as the man carried him to a waiting truck. I continued to swing at Negan, trying to get away from his grasp. I had to get to Jackson before the truck drove away.

"Take sometime to get yourself together." Negan growled as I was thrown into the room.

I tried to run out of the door before it slammed and locked behind him. The fear and pain were too real. Tears streamed down my face as I called out for Jackson pounding the steel door. All I knew was that I had to get my son because he was all I had left in this horrible world.

Outside, I could hear the women screaming, and then slowly, everything went quiet. Then I could only hear the sound of my breathing in the cold, damp, darkness of the tiny room. I slid down the large steel door shaking. Tears soaked my face as I thought about losing Mason and then not knowing where they had taken Jackson. I had lost everything that I had loved in just moments. All there was to do was lay down and fall into darkness. But the realization came to me that I had to stay strong for Jackson, find him, and get out of this hell.

The men watched as Negan shook off the entire episode. As he walked past Casper, he paused for a moment, then turned facing him. The smile on Negan's face slowly grew, but Casper knew he wasn't off the hook for his earlier statement.

As Negan stared him down, he began to feel the heat of the moment. His body trembled as Negan gazed into his eyes, snatching his soul.

"That one there," he began as he pointed to the small dark room with the barbed bat, then sucked his tongue back, his eyes narrowed. "She's mine, got it?"

He towered over Casper and then gave a small chuckle before walking away. Casper swallowed hard before stumbling across the yard.