The Price (A Walking Dead Story)

1. Resurface

I was in the dirt crawling on my hands and knees searching for anything that I could find. I don't know what the hell I was looking for - but I knew that I needed to find something. Anything that someone might have left behind. Maybe when they were running for their lives. I didn't care. I was dirty. I was hungry and I was tired.

So far nothing there was nothing. The forest was silent except for the occasional brushing of leaves as I mustered around. I decided to stop for a moment and really think about where to search next. I got up off the ground and stood up.

I stopped moving, and suddenly was glad that I had, because as soon as I did, I noticed the faint sound of leaves crunching in the distance. Sounds that weren't being made by me. I was no longer alone anymore.

Two men stood of in the distance by some trees like they had stopped to catch their breath. If I could get away quickly enough, then maybe they wouldn't see me. I quickly scurried behind a tree and slowly began to walk the other way.

"Well what do we have here?" A male voice said from behind me. My heart starting pounding and I froze.

No...there were more of them on the opposite side that I hadn't seen coming. Shit. I had no choice but to face him. Slowly, I turned to face the man who was walking toward me. He was tall and thin with wispy balding hair, and a moustache.

"Why hello there," the man said, giving me a toothy grin. Still breathing hard, I glared up at him defiantly. There was only this one man so far, right in front of me. Smiling at me like I was his next meal.

I tried to make a break for it, but one of the men came up from behind me and pinned both of my arms behind my back. Suddenly two more men came out and I was surrounded before I even realized.

"Hey hey hey now," the man pinning my arms whispered in my ear as I struggled. "It's alright." He brushed a strand of hair from my face. He was bigger than the other man and when he held onto me, I felt it. He had full beard that prickled against the top of my head and smelled of sweat.

Fuming, I turned my head away - but I kept my mouth shut. I always kept my mouth shut. Everything in my bones said to keep my mouth shut.

"Are you alone?" the man in front of me asked. The leader. He stood about a meter away and didn't come any closer.

"We're not gonna ask you again, little girl," he added calmly.

"Huh, you alone?" The man holding me blew his hot breath in my ear, before trailing the back of his hand from from my cheek down to my collarbone. He began pressing his mouth to my exposed neck.

"Yes," I blurted out finally, as I jerked my neck away. All the men just laughed.

"She's a fucking mess," one of the men noted. I may have looked like shit, but I for sure as hell looked better than him.

"Let's just take her back then," the leader said. "I'm tired of being out here."

"Take me back where?" I asked quickly.

"Oh, so you can speak now, can you?" he asked.

***

I don't know how long we were driving for. It's not like I had any idea where I was anymore. As if it wasn't humiliating enough forced to be in a car ride with these men I had never met... I had to sit in the back in a truck bed sandwiched between two of them.

After God knows how long, we finally came to a stop outside a large factory building. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. It was barricaded all around. There was a large metal fence  and a wall of walkers surrounded . I wondered how long it took to get everything set up like that.

Suddenly, I was being lead into the building and down narrows halls.

"First we need to explain to you the rules." the leader said as we walked. Rules? What rules? Who the hell said I wanted to stay here?

"You want anything around here, you have to work for it. Nothing's free. There are plenty of jobs around here for someone like you to do." He paused. "If not, there are other ways to earn your keep," he added, turning around to eye me in a way that made my skin crawl.

"Anyway," he said moving on. "Usually people don't meet Negan till later, but we may be able to make an exception today."

"Who's Negan?" I asked just before he pulled me through a door which brought us to a large open space with stairs leading to upstairs rooms on every corner. The man I was with wouldn't let go of me, while the rest that followed behind, just tapered off.

The man didn't answer right away. He was looking somewhere else.

"He's in charge?" I asked.

"Yes he is," he announced loudly. "And it must be your lucky day because I think he's here now." He paused. "Right in that room up there." The man pointed to a door that for the most part was darkened and in the shadows by the shadow of the cement roofing that hung over it. I could make out the bottom of the door.

"Do you wanna know how he makes sure people follow the rules? I'll tell you a secret," he said bending down toward me. "If they don't...he takes a baseball bat and he beats the shit out of you." He laughed. I wanted nothing more than to wipe the stupid smirk off his face. These people were insane.

"He's kidding," a woman said from behind me as she walked over. I quickly turned around while the man I was with, just stood up again. "We have other ways," she finished. She had shoulder length red hair, wore a small smirk on her face... but she also looked a little scary. There was something about her eyes...the way they found mine.

"Just look at Lawrence over there." She gestured to man passing by with a disfigured face...the left side had been burned. When I locked eyes with Lawrence, I instantly regretted...Dammit, if looks could kill, I thought.

The redhead laughed. "The name's Paula. What's yours?"

"Enid," I answered, turning back to meet her gaze. I noticed as I did, the man got behind and placed his arm on my shoulder.

"Nice to meet you Enid. How old are you?" She said the words with virtually no pause between them, like the statement and question were both a package deal.

"Fifteen," I replied.

"Fifteen," she repeated. Then she paused and looked up at the man. "You hear that, Simon? " She said glancing at him. "Fifteen," she repeated again.

I didn't get to see what look he gave her, but after a moment, Paula spoke again. "Well I have work to do, so see you around, Enid," she said to me.

I didn't say anything back. She nodded and I watched her take off in the opposite direction through another door.

Turning around again, I noticed there were still a few men around who had yet to leave.

"Don't you all have work to do?" the man Simon, asked them, sounding annoyed. "What, you waiting for Negan? He won't be out anytime soon. So beat it."

Finally the men started to disappear. Once they were all gone, Simon turned to me.

"Why don't I show you where you'll be staying...get you settled in, Enid," Simon said with a smile. He placed his hand on the small of my back which startled me and caused me to jerk away from him.

This time when he looked down at me, he wasn't smiling. "Let's go...now," he said, grabbing onto my arm.

"Leave her," said a loud man's voice, that seemingly came from everywhere, but nowhere at all. Simon and I both looked up in the direction of where it was coming from. The balcony...somewhere in the shadows. "You aren't needed anymore, Simon. I'll take it from here."

I recognized it...but that didn't make any sense. It sounded like...

Then out he came. I glanced up at the balcony just as he stepped out of the shadows and made it out to the rails.

No...

I knew him. I know him.