As Sky woke, it took a while for the haze of sleep to fade away, and when it did she was confused about her surroundings. She lay in a comfortable bed, with clean, warm blankets in an immaculate looking room. Something that in the middle of an apocalypse seemed very strange.
She couldn't even remember the last time she had a clean blanket to sleep with. Hell she could barely remember the last time she slept! Being on constant alert made the task almost impossible.
She glanced around the room, taking in her surroundings, her natural response being to map out all the exits for a quick escape if needed. As she rolled over in the bed she jumped at the sudden realization that she wasn't alone, quickly she pulled the covers up further.
"You're awake" he said as he looked up from his book.
She stared at him in shock for a moment as she processed everything. She had almost thought that the whole thing was a dream when she woke up in such a nice place.
"Negan?" she asked, memories slowly trickling back into her mind.
"The one and only" he confirmed. "How're ya feeling?".
"Groggy" she replied as she took another quick glance around the room. "How long have I been asleep? Where am I?"
"You've been out for a couple days. You're at my compound" he told her.
"A couple days?" she said sounding shocked.
"Yep. Almost thought you were fucking dead" he laughed. "You passed out on me back on the road".
She stopped and thought for a moment, remembering the events that unfolded when he had found the group she was with. "They're all dead aren't they?"
"Sure are darling. Every last filthy mother fucker" he growled.
"Good" she replied bluntly.
Negan proceeded to tell her all about the compound and how everyone worked to earn what they needed just like in the world before everything went to shit. She learned of his multiple wives, which seemed to be yet another status symbol of his power, like Lucille who was leaning against the chair he was in. The way he talked about them made it sound as though he didn't really care for them, they were just there to serve a purpose just like everyone else.
The saviors were a large group, and it sounded as though Negan was a feared and respected leader and he knew how to keep everyone in line. He had many rules, and there were consequences if you ever dared to break one. She knew how violent he could be, she had seen it herself, but she had also seen a small glimpse of another side to him, a softer more human side. She found him intriguing in a strange kind of way.
"So what did you do before all this?" he asked, trying to get an idea of where she would be useful in the compound.
"I had just finished training as a pediatric nurse" she told him.
"Sounds like you'll be a mighty handy woman to have around. We only have the one doctor, he checked you over when I brought you in, the other medical staff are just following his lead" he told her.
"Glad I'll be useful for something other than-" she began, unable to finish the sentence when she realized what she was about to say.
"Just so you know, I have zero fucking tolerance for that shit. In my compound, no man lays a fucking hand on a woman without her consent. So you don't ever have to worry about that again" he assured her and she nodded in understanding. "There's a shower through there, and some clean clothes" he said as he nodded towards one of the doors. "Go get yourself cleaned up. I'll show you around when you're done".
