ENDURE.
❝I know how to fight,
and I know how to win. ❞
THE WALKING DEAD.
DARYL DIXON.
BOOK THREE of the LANCASTER SAGA.
[ SEASONS 7 - 9 ]
*****
*I do not own The Walking Dead or any of its characters. I simply write to write. Astrid, any additional...
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[ ii. no exceptions ]
october 27th, 2012
➸➸➸
LUCILLE, THE BARBED-WIRE baseball bat, came crashing down upon Abraham Ford's head.
The impact instantly shattered bone and exploded brain matter. The bloody concoction elicited a horrified cry from Astrid as she felt it spray across her face. As the former marine crumpled to the gravel below, Bailey began to wail against Astrid's chest. She hurriedly wound her arm tighter around the twelve-year-old, holding Bailey's head secure to her chest, all the while still trying to keep herself from screaming further.
"Oh, would you look at that!" bellowed Negan. "Taking it like a fucking champ!"
The leader of the Saviors had unleashed holy hell upon them. Beneath the cruel façade of a game, Abraham's fate was sealed. Yet, even in the face of unfathomable pain, he refused to die quietly.
To Astrid's disbelief, she watched as Abraham, defying the very laws of mortality, dragged himself back to his knees. Blood streamed thickly down his face from the deep, gaping wound smashed into his indented brow.
"Suck . . . my . . . nuts!" He spat defiantly.
Negan only cackled. Then, he raised Lucille once more, before bringing the barbed-wire bat crashing down upon Abraham's thick skull for a second time. Astrid flinched at the loud sound of flesh meeting wood. More blood splattered upon her as Abraham fell and did not rise again.
The lineup wept. Sasha Williams and Rosita Espinosa, both linked to the fallen soldier by loves all their own, bore the mightiest brunt of the torment. Eugene Porter's sobs also joined, his swollen eyes overflowing with tears for his butchered best friend.
Each strike against Abraham's head seemed to rend Astrid, too. Despite the urge to turn away, she remained transfixed, unable to tear her stare from the grotesque spectacle unfolding before her. With each swing, Abraham's once-distinguished features were obliterated, reduced to a mound of gore.
When only a battered corpse was left, Negan laughed again. "You hear that? He said, 'suck my nuts!'," He exclaimed, his maddening guffaws echoing through the clearing. "Oh, my goodness!" Negan's voice dripped with pride as he swung the bat around, casting crimson arcs of their friend's blood down the lineup. "Look at this . . . You guys, look at my dirty fucking girl!"
Astrid felt frozen as she stared mindlessly at the stained weapon. Tears still steadily streaked down her cheeks, mingling with the blood and grime, as her chest tightened with a familiar ache. The pain was robbing her of clarity. Even though she had not been the one hit, she felt as if her own eyes wanted to close for the final time.
Negan abruptly sidestepped Astrid. She barely moved.
"Sweethearts, lay your eyes on this," He whispered. He thrust the blood-soaked, skin-infused, bat toward her and Bailey. The fresh gore dripped from Lucille's barbs, forming a puddle at their knees.
