Last One Fighting ~ Negan Fanfic

12

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When I woke up I was disoriented. It took me a few seconds to remember where I was. The SUV had stopped moving and I was alone. I peered out the windshield and was surprised to see it was nearly dark. Low hanging dark clouds made it difficult to tell exactly what time it was but I couldn't believe I had slept all day. It was alarming to know I had slept through the truck stopping and the two of them getting it. It was incredibly dangerous and it shook me to my core. A leather jacket had been draped over me. When I sat up it pooled at my waist. I set it aside, recognizing it as Negan's.

I climbed out of the SUV, stretching my painful limbs. I had stiffened up badly and now I was incredibly sore, my muscles felt short and tight, lacking their normal fluidity. The pain made it a little difficult to focus, and my groggy brain was tripping over itself as I tried to process everything around me all at once.

We were in a large parking lot. The other trucks were parked in a half circle against the side of a building. There was about a fifty foot opening, but otherwise they had created a fence of sorts. There were people everywhere, both Negan's men and the ones from Woodbury were milling around together.

"Hey, you're awake," I flinched at what sounded like an over loud voice behind me. I realized belatedly it was probably a normal volume but my senses felt like they were in overdrive. Simon was standing a couple feet away, holding a crate of food.

"We stopped?" I asked unnecessarily, because I didn't really know what to say. I felt suddenly awkward standing here by myself uncertain what to do.

Simon nodded and if he noticed my discomfort he pretended he hadn't. "Quick pit stop, let everybody stretch their legs, get some chow, take a piss."

I nodded looking over the group of civilians. They were all gathered together quietly eating, but I quickly realized as large as the group looked we were missing a fair amount of Negan's men. I scowled. "Where is everyone?" I asked.

Simon shifted the crate so it rested on his hip so he could dig through it with his other hand. "Siphoning gas," he said without looking up at me. "Malls the perfect place. Lot's of abandoned cars."

I nodded, my eyes traveling to the open spaces between the trucks. I could see small groups of men moving through the abandoned cars with hoses and gas cans. I touched my new knife at my belt. "I'll be back," I told Simon and I started walking off without waiting for a rely. I wasn't asking permission.

"It's getting pretty dark," Simon called behind me. "Don't go wandering off."

I glanced back over my shoulder at him. "I can handle myself," I promised.

I headed towards the edge of the parking lot towards the woods. It was nearly full dark, but I needed to pee. When I stepped into the woods the darkness was nearly complete. I could only make out the shapes of the trees, and I stumbled over a root. I slowed but didn't stop. Fear slid through me. Fear I wasn't ready to admit to. After everything I had been through I refused to even consider the possibility that I could be afraid of the dark. I wasn't a child.

I grit my teeth and stomped deeper into the woods. I wasn't afraid. There was nothing left for me to be afraid of.

After I was done I let myself walk deeper into the woods. The air smelled fresh, like rain was coming. The cool wind blowing through the trees was exactly what I needed to clear my head. I exhaled and closed my eyes for a moment. For the first time I was well and truly alone and free. I could walk off into the darkness and there was no one to stop me. It was a heady feeling.

A growl destroyed all thoughts of peace. The knife appeared in my hand before my brain even registered which direction the biter was coming from. Right. It was on my right. I kicked out into the darkness, aiming about four feet off the ground. It caught the biter in the chest knocking it back and giving me a chance to get a clear and safe strike at its skull. I had just jerked my knife clear when another came and then another.