Determined to Endure: The 4th Installment in my Daryl Dixon Love Story

Chapter 16: Another Down

Silence encases everyone when he stops swinging. My hand is interlocked with Maggie's as the two of us grip onto one another as if we're keeping each other there. I hear other cries and sobs but I can't force myself to look away from my knee's. I know whose dead next to me, and I know who the man who did it is still front of me. Negan loudly calls out, when it's all said and done, "oh, my goodness! Look at this!" He swings the bat, "you guys, look at my dirty girl!" My eyes are down but he puts it in front of my face and snarls, "sweetheart. Lay your eyes on this." I barely lift them up to see, but as soon as I do and he can see the illness on my face he moves it over towards Rosita, "come on honey, take a gander!" He demands to her. I eye her, but she doesn't look up. Her lips quivering as she cries. Negan adjusts his stance, "oh, damn. Were you -- Were you together? That sucks. But if you were, you should know there was a reason for all this."
He then looks at our friends body and mocks, "Red -- and hell, he was, is, and will ever be red. He just took one or six or seven for the team! So take...a damn look." He pushes the bat further into her eye sight, demanding her, "take a damn look!" His voice booms through the wilderness.

Suddenly Daryl dodges up and towards Negan. He manages to get a hit, "Daryl!" I squeal his name, knowing he just signed his death warrant.

I feel my body start to give up on me as Negan's men hold Daryl down. Negan, already standing tall yells, "oh, no." He laughs, "that? Oh, my! That... is a no-no. The whole thing -- not one bit of that shit flies here."

Dwight steps over Daryl, his bow being held on top of his head, "do you want me to do it? Right here."

"No!" I plead, not even sure if I say it loudly or if it was just in my head.

Negan grabs Daryl by his hair, pulling him up to see his face, "no. No, you don't kill them, not until you try a little." He lets go and the men drag him back to his spot in line. I stare at Daryl, willing him to look up and tell me why. Negan goes on, "and anyway, that's not how it works. Now, I already told you people -- first one's free, then -- what'd I say? I said I would shut that shit down! No exceptions." His voice booms through the night as he reminds us of what he said, "now, I don't know what kind of lying assholes you've been dealing with, but I'm a man of my word. First impressions are important. I need you to know me. So..." he takes one step and an inhale "back to it" he turns and swings. I scream out as Maggie does, assuming Daryl was the one to meet the end of that bat. I feel Maggie's hand grip loosen, as if she has nothing left.

I hear another thud and Maggie cry out, "no"
I feel her body shaking next to me.

When I open my eyes, I see Glenn kneeling tall, blood dripping across his face. His eye has popped out and his skull smashed in. I try to squeeze Maggie's hand but I can't even get my own strength. Negan moves closer to his face, "buddy, you still there?" Glenn grunts and gurgles and we all let our sobs be heard. Negan goes on, a clear sadistic tone in his voice, "I just don't know. It seems like you're trying to speak, but you just took a hell of a hit. I just popped your skull so hard, your eyeball just popped out, and it is gross as shit!"

In between the gurgle, Glenn gets out, "Maggie, I'll find you."

She starts to sob, unable to even make noise as she stares at her husband. Negan looks at her, "oh. Oh, hell. I can see this is hard on you guys. I am sorry. I truly am. But I did say it. No exceptions!" He turns back to finish killing Glenn, seeming to enjoy it. Negan laughs out loudly, "you bunch of pussies. I'm just getting started." His voice gets louder each time he comes up to take another swing, "Lucille is thirsty." Another hit, another crack. He laughs further, "she is a vampire bat." One more hit and he's done. There's nothing left for him to hit down on. His point has been made. As every single one of us cries, Negan looks around with dismay, "what? What, the joke that bad?"

Rick mutters, lower than I think he anticipated but I hear him, "I'm gonna kill you."

"What?" Negan steps closer to him, putting the bat close to Rick's face. The blood and brain matter still dripping off of it, "I didn't quite catch that. You're gonna have to speak up."

Rick sniffles, but responds, "not today... not tomorrow... but I'm gonna kill you."

Negan inhales sharply and responds, "Jesus." He chuckles then calls out, "Simon, what did he have, a knife?"

A man from behind us somewhere answers, "uh, he had a hatchet."

"A hatchet?" Negan asks.

My breathing is still uncontrollable as my vision starts to blur as well. Simon responds, "he had an ax."

Negan explains, "Simon's my right-hand man. Having one of those is important. I mean, what do you have left without them? A whole lot of work. Do you have one?" I pray Rick doesn't look over to Daryl or Michonne, knowing he'd take that opportunity to kill them just to hurt him, hurt us all. He goes on, "maybe one of these fine people still breathing? Oh. Or did I..." he clicks his tongue but Rick doesn't give him a response, "sure. Yeah. Give me his ax." Negan tells his guy, who brings it over. I do what I can to look over to Rick and I notice his previously defeated demeanor has been replaced. He's kneeling taller, staring Negan down. Negan places the ax into his waistband and sighs as he stands. He grabs Rick by the shoulder and starts dragging him as he shouts out, "i'll be right back. Maybe Rick will be with me. And if not, well, we can just turn these people inside out, won't we? I mean, the ones that are left." The trailer they went into drives off and we are all left sitting there in our tears, left to wallow next to the corpses of our family.