Alexandria

Chapter 12

Rachel rides through the gates of Alexandria, the sun a few hours from setting. She heads straight for Rick's house, pulling up outside impatiently.

"Hey," Rick nods. "I didn't think you'd be back before dark."

"I told you i wanted to get it done. Have Daryl and Dwight gone?"

"Yeah, they went out straight after you left."

"You heard anything from them?"

Rick shakes his head. "You really think he's gonna show his face again?"

"I do. Which way did they go?"

"Rachel, i gave them specific orders to bring him back alive."

"And you think they'll stick to those orders? I don't know if you've noticed, but Daryl's become really cold lately. He wanted to kill Vincent, did you know that?"

"No, i didn't. But he brought him back alive, because i asked him to."

"But this is Negan. It'll be so easy for Daryl to say he put up a fight, and i can't see Dwight having a problem with that either. You couldn't have picked two worse people to go looking for Negan."

~

Negan walks through the woods, the world around him an orange haze as the sun dips in the sky.

As he rambles on, he regrets killing Brandon. Partly because he knows how Rachel would feel about it, but mostly because he has no clue how to find the Whisperers.

As the sun slowly fades, the air becomes chilly.

"Little fucker could've got me a fucking sleeping bag," Negan frowns as he comes to a clearing.

He walks through a town, keeping an eye out for a half decent place to rest his head. Negan turns to his left at the sound of footsteps, taking his knife from his belt.

"Who the fuck's there? Come out from wherever you're fucking hiding," Negan frowns as he holds up his knife. He takes a step back, his eyes widening at what looks like the dead standing a few feet ahead of him. Whisperers. "Wow, you guys are scary as fuck. If it were darker and i couldn't see your mouths through those masks, i'd never be able to tell you apart from the dead fucks. How do you guys even fucking tell each other from the dead?"

"You know what we are?" One of them asks.

"Well yeah, i've got fucking eyes," Negan says.

"Why did you come here?"

"You say that like this shitty town is something fucking special. I was just looking for a place to lay my head. This skin thing work? Because i could get into that," Negan smiles.

"You were not sent here?" A voice comes from behind him.

"Huh?" Negan turns his head. "Holy shit! You're a big fucker aren't you? Jesus Christ! You some kinda rebel? Won't wear the full skin suit? Bet you just hang out behind the others saying, 'pay no attention to me,' hoping the dead fucks won't notice your chin? Or is it that they can't find enough skin to cover your giant ass? What's your name, big guy?"

"We do not have names. I am called Beta."

"Well excuse fucking me, but that's a name. A fucking stupid one, but it still counts."

Beta steps closer, towering above Negan. He'd assumed Rachel had been exaggerating, but she'd been dead on the money. Beta was huge, more than a foot taller than himself.

"You are not amusing. You are too loud. This is not a world for the loud anymore. You need to be silenced," Beta says.

Big fucker or not, Negan squares up to him as best he can. "Is that a fucking threat?" He scowls. "I'm not a fucking idiot. I can fucking count, and i count five of you. The rest are dead fucks, and while i appreciate you holding those stupid fucks at bay, i'd bet my handsomest nut only two of you can actually fight. I'm not gonna win a full blown fight, especially with you, frowny Mc'twoknives jumping in. But i'm damn fucking sure i'll kill at least three of you smelly fucking piss bowls before you get me."