burning bridges /negan.

XX.

XX.
- devil in me : halsey -
"but i scream too loud if i speak my mind"

my eyes open to darkness. it must be early morning. perfect.

i cautiously slide out from under the duvet and onto the floor. my feet hit the cold floorboards and i cringe at the noise they make. he can't wake up, this is my one shot to do the right thing.

i glance over my shoulder and see negan still asleep, his peaceful expression makes my heart hurt a bit.

my hand shakes as i creep to the bedroom door and twist the handle. i open it just a crack, and slip through into the corridor.

it gets harder and harder to control my heavy breathing as i travel deeper down the sanctuary; heading for the basement.

this place is like a maze. and i'm still not certain i know how to navigate its twists and turns.

eventually i come to the bottom of the last stairway. the cells must be around here somewhere.

i pace down the thin hallway. in the darkness i call out quietly; "rick? are you down here?"

i wait for a response. i'm not even certain i'm in the right place. my chest sinks. did negan lie to me?

then i hear him. muffled grunts of pain coming from down the hall.

i move towards the sound, speeding up until i reach the end of the corridor. i spot him through a dirty glass panel built into the huge metal door.

i bang on the glass to gain his attention. he looks up slowly, i can tell that he's in agony.
rick hauls his body, with great effort, off of the floor. i crouch down to inspect the door lock, almost letting out a scream of relief, when i find that a simple twist of a latch will open it.

it's painfully heavy on the hinges, but i manage to open it slightly, enough to let rick squeeze through.

"it's billie, right?" he grunts, spitting slightly as he talks.

"it is. good to meet you properly rick." he smiles faintly, but refuses my hand to shake.

now i think, he has no reason to trust me. i haven't even told him what i'm here for. for all he knows, negan owns me.

i assure him. "i'm going to get you out of here rick. you need to go and stay gone, okay? i won't be able to help you again!"

"you know, you're not like the others." his says, his voice weak and hoarse, muffled also by his thick accent.

the others?

now he holds out his hand, open palm, for me to shake. i return his smile and grab his hand firm.

"i can take you with me you know? if you wanted out." he raises an eyebrow at me.

negan's difficult. i know that. he's a liar, and a killer, and a dangerous man. but nothing could ever take me from him.

"i can't rick."

he seems to understand, pulling me in and holding me in a long embrace.

then, he kisses me.

i freeze. but then i heat up, melting into his arms and letting my mouth do the same with his.

a few seconds pass but feel like years. consciousness returns to me and i push rick away from me.

he looks shocked at what just happened. shaking his head he blurts out "sorry, that was inappropriate, i know."

"it's okay." i reply, shooting him a supportive smile.

golden sun infused with dusty purple light begins to stream through a window at the end of the hallway.

"we don't have much time!" i grab rick's hand and lead him to the stairway.

i clang up the steps, choosing to be quick rather than quiet. rick does the same.

"this way."

we jog cautiously through corridors, i attempt to trace the route i took before. i finally recognise where we are as we turn onto the main hallway. we pace towards the grand entrance.

the guards at our exit are asleep. if negan knew how lazy his men were i'm sure he wouldn't be pleased.

i silence my heavy breathing as me and rick slide past the guards and into the empty courtyard. the huge metal gates holding us in are operated mechanically.

i spot the saviour on duty at his post, stood on a platform a few feet up.

"open these gates!" i order, with a convincingly loud voice.

rick keeps his head down. but it's not enough to disguise him. the young man on guard takes a second look at him beside me and refuses my order.

"open these gates now." i repeat.

"i can't do that miss." he shouts back, fear in his tone.

"do you know who i am?" i'm high on adrenaline. confidence running through my veins.

"i'm with negan. my word ranks higher than yours, so, i'm telling you to open it."

i can hear noise from inside the sanctuary. saviours waking up to start their morning activities.

my heart beat begins to race again.

"did you hear me? open this gate, now." i scream at the boy.

i can see the cogs in his mind ticking. i can see him considering his options. slowly, he reaches to pull the lever, opening the gates.

they creak and groan as they roll open agonisingly slowly. i push rick forwards.

"go!" i mouth at him. although there's really no use in being quiet. it's quite obvious to anyone watching that i'm assisting his escape.

he turns back and pulls me in for a hug. what is most likely to be our last encounter. i squeeze back.

"what in fuck is going on here?"

my heart drops. it's negan.

"go!" this time i shout. i scream repeatedly at rick. "go!"

i see terror flash across his face. he makes a run for the exit.

gunfire erupts around us. bullets explode in the ground right by rick's feet as he races towards the cover of the woods.

"well? close the fucking gates!" negan roars at the boy atop the tower.

i gasp as i feel his grip around my throat. he hauls my body from the ground. i can't breathe.

"you stupid, stupid brat." he spits at me.

i choke and struggle for breath as tears run into my mouth.

he drops me to the ground. i splutter and cry as i inhale.

through glassy eyes i watch as rick fades into the distance. literally running for his life.

negan continues cussing and screaming. hurling insults at his guards and thrashing lucille through the air.