ATELOPHOBIA. . . the walking dead

VIII

LILITH DID NOT REALIZE HOW MUCH she missed her father until she heard his voice call out from behind the front gate. Sure, it had only been 4 days, and she was thoroughly enjoying her time in Alexandria, but the sound of his voice triggered a near homesick feeling in her.

Maybe it was the panic attack she had had only a moment ago, or maybe it was the isolation she felt from every person inside those walls, but she was elated to see her father. She watched from several yards back as Spencer pulled open the inner fence, revealing Negan in all his glory, looking smug as usual. Lilith rolled her eyes, amused.

The two began to converse, but she wasn't quite close enough to articulate what they were saying. Rick walked up from behind, striding past her and all the way to the gate. He looked angry yet terrified.

After a short interaction between him and her father, Rick pulled open the large outer gate. They continued to speak when a walker revealed itself from behind one of the Savior trucks. Negan smiled, gesturing with his head towards the dead thing.

"Calling it!" He shouted, amused. He took it down with one swing of his sacred bat, "Easy peasy lemon squeezy!"

Lilith watched as Rick scanned the group of saviors and saw him tense at the sight of someone. She recognized the object of his attention as the man Dwight had taken home with them. Daryl was his name. He was dressed in the usual Sanctuary prisoner garb. Cream sweats with an orange initial spray painted on his shirt. His was A for Alexandria.

Her father continued to taunt Rick with proclamations of his "service" before walking inside the walls, handing Lucille to the other man as he walked past.

Once inside, Negan immediately noticed his daughter ahead of him. She leaned against the metal wall with an amused smirk. A wide grin appeared on his face as he opened his arms, continuing to strut towards her.

Lilith returned the smile as she pushed herself off the wall, running towards her father and jumping in his arms. He briefly spun in a circle then set her back down, ruffling her hair once he did so.

"How'd it go, munchkin?" He asked her.

Lilith cringed slightly at the nickname. "Peachy," was all she responded with.

Negan sighed contently as he looked around. "Hot diggity dog! This place is magnificent!" He turned to look at Rick who stood behind him, "An embarrassment of riches, as they say. Yes, sir, I do believe you are gonna have plenty to offer up."

Rick didn't respond, turning to look at Daryl again. "Hey, Daryl-"

"No," Negan cut him off with a stern tone, "Nope. He's the help. You don't look at him, you don't talk to him, and I don't make you chop anything off of him." A small grin worked it's way onto his face as he turned to Rosita, who stood right behind him. "Same goes for everyone," He told her with a sing-songy voice. He leaned in closer to her face, "Right?"