Too Good to be Bad 2 | Negan |

16 - Tunnel of death

'I'm not scared', I say, turning back around to shrug him off. I catch Alex's eye, who stifles a laugh when he sees my face and stick my tongue out to him.

'Well, you should be', Negan says, coming up to the front of the group. 'We shouldn't go in there.'

'Nobody asked you', Maggie snaps at him.

'Asked or not, there's no way I'm going in there', Negan continues stubbornly. Then he points to the wall of the tunnel. 'You see that line? That's how high the water gets. If this thing floods, we'll all make a nice dinner for the fish.'

I follow his finger and then look at the puddles that have already formed on the ground from the endless rain today. He may have a point.

'We're not getting anywhere in that rain', Maggie argues. 'And we don't have the time to wait it out. These tunnels are our only option. If anyone wants to turn back, now's your chance.'

'Great, anyone with me?' Negan asks, glancing shortly at me as he turns back to the entrance of the subway.

'Not you', Maggie says sternly.

Negan sighs and turns to face her slowly.

'Why the hell not?'

'You know why. We need your directions.'

'Fine, my directions are to wait out the rain and get back to the streets. Not walk ourselves into an early grave.'

'There's no time', Maggie growls at him through gritted teeth, advancing on him menacingly.

The tension is palpable as Maggie and Negan stare each other down. But I have to say I'm not too keen on going into these dark tunnels myself.

'Look, maybe Negan's right', I say tentatively. 'We don't know what's hiding in those tunnels. I know we're short on time, but if we walk straight into a death trap, Alexandria would be even worse off.'

'Of course you would say that', Gage scoffs. Everyone stays silent for a second.

'What's that supposed to mean?' I ask uneasily. The kid may be young, but he's terribly obnoxious.

'You don't think we heard the rumours? How you used to be Negan's who-'

Before he can finish his sentence or anyone else can react, Cody rushes forward, eager to take this opportunity to come to my aid.

'You want to finish that sentence?' he says threateningly, getting into his face to tower over him.

Gage involuntarily takes a step back, but meets Cody's eyes head on.

'What are you getting so worked up about? Are you sure you want that maniac's sloppy seconds?'

Negan looks over at me for a second, then lowers his gaze to the ground, looking somewhat ashamed. Cody reaches out swiftly and grabs Gage by the neck.

'Apologize, you little shit.'

'Cody, stop it', I say agitatedly, my face turning bright red. It's been a long time since anyone even mentioned my relationship with Negan to me, but I guess people still talk about it behind my back. Gage wasn't even there when it all happened.

Cody turns around to look at me and finally drops the asshole on the ground as he sees my face. Gage reaches for his throat and gasps gor air. Alex comes up to me and whispers to me in Spanish.

'You shouldn't have stopped him, that bastard has no right to talk to you like that.'

'This shit is not what we're here for', I whisper back, avoiding everyone's eyes. The tension is even more cutting now.