UNSTEADY .. n

04

Amelia didn't know how long she had been hiding. The smell of exhaust had given her something to focus on other than the fact she was going to do something insane.

The boxes surrounding her bustled and jostled with each bump in the road, each body the truck ran over. She could vaguely hear the conversations in the vehicle carrying the module. Amelia clutched her two guns, sitting in anxiety as time continued to tick by.

She could still hear the consistent ticking of the clock in her old room. In times of panic, she would remember its sound, keeling in time with the hands as she tapped her foot. Amelia closed her eyes shut, patting the beat on her leg.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

She felt the movements of the truck slow to a stop. Her heart leapt in her chest as she heard the slamming of doors. This was it.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Breathe, Am. Breathe. She saw the light of the module door opening. Two men began unloading boxes. Amelia loaded the guns, clicking them into place. She readied herself before leaping forward, blood pounding in her ears.

One shot.

A man collapsed to the ground, his shoulder spouting a bit of blood as he fell. Amelia felt a voice strike at her brain, but she pushed it aside as she continued firing off shots.

"Put your weapons down!" She shouted at the people beginning to surround her. Someone else jumped forward.

Amelia let off a shot to the neck.

"Stay back! Where's Negan?" She nearly spat. There was silence. The crowd began to clear. Out walked a tall and burley man sporting a dirtied leather jacket. Negan.

"Well well, it's the flower come to say hello." His eyes traveled to the men laying on the ground. He clenched his jaw, the condescending gaze still in his eyes. "It seems there was a bit of a tousel here, boys. Is that true?"

"She killed two of our men." A rough one shouted. Negan looked back at Amelia, huffing as she tried to regain her composure after murdering two people. Her jaw was set, eyes boring holes into Negan's head.

"She did, did she?" Negan stepped forward, staring down at Amelia. "Drop your guns, girl." She clenched her fist in response, the guns still tight in her hands. "Drop. The. Guns." Negan's voice was tight with his short temper. Amelia watched him for a moment longer before dropping her weapons.

The area was quiet, only the wind whipping at Amelia's cheeks. It was early morning, the sun just beginning to make its appearance for the day. Birds chirped in the distance. It looked like a stand off in one of the old western movies Amelia used to watch with her father when she was young. Negan turned his back to the girl.

Then Amelia made a mistake

She let out a growl, lunging at him. But before she could lay a hand on Negan, he had spun around. And grabbed her wrist, twisting if back. Amelia shrieked in pain, yanking her arm away and planting a square punch on the side of the man's jaw. His face was thrown to the left, but he kept his head there for a moment, slowly rubbing his cheek. Soon, the smirk reappeared as he turned to Amelia.

"That was good. I didn't see it coming." Negan straightened up. "Come with me, girl." His large hand reached over and grabbed her arm.

"Get the hell off me!" Amelia spat, pulling away. Negan stopped, turning to her and getting close to her face.

"You have an upper hand. I like you, but I ain't gonna tolerate disrespect, understand? Now come with me." He took her arm again, this time nodding in satisfaction when the girl didn't reject.

Amelia slowly followed Negan's pace, her eyes focusing on the back of his head. He was larger than her by quite a bit. His height was taller than Amelia's by at least four inches, and his buoild was much wider than hers as well. Although it might not look it, Amelia did have some muscle. It was mostly lower body, but it was enough to keep her from being a helpless twig. Kicking assholes in the face was something fun to do during her spare time. She made a note in her head to do the same to Negan when she had the chance.

Negan stopped in front of a door to what looked like a warehouse. Amelia's eyes seemed glued to it, convinced it was the opening to some torture chamber she was about to be thrown into. The man grinned at her focus.

"You're a piece of work, flower." He commented. Amelia glanced up at him, a slight nervousness in her movements. "But you need some fixing. You're like an old sports car. Your outside is pretty much the shit, but the insides need some replacing." Amelia didn't seem convinced. "You're supposed to be the badass bitch, right? You're supposed to be the tough cookie who looks like a ray of sunshine, but would actually slit your throat. Lemme tell ya, little girl, you're not supposed to be afraid of people, and sure as hell not afraid of me." Negan said in the most condescending voice possible.

Amelia wanted to punch him again.

"I'm not afraid of you." She growled under her breath.

"Oh yeah? Prove it?" Amelia reached into her pocket and yanked out her knife, still standing at a safe distance from Negan. He pretended to be surprised. "Ooh, looky here-- a cute little butter knife!" He taunted. Amelia lunged at him, but he dodged with ease. She screamed in frustration.

"I'll kill you." The girl snarled, suddenly becoming conscious of the tears welling in her eyes. Negan didn't notice.

"Come on then, flower. Kill me."