UNSTEADY .. n

05

Amelia roughly wiped her cheeks before standing in defeat and dropping her knife. Negan was curious to see what her next move would be, but all she did was collapse onto her knees and stare at the ground. Amelia's hands started shaking again, and she felt the tears fall. Negan was merely perplexed by the situation. This girl came barging into his territory to kill he and his men, and now she was a crying mess. He walked forward, kneeling down to look at her.

"Why the long face?" His voice was only a little softer than before, trying to figure out why it was she was so upset. Amelia shook her head, avoiding eye contact. Negan sighed. "Is it your time again? Is it the start of the plague? The rainy season? The start of the cycle?"

Amelia wanted to slap him.

But she didn't.

There was a pause. She took a long and shaky breath, trying to steady her voice. Amelia looked up, eyes puffy.

"I killed those men." She said finally. Negan almost laughed.

"Hell yeah, you did!" His hand slapped her back as he grinned. "You came in here and killed those fucking men!" Negan stood up, shaking his head. "Don't need to get all wishy-washy about it."

"No, you don't understand." Amelia stood up as well, wiping her eyes. "I dont kill people. I kill the dead. I've never killed a person before." She took a deep breath. Negan gave her a look before he burst out laughing. Amelia watched him, embarrassment and anger welling up again.

"You're pulling my leg. You mean to tell me you never killed a man before? You never killed an asshole trying to take what's yours?" The man asked, calming down. 'How the hell does someone manage to do that? This shit-hole apocalypse has been going on for however many years now, and you mean to tell me you ain't ever killed nobody? Woo, we got ourselves a freshie." Negan hooted. Amelia really wanted to kill him. "Tell me, flower, if you ain't never killed nobody, just how the hell did you think you were going to kill me?" He asked, looking down at the girl. Amelia fumed.

"You killed Glenn." She huffed, cheeks boiling. Negan chuckled.

"You can't pin that one on me. That was the hunter's fault, not mine." The man chuckled, crossing his arms. "Which one was he again? The redhead, right? I liked him." Amelia shivered with rage.

"You're a real ass." She shouted at him. Negan laughed, throwing his head back.

"Sorry I bashed your boyfriend's head in." He shrugged. Amelia's anger flared to its peak, giving her a dangerous level of self-confidence as she practically leapt towards Negan, trying to punch and claw at him. The man was able to hold her back with ease.

"He was her only chance at being happy again!" Amelia screamed, voice cracking as she started crying again. "He was the one way Maggie could have a life. Everyone was just dead! Glenn was all she had left, and you took him away! You took him away from my sister and it fucking killed her!" She threw fist after fist as she tried to break free from Negan's grip. He watched her with less curiosity now, more pity. He didn't care what he did to Maggie. Glenn was dead, but it was because rules needed to be placed under order. But the madness he saw in Amelia worried him slightly, watching the girl break down before him. It was a little scary.

"Alright, alright. Calm down, will ya?" Negan threw the girl backwards. Amelia stumbled for a moment, still huffing in anger.

"You deserve to die!" She picked up her knife again and ran towards Negan, thrusting herself forward. But Negan caught her fist in mid air, watching in disbelief as the knife she clutched tightly fell down.

A clatter echoed as Amelia looked up at Negan. He had his mind made up at this point. The girl was crazy, but she had ambition.

Potential.

He smiled fondly at the girl, letting go of her once again. He stepped back, nodding to himself. Negan started to take a few steps in a different direction, whistling to himself as he went. Amelia would make a good addition to the saviors in time. That would be her debt. That would be her service. She would join them without struggle. Amelia would become a part of this new future.

Amelia watched as Negan started to walk off.

"W-where are you going?" She asked in a shaky voice. He shot her a glance, smirking as he continued.

"Come on. I gotta show you the place."