King ☞ r. grimes

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"See, I know there's a lot of firepower left in there, Rick. So, I'm gonna make this simple. I want all of the guns you've managed to scrape up-- yep, I know about those, too. I want every last grain of lemonade you've got, I want a person if your own choosing for Lucille. Daryl. Ooh, I gotta get me my Daryl back. And the pool table-- and all the pool cues and chalk. I want it all right now or Sasha dies-- you know what, let's make things interesting. I want it all right now or Sasha and Katie die," Negan said, a malicious grin slipping onto his face.

"Really? A pool table is worth more than my life?" Katie hissed.

"You won't sleep with me, so, yeah, doll face," Negan shrugged.

"Asshole," Katie scoffed, starting to panic. Her heart was pounding out of her chest.

"Come on, Rick. Just because I brought Sasha in a casket, doesn't mean she has to leave in it-- but it also doesn't mean that your precious little wifey won't leave it in," Negan threatened. Rick and Carl looked at each other in silence. They both knew what was right, but throwing Katie into the mix really screwed up everyone's sense of morals. No one wanted to see her get hurt.

"You know what? You suck ass, Rick," Negan shouted, annoyed.

"You sound like a freshman boy-- and you know how annoying they are, gym teach," Katie scoffed.

"I don't want to have to kill her, Rick. But that's exactly what you're going to make me do," Negan shouted, ignoring Katie.

"Let me see her," Rick ordered. He still hadn't stopped staring at Katie. It was as though if his eyes weren't locked on her, something would happen to her.

"Oh, alright. You're gonna have to give me a second. I might have to catch her up to speed. You can't hear shit in this thing," Negan said.

"Sash. You're not gonna believe this crap," Negan said, opening up the coffin. Sasha burst out of the coffin-- but it wasn't Sasha. Katie let out a scream that sounded like a wounded animal. Sasha was dead.

"Holy god damn!" Negan shouted as Sasha's walker pushed him off of the platform. And that's when all hell broke loose. Katie didn't even have time to process the fact that one of her best friends was dead-- one of her family members. Gunshots rang out in the air. Katie hopped off the platform, covering her head as she darted through Alexandria's gates, trying to find cover-- and a gun. She hid behind a car. Rick had torn his eyes away from her for s second and now he'd lost sight of her. He had no idea where she was and that terrified him even more.

"Not so fast, doll face," Negan growled, grabbing Katie by her hair and dragging her in front of him, using her as a shield again. He dragged her to a clearing by the fence.

"Get on your knees," Negan barked angrily.

"I usually ask for dinner first," Katie said slyly.

"I fed you dinner. Now get on your knees. I'm not gonna ask twice," Negan shouted, enraged. Katie sunk to her knees just as Carl was thrust down beside her.

"Carl? Are you okay?" Katie asked frantically. He nodded silently, not sure what to say or do. Everyone was panicking. Katie saw Jadis leading Rick towards them. He had been shot. It wasn't fatal, but he was bleeding and without proper medical attention, he'd bleed out in a couple hours.

"Rick?" Katie asked frantically. Jadis shoved him down next to her.

"Are you okay?" Rick asked quickly. Katie nodded quickly.

"Hello again," Negan said happily, swinging his bat over his shoulder.

"Well, shit, Rick. You just couldn't stay with us, huh? I mean you just had to go with these filthy garbage people," Negan scoffed.

"So when I say it, it's rude?" Katie scoffed.

"Doll face, this is the part of the show where you shut up," Negan snapped.

"Ah, Rick. This is just gonna make you sad, broken. You're gonna wish you were dead," Negan threatened.

"How about I make you a deal, Rick. I'll let you keep the baby, but I'm killing the other two," Negan said nonchalantly. Katie's eyes widened. Her breathing started to get heavy. She tried to stop her body from trembling.

"Oh, come on, doll face. Don't make this any harder on me. You two are the only ones I actually like around here," Negan scoffed, squatting down in front of Katie. She took a deep breath, calming herself down before she spat at his feet.

"You know, I can't bring myself to bash your pretty little head in. But that doesn't mean I won't do this--" Negan said, pulling out a gun and shooting Katie in the stomach. Her breath caught in her throat and she fell backwards. Rick cried out loudly. Carl screamed out loudly. Negan stood up just watching the scene unfold.

"A damn shame," Negan muttered, taking a few steps back.

"Hey, hey. Look at me, Katie. You're gonna be fine-- we're gonna get you to a doctor and you're gonna be fine--" Rick rambled frantically, trying to put pressure on the wound.

"I think you guys forget I used to read my husband's medical textbooks for fun. I'm not gonna make it, Rick," Katie said, her breaths quick and uneven.

"No, no--" Rick cried.

"I've got a good two minutes left-- let's not waste 'em," Katie croaked.

"Sasha and I-- we started this war. It's up to you to finish it," Katie said softly.

"Don't worry, baby. I'll save a spot for you up there. But I need you to promise me that you won't come see me soon. I don't want you to come be with me until you are old and wrinkly and dying peacefully of old age. You need to promise me that you will stay on this earth as long as humanly possible. You can't leave until Carl and Enid are our age and have little babies running around Alexandria. You can't leave until Judith is a  beautiful grown woman. I need you to take care of them, Rick. And not just the kids. I need you to take care of the group. They're going to need you. Tell Maggie I'm sorry. I really wanted to meet that baby. Tell her I'm sorry that I'm a shitty godmother for dying before the baby is even born. I promised Glenn I would tell the baby stories about him and tell the baby how much their father loved them. Promise me you'll do that for me-- for Glenn. I love you so much, Rick Grimes. I'm sorry I have to leave you. This is the last thing I ever wanted to do. I'm going to a better place now. My fight is over. Don't worry about be any more, baby," Katie said, her voice faint and hoarse as she bled out in the street. She offered them one last smile and then it was over. She just laid there in Rick's arms, limp-- dead.

"Too late," Rick whispered, crying onto her body.

• • •

a/n: I'll leave my porch light on so that the angry mobs know what house to burn down. This is the first fanfiction that I ever wrote and thanks to this book and all of the people who read it, I've been writing ever since. I dedicate this book to the person who encouraged me to write it, even when I didn't think that I could: @an_intellectual

Thank you for going on this journey with me!! I love and appreciate every single one of you!!