I cried alongside most people as we watched Abraham be brutally beaten to death. I wanted to jump up, yell, and beg him to stop.
"Oh look at that! Taking it like a champ!" Negan cheered as blood dripped down Abraham's face.
"Suck...my...nuts," Abraham spat out. That seemed to anger Negan, and he hit Abraham again. And again. And again. Again. Once more. And finally, he stopped.
"Did you hear that? He said, "Suck my nuts." Negan chuckled before hitting Abraham twelve more times. By now, he was barely recognizable. And very much dead. "Oh, my goodness! Look at this. You guys, look at my dirty girl!" He smiled, pointing the bat at Rosita. "Sweetheart, lay your eyes on this. Oh, damn. Were you-Were you together? That sucks. But if you were, you should know there was a reason for all this. Red and hell, he was, is, and will ever be red. He just took one or six or seven for the team! So take a damn look. Take a damn look!"
Daryl snapped and jumped to his feet. He managed to land one punch on Negan before he was yanked back. Without thinking, I stood up and took a swing at the guy behind Daryl.
"Aurora!" I heard Dad exclaim. Daryl got a second punch on Negan as the guy I had managed to punch stumbled away. He was quick to recover and grabbed Daryl again, and soon I felt myself being grabbed, too.
"Daryl!" Rick called out Daryl was pinned to the ground and I was slammed back into the circle.
"No!" Negan shouted, pointing his bat at Daryl. "That. Oh, my! That is a no-no. The whole thing! Not one bit of that shit flies here." Dwight ran over with the crossbow, pointing it at Daryl.
"Do you want me to do it?" Dwight asked. Daryl grunted on the ground.
"No, you don't kill them. Not until you try a little," Negan answered. They dragged Daryl back into the circle. "And anyway, that's not how it works. Now, I already told you people. First one's free, then what'd I say? I said I would shut that shit down! No exceptions. Now, I don't know what kind of lying assholes you've been dealing with but I'm a man of my word. First impressions are important. I need you to know me. So...Back to it!"
"Dad!" I cried out, watching the barbed wire slice through dad's head. Mom and I cries became loud than anyone else's.
"No!" Mom screamed as she cried. I felt sick to my stomach watching this happen. Dad's face was covered in blood and his eyeball had popped out. He choked on his own blood as he tried to speak. Negan leaned down and got in dad's messed-up face.
"Buddy, you still there? I just don't know. it seems like you're trying to speak, but you just took a hell of a hit. I just popped your skull so hard, your eyeball just popped out and it is gross as shit!" Negan laughed his cruel, evil laugh. I couldn't tear my eyes away from him despite the fact I desperately wanted to.
"M-maggie, Rori, I'll find you," Dad stuttered out. I cried harder.
"Oh. Oh, hell. I can see this is hard on you guys. I am sorry. I truly am. But I did say it. No exceptions!" Negan smiled, swinging his bat on the side of Dad's face.
"Stop, please," I cried as I watched. Dad couldn't even stay on his knees as he was beaten to death and I couldn't look away.
"You bunch of pussies. I'm just getting started. Now, this one, sweetheart, is on you," Negan said to me, his bat resting just under my chin. I could feel the barbed wire cutting into my chin but I didn't care.
"W-what?" I asked, tears falling from my eyes. Negan just smiled down at me, moving to stand in front of Will.
"This one's on you." Negan turned, slamming his bat down on Will's head. Will cried out, blood spewing out. He stared directly at me, then Matt.
"Stop, please," I begged.
"S-sing me the lullaby one more time," Will choked out.
"I-I," Matt stuttered, and I could tell he was crying.
"Hush, little baby, don't say a word, Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird," I sang through tears.
"Ah, would you look at that. They have a lullaby," Negan said, before bringing his bat down on Will again.
"If that mockingbird don't sing, Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring," Matt chimed in. Negan continued to murder Will as we sang, our voices trailing off at the end. I cried silently, not able to move. My heart hurt and I just wanted this to be over. Why us? Why were we the ones who had this happen to us. Out of anybody else, it was us. I had just made up with Will, too. When I snapped back to reality, Negan was dragging Rick to the RV and then they were gone.
It was morning by the time Negan had tossed Rick back into the middle of the circle. "Here we are. Let me ask you something, Rick. Do you even know what that little trip was about? Speak when you're spoken to."
"Okay. Okay," Rick answered Negan quietly.
"That trip was about the way that you looked at me. I wanted to change that. I wanted you to understand. But you're still looking at me the same damn way. Like I shit in your scrambled eggs, and that's not gonna work," Negan said angrily.
"Nah, you just killed our family," I thought to myself bitterly.
"So," Negan bent down beside Rick,"Do I give you another chance?"
Rick stayed quiet for a moment before answering. "Yeah. Yes." Negan patted Rick's back, standing back up.
"Okay. All right. And here it is. The grand-prize game. What you do next will decide wether your crap day becomes everyone's last crap day or just another crap day. Get some guns to the back of their heads," Negan ordered and I tensed, inhaling a shaky breath as I felt the cold metal press against my head.
"Good. Now, level with their noses, so if you have to fire," Negan paused, making an explosion motion at his nose. "It'll be a real mess. Kid." Negan looked straight at Carl and moved his finger towards in; like a come to me motion. "Right here. Kid now." Carl stood up and followed Negan's order. "You a southpaw?"
"Am I a what?" Carl asked, no sound of him being scared or that he had been crying in his voice.
"You a lefty?"
"No."
"Good." Negan tied a belt just above Carl's elbow tightly. "That hurt?"
"No," Carl replied.
"Should. It's supposed to," Negan said, smiling. "All right. Get down on the ground, kid, next to daddy. Spread them wings." Negan took Carl's hat, tossing it over his head and pushing Carl down to the ground so his arm was sticking out towards Rick and his face was on the ground. "Simon. You got a pen?"
"Yeah," the guy from earlier, the leader, nodded. He took it out of his pocket and tossed it to Negan, who caught it. He bit the cap off, leaning down, and pulled Carl's sleeve up.
"Sorry kid. This is gonna be as cold as a warlock's ballsack, just like he was hanging his ballsack above you and dragging it right across your forearm," Negan said, drawing a black line across Carl's arm. "There you go. Gives you a little leverage."
"Please. Please. Please, don't," Rick said, looking between Carl and Negan. Negan put the cap back on the marker, looking to the side at Rick. "Please don't."
"Me? I ain't doing shit. Ahh. Rick, I want you to take your ax, cut your son's left arm off, right on that line. Now, I know. I know. You're gonna have to process that for a second. That makes sense. Still, though, I'm gonna need you to do it, or all these people are gonna die. Then Carl dies, then the people back home die, and then you, eventually. I'm gonna keep your breathing for a few years, just so you can stew on it," Negan said. I let my eyes flutter closed for a moment before prying them open. Could this just be over already?
"Y-you don't have to do this. We understand. We understand," Mihconne spoke up.
"You understand. Yeah. I'm not sure that Rick does. I'm gonna need a clean cut right there on that line. Now, I know this is a screwed-up thing to ask, but it's gonna have to be like a salami slice. Nothing messy, clean, 45 degrees, give us something to fold over," Negan instructed before adding,"We got a great doctor. The kid'll be fine. Probably. Rick, this needs to happen now. Chop, chop. Or I will crush the little fella's skull myself."
"It can- It can be me. It can be me. W-w- Y-you can do it to me. I c- I can go with you," Rick stuttered, sniffling
"No. This is the only way. Rick pick up the ax," Negan said but Rick didn't move, and I didn't blame him. "Not making a decision is a big decision. You really want to see all these people die? You will. You will see every ugly thing. oh, my god. Are you gonna make me count? Okay, Rick. You win. I am counting. 3."
"Please," Rick drew out the word, begging Negan to stop. "Please. It can be me. Please!" Negan bent down to his level.
"2!"
"Please, don't do," Rick was cut off by a slap to the face. It only made him cry more. Negan gripped Rick's chin, forcing him to look at Negan.
"This is it. 1!" Rick screamed as he cried, one hand on Carl's and the other on the ax.
"Dad, just do it," Carl whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. "Just do it." Rick picked up the ax, lifting it above his head.
"Rick-" Negan stopped him, squatting down again. "You answer to me. You provide for me. You belong to me. Right?" Rick hurriedly nodded. Negan roughly grabbed his chin. "Speak when you're spoken to! You answer to me. You provide for me.
"Provide for you," Rick cried.
"You belong to me, right?!"
"Right," Rick said quietly.
"Right. That is the look I wanted to see," Negan said, grabbing the ax and standing up. "We did it. All of us, together. Even the dead guys on the ground. Hell, they get the spirit award, for sure. Today was a productive damn day! Now, I hope, for all your sake, that you get it now. That you understand how things work. Things have changed. Whatever you had going for you, that is over now. Ah, Dwight, load him up!" Dwight roughly grabbed Daryl under the arms, throwing him into the van and shutting the doors.
"He's got guts. Not a little bitch like someone I know. I like him. He's mine now. But you still want to try something? "Not today, not tomorrow." Not today, not tomorrow? I will cut pieces off of- Hell's his name?" Negan asked, looking up.
"Daryl," Simon replied.
"That actually sounds right. I will cut pieces off of Daryl and put them on your doorstep. Or, better yet, I will bring him to you and have you do it for me." Negan laughed, patting Rick's back. "Ah! Welcome to a brand-new beginning, you sorry shits! I'm gonna leave you a truck. Keep it. Use it to cart all the crap you're gonna find me. We'll be back for our first offering in one week. Until then, ta-ta." With that, Negan walked away and all the people surrounding us hopped into their own cars and left, too. I was in pain, to say the least. And I wasn't talking about the dull throb on my ankle. My eyes were sore as tears still poured down my cheeks. This night, this night would be one we never forget. Ever. I would forever hate Negan for what he did to my family, and nothing could change that.