What Remains

"Comply? The fuck you mean comply?"

It was a cutting statement, one that sent the entire staff room into an even more tense silence. A few teachers kept their heads down, knowing fully who had just interrupted their briefing. Helen, the English teacher, had her eyes fixed firmly on her hands in her lap. He could see her fidgeting, pulling apart a napkin. He'd been watching her the entire time, wondering how long it would be before she started crying. Negan had his money on her to be the first to break. She'd cry at anything given the right situation. Some kid's outta school with a nasty cold? You bet Helen's gonna weep over it. He'd only stopped watching her when Principle Mathers mentioned complying with the emergency protocol.

The scrawny chump cleared his throat, "As teachers, the children's safety is paramount to us all. We have a responsibility to-"

"You expect me to babysit these kids five days a week, now the world's gone to shit they're still my 'responsibility'?" The room fell silent once more. "Don't they have parents for this shit?"

Some outbreak and suddenly teachers weren't allowed to leave the school. What a bunch of bull. He had a list the size of his arm of things he'd rather do than take care of a bunch of brats in this situation. As far as he was concerned, he was just saying what everyone else was thinking. People wanted to get home and look out for themselves. Fuck everyone else.

"God knows I get enough shit off parents to know these kids got 'em." He muttered, arms folded across his chest.

"Yes, but the school has been declared a local safe-zone-"

"So now I gotta babysit their parents too?"

Principle Mathers cleared his throat once more. Negan could see he had him on the spot. The guy was practically sweating bullets. No doubt his 'boss' wanted to be out of there too. He'd probably hide away in his basement and cry, alongside Helen. He was right, he knew he was. No one wanted to take care of the town when they had themselves to look out for. They hadn't even been told what this was yet.

Tired. Not the sort of tired where you could lay down and rest your eyes for a few minutes before getting back at it again. Whatever it was. But the bone deep, aching fatigue that made every step that she took that much harder than the last.

Charlie had woken up that morning to turn on the television, ready to listen to music while she got ready for class. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she'd been ripped from the throes of being half-asleep by the mayor speaking. Changing the channel only returned her to the same video. The mayor kept repeating the same words over and over: head to one of the following safe zones. More information to come once you arrived.

A phone call to her brothers' had gone unanswered, ringing and ringing until the familiar beep of the answering machine caused her to turn her phone off.

Replacing her textbooks with a few pairs of clothes, Charlie set out for the safe zone that she had recognized. It was on the outskirts of the city but she had no clue how else to get to the others. Her gut had told her to go with what she knew she could handle.

Throughout the day, Charlie had turned on her phone to try and contact her brothers with nothing in return.

Heat. The sun shone down on her as she moved through the city, avoiding the main streets that she was sure would be the busiest. Charlie hadn't thought about water as she left her dorm room - it wouldn't take that long to get to the safe zonem surely.

It was nearly four in the afternoon by the time the safe zone started to come into sight. Only a few more minutes. Squaring her shoulders, Charlie quickened her pace with a renewed energy. Once she got to the safe zone, she would have to be able to contact her brothers. Figure things out, maybe even take a shower.

Clearing her throat at the check point, "Charlie Dixon, 24."

Just like that, she was whisked away by a staff member to show her around and get her settled in.

'Keep Negan away' seemed to be the game of choice that day. Considering his rather 'up front' and 'confrontational' behaviour, he'd been assigned something that didn't require quite as much social interaction. He didn't care. They wanted to keep it that way, then fine. At least he didn't have to deal with any snot nosed kids screaming in his face.

He spent his time setting up the sports hall. It was the largest space the school had to offer, and it was his space. Not anymore anyway. Rows and rows of temporary camping cots had been set up to accommodate people coming into the safe zone. That had been his first job, helping make the hall suitable for people to stay in for a while. No one cared to mention where the school staff would be staying, or if they were supposed to register in with the emergency crew that had been sent over.

Then the cafeteria had to be secured. Paranoia seemed to already be setting it. Maybe things were worse than he thought. The few government officials that had arrived to help them told him their supplies needed to be kept locked away and access needed to be restricted. They were buckling down for a long time, even if they didn't outright say it. Negan 'complied', begrudgingly promising the keys would be handed over to them for safe keeping once people began arriving.

After that, he was asked to start doing some heavy lifting. Water bottles needed to be taken into the sports hall. He was carrying boxes from the cafeteria to the hall for a while, under strict supervision. No one was to touch the boxes except assigned staff. No one was free to just grab a bottle whenever they felt like it. Negan was shocked by the amount of rules that were already in place. It was already pissing him off, but it needed to be done. He didn't need Principle Mathers sighing in his direction.

Some shitdick had set up a table at the end of the sports hall with a makeshift sign attached to it; WATER. ONE BOTTLE PER PERSON.

With no one else seeming to tend to it, Negan slid the boxes under the fold out table. If he pretended he was busy, maybe no one would bother him.

First chance he got, he was planning on getting out of the school. Even if he had to climb through a window to get out.

Charlie had thanked the staff member, not bothering to get a name once she was shown to where she would be staying. A cot in the middle of the sports hall. A place that she would have enjoyed once upon a time but now, she stared at the cot, trying to decide which need should be sated first. Sleep, a shower, or fuel.

Coming to a stop at an unoccupied cot, the man who had been showing her around gave basic directions. The cafeteria was this way, the locker room where showers were were that way. If she needed anything, find a staff member and they could assist her the best they knew how. He left after an awkward 'goodbye' and for the first time in what felt like ages, Charlie moved to sit down on the edge of the cot. Despite being uncomfortable as all hell, Charlie knew if she laid down, she would be out within moments.

Sounds in the far corner took her attention from the otherwise quiet hall. Most of the survivors had made their way to the cafeteria by now. A statement would be made by some poor bastard that was 'in charge' of the area. She had little care for what they would tell her. She needed to find her brothers, make sure they were safe. Whatever else happened after that didn't matter to her.

She spotted a man carrying bottles of water. Just like that, the unsuspecting man had made Charlie's decision for her. Taking a deep breathe, she abandoned her bag on her claimed cot.

Charlie slowed a bit the closer she got, apprehensive to approaching Negan. The bottles were being treated less than nicely and that was being kind. Someone was in a bad mood. Why didn't matter but history had shown that someone in a bad mood could often times being a timebomb waiting to explode

Clearing her throat, Charlie stopped within a few feet of the table. Her eyes drifted from the man to the table to the sign that had been taped with a shitty piece of scotch tape. She raised an eyebrow, any apprehension gone.

"What happens if I want more than one bottle?" Her eyes were narrowed as she turned back to him. Charlie shifted her weight from one foot to the next, crossing her arms over her chest as she studied him.

He'd been storing the boxes away under the table when he heard someone speak to him. It took a lot of willpower to stop himself breathing out a heavy sigh, or telling whoever was speaking to him to just beat it. People had been arriving all day, and a lot of them seemed to understand that Negan wasn't in the mood to really talk. Arrivals and staff members alike all seemed to steer clear of him for a while, so it made him wonder why the girl stood in front of him didn't get that message. Negan had seen her be led in but paid no attention to it. People had been walking in and out this entire time, dumping their bags and moving cots out of their spaces to form little groups. At first, staff had tried to stop people moving the beds together, but after a while, it became clear that people weren't going to listen. What had been organised this morning was thrown to the wind by now.

His instinctive response was to just shrug and tell her to take as many bottles as she wanted, he didn't give a shit. But just like everyone else, he still had to 'comply' with the dumb fucking rules that had been put in place. The entire thing so far was a shit show. People were running around without a clue about what they were dealing with. How were they expecting there to be order in all this when no one had any idea what was going on? Was it a natural disaster? War? Who the fuck knew?

More importantly, who the fuck cared?

Negan definitely didn't. He didn't care about the water bottles, he didn't care about the cots being moved around, he didn't care about the registration points.

But he still had to 'comply'.

"Well then you're shit out of luck," He muttered, using his foot to slide another one of the boxes under the table. Of course, people were going to want more than they were currently allowed. He didn't blame them. He'd do the same thing.

"Unless you've got something worth trading for an extra bottle, all you're getting is the one." Negan picked up one of the bottles and held it, waiting for her to take it from him.

There was no way he was going to be manning the station for longer than he needed to. So what he needed was for her to take the bottle and go.

Charlie stood, arms crossed, as she watched Negan move about. She wanted nothing more than to roll her eyes and reach across to grab a second bottle, knowing full well that the first would be gone within a matter of minutes at best. Her throat was dryer than the Sahara.

Fingers grasped at the lid on the bottle, twisting until it popped free with a satisfying crunch. She took a long sip, breathing a sigh of relief when she finally pulled the bottle away from her lips.

Charlie hesitated, tightening the cap on the bottle. Her mind drifted to the knife that had been shoved into the bottom of her bag. Her brother, Daryl, had gifted it to her on her 18th. Said something about since she was moving away, she needed something that would both serve to protect her and to remind her of him. Despite their troubles, they were still family at heart.

It took a moment longer before she shook her head, "No, nothing. Nothing of value here," she finally found herself saying. A knife for one bottle of water wasn't a good deal. Not when it could mean the difference between starving and feeding herself once she was free to go.

"My brothers. They're down in Georgia. Do you know if this has spread that far south?" Charlie might have cared enough to leave him alone under different circumstances but she could feel something tugging her toward him. If for no other reason than she could tell that he was a man's man. Someone that if shit went south, and it seemed to be, you wanted to be close to. Your survival chance skyrocketed with someone like him around.

"Is there any way to contact any safe zones down south to see if they've arrived?" She spouted off yet another question, her mind drifting to her brothers. She should have never left, they would be worried. Probably not nearly as much as she was telling herself but still, they would be worried.

Questions were the last thing he needed right now. He wanted to skulk off, pretending he was doing his job, and get the fuck out of there. It was some grade A bullshit that he was being forced to hang around. If anyone saw him handing out the water to this girl, or answering her questions, they'd assume he was of some use to them. He just wanted to look out for himself right now, not constantly direct idiots to the nearest bathroom. Maybe if they told him what was going on, he'd find more reason to sit tight. Knowing this city it wouldn't half surprise him if they turned around and told everyone it was a 'false alarm' or 'a safety drill'. If that was the case, he'd be telling everyone exactly where to shove their protocol checks.

"Shit kid, what do I look like?" He sighed. "I'll let you in on a little secret, any of these shit heads you see wandering around pretending like they know something knows about as much as you do right now."

There was no point in lying to her. Everything was being kept hush-hush, as though it would help dispell some of the panic that was bound to arise at some point. If shit was going down, they all needed to know... But it wasn't Negan's decision to make. If it was, there would be no holding back his brutal honesty.

He felt bad for the girl stood in front of him. If he had anyone he cared about, he'd probably be asking the same questions. Yeah, he may have found the job irritating, but it didn't stop anyone else being scared about what was going on. No doubt someone else from the school would be bitching about his inhumane and unnatural response to a local emergency. He understood this girl probably had family, or even a boyfriend, that she was worried about. He couldn't help her with that. Negan had no idea how to contact any other safe zones, if there even were any. He doubted any of the staff wandering around here did either.

Blowing out another sigh, he picked up another water bottle and held it out to her.

"Here," He muttered, voice low so he didn't draw attention to the action. "You tell anyone I gave you that, and you're gonna be out on your ass so fast no one'll even realise you were here."

Charlie had been so, so sure that they knew something. Whoever they were, they had to know what was going on. Maybe they didn't have all the answers but they had to know something. They were in charge here. But the warning that fell from Negan's lips was enough to send her stomach to her feet. Her eyes widened a bit as she watched him, arms dropping to her sides.

On the way to the school, Charlie had done her best to avoid the main roads. They were congested and no one really knew what was going on. The roads would have only made her progress slower. Not what she had wanted. Any clues as to what was going on had been lost in those moments.

The initial shock that she had felt only grew when Negan held out a second water bottle. More than what she was supposed to have. Would he get in trouble if someone found out?

"I grew up with older brothers, you aren't any worse than they were," Charlie shot back. She never had learned how to control her temper. Glancing away, Charlie shoved the second bottle into her hoodie - safe from sight. "Thank you though. Really."

Charlie turned to go, figuring bothering him later was always an option. It didn't particularly feel like they were going to have the chance to leave any time soon.

A halted step later, Charlie found herself turning back to Negan. She cocked her head to the side before speaking, "what do you think is going on? Don't give me any of that bullshit either. Save the sugarcoating for someone else."

This kid had an attitude on her. It took Negan by surprise slightly, but he didn't show it. To him, it was refreshing. Having worked with people who didn't seem to share a single backbone between them it was actually a welcome change to have someone bite back at him. It was almost impressive, and it was enough to stop him from following through on his threat to hustle her out the door. She'd probably put up one hell of a fight if he tried it.

He couldn't empathise with the fact she had brothers, or how she was probably feeling about the fact she didn't know where they were. Negan was pretty solitary, and if you asked him he wouldn't be able to tell you where his family was either, but that was even before everything seemed to be going to shit. He'd seen people come and go through the school, clinging to their loved ones, refusing to let each other out their sights. This girl seemed just as alone as he did, and there was nothing he could do to help her.

Negan was ready to leave the hall when she turned away from him, so when she copped an attitude with him for the second time it kept him rooted to his spot.

He hadn't heard much, none of them had. He could tell the government workers were just using the school staff as lackeys in the safe zone. They weren't going to hear anything before anyone else who had arrived. It didn't stop Negan from listening, though.

"Some shit about an outbreak or infection, not that I'm supposed to know that... Probably some military biohazard test gone wrong." It was speculation, but it was the best information he had at the minute.

Charlie didn't know what emotion to process first. Did she sit down and cry until she couldn't anymore? The world was changing, she was at least sure about that. What was happening, she had no idea but she was sure that the world would never be the same. It all just felt so, so final.

Or did she process the outright anger that no one seemed to know what was going on? Not even the people that she was supposed to be able to turn to for answers. Not even the man that stood opposite of her.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Charlie finally spoke, her voice on a thin line. It was void of any emotion but it wavered just enough to hint at the fact that she wasn't feeling quite as alright as she was acting. She had to keep a level head on her shoulders if she wanted to figure anything out. If there was one thing she had learned in the past, it was that a level head was the ebst head to think with. Reacting with emotion got no one anywhere special.

"Can we leave? I mean, if we want," Charlie clarified further when Negan looked at her like she was crazy. Her eyebrows were raised as she thought to herself. If she left now, it would take awhile to get far enough south that she could potentially run into her brothers.

"I wouldn't need anyone to come with me. I just... I need to get to Georgia." Charlie knew the words that were coming out of her mouth sounded stupid but every time she thought she was distracted, her thoughts were brought back to Merle and Daryl. She never had been too found of Merle, not really, but she knew Daryl well enough to know the poor bastard was probably going sick with worry. He had always been so protective.

Subconsciously, Charlie reached for the small cross necklace that hung from her neck.

Negan's eyes flickered to the cross as her hand reached for it. Now wasn't time to comment on just how religious she may or may not be, and for once, he managed to hold his tongue. Did he believe in any of that himself? No, but each to their own. Still, he couldn't imagine any sort of God doing them any favours at the moment, not if man was determined on wiping themselves off the face of the fucking planet.

"According to these fuckbags, I sure as hell can't leave," He muttered in annoyance. "Not sure anyone's tried yet either."

People tended to listen to the people in charge in these situations -- not that Negan knew what this situation actually was -- so when they were all told to head to the school, then it was likely everyone was planning on staying there. He had his own reasons for wanting to leave, mainly that he didn't like the people he was stuck with and he honestly didn't give a flying fuck about any of them. Why anyone else would want to leave, though, was beyond him.

It was obvious Charlie wasn't in any state to leave either. Something had got her shaking, and whilst Negan couldn't quite wrap his head around what it possibly was, he doubted she'd be able to survive in an emergency out there by herself. At least not when she was getting all emotional. He could see through it, even if she wanted to pretend she was tough as nails.

"And how you gonna get there, huh?" Negan asked, staring across the table at her. "You got a car? That's a day's drive without whatever hell is happening on the roads right now. So you gonna walk? That's a week if you know which way you're going. Right now, kid, you don't look like you could find your own ass with both hands, fuck trying to navigate your way to another state."

Charlie's face went from a war between anxiety and fear to determination in a matter of moments. She stood a little bit straighter, her shoulders squaring as she shook her head. "I'm sure you could, if you really wanted to. You just have to... learn the system. Use the system to your advantage." Open defiance wouldn't have been a welcome sight if she had been speaking to anyone else at that very moment. Negan seemed to be just as unimpressed with the situation at hand. At least she wasn't alone in that sense.

"A car would make it easier. If I have to, I can walk," Charlie snapped back, her eyes narrowed as she glared at Negan. Her eyes narrowed as she sneered.

She found herself letting out a laugh that held no humor. "You don't know the first thing about me, sir." A smile replaced the look of disdain on her features, "Don't just assume I don't know a thing or two about surviving. Between you and me, I think you may be a little bit surprised by what I can do."

With that, Charlie turned and stalked back toward the cot she had claimed earlier. She didn't want to waste her time arguing with him. It wouldn't lead her anywhere that she wanted to be.

Charlie reached the cot and let out a sigh, shoving the spare bottle of water into her bag which then was shoved under the cot. She ran a hand through her hair, shaking it free as she headed for the doors. Food was next on the priority list, maybe a shower after. Anything to keep her out of this godforsaken room with a man who seemed to know just how to press all the wrong buttons with her.

Days seemed to go by without any word as to what was going on. Days turned into weeks and morale took a drastic turn. The school became cut off to the outside world, and those stuck inside had become real tightly wound. Negan was amazed no one had killed anyone else yet. He was amazed he hadn't killed anyone yet. He kept to himself, for the most part, avoiding conversation and hiding out where people were unlikely to ask anything of him. The staff room was still a safe haven, luckily. He could take a few moments out before anyone started asking anything of him.

There had been a momentary lapse in peace. Angry parents demanding more rations for their kids. They were only thinking about their own kids, he could tell. They weren't thinking about the other families who needed the food too, and there was only so long he could live off candy bars he managed to shake out of the vending machine in the teacher's lounge. He was on edge just like everyone else, maybe even more so.

He had been stood in the teachers lounge, staring at the cars barricaded in the parking lot when he heard the yelling. It was some up-herself football mom that started it. She was yelling at Mathers when Negan found his way into the cafeteria -- something about how her kids needed to eat. The only problem was that Negan could yell louder, and a lot of people had learnt that when Negan started yelling it was time to shut up and start paying attention. He'd earned a reputation amongst everyone for not taking any shit.

So when someone on the outside started banging on the school's front doors, he almost demanded that they didn't open up. They didn't know these people. They didn't know what the hell anyone was supposed to do. A few people gathered in the main hallway, staring at the man desperately banging on the front door. The first thing Negan spotted was the blood.

Then he saw Mathers running to let the man in.

Charlie had tried time and time again to contact her brothers throughout the past weeks. She had gotten it down to a routine. She would wake up in the morning, check her phone, and try to call them. The phone would go to voice mail and she would sigh as it told her the mailbox was full. All of messages from her. Then again right before she went to bed. As the weeks wore on, her voice grew less and less hopeful. The world was over, as they knew it. Were her brothers even still alive? It had been days since Charlie had last tried calling them, she couldn't stand to hear that Godforsaken beep again. It had started to haunt her at one point, she had needed to let it go. Miracles would be needed on multiple fronts if she was to ever see either of them alive again.

Doing her best to avoid meaningless conversations, Charlie spent most of her time in the gym, doing one thing or another. She was either reading a book there or in the small equipment room off to the side of the gym, working out her frustrations. It was the only thing keeping her from going off on someone. Charlie wanted to leave but she wasn't willing to be the first to try, not when she had no idea if someone would try to stop her. She was in no place to put up a fight against hundreds of people.

Charlie was laying down, her nose buried in a book she had picked from the library. At first the banging hadn't been too much of a distraction but when it just didn't stop, she let out a sigh and closed the book. Pushing herself up, Charlie made her way out of the gym. Her eyes narrowed, spotting a group of people watching the main doors. What the fuck was going on?

Before she could even get close enough to ask, or see for herself, Mathers was opening the door. A man that was more blood than anything else stumbled inside. Charlie's instincts kicked in then and she raced forward, sliding onto her knees as she got up to him. He'd fallen down. "Towels. Clothes. Gauze. Rubbing alcohol. A needle... thread!" Charlie started shouting random words, supplies she would need to stop the bleeding. When no one seemed to move, Charlie looked up with a glare, "Now, you fuckin' idiots!"

Charlie was applying all of her weight on the wound that she had found - it was too covered for her to figure out what type of wound it was. Soon enough, supplies were brought to her and she went to work. Wet towels wiped away the blood to give her a better view of what was going on. Her schooling was screaming in the back of her mind - she shouldn't be touching the blood but there had been no choice. "This is going to hurt," she muttered to the man who seemed more out of it than anything as she all but poured the alcohol onto the wound.

"Someone... something, bit him?" Charlie spoke quietly, more to herself than to the staff crowding around her. Her stomach was a knot, something was wrong and yet, she didn't stop moving long enough to consider what could be wrong.

"You touch that door, and I swear to Christ, I'll knock you flat on your ass, Mathers."

It was too late of a threat. Negan hadn't even had time to comprehend what was going on, but he knew it wasn't right. There had been radio silence for weeks, and now some shit knuckle was pounding on their front door? It didn't sit right with him. Mathers opened the door like an idiot, and suddenly it was kumbayah in everyone's ass as they rushed to help the stranger in. One look at the guy they dragged had Negan on edge. This wasn't any natural disaster or even a goddamn gun fight gone wrong.

Yet there was Charlie, taking the medical supplies they needed and wasting them on a guy who looked like he needed putting down, and fast.

"Everyone back in the gym, now!" If he couldn't scream at Mathers, he sure as hell was gonna start getting everyone else to do what he wanted. It didn't even seem to work. People just stood gawking at the scene taking place in front of them. "I said NOW."

A few concerned mothers pulled their children away, forcing them to stop staring and practically shoving them into the gym. They were probably worried about their poor darling children being traumatised by what they saw, but Negan was more concerned with losing his ability to control people. It had taken him a while to get everyone comfortably under his boot, and he didn't need them causing riots now. Mathers was the principle, but he wasn't in charge. Not in this world.

"Charlie, you patch him up and you get him back out on his ass. We don't need that god-fucking-damn animal bitten, rabies piece of shit in here."

(this might be a little shaky bfore I get back into the swing of things so i'm sorry D: )

In the back of her mind, Charlie knew what was going on with the man that lay in front of her. It wasn't that she had ever seen someone turn into a walker but the more moments that passed, the less hopeful the situation seemed. The man's breathing grew more ragged and slow and... Charlie swallowed back the suspicion that settled in her stomach. Her shoulders sagged a bit as she continued to wipe away the dried off blood, tilting the man's head to the side so she could get behind his ear and into his hairline.

She bent closer than she should have in hindsight. Charlie was so focused on wiping away all of the remaining blood because she felt like if the roles had been reversed, she would have appreciated the effort put in. Having been injured and helped at a safe point only to be thrown back out on the streets, at least she wouldn't have been caked with blood and disgusting.

A gurgling sound made Charlie frown and began to pull away just as the man's eyes fluttered open. Low growls began to sound from his lips sparking Charlie to all but throw herself backward as it lunged for him.

"Shit," she breathed, scrambling away with wide eyes. Her hand, slick from the water and the cloth she had been using slipped out from under her. She fell backward, flush against the floor as the walker crawled over her. Charlie brought an arm up to block it at his throat, the other fighting off the hands that clawed at whatever part of her body they could reach.

(It's fine! <3 I have the flu currently so anything I type now may just be a delusional mess!)

Negan could just tell looking at this sorry son of a bitch that he wasn't about to survive any attempts Charlie made at saving his life. He was bleeding out all over the floor, and whatever had attacked him had managed to take a pretty good chunk of him with it. It was just another waste on their already strained resources. There was meant to be someone coming to replenish what they had used, but that deadline had passed by a week, maybe even more. He had clamped down on what people were using, and anyone who thought they could take more would be sorry to try an oppose him on it.

"Charlie, let 'im go." Negan warned, watching her scramble to try and save him.

The few people that had remained stood round knew this bastard was about to die on the floor in front of them. Negan had never seen someone die in front of him before, but he just knew what was going on with this guy wasn't right. He wasn't going to live. If anything, he needed putting out of his misery.

The last thing they had been expecting was for this guy to suddenly attack Charlie. Maybe it's why none of them responded, no body leapt forward to help her. It even took Negan a moment to process what was going on before he started to move into action.

Moving forward, he managed to grasp the walker by the back of his bloodsoaked shirt, hauling him up and off of Charlie. The noises the man in his hands was making were inhuman, animalistic almost. Negan grappled with the walker for a moment, taken aback by the dead look on it's face. It was when it clawed for him that he realised he needed to act rather than just staring at it at arm's distance. His instinct was to slam it down onto the ground and put his knee across it's chest to keep him down.

A few muttered swear words fell from Charlie's lips as she struggled with the walker above her. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on because she was so focused on not letting the creature take a chunk out of her skin. While she didn't know how, or the why, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that if she failed, that this was it for her. There would be no finding her brothers, there would be no shitty reunion with Daryl and Meryl in this shitty world. No matter how shit the world had gone to, the promise of one day maybe running into them had been what drove her to continue through the first few weeks. She had no friends here, no family so she had to rely on something that may not even happen.

Charlie was left with her chest heaving, a thin layer of sweat having broken out along her skin, as she stared at the ceiling above her. Someone had pulled the walker away from her and she was left with her thoughts as they raced around in her mind. This place is no longer safe. I have to get out of here.

The thought spurred her to her feet and she twisted to watch Negan pin the walker to the ground. She watched in awed silence, the way the creature groaned and did not care for the knee across its chest. The only thing that it seemed to care about was sinking its teeth and nails into some part of Negan's body.

Charlie lifted her eyes to the ceiling and said a near silent, "God, forgive me."

Stepping forward, Charlie closed the distance between where she stood and where the walker was pinned to the ground. She drew in a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and buried the heel of her boot into the walker's skull.

"This place isn't safe any more."

The noise that resonated throughout the hallway as Charlie's boot made contact with the body beneath him was one that Negan wasn't going to forget in a while. It made a distinct crush and cunch, all at the same time. It almost sounded like a gun had gone off right next to him. He'd never been squeamish or a wuss, but it even took him off guard. No part of him felt sick, or scared, just shocked. The thing beneath him had ceased to move, and the blood that had flown up from under Charlie's heel sprayed up his arms and across the knee he'd planted onto it's chest.

He stared down at the blood on his jeans, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now. There was a body down underneath him. One he wasn't even sure was alive to begin with. The way it had gone for Charlie, and then him... It was distinctly inhuman.

It was only when he heard Charlie speak for the first time that he thought to get up off the floor. She was quiet, like everyone else in the hallway with them... But at least she had the balls to say something.

Getting up, he took Charlie by the elbow and turned her away from the few people who had remained to watch their struggle. He was slightly more forceful than intended, shock taking it's own aggressive form in his body.

"Hey," He both snapped and whispered to her. "You go round sayin' shit like that and you're gonna start a riot. You keep your mouth shut about this."

The last thing they needed was people in a panic and running amuck. Negan wanted out, now more than ever. With idiots like Mathers thinking it was okay to open the doors to any old schmuck, Charlie was right. It wasn't safe anymore... But there was something very limited that they needed; supplies. If either of them stood a chance of getting out safely, they needed the few supplies that were left. And they could do without a freeforall to grab them and run.