CLUMSY FOOTSTEPS and panicked breathing were all Lilith could hear in the forest around her as she followed the terrified stranger. Her, Simon, and a handful of other saviors prepared to block one of the roads off so they could talk to this group of murderers they'd long been after. The saviors around her whistled that same eerie tune that her father had trade marked who knows how long ago.

The stranger fell on his stomach, flipping over in terror as the group of saviors caught up. Simon stood over him. His tall, lean frame intimidating the nameless man to the point where his eyes seemed to almost bulge out of his head in fear.

"Why the face?" Simon mocked him. He leaned down, grabbing the strangers matted hair with his large hand. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off.

"Simon, put your dick away," Lilith quipped, causing the old man to turn to look at her, annoyed. She walked to the front of the group, replacing Simon as she stood over the man. His face didn't falter, the same amount of fear and dread filled him when he was being threatened by the older man.

"Damn," Lilith started to speak to the man on the ground, "I hope your not putting this on us. I mean, we showed your people a way forward. We gave you rules. But you broke the rules, so folks had to die. The one who fired the first shot? We strung him up to make an example of him. We could've stopped there. But you people. . . you still didn't listen," The man breathed heavily as she taunted him. "You wanted to fight us," She laughed at his stupidity, "So this. . . is the way it has to be."

She nodded at Simon who lunged forward, punching the man in the jaw. The rest of the men around her joined him in beating the already injured guy on the ground. He begged and pleaded for mercy but was only met with more violence.

Once the men around her had their fill, and the man had given up on trying to fight back or run away, they dragged him to the road block the group had built.

No one had explained to Lilith exactly how they found Rick's group. Something about tracking them to the train tracks? All she knew is that it ended with Dwight needing stitches on his dick, she didn't ask for any details when she found that part out.

Regardless, they had discovered the group's connection to Hilltop. So here they were, ready to exploit it.

Simon finally let go of the guy in the middle of the road.

"This is us about to make an example outta you," he panted, out of breath.

He enjoyed this part way too much. Lilith found it tedious, preferring the part where they all would kneel and her father went ham. Right now, she just had to deal with it, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

Simon creeped her out. He was too comfortable around her. He was cocky, but not in a charismatic or charming way, in a dangerous way. He thought of himself as invincible, what with his high rank among the saviors.

It wasn't just his attitude that bothered her, it was his actions too. His remarks and uncomfortable hand-placements made her want to vomit most of the time. She stopped trying to swat him away, though, because that only seemed to amuse him even more. She'd also never told her father, wanting to deal with it on her own.

Plus, her father was the most over-protective person she'd ever met, and she knew that he would literally stab Simon in the neck if he knew, but Negan was a leader now, something he brought up every single day to her, and she didn't want to distract him.

So here she was, stuck alone with Simon and a handful of grown men whom she didn't know the names of, in the middle of a vacant road.

You have authority too, she would tell herself, tell him to back off.

But she couldn't, no matter what she said, Simon's ugly smirk would not leave his face.

"My people," Lilith looked to the bloodied man on the ground when he spoke, "everyone at the library, they're dead."

Simon kicked him in the side, causing Lilith to roll her eyes. He looked back at her, smirking like always.

"Don't look so glum, sweetheart. This is supposed to be fun."

"First off, no. No, it's not supposed to be fun. It should be anything but fun. These people slaughtered dozens of our men. This is punishment, not entertainment."

The old man just laughed at her, angering her more.

"Are they not the same thing, honey?"

Lilith clenched her jaw, "And secondly, don't call me honey. Or sweetheart, or babydoll, or princess."

"Roger that, darling."

She didn't know why she tried. The other men with them chuckled quietly at Simon's so called "wit." She simply sighed, trying to push down the sick feeling he gave her.

Please let this go by quickly.

~~~

She didn't get her wish. It did take a while. Almost an hour later, an RV had finally found themselves stuck at their blockade.

A man in a brown, suede, zip-up jacket with a wool collar stepped out. His hair, just long enough to be tucked behind his ears. He had a gray scruff similar to her dad's. He carried a large gun in his hand, but his arms were up at his sides in a half-assed surrender. Some of his people came out behind him, one of them appeared to be a young boy around her age.

"You must be the legendary Rick," Lilith calls out to him.

"And you are?" He asked expectantly.

"What, you don't recognize my voice? Ouch, that actually hurts my feelings like a lot, man." Rick was not amused. Lilith chuckled under her breath, "My name's Lilith, we spoke briefly over walkie-talkie, if you remember." Rick tried to hide his taken-aback look, but failed. "You expected me to be older didn't you? That's not uncommon. Who'd send a child to do their dirty work, am I right? Of course, that's beside the point. This man here?" She nodded her head towards the beaten man on the ground, "he's someone who was with a whole lotta someones who didn't listen."

Rick stared at the girl, concerned for where this was going and confused on the dynamic of the people in front of him. Half-a-dozen grown men, and the teenage girl speaks.

"We can make a deal," Rick started, "right here, right now."

"That's right, We can," Lilith told him with a faint smile, "Give us all your stuff. We'll probably have to kill one of you, because that's just the way it is, but then we can start moving forward on business. All you have to do is listen."

"Yeah..." Rick put his arms down, "that deal's not gonna work for us. Fact is, I was about to ask for all of your stuff, only I'm thinking I don't have to kill any of you. Any more of you.

"Ooh," Lilith raised her in a mock-surrender, pretending to be intimidated before laughing at him.

The men around her joined in, laughing at her reaction as she smirked. This guy thinks he's a badass, she thought to herself. A savior behind her stepped forward, shaking a can of spray paint before spraying an X on the beaten man's stomach.

Rick turned to look at his people, either annoyed or uncomfortable, or both.

"Sorry, big guy," The teen taunted him, "Our deal is the only deal. We don't negotiate."

Rick nodded and gestured something with his hand to his people, "Me and my people are leaving." He slowly walked back to the RV.

Lilith waved them off, "Okay, friend. Plenty of ways to get to where you're going."

Before Rick climbed back into the vehicle, he turned back to the small group of Saviors, "You want to make today your last day on Earth?"

Lilith pretended to gasp, "Are you threatening me, officer?" Her shocked face quickly turned into a grin, "No. . . not really. But that is a good thing to bring up. I mean, think about it. What if it's the last day on Earth for you? Or someone you love? What if that's true." A look of sincerity took over the girls face as she steps forward, "Maybe you should be extra nice to those people in that RV. Cause you never know," She snapped her fingers, "just like that. Be kind to each other. Like you said: as if it was your last day on Earth."

Rick paused, then nodded, "You do the same."

He climbed back into the vehicle, and it drove off. Unknowingly, doing exactly what they wanted. She waited until the RV was out of sight, then turned to face the men with her.

"You all know your instructions. Do what you've been told, and I'll see y'all at showtime," Lilith explained to the men, and they went there separate ways.

For the time being.

~~~

Lilith didn't know how long it had been, a few hours at least, long enough for the sun to fully set. She sat beside her dad in the same RV rick had been in when he bumped into them earlier. The driver, a bigger man with a mullet, kneeled in the clearing outside.

Lucille rested on Negan's lap. Lilith stared at it, studying the barbed wire. She remembered the day her dad made it, the same day her mom died.

"Lili."

The teenager looked up at her father's gentle tone, "I know what you're gonna say. Go inside. Don't watch. I told you. It doesn't bother me!"

"You say that now-"

"But what? Because it's been a while since the last time, you think I've gone soft? I'm not a baby."

The man tilted his head to the side, shrugging, "I mean..."

Lilith scoffed, "Fuck you, man."

Negan only laughed as his daughter shoved him in the shoulder.

At that moment, the whistles started. They're here. "Your time to shine, kiddo," Negan told her.

Lilith smirked, standing in front of the door. With a huff, she stepped out. The saviors had turned on all the headlights to blind the group.

Rick put his hand up, trying to block the light but failing. Lilith noticed the group carrying someone on a mattress. Whoever it is, they didn't look well.

"Good. . . you made it," She started as she walked out from behind the crowd, revealing herself, "Welcome to where you're going. We'll take your weapons."

No one moved, so Lilith took her gun out of it's holster, turning off the safety. "Now," she demanded

"We can talk about—" Rick tried to speak.

"We're done talking," the girl interrupted, "Time to listen."

The saviors go around gathering everyone's weapons. Lilith walked up to the kid she recognized from earlier, the one around her age, and searched him. She pulled a gun from his waistband.

"It's yours, right?" She asked. He just glared back at her, "Yeah, it's yours," she concluded, then flicked his hat, just to scare him.

"Okay, let's get her down and get you all on your knees. Lots to cover," She instructed.

After a minute of trying to get them to kneel, they finally cooperated. She stepped back to get a good look at everyone. Her eyes traveled down the line when she finally landed on the sick one, who she realized was Maggie.

"Well, hello you," She walked up to the sick woman, "Holy hell, what in God's name could've happened to you to make you like this since the last time I saw you."

Maggie didn't make eye contact with her. Her gaze was glued to the ground as she breathed heavily.

After studying her for a moment, Lilith continued with her orders, "where are the others?"

A pair of saviors opened the door to a small van off to the side. They dragged out four more people and shoved them down.

"Maggie?" one of the other hostages, young-ish asian man, called in panic. Who might this be? The father of the baby, perhaps? Lilith shook her head, focusing on the job in front of her.

"Alright, we got a full boat" She announced before smirking devilishly, "Wanna meet my dad?" She chuckled and walked over to knock on the door and then lean against the RV.

The door opened with a creak, it swung back and hit the outside of the RV.

Lilith could feel the atmosphere change, and that sick elation inside of her erupted. What had messed her up so badly that she enjoyed this, no one knew. But there was no going back now.

Negan stepped onto the gravel, his boots crunch on the ground and Lucille rests on his shoulders. A chilling grin took over his face.

"We pissin' our pants yet?"

~~~

(word count: 2269)