meanstreak
rick grimes 𝘹 fem!𝘰𝘤
© WANDARYEN ──── 2024

"We need to leave, right now. She's burning up." I tugged on Rick's sleeve, looking at him with worry before I stepped into the RV.

"I'll get everyone right now," he nodded quickly as I rushed towards the back of the RV with water and towels in my hand. I made sure to grab a few medical supplies with us, for the drive being extra long to Hilltop, and if anything were to happen; I wanted to be prepared.

I walked into the back room where my sister was currently laying, placing down the supplies then kneeling down by her bed. I gently tucked her hair behind her ear and gave her a soft smile. "We're getting ready to leave right now, don't worry."

Her eyes just barely opened as she forced a smile on her face, giving me a small nod while her hands reached for mine. "How do I look?"

My smile grew wider, "awful."

She let out a breathless chuckle, squeezing my hand in hers before I brought it towards my lips, kissing the top of it softly. I felt the RV start to drive as it pulled us a few times but my hands never slipped from hers.

"Hey," Rick whispered as he walked towards us. "We're gonna get there," he promised as he kneeled down beside me and gently rubbed her leg. "The doctor at the Hilltop, he's gonna make things better."

Maggie turned her head for a moment and I watched her eyes swell up with tears before I gently caressed her face with my thumb. "How do you know?" She barely whispered in response.

"Everything we've done, we've done together." He spoke softly. "We got here together and we're still here. Things have happened, but it's always worked out for us cause it's always been all of us." He gave her leg a gentle squeeze before nodding his head reassuringly. "That's how I know."

I nodded my head in agreement and continued to hold her hand between mine. "We've already been through the worst of the worst. Trust me when I say this isn't the end."

Her weakened smile turned brighter as she looked between Rick and I. "You both are going to turn Alexandria into what it was meant to be." She licked her bottom lip then sucked in a small deep breath before exhaling softly. "You were meant for this — to be together during this time." Her gaze turned to me as she squeezed my hand. "You're going to take over the world."

"We." I softly corrected her with my eyebrows raised but with a smile on my lips as she laughed softly.

"What the bitch?" Abraham muttered from the drivers chair before slowly pulling the RV to a stop.

"What?" Risk looked over his shoulder before standing up and walking towards the front of the RV.

I furrowed my eyebrows and slowly stood up from where I sat on the floor but my sister never let go of my hand. "Stay with me," she whispered and I immediately complied, getting back down on the floor to stay by her side.

"I'm here," I promised her while trying to listen to the conversation our group was having outside.

"I'm sorry, our deals a deal. We dont negotiate." I heard a man speak off in the distance.

"What do you think it'll be?" Maggie suddenly asked.

I turned my attention back to her and smiled. "I'm hoping its a girl, honestly." Maggie brushed her hair back tiredly with her fingers, her eyes closing briefly before nodding. "I expected you to say that. You always said one of us out of the three of us had to have a girl."

"Runs in the family," I laughed softly. "It was always just the three of us. I wouldn't mind adding another one."

"And what if it's a boy?"

"I know that no matter the gender, this baby will be your saving grace."

Maggie looked pleased with my comment, her eyes fluttering close with a slow nod of her head.

I could tell she was becoming exhausted from keeping her eyes open and trying to hold a conversation. So when everyone got back onto the RV, I gently removed my hand from hers and walked towards the front as we started driving away. "What was that?" I asked softly while looking up towards Rick.

He rubbed his hand down his face and sighed heavily. "Saviors."

I nodded my head and looked around at the others. "Were there a lot?"

"Hardly," Aaron spoke up and I glanced down at him. "Maybe six? Probably more somewhere." I furrowed my eyebrows and looked back at Rick as Aaron and Carl got up now, walking towards the back to sit with Maggie.

I licked my bottom lip and crossed my arms over my chest. "Are we finding another route?"

"Logrun Road's a straight shot," Eugene piped up over at the table where he pointed towards the map. "We want visibility," Sasha spoke up while sitting across from him.

Eugene looked back down at the map before pointing to another spot. "There, you got it on Shelton. Golf course, country clubs, sloping terrain." Sasha nodded her head as he explained. "No bum rush from the bogeyman. We'd see them from a good piece. It is a longer trip by a third, but we'd get to safety of clear-cut dingles and glens."

I looked away from them and pushed my hair from my face with my hands. "By a third? We may not have that long."

"Hey," Sasha spoke up softly in my direction and I turned to face her. "We'll try to speed it up." She nodded and Abraham walked passed me to get behind the wheel.

I knew Sasha wanted to promise me that much. They all did. For Maggie, they wanted to get her to the fasted route possible.

But in the end we had no idea what was waiting for us on every turn. We were barely getting anywhere every time we had to stop when we came across the saviors.

I was starting to keep track and it was already the fifth time we had to stop and turn around. Not only that, but each stop their numbers would build, and it wasn't the same group of people from the last.

I was becoming anxious with my sister looking ill the more time passed by. And the more time passed by, we were losing daylight. Nightfall was upon us and we were running out of options. Especially with the small amount of gas left in the RV to keep her kicking. We were at a disadvantage and we would have to take action; now.

"We're going to take Eugenes word for it and head out on foot. He's using the RV as a distraction while we get through the woods." Rick explained as we stood outside the RV. "We'll get there on foot, it's all we have left to decide on."

I nodded my head eagerly, "Okay. I'll take one of the guns and be the lookout with Carl while you guys carry her."

Rick left my side and jumped into the RV to help the others pull Maggie out while she was resting on the bed as Carl took a stance beside me. I gripped on my rifle desperately and watched them pull her out slowly yet carefully before we started walking towards the woods.

I looked down at my sister and sighed heavily. "Just hang on tight," I told her before stepping to the side.

We weren't sure how long the walk would take us. What we would run into or if we would have to stop to give the others a chance to breathe.

"Aaron, please." I heard Maggie muttered tiredly. "Just let me walk."

"Relax," he told her. "Just a few more miles."

I kept my rifle raised as I walked on one side of Maggie while Carl walked on the other, just a few steps ahead as he spoke to Rick.

My palms were growing sweaty with how tightly I was holding my gun, and I had already told them we can switch at any point so I could help carry her next.

"Don't worry," I sighed nervously through our walk, but using my humor to make her smile. "Once we get to Hilltop, there will be a big fat sundae waiting for you."

Somewhere around us or ahead of us, the sound of men whistling filled our ears like a sudden sting to our core.

We stopped in our tracks to look around and only but took a second for us to realize it was the Saviors now toying with us. "Go! Go!" Rick shouted and we took off running, dodging a few trees in our path.

My feet never stopped as I jumped over large rocks and ducked under fallen branches, my heart beating against my chest as I noticed we were getting closer towards the road. Everything around us was pitch black, not giving us a moment to decide where we were going.

Before our feet could hit the pavement, bright lights flashed in our eyes and we were immediately greeted by a large group of people.

Trucks and cars had us surrounded in a circle, and we were slowly pushed forward as they gathered around us from behind. Carl quickly came by my side and I grabbed his arm, lowering my weapon as I looked around eagerly.

Once my eyes could focus against the bright lights suddenly flashing across our faces, I noticed our RV parked on the other side of us with Eugene kneeled down on the ground with someone standing by his side.

A faint whimper passed my lips as I slowly turned in a circle, checking my surroundings but we were completely cut off. There was no way of us escaping. Not with these numbers.

I gently pushed Carl behind me and towards Maggie as I gripped onto his arm, my head constantly twisting and turning to look at the unfamiliar faces surrounding us.

"Good! You made it." Someone finally spoke up as they started making their way towards us. I looked in the direction of the voice, recognizing it from the first stop we had to make, his features becoming more visible as he stepped out in the light. "Welcome to where you're going." His arms were spread out wide and he had a very simple smile stretched across his lips. "We'll take your weapons." He then dropped his arms and pulled out a hand gun, pointing it in our faces. "Now."

"We can talk about this — " Rick began to panic before he was cut off by the man. "We're done talking." His smile was gone now and his gun remained lifted. "Time to listen."

Suddenly a few of the saviors closed in on us and pulled the weapons from our grasps.

I held my arms up quickly once my rifle was snatched away from me, including my hand gun and knife from my pockets.

I nervously looked over at Rick, my hands beginning to shake before my eyes dropped down towards my sister. A mixture of chills shooting down my spine and spreading across my entire body.

The man in front of us stepped closer to Carl, my eyes now shifting onto him as he pulled the handgun from Carls grasp. "That's yours, right?" Carl didn't respond but stared at the man as he leaned closer. "Yeah, it's yours." I lowered my arms but grabbed Carls, pulling him closer to me which caused the mans attention to turn to me. "No sudden movements," he joked with a smile before standing up straight.

"Okay! Let's get her down and get you all on your knees." He ordered next as others came back around. "Lot's to cover."

Before they could touch Maggie, I quickly shook my head and took a protective step towards her. "Wait!"

"Hold up," Abraham spoke sternly. "We got it."

I glanced back towards the man in panic, hoping he wasn't going to protest but he nodded his head and the saviors backed up, giving us room to help Maggie off the stretcher.

I quickly reached for her hands, "slowly." I instructed and the boys followed my instruction, giving her time to move her legs over and stand on her feet.

She hissed quietly at the pain in her stomach, reaching to put her arm over herself as Abraham held her back, carefully guiding her forward with Rick then the both of them helping her on her knees.

"On your knees," the man ordered again and one by one the rest of us got down in silence.

I was in between Eugene and Carl, glancing across the way towards Maggie as she was beside Rick. "It's okay," I mouthed to her silently.

"Dwight!" The man shouted. "Chop-chop."

I looked over and watched a man with semi long blonde hair and half of his face burnt, walk towards a van on our right and open the back doors.

A small gasp let my lips as I watched them yank Daryl out first. "Come on! Got people to meet." Next was Michonne, Rosita, then Glenn. A disgusting feeling falling at the pit of my stomach.

"Maggie?" Glenn muttered before he was kicked to the ground with a panicked sob.

"Alright!" The savior shouted while making his way in front of us again. "We got a full boat! Let's meet the man!" He started walking backwards towards the RV and knocked on the door twice.

My heart pounded against my chest as I slowly started to look at the faces surrounding us. I couldn't recognize any of the faces around us, they were all strangers to my eyes. All except one. One that I didnt think was even humanly possible, but as of tonight, that was about to change.

"Madison?" I muttered, my eyes squinting past the lights when I noticed her long brown hair, pieces still braided from the last time I saw her. She saved my life and now she was standing on the other side with no facial expression. But not only was that the turning point, the car she was leaning against was the same one that crashed into me and caused the accident.

I immediately felt light headed, wanting to cover my face with my hands but afraid that if I made any movements I would be shot without a second thought.

The door to the RV opened and a man slowly jumped out, a smile stretching across his face while he held a bat just over his shoulder. "Pissing our pants yet?" He slowly started walking away from the RV and his figure was caught by the lights, giving us a better chance to see him completely. "Boy, do I have a feeling we're getting close."

All this time we thought we might've killed Negan back at the compound — but everything became crystal clear when we realized the Saviors were a much larger group than we expected.

"It's gonna be pee-pee pants city here real soon," he chuckled while slowly walking down the line in front of us. I looked up at him nervously with my hands shaking by my side. He stopped in his tracks and raised his gloved covered hand. "Which one of you pricks is the leader?"

"It's this one," the man from earlier pointed towards Rick and my heart sped faster against my chest. "He's the guy."

Negan stepped in front of Rick, slightly leaning back to get a better look at him, and that smile never left his face. "Hi. You're Rick, right? I'm Negan. And I do not appreciate you killing my men." I swallowed heavily as I watched him stare down at Rick. "Also when I sent my people to kill your people for killing my people; you killed more of my people. Not cool." He slightly shook his head and the smile disappeared from his face. "Not cool. You have no idea how not cool that shit is. But! I think you're gonna be up to speed shortly. Yeah." He took in a deep breath and forced his lips into a thin line. "You are so gonna regret crossing me in a few minutes." Suddenly that smile returned and I felt sick all over again. Another rush of nausea fluttering in my stomach but I was choking it back.

"You see Rick, whatever you do, no matter what, you don't mess with the new world order." Negan began to explain. "And the new world order is this, and it's really very simple. So even if you're stupid, which you very may well be, you can understand this. You ready?" My eyes dropped down towards Rick's face and he never removed his gaze off Negan. "Here it goes — pay attention." He dropped his bat from his shoulder, pointing it towards Rick's face and I quickly sat up straighter, my instinct to lunge forward but Carl quickly caught my arm.

"Give me your shit, or I will kill you. Today was career day." Negan backed away from Rick and smiled again, beginning to walk around in front of us. "We invested a lot. So you would know who I am and what I can do. You work for me now. You have shit, you give it to me. That's your job! Now I know that is a might big, nasty pill to swallow, but swallow it most certainly you will."

"You ruled the roost," he continued. "You built something. You thought you were safe. I get it. But the word is out, you are not safe. Not even close. In fact you are pegged, more pegged if you dont do what I want. And what I want — is half your shit. And if that's too much, you can make, find, or steal more. And it'll even out sooner or later. This is your way of life now. The more you fight back, the harder it will be."

I swallowed nervously and looked past Carl and Aaron to stare towards Negan. The saviors around us remained quiet during the entire thing. I could tell they wouldn't dare speak over this man or give out suggestions. He had a way of doing things, a way of control, and this was it.

"So if someone knocks on your door," he chuckled softly. "You let us in. We own that door. You try to stop us, and we will knock it down." He pointed the bat towards Rick again before nodding his head. "You understand?" He asked but when Rick remained silent, he leaned downwards and cupped his ear with his hand.

I chewed down on my bottom lip knowing Rick may or may not be difficult during this time. With his built up stress and anger, this could go only two ways.

"What, no answer?" Negan suddenly stepped back and turned his head to the side curiously. "You don't really think that you were gonna get through this without being punished now, did you?"

Negan's faced turned around to glance between of all us. "I dont want to kill you people. Just want to make that clear from the get-go." He pointed the bat towards Rick again and smiled brightly. "I want you to work for me! You can't do that if you're dead, now can you? I'm not growing a garden. But you killed my people, a whole damn lot of them." He lowered his bat and placed his hand across his chest. "More than i'm comfortable with! And for that — for that you gotta pay."

I licked my dried lips nervously and gripped at the fabric of my jeans with my finger tips. I could almost feel my heart pounding against my rib cage.

"So now, I'm going to beat the holy hell outta one of you." The air got caught in my throat and fresh tears formed on my bottom lash line. I instantly remembered the photos Glenn, Heath, and I saw on the wall at the compound. That was all him.

Negan swung his bat around and held the other end in his gloved hand, leaning forward towards Rick and smiled. "This is Lucille, and she is awesome." He lifted his bat back up and started to walk again. "All this is just so we can pick out which one of you gets the honor." He then walked over towards Carl and stood in front of him before kneeling down. "You got one of our guns. You got a lot of them," he chuckled.

I nervously looked over at Carl, quietly reaching for his hand and grasping it in my own. "Shit, kid, lighten up. At least cry a little." His eyes then drifted down towards our hands before his gaze met mine, a soft chuckle leaving his lips. "Let me guess — you're the mom?" I swallowed nervously in response as he stood up now, staring towards Rick before pointing at the both of us. "I'm betting you're the father. Yup. We have the whole family here, don't we?"

He slowly walked over towards Maggie, standing in front of her before tilting his head to the side. "Jesus Christ, you look shitty." I shook my head subconsiously, watching Negan towering over her. "I should just put you out of your misery right now." He then raised his bat and my heart dropped into my stomach, my body slightly falling forward until Glenn tried to lunged at him. "No! No!"

A few saviors quickly grabbed him before he could touch Negan, punching him several times as Maggie cried. "Stop it!"

Glenn tried to fight against the saviors and my hands fell forward against the dirt, my nails digging into it deeply as tears started to roll down my cheeks. "Glenn! Don't fight them! Don't fight them!"

"Nope," Negan rubbed his mouth with his hand. "Nope, get him back in line." Glenn let out a series of 'no' as Dewight dragged him back to his spot where he originally was it. "Don't! Don't," he sobbed with his head hanging low before looking back up at Negan who was grinning wide. "All right listen," he shook his head. "Don't any of you do that again. I will shit that shit down no exceptions." He backed away then held up his hand while tilting his head to the side and pointing towards Glenn. "First ones free! It's an emotional moment, I get it."

"Sucks don't it? The moment you realize you don't know shit." He slowly started walking towards Carl again and laughed with a shake of his head, "he's definitely you're kid."

"Just stop this!" Rick suddenly shouted in anger and Negan turned away. "Hey! Do not make me kill the little future serial killer." He responded sternly. "Don't make it easy on me!" My head tilted down and I silently started sobbing to myself, my fingers still digging into the dirty before I tilted my head back and brushed my hair off of my cheek with my shoulder. "I gotta pick somebody! Everybodys at the table waiting for me to order." He started to whistle as he walked around us again, silently debating which one it would be for the end of us.

"I simply cannot decide," he laughed with a shake of his head. "I got an idea!" His eyebrows lifted and he raised his bat, slowly pointing at each of us as he began to sing a song from my childhood. "Eenie...meenie..miney..mo.." I looked up towards the bat as it waved in front of my face, tears silently streaming down my cheeks as he moved on. "Catch...a tiger...by...his toe...if he...hollers...let him go. My mother...told me...to pick the...very best one...and you...are...it."

I slowly looked over to where Negan had finished pointing, the wind getting caught in my throat as it ran dry and my mouth slowly gaped open in fear.

"Anybody moves, anybody says anything, cut the boys other eye out and feed it to his father, then we can really start! You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry. Hell you're all going to be doing that." And just like that, a scream fell from my lips as the scene slowly started to unfold in front of us.