C H A P T E R   0 1

❛ new world order. ❜

QUINN

     SHE WAS STARING AT THE GROUND, forcing herself to keep her eyes focused on the forest floor. Her heart was beating impossibly loud in her ears but even that wasn't enough to drown out the horrible sounds of cracking bones and dripping blood. She couldn't look, didn't want to look. It took everything within her to keep from screaming, from getting to her feet and push her knife into his head.

Negan...

She was going to kill him.

She swore it right then and there. She was going to make him regret ever crossing them.

Though right now, that thought was nothing more than a dream, a hopeless and painfully far away dream. Right now she was on her knees in the middle of a forest, seated in a line up while her family was being brutally murdered. Right now, the world had well and truly ended.

Something red flashed in the corner of her eye and her head turned despite her mind screaming not to. Her eyes caught sight of Abraham's mangled boy and a sob tore its way out of her throat. There was nothing left of his friendly smile, his watchful eyes or his flaming hair. He was gone, his head smashed into pieces by a bat wrapped in barbed wire. His hand was still twitching in the dirt and suddenly she felt sick. Flashes of their drinking game worked its way before her eyes, forcing her to relive happy times. There would never be any new happy memories now, all destroyed with the swing of a bat.

Her mind kept going back to the ridiculous game of Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Mo and how with every step Negan took, fear coursed through her veins like poison. He'd chosen Abraham, there was no doubt in her mind about how he'd definitely done it on purpose. He killed their biggest man, the man who looked like a weapon, the man who kept them centered and strong. Negan had known exactly who to pick and how to weaken them. But even as the first blow had landed and blood was dripping down his forehead, Abraham had kept his strength and his last words had been a testament to his entire life. Suck my nuts.

And now he was gone. The passionate soldier, the great drinking partner, the man who represented their strength. He was gone.

"Did you hear that?" Negan chuckled. "He said, 'Suck my nuts'." He kept grinning as he caught his breath. Then he brought his bat down once again, and again even though there was already nothing left but a puddle of blood.

Hot, red fury clouded her eyes and she felt herself clenching her hands to keep it contained. She hated him. She hated him with the burning fury of a thousand suns and the love for her family was the only thing stronger. The one thing keeping her from moving and wrapping her hands around his throat to watch the life leave his eyes.

"Holy fuck," he finally said as he stopped to catch his breath. "Look at this!" He swung his bat into Rick's direction, blood splattering on his face. "You guys! Look at my dirty girl!" The cocky grin on his face made her wanna hit something.

Then he caught sight of a whimpering Rosita, her hand on her stomach as she doubled over with pained sobs. "Sweetheart," he mumbled as he walked towards her. "Lay your eyes on this." He pushed the bloodied bat into her face.

Quinn felt Daryl twitching beside her and suddenly her entire body was on high alert. That very same storm she'd sensed inside of him after Beth's funeral was back and it was about to unleash.

"Oh, damn," Negan said softly. "Were you together?" He gestured with his bat at Abraham's corpse. "That sucks. But if you were, you should know there was a reason for all of this. Red, and hell, he was, is and will ever be red. He just took one or six or seven for the team!" He pushed the bat back into her face. "So take a damn look." When Rosita refused and kept her eyes on the ground instead, anger crossed his face. "Take a damn look!"

She knew it was going to happen and still she wasn't fast enough. Daryl screamed with rage, pushed himself on his feet and took a swing at Negan. Quinn shouted his name, jumped up after him and pulled him back at his arm, but he was too strong and pushed her away, kept reaching for the man in the leather jacket. Even wounded his fury was a storm too strong to contain.

"Stop it!" she screamed, reaching for him once again, managing to get in between him and Negan. His eyes refused to look at her as he kept crying out like an animal trapped. "Dammit Daryl!" she shouted, tears of rage streaming down her cheeks.

Hands grabbed her and pulled her away, a knee in her back forced her on the ground. She shouted in rage as her face was pressed in the dirt. Desperately she searched for Daryl's face and watched as it took three Saviors to get him down on the ground. She hated herself for trying to stop him because she knew how hard it was to just sit here and let this happen but they couldn't risk anymore of their people getting hurt. She knew the raging fury all too well but also knew this was not the time to let it out.

"No!" Negan shouted and immediately her struggling ceased. "No," he repeated, softer but still with a malice that made her wince. "That? Oh my, that is a big fucking no, no." He knelt besides Daryl on the ground and her body reacted without her mind wanting her to. But the Savior holding her down managed to keep her still, her struggling was useless.

"The whole thing," Negan went on, "not one bit of that shit flies here!"

Dwight stepped forwards out of the crowd, his - no Daryl's - crossbow pointed at Daryl. 'Do you want me to do it?" Dwight questioned. "Right here."

A whimper left her mouth as she watched the scene unfold. "Be quiet," the Savior holding her mumbled and with a shock she realised it was Nick.

Anger boiled in her stomach. She should've killed him that day. She should've been strong enough to pull the damn trigger and him. But she hadn't and he'd gone running back to his master.

Negan watched her reaction closely as he reached out and grabbed Daryl's hair, pulling it away from his face. She knew her anger was burning in her eyes but she couldn't put it out, she couldn't pretend watching this didn't do anything to her. Negan's eyes flickered between her burning gaze and Daryl's struggling body and then finally he said: "No." He looked up at Dwight. "No, you don't kill them, not until you try a little."

For a moment Dwight held Negan's gaze before dropping the crossbow and hauling Daryl back to his spot in the line. Nick pulled her back on her feet but before she was brought back to her place in the line-up, Negan stepped in front of them. His eyes roamed her dirt and tear stained face, a grin forming on his features. "You're quite the tempest, aren't you?"

She didn't reply, just kept staring at him with burning fury.

He grinned then gestured for Nick to put her back in her place. Her father pushed her down on the ground besides Daryl and then stepped back into the crowd of Saviors surrounding them. Her hands were itching for a fight and whether her father or Negan would be the first in her line of fire, she didn't much care.

"Anyway," Negan said. "That's not how it works. Now, I already told you people first one's free, then what I'd say? I said I would shut that shit down!" Chills ran down her spine as another malicing grin spread across his face. "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." He let a short silence fall and everything in her wished that he would just drop the damn act and stop talking. "I need you to know me. So..." He took the bat firmly in his hands and the way his body tensed put her on alert. He wasn't going to punish Daryl by killing him, he made that much clear. Part of her half expected the bat to land on her own head because her actions spoke volumes. She cared for Daryl and Negan knew that now.

"Back to it," he said, turned and brought the bat down once again.

A gasp rattled through the group. Maggie's scream tore the sky open. Glenn's skull cracked, blood streaming down his face. Negan brought the bat down once again and this time Quinn couldn't look away. She watched as his skull cracked and his eye was pushed half out of its socket. He groaned and desperately gasped for breath, his entire body shaking.

Negan leaned forward. "Buddy, you still there?" He was actually amused. Their suffering was actually amusing to him. Never before had she felt such fury. Not even when her father brought down his belt, not even when Marcus threatened to kill Milo, not even when the Governor showed up at their gates, not even when Joe almost killed Daryl, not even Dwight killed Beth. This, this right here, was what broke her. This was what tore her apart and left her howling like a wounded animal. This made her wish to rain down her fury in a never ending storm.

Glenn was still struggling to breathe but after a few more gasps Quinn realised he was actually trying to form words and that realisation seemed to have settled on Negan as well. "I don't know, it just seems like you're trying to speak, but you just took a hell of a hit! I just popped you're fucking skull so hard, your eyeball just popped out! And it is gross as shit!"

Finally Glenn turned his gaze to Maggie and managed a few last words, barely audible through his gasps and trembles. "Maggie, I'll find you."

Maggie gasped in pain, tears streaming down her cheek as she cradled her stomach.

"Oh," Negan spoke softly, slowly making his way over to Maggie. "Oh, hell. I can see this is hard on you guys. I am sorry. I truly am. But I did say it. No exceptions!" Then he turned and brought the bat down again, tossing Glenn's body on the floor like it was nothing, an empty shell that hardly mattered.

She winced every time he swung the bat. Maggie's sobs were breaking her heart.

"You bunch of pussies," Negan said as he kept hitting. "I'm just getting started."

A thought crossed her mind, so sudden but with so much certainty. She clung to it like a prayer, locked it in her heart and held it there. Me too, mother fucker, me too. And with every blow landing, with every drop of blood splattering on the ground, with every tear that worked its way down her face, the strength of her promise grew. She was going to kill him for this. She was going to kill them all for this.

"Lucille is thirsty," Negan grinned. "She's a vampire bat! What?" Negan said as silent sobs rattled through the group. "Was the joke that bad?" He finally stepped away from Glenn's misformed body, drops of blood leaving a trail as he walked.

"I'm gonna kill you," Rick choked out through his tears.

Negan knelt down in front of him and Quinn felt her heart racing in her chest. "What?" the man questioned. "I didn't quite catch that. You're gonna have to speak up."

"Not today," Rick said, swallowing his tears. "Not tomorrow but I'm gonna kill you."

Negan remained silent and with each passing second, Quinn grew more nervous. Finally the leader of the Saviors inhaled sharply before muttering: "Jesus." He chuckled softly then spoke louder. "Simon, what did he have, a knife?"

The man with a huge mustache and a retreating hairline spoke up. "Uh, he had a hatchet."

"A hatchet?" Negan questioned in disbelief.

"He had an ax," Simon repeated.

"Simon's my right hand man," Negan said, focusing his attention back on Rick. "Having one of those is important. I mean, what do you have left without 'em? A whole lot of work. Do you have one? Maybe one of these fine people still breathing?" He let out a very sarcastic chuckle. "Oh, or did I-" He moved his bat and clicked with his tongue.

Rick was trembling with anger as he stared at Negan, fire burning in his eyes.

Negan sighed. "Sure, yeah, give me his ax."

Simon walked forward and handed Negan the weapon. He held it in front of Rick's face for a moment before getting to his feet. He put the ax behind his belt, claiming it as his own and the need to scratch his eyes out came back in flaming fury.

Suddenly he reached for Rick's shoulder and pulled the man along the ground towards the RV like a dog. "I'll be right back," he growled, fury sounding through his voice like a thunder storm unleashed, "maybe Rick will be with me and if not well we can just turn these people inside out, won't we? I mean, those that are left." He pushed Rick inside, then closed the door and climbed behind the wheel himself.

The RV drove off into the night and Quinn watched the vehicle go with shaking limbs and teary eyes. The cold morning fog was settling in her bones, until she was trembling so much she could no longer tell if it was from the anger, shock or cold.

As they waited, the sun rose, but the silent sobs of grief didn't quiet down. Quinn was too shocked to even move and so she remained seated on her knees, trembling with anger and her heart aching with grief. She had no idea how long they sat there, the only notion of time she had were the bright beams of sunlight shining upon the clearing in the woods. She was back to focusing her eyes on the ground directly in front of her again, afraid that if she'd take a look at the mangled bodies of her friends she'd throw up.

Her tears had finally stopped, leaving her eyes dry and itchy. Instead she felt numb. The promise she'd made echoed through her, the only thing to keep her seated up right now. It was the only thing that made sitting here bearable. The thought of killing them all.

Hours must have passed when the RV returned. Negan opened the door and threw Rick outside. Then he grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and dragged him along the floor. He stopped in the middle of the circle and threw him on the ground. "Here we are," he said, still grinning. "Let me ask you something, Rick do you even know what that little trip was about?"

Rick looked around the circle with wide and haunted eyes but his mouth remained shut.

"Speak when you're spoken to," Negan said.

"Okay, okay," Rick breathed and Quinn felt her eyes tear up once again by the broken look on his face.

"That trip was about the way you looked at me. I wanted to change that. I wanted you to understand. But you're still looking at me the same fucking way. Like I shit in your scrambled eggs, and that's not gonna work. So." Negan knelt down besides Rick on the ground, still holding that damn bat. "Do I give you another chance?"

"Yeah," Rick mumbled. "Yes."

Negan patted his shoulder before getting back on his feet. "Okay, all right. And here it is, the grand prize game. What you do next will decide whether your crap day becomes everyone's last crap day or just another crap day." He gestured to the Saviors standing in a circle around them. "Get some guns to the back of their heads."

Quinn felt a cold barrel being pushed against her skull. Her eyes flickered to Daryl next to her, hoping he'd remain still. But he seemed broken, every bit of energy drained from him. Carefully she stretched out her hand over the dirt, touching his fingertips with her own. He gave no indication that he'd noticed her and she didn't have to guess why. The guilt was basically radiating from him. She turned her eyes back to Negan, afraid that if she kept her eyes on Daryl for a moment longer she'd break into tears once again. But when she'd finally looked away, he moved his hand, their fingers pressed together. She swallowed the lump in her throat and took a deep breath, hoping she could manage to stay strong for whatever was happening next.

"Good," Negan said. "Now, level with their noses so if you have to fire-" He put his hand to his face and imitated an explosion, grinning all the while. "-it'll be a real fucking mess." Then he turned his eyes to Carl. "Kid." He gestured with his finger for Carl to come closer. "Right here," he said, pointing to the ground beside Rick. "Kid, now."

Finally Carl got to his feet and walked over as Negan started to remove his belt. "You a southpaw?" he asked.

"Am I a what?"

"Are you a lefty?"

"No," Carl replied, his voice wasn't even trembling.

"Good," Negan said and started wrapping the belt around his left arm. "That hurt?" he asked as he pulled it as tight as possible.

"No," he said and once again Quinn was surprised by the strength in his voice.

"Should," Negan said, that stupid grin all over his face again. "It's supposed to. All right. Get down on the ground, kid, next to daddy. Spread them wings." He took Carl's hat from his head and threw on it on the ground. He pushed Carl down in the dirt, his arm outstretched. The realisation of what he was planning to do, hit Quinn like a truck and suddenly it was hard to breathe. He wouldn't seriously consider doing that to a child?

"Simon," Negan called out. "You got a pen?"

"Yeah," Simon said, searching his pockets before throwing one to Negan.

Negan caught it, then pushed 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 the forearm." He drew a line on Carl's skin. "There you go. Gives you a little leverage."

"Please," Rick spoke softly, shaking his head. "Please don't. Please don't."

"Me?" Negan said as though the suggestion was ridiculous. "I ain't doing shit." He stood up straight. "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 you breathing for a few years, just so you can stew on it."

"You-you don't have to do this," Michonne suddenly spoke up, her voice so broken that it made Quinn's heart ache. "We understand. We-" "You understand!" Negan interrupted her. "I'm not sure that Rick does." He looked away from Michonne, focusing his attention back on their leader. "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. We got a great doctor, the kid will be fine. Probably."

Still no response came from Rick, and what could he do? The world had disappeared beneath their feet, none of them had anything left to stand on and now Negan was asking this of him? Quinn couldn't blame him for the haunted look in his eyes.

"Rick," Negan said, once again kneeling beside him, "this needs to happen now, chop, chop. Or I will crush the fella's little skull myself."

"It can-" Rick choked out. "It can be me, it can be me. Y-you can do it to me. I c-can go with you."

"No," Negan replied. "This is the only way. Rick, pick up the ax. Not making a decision is a big fucking decision. You really wanna see all these people die? You will. You will see every ugly thing." When still no response came Negan sighed. "Oh my god. Are you gonna make me count? Okay, Rick. You win. I am counting. Three!"

"Please!" Rick wailed. "Please! It can be me. Please!"

"Two!"

"No. Please don't do-" Negan slapped him across the face and she winced, then took Rick's jaw firmly in his hand to get him to look at him. "This is it," he said. "One!"

Rick screamed, his hand closed around the hilt of the hatchet and Quinn felt the world shaking by the pain in his voice.

"Dad," Carl whispered. "Just do it." He closed his eyes. "Just do it."

Rick was sobbing and held on tight to Carl's hand as he raised the ax in the air only to be stopped by Negan at the very last second. Quinn exhaled slowly, then inhaled to give her burning lungs some air.

"Rick," Negan said to a frantic Rick. "You answer to me. You provide for me. You belong to me. Right?"

Rick nodded but it wasn't enough. Negan grabbed a hold of his face once again and roared: "Speak when you're spoken to! You answer to me! You provide for me! You belong to me, right!"

"Right," Rick whispered, soft and broken, yet it seemed to echo through the entire clearing.

"Right," Negan confirmed. "That-" he pointed to Rick's terrified and panicked face "-Is the look I wanted to see!" He got back on his feet and took the hatchet from the ground. "We did it, all of us, together. Even the dead guys on the ground. Hell they get the fucking 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.'"He released a long breath and then called for Dwight.

He pointed his bat towards Daryl and then to her. "Load those two up."

Before she could even start to register what was happening, Dwight pulled Daryl up on his feet and another Savior took her. She could hear Milo cry out her name but she couldn't see him. In front of her, Daryl was thrown into the same van they had arrived in. She was pushed inside after him and quickly turned around, managing to get one look at her brother's broken face before the doors closed and they were enveloped in darkness.

A shaky breath left her lips, her heart was thumping in her chest. The engine roared and then they drove away. She thought she'd used up all of her tears but apparently there were always more, lingering just beneath the surface.

A strong arm wrapped itself around her and she curled up against Daryl's chest while her body shook with painful hiccups. Holding each other tightly they were shipped off into the unknown but even as she cried, even as fear was waving through her, she remembered her promise. She held on it, like it was the only thing left that mattered in the world.

She was going to kill them all.

A U T H O R 'S  N O T E

No better way to start the second book in this series than with a little pain... Just kidding this chapter was the hardest one I've ever had to write. But I'm still very proud of how it turned out! I loved writing Quinn's reaction to Negan and showing just how dangerous this woman can actually be. Get ready for some fine character development this season.

Anyway, hope you all managed to find some joy in this chapter and I am so sorry for putting you through all of this. Despite all the pain and suffering I'm really looking forward to writing this season and adding in my own plots, like Quinn being taken captive because I can assure you it's going to be one hell of a ride.

Rest in peace Abraham Ford and Glenn Rhee, you will never be forgotten.

xx nelly