Chapter Text
Negan knew about everything that went on inside the walls of the sanctuary. Everything except for you.
“Alright boys! Let get outta this shit hole!” A large, burly man shouted. He must be the person in charge.
You were on your own for too long. You stopped counting the months after you hit the 2 year mark, and quite frankly, you were surprised you were even still alive. You peered out from behind the old shed, watching as the men loaded the last of the supplies into their trucks. You noticed one truck was left mostly empty. Your feet started to sprint towards the empty pickup truck, and you weren’t quite sure why. Chalk it up to survival instincts. Before any men saw you, you dove into the empty pickup. There was an old tarp inside, which you quickly covered yourself with. You laid as still as possible, feeling the truck lean towards the driver side as someone got in. The engine roared to life, and you were on the move. You just hoped they were a good driver.
About an hour later, you heard the sound of a heavy gate opening. The truck had slowed down. You peeked an eye out of the tarp, seeing that you were entering some sort of compound. You covered yourself up again as the truck made its way to a makeshift parking lot. The man got out of the truck quickly, and made his way in a different direction. Probably to unload the haul from the others.
When you decided it was quiet enough, you slowly sat up. You were parked in the back of what looked like an old factory. It was huge, with a dirty metallic shell. There was a huge fence surrounding it, which you hoped was there to keep the walkers out.
You thought back to how the hell you got here. You made your way across the yard, and slipped into a nearby garage. You could hear the sound of power tools and an air compressor.
“Hey lady, what are you doing in here?” A short, bald man asked.
“Oh uh, hi! I think I’m lost. I’m new here. I’m supposed to be on janitorial duty. Could you tell me where that is?” You came up with a lie on the spot. Feigning being the new girl would help you get some directions. Pretending to be on janitorial duty would help you stay behind the scenes, hopefully going unnoticed. The man narrowed his eyes, before wiping a greasy hand on his overalls and motioning for you to come with him.
He let you inside, and once you were in the hallway he pointed down it.
“Down the hall, make a left. Go down the stairs, and the laundry room will be that way. Whoever runs the laundry room will be able to help you.” He said, his voice bordering on annoyance.
You mumbled a quick ‘thank you’ before heading off in the direction he sent you. You came across the large laundry room, which was industrialized, obvious built for large loads. You could hear clothes bouncing around in the dryers, and the occasional sound of running water.
Wow okay.. Running water. I haven’t heard that in a looonng time. You thought to yourself.
When a person rounded the corner, you jumped, immediately constructing your next lie.
“Hi! I’m new here. I got assigned to janitorial duty? I’m supposed to be meeting...Anna? No… that wasn’t it. Vicky? Uh…” You feigned forgetfulness, allowing the worker to fill in the blanks for you.
“..Danielle?” They asked hesitantly.
“Yes! That was it. Where can I find Danielle?”
“Go all the way back.” They smiled and walked off.
You were on your way, hoping you could fake your assignment to this job. You didn’t really have a plan. You were making it up as you went, thankful for your ability to lie convincingly. Honestly, you were trying not to think about the fact that you could fuck all of this up and get killed. You were out in the apocalypse way too long to care about the risk.
“Danielle?” You asked in a friendly tone.
“Yes?” A woman appeared from behind a large cart of towels. She has a head of gray, curly hair, and she was a whole head shorter than you.
“I’m new here. I got assigned to janitorial duty? I was told to speak with you.” You replied.
“Oh thank goodness!” The old woman replied. “I’ve been requesting a new worker for weeks! Come this way.” She replied joyfully.
Danielle led you into a cluttered office, where she picked up a piece of paper.
“Name?” She asked.
“Clark Newman.” You responded. It wasn’t your real name, but it’d have to do.
“Huh.. I don’t see your name on any of the time cards.” She said with a furrowed brow.
“Oh…” (shit. shit. shit.), “Could it be a mistake?” I asked hesitantly.
“I suppose it could be. I’ll write a message to Negan so see if we can get this sorted out.”
Negan. That must be the leader’s name.
“Oh no! You don’t have to do that! I actually really want to meet him. I could ask him about it when I see him?” You asked, hoping that scenario was at least realistic.
“Negan is a busy man, honey. Plus, I’m not sure you’ll want to meet him. When he gets into one of his moods, he’s no fun to be around.” She warned.
“I uh.. I really look up to him! Are you sure there’s no way?” I pleaded.
Danielle looked at me with a look of warning, before thinking for a moment.
“You will be cleaning his bedroom as one of your duties. You could ask him when you go to do that, as long as he isn’t preoccupied. He does not like being interrupted.” She warned again.
“That’s perfect.” You responded.
Danielle showed you the ropes, introducing you to some of your coworkers, as well as showing you some of the duties you would be responsible for. Laundry collection, mopping the mess hall, cleaning Negan’s room.
You would have to think of what to do then. You hoped he wasn’t too observant, and that he won’t notice you’re a new face. You weren’t going to ask him about the time cards. Instead, you planned to return to Danielle’s office after hours and add your name onto the stack. What about when those got handed in though? Was there some sort of money system they followed here? You were bound to hit a kink in your plan at some point. We’ll deal with it when it happens. You thought.
Since it was pretty late, Danielle didn’t have you start on any of your duties today. She had you write out a time card to record your hours, and sent you off to dinner. You followed the crowd towards the mess hall, trying to remember the hallways as you went. You were shuffled right into line with everyone else. You reached a station where a man stood, with a paper ledger in front of him.
“ID number?” He asked. I looked at him like a deer in headlights.
“Hello?” He prodded, becoming impatient quickly. “It’s on your ID card.” He replied in an irritated voice.
“Oh uh.. I guess I forgot mine in my room.” You responded, moving out of the line to let the next person go. I guess you weren’t eating tonight. You would have to figure out where you can steal food from.
Suddenly, silence washed over the dining hall as someone entered. The doors opened, and in walked the man in charge, the same one you saw outside the gates. That must be Negan.
Everyone slowly went silent, an air of unease washing through the room. They slowly lowered to their knees. You glanced around, moving behind a crowd of people before dropping to yours as well.
“Evening sons of bitches!” The man shouted in a baritone voice. He outstretched his arms, an award winning smile decorating his face. “I’m feeling goddamn generous today.” He emphasized his words in a weird way, leaning back at the same time. “We had a good fuckin’ run, even got some goddamn medicine. And since I’m such a stand-up fucking guy, I think all of you deserve a free drink on the house!” Some people clapped, others cheered. Some stayed deadly quiet. Overall, the celebratory noises were dull and underwhelming.
Negan held his heart and put on a fake ‘hurt’ expression. “Now I think I deserve a little more praise than that..” He responds.
Everyone quickly claps, louder this time than the last time.
“See you sorry fucks at the bar.” He smiles, turns on his heel, and walked out, a few of what you assumed were his inner circle, following behind him.
Okay. Calories. Alcohol is better than nothing.
You thought. You hadn’t eaten in hours, and could feel your stomach turning over nothing. At least you could get something into your body without needing an ID number.