sixty three.

The bat cracked over Abraham's head, his body slamming into the ground under the force. Droplets of his blood that flew from the hit landed into the dirt and blended in with the dark soil. He rose back to his knees, gazing up at Negan while blood cascaded from the top of his head down his face. He stared at him with a furious conviction, that he was willing to take the beating and sacrifice his life so no one else would get hurt.

"Look at that," Negan beamed with excitement and surprise at Abraham's resilience. "Taking it like a champ!" Abraham opened his mouth to speak, but he struggled getting his words out without flying into a burning rage.

"Suck my nuts," he growled in bravery and retaliation. If the circumstances were different, he would've rose to his feet and taken on Negan by himself. He wouldn't have needed any weapons, just his hands.

Negan brought the bat down on Abraham's head again, my body flinching at the power of the hit. He laid on the ground, defenseless against any other action Negan was about to take. I shut my eyes, other members of our group turning away from the scene. I couldn't watch this brutality. I felt like I was about to faint.

He brought the bat down once again. The contact this time made a sickening noise that almost made me throw up. Negan grunted with every swing, one after the other until he decided he was done. It fell silent after he stopped the bloodshed. I cautiously opened my eyes, the tears that I was holding in staining my skin as I did so. Abraham's head was replaced by bloody mush and crushed bone. My head began to feel light again as I let out a shaky sob. How could someone be so evil? So careless about death? Negan laughed wildly at the adrenaline rush and how truly distraught the 12 of us were. He didn't give a fuck about our grief.

"Did you hear that? He said suck my nuts," he lowered his voice as he imitated Abraham's last words. He lifted his bat that now was slathered in blood up to his face. A smirk stretched across his lips as he sighed with satisfaction. "Look at this..." With the flick of his wrist, blood flung off the bat and splattered across Rick's face. "Look at my dirty girl!"

Negan turned on his heel to face me, my stomach sinking at the focus now being on me. My heart began to thunder against my ribcage while he sauntered over to me. He shoved Lucille in my face.

"Lay your eyes on this," he whispered sensually, like he was getting his rocks off on the fact he just murdered one of us. My eyes flickered down to the blood soaked bat and quickly back up to Negan's face. He was smiling at me, relishing in my fear. I tried to pull away from it as he pushed it closer to my face, but the arms around me were squeezing me tight so I couldn't get away. "Were you guys friends," he asked with curiosity. I didn't answer out of fear he'd kill me. "If you were, you should know there's a reason for all this. Red, and hell he was, is, and will forever be Red, he just took one, or six or seven for the team!" Goosebumps pricked my arms at my nickname that escaped Negan's lips. He turned back to the group, walking a few paces away from me. I relaxed only slightly.

"So take a look," he demanded, thrusting the bat back in my direction again. "Take a damn look!" Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. My heart almost shot out of my throat.

"Daryl, no," I screamed, my arm reaching out for him. A hand shoved it down to my side forcefully. Daryl flew across the ground, punching Negan in the face. Pure terror was ripping through my body. Negan was gonna kill him. Negan was gonna kill Daryl for acting out.

"No," Negan hollered as Daryl was tackled to the ground. "That is a no-no! Not one bit of that shit flies here." He held the bat next to Daryl's face, the bloody barbed wire almost touching his cheek. I bit my quivering lip, holding back sobs. The burnt man held the crossbow at the back of Daryl's head, ready to fire at the say-so.

"You want me to do it," he asked, his finger already positioned on the trigger. Negan pulled Daryl's head back by his hair, Daryl letting out an angry feral growl in return.

"Nah, you don't kill them... not until you try a little," Negan smirked. Daryl was dragged back into line. I whimpered, my breathing shaky. "That's not how it works. I already told you people: first one's free, then what did I say? I said I would shut that shit down, 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; I need you to know me, so... back to it." Negan swung the bat again, the wire connecting with Glenn's head and sending him to the ground. A gasp was ripped from my throat, tears already falling down my face. I could hear Glenn's pained cries rise from his body as he laid on the ground.

"No," Maggie shrieked as Negan nailed him again. I dug my fingernails into the man who held me, pure anguish stinging my body. Glenn lifted his head back up, groaning and gasping for breath. I felt my blood run cold, my knees giving way. My jaw was open in disbelief. I hung from the man's arms, his grip still tight on me. Blood streamed down Glenn's head, his left eye popping out of its socket. Glenn swayed back and forth, clinging to life. He was mumbling, stuttering something. Maggie stared at him in complete and utter horror. The father of her unborn child was being ripped away from her right in front of her eyes. I wanted to scream, scream as loud as I could but I couldn't find the power to.

"Buddy, you in there," Negan taunted him, bending down in front of Glenn. "I just don't know... it seems like you're trying to speak, but you just took a hell of a hit! I just popped your skull so hard, your eyeball just popped out and it is gross as shit," he boomed, laughing loudly. I felt the contents of my stomach rise in my throat as I squeezed my eyes shut, only to quickly open them again. There was blood, blood everywhere. Everything was red, red as pure unadulterated anger. The liquid was almost black as it melted into every surface and crevice near.

"M-Maggie," Glenn mumbled almost unintelligibly. "I'll-I'll find you." Maggie stared at him again, her eyes wide with fear as her body shook with gut wrenching sobs. The noises Glenn continued to make as he suffered made me wanna plug my ears, but I couldn't. I didn't wanna be here anymore. I wanted to go home. I couldn't take this anymore.

"Oh," Negan whispered with fake sympathy, stepping towards Maggie. "Oh hell, I can see this is hard on you. I'm sorry, I truly am, but I did say it: no exceptions." He brought the bat down on Glenn's head again, his body falling back to the ground. I weeped as the scene burned my eyes, burrowed into my brain so deep that I was never going to forget this moment for the rest of my life. "You bunch of pussies! I'm just getting started," Negan hissed, bringing the bat down again and again and again. "Lucille is thirsty! She's a vampire bat," he joked as everyone cried, defeated. I sucked in a shaky breath, making the mistake of shifting my focus back to where the beating took place. Glenn's brains, eyes, everything he used to be and every thought he ever had was spilled out onto the dirt in a pile of mush; it was just like Abraham.

"What? Was the joke that bad," Negan questioned, smugness obviously present in his voice. My mouth was slack open in horror. I'd never seen anything like this in my whole entire life. Glenn's hand moved back and forth shakily, his nerves still functioning. I became woozy, blacking out and flopping over in the man's grip.