𝑨 𝑯𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑴𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒅𝒚. (𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒏)

{16} The Truth

"If you care about those pricks so much, why don't you go back there?!"

•••

A loud crackle of silver lightning illuminated the night sky, the thundering crash filling Brooklyn's ears as she staggered helplessly through the wilderness.

She had been walking for hours after her car had decided to break down and after her fight with that woman at Alexandria, Brooklyn was hurting all over.

Her cheeks were bumpy and bruised, as was her left arm, smeared with dry blood and a large cut slashed up the side. For her, it had been a shitty day, and she still had miles left to travel.

Brooklyn shivered, cold drizzles of rain sliding down her body, accompanied by the roaring gusts of wind. She felt numb, the tips of her fingers and the surface of her skin draining colour, transforming into an icy blue.

It was a stupid idea to go there in the first place and the girl knew that when she got home, there was no hiding this from Negan- he was going to be pissed.

All this walking reminded Brooklyn of how things used to be before she found her home. How she used to have to catch her own food, depend on old buildings to shelter her, spend days travelling, unaware of what traps she could wonder in to. But since being introduced to the sanctuary, Brooklyn hadn't needed to stress about any of those things.

If she was honest, Brooklyn just wanted Negan right now. She wanted to cuddle up to him, tell him how much he meant to her. But part of her knew he didn't feel the same way. He had his wives, and it always angered the girl knowing that. Or maybe he did want her, but like Hunter had said before, "you'll just be another wife" and no way would Brooklyn ever degrade herself like that.

Wrapping her cold fingers around her knife, Brooklyn stumbled forward, noticing a shadowy figure in the distance. As she got closer, the realisation dawned on her that it was the undead corpse of a growling roamer, lurching around in the midst.

Brooklyn huffed, tired of moving, tired of walking, tired of being alone out there. She was absolutely drenched, her mangled brown hair looking like a used mop and the constant splash of mud spraying against her legs as the rain pelted against the floor was beginning to frustrate her.

When close enough, Brooklyn forced the jagged blade in to the monster's temple, squinting her sore eyes to protect herself from the spray of vermillion mess. She kicked the body as it hit the ground, screaming in frustration whilst the sound of the raging storm continued to occur.

"Fuck you, you dead piece of shit!"

Another strike of lightening rattled the sky, Brooklyn knelt down beside the rotten pile of flesh, burying her head in to her knees. She took a deep breath, water droplets trickling off of the edge of her buttons nose and dark eyelashes.

She stayed there for a few minutes, trying to calm herself down when a sudden beam of light caught her off guard. Brooklyn averted her gaze from the floor, studying the source of the two bright yellow rays until it occurred to her that they were headlights.

Panicking, Brooklyn scampered to her feet, twisting and turning her head to see if there was anywhere to hide, yet she was stood amongst a desolate road, there was nowhere to go.

These people could be anyone and Brooklyn wasn't one for making friends. She had already promised herself that she wasn't going to die today, and so, the only option was to defend herself.

The large truck stopped right in front of the girl, its engine spluttering as it did so. Brooklyn shakily held her gun up high, her vision hazy and unclear due to various injuries and lack of rest.