𝑨 𝑯𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑴𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒅𝒚. (𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒏)

{61} Broken Spirit

"you're just a pretty face with a fake ego!"

•••

Hunter watched from afar as his younger brother and new unlikely friend scuttled dangerously in to the lions den, which was of course the camp that had kidnapped his beloved best friend. In his heart, he believed they'd be ok, and somehow guessed that Negan cared for Austin a lot more than he showed. 

His broad figure was carefully crouched behind a nearby tree, cinnamon eyes shaded by the darkness of the sky above. By now, he'd given the pair of misfits a chance to create their distraction and had decided that it was best if he scurried over towards the shack that Brooklyn was supposedly being held in, now.

With a cautious glance from left to right, Hunter darted to the hut, smiling from ear to ear at the sound of a nearby whistle. He watched carefully as the nearby group members cleared away from where they were sat to investigate the noise, giving him plenty of time to rescue the girl safely.

There were, obviously, parts of him that were worried about all of this going wrong. Like, what if the men saw him and Brooklyn escaping? What if he got caught and made matters worse? It was all on him now. Negan and Austin had done what they needed to do, so, whatever happened from here, it was on Hunter Grays.

Approaching the decrepit wooden structure, Hunter reached out to pull the old door open, only frowning when he realised it was locked. He let out an exaggerated huff and jiggled his knife into the weakened lock. It took a few moments before a satisfying clink was a heard, a clear indication that Hunter had finally managed to get through.

And the sight wasn't nice either.

For a camp as grimy and as revolting as he'd seen so far, which hadn't actually been that much considering he'd not been there long, Hunter was entirely sickened by the repulsive state of the small prison-like room that he was now stood before. His eyes bounced around the darkness, squinting at the shrivelled figure that was quaking in the corner.

As he stepped forward, he felt the swelling lump in his throat steal his breath. Hunter was completely aghast at the very sight that was painted beyond his eyes. "B- Brooklyn?" He stuttered, still trying to ignore the vile heap of rotting corpses and flesh in the corner. "Brooklyn? That really you?"

At once, the petrified girl bravely looked up. Despite the smudges of dirt and dried blood smothering her features, the faintest of smiles played perfectly on her lips, "Hunter?!" Her voice sounded tired and gruff, understandable for someone in her situation.

Brooklyn groaned in discomfort, her joints aching and clicking as she gingerly crawled in to the slither of moonlight that had emerged from behind Hunter's figure. "Is-" she paused and gathered her strength, the tone of her voice wavering as she tried to speak, "Is Negan here?"

All the girl wanted now, was to leave. She wanted to leave and never come back. Killing Crow wasn't a priority anymore- getting out of there was. Hunter could see the horrible living conditions that his friend had endured. She'd been living in her own filth, with no light, no bed and no clean clothes. It made him sick.

"Yeah-" Hunter forced a soft smile. He didn't want to show his anger right now. They'd just reunited, why ruin the moment? "Yeah, he's here, hasn't stopped worrying about you. Him and Austin caused a distraction so I could come get you."

Those words were the best she'd heard in a long time. Brooklyn felt her cracked lips stretching further in to a full on grin, "I missed you guys." She winced as she pulled herself up, the strength in her muscles slightly deteriorated due to the little movement of being in that room with nothing comfortable to lay or sit on during her long, drawn out stay.