chapter 59

Chapter 59: Eyes Open, Blood Boils

The echo of hurried boots snapped through the quiet halls of the Sanctuary like gunshots.

A man stumbled through the corridor, panting, face pale, drenched in sweat. He shoved open the meeting room doors without knocking—a death wish in itself—and froze when he saw Negan at the head of the table and Axel sitting behind him.

The room went dead silent.

Axel's eyes were still closed, his fingers loosely folded together.

Negan didn't even look at the man at first. He just tilted his head, his voice low, amused.

"You better have brought a resurrection or a goddamn apocalypse to barge in like that."

The man swallowed.

"It's Alexandria, sir… Rick—Rick did something."

That made Negan pause. Just a little.

Axel's eyes opened.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

The entire room tensed like the air itself was holding its breath.

Negan finally stood, Lucille slung over his shoulder as he stared the man down.

"Spit it out, sunshine. What's the news?"

"They attacked the outpost," the man blurted. "One of our supply camps near Hilltop. Rick led them. Blew the whole place up—supplies, people, everything. They didn't just raid it… they burned it to the fuckin' ground."

Negan's smirk didn't falter. But the twitch in his jaw gave him away.

"Ohhhh, Rick," he said, almost lovingly. "You beautiful, reckless son of a bitch…"

Behind him, Axel stood.

No stretching.

No yawning.

Just motion—smooth and controlled.

Eyes sharp like they'd never been closed.

"How many dead?" Axel asked, voice low, deadly calm.

"Over twenty," the man answered. "And they took weapons. Ammo. Even some of our guys—prisoners."

Negan chuckled and cracked his neck.

"Damn, Rick must've grown a new pair overnight. We pay him a visit, he puffs up like a damn rooster and sets my house on fire?"

Axel started walking toward the door, and people cleared the way like leaves caught in a storm wind.

"I'll go."

Negan turned. "Now hold on there, cowboy. We ain't doin' a one-man show."

Axel stopped. Turned halfway, eyes burning with intent.

"I'm not going to kill him. Yet." A pause. "I want to know why he did it."

Negan grinned wide, tongue dragging across his teeth.

"You're learning, kid."

Axel looked over his shoulder, eyes cold.

"No. I'm remembering."

Negan nodded once. "Gear up. I'll get the car."

The room started to buzz again, whispers rising like smoke.

Negan turned back to the table, tapping Lucille once against the edge.

"And you all? You stay the hell outta my way."

He pointed to the man who delivered the message.

"Tell everyone we're rolling out. And if Rick Grimes wants to play firestarter…"

He cracked his knuckles.

"…then it's about goddamn time we burned his house down too."

—

The car rolled to a stop, its wheels crunching over blackened earth and splintered bone.

Smoke hung heavy like a ghost that refused to leave.

The outpost… wasn't an outpost anymore.

It was a graveyard.

Burnt wooden beams jutted from the ground like broken teeth. Bodies—some whole, others just pieces—were scattered like discarded trash. The sky above was a choking gray, sun bleeding through just enough to cast everything in a sick orange glow.

Negan stepped out first, Lucille resting on his shoulder. He took one long look around, then let out a low, deep chuckle.

"Goddamn, Rick… you went full barbecue on this place."

He walked forward through the wreckage, boots kicking up ash and bits of bone.

"Look at this shit, Axel. This ain't a raid. This ain't war. This is a temper tantrum wrapped in gasoline."

Axel had stepped out silently. He wasn't moving the way Negan was. No swagger. No jokes. Just slow, steady footsteps through the fire-scarred ruins.

Negan turned, still grinning, but stopped mid-thought when he saw Axel's face.

The kid wasn't even blinking.

He was staring at something. Frozen.

Lucille lowered from Negan's shoulder.

"…What?"

Axel didn't answer.

He knelt.

Ash puffed up around his knees.

Negan walked closer, his laughter gone now. His smirk fading fast.

Axel reached forward and grabbed the edge of a corpse—a man, blackened and twisted—and rolled it to the side.

Beneath it… was another.

A child.

Small.

Half-buried in soot and charred cloth. One hand still clutched a melted toy. The features were nearly gone, the face scorched beyond recognition—but the size… the size told the story.

Negan didn't speak.

He just stood there.

Lucille dropped gently to the ground at his side.

Axel didn't move for a long moment. Then, slowly, he reached down and brushed some of the ash off the child's chest.

His hands were shaking.

"…I told you," he whispered, voice like broken glass, "no woman… no children."

Negan's jaw clenched.

"This wasn't us."

Axel didn't look at him.

"Doesn't matter."

The wind shifted, blowing smoke and ash through the bones of the outpost like whispers.

Axel stood up, slow and controlled, his eyes locked on the child's body.

"Someone dies for this."

Negan nodded, voice low, quiet for once.

"Yeah. They fuckin' do."

And without another word, the two of them turned away from the ashes.

Back toward Alexandria.

Back toward war.

—

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