THE AIR WAS HUMID AS ODETTE SAT QUIETLY inside the moving truck. Negan had yet to tell her where they were going or what they were to do when they arrived at their destination. In fact, the baseball bat welding psycho had yet to utter a word to her since they had left the sanctuary only filling the quietness of the truck with the sound of his whistling and glancing over at Odette every so often.

The brunette dug her overgrown nails into the fabric of the seat, her scarred knuckles turning a ghostly  white as Negan's creepy whistle once again filled the tense air. There was something taunting about it, something about the way it made Odette feel — like it might be the last sound she ever heard.

A small sigh fell from Odette's chapped lips as her wide doe like eyes stared out the window, watching the scenery pass by in a blur. The colors of a Virginia summer had officially taken over and everything was overgrown in hues of green. It had once been Odette's favorite season but now, the warmer it got the more the air smelled of decay and rot. It was no longer about going to the beach or having family barbecues, it was now about killing or turning into a rotting corpse.

So, no, summer was no longer Odette's favorite — though not much was her favorite anymore.

The truck finally came to a stop after what felt like hours to the dark haired woman. Her big blue eyes looked out window, eyeing a depleted looking cul-de-sac. The once beautiful homes were long abandoned and overgrown weeds ruled the once perfectly landscaped front yards.

"Let's go." Negan finally spoke with a demanding tone as Odette watched him grab his baseball bat from in between them and practically kicked open the old rusty truck door.

"What are we doing here?" Odette questioned as she scrambled to quickly grab her backpack that homed a few of her supplies — gauze, a half empty tube of antibiotic cream, and two water bottles full of ( now ) warm water.

It wasn't much but it would help if one of them were to cut themselves on something. You didn't want to be out here with nothing on you — that was a sure death sentence.

"We're here to check these shitholes out." Negan explained as he waited for Odette to exit the truck. His eyes falling to the canvas backpack in her hands as she did.

Negan raised an eyebrow at the dark haired woman wondering what she had in there, no weapons of course he had Simon check the bag before they left the sanctuary, but he knew she didn't have much personal items so what exactly could be in there.

Odette's wide eyes looked at the house that stood a few feet in front of her. The once white siding was turning yellow from lack of cleaning and the windows that weren't broken had boards covering them with the words 'HELP, STILL ALIVE!' written across them in bold bright red paint. A shiver want through her body even though it was humid out. It was an uneasy feeling to know that there were people once in that house just waiting for someone to rescue them.

Did they die still full of hope or had it die quickly like it had for Odette when this rotting corpse of a new world began.

"We don't have all day mama bear." Negan grew impatient as he placed Lucille over his shoulder. "Let's not fuckin' dilly-dally." His tone cold and serious as he walked towards the house.

Nothing about this made sense to Odette. Negan had said he had found a job for her, but what job entailed going to abandoned homes? What could they possibly be doing here? She decided to keep her mouth shut for now. It was best not to piss off the man with a barbed wire bat.

"Alright mama bear," Negan smirked as he kicked up the old rotting door. "Show me what you got."

Before she could process his words and question their meaning his hands were pushing her body inside the cobweb and mold filled home, the door shutting behind her as he let out a deep chuckle from the other side of it.

"Wha—what are you doing?" Odette panicked as she twisted her body around towards the closed door, banging her fist against it. Was this apart of some sick plan? Was this the day Odette Doherty died?

"Let me the fuck out!" She pleaded with Negan as bile began to rise in the back of her throat at the moans and groans of walkers somewhere near by inside of the house.

"Like I said, show me what you got mama bear." Negan chucked darkly as he began to whistle the same uneasy tune he had earlier.

Odette banged her fist harshly against the door one last time before twisting around, her eyes wide as she looked around for the rotting corpses only to see what once resembled a young woman walking towards her with one side of her face ripped away from her skin, rotting flesh in its place.

The walker made its way slowly towards Odette with its decaying arms outstretched towards her with feral groans of hunger leaving its throat.

She was in trouble that much was certain. Negan had taken all of her weapons back when he found her and Rigby, and now she had nothing but the few supplies on her back — none which would help kill a walker. She was fucked.

Quickly Odette ran towards the kitchen in hopes of finding a knife or something sharp to end the rotting corpse chasing after her. She could hear the slow steps of the walker behind her as she searched the kitchen drawers for a beacon of hope.

Sweat had begun to trickle down the back of Odette's neck as she frantically searched, coming up empty handed each time. Her throat had began to burn as more bile rose in it, the thought of dying here in this house without ever seeing Rigby again filled her with dread and anger. Her death would be all because of Negan.

Negan, some man who found her days ago and decided to make her life more of a living hell than it already was. She wouldn't allow him to decide if her life ended now too.

The last drawer proved to be the beacon of hope for Odette, inside was steak knife which she quickly grabbed and held tightly in her hand before turning around and rushing towards the walker with a will to live deep inside of her stomach.

The walker reached for Odette's arms, it's teeth chomping at the sight of her fresh flesh. Odette pushed the rotting woman away from her and swiftly slammed the knife into her skull, watching as its rotting body fell to the floor and the feral groans disappeared from the air.

A sigh left Odette's lips as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. She stared at the walkers body for a moment before rushing towards the closed door, placing her hand on the handle and quickly pulling it open only to be met with a smirking Negan.

"Good job, mama bear." He greeted, looking around Odette's body towards the now dead walker. "I knew you could do it." He bought his hands together slowly letting out a long, slow clap.

"What the fuck was that?" Odette demanded as she looked up at Negan. "You took me out here to kill me?" Her tone was a mix of confusion and anger , something Negan had yet to hear from her.

A chuckle left his throat as he ran a hand over his beard. The anger from her was cute. It was like seeing an innocent doe angry, though Negan could tell deep down there was a real anger and rage inside of her.

"If I wanted to kill you you'd be dead. This is your job. We'll scope out abandoned homes from time to time and see if anything of value is here. There's plenty of abandoned homes in good ole Virginia."

"I knew from the moment I saw you that you were a survivor. I mean, look at you surviving on your own with your kid for god knows how long. You can kill these shitbags without a second thought. I just had to make sure you had it in you mama bear."

Negan explained as his dark eyes stared into Odette's wide blue ones, watching the emotions change in them for second to second.

"Come on. We got more houses to search." He placed a finger under her chin before whistling again and walking off towards the next home.

✞

ODETTE AND NEGAN HAD SEARCHED EACH HOME FOR HOURS, the sun had set a while ago and now darkness took over the cul-de-sac making it feel very sinister. The outside world was not somewhere Odette wanted to be when it turned dark — especially not with Negan. It was the dark that already played tricks on her mind and she didn't need Negan making it worse.

"I found a few more books for baby cub." Negan stated as they made their way towards the old truck, a proud look forming on his face.

His words shocked her slightly. She hadn't expected Negan to continue to bring books back for Rigby. It showed a more humane side to him than his usual approach.

"Thanks." Odette mumbled, the events from earlier still fresh in her mind as they slide inside the truck.

"Well, let's get home shall we." Negan grinned as he placed Lucille in between them and placed the key into the ignition, turning it only to be met with silence. "Come on ole girl." Negan tapped the steering wheel lightly before turning the key again only to be met with the same silence.

"God fucking damn it!" He yelled as his angry voice echoed off the silence of the inside of the truck.

Odette stated at him as he began slamming his gloved fist against the dashboard, yelling out cursing as he did so.

"Guess we're sleeping in here tonight." Negan decided as he ran a hand over his face. "Don't worry I'll keep you warm." He teased with a wink.

"What, no?" Odette shook her head at his words. She couldn't sleep here in this truck overnight with Negan. She had to get back to Rigby. Rigby would wonder where she had been and not coming home would only worry her even more. "We can walk." Odette suggested.

It was a horrible suggestion even Odette knew that. The sanctuary was too far to walk on foot and it was far too dark out — the possibility of getting injured was big. It was a possibility she was willing to take though.

"Walk?" Negan chuckled at the thought. "We're not walking anywhere tonight." He decided as relaxed in the drivers seat.

"I can't stay here! I need to get back to Rigby! I'll walk if I have to." Odette stated matter of factly as she placed her hand on the handle getting ready to open it.

Negan reached over and placed a tight grip onto her arm as he looked over at the nervous dark haired woman. "No one is going anywhere. We're staying here for the night, Odette."

Odette nodded and swallowed as she listened to the darkness in his tone. She removed her hand from the handle and leaned her head back against the seat.

"Good mama bear."

As if the night couldn't get any worse a loud thunder rumbled through the darken sky and the skies opened up as a heavy rain began to pour down from the clouds. Isn't this one of the ways the world ended? In a flood. Odette thought as she closed her eyes, trying to ignore the snores coming from a sleeping Negan.

✞

THE SOUND OF WHISTLING AND SUN SHINING IN HER FACE woke Odette up the next morning.

She quickly sat up startled as her eyes adjusted to the bright sun. She soon realized she was still inside the truck only this time it was moving.

"Where are we going?" Her voice raspy from sleep as she looked over at a grinning Negan.

"Home." He answered with a grin.

The truck grew silent after that the only exception being the once in a while whistling that came from Negan's lips as he drove.

_________

AN —
Finally an update! I really love writing this fic and need to show it more love.