Playing For Brains

"I have the cure" Arlie shouted, causing Negan to stop mid swing.

She released a breath she didn't realise that she was holding as Carl's face relaxed from a grimace to confusion. She had their attention but she didn't know what to say next. She knew it would stop him but she didn't have a plan. She just wanted today to be over. She wanted everyone to just go back to where they were this morning, before this nightmare day had begun.

Arlie backed up from her spot as Negan held Lucille above his head giving his wife a quizzical look.

"You kill Carl or Rick and I won't tell you how to make it" she warned, trying to sound threatening.

"You're bluffing" he brought Lucille down, giving Arlie a questioning look.

"Eugene was there, I told him just before you dragged me out of the lab this morning, but only I know which one was a success. You know in respect of protecting myself" she glared at Negan feeling her anger at the man shining through.

Negan looked at Eugene who confirmed her statement with a nod.

"I wanted to tell you, but we didn't have much time to discuss until you dragged us here this morning and in all honesty this woman right here is in fact a rather scary lady" he rambled over his words, scared of facing Negan's wrath.

"I mean not that you are not scary yourself but she does happen to be one of the dead that isn't quite dead and I know that she can't die as easily as yourself so I wasn't about to go risking my behind when I didn't know the make-up of the cure without the right document" he continued.

Negan smirked, seemingly impressed by the woman stood in front of him.

"You let Rick go and everyone here gets a clean slate. You don't kill anyone and I will tell you how to make it. But you hurt these people and it's over" she puffed out her chest trying to make herself look bigger as she approached the place where Negan was standing.

"Oh, and Daryl goes free. He isn't yours to keep, you let him go" she turned to give the redneck a small smile before training her eyes back on the man in front of her.

"I can't do that sweetheart; you see if they don't fall in line then they ruin the hierarchy and that isn't something I plan of toppling. Grab her" he ordered.

The two men that had grabbed Carl came behind her and held her tight.

"I have ways of making you talk. It's a shame it's come to this though, I really like you. You were by far my favourite wife, strong willed and brilliant. It's a shame you turned out to be so stupid. Keep her quiet"

One of the men wrapped a hand around her waist while he brought his other up to cover her mouth. She looked out over Alexandria, to everyone that was gathered in one of the communities open green spaces. She fixed eyes with Beth who was giving her a pitiful smile from across the crowd, she had made her way over to Daryl. Arlie didn't care about herself but she would do anything to keep the youngest Greene and Dixon safe from these people.

Negan had made his way back over to Rick.

"Sorry about this and about her. Looks like she won't be coming back here like we had originally planned but I guess you wouldn't have seen that anyway" he raised Lucille again just as Arlie bit into the saviours hand taking a chunk out of his flesh, his cry of pain grabbing their attention.

She reaches for his gun pulling it out of his waistband and pointing it at Negan causing a plethora of other guns to be cocked.

"You aren't going to shoot me sweetheart. You forget I was there the other day, you chose to save me sweetheart, so why would I think you would be able to shoot me now" she realised that he was right, even if she could bring herself to pull the trigger on the man in front of her who she had such complicated feelings about, it wouldn't be long before someone ended her life. Someone else would just take his place and hurt her friends more for her actions.

Her hand faltered before she made the difficult decision. She turned the gun around so that it was pointing at her own temple.

"I can't let you do this! This isn't going to work for me. I don't doubt that you will do anything you can to get me to tell you about the cure and I know that I will end up dead because of it. So, I might as well skip all the needless torture of my friends" she tried to use her bravest voice but the nerves were kicking in, was she really about to do this. Did she really think she could pull the trigger on herself?

She took a deep breath before taking the safety off.

"Come on sweetheart, you don't want to do this. We can work something out, put the gun down before you do something you regret" he brought Lucille down gently allowing Rick and Carl enough time to get out of the danger of his wrath.

Once Arlie saw they had made it far enough away she continued.

"Leave, go back to the sanctuary and I will tell you what you want to know, but we never come back here. We leave them to live their own lives away from you and the saviours" she bargained.

"I don't want to lose you over this Arlie, please put the gun down" Negan sounded desperate.

Arlie looked at Eugene who was shaking, sweat pouring from his brow. He had found a friend in Arlie in the past week and it surprised him to see her risking her life to save the others.

She had let too many of her friends die because of this man. She had killed one of their own to save the man, she couldn't stay around him any longer. There was no other way out of this for her. She was already dead anyway.

She looked towards Beth and Daryl, she noticed Beth holding Daryl's arm keeping his gun pointed to the ground.

She gave a small smile to her friend before locking eyes with the redneck.

"I'm sorry, I have to. Thank you for saving me"

BANG

She pulled the trigger, the bullet lodging within her brain, the last remaining piece of her. She fell to the floor as her body let go of its last taste of life.

"No. NO. NO. NO. NO" Negan ran to Arlie's side as blood began to pool out of her head from the gun shot. He pulled her face towards him, hoping for a miracle but her grey eyes were lifeless for good this time, her body limp.

"Arlie" Beth screamed, running over. She pushing Negan out the way as Daryl pointed a gun at his head to make sure he didn't harm the youngest Greene, a small tear sliding down his cheek as he took in the sight of his dead friend. He had left her there and he judged her when he should have helped her. Saved her from those people.

She had made a lasting impact on their group and they wouldn't forget the person that she had become.

Daryl swallowed the lump in his throat as he heard the bullet click into the chamber, he took the shot as gunfire around him began to sound. The savours fell but it wasn't without the ultimate sacrifice. Without the loss of a friend. Part of their family. She came into their lives protecting them, and she left it the same. She deserved so much better than what she had gotten, but it was too late to change anything. She was truly gone from this world.