twd: the last silence

Chapter 54: Heaven on Earth

Axel stood still, blood soaking his clothes, dripping from the katana now resting at his side. Around him, Simon's mangled corpse lay in two pieces, his men strewn across the dirt like butchered cattle. The stench of iron and death filled the courtyard.

The higher-ups watched from above and across the yard. One of them—a guy named Calder—was grinning like he just found religion. Another turned pale, bent over, and puked into the dirt. The rest? Frozen. Silent. Processing the carnage like it might come for them next.

And then there was Negan.

He leaned against the railing, arms crossed, Lucille resting on his shoulder. His smirk was damn near unholy. That deep, gravel-drenched laugh rolled out of him like thunder.

"Well, holy mother of shit," he said, almost impressed. "You made a goddamn statement, kid."

Axel looked up at him, eyes locked like a man who'd just found his purpose. He raised his voice, still breathing heavy from the slaughter.

"Negaaaaaannnnn!"

Negan raised an eyebrow.

Axel laughed, raw and sharp. It wasn't forced. It wasn't fake. It was the first time that sound had come from him since the world went to hell.

"You told me to find out if this place was fun," Axel called out, voice echoing through the silence. "Well—Goddamnit, this place is heaven for me!"

He spread his arms wide, like welcoming the world to the circus.

"I will stay! Like it or not—you're not getting rid of me now."

Negan stepped forward slowly, still laughing, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered under his breath, then shouted back, "Welcome home, kid."

The crowd didn't cheer. They didn't move. Nobody knew whether to clap, run, or fall to their knees. But Axel didn't need them to.

He smiled.

A real smile.

The kind of smile that doesn't come from happiness—but from belonging. From realizing you've found the one place in the world where chaos isn't punished… it's worshipped.

And there, in the Sanctuary, drenched in blood and grinning like the devil himself—

Axel felt free.

---

The door creaked open. Axel stood in the hallway, his blood-soaked shirt now replaced with something cleaner—barely—but the grin? That hadn't changed.

Negan sat in his throne-like chair in the Sanctuary's common room, Lucille resting across his lap like a queen on her throne.

"Kiddo," Negan said, drawing out the word like it was dipped in honey and venom. "You're with me today."

Axel leaned in the doorway, arms crossed. "Oh? Are we going to have some fun?"

Negan stood up, stretched his back, and gave that wide wolfish grin of his. "We sure as shit are. We're going to pay a little visit to a son of a bitch I fuckin' love."

Axel's grin widened, tilting his head. "Ohhh. You have a boyfriend. Niceeee. I'm proud of you, Negan."

Negan snorted, pacing forward. "Boyfriend?" He barked out a laugh, shaking his head. "Bfffft. Nah. Even better…"

He leaned in close to Axel and whispered, "He's my little bitch."

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Now that's the kind of toxic romance I can get behind."

Negan laughed like thunder, loud and unapologetic. "Damn right. Now let's move, sweetheart. We're going to Alexandria. Time to knock on a few doors."

---

The convoy was already running. Big black trucks, loud engines, Sanctuary men piling in with smiles and tension thick in the air. Axel stood next to Negan, Lucille slung across Negan's shoulder, and his own freshly-cleaned katana strapped to his back.

"You ever been to a place where the people pretend to be civil, but they're just one crack away from becoming me?" Negan asked over the roar of the engines.

Axel smirked. "Sounds like my village. ."

Negan nodded approvingly. "Then you're gonna love Alexandria."

The truck rumbled toward its destination, smoke in the air, a trail of madness and death riding with them.

And inside, Axel felt something he hadn't in a long time—

anticipation.

---

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