Chapter Four

"Watching From Above"

Luke

A/N Hi guys! Thanks to everyone who has continued to read my story. I wanna reply to a couple of the reviews.

Leejanel12: I know, the stitching part. *cringes* I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Hope to hear more from you :)

kawaiiclem: Your review made me so happy! I love to make people laugh :D

Anna emerges from Carlos's room with her sleeve rolled up, exposing her bandaged arm. I still don't understand how she did it. How can someone repeatedly stab themselves with a sewing needle? She must be tough as nails if she can bear through that. To be honest, when Pete and I first found her back in the woods with that walker on top of her, I couldn't fathom how she made it this long on her own. But now...oh man, am I ever having second thoughts.

"I saved you some food," I tell her as she sits across from me. "Hope you like mushroom soup."

"I like anything these days," she says, and begins to eat in giant mouthfuls.

"How come you still got your sleeve up?"

"The bandages help but they're a bit worn," she explains. "Carlos said it would be better to let air seep through the holes instead of whatever's all over my sweater."

Earlier, when she was locked in the shed, we had a meeting discussing what we should do with her. Pete and I were the only ones who insisted on helping her. Nick and Rebecca didn't even feel comfortable with her being in the shed, and for obvious reasons – Nick's mom and Rebecca's baby – but still, they didn't have to be so harsh about the whole situation. And Alvin...well he tried to speak up once, but after Rebecca snapped at him, he kept his mouth shut for the rest of the meeting.

I'm not sure how everyone feels now that we know Anna's not bitten. Even if I did side with her, I still feel guilty as hell for locking her in there. Good thing she's tough, because that walker could've bitten her head off.

"That's gonna leave one helluva scar," I say, gesturing to her arm.

She shrugs. "Good thing I don't aspire to be a supermodel."

I chuckle and say, "Yeah, good thing," but I can't help but wonder what she'd look like without all that dirt on her face, and with her dark hair out of its ponytail.

Rebecca enters the room looking sour. "What are you still doing here?" she asks Anna.

"Eating?"

She doesn't notice how Rebecca's forehead wrinkles or how her mouth straightens; she just continues to eat her soup like nothing happened.

"You're wearing out your welcome," Rebecca snarls. "You got what you need, now go."

"Don't worry," Anna says, not looking up, "I won't be staying for long."

"It's been long enough."

"Hey Rebecca, we've all had a long day, and it looks like you could use some sleep. How 'bout we call it a night?" I suggest, hoping this will get her off Anna's back.

"Fine," she grumbles. "Good night, Luke." She doesn't say anything to Anna, just shoots her a glare before leaving the room.

Anna raises an eyebrow. "You the one in charge around here?"

"I guess. We like to make decisions as a group, but yeah, I guess you could say that," I say coolly. "And I'm sorry about Rebecca. She's just tense, that's all."

"It's fine," she says. "This world's got us all shitting bricks."

I laugh lightly. "That's a good way to put it. But seriously, you can stay for as long as you like. No need to rush it."

She looks down. "Thanks, but I kinda prefer being on my own." Back in the forest, she told us that she didn't have a group. I figured that it was just tough luck, not out of choice. I can't imagine why anyone would want to go through this alone.

"Isn't it hard out there without anyone watching your back?"

"It's easier than you think," she replies.

"How'd you make it this far?"

She sighs. "In the beginning, I was a 'hopper' – it's a term I made up for going from group to group but never actually staying long enough to become part of one. I just took what I needed and then left. I did that for over a year, until I finally decided to give it a rest and continue on my own. Believe it or not, but you guys are the first people I've met in sixteen months."

"What?" I nearly choke on the word. "You haven't talked to anybody for sixteen months?"

"Well, I have, but not for any longer than a few minutes." She grins, lightening the mood. "I hope my social skills aren't that bad."

"They aren't," I say honestly. "I would've never guess."

The kitchen window reveals a black hole night. From what I can tell, there's not a single star in the sky. I'm glad that we're safe and sound in the cabin instead of out there with whatever might be roaming the woods. Our group made the mistake of leaving here once. We figured that since it's out in the open with no defense or anything, we could find a better shelter. But man, was that ever a mistake. We stumbled across Carver's union; a dead end that might as well change its name to "Hell". Let's just say it wasn't pretty – the whole living there and escaping. But we got out, and that's all that matters. And now, the cabin is more precious than ever.

"What about you?" Anna asks, her bright eyes replacing all the lost stars in the sky.

"What about me?"

"Have you been with these people the whole time?"

"Uh yeah, I was staying here with Nick and Pete when it all started," I explain. "We met the others afterwards. Rebecca, Alvin, Carlos, and-"

"Anthony," she finishes.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

She smirks. "He gave me the peroxide. Just don't tell Carlos."

"You don't need to worry about me telling Carlos anything," I tell her.

"Thanks."

I notice a colorful beaded bracelet around her wrist. It looks like something a little kid would make, randomly placing colored beads on a string. I consider asking her about it, but decided against it.

"Where're you from anyway?"

"Savannah. God, did I ever hate it there..." She rolls her eyes.

"What's that?" I ask.

"Really boring," she answers quickly. "Where're you from?"

"Dayton – now try talking about boring."

"Dayton...that's not far from here is it? I remember being there maybe a week ago."

"About fifty miles," I explicate. "So no, it's not."

I hear the front door shut, and in walks Pete with his bow at his side. "I think it's time to turn in you too. Wouldn't wanna attract any unwanted company," he says.

I turn to Anna to see if she's finished her soup, which she is. "Good idea," I agree. "But wait a minute, where's she gonna sleep?"

Pete looks at her expectantly. "I don't care, as long as it's not the shed," she says.

"Do you think Carlos would mind sleeping in Anthony's room?" he asks me.

"Ha, you can try, but that man ain't budging."

He frowns. "I suppose you could sleep-"

"You know what, don't worry about it," I tell him. "I don't mind having a roommate." I glance at Anna, whose lips curve into a small smile. It might seem like I'm taking one for the team, but it'd be a damn reward to share a room with that girl.

"So it's settled," Pete says. "Anna, you're sleeping with Luke." I feel my face get warm, and Anna's cheeks are slightly pinker than they were before. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like that. Anna, you're sharing a room with Luke. Better?"

Anna's eyes flick in my direction. "It wasn't so bad the first time," she says. I try not to show the excitement on my face. I mean, she's only seventeen. I can't get aroused over some sex joke a teenager said. I'm not really sure what to say back. "I was only kidding Luke, no need to get so excited," she adds sarcastically.

Pete's eyes shift from me to Anna. "You two behave yourselves." His voice is cautious. "Goodnight."

When he's gone, I turn to Anna, only to find that she's no longer there. I think I hear footsteps running up the stairs.

Anna plops onto the bed with a sigh.

"It's been long?" I ask as I shut the door behind me.

"Too long." She closes her eyes, and is quiet for a moment, but then they pop open again. "Oh shit, I'm a mess. I really shouldn't be on the bed." She quickly hops off.

"Don't worry about it. It's all yours. I can sleep on the air mattress."

Her eyes widen. "What? No. It's your room. I'll take the mattress."

"Sorry," I tell her, "but you don't have a choice."

She bites her lip, her eyes twinkling. "Thank you," she says softly.

"Don't mention it. There's a washroom down the hall if you wanna get cleaned up."

"I know where it is," she says, reminding me that she's already been in the house.

"Wait," I add, gathering a long tee-shirt and handing it to Anna. "It's clean."

When she leaves the room, I lower myself below the bed and pull out the air mattress, along with the pump to go with it. I begin to blow it up. We've never used it before in this room so I wonder if it will even fit. The room is so tiny that the bed takes up half the space.

Minutes go by, but I'm not getting anywhere. The mattress is still a wrinkly blue blob. I turn it over, checking for holes, and then I spot one – a big one.

Why hadn't I seen this before?

Anna comes back wearing the big gray tee-shirt I gave her, and just the big gray tee-shirt. It goes halfway past her toned thighs, which are completely bare. She looks prettier than she did before. Her face is a lot cleaner and her tousled hair falls over her shoulders.

"Having a hard time?" she asks, eying the mattress/big blue blob. I show her the hole, and she frowns. "Oh."

I say something that surprises me: "I think the bed's big enough for us both." Her mouth opens but no words come out. "I mean, only if you're comfortable with that. If not, I can take the floor."

"You're not taking the floor, Luke," she says. "I don't mind sharing."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

"Okay then." I take my shirt off and Anna's eyes a drawn up my torso and to my chest. They stay there for a second, before she quickly pulls away. I smile to myself.

She gets under the covers and scoots to the end of the bed, leaving plenty of room for me. I blow out the candles, and get in as well. The room is dark and quiet, like it should be, but my thoughts are louder than gunshots.

"What happened to your family?" I finally ask.

I hear a sigh from my left. "My mom and my brother died just a day before the outbreak," she says, her voice fragile.

My stomach sinks at first, but then I realize that they were lucky in a weird, ironic kind of way. They died when the world was still in decent shape. I wish my parents died before all this shit went down. That way, they wouldn't have to see how bad the world's become. I assume they were already swallowed up by the lurkers, because if they did make it out alive, I know I wouldn't still be wondering what's taking them so long for them to find me.

"How'd they die?"

"They were killed in a car accident," she answers.

"What about your dad?" I hope I'm not prying. "I mean, I assume what happened to him is what happened to just about everyone else."

When she doesn't answer at first, I take that as my cue to shut up. All I hear are her small shaky breaths, but then she whispers, "I hope he's dead."

A/N Next chapter will begin to follow my own plot so I'm excited to get on that! Please leave your feedback in the reviews or PM me, both are fine :) Thanks for reading! peeeace