Another update under the belt! I have a few chapters typed out already, just getting around to proofread and tweak them a bit, is difficult ;_; Nonetheless, for those of you ghost reading, I'd appreciate some reviews that way I know people are actually reading my work lol
Next chapter should be out sometime next week, hopefully! If you want me to update quicker, find out how you can, below!
Disclaimer: I do not own the AMC or any characters/plotlines in the Walking Dead aside from my OC Anaiah.
Pinned against a tree, a meaty arm pressed to my jugular while another arm currently held a pistol to my forehead, I stared with silent malice into the eyes of the groups deputy sheriff, Shane. God, I had not mentally prepared myself for coming across a character I had despised from the second he had crossed the screen. This was one character, I hated with a deep, deep, fucking passion.
"Whose it?" Another voice asked as I peeled my eyes from said man to the blonde head that suddenly came into view over his shoulder.
Dear god, this day just keeps getting better and better.
Andrea
"Fucking hell." I muttered in irritation as Shane's arm was pressed further into my throat as I wheezed loudly, my arms instantly going up to claw at the visible skin of his forearm.
"Who the fuck are you and why the fuck are you out here, alone?" He hissed into my face as I narrowed my eyes, attempting to reel in any breath of air I was so fortunate to grasp onto.
"Shane, her side." Andrea gasped as I rolled my eyes sky high, realizing they were going to instantly call me out on a walker bite that wasn't a walker bite
"You fuckin' bit?!" Shane then screeched as he got a whiff of my side, his pistol being pressed harder into my forehead.
Honestly, even if I wanted to answer the man, which I didn't, I couldn't with his arm practically crushing my vocal cords. Opening my mouth to attempt to speak, only a small sound of air attempting to break free slipped through before the ever-familiar look of Daryl's crossbow came into view, the tip of his arrow pressed to Shane's temple.
"Get the fuck off of 'er, I won't ask twice." Daryl hissed as I ripped my eyes away from Shane's long enough to glance at Daryl whose eyes were pinned to Shane's.
"Dude, I get you don't get enough ass back at camp but to bring in a random fuck..." Shane began to berate Daryl, smirking when he noticed the way my eyes narrowed slightly in a silent threat.
"Let 'er the fuck go, now!" Daryl snapped as Shane scoffed, ripping his arm away from my throat as I collapsed to my knees, gasping in a deep breath of air.
"Daryl's, she bit." Andrea tried to reason with Daryl who only scoffed, his boots coming into view beside me as I continued to greedily suck in any breath I could take.
"She ain't fuckin' bit, I checked. I found 'er down a ditch a day's walk from 'ere. She got cut up fuckin' bad." Daryl softly informed the duo who stood there, continuing to silently judge me as I clawed at the tree, fighting to get myself onto my feet before Daryl shot his hand out, helping me the rest of the way. Stumbling slightly as I took in wheezing breath after wheezing breath, I took score of my wound, immediately frowning when I realized that the scuffle with Shane had opened the wound further, a new stream of blood now soaking into my already destroyed pants.
"Shit." I hissed, shutting my eyes tightly as I pressed my jacket to the wound again, knowing it wasn't helping but continued to tell myself that it was.
I lifted my eyes to Daryl's, meeting his blue green eyes as he opened his mouth, seeming to want to ask something before the scream of a child echoed through the forest. All heads shot in that direction, including mine as I raked my mind for where in the story line this would put us before Andrea spoke up in horror.
"The kids." She whispered, both her and Shane not waiting another second before they took off running, Daryl stepping to follow them before freezing, turning to look at me impatiently.
"I'm comin', I'm comin'." She rasped out, kicking off the tree, his hand shooting out to grab my arm, basically dragging me after him.
If my mind served me right, this was about the time in the storyline where the kids came across a walker eating the buck Daryl had been hunting all night. He was gonna be fuckin' pissed when he found out.
Racing through the forest as fast as my body could cope, we breached a treeline, coming into immediately contact with a clearing that held not only the chewed-on buck that Daryl had been stalking, but majority of the group I had only seen on television. Well damn, everyone was a lot taller than I had expected. I stood, slightly frozen at the back, my mind trying to cope with the fact that I was 'really' in the apocalyptic world before my eyes zoned in as Daryl began to curse the walker lying out beside what laid left of the buck.
Great. I went from believing I was in some drug induced coma to now completely on board with the fact that I was in an apocalyptic world, by some means I had no idea of. What the hell did I eat last night?
"Calm down, son. That's not helping." Dale spoke up as the corner of my lip twitched slightly. Dale really was the father of the group.
"What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'on golden pond'?" Daryl snapped as I sighed, adjusting myself to lean against a nearby tree, just silently deciding to watch the interaction between the group, feeling a slight nostalgic warmth engulf me as I sat in the middle of Season 1.
Yup, I was losing my fucking mind.
"I've been tracking this dear for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do you think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" Daryl squatted down beside what was left of the deer, poking the broken skin with the edge of his arrow in disgust.
"I would not risk that." Shane shook his head immediately as I nodded from my spot in agreement.
"That's a damn shame. I got some squirrel...about a dozen or so. That'll have to do." Daryl sighed in irritation as he stood from the ground, pulling off the rope of dead animals from around his waist, passing it to who I recognized to be Carol. God, I loved that woman. Out of all the women in this group, from the moment I had started watching to the point I had gotten to, I knew, if there was one woman I could get along with, it would be Carol. She was a clear role model for women in abusive relationships that did not let that drag them down.
Suddenly, the walker that had been lying on the ground beside Daryl began to snap his jaws at the air around it, sending those who had not been expecting it, squealing and screaming in surprise and terror as I quickly used my machete, launching it past Daryl and into the head of said walker, startling everyone who had been seconds from attacking it themselves.
"It's gotta be the brain. don't ya'll know nothing?" I rasped out as all eyes finally turned to me. That probably wasn't the best way for me to insert or introduce myself to the group as Shane was quick to glare at me while all others looked at me in suspicion and hesitation. Not like I could blame them, I knew this group wasn't used to welcoming new faces so soon after the world went to shit.
"Who's that?" A meek voice asked as my eyes panned over to Glenn whispering to Dale who only shrugged.
"That's Ana. Found 'er a day's walk out in a ditch. Helped me track the fuckin' buck down." Daryl ripped my machete clean from the walkers head, approaching me as he slipped it back into my holster at my side before helping me out of the woodwork and into complete view.
"Oh, she's injured." Dale announced in concern immediately coming to my side, offering his handkerchief for me to hold to my side as I nodded my thanks.
"She bit?" A voice bit out in defense as my eyes shot up and away from Dale to Lori, yet another character I knew I wouldn't be able to hold a decent conversation with.
"No." Daryl deadpanned out as I swallowed the bile crawling up my throat.
"I fell down a ditch, got scraped pretty bad." I explained, though I knew I didn't owe them anything before Dale pressed a hand to my shoulder, catching my attention.
"Well, I have a few things left in the first aid kit, let's get you checked out, hm?" He smiled kindly at me as I smiled back, nodding as the older man turned to Daryl.
"Daryl, can you help me get Ana to the RV?" Dale asked carefully as my gruff redneck nodded, swinging his crossbow onto his back before leading me towards the said RV.
On the way there, I could not stop my eyes from panning around the campsite, my insides fluttering as I recognized all the tents and clotheslines pinned up in random. Smiling inwardly at the seemingly cozy site they had set up, Dale's sudden voice pulled me from my thoughts as I peered up ahead of us to see Dale speaking with Glenn before the Asian took off running towards a tent to the right, disappearing inside.
"Sorry 'bout yer dear." I apologized to Daryl, who grunted silently from beside me, his eyes glancing about the camp site.
"Let me get patched up, I'll help ya skin some of that game ya picked up." I promised as his eyes shot over to me, looking to be surprised.
"What? Girl not allowed to skin yer game, Dixon?" I teased with a double meaning as he scoffed, realizing what I was getting at as he helped me up the stairs into the RV.
"Keep yer mouth shut girl." Daryl grumbled from behind me as I chuckled softly, shuffling into the backside of the RV where Dale was fishing around for his fishing supplies and first aid.
"Have a seat my dear." Dale kindly offered his small bed as I smiled thankfully at him, allowing Daryl to help me sit before he stepped back at a safe distance.
"Thanks for helpin' me out Daryl, even though I know you wanted to fuckin' ditch me from time to time." I smiled jokingly at him as he snorted, rolling his eyes before turning and slipping out of the RV, leaving me with Dale. Sighing out, I slowly turned to see Dale eyeing me in interest, causing me to glance down awkwardly.
"That's the most interaction I've seen one of the Dixon's give anyone with a pulse." Dale teased as I chuckled, shrugging, unsure what I should say to his comment.
"Anyways, before we begin, introductions. I'm Dale." He held a hand out with a warm smile as I quickly returned the gesture.
"Ana." I added back as he nodded, gesturing for me to lie down which I did with a little difficulty.
"Does it stop at Ana or is there more?" he inquired as he went about digging through his tackle box for what he was looking for.
"It's Anaiah, but I usually just go with Ana. Easier for people." I joked as he chuckled, realizing that I had completely avoided his question for a last name with my complete first name.
"Dale?" A hesitant voice called out suddenly as I lifted my head, my eyes locking on an embarrassed Glenn who stood in the door way.
"Ah! Glenn, come on in. You got it?" Dale glanced up from his box with an expecting smile before going back to digging as Glenn nodded towards me, slipping further into the room, placing what looked to be two sample bottles of hard liquor on the small counter top just beside Dale.
"That's all I could find." Glenn answered sheepishly as I smiled at him, realizing he was a bit more shy than I had expected and held a hand out to him.
"I'm Anaiah, but everyone calls me Ana." I introduced myself, my hand held limply between us two as he let off a small smile, slipping his surprisingly soft hand into mine.
"Glenn Rhee." He added back as I smiled up at him, slipping my hand from his.
"That for me?" I interacted, gesturing to the bottles as he glanced over before nodding.
"Dale figured if your wound was a lot worse than we could see, you might need it to counter the pain of stitches." Glenn explained as I stuck my tongue out in disgust.
"Eww, stitches." I whined slightly sending both men chuckling as Dale gestured for me to move my jacket.
"Not gonna lie but my jacket might need to be cut off at this point." I grumbled mortified, pushing myself to sit up with a hiss as Glenn quickly shot his hand out, helping me up the rest of the way.
Dale, myself and Glenn fought to peel the crusted jacket from my side, yanking at the festering skin as I had to bite my cheek to stop myself from screaming out before the jacket was finally tossed to the ground.
"Fuckin' hell." I rasped out in pain, my head swimming as Glenn made quick way of handing me one of the bottles which I eagerly tanked, welcoming the burn and warmth.
"Ugh, that's disgusting." I wiped my mouth on the back of arm as Dale pushed me to lie down once again, peeling away my torn shirt to inspect my side.
"Damn." Glenn winced at the sight of my torn flesh as I eyed him with a bit of amusement.
"Believe me, it looks worse than it feels." I promised as his eyes shot up to me in concern.
"Glenn, while I stitch Ana up here, could you do me a favor, find some clean clothes for her? She won't be able to put these backs on once I'm done." Dale explained to Glenn who nodded instantly, giving me a short wave before he ran out of the RV like a fire was on his ass.
"Quick one, isn't he?" I commented, hissing loudly when I felt the bite of what I assumed was rubbing alcohol or something of the sort.
"Sorry about that." He apologized quickly, handing me another bottle which I cracked open, sipping it gently as I bit my lip, feeling the first poke of the needle going through my skin.
"So, Ana, where are you from?" Dale asked suddenly as I scoffed out a laugh, realizing he was trying to distract my mind from the pain.
"I don't even know where I am." I commented offhandedly, coming to sorts with the fact that I had no idea what the hell I was supposed to tell these people. That I wasn't from their world? No, I'm sure that wouldn't fly too far with these people. What the hell was she supposed to tell them? That this was some drug-induced coma that I was in and had no idea how I got in or how to get out? Honestly, I was almost 110% positive I had eaten something funky before bed the night before or someone had spiked my drink and that this was the effects of whatever drug they had given me? It sounded believable but the pain in my side, the feelings blubbering through me since I woke up in that ditch, they were too real, too real to be a figment of my imagination.
"We're just an hour outside of Atlanta." Dale explained, something I already knew, but it gave me enough time to whip up something to tell the man.
"Ah, my family lived a couple miles off the interstate. I just ran and kind of wandered after everything went to shit." I lied as his eyes shot up to mine, looking to pity me as I went back to staring up at the ceiling of his camper.
"And you're family?" He asked in concern, the slight tugging at my side stressing me out further as I tried to mix up something about myself.
"They were all dead when I left." I lied as he smiled softly, placing a comforting hand on my arm nearest to him.
"Those your machetes?" He then nudged his head in the direction of my holster lying over a chair beside the bed where Daryl laid it.
"Yeah, a gift from my grandfather. He wanted boys." I commented shortly as Dale nodded, obviously picking up on the touchy subject and completely avoiding it.
"I don't mean to overstep any boundaries here, but something is telling me you're not like the other women around here." Dale smiled hesitantly as I snorted, wincing as he tugged the stitches shut, tying them up before going about cleaning around the wound. At the feeling of what I assumed to be gauze, I chuckled, forcefully, the pain still trying to take me hostage as I peeled my eyes open to peer over at him.
"No such boundaries Dale, I take that as a compliment." I smiled warmly at him as he sighed in obvious relief, slowly cleaning his various supplies.
"My family was a very outdoorsy group and I was raised as one of the boys, so I know a lot about what kind of shit goes on out in the woods." I explained further, which wasn't a lie, one of the only truths I was willing to give out at this point as he pulled out a roll of tape, taping around the gauze.
"You good with anything aside from machetes?" He asked in interest as I chuckled, pulling down what was left of my shirt before allowing the man to help me sit up.
"Bows, guns, knives." I wheezed out to his question as he hummed in amusement.
"Yes, not like the other women at all." he smiled down brightly as I laughed, shaking my head at his words before someone cleared their throat in the doorway, expecting to see Glenn back with some clothes only to be shot down by the forced smile of Lori.
"Hi, I'm Lori." She stepped in, holding a hand out for me as I forced an equally fake smile on my face before shaking her head.
"Ana, it's nice to meet you." I inwardly gagged at my need to seem nice to such a person as she nodded, holding the folded clothes out that had been pinned under her arm.
"Glenn mentioned Dale requested some clothes for you so I brought them myself. Might be a bit big on you, but if you use your belt, those should fit just fine." Lori rambled on as I took the offered clothes with a smile I hope said 'thank you' and not 'fuck off' before turning to Dale.
"There is a clean bucket of water in the bathroom and rag for you to wipe down. You probably would rather completely wash off at the quarry but for the night, keep the wound dry." Dale explained as I sputtered, realizing I would just have to deal with a wipe down before he stood, ushering Lori out of the room and into the front part of the RV with a quick mention to call out if I needed anything else before he shut the door leading to the RV.
After about 20 minutes of fighting to get my destroyed clothes off, wiping down, well more like scrubbing down, as best as I could with a bar of soap, rag and cold water, I spent another 10 minutes fighting to get the new set of clothes on which consisted of a pair of faded jeans and a red and black plaid long sleeve shirt.
The pants, I realized too late, were most likely Lori's as they were a few inches too long on my 5'2" self. I rolled up the ankles as best as I could before looping my belt around my waist, making it fit almost perfectly. Lori was clearly taller than me with a slightly wider waist, but my thighs were bulky from years in the outdoors, which I both despised and loved.
I surprisingly found what looked to be a brand-new bra in the pile of clothes as I held it up in front of me, seeing that it was 2 sizes too small for my 40D chest. Sighing, knowing it was going to be a tight fit to the point that it would look like I was oozing out of my bra but I'd have to deal with it for the time being till I could scavenge for something more my size.
Pulling on the plaid shirt on last, an instant mild scent of cigarettes assaulted my senses as I glanced down at the large shirt before turning back to the small mirror in front of me. This was Daryl's, I realized at the size and smell of the fabric while I slowly pinned the buttons till just above my chest. How the hell did Lori get a shirt from Daryl unless she stole it off the line, which I wouldn't put it past her to do. Shrugging, realizing it was my only option now, I rolled up the sleeves to my elbows, tucking in just the front part to cut off some of the length, I stumbled out of the small space and back into Dale's bedroom, dropping to my ass on the tiny bed to tie up my boots.
"Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel!" Daryl's muffled voice from outside the RV yanked me from my thoughts as my mind was able to easily click onto this part in the plot line.
"Shit." I whispered in realization, taking the two tablets of aspirin Dale had left for me before jogging as fast as I could to the door, almost completely colliding into the dining table before I stumbled down the 3 stairs, face first into the door as it didn't open when I had first made an attempt to do so.
"Fuckin' door." I grumbled impatiently as I listened to Shane stop Daryl and explain to him about the issue with Merle, of all people.
Almost kicking the fucking door out in attempt to get out and help Daryl, it finally was yanked open by Dale nonetheless who looked up at me surprised when I fell out the door and right into his chest.
"Oh! Ana, everything alright?" He caught me effortlessly, helping me to stand on my own as my eyes snapped around him, looking for the men, instantly locking on Shane and Rick who were speaking to Daryl just a little way down the hill with an audience.
"Yeah, fine, excuse me." I tried to be as gentle as I could, brushing him aside carefully as I watched Daryl pull out a knife on Rick who instantly put his hands up to show he meant no harm just as I came rushing past Rick, getting in between them as T-Dog shouted to warn me about the knife.
"Daryl, stop." I pleaded, holding a hand up to stop Rick from getting any smart ideas, eyeing him up in a warning though I knew the Sheriff didn't trust me just yet. Turning back to Daryl, I looked in time to see Shane come up behind the man, disarming Daryl before tossing him down in a choke hold.
"Stop! Let him go!" I snapped, feeling anger bubbling under me as I watched Shane hold him down.
"You'd best let me go!" Daryl grumbled as Shane smirked, shaking his head.
"Nah, I think it's better if I don't." Shane brushed off, his eyes meeting mine as I took a threatening step towards him only for an arm to grab my own, tightly.
"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that? Do you think we can manage that?" Rick asked me once and then Daryl as I ripped my arm out of his grasp, stepping back from him as he eyed me warily.
"This has nothing to do with her." Shane muttered out in my direction as I rolled my eyes towards him, a nastier side of me slowly emerging.
"This has nothing to do with you either." I retorted haughty as he glared up at me from his position over Daryl.
"Says the chick that joined not 10 minutes ago." He hissed as I gawked, turning to Rick, silently warning him if he didn't shut his friend up, I would do so myself.
"Stop, can we all just talk like a bunch of civilized adults here?" Rick stepped further in front of me, completely blocking off my path from Shane as I laughed dryly.
"Civilized fucking adults?" I poked in angry amusement as Rick slowly turned to me, his brows furrowed as he stared at me.
"You do realize that you pulled Daryl out in front of the entire fucking camp to give him the news of his brother, right?" I turned to stare Rick down as he stared down at his boots, realizing where I was going with this, but it was too late, this point in the show had pissed me off and to see it first hand, only angered me further.
"Sure, his brother might have been a douchebag, sorry, no offense, and tried to kill you guys, or whatever, but honestly, did you have to do it front of the entire fucking camp?!" I snapped, watching as Lori took a step in my direction only for me to grab the handle of my machete, glaring her down, almost tempting her to come any closer at this point.
"Plus, if someone either than you, 'Sheriff' decided that someone else in the group was a danger, say your wife, and they decided to lock her to the roof and come back to spill the news on her supposed whereabouts, how do you think you would feel if we dragged you out in front of everyone and said 'sorry, we don't know if she's still alive but she was a danger to the group so we cuffed her there and left her'." I watched as Rick's eyes slowly lifted from the ground to meet mine, a sense of understanding settling in his green orbs before I scoffed, turning to look at Shane who was still holding Daryl down.
"What the fuck do you know? You just got here." Shane spat out as I scoffed amused, pulling out a small knife I had pulled from my holster earlier, twirling it around my fingers.
"Yet, I hold more compassion or understanding then either one of you hold in one hand, ass wipe." I taunted, his eyes darkening further as a hand was placed on my shoulder, slightly startling me as Rick told Shane to let Daryl up. Fortunate for him too because I was seconds away from trying to embed my knife between his eyes.
Once he was up, he passed me an irritated glare which I welcomed tenfold before he turned his attention to Rick once more.
"What I did was not on a whim, your brother does not work or play well with others." Rick calmly began as I scoffed, using the dull side of my knife to rub the point between my eyebrows.
"It's not Rick's fault. I had the key. I dropped it." T-Dog stepped into the conversation as I watched the dark-skinned man glance over at Daryl apologetically. Well, at least he looked like he was sorry about the entire thing.
"You couldn't pick it up?" Daryl shot back like a rabid dog as T-Dog glanced down ashamed.
"Well, I dropped it in a drain." he offered as Daryl scoffed, running his fingers frantically through his hair.
"If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't." Daryl waved his hand out at the man who sighed, looking like he felt terrible now.
"Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof...So the geeks couldn't get at him...with a padlock. It's gotta count for something." T-Dog went on to add as Daryl scoffed, shaking his head as I stepped up, wanting to say something just for the redneck to lash out.
"Hell with all ya'll! Just tell me where he is so that I can go get him." Daryl walked past me straight at Rick who sighed, glancing over at his wife who instantly knew what he had planned.
"I'll show you."
So, I went a bit longer with this update because I've been getting a few more followers since the last update. Figured I'd post a bit more this time around. Not sure when I'll be able to update the next chapter, though it's already typed out and waiting for a once over, maybe if i got a few REVIEWS, it would push me to update a bit faster than normal.
Want a quicker update? Send me a review, that way I know people are still reading my stuff and want to see more of it ;)