Anna stared out the window at the front gates, where Merle and three other men had left roughly an hour ago on a supply run. She wished they had been able to leave the night before, but with Marley laid up in bed for the next week with a sprained ankle, the two were trapped in Woodbury.
"Damn it," Marley hissed. Anna turned to her as the woman tried to reposition her elevated leg to a more comfortable position. "This is bullshit."
Anna rolled her eyes, helping Marley adjust the pillows so that she was in a sitting position.
"There's no point worrying about it now," Anna sighed before wandering over to the couch where she plopped down, sinking in to the soft brown cushions.
"You almost sound happy to be stuck here."
"More exhausted than anything else," Anna groaned, letting her head fall back against the back of the couch. She shut her eyes, forcing her body and face to relax. She really was exhausted. It felt as though she hadn't slept in months – which was partially true. Every muscle in her body ached with each movement, and most days all she wanted to do was collapse into the bed Marley currently occupied and never wake up.
But there was always something.
A knock came at the door, and Anna jumped to her feet at the sudden noise. With a questioning glance to Marley, Anna approached the door carefully.
"Yeah?" Anna called.
"It's Martinez, open up."
Anna furrowed her brow before cautiously opening the door a few inches.
"What's up?" She asked, her eyes taking quick stock of him. He was unarmed.
"Governor needs a favor."
Standing in a small field in front of several men and women was not what Anna had expected. She crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at each of their faces.
"So, he wants me to help you train them?" She muttered under her breath to Martinez standing beside her. Apparently, Andrea had been as pleased about the arena as Anna. For whatever reason, the Governor wanted to appease Andrea by training the civilians to defend themselves.
"You were with the National Guard," Martinez nodded. "Maybe you've got somethin' we don't."
Anna grimaced. "I wasn't actually with the National Guard; those soldiers just gave me a uniform."
"Well…" Martinez sighed, rubbing the sweat off the back of his head. "They teach you anything while you were with 'em?" He asked.
Pursing her lips, Anna nodded, thinking back on all the intense training they'd put her through when she was healthy enough to leave the infirmary. She wasn't exactly interested in training the Woodbury army, but to refuse would have been too suspicious.
"Alright! We're gonna start with a demonstration!" He declared with a smile as he clapped his hands together. "Now, most of you managed to avoid most of the shit that was out there before you came here. Let me tell you – it ain't like what you see in the arena." Martinez jabbed his thumb over his shoulder as he began to pace the length of the crowd. "And it ain't just biters out there. People who wanna take what's ours. You gotta know how to defend you and yours."
How Anna had managed not to roll her eyes was beyond her, but she was glad she didn't as Martinez looked to her.
"This here is Anna – she was with the National Guard, and she has so graciously agreed to help me with the demonstration." Martinez faced her fully, grounding himself. "You ready?"
Anna uncrossed her arms, bringing them up to shield her face like a boxer, spreading her feet so that they were shoulder length apart. When she felt ready, she nodded.
Martinez lunged for her, swinging at her with his right fist. She blocked it with her arms before she felt a punch to her left side, just hard enough to feel.
"Now, a real opponent won't give you time to prepare. They'll just attack!" He explained, aiming another punch at Anna's gut. She blocked it again, more worried about his quick fists than landing any blows of her own.
She saw his fist flying towards her face and took a few steps back, careful not to lose her footing.
"See, Anna is doin' the smart thing – she's keeping out of range," he observed aloud as he reached for her and she backed away again. He finally stilled his fists and their eyes trained on each other.
Anna studied her opponent. He was bigger than her and carried himself like a boxer. Hit like one, at least, with quick jabs and light feet. It was how Val fought – when he was alive. Anna knew her best bet was to wear him out until she had an opening. But she needed to be careful with her own limited stamina.
In the time it took for her to come to this conclusion, Martinez was already on the offensive again, charging her with a quick blow to the face. She fell back, feeling a dull ache in her left cheek. He'd gotten her good – probably expecting her to dodge again.
She could see the briefest of grimaces on his face at the sight of her sprawled out in the dirt before he lunged for her, aiming blow after blow to her sides and her face. They weren't hard – and she was thankful for that – but she was trapped under him, and she had a problem with that.
"After you manage to get your opponent on the ground or cornered, follow through. Don't give them time to recover," he said before Anna brought her elbow up, catching the inside of his forearm with a jab.
Martinez winced in pain, his arm twitching, but he continued the onslaught of fists.
Anna's heart rate picked up, and she reached for anything within her grasp to defend herself but came upon nothing but dirt.
"Close your eyes," she demanded, quiet so that Martinez was the only one who could hear.
He furrowed his brow at her, confusion written across his face, and did not close his eyes in time. She flung a handful of dirt in his face and, instinctively, Martinez flinched, squeezing his eyes shut as the Earth covered his face. He pulled back, and Anna took this moment to slip out from under him before reeling back to kick him in the chest, just hard enough that he fell on his back.
"You should always use your environment to your advantage," Anna stated, a triumphant smirk on her face.
Martinez wiped the dirt from his face, rubbing at his eyes before he squinted at Anna.
"Clever."
"Before this wrestling match gets drawn out any further, how about we start the actual training?" Anna suggested, feeling the ache in her lungs from all the effort their sparring match had required. Martinez nodded his agreement as he got to his feet, his eyes red.
"So, wait – who won that?"
"So, what's the deal with you and Merle?" Martinez asked, pulling two brown bottles of beer from a cooler. Anna accepted the drink and popped it open before taking a long swig of the bitter liquid within.
"What do you mean?" Anna asked, pulling the bottle from her lips. She stared out at the horizon, watching the sun as it fell through the sky. After training, Martinez offered her a cool drink at the front gates. She had never developed much of a taste for beer, but she wasn't about to turn down a chance to numb herself for a little while as they sat together on the platform overlooking the perimeter.
"Come on, I've seen you two talking."
"What's your point, Martinez?" She asked, growing tired of his seeming inability to be straight forward. Or maybe she was just tired of dodging questions.
"Were you a part of his group before we found him?"
Anna pursed her lips before taking another long drink from her bottle, contemplating the best way to explain the complicated way she knew Merle.
"Yes," she finally said. "But only after he left the group."
"I don't get it."
Anna set her near empty bottle down in the space between them. She stared at the way the light shined against the glass.
"After Merle was left in Atlanta, I met Merle's brother and joined their group. I hadn't met Merle before coming here."
Martinez hummed. "Merle's been obsessed with finding his brother." Anna clenched her jaw, keeping her eyes trained on the bottle. "He anything like Merle?"
"I used to think they had the same eyes," Anna muttered without thinking. She bit her lip and finally pulled her attention away from the bottle. She glared at a lone walker wandering into the perimeter. "Forget I said that."
"Uh, no – that was such a chick thing to say."
"It may have escaped your notice, Martinez – but I am, in fact, a chick," Anna sighed, rolling her eyes.
"It did not." Martinez chuckled. "For a chick, you fight pretty good."
"Well," Anna corrected.
"What?"
"I fight pretty well," she repeated, a small smirk playing at her lips.
Martinez snorted. "What, you an English teacher now?"
"No. I—" Anna cut herself off, wondering if she even wanted to remember that. "I think I'll need substantially more beer before I start talking about life before the end of the world," Anna mumbled as she picked up her bottle and drained the rest.
"Well, you're gonna have to be happy with one more – gotta make these things last." Martinez laughed, handing her another beer. Anna accepted the second bottle. "So, what were you before?"
"College student. English," she listed off robotically before tipping her head back to down half of the beer.
Martinez raised his eyebrows. "Nice. I never went to college – too busy boxing."
"I knew you were a boxer." Anna grinned.
Silence stretched between them as their laughter died. Martinez stood, taking up his rifle and aimed it at the walker before he paused.
"Let's see what you got, kid," he said, shoving the rifle into her arms.
Anna sighed before she set the beer down and stood beside the man. She steadied the rifle in her hands, pressing it into her shoulder. She stared down the sights, targeting the walkers head. Exhaling slowly, she squeezed her finger around the trigger. The kick back was nothing she wasn't used to as the bullet erupted from the muzzle and nestled into the skull of the walker.
"Nice shot," Martinez appraised clapping her on the shoulder.
"Martinez!" The two turned at the intrusive sound. "Sorry to cut your date short but Merle needs your help with something," Shumpert stated, climbing up to meet them on the platform.
When did he come back? Anna thought to herself, furrowing her brow. She glanced between Shumpert and Martinez, seeing the loaded looks they were giving each other, and her gut twisted into knots.
"Is he okay?" The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could think better of it.
"Yeah, he's fine sweetheart. Why don't you go check on your friend?" Shumpert said, gesturing for her to get a move on. Anna scowled at him but obliged, climbing down the gates, followed by Martinez.
Anna started towards her apartment, keeping Martinez in her peripheral as he headed off down the street. She got to the front door and paused a moment, seeing Martinez turn the corner down an alley near the Governor's apartment building.
She cast a glance at Shumpert, focused on the perimeter outside the wall. Did she risk being caught just to find out what was going on with Merle? Anna looked to her hand on the door knob and took a deep breath. Her mind made up, she entered the building and jogged up to the third-floor apartment. Inside, Marley was still napping. Anna didn't blame her, it had been an exhausting several days, and there wasn't much else to do laid up as she was.
After rinsing off the grime and sweat from the day, Anna sunk into the soft cushions of the couch. Everything felt calm, and for a moment, Anna could forget that they were in hostile territory, surrounded by people who had killed their friends. For a moment, Anna didn't want to go back to what was left of Fort Benning.
Anna allowed her body to relax just enough to drift into a tentative sleep.
"Help!" Anna's eyes shot open and she jumped from the couch, her hand falling to her hip for a gun that wasn't there. She looked to Marley still sitting on the bed trying to crane her neck to see out the window.
"Go check it out," Marley sighed, looking back to Anna. Anna nodded and made her way outside. She was surprised by the lack of sun light. She hadn't realized she had slept for so long. She spotted Andrea and the Governor jogging over to a young woman, who was leaned over a man sitting on the stoop of a white building across the street.
Anna caught up to them to investigate.
"Are we under attack?" The young woman asked as Anna joined the slowly growing crowd of civilians and soldiers. "What should we do?"
The Governor looked to the civilians and stood to address them.
"Everyone, please just go home, lock your doors," he began, "we need to keep everyone safe, okay? So, just get inside, keep your lights off. Come on." He clapped at them to get a move on and with a few murmurs they dispersed, leaving only the soldiers standing there with the rifles and side arms. One unnamed soldier passed her a hand gun with a nod.
"We're under attack," The Governor stated, facing his small army. "You fan out and you find these people. Don't take any chances, try and take prisoners. You shoot to kill, you got that?" Anna swallowed hard. It should have been an easy decision but, looking around her at the stoic faces of the more seasoned soldiers and the nervous looks the newest recruits exchanged, Anna found herself lost on what she should do.
The other soldiers dispersed, and Anna went to follow when the Governor called out.
"Anna, come with me. You too Andrea."
Anna nodded and followed him and Andrea down the street.
