CHAPTER 10: Not Here

"You two are dead men where y'all stand!"

"We're here to help- "Please don't kill him!"

"Should have helped me with the dozen of geeks out there instead of just fucking watching me take them on by myself!"

"We aren't trained to kill that many roamers at one time!"

Annabelle burst out laughing at that, no one is ever really trained for something like this. She's been out here for months now alone, traveling in her car from place to place. Defending and fighting to survive, she couldn't even recognize herself anymore after everything she's done. She would meet people along the way, they would help each other out until they died or she left them. It was all the same, kill or be killed that's what she kept thinking when shit happened. She didn't have time to go crazy of feel sympathetic, it would just get her killed and she hasn't been through hell and back just to lose her life by a couple of walkers.

She accidentally left a building of walkers open and she had to kill them so they wouldn't be on her tail. As she fought them off, these two men were watching her by her car. She was so furious at the sight of these two pussy guys. How were they even alive this long she thought. When she was done she stormed to them, they offered their names to her but she didn't care. She has this so call Aaron on the ground with a knife at his neck the moment he was in her reach, a guy called Eric is standing a few feet away from them panicking. She looked disgusting, she's covering in too much dirty and blood for her own good. Her first instinct was to take one down, so here she is with the guy Aaron squealing out.

"We have food and water for you."

"I don't need your pity shit!" She yells at him, getting up she shoves him from her and her car while adding, "Better leave before I kill you both."

"Listen," Eric lifts his arms up in surrender, "We have a community. It's safe there, you can come with us-"

"Do I look like a sucker to you?" She burst out laughing while pointing her gun at him, "Fuck off. I ain't planning on getting raped today."

"We're serious." Aaron slowly takes out pictures from his bag and offers it to her, "Plus, he and I are dating so I assure you you're not going to be rapped by us."

"How do y'all have time to date in a world like this? Nevermind…" She snatches the photos and looks through them, "Why you want me to come?"

"Because you seem like a good person," Eric answers breathlessly while glancing at Aaron in alarm.

"You're bullshitting me, right?" She raises an eyebrow at the guys surprised, "Me? Good? Man, y'all really are stupid."

"Listen, come back with us, look around, meet our leader," Aaron suggests tiredly. "If you don't like what you see you can leave with everything you have right now."

These guys were unbelievable, inviting a stranger into their den. She could go grab all their weapons, food and medicine then ditch all in the same day but she already had a good amount of all that. You can't go wrong with more, though. They either were telling the truth or were going to fuck her over. But if they really wanted to fuck her over they would have when she was fighting all the walkers moments ago. Which reminded her how gross and stinky she is currently. Annabelle then looks to her car and sees herself in the mirror. Looking more disgusting than she realized she asks the guys.

"You got a shower?"

"Yeah…."

"Fine. I'll go." Annabelle tries to wipe the blood off her face but only makes it dirtier, "But just for a shower- And I'm taking this water bottle."

"You can hear it. Some of you saw it. They got back here, half of them." Rick announces to the people in Alexandria, "Still enough to surround us 20 deep. Look, I know you're scared. You haven't seen anything like this. You haven't been through anything like this. But we're safe for now."

Rick is covered in blood and sweat with people gathering around him, he looked worse than shit at the moment. His hair stuck to his forehead with sweat and dirt covered his arms like lotion, plus dried blood stuck on his tired form. As people gathered around him they begin to get deja vu. It reminded people when Annabelle first walked through their gates. They all looked nervous and worried from the oldest Grimes's expression. Walkers surrounded the wall so deep now. All the people with W's on their forehead are dead. Michonne, David, and Heath made it back to Alexandria but not the rest. Glenn, Nicholas, Annabelle, Daryl, Sasha and Abe are still out there, no one knows if they're dead or alive. Rick mentally prays for his sister's alive but knowing her he didn't need to.

"The panel the truck hit seems intact. We reinforced it just in case. Either way, the wall's gonna hold together." He continues his speech to the people left in Alexandria, "Can you?"

Maggie looks terribly worried but yet determined, Aaron seems tiredly defeated, Michonne and Carl are trying to act strong and put together. Unfortunately, they all were silently asking the same thing, where's the rest of our family? Carol, however, has her arms folded as if she knew everything would be okay and things will soon get back on track. Rick look as if he didn't know what to say to give everyone inspiration. His sister always made him sound better when she put her opinion in since her opinion usually is the most negative.

"The others, they're gonna be back." Rick tries to reassure everyone, "They're gonna be back. Daryl, Abraham, Sasha, they have vehicles. They're gonna lead 'em away, just like the others. Annabelle, Glenn and Nicholas are gonna walk back through the front gate after." Some of the people nod believing what he is telling them as he continues in his most positive tone, "They know what they're doing, and we know what we need to do. We keep noise to a minimum. Pull our blinds at night. Even better, keep the lights out. We'll try to make this place as quiet as a graveyard, see if they move on."

"This place is a graveyard." A lady speaks up honestly in a torn voice.

"The quarry broke open and those walkers were heading this way. All of them." Aaron takes a step toward Rick telling the people around them, "The plan that Rick and Annabelle put into place stopped that from happening. They got half of them away." He then pauses and looks to Rick with a guilty expression before explaining, "I was out there recruiting with Daryl and Annabelle. I wanted to try to get into a cannery and scavenge, and they wanted to keep looking for people. We did what I wanted... and Daryl and I wound up in a trap set by those people. And I lost my pack. They must've followed our tracks. Those people who attacked us... they found their way back here because of me."

"Annabelle-" Someone begins to say.

"Saved him and me, with Morgan. It wasn't her fault. Annabelle is going to come back... One way or another she's going to finish what we started." Aaron then laughs pitifully while looking at everyone in Alexandria, "You all know how she is. Stubborn. So don't think for a second she isn't going to come back pissed, determined and with a new plan."

A few people smile and laugh softly by those unusual words, Rick and his group look around at Alexandria's people in surprise. People never gained hope when hearing about Miss. Grimes. They always either felt threatened, intimidated, or disrespected. These people got their hopes up just be Aaron saying something as simple as her coming back pissed. He didn't understand, these people were all so rude to her, how could they have hope in her? Not that he wasn't happy about it, he's just confused and curious. Annabelle, his only sister, never even saw hope in herself.

"So Annabelle Jade Grimes, how long have you been out there?"

Deanna Monroe, Alexandria's leader, sits on her couch with the video recorder on beside her. The woman in front of Annabelle looked well dressed and cleaned up as if she gets a hot shower every morning and a haircut every month. By the time Annie got to Alexandria with Aaron and Eric the sweat, blood, and dirt dried onto her skin like cement making her look just as good as any walker. She could still remember some of the people staring at her like she's am actual walker when she followed Aaron to Deanna's house. She's now in her living room feeling out of place, the place is nicer than anything she ever had in her whole life. The room she's in now looks as if it's daily cleaned and someone has just moved in. Deanna looks like she was trying to be calm but Anna knew better. She knew the woman on the couch is a little frisky from the sight of her.

"Since the damn beginning, what kind of question is that," Annabelle snaps roughly, "And why you recording us? I got nothing important to say."

"This is history in the making," Deanna answers politely making Anna scoff as she asks, "Were you alone this whole time?"

Annabelle stares at the old lady in front of her for a few moments before turning away and looking out the window. The single question brought so many terrible, sad, loving and longing memories. She's lost so many people that made her feel so alone and it all starts with two redneck brothers. After losing them and being alone she would find someone else, lose them too and go back to being alone in this cold world. Miss. Grimes wasn't going to dare bring up her past to this stranger so she just looks around the room and mumbles.

"Nah."

"What happened?"

"Don't know."

"What-"

"Are you really fucking going to make someone in this world today explain to you how their loved ones aren't with them?" Annabelle slams her hands down the nearest wall in annoyance when she removes her hands from the wall bloody handprints stained it, she then thinks out loud with an emotionless expression, "The world we live in today will take and give us people constantly. So never, ever ask how the world took or gave people to me. Or to anyone for that matter."

"In a way you're right, I guess." She sighs then whispers to herself, "Aaron told me you have a strong personality."

"Bitch, I met cannibals before." Anna grunts out when she hears her mumbles, "Now those are people with strong personalities."

That's when Deanna really looks at the woman in front of her, Aaron was right. Annabelle has seen thing this community hasn't even thought could happen. Looking at her now she knew she shouldn't be surprised. She stinks, she's dirty, she's been through hell and back. She has been living in her car for months now alone. Then these guys come up to her today and ask her to be a part of his community. All Annabelle honest wanted to do right now is hope in her extremely old impala and leave before something bad happens to her. She didn't trust this place more than she trusts the geeks. But if she wanted to bathe Aaron said she had to talk to Deanna first.

"I was a congressperson." Deanna changes the subject, "Ohio, 15th district. You?"

"Oh, I get it..." Annabelle scoffs and looks around the house, "I wasn't anything fancy like that."

"Well, it helps us find a job for you."

"If you can find a job for a stripper/con person in this community I'll kiss your feet," Annabelle smirks at the expression she gets from Deanna, "You surprised?"

"I- no, yes... Good thing I didn't let you come in for your past jobs." She then says making Annabelle stop walking around.

"Then why did you want me to come?"

"Aaron saw you take out 30 walkers by yourself like it was nothing-"

"So you want fighters?"

"I want good people who know how to survive."

"Honey, whoever is behind these walls aren't good people." Annabelle says honestly, "You got your own little spot of heaven right here."

"Thank you-"

"But you guys are fucking weak. I saw five places I could climb the wall and come in without anyone knowing."

"And that's why we need you." Deanna smiles realizing Aaron made the right decision bring her here. She was having second thought a few moments ago, "Ms. Grimes, do you want to stay here?"

"Well..." Annabelle looks at her for the longest moment then shrugs, "Got nothing better to do today."

"Well then, welcome to Alexandria."

Deanna is in her office pacing, not knowing what to do. She wanted to go to Annabelle's house and ask her what she should do. But she wasn't here. Deanna could see it now, Annabelle would be cursing at Aaron for moving the tools as she works on some car. Or her smoking a cigarette and showing Enid how to do something useful for when she would go out of the walls. How did they survive without her before, she thought in amazement.

She stops pacing and looks at the sight of a bunch of rolled up papers, an idea pops into her head. She takes out a certain one and opens it on her desk. It was the idea Annabelle had for Alexandria. She gave her this a long time ago for her to think about but she just threw it with the other papers. When the first Grimes came here she would always try to improve and protect this place. The people never gave her ideas much thought, but here they are wanting her ideas more than ever.

Deanna opens the plans hastily and she looks at the ideas Belle had, this was the first time looking at them. Getting to work Deanna grabs a pen and begins perfecting Annabelle's idea. She smiles knowing Anna would be too at what she is doing now, what she should have done a long time ago.

Annabelle follows Deanna around the community as she explains where everything is and who everyone is. Some people stare at her in shock, guess they have never seen anyone look this dirty. She wasn't listening to what Deanna is telling her. She just scanned the place for people to watch out for, so far the doc was on that list. They turn a corner of the street and she sees two men washing her car, it is now half covered in blood, dirt, leaves, and bird shit. The other half is clear black like it was when she first bought it. Annabelle's eyes go wide at the men touching her baby and run to her car instantly as the guys spray it with water, Deanna turns when she sees her sprint somewhere.

"Don't you dare touch my damn fucking car!" She yells at them and grabs the spray from one of the guys. The other was about to use a sponge on it and she sprays him, "Back away!"

"What the fuck girl! We are just cleaning it!"

The man she sprayed yells at her in anger. She didn't care she already let too many people get close to this car. Daryl, Merle, Rick, a few others too but that would never happen again. Every time she let someone touch, clean, or drive her car it meant she cared or trusted them. And she was done caring about people in this lifetime. It just wasn't worth it anymore. She sprays him again and storms over to him barking with venom.

"Don't. Touch. My. Car!"

"Woman, are you serious?" The guy she took the spray from snaps at her in disbelief, "Most people would say thanks!"

"Do I look like most women to you!" She growls and drops the spray, "So fuck off."

"You barely look like a woman." One says without thinking.

"Excuse me?" She glares at him and grabs his shirt, "What you say?"

"Aiden! Annabelle!" Deanna finally reaches them, "What is going on?!"

"We were just washing her car," The man she didn't have a grip on explains, "It looked disgusting."

"Better watch your mouth boy!" Anna turns to look at him, "I didn't come here for you to wash my car."

"Nicholas, Aiden please leave us for a moment."

Deanna sighs while seeing the newest member of Alexandria look like she's ready to attack. They nod and run away like dogs with their tails between their legs. Annabelle glares at them until she can't see them anymore. Deanna turns off the spray saying before saying to Grimes.

"Anna, this is a community. People are going try to be nice to you, so try to be too."

"I don't care if they are trying to be nice," Anna folds her arms stubbornly, "My car is off limits."

"Okay, it's yours only." She agrees tiredly, "But you have to not freak out when people try to be friendly. You've been out there too long, I get it."

"No! You don't!" She says with venom and disgust, walking closer to Deanna she spits out, "Have you have to leave people to protect your life? Did you have to starve for someone to live? Have you watched people get tortured in front of you and have their blood spilling around you? No? Then you don't GET IT."

Annabelle didn't notice people coming out of their house to watch the scene she displayed on the street. She was unbelievably frustrated, these people didn't get it. She didn't know how to even make them realize how it's a miracle they're alive. Deanna acts calm the entire time she yelled at her. After a long silent pause, Deanna speaks up.

"You're right, but things are different here. So either accept it or leave."

"After my shower."

"Come on, you son of a bitch."

It's late at night and Deanna saw a walker coming at her in Alexandria. This one must have been hiding since no one has noticed it until now. She stabs it over and over until she is covered in its blood. Rick runs to her to help but it is already dead. It's been a long and tiring day, no one has come back to Alexandria besides Rick. Deanna is trying to slow down her breathing as Rick in kneels in front of her and the dead walker. He then helps her up slowly to stand, they were both silently while doing so. Sighing in defeat Rick looks at Deanna and thinks out loud.

"Carol said she got one of them, but she couldn't find the body. He must have been under there."

"I want to live." Deanna abruptly says after minutes of silence in the dead of night, "I want this place to stay standing. You and Annabelle need to lead them."

"I thought everyone disliked my sister." Rick thinks out loud while folding his arms.

"Oh, they do." She laughs looking down to the walker, "She was rude, fearless, cautious, and stubborn when she first came here... She still is. No one wanted anything to do with her."

"Then why-"

"It's because she was the only one here who saw reality when none of us did. No one wanted to listen to her until your people came." She explains in almost a whisper, "I always went to ask her about every decision I was about to make. I didn't listen to most of them like I should have. She should have been leading them this whole time but I was too prideful to let her." Deanna pauses for a second while thinking hard before giving him a serious look, "They don't need me, Rick. What they need is you two. You balance each other out without knowing it."

"We are siblings."

"This will be your house." Aaron walks next to Annabelle to a house, "I'm right next door if you need anything. Eric too."

"You for real?" Annabelle looks at the house in shock as she raises her eyes, "You're just giving me a house to myself?"

"Yup, when's the last time you had a house?"

He asks curiously as they walk the to the front porch. She still looked surprised, the house it a two story building with warm and clean furniture. The house is cleaner than anywhere she has lived before. Aaron smiles proudly as he looks around the place with her. Deanna left when Aaron met up with them, she seemed like she was done for today after the talks she had with Anna. The man showed her around the house mentioning he was gay, sadly it made her feel a little better being here because of it. Once the tour is done they walk back to the front porch.

"I never had a house before." She answers emotionless making Aaron stare at her for a moment.

"Well, you have one now…." He sighs then points to his house, "I have tools if you need to fix up your car, I could tell it's sentimental to you."

"Yeah-" She begins to say but a woman with blonde hair comes up to them.

"Hi, I'm Jesse I live a couple houses away. I just wanted to welcome you to the community." Jesse smiles brightly and offers her hand for Anna to shake, "You're Annabelle, right?"

"Yeah..." She looks at the hand and doesn't move to shake it, "Okay. Is that all?"

"Well, I-" Jesse drops her hand as well for her smile, she glances between Aaron and Annabelle before answering, "I guess that's all."

"Then you can leave now." She looks away from her with an emotionless face and then says to Aaron, "Yell when you wanna talk some more."

Aaron nods goodbye to Anna before she all but slams the door. Jesse just stands there in disbelief that Annabelle didn't even offer her a smile. Jesse turns to Aaron to silently ask him what her problem is but all he does is a shrug and looks to the impala in the driveway before blurting out. "She almost killed me for my things this morning so don't take it personally."

"She almost killed me for my things this morning so don't take it personally."

"Too late."

"When he gets back, it's worth mentioning that Aaron, Erin, works for a boy or a girl, depending on the spelling." Aaron comes up to Maggie as she wipes off Glenn's name from the people who have died, "Just saying."

Maggie told Aaron about her being pregnant earlier, she couldn't keep the secret from everyone after everything that has happened today. She wanted to go out looking for Glenn earlier but she realized he wouldn't want to risk her and the baby's life for him. In a moment of weakness of realizing that she blurted her secret out to Aaron. So now they both are wiping off Glenn, Annabelle, and Nicholas's name from the wall. Maggie smiles at his comment about a baby name and says.

"I'll talk to him about it when he gets back."

"You know, Annabelle will want a say in naming the baby too," Aaron smirked making her laugh, "I bet she'll want to call it Merle if it's a boy."

"That or she'll try to get us to name it Anna or something." She thinks out loud playfully, "You think her and Daryl will want kids?"

"Well..." He snorts at the idea, "They first need to realize their feelings."

"Annabelle and Daryl Dixon. Mrs. and Mr. Dixon." Grinning she jokes, "Has a nice ring to it. Don't you think?"

"I can already see it. You, Glenn, Annabelle, and Daryl picking out kid names together." He laughs and she joins in, "This will be the next baby boom."

"I can see them having a girl."

"And you having a boy…."

"Oh my god." Maggie's eyes go wide at the idea, "And then they can get married!

Aaron lifts up his hands for a high five, she claps her hands with his as he says like a genius. "Now that's how you plan shit!"

"If we can somehow get outside the walls, get back to our cars at the quarry," Rick explains to Michonne on Annabelle's porch, "We could use them to draw them away."

It's been a day and no one has come back yet. It's only been 24 hours, though, Glenn, Abraham, Sasha, Daryl, and Annabelle could all be safe and sound. Most people believe they are since they weren't the kind of people do give up so easily. Some people were beginning to think Daryl's group and Anna's group are looking for each other instead of just coming home. Everyone thinks it's something Daryl and Annabelle would do since they are separated.

"We'll set up more watch point's." Michonne suggests next to him, "Coordinate the shooting of guns and flares so we could pull them out in even directions."

"We'd need to get all our people on it." Rick looks over to her listing out people, "Carl, Tara, Rosita, Carol."

"What about everybody else?"

"Well, let's just keep this to our own for now."

"Really?"

"Look, if we had the time to bring the people along, sure." Rick sighs when Michonne gives him a look, "But we haven't had a chance to catch our breath."

"Really?" She repeats and looks into his eyes seriously, "We're in here together. We're catching our breath right now. Anything else is just excuses."

Rick rubs his face at her words, she's right, he know she's right but he just didn't want to trust everyone in Alexandria yet. How could he when his sister couldn't after months of living here. Maybe it didn't matter if he trusted all these people because they all wanted the same thing, they all wanted to live. He wishes the rest of his group was here to help him and Michonne with the problems they're facing. Sasha would suggest every option they have, Abraham would look into ways that protect the people and the community, Glenn would make sure the plans they made complete and full proof. Daryl would be the one to tell them if the plan was too much or not enough and Annabelle would make sure everyone was on board and knew what to do. Rick had none of them to help him, all he could do is make up a plan and hope he saw every possible option, that it kept the people safe, not to mention full proof and big enough to get the job done. Then he'd have to get everyone on board with it. Michonne and Rick hear footsteps coming towards them and they see Deanna for the first time this morning. Rick nods to her when she reaches them.

"Deanna."

"Rick" She smiles and shows them a rolled up paper.

"What's that?"

"Plans for the expansion." Deanna explains, "They're Anna's ideas. They were a little sloppy but I perfected them."

"We got a few other things on our plate right now." Rick looks away, they still don't know if Annabelle or any of them are okay.

"I know." Deanna smirks knowingly, "These are for what Alexandria can be after this. Because one way or another, there's gonna be an after this. Anna had a vision for this place, even if she comes back or not, this place is going to be the way she believed it should be."

"Woah." Deanna comes up to Annabelle working on her car, "You look great."

"Thanks."

Annabelle mumbles without looking to Deanna. It's been a day since Annabelle came to Alexandria, Deanna has left her alone to settle. She's here now to see how she's settling in and Deanna's certainly surprised by how much changed with Grimes in the last 24 hours. Annabelle almost looks like a normal human being now, beside the tattoos, style of clothes and jewelry. She took a shower, comb her hair, is wearing clean clothes and shoes. She may have even trimmed her hair but it's too long to tell. Anna also looked as if for the first time in months that she got a good sleep and meal. Miss. Grimes is currently working on her impala in her driveway when Deanna comes to talk to her. She has Aaron's tools surrounding her car as she works with a cigarette between her lips. Deanna noticed Aaron and Eric talking on her porch with a glasses and a pitcher of lemonade. That's when she saw a glass on the roof of Anna's car half drunken. Deanna nods to the guys before speaking up to Annabelle.

"I wanted to see how you were settling in but looks like you barely left your driveway."

"You got a problem with that?" Annie thinks out loud then lets out a puff of smoke, "Aaron said I could use his tools."

"This car must mean a lot to you." She points out, "First day here and you're not even trying to relax."

"Working on my car is relaxing." Annabelle speaks up with an emotionless tone, "It's the one thing I know I can fix."

"So you also were a mechanic?"

"No."

"Then how-"

"A friend taught me."

"I see."

"Ladies!" Eric calls out from Anna's porch, "How's everything going?"

"Fine. Thanks for the drink." Annabelle's voice is hard but that only makes Eric smile bigger knowing she was at least trying.

"I think you got everything here. I see if I can find you a job." Deanna nods and looks between the two, "Well you guys have a good day."

"You too."

"So... Has Aaron showed you his bike yet?"

"It doesn't mean anything as long as we keep this up."

Rick says to the man next to him as they fortified the walls, they were at a spot all the walkers were being drawn too. They saw blood coming from a hole in the wall making the man helping Rick silently more nervous. Everyone in Alexandria could hear the moaning, growling and banging from outside the walls but they all pretend to not hear a thing. As they put something to stabilize this part of the wall the man helping speaks up.

"You know, you scared the hell out of people when we first saw you but I guess it runs in the family."

"Yeah." Rick smiles at the man's vague joke. "I know."

"You scared the hell out of me, you acted just like your sister. She was covered in blood, you with that beard. The way you two looked around like you were seeing things we weren't... hiding around corners. Hard expressions all the time. Anna was the same way, we all thought she was on drugs." He explains to Rick honestly, "Turns out you guys knew more than we did."

"I don't understand," Rick looks away from the wall and looks at him curiously, "Why is it now that everyone in Alexandria is finally giving Anna credit for what she has done?"

"Probably because she isn't here now and if she was, she would be barking orders at everyone. She wouldn't sleep until this place is completely safe again. She would do what's needed to be done by herself if she had to." He thinks out loud with a soft shrug, "Her not being here, I guess made people realizes how important she has been this whole time."