Author's Note : SURPRISE! Early chapter upload!
Anna didn't wake until the suns rays shone through her eyelids.
She groaned softly, rolling onto her back, draping one arm over her eyes. After adjusting to the glaring light, she attempted to stretch out the kinks throughout her body — sleeping in the back of a pickup truck did that to a person.
The air was heavy — the blanket sprawled over her creating a furnace of some sort, trapping the humidity in, beads of sweat saturating her clothing. Anna quickly kicked off the blanket and groggily propped herself up onto her elbows, surveying the already bustling campsite. It looked as though she was the last one to wake, the rest of the group busy taking down their tents and gathering their belongings, getting ready to make their way to the CDC.
Anna pulled herself up with a huff, fighting back a yawn as she collected the pillow and blanket to return to Rick, along with Daryl's dinner bowl that she'd set aside. She hopped over the side of the truck, landing with a thud onto the dirt below her, beginning to make her way over to the sheriff's tent.
Lori was crouched down, shoving an assortment of clothing into a small duffle bag, but looked up after hearing footsteps approach. Her furrowed brow melted into a soft smile as she came to a stand, wiping the dirt from her hands onto her jeans. "Mornin', sleepyhead," she greeted, using one hand to block the sunlight from her face.
Anna rolled her eyes, a smile slipping across her lips. "Uh, Rick leant me these last night. I just wanted to make sure you got them back," she offered over the items in her hands.
Lori shook her head. "No need. We got plenty here," she brushed off, motioning towards a small assortment of bedding near the duffle bag.
Anna faltered, hands still outstretched. "Are…are you sure?" she hesitated, brows furrowing.
"Positive," Lori settled with a nod, hoisting her duffle bag off the ground and adding it to the growing pile beside her.
"Oh…wow, okay. Well, thank you," Anna voiced earnestly, tucking the pillow and blanket beneath her arm.
"You're welcome," she smiled in return. "An' I'll grab that," she reached out for the bowl, taking it from Anna's hands, before nodding towards something in the distance. "Rick wanted ta' speak with you if you wanna head over. He's packin' up the car now."
Anna nodded, still taken aback at the graciousness of the people in this camp. But it was time to face the music. A decision had to be made and it was now or never.
Taking a breath, Anna hurried back to her truck and tossed her new belongings into the back seat, before steeling herself to speak with the sheriff. Rick was dressed in uniform, securing a larger looking suitcase to the hood of a light yellow 1979 Jeep Cherokee, but spotted Anna making her way towards him and sent her a friendly nod. "Hey," she called out, sending him a small wave.
"Hey," Rick returned, tying the last knot and pushing away from the vehicle, coming to a stand in front of her. "So, did you make your decision?" he asked straight away, skipping the bullshit and getting to the heart of the conversation — she liked that about him.
"I did. I, uh…" Anna started, taking a breath as Rick patiently waited for her to speak, eyes knowing and kind. She gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment, gazing off behind the sheriff as she tried to formulate the exact words she wanted to say to him. "I think…I think I'll stick around," she finally mustered, watching the corners of Ricks' mouth turn upwards. "I've thought a lot about it and I, uh — I think staying with a group is the smartest decision," she nodded, as though she was still trying to convince herself. "If you'll have me, of course," she added quickly.
"I wouldn't a' offered you a place here, otherwise," Rick countered, looking at her empathetically. "You sure about this?"
Anna pursed her lips. "Honestly, no," she retorted, although the sheriff didn't look surprised. He simply nodded understandingly as she continued. "But I just don't have the resources or the means to make it another hundred miles on my own. I just don't," she shrugged, staring down at her boots for a moment before exhaling heavily. "I know my brother better than anyone. And I know that he would want me to make the decision that kept me alive — that kept me safe," she murmured softly. "Even if it meant that I might not ever see him again," she whispered, her voice breaking slightly.
She felt Rick reach forward and gently grab her shoulder, her torn gaze meeting his steady one. "Ya can't give up on family, Anna. Not ever," he spoke softly, yet words fierce. "There was a time I thought I'd never see my family again. But I found them. I did. An' Fort Benning's still an option if the CDC's a dead end."
Anna readied his gaze, her expression serious. "I hope for everyone's sake that it's not."
Rick paused, nodding slowly. "Me too," he murmured, a heaviness settling over his shoulders before he slowly pulled away and cleared his throat. "So, y'all packed up then?" he asked, changing the subject quickly.
Anna nodded. "Just got me and my truck," she shrugged.
Rick peered around Anna, surveying the old, run-down vehicle. "Sure you don't wanna hitch a ride instead?" he offered warily. "That truck seems like it's on its last limb."
"Hey, I love that truck," Anna shot back defensively. "Yeah, it's pretty beat up, but it got me here, didn't it?"
Rick held up his hands in surrender, a soft chuckle escaping his lips. "Alright, alright. Down, girl," he soothed, the corners of his eyes crinkling, some of the stress lines on his face fading.
"What's goin' on here?" came a new voice as Shane suddenly appeared from around the car, shooting glances between Anna and Rick.
"Anna's decided ta' join us ta' the CDC," Rick explained, moving to shut the rear door of the Jeep, leaving Shane and Anna standing opposite of each other.
Shane's form fitted black t-shirt clung to his body, patches of sweat seeping through the material. Anna spotted a chain wrapped around his neck, but whatever was strung through it was hidden underneath his shirt. He was handsome, she had to admit — with tousled, black hair, a strong jawline, and broad shoulders. By the look of his nose, Anna figured the man had been in his fair share of fist fights — it looked slightly crooked, as though it had been broken several times and never healed correctly.
But there was something about his eyes — they were dark and hungry, like a predator stalking its prey — and she subconsciously took a small step back.
"Is that right?" Shane suddenly spoke, talking to Anna directly now.
"Huh?" she sounded, having zoned out for a moment.
A smooth, easy smile slipped over his features as he took a step closer to her. "Rick's sayin' you'll be joinin' us?"
Anna watched as he gave her a thorough once over, eyes hovering over her body a moment too long, and she couldn't shake the feeling of unease he gave her. "Uh, yeah. Seems like it," she replied simply, crossing her arms over her chest as Shane ran a hand through his thick, dark hair.
"Well, then. Happy ta' have ya," he smirked, outstretching his arm towards Anna. She shot him a tight smile and shook his hand, dark eyes glinting as they surveyed her features. She slowly pulled her hand from his, taking another step back as the sheriff rejoined the conversation.
"So, how 'bout we get ourselves a lil' pow-wow goin' before we head out?" Shane inquired, redirecting his attention.
Rick placed his hands on his hips and surveyed the campsite, nodding slowly. "Yeah, let's gather everyone up," he nodded slowly, brow furrowed. "C'mon," he murmured, placing a hand on Anna's shoulder and guiding her away.
"Hey! Need everyone out here!" Shane called out, whistling loudly to draw everyone's attention, the rest of the group slowly filtering in, forming a circle near the vehicles. "Time ta' rollout, alright? Got a couple things we need ta' discuss beforehand," he started, before motioning towards Rick to continue.
Rick straightened himself up and took a deep breath, scanning the group of people watching him, waiting for him to speak. "As most of you know by now, we're headin' for the CDC. After what happened the other night, I think it's pretty clear that this place jus' isn't safe anymore. Now, we might have a real shot here with this move — we can't be the only survivors left an' from what I know, the CDC was built for instances like this one."
"Place is built like a damn fortress," Shane piped in, propping his shotgun against his shoulder. "They've gotta have some sorta idea on what this shit is — a cure or vaccine, maybe a defense of some kind."
"We stick together, alright? No matter what happens, we're in this together. There's gotta be more out there. There's gotta be more than jus' this. I've gotta believe that. An' I hope y'all do too," Rick finished, taking a moment to look at each and every group member, some bowing their heads, others nodding in agreement.
Anna spotted Daryl — sporting a worn, mustard-yellow flannel with the sleeves ripped off — listening from the outskirts of the circle. He chewed on the side of his thumb as the two men spoke, glancing up every so often, but mostly seeming deep in thought. She wondered what he was thinking about — maybe he was worried that the CDC was already gone. Maybe he didn't want to risk it on the road. Maybe he was thinking about his brother and if he was still alive out there somewhere…
When Rick suddenly placed his hand on Anna's shoulder, she snapped her gaze away from the archer and towards the sheriff instead, catching onto the tail end of his sentence. "— sure most a' you have already met, but this is Anna Brooks. An' she'll be joinin' us to the CDC. Jus' wanted to make sure everyone's been properly introduced before we head out."
Anna felt her cheeks redden at the sudden attention, despite Rick's encouraging nod. She shifted awkwardly, sending a small wave towards the general vicinity of the group before Shane stepped in.
"Alright, everybody, listen up," he intervened authoritatively. "Those of you with C.B.'s, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now, you got a problem, don't have a C.B., can't get a signal, anythin' at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?"
The group was quiet for a moment, before a Hispanic man, who Anna hadn't been introduced to, spoke up. "We're, uh…we're not going," he mustered, glancing over at his wife and two children for a moment. The group fell silent, looking at one another uncertainly.
"We have family in Birmingham," the wife spoke up, pulling her daughter close to her side. "We want to be with our people."
"You go on your own, ya won't have anyone ta' watch your back," Shane pointed out warily.
"We'll take the chance," the man retorted after a brief pause, before turning his gaze onto Rick. "I gotta do what's best for my family," he emphasized, knowing that of anyone in the camp, the sheriff would be the most understanding as to where he was coming from.
Rick placed his hands on his hips, expression torn. "You sure?"
"We talked about it. We're sure," he countered without missing a beat.
Rick nodded once, sensing that any further protest would be a futile attempt. "Alright," he murmured. "Shane," he waved his friend over, the two bending down to sift through the bag of guns at their feet.
Anna sighed, taking a moment to pull her knotted hair up into a ponytail as she watched the men hand over one of their pistols and a box of bullets. From across the way, she spotted Daryl rolling his eyes and storming off, heading towards a rusted pickup truck, similar to her own, with a motorcycle strapped into the bed.
When a few members of the group began to say their tearful goodbyes to the family, Anna took her leave, feeling like she was encroaching on a private moment. She hurried to her truck and hopped inside, exhaling heavily once the door slammed behind her, comfortable now that she was in her own space.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she pinched the bridge of her nose, suddenly feeling unsure about her decision to stay with the group. The last people she'd traveled with were her parents and she'd lost both of them during that time. She'd witnessed their gruesome deaths right before her very eyes, losing a part of herself in the process — and she didn't know if she could go through that again.
What if she began to care for the people in this group? What if the world tore them away from her like it had with everyone else? Integrating herself into their lives with the possibility of losing them was only going to destroy her even more, taking away pieces of her soul until all that remained was flesh and bone, leaving behind merely a shell of who she used to be.
"C'mon, let's go!" Shane's voice broke through the quiet morning air. "Let's move out!" he called to the rest of his group, clapping his hands together as everyone began making their way to their respective vehicles.
Anna took a deep breath — there was no going back now.
She grabbed her key from the middle console and shoved it into the ignition, twisting it, expecting to hear her engine roar to life — but instead…silence.
"What the hell?" she muttered, trying to turn her truck over again, but to no avail. All she heard was an incessant click, a short sputter, and then silence once more. Her head fell back against the headrest, her eyes squeezed shut as she tightened her grip around the steering wheel. "Shit."
Her truck had met its final demise.
When Anna opened her eyes, she spotted Rick standing beside her open window, a smug smile creeping across his face as he watched her sigh in defeat. "Mornin', officer," she mumbled wistfully. "Got room for one more?"
A/N : Welp. Sorry, Anna. Looks like you're shit outta luck. I'm excited to be done with the quarry and moving onto new things! (Side note - I actually liked Shane, for the most part. Until he went batshit crazy and all. So I'm not trying to shit all over Shane's character but as soon as Rick joined the group, he changed. The dude was dangerous and he DID have this kinda unsettling vibe about him. Just wanted to put that out there for any Shane fans! Not trying to make him into something he's not, I'm just writing him the way I interpreted him.)
QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Are you on Rick and Michonne's side or Maggie and Daryl's in regards to Negan? I feel like last weeks episode really shed a light on the pros and cons to BOTH sides. So…if you were in this situation, would you keep Negan locked up for the rest of his life? Or would you want him dead to avenge those you lost?
Feedback is INCREDIBLY important. I write for my own happiness, but I also write for YOU. So don't be afraid to shoot me an ask or message or leave a comment with your thoughts! It truly motivates me and helps move along the writing process. Let's discuss and be friends!