Crouching down beside the wall, Anna slid the plug into the outlet before attaching her iPod to the other end. The screen remained black. She wasn't sure what she had expected – it had been sitting on her shelf collecting dust for the past two years. It was stupid to think it would still work after all this time.
Anna set the iPod on the table beside the outlet and stood, grimacing down at the device. She turned on her heel and exited the house. The porch was empty and she could see the others heading off to the left. Anna decided she'd rather spend some time alone, and so went down the steps and to the right.
Anna made her way down the sidewalk, her mind immediately going over tactical scenarios for every house she passed and street she turned down. Focused on contingency plans, she almost didn't notice the figure creeping up in her peripheral. Almost.
In a quick, fluid motion, Anna drew her knife from its sheath and readied herself for a confrontation. Frozen, hands raised in submission, was Spencer Monroe.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to sneak up on you," he said, looking between the sharp blade and her face.
Allowing herself to relax, Anna slipped her knife back in its sheath.
"I saw you walking, I figured you might have been lost," he explained, lowering his hands to his sides.
"I'm not lost," she assured.
Spencer nodded. "Right, of course," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I could, maybe, show you around, though?" he asked, his voice nervous.
Anna figured it would be easier to find things if she had a tour guide. It wasn't that she was looking for anything in particular, but she felt uneasy not knowing where the armory or infirmary were – two of the most important places in the event of an attack, accompanied only by the supply cache.
"Alright," she finally said, turning her body to indicate which direction she wanted to go.
Spencer grinned at her and started off, keeping a slow pace so she could keep up with his long legs. He began pointing out houses as belonging to certain people or as empty.
"If you decide to stay, you can move into one of the empty houses – you know, if you wanted," he informed.
As he went on, Anna listened silently and observed their surroundings. There were a few people walking about who waved at Spencer but seemed content to leave the two alone. She was grateful, as she wasn't interested in meeting the neighbors just yet.
"Over there is where the kids go to school," Spencer said, pointing out an open garage where an assortment of young children gathered in front of a man and a rolling chalkboard. "The little kids go in the morning and the older kids go in the afternoons. Mr. Sinclair was a high school teacher before the turn. I was finishing my undergraduate. What about you? What did you do?" he asked, finally pausing in his rambling.
"I was finishing my undergraduate, too," Anna said, almost reluctant to tell him.
"Really? What were you going for?" he pushed.
"English – creative writing."
"That's cool. I guess you'll be helping Mr. Sinclair?"
"Your mom didn't mention it," Anna muttered.
"So what job did she give you, then?"
"She wants me to be the historian," she grumbled, rolling her eyes.
Spencer hummed. "And you don't like that? That seems like an easy gig."
"It's not a very useful gig," Anna corrected.
"I don't know how useful it is, but it's not like you're only allowed one job here," he assured. "Why not give it a try and when you're not doing that, maybe you can do something else – like help Mr. Sinclair," he suggested.
"I'd rather do patrols around the perimeter," Anna huffed.
"But, that's dangerous."
Anna shot Spencer an incredulous look.
"Not that you couldn't handle it!" He said quickly. "I just mean that, you know, given the option, I'd rather go the easy route."
"Easy isn't always better," Anna warned.
"True, but this seems like one of those times where you can skimp a little on the hard stuff," Spencer countered, grinning sidelong at her. "Oh! That's the infirmary, over there. Pete's the doctor – he was a surgeon before," he said, pointing at a two story house with a bench on the small porch.
"Down a few more houses is the pantry and armory. Olivia runs it, you can get whatever you need from there," he said, pointing further down the road to an open garage, where Anna could see Olivia standing at a rack of cans.
The two continued, Spencer waving at Olivia, who shot Anna a wary gaze as they passed. It wasn't long before they had looped around Alexandria and were heading back towards the house. She could see Daryl on the porch, smoking a cigarette. As they approached, she could feel his eyes on them. Spencer didn't seem to take notice, continuing his idle chatter as they made their way up the walkway to the front steps.
"Thanks for the tour," Anna said, turning to face him, blocking him from going any further. "I appreciate it."
He nodded, smiling at her before he looked to Daryl.
"Hey," he greeted. "Daryl, right?"
Daryl said nothing, his eyes unwavering as he stared at Spencer and took a long drag on his cigarette, blowing the smoke out through the side of his mouth and away from Anna. Putting out the cigarette, Daryl cast an unreadable look at Anna before turning and walking inside, shutting the door behind him.
"Uh—right," Spencer said. "He doesn't like me very much, does he?"
"Don't take it personally," Anna instructed, frowning at the yellow door. "I'll see you later," she said, starting up the stairs.
"Yeah, see you later, Anna," Spencer replied.
She didn't look back until she had stepped through the threshold, seeing Spencer making his way down the street.
Shutting the door, Anna let out a long sigh. Spencer was a nice guy but she found him exhausting.
"Did he kiss you bye?" Daryl asked, mocking.
"What?" Anna asked, turning to frown at him. He was sitting against the back of the couch, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at her.
"Your new boyfriend. Did he kiss you bye?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You been hangin' around with that pretty boy ever since we got here," he sneered, pushing off the couch.
"You know it's not like that. And it's more like he's been hanging around me," she grumbled.
"Well, you don't seem to mind."
"I'm sorry," Anna scoffed, bristling. "I didn't realize we were all supposed to be assholes to the people here and not associate with them. Besides, it's not like you've been keen on having me around."
Daryl worked his jaw, his eyes narrowing. Her muscles tensed, hurt and frustration from the past few days boiling over into anger.
"You know what, since we're on the topic – what exactly did I do to piss you off?" She demanded. "I thought we agreed to try, and you've barely talked to or even looked at me since we left my house. I shouldn't have to beg you to talk to me!"
"I'm sure Spencer would just love to talk to you," Daryl hissed.
"This isn't about Spencer," Anna snapped, "this is about us. Or can I even say there's an 'us' anymore?"
Daryl's body went rigid, his face blank as he stared at her. He didn't say anything, and Anna didn't try to stop him as he brushed past her and left the house.
Anna stood there, heart racing as she stared at the empty space where he had just been standing, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened.
Is it really over? Just like that?
.
Daryl didn't return to the house until much later in the night when everyone else had come back from their exploring. Anna immediately isolated herself from the rest of the group, choosing instead to hide away upstairs to read The Hobbit on the floor of a random bedroom.
But she couldn't focus on The Hobbit. Her mind kept going over everything that was said between her and Daryl. She found ways she could have said certain things better and decided that some things she didn't need to say at all. As her mother used to say, she hadn't engaged her brain before speaking.
Anna flinched at a knock at the door.
"Come in," she called, her voice cracking before she cleared her throat.
Glenn pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"Dinner is ready," he announced.
Anna grimaced. "I'm not hungry," she said, looking back to her book.
"Alright, what's wrong?" Glenn asked, walking further into the room and sitting down beside her.
"Nothing," she said quickly, only for him to give her a skeptical look. "Daryl and I got into a fight," she sighed.
"What happened?" Glenn asked, incredulous.
"Honestly, I don't even know," she groaned, pressing her palms into her eyes. "I think we broke up."
"You think?" Glenn pushed.
Anna launched into a retelling of the argument and what led up to it. She told him about their promise and the subsequent breaking of that promise, of how Daryl had been pushing her away and of the hurt she'd been stewing in. When she finally fell silent, Glenn took a deep breath.
"Okay… well, uh…," he trailed off, seeming to gather his thoughts. "Technically, you guys didn't agree to end things – you said what you said and he left. Maybe…, maybe you both just need some time to cool off," he suggested.
"Cool off," Anna muttered, pulling her knees up as she wrapped her arms around herself.
"Maybe there's something else bothering him," Glenn contemplated, rubbing at the hair on his chin.
"If there is, he won't fucking tell me," Anna grumbled.
"So, either you accept that or you don't."
Anna felt herself deflate, her chest tightening. Glenn was right. Those were her only options. She hated ultimatums.
.
The next morning, Anna didn't so much as wake up as she just stopped pretending to be asleep. She climbed out of the small nest she'd made for herself in the corner of the room and went through her morning routine before making her way downstairs, where everyone else was still sleeping.
Silently, Anna grabbed an apple from the kitchen and slipped out the front door. Biting into the apple, she looked out over the neighborhood and watched as the sun peeked over the horizon.
After a moment, Anna started down the steps and made her way down her usual route through Alexandria, periodically taking bites of the apple until it was just the core. Twirling it in her hand, Anna glanced at the wall. Without much thought, Anna reeled back and threw the apple core into the air. It skimmed the top of the wall but toppled over to the other side.
"Nice."
Anna whirled around to face the new voice, hand going to the knife on her hip but not drawing it. Standing before her was a tall older man with glasses and an unassuming smile as he held his hands up in surrender.
"Didn't mean to startle you," he said apologetically. "I'm Reg Monroe," he introduced.
"How many of you are there?" Anna sighed. It seemed she couldn't escape the Monroe's.
"Four," Reg laughed. "And you're Anna," he stated, holding his hand out. "I watched the tapes."
Anna accepted his hand and gave it a firm shake. "I see where Spencer gets his height from – it certainly wasn't Deanna."
He laughed again, his eyes scrunching up as he smiled. Anna decided right then and there that she liked Reg Monroe.
"Are you out for a morning stroll, too?" he asked, gesturing for them to walk.
Anna nodded, and the two started down the road as they fell easily into conversation. Talking to Reg was nothing like talking to Spencer; she didn't feel herself slowly being drained of energy. They spoke about the weather and the benefits of waking up early – not exactly stimulating conversation, but Anna didn't feel pressured to answer a certain way.
"So, have you thought about Deanna's offer?" Reg asked, his hands in his pockets.
She sighed, shaking her head. "I just don't see the point," Anna admitted.
"The point is the future," he said. "There has to be a future, otherwise what are we doing here?"
Anna furrowed her brow. She'd said as much to Jessie just a couple of days ago. How could she let herself forget that? But she remembered Milton from Woodbury, the man who believed in the future. There has to be an after. There has to be a chance.
"Anyone can do it, though."
"No, not anyone," he insisted. "You."
.
Anna walked quickly, her eyes scanning her surroundings in search of a tiny woman with sand colored hair. By the time she made it to the front gate, Anna was sure she'd walked the entirety of Alexandria. As she neared, the gate creaked open for a tan van to pull through before it shut again.
Glenn, Tara, and Noah were the first to exit the vehicle, making their way towards Anna, clearly agitated. Nicholas and a man who resembled Spencer followed close behind.
"You three need new gigs!" the man called. "You're not ready for runs yet."
Anna snorted as she came to a stop.
"Yeah, pretty sure you got that backwards," Glenn sneered, stopping in front of Anna. "That guy—" Glenn began.
"Hey!" the man called. "Hey," he said, patting Glenn on the shoulder. Glenn turned to him, rolling his eyes. "Look, we got a way of doing things around here—"
"You tied up walkers," Glenn interrupted. Anna grimaced.
"It killed our friend," the man defended. "Look, I'm not having this conversation. You obey my orders out there."
"Then we're just as screwed as your last run crew," Glenn huffed.
"Say that again."
"No, back off Aiden," Tara warned.
Anna remembered Reg mentioning his youngest son, Aiden, and his temper.
"Come on," Aiden goaded.
"Come on, man. Just take a step back," Noah instructed.
"Come on, tough guy," Aiden pushed, shoving Glenn back. Anna quickly steadied Glenn and stepped to the side as Aiden got in Glenn's space.
"No one's impressed, man," Glenn said evenly. "Walk away."
"Aiden!" Deanna called as she appeared in the gathering crowd. "What is going on?" She demanded.
"This guy's got a problem with the way we do things," Aiden explained, turning to his mother. "Why did you let these people in?"
"Because we actually know what we're doing out there," Glenn answered.
Aiden whirled around and a fist flew at Glenn's face as Deanna shouted no. Glenn ducked under Aiden's fist only to come back up and slam his knuckles against Aiden's nose. Aiden fell to the ground.
Not far off, Nicholas dropped his pack and started toward Glenn. She tensed, ready to step into his path when Daryl came barreling past her and tackled Nicholas to the ground.
"That's enough!" Deanna shouted as Rick and Michonne joined the fray.
Rick went to Daryl, pulling the man off of Nicholas as Aiden scrambled to his feet, poised to attack again. Both Anna and Michonne stepped in the man's way.
"Want to end up on your ass again?" Michonne asked quietly.
Daryl stood, Rick putting himself between Daryl and Nicholas as Daryl paced back and forth, eyes on the curly haired man.
"I want everyone to hear me, okay?" Deanna called. "Rick and his people are part of this community now," she announced. "In all ways – as equals. Understood?" Everyone nodded as she cast a hard gaze over the crowd who nodded before dispersing. "All of you, turn in your weapons, then you two—" she looked to Aiden and Nicholas, "come talk to me."
She turned to Rick as Aiden and Nicholas stormed off. "I told you I had a job for you. I'd like you to be our constable. That's what you were," she said. "That's what you are. And you, too," she looked to Michonne. "Will you accept?"
Rick took a moment, "Okay," he relented.
"I'm in," Michonne agreed.
Deanna turned to Glenn. "Thank you."
"For what?" Glenn asked.
"For knocking him on his ass," Deanna smirked.
Glenn nodded and headed off with the others. Anna cast a wary glance at Daryl, who pointedly ignored her as he walked away. Sighing, Anna turned to Deanna.
"And you, have you given any more thought to my offer?"
Anna nodded, "That's why I was looking for you," she explained. "I accept."