Anna stood at the foot of the bed looking down at her pack, rifle and stick laid out before her, her 9mm and hunting knife strapped to her hips. Last night, they had planned everything out meticulously. Today, Anna was left with a decision.
"You don't have to go," Daryl said as the pair entered the bedroom. He sat down and started to pull off his boots.
"Yes, I do," Anna sighed, setting her gun on her nightstand. "You need all the help you can get."
"What about that whole no-killing thing?"
Anna kicked off her boots and pulled out a fresh pair of clothes.
"Training with Morgan was just meant to give me an option," she explained.
"How's he feel about you choosin' to do this?"
"Well, he won't train me anymore."
Anna started towards the bathroom to take a shower.
"Not like you needed him anymore, anyhow," Daryl assured.
She was going; there was no doubt about that as she pulled her pack onto her shoulders. For the past month she'd been training to have this choice—to have more options than just death. Now that the time had come to decide, she hesitated.
Anna knew that no matter what, there would be killing tonight. That didn't mean she had to be the one doing the killing.
"Is that who you want to be?"
Anna picked up the rifle and slung it over her shoulder. She decided it didn't matter who she wanted to be. She was going to be who she needed to be.
Rick pulled the RV to a stop on the road and laid on the horn before climbing out.
"Aaron, Rosita," he called as everyone filed out of their respective vehicles. "You start here. We'll peel off every quarter mile, meet back here in a couple of hours. See what we got."
Anna paired up with Glenn and Heath, heading into the woods. She looked out for tracks as they moved quietly through the foliage, picking up a trail and leading her companions to a group of three walkers.
Silently, the trio rushed the walkers and put them down before inspecting them.
"What do you think?" Heath asked.
"Maybe. If we, um, cut the hair, trim the beard," Glenn said, squinting at one of the walkers.
"If it's dark," Anna added.
"We're gonna kill those people," Heath said. "Tonight."
Anna looked to him, confused as to why he was bringing it up. They already knew what they had to do.
"Look, I've been lucky," Heath explained. "I haven't had to do it before." Heath shook his head. "Have you?"
"I've been lucky, too," Glenn said.
Anna bowed her head, trying to decide if she should lie or even say anything.
"You nervous?" Heath asked, seeming to take her hesitation as a no.
"Have you ever seen something that—um—afterwards, you—" Glenn started, "you didn't want to sleep and you weren't hungry because when you close your eyes you could see it? And when you try to eat—"
"Yeah," Heath said.
"Me, too," Glenn glanced at Anna. "Killing somebody has gotta be worse than that." He looked back to Heath. "It has to be. So, yeah, I'm nervous. For the whole thing, man. For the whole thing."
"We're gonna take a look around, try to get a feel for how many people are in there," Rick said to the gathered group. "We like how it looks, we go in. A couple of hours before dawn. The guard's outside'll be tired. Everyone inside'll be sleeping. We don't like what we see, we head back, make a new plan. They don't know who we are. We'll keep Jesus in the shadows. This is how we eat." Rick paused a moment. "This is how we eat. We roll out at midnight."
Anna nodded to herself and pushed off the truck as Rick disappeared around the RV to talk to Eddie and Paul. She stepped off to the side of the road, and scuffed her boots against the pavement when Glenn appeared beside her.
"You don't have to be here," he said.
"Neither do you—or Maggie. Why is she even here?" Anna asked.
"She said she needed to be here—that we're here because of her," Glenn said. "Why are you here?"
Anna glanced over her shoulder to see Daryl and Jessie talking by the truck.
"I'm exactly where I need to be," Anna stated firmly, turning back around.
"Are you sure you can do it?"
"I've done it before," Anna shrugged. "Not all of us are quite so lucky."
"What happened with Marley—"
"I know," she cut him off. "She didn't leave me any choice. And this isn't exactly the same thing. But the fact remains that I was trained to do stuff like this—at Fort Benning."
"You're not a soldier," Glenn insisted. "You're more than that."
"Right now, a soldier is what I have to be."
Anna pressed her shoulder against the wall, her rifle ready as she peered around the corner. She watched the truck pull into the parking lot.
"Stop right there!" Shouted someone from inside. "Announce yourself, asshole!"
"It's Eddie from Hilltop!" Eddie called after rolling down his window. "It's done."
"Step out!"
Eddie turned the car off and stepped out of the truck holding his hands in the air along with a heavy sack as the guards exited the building and aimed their guns.
"Is that it?"
"Yeah," Eddie assured.
"Bring it here, shit brain!" The fatter guard snapped.
Eddie cautiously approached them and held out the sack.
"I don't want the bag, needle dick."
Eddie lowered his hands and reached into the bag, producing the rotting head of a walker that resembled Gregory.
"Will you look at this shit?" The fat guard laughed. "Will you look at this shit?"
The other guard stepped forward and took the head from Eddie, inspecting the face. Anna tensed, slowly raising her gun to aim at him.
"He broke my hand," Eddie explained. "I broke his nose. That's why he looks that way."
The second guard looked between the head and Eddie before he reached up and grabbed "Gregory's" chin and moved it.
"Little bitch broke my nose. Wah," he whined in a nasally voice.
He tossed the head into the grass and wiped his hand on Eddie's shirt.
"Okay, looks like you learned," he said in a normal voice. "I'll get your guy, you'll go home and you bring us more stuff next week, hm?" He said, slapping Eddie lightly and heading inside.
The first guard began to whistle, the tune of Happy Birthday carrying through the air ominously. He didn't get through the third verse before Daryl rushed up behind him and slit his throat.
He fell to the ground, gurgling on his blood as Daryl finished him off. Everyone swarmed the area silently, some watching the perimeter, most clearing the scene of any evidence the guard had been there before they all disappeared once more. It was like a carefully choreographed scene change for some twisted play and they were the stage hands, with Eddie as the leading man.
The door opened again and the other guard came out, pushing along a barely conscious man.
"Well, well, well. Look who it is," he said.
The moment he stopped, Michonne deftly jumped out of the bushes and ran him through with her sword.
The captive gasped in surprise before Eddie caught him and covered his mouth.
"It's okay, it's okay. We're bringing you back," Eddie assured. "We're bringing you back."
After stabbing him in the head, Rick took the keys off the guard and tossed them to Daryl. Anna took point and filed in, holding her body low as she aimed her rifle in front of her, peering down her sights as she moved further into the building.
"Check the doors. Find the arsenal," Rick instructed as the others followed after her. "We take 'em out."
Michonne opened a door on the right as Aaron and Rosita split off from the group to head down the left hallway. Finding nothing in the room, Michonne moved down the hall to join Rick and Daryl by the door at the end of the first hall.
Anna followed Glenn and Heath down the right hall and stopped at a door. Heath slowly opened the door and cautiously walked in; his knife ready. Anna kept watch as Glenn followed him inside.
After a moment, she turned her head to see Glenn standing over one of the sleeping men, his hands visibly shaking as he held the knife over the man's head. Anna straightened and lowered her weapon, stepping into the room. She paused when he plunged the knife into the man's eye.
She looked to Heath, who hovered over the other man, trembling. Anna reached out and gently grabbed his hand, moving it away from the man. Heath looked to her and shook his head, stepping away as Anna pulled her knife. She reminded herself that she'd done it before, that this was what they needed to do.
"Is that who you want to be?" Morgan's voice asked in her head. She brushed the words away, only to see in her mind the smiling face of Lindsey—the girl Anna used to be.
She felt a light pressure on her hand and realized Glenn was pushing her back.
"It's okay," he whispered so softly she could barely hear him.
Then he plunged the knife into the sleeping man's eye and took a shuddering breath. He looked to Heath and Anna and they nodded to each other, a solemn understanding passing between them.
This was who they were.
Glenn looked back at what he'd done and Anna felt the guilt build up. His eyes traveled up to the wall, and Anna followed his gaze to find a series of polaroid photos stuck to the cement. She stared at the pictures; they were mostly close ups of people's heads—what was left of them.
Anna slammed the rock into the center of his face, cutting him off. Blood spurted out of his nose. She pulled back and slammed it into his face again, the back of his head cracking against the tree. He grabbed at her wrist before falling over.
Anna gasped, taking a step back right into Heath. Glenn looked back at her, opening his mouth to speak when an alarm blared throughout the building.
"We need to go!" Anna snapped, turning on her heel as she raised her gun and exited the room, clearing both sides of the hallway before leading them out.
The three ran down the hall, guns raised. They came up on an intersection and Anna slid to a halt, nearly colliding with another person. One she didn't recognize. Instinctively, Anna whipped the butt of her rifle around and slammed it into the side of the man's face, knocking him to the ground. A bullet flew past her and embedded itself into the wall. She looked up to see five others running towards them.
"Fuck!" Anna huffed, running forward to the other side of the intersection.
She allowed Glenn to pass her, turning back periodically to fire at their pursuers, ducking weapons fire as Glenn shot at a door at the end of the hall. He pushed it open and fell inside, Heath following suit before Anna dived in and slammed the door shut.
They covered their heads as they lay on the ground, bullets ripping through the door. Once the Saviors stopped, the three jumped to their feet and grabbed for the rifles stacked around them, returning fire through the closed door.
Her fingers numb, Anna eased up on the trigger, lowering her rifle as she stared at the little holes scattered over the door. Glenn and Heath stopped shooting and lowered their weapons. No one fired back. Anna stepped forward, cautiously pulling the door open.
Six bodies were splayed out on the ground just outside the door. There was blood spattered on the walls, pooling on the floor—one man's face was ripped to shreds from the rain of bullets.
As they surveyed the massacre, one man slumped against the wall slowly opened one eye and raised his arm, barely able to aim his gun. Anna tensed, but before she could raise her rifle a single shot rang out.
She looked up from the body to see Paul, his gun held at his side as he lowered a bandanna from around his face.
"So, this is the next world," he said.
Anna blinked against the light as Rick raised the rolling door to the yard. Everyone filed out, guns in front of them as they scanned the area. They moved down the row of vehicles and scattered over the yard looking for any survivors. Rick signaled the all clear.
Anna lowered her rifle and made her way over to the vehicles where Tara stood near the RV.
"Lucky they had this," Tara commented, slapping the hood of the RV as Anna approached.
"Yeah, lucky," Anna said. "You be safe out there."
"Heath'll be watching my back," Tara assured. Anna glanced over Tara's shoulder to see Heath and Glenn talking; she didn't miss the haunted look on both their faces. "And it's only a two-week run—piece of cake," she said, patting Anna's shoulder.
Tara and Heath finished saying their goodbyes to the others before loading up in the RV and heading out.
As the RV disappeared, Anna walked over to Glenn.
"Don't ask me if I'm alright," Glenn said before she could even open her mouth.
Anna shook her head. "I wasn't going to. You're not alright."
"This is how it was for you," Glenn muttered. "I thought I knew what you'd been going through—thought I understood." He shook his head. "No, you had it worse, didn't you? Marley—she was your friend. Your best friend."
"I thought she was my friend," Anna said, tilting her head up to look at the overcast sky. "She wasn't. Not really. Friends don't do the things she did." Anna shook her head and looked to Glenn, gently laying her hand on his shoulder. "You were a realer friend to me in two weeks than Marley ever was in the six years I knew her."
Glenn reached up and patted her hand.
"I don't think I ever had a real friend," Glenn said. "Not 'til you—and everyone here." Anna dropped her hand away. "You guys are my family."
Anna smiled at him before looking around at the rest of the group. After everything, Glenn was right. They were family.
"Does it ever get easier?"
Anna turned her attention back to Glenn, that look still in his eyes. She'd seen it in her own enough times.
"No," she said honestly. "What happened here is going to stay with you for a while."
Glenn nodded solemnly.
"But, you're not alone," Anna assured.
Glenn opened his mouth to speak when the roar of a motorcycle engine interrupted him. They turned to see a man in a leather jacket erupt from the garage, headed for the open gate.
Anna raised her rifle and tracked him for a second before firing into his shoulder, knocking him off the bike.
"Son of a bitch!" Daryl snapped, barreling past her and Glenn as the man scrambled to his feet, only for Daryl to tackle him to the ground. "Where'd you get the bike?" He demanded, punching the man in the face a few times.
When Rick arrived at the scene, he aimed his gun at the man's head while Glenn and Anna approached.
"Just do it!" The man growled through a mouthful of blood. "Like you did everyone else, right?"
"—Lower your gun, prick. —"
Anna looked down to see a walkie in the grass before she dropped to one knee and aimed her rifle for the tree line.
"—You, with the Colt Python. All of you, lower your weapons right now. —"
Anna didn't budge, scanning the trees for any sight of who may be watching them. Rick picked up the walkie, not bothering to lower his gun.
"Come on out," he said. "Let's talk."
"—We're not coming out, but we will talk, —" assured the woman over the radio, her voice taunting. "—We've got a Carol and Maggie. I'm thinking that's something you want to chat about. —"