Anna tapped her marker against the desk, staring at the open computer in front of her, a loading bar inching its way across the screen. Once it hit 100%, the disk tray popped open and she transferred the CD to its clear plastic case. Carefully, she wrote out Denise across the cover.
With a sigh, Anna leaned back in her chair, tossing the marker onto the desk. After getting Eugene medical attention for his graze, Anna and Daryl immediately turned around and went back for Denise's body. They carried her back to Alexandria and buried her in the ever-growing graveyard.
Her attention was pulled to the orange soda resting on the corner of her desk. She'd taken it from Denise's bag. Denise had wanted to give it to Tara, to tell Tara she loved her. Now she would never get that chance. Anna could do it for her.
Death. It was an overbearing shadow over all of them. There was no escaping it. You could only hold on for so long before something—someone—took you out. It was just a fact of life, even before the world ended. You lived for as long as you could, and then you died.
Anna suddenly wondered how she was going to die. It was inevitable that one day she would; it was just a matter of when and how. Then there was the question of what happened after. Would someone write in her file? Would someone make a CD for Jessie and Daryl? But what was there to put on it? Why would anyone bother?
Without much thought, Anna stood from her chair and grabbed a blank CD along with the camcorder Deanna had used for their entrance interviews. She quickly set up the camera and returned to her seat.
Daryl walked past the open door of the office then, not stopping to say anything. Anna rushed to the door to call out to him, but by the time she was in the hall, Daryl was already shutting the front door as he left.
She pursed her lips and returned to the office, shutting and locking the door before sitting back down. What was she going to say to him? Or, for that matter, to the camera?
Anna leaned forward and turned the thing on, the red light shining back at her as she sat back in her chair. She pursed her lips, trying to think of what to say.
"Hi," she started. "My name is Anna Wycoff."
Stepping out of the office, Anna headed for the bedroom to grab her stick, deciding it was time for some practice. Her rifle leaned against the dresser and her stick leaned against the arm chair in the corner on the other side of the room, but as she crossed the room, her eyes landed on a piece of folded paper on the bed. She paused and picked it up, flipping it open.
In Daryl's loose scrawl were the words Be back for dinner.
"Shit," Anna hissed, rushing from the room, grabbing her rifle as she passed.
She ran outside, seeing that Daryl's motorcycle was gone. How had she not heard it? She continued on through Alexandria, running for the front gates where she saw Rick, Tobin, Morgan, Sasha, and Abraham gathered.
"And where the hell are you goin'?" Rick asked as Abraham stepped in her path.
"Daryl, he—"
"I know. Glenn, Michonne, and Rosita went after him," Rick sighed as Tobin approached the gate.
"Where's the other car?" Tobin asked before turning back to the others. "We added two more cars yesterday. One of them's missing, the one we put right between those houses."
"You can barely see between the houses from up top," Abraham explained. "Especially at night."
"What are you talking about?" Anna demanded.
"Carol's gone," Sasha said.
"The note, can I see it?" Morgan asked.
Rick sighed and handed it over.
"You never saw any headlights, taillights?" Rick asked. "She's smart enough to cover her tracks."
Morgan turned to look past Anna, then looked back to the note.
"She must've left during the shift change," Sasha suggested.
"Morgan?" Anna asked, only for him to start towards the cars.
"Where are you going?" Rick called after him.
"I'm gonna go find her," Morgan answered.
"Wait," Rick snapped. "Tell Carl I'll be back soon. No one else leaves," he said, looking pointedly at Anna. He jogged over to the car as Morgan climbed into the driver's seat. "Everyone else stays ready for a fight," he said, getting in the passenger seat before the two drove out the front gates.
"Son of a bitch," Anna hissed.
"Glenn and the others, they're gonna bring him back," Sasha assured. "We need you here."
Anna glared after Rick and Morgan as Abraham shut the gate, clutching Daryl's note in her hand.
I should be out there.
Extra bullets, rations, a change of clothes. Anna listed everything off in her head as she positioned said items in her pack.
"Where are you going?"
Anna froze and turned to see her brother standing in the doorway. She sighed and turned back to her pack, stuffing a small bag of toiletries and a rope inside before zipping it up.
"Those Saviors could be on their way right now," Jessie said.
She slung her pack over her shoulder.
"Daryl can take care of himself, Anna—and he's not alone. Michonne, Glenn, Rosita—they're out there with him," he insisted, walking into the room. "You don't need to be out there. You need to be here."
"You're right," Anna finally said, starting towards the bathroom.
"What?" Jessie scoffed. "You're agreeing with me?"
"I know, big shocker," Anna said, pulling open the closet door. "The Saviors could be on their way, and we're down seven trained people. We need to keep as many people here as we can," she explained, pushing the pack onto the top shelf and tucking it behind a couple of shoe boxes.
"So, you're not going after Daryl?"
"No."
"Then why were you packing a bag?" Jessie asked.
"In case things go wrong," Anna shrugged. "I want to be ready."
Anna walked up the few steps to Maggie and Glenn's front door and knocked. She could see through the window that Maggie was sitting in front of Enid, but couldn't quite tell what they were doing.
"Come in," called Maggie, and Anna pushed the door open.
She approached the two and greeted them as she sat at the table.
"So, what's going on here?" Anna asked.
"Cutting Maggie's hair," Enid said, snipping away.
"Oh? Will you cut mine next?" Anna asked, smiling lightly as she tugged at her long strands.
"Sure," Enid nodded.
They sat quietly as Enid continued cutting.
"Okay," Enid finally said, combing her fingers through Maggie's much shorter hair.
Maggie picked up the small mirror and looked at her reflection, a small smile spreading across her face.
"I like it," Anna said.
"But, why?" Enid asked.
Maggie hummed, smoothing out her hair. "I have to keep goin'," she said. "And I don't want anythin' gettin' in my way."
Maggie suddenly stiffened and started taking deep breaths.
"Man, did I go too short?" Enid asked. "I-I only used to cut my dad's—"
"No, it's not that," Maggie assured breathlessly.
"Maggie?" Anna asked, reaching out.
"Ah!" Maggie cried, leaning forward in her chair.
"Maggie," Enid asked as Maggie rose unsteadily from her chair. She abruptly slid to the floor, her back against the table. "Maggie!"
Anna jumped out of her seat and knelt beside Maggie.
"Maggie, where does it hurt?" Anna asked, trying to keep her voice calm.
"H-here," Maggie sobbed, pressing her hand over her stomach.
"What do we do?" Enid asked, panicking.
Anna took a deep breath and looked to Enid to see her staring horrified at Maggie.
"Enid—Enid, look at me," the teen turned her wide eyes at Anna. "Go get Abraham. We need to take Maggie to Hilltop."
Enid nodded and rushed from the house, and Anna turned back to Maggie.
"It's okay," Anna assured, rubbing circles into Maggie's back. "You're going to be okay."