Anna stood watch as Siddiq and Carl moved aside the man-hole cover. They had decided that, until they could speak with Rick, they needed to hide Siddiq. She hated that the sewers were their best option, but they would make it as comfortable as possible for the time being.
Carl climbed into the hole, leading the way down the ladder. Siddiq looked between the hole and Anna.
"It's only temporary," she assured.
He nodded and climbed in after Carl. Anna waited for Carl to return, downing one walker that had meandered over before he emerged from the hole. Together, they replaced the lid and made their way around the walls until they reached the front gate that opened upon their appearance.
Anna waved Carl off to clean up as she headed for her own house. She walked inside, immediately seeing Jessie at the kitchen island with a bowl of dry cereal in hand. She greeted him tiredly before disappearing into her and Daryl's room.
After taking a long, hot shower and changing into some clean clothes, Anna went to the kitchen to fix herself something to eat that was more substantial than a granola bar.
"How was everything?" Jessie asked as he washed his bowl and spoon in the sink.
"Exhausting," Anna said, setting a bowl of some leftover chili-mac in the microwave to heat up. "Morgan's there now. We'll head there tomorrow and ask for their surrender. Everything's going according to plan."
Jessie nodded, drying his dishes and putting them away.
"Where's Daryl?" Anna asked.
"He left with Tara yesterday," Jessie said.
"Why?" Anna asked.
"I don't know," Jessie shrugged. "Didn't see him long enough to ask."
Anna sighed heavily as the microwave beeped obnoxiously at her, letting her know her food was ready. She pulled it out, careful not to burn herself, and stirred it up, making sure it was heated evenly before shoveling it into her mouth. She hadn't realized how hungry she was.
"Pace yourself, you'll choke," Jessie warned.
She grumbled at him as she finished off her food. After washing her dishes, she put them away and started for her bedroom.
"Going to take a nap?" Jessie asked teasingly.
"No, I'm going to go find out where the hell Daryl and Tara went," she huffed.
"If it makes you feel any better, Michonne and Rosita left yesterday, too," he said just before she could turn into the hall.
"What?" She snapped, whirling around.
"No. I don't know where or why they went either," Jessie said, brushing off her clear irritation.
Anna ran her hands through her damp hair, trying to think of some reasonable explanation as to why the four would have taken off. A knock at the door pulled their attention, and Anna went to answer it.
On the other side was Rosita, arms crossed over her chest and an expression that said she didn't want to be there.
"They said you just got back," Rosita said, uncrossing her arms to put her hands on her hips. "Daryl and Tara—" she began.
"Where did they go?" Anna asked, cutting her off.
"They went to Sanctuary. I went with Michonne. She only wanted to see it but now she's with those two," Rosita answered.
"What are they doing there?" Anna pushed, though she suspected she already knew.
"They want to end it. They're tired of waiting," Rosita said, shaking her head. "They're gonna ram a truck into the building and let the walkers in."
"You've got to be kidding me," Jessie huffed.
"Are they already there?" Anna asked, dread creeping up.
"Yeah."
"Damn it," Anna hissed.
Even if she left now, she wouldn't get there in time to stop them. She pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Thank you for telling me," she said.
Rosita nodded, casting a glance at Jessie before she started down the walkway, heading home, Anna assumed. She shut the door and went back to the kitchen, grabbing the tupperware bowl of chili-mac. She threw it in the microwave for a few minutes before heading to her room to grab her satchel.
"You aren't seriously going after them, are you?" Jessie asked, following her. "You'll never make it."
"I'm not. Look, there's just something I need to do," she said. "I'll explain later."
She dug around the linen closet and found a plastic bag full of small candles. She threw them into her bag, along with a box of matches, before heading back to the kitchen, where the microwave beeped at them. She grabbed some bowls and spoons before taking out the food and heading for the door.
"Why the food?" Jessie called as she opened the door and started out.
"I'll explain later," she repeated, shutting the door and heading down the street toward a man-hole cover where Carl stood holding some bedding, a brown paper bag, and a folded army cot.
They glanced around and, spotting no one in sight, pulled the cover away. Carl climbed in, and Anna passed him the supplies, struggling a little with getting the cot through the hole but ultimately managing, before climbing in after him.
Carl led the way through the sewers, turning every which way until they found Siddiq, resting in the driest spot he could find. He gave a start at their approach, but relaxed when he realized it was them.
"Brought some food," Anna said, holding up the tupperware bowl, the plastic fogged over from the heat within. "I hope you like chili-mac."
Siddiq eyed the food hungrily and nodded. She set the chili down next to him and dug out a bowl and spoon, passing it to Siddiq.
"Help yourself. Carl and I will set this up for you," she said.
He accepted her offering and dished up some of the chili, devouring it immediately.
"Pace yourself. You'll choke," Anna teased, echoing her brother.
Siddiq nodded, barely listening, but forced himself to slow down and savor the food.
"Did you make this?" He asked as Anna and Carl set up the cot.
"My brother did," Anna said, tossing the fluffy pillow to one end of the cot.
Carl passed her one end of the blanket and they spread it out over the cot. She smoothed out the wrinkles for good measure.
"Carl, have you eaten yet?" She asked.
"Uh, no?" Carl said questioningly.
Anna rolled her eyes and dug out the second bowl and spoon she had packed and dished up a helping of the chili-mac. She passed it to him.
"Eat up, kiddo," she instructed, getting to her feet. "Siddiq, I'll bring some more food for dinner before I leave."
Siddiq nodded, finishing his bowl.
Anna pulled out the plastic bag of candles and the box of matches, dropping them onto the cot.
"I'll see you later," Anna said, heading off back the way they'd come until she found the man-hole.
She pushed it aside and climbed out, replacing it before heading back to the house. Jessie was gone when she returned, and she went to the office where most of her planning notes were.
Anna sat down, tapping her fingers against the arms of her chair. Her mind whirled with the possibilities of Daryl, Tara, and Michonne's plan. How would it affect her plan? They couldn't exactly ask a bunch of corpses to surrender, dead or otherwise.
There were two reasons she wanted a surrender. One was to ensure Negan's death. She didn't want to leave it up to chance like she had with Isaac. The second was to give the Saviors a chance to be better. It was a chance she had gotten many times, and a chance she had taken away.
Now, Daryl, Tara, and Michonne were going to take that away. Daryl was. And at what cost? Her frustration began to fester into anger and her hands curled into fists. She felt betrayed and she wasn't sure how to deal with it.
"Damn it."
Daryl drove the garbage truck closer to the Sanctuary, Michonne and Tara beside him.
-"Hey, cut that engine. Any closer, you'll draw walkers from the yard," - Morgan called over the walkie.
Daryl pulled the truck to a stop and turned it off, pulling the scope from his jacket pocket and peering through it. He could just see the walkers surrounding the building before he passed the scope to Tara.
-"You take fire from the windows, we fire back," - Morgan assured.
"Come on," Tara said, handing the scope back. "There's a spot for cover by the chutes," she said, climbing out of the truck.
Michonne didn't move, staring at the walkers. Daryl looked at her.
"You up for this?" He asked.
She exhaled slowly.
"I came here 'cause I wanted to see things for myself," she started. "I wanted to know that things were gonna work. But you know what? I don't get to know that," she said, shaking her head before looking at him. "None of us do. What I do know is that things are working now. So maybe… we just need to trust that things are gonna keep working, because this… what we're about to do… it's not worth risking us."
Daryl thought of Anna. He knew what he was doing would hurt her, and he wanted to turn back. But then he thought of the dog food, and the vomit, and the handcuffs in the closet, and that damn song played in his head again as he saw Glenn and Abraham twitching on the ground.
"It is for me," he finally said. "Just is."
Michonne bowed her head.
"I hope it works. I-I really, really do, but I-I can't do it," she said. "I just can't."
"Then you shouldn't," Daryl said.
Michonne pressed her lips together and gathered her sword, climbing out of the truck and shutting the door. Daryl looked back at the walkers for a moment, then Tara came around to the driver's side door.
"We got Morgan and the snipers. We can do this," she assured.
"Yeah," Daryl agreed. "We will."
Simon paced back and forth as Isaac lounged in the arm chair. He'd come to see Simon, and had been sitting quietly for a few minutes, watching the man walk one way, turn, then walk the other way, rubbing his bald, round head.
"I just don't understand why Negan would trust Eugene to get us out of here," Isaac muttered, drumming his fingers against the arms of the chair. "He's probably the rat."
"Nah," Simon said, resting his hands on his hips. "He's too terrified of dying to risk being the rat."
"I want to believe that," Isaac sighed. "But Laura told me about what happened at Alexandria. They covered for him and he still turned himself over. He was protecting them. He's still protecting them."
"He's too much of a coward," Simon insisted, though he seemed unsure as he looked out the window.
"Even cowards can be dangerous," Isaac said easily. "They're the ones you least suspect."
Simon's brows furrowed, and his face set into a deep frown.
"What the hell is that?" Simon asked, squinting.
"What?" Isaac asked, getting to his feet to see a red and white garbage truck pulling around the corner at full speed.
As it neared the fence, the drivers' side door opened and a man flew out, rolling out of the way as the truck barreled through the chain-link, smashing into walkers. The walls and floor shook as the truck rammed into the side of the building and Isaac had to catch himself on the table.
So much for Anna's plan, Isaac thought bitterly as he and Simon pulled their guns and ran for the lower levels.
Anna sighed heavily as she settled in the bean bag chair, adjusting the cord between her legs with one hand and holding the controller with the other.
"F-Zero X again?" Anna asked.
"No, I thought we'd play something else," Carl said as he pulled a game from the shelf.
Judith made a babbling noise from where she played with her toys in the corner. Her little hand was still stained blue from the paint she and Carl had used to put their handprints on the porch. Anna smiled at the little girl when she looked up at her.
"What are we playing, then?" Anna asked.
"WWF WrestleMania 2000," Carl said, popping the game in and showing her the case.
"WrestleMania?" Anna asked, cocking a brow at him.
"Yup," Carl grinned as he sat down beside her, and the game loaded up.
They selected their characters and entered the arena. Anna figured out the controls a lot faster in this game than in the racing game.
"Are you mad at Daryl and Tara?" Carl asked, not taking his eyes from the screen.
Anna pursed her lips. When Michonne had returned and admitted to what was going on—upset would have been an understatement of what Anna was feeling.
"I don't think mad covers it," Anna admitted. "I get why they're doing it, but they're wrong. It's risking too much."
"But you'll forgive them, right?" Carl asked.
Anna was quiet. Deep down she knew she would, but she was still too angry to say as much. She took a deep breath and glared at the screen as she beat Carl's character and ended the round.
"Anna?" Carl asked, pausing the game to look at her. "You'll forgive them, right?"
"Eventually," Anna finally said.
Carl frowned at her and resumed the game as it started a new round.
"Eventually…. There's not a whole lot of time for 'eventually'," he said.
"That was mighty philosophical of you," she said, furrowing her brow. "Where is this coming from?"
"I've just been thinking," Carl shrugged.
"Well, I think we've both done enough thinking for now, and there's nothing more we can do. So, let's just play," Anna said, gesturing to the TV.
They played for a few more minutes before Carl interrupted their focus again.
"You think the Saviors can change?" He asked.
"I think anyone can change, if they're willing to," Anna said. "I changed. It took a hell of a lot to do it, but here I am."
"Do you think Negan could change?"
Anna paused the game and turned her body to look at Carl. He seemed paler than usual.
"Are you feeling okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm just tired," Carl assured. "It's just like what you said. Anyone can change."
"What makes you think he wants to change?" She countered.
"I don't know if he wants to. But shouldn't he get that choice too?" He asked, a sincerity to his voice that Anna hadn't expected.
"He—" she began when a car door slammed shut outside.
She pulled herself from the bean bag chair and peered out the window, seeing that Tara and Daryl had just arrived.
"Well, they're still alive," Anna muttered, setting down her controller and heading out of the room.
Anna made her way out of the house and made a beeline for the two as Michonne, Rosita, and Tobin surrounded them.
"Hey, we did it—it's done," Tara said, grinning at Anna, waiting for a high-five.
Her smile fell away from her face as she registered the infuriated glare Anna shot her way. Anna could feel her skin heating with anger.
"What the actual fuck were you two thinking?" She snapped. "Are you trying to get yourselves killed?" Anna asked, looking between Tara and Daryl.
"No, and we didn't. We're fine. Our plan worked," Tara said.
"And you know this for certain?" Anna asked, focusing on Tara. "You saw Negan, you made sure he's dead?"
"N-no, but—there's no way he would have survived that," Tara insisted.
"Are you a fucking moron?" Anna asked.
"Your plan had us waiting on the Saviors to surrender," Tara scoffed. "Your plan wasn't doing shit."
Anna straightened, taking a step back as ice shot through her veins. She felt that familiar, frigid rage draping over her like armor. She knew that if she continued this confrontation, she'd say or do something she couldn't take back or apologize for.
"I'm going to walk away before this gets out of hand," Anna said, turning on her heel and walking away.
She made it halfway down the street when she felt Daryl's hand gently take her arm and pull her to a stop. She turned to him, clamping her mouth shut.
"Look, I get you're mad, but it worked," Daryl said.
"You don't know that," Anna huffed. "Why couldn't you have just waited?"
"How could I?" Daryl asked. "After Denise, Abraham, Glenn, and Sasha—after everythin'—"
"This isn't about what happened," Anna interrupted. "It's not about who Negan or Dwight killed and hurt. This is about carving out a better future from a pile of shit. We can't let our own egos get in the way of that."
Daryl shook his head, looking away from her as he pressed his lips together.
"Killing Dwight and Negan isn't going to bring any of them back and it's not going to undo what Dwight did to you," Anna went on.
"Would you wait if it had been you?" Daryl hissed.
Anna was taken back for a moment, furrowing her brow at him.
"It was me," she said. "What Isaac—" her voice cracked and she bowed her head.
"Anna—"
"No," she bit out, looking up at him, feeling the tears stinging at her bottom lids. "You don't think I want him dead? That I don't want Negan dead? Glenn was my best friend. Abraham and Sasha and Denise—they were family. But I can wait."
With that, she turned and walked away. He didn't call out to her or try to stop her. She didn't want him to.
In an attempt to distract herself, Anna spent time working on the files of the fallen Alexandrians. She thought about what Carl said, that there wasn't enough time for 'eventually' forgiving them. They thought they were doing the right thing. But Anna just couldn't get past the betrayal and the feeling of foreboding that was twisting her insides.
After sufficiently tiring herself, Anna took a quick shower and prepared some dinner, making extra to take to Siddiq, before packing her satchel. Taking another tupperware bowl of food, Anna left the rest of the dinner in the microwave for Jessie and Daryl. She left before they returned and found Carl waiting for her at the man-hole cover.
"I brought some drinks this time," Carl said, holding up a brown paper bag.
"Good idea," Anna nodded.
They moved the cover aside and climbed down, closing themselves in. The two walked beside each other this time, finding Siddiq curled up on the cot. He sat up at their approach, a grin spreading across his face.
"Whatever you brought, it smells amazing," he said.
"Some Wacky Mac," Anna laughed, the name having always made her giggle.
"Wacky Mac? I haven't had that since I was a kid," Siddiq laughed and began to dish up the pasta.
Carl passed out some water and the three ate and talked, laughing at each other's jokes. Carl told Siddiq of how they had come from Georgia and about some of the things they had been through there as well as on the way here. Anna noticed how he didn't touch his food much. Siddiq told them a bit of his own journey, but didn't seem quite ready to talk about all of it, particularly his mother.
They nodded understandingly, and Anna looked at her watch in the dim candle light.
"Well, as much as I'd love to stick around—it's about time to go," Anna sighed, getting to her feet. "Mind if I use that?" Anna asked, pointing at the brown paper bag Carl had carried the waters in.
"Yeah," Carl said, passing her the bag.
Anna gathered up the dirty dishes and carefully stacked them within the bag.
"I should get back, too," Carl said reluctantly.
Siddiq nodded, and they bid each other farewell before Anna and Carl went back. They climbed out of the sewer and moved the cover back over the man-hole.
"Carl, Anna," Michonne called as she rounded the corner of a house.
"Shit," Anna muttered.
"I've been lookin' for you two," Michonne said. "We're about ready to head out. What are you doing?"
"We're helping someone," Carl admitted. "A traveler."
Anna pressed her lips together and put her hands on her hips, looking at her feet before peering back up at the woman. Michonne looked to the man-hole then back at them.
"In the sewer?" Michonne asked.
Anna opened her mouth to explain when a loud, metallic clanging interrupted her. They looked to the front gate, confused; a high-pitched whine came just before a voice she most certainly did not want to hear came over the loudspeaker.
"You may be wondering why the hell your lookouts didn't sound the alarm," Negan said. "See, we are polite. I mean, I don't know when they're gonna wake up from that kinda shot, but they should wake up. So, let's just cut through the cow shit—you lose. It's over. So, you're gonna line up in front of your little houses, and you're gonna work up some apologies, and then the person with the lamest one is gonna get killed. Then I kill Rick in front of everybody, and we move on. You have three—count 'em—three minutes to open this gate, or we start bombing the shit out of you!"