After fixing her laces, Anna stood, picking up her stick. Daryl stood beside her with his new crossbow slung over his shoulder. She glanced over at Morgan, who stood by the front gates to see them off.
They approached the gates, the guards pulling them open, when Anna stopped in front of Morgan. He handed her a backpack.
"I put some food and water in there for you two," he said.
"Thank you," Anna said, accepting the pack and pulling it onto her back. "You're doing good with Benjamin. I'm glad you found him."
Morgan nodded and gave her a tight-lipped smile.
"I wish you two were stayin'," he said. "It isn't safe out there."
Daryl scoffed beside her.
"It won't ever be safe until we do something about it," Anna reasoned. "See you around, Morgan."
"See ya," he sighed.
Without further discussion, Anna and Daryl headed out of the Kingdom, directing themselves to Hilltop. She could hear the gates closing behind them, but she didn't look back.
They had left the Kingdom early in the morning. They were in the middle of the woods now, having chosen to keep away from the main roads. Anna had suggested a visit with Carol before they went too far, but Daryl had insisted on leaving her alone. She understood why Daryl didn't want to go see Carol—he didn't want to have to lie to her anymore. She still felt a little dejected.
"We'll reach Hilltop tonight," Anna commented, squinting at the sun; climbing higher in the sky.
Daryl's only response was a nod as they continued walking. It was quiet between them for a long time, and Anna found her mind wandering. The birds chirped in the trees and squirrels jumped between the branches as they moved quietly. It was nice being out in the woods with him—she couldn't remember the last time they had gone hunting together.
Anna's stomach gave a low growl at the thought of fresh venison, and she glanced up at the sun again. It had to be about lunch time.
"We should find somewhere to rest soon," she said. "Maybe eat something—we skipped breakfast."
"Alright. Soon as we find some place," he agreed.
They walked for a while longer when movement caught Anna's attention—a squirrel darting up a tree. But her eyes focused on something beyond that. It looked like stacked stone, and she quickly realized that it was a chimney.
"Hey," Anna called, stopping. "Looks like there's a house over there. Let's go check it out."
"Why?" Daryl asked. "Probably already been cleaned out."
"Well, maybe it's a good place to take a breather," she huffed.
Daryl rolled his eyes before gesturing for her to lead the way. She grinned at him and started through the trees. Eventually, she came upon a clearing, and she paused at the sight of a small, light-green cottage and an old, blue pick-up truck.
Aside from the fact that the house was covered in dirt and leaves and the flower bed was overgrown with weeds, it looked to be in good enough condition.
Daryl brushed past her and walked toward the house before stopping and looking back at her.
"You comin'?" He asked.
"Yeah," Anna said, quickly following after him.
They walked up the porch steps and positioned themselves on either side of the front door. Anna dug two flashlights out of her pack and passed one to Daryl. She waited for him to nod before she turned the knob and pushed the door open. He swung around, aiming his crossbow as he walked inside.
They made their way through the house, the layer of dust indicating that no one had been there in a long time. They cleared the living room, kitchen, and bedroom before they found a small door tucked away in the corner of the kitchen. There were two sets of stairs, one leading down and another leading up.
"I'll go down?" Anna offered
"That's always fun," Daryl snorted.
"Shut up," Anna laughed quietly.
Daryl smirked at her before he made his way up the stairs and Anna started down. She held her stick at the ready and her flashlight out in front of her as she turned around a corner.
The basement was all stone walls and cement floor with a stone pillar in the middle of the room. In one corner was a washer and dryer and in another were shelves covered in cobwebs, jars, and cans. No walkers in sight.
Anna looked over the shelves, seeing what looked like preserved fruits in the jars and various cans of peas and corn. She checked some of the sell-by dates and saw that most of them needed to be tossed. She made her way around the basement, taking stock of the coal and wood piled in another corner. Satisfied with her sweep, she headed back to the kitchen, where she found Daryl rummaging through empty cabinets.
"Find anythin'?" He asked as he shut another cabinet.
"Some preserved fruits and expired peas," she said, hopping onto the kitchen table, her feet dangling. "What did you find?"
"Whole lotta nothin'," Daryl grumbled before gesturing to the white stove. "It's propane. Might still have some juice left. Place like this—out here—probably runs on well water."
"I'll get to cookin' then," Anna said, jumping off the table and pulling her pack off.
She took out a can of chili and a box of matches before she hunted down a pot, deciding to test Daryl's theory by turning on the kitchen sink. After sputtering a moment, water spilled out of the faucet at a steady pace.
Anna quickly rinsed the dust off the pot and turned the faucet off before moving to the stove. She turned the knob for the front-right burner, held a lit match to it, and watched as flame burst up until it settled down enough for her to set the pot down and empty the can of chili.
Daryl washed a large spoon and passed it to her before he started cleaning a couple of bowls for them. She couldn't help but smile as she stirred the chili to make sure it heated evenly.
Once the chili started to bubble, Anna turned the burner off and dished out their lunch. She moved their bowls to the table and the two sat down across from each other. Neither said much; for her part, Anna was too hungry and the food tasted too good to waste time talking.
She glanced around the kitchen and considered how it looked quite a lot like her grandparents'. She'd always loved her grandparents' house. She remembered how she and Jessie used to jump from the porch just to see who could launch themselves the furthest.
Anna let out a soft laugh and shook her head as she took the last bite of her chili.
"What's so funny?" Daryl asked.
"Nothing," she said. "It's just…, this is a lot like my grandparents' house."
Daryl nodded, scooping the last of his food into his mouth. He dropped the spoon in the bowl with a loud clatter and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he got to his feet. He grabbed his crossbow, slinging it over his shoulder. Anna set her own spoon down but didn't stand. She drummed her fingers across the table.
"You comin'?" Daryl asked.
"Yeah, I just—" she stopped herself. "Maybe we could stay for a little bit longer?"
"Why?" He asked, furrowing his brow at her.
"We haven't looked through the whole house—there could be something good here," she reasoned, pushing herself to her feet.
She wondered what Daryl was thinking as he stared at her.
"Fine, whatever," he relented.
Anna smiled and hurried out of the kitchen. She started searching in the living room, checking under the cushions of the couch, rifling through drawers and skimming the two, overflowing, floor-to-ceiling bookcases. For good measure, she ran her hand along the inner wall of the fireplace. All the while, Daryl watched her as he leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.
She paused and looked around the room for any more places to search. She couldn't help but imagine herself curled up at one end of the couch, reading a book while the fire crackled, with Daryl by her side. She shook the thought from her mind.
Finding nothing, she moved to the small bathroom, rummaging through the medicine cabinet. Still, she came up empty handed, and she headed for the bedroom at the back of the house. She trailed her fingers over the wallpaper as she walked down the hall, only stopping once she reached the open bedroom door.
Her search lost energy as she pulled open the drawers—the dresser was filled with an assortment of clothes, and the nightstands were filled with notepads, pens, and junk mail. She opened the chest at the foot of the bed, finding extra blankets and a leather-bound book.
She pulled it out and went to sit on the edge of the bed, opening it to the first page. She read the first line once before searching the rest of the book for more, only to find that it was blank, except for that one thing.
Often, we mistake grief for anger, and respond accordingly.
"Anna!" Daryl called, and she could see him walking down the hall. "Come on, you ain't findin' nothin' here."
He stopped in the doorway and eyed her.
"Let's go," he urged. "We're wastin' daylight."
Anna closed the book and ran her hand over the soft cover. It was like this book—this house—was waiting for them.
"I want it to be you and me," she said softly. "Just you and me in a little house in the woods where we can hunt and live and just be."
"We can stay," she whispered.
"What?" Daryl asked, stepping into the room.
"We don't have to leave," Anna said past the lump forming in her throat as she looked up at Daryl. "We could stay. They wouldn't find us here. We'd be safe."
He pressed his lips together, and she could see he was trying to find the right words.
"Look, I get it," he finally started. "Bein' out here, this house, bein' with you—it feels right. This is the life you want. I want it, too. But we can't have it yet. And you wouldn't want to leave the others to fight on their own, anyhow."
Anna sucked in a breath and nodded.
"You're right," she said, bowing her head.
She hated it all the same.
"Hey," Daryl said, and she looked up at him. "When this is all over, we'll come back here."
"Promise?" Anna asked, standing.
"Yeah, I promise," he assured, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her out of the room.
It was late by the time they saw the walls of Hilltop; the sun had already set. They lingered in the tree line for a moment, scanning the area for any signs of Saviors. When they saw nothing, they started up the hill.
"Who's there?" Called one of the guards.
"It's Anna from Alexandria. Open the gates," she called back, not mentioning Daryl, though he was clearly beside her.
The guard disappeared, and the gates creaked open just enough for them to walk through before shutting them inside the relative safety of the Hilltop. The two made their way up the path toward Barrington House.
"Anna? Daryl?"
They paused and looked to their right to see Emma hurrying toward them.
"What are you guys doing here? Jesus said you were staying at the Kingdom," Emma said.
"We ain't wastin' our time there," Daryl huffed.
"Maggie, Sasha, and Enid—are they okay?" Anna asked.
"Yeah," Emma assured, gesturing for them to follow her. "Jesus put them up in his trailer—they didn't want to stay in the house."
She led them to a trailer, light filtering out of the windows.
"We were just talking about organizing training sessions," Emma explained as she pulled the door open and stepped inside.
"Guys, look who decided to join us," she announced as Anna and Daryl filed in.
"What the hell are you two doing here?" Sasha asked, smiling as she walked up and pulled them each into a hug.
"You're supposed to be at the Kingdom—where it's safe," Maggie stressed.
"We weren't going to convince Ezekiel of anything. At least here, we can do something," Anna said as Daryl moved to lean against the wall.
She noted the stiffness of his posture, and the way he kept his eyes on the ground. Standing straight, Anna began recounting what happened at the Kingdom, careful to leave out any information regarding Carol.
"We left this morning," she finished.
"You walked the whole way? You guys must be exhausted," Emma said, shaking her head.
"And hungry," Maggie added. "Why don't you two sit down and eat."
"While you do that, I'll get a room set up for you guys in the house," Emma declared, heading for the door.
Anna nodded as Enid fixed two plates.
"So, you're gonna help me train the Hilltop?" Sasha asked, looking to Anna.
"Yeah," Anna said, accepting the plate Enid offered her. "We'll talk about it in the morning."
"Fair enough," Sasha relented.
"Here, sit down," Maggie said, pulling out a chair.
Anna happily sat down and devoured her food as the others conversed about one thing or another. She didn't pay much attention as she ate and kept Daryl in her peripheral, still standing against the wall as he ate.
It didn't take them long to finish, and Emma returned. There was another round of hugs and a bid of goodnight before Anna and Daryl followed Emma to the house.
"I know staying in the same house as Gregory isn't ideal, but we don't have any more trailers available," Emma explained as they walked into the dark house and up the stairs.
They made their way down a hall, where Emma stopped at an open door.
"And here you are," she said. "I put some extra clothes in there, some towels, and some fresh water. I'm right across the hall if you need anything."
"Thank you," Anna said.
"Of course. Goodnight," Emma smiled before turning and disappearing into her room.
Anna and Daryl shut themselves inside their new accommodations and pulled off their boots, too tired to do anything more as they collapsed onto the bed, not even bothering to pull back the covers.
As she slowly drifted off, she felt Daryl's hand slip into hers.