"Put the guns down—both of them," Isaac ordered.

With shaking hands, her breath hitching in her throat, Anna set the rifle and her 9mm on the ground before holding her left arm to staunch the bleeding. She felt through the hole the bullet had made in her jacket with her fingers and determined that it was just a graze.

"Slide them over there," he said, gesturing to the far side of the room.

She did, kicking the weapons away from her. The gunfire outside had mostly faded. Isaac glanced out the window and smirked, and before she could react, he had a fistful of her jacket and was yanking her to her feet.

Anna winced at the pain that shot up her arm, her skin tingling at his touch. She tried to pull away from him as she looked out the window, seeing Rick and Carl on their knees in front of Negan with everyone else either dead or being held at gunpoint. She could see two Scavengers with their rifles aimed at Daryl.

"You've lost," Isaac whispered in her ear just before throwing her back to the ground.

Anna caught herself, falling on her hands and knees. She cried out in pain as her left palm slammed against the hardwood floor and her fingers brushed against her stick where she had dropped it. Her head pounded and her ears rang.

"You've been a naughty girl, Annie. Going to Hilltop, starting a fuss," he teased.

She tensed, turning over to face him. Panic rose higher and higher in her chest and she thought she might drown in it.

"You saw me?"

If Isaac knew about Hilltop—

"Of course, I saw you," he laughed. "And as long as you do as you're told, Negan will never know you've got Hilltop. All you have to do is surrender. Join the Saviors—join the cause," he said mockingly.

She blinked at the black spots forming in her vision—she was losing too much blood—and, suddenly, Isaac was kneeling in front of her with his .45 pressed against her temple.

"What choice do you think you have exactly?" He asked. "You're outnumbered, out gunned, and out of options."

Anna swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to look him in the eyes. Her whole body trembled beneath him as she tried to push herself away, but it was like her muscles had turned to jelly.

"What makes you think I won't tell Negan you knew about Hilltop?" She challenged, though her voice wavered.

"Who do you think he's going to believe?" Isaac asked, chuckling. "Face it, sweetheart, you've got no cards to play. Negan's won. He'll kill the kid, then take you and Daryl. You'll resist—that's what makes it fun—but he'll break you and then you'll kneel."

Anna wasn't sure what had come over her when she spoke next—whether it was a flare up of bravery or stupidity or the loss of blood—but the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Is that what happened to you?" She asked. "Did he break you, Isaac?"

The second she said it, he slammed his fist against the side of her head. She fell into the small table that held the extra ammo, bullets clattering onto the ground.

"What did I say about how you talk to me, Annie?" He asked as he hovered over her.

Anna rubbed at the throbbing in her head as she righted herself, but she didn't answer. Isaac reached out and grabbed her by the hair, and she cried out in pain as he pulled her forward so that she was on her hands and knees again.

"Answer me!" He shouted.

She said nothing, and felt his boot connect hard with her ribs. Grunting, Anna wrapped her arms protectively around her torso, curling in on herself, but he grabbed her hair again and yanked her head back until she was staring up at him.

"You've been a bad girl, Annie," he snarled. "It's time you were punished."

He threw her to the ground, this time on her back. She scrambled to get to her feet, only for him to kick her back down, her hand bumping the stick again.

"I didn't say you could get up," he huffed. "It's like you've forgotten everything I've taught you. But when we get back to the Sanctuary, I'm gonna make you remember. And then I'm gonna teach Daryl."

Anna's blood went cold and her body went rigid as her hand gripped her stick.

"You're not going to touch him," she hissed.

She'd die before she let Isaac hurt Daryl.

"And who's going to stop me, Annie? You?" He laughed.

Shouting and gunfire erupted from outside. Anna looked toward the window. In her peripheral, she could see Isaac was looking as well, and he did not look happy with what he saw.

"Damn it," he muttered. "Alright, Annie. Time for plan B. Get up."

Isaac pulled the hammer back on his gun and aimed it at the back of her head. Anna got her feet under her. Moving as quickly as she could, she whirled around, whipping the stick horizontally. It connected with Isaac's hand, knocking his gun off its aim as he squeezed the trigger, firing into the wall.

Before he could respond, she stood, swinging the stick back around as hard as she could, slamming it against the side of his face, catching his ear.

Isaac jumped back, his hand going to his ear for a moment before they both looked to the blood on his fingers. She stared between the blood and him, Emma's voice ringing in her ear.

"You're human. And so is he."

"You—" he started, only for Anna to cut him off with another swing of her stick cracking against the other side of his head.

He staggered back, aiming his gun blindly and firing. Anna fell to the side, the bullet just barely missing her. When she managed to get to her feet, Isaac was running for the door. She chased after him, and he fired on her again, forcing her to take cover behind the corner as he made it down the stairs and out of the tower.

Once he was out of sight, Anna rushed down the stairs and outside. She turned every which way, searching for him, but she knew he was gone.

Anna stood off to the side, her arm being tended to by a doctor from the Kingdom as Rick, Ezekiel, and Maggie stood on the hastily made stage. She was barely listening to the rallying speech they were giving their militia. Seeing their numbers more than doubled by Hilltop and the Kingdom, seeing Carol and Morgan among them—it was a relief.

"Should heal up fine," the woman said before walking off just as Daryl and Jessie approached.

"You alright?" Daryl asked.

"I'm fine," Anna said, shrugging on her jacket. "It was just a graze."

"Good thing that bastard is a terrible shot," Jessie said.

"Isaac wasn't trying to kill me," Anna corrected.

"I don't give a shit what he was tryna do, I see him—I'm gonna kill him," Daryl affirmed.

Jessie nodded his agreement.

"No, you're not."

"Excuse me?" Jessie snapped.

"You're not going to kill him—either of you," Anna said. "You see Isaac, if you get the chance, you bring him to me. I'm going to be the one to kill that sorry sack of shit."

Jessie and Daryl exchanged a look. Had she not already explained to them what had happened in the tower, she would have thought they were doubting her. But they both turned to her and gave a single nod.

In her peripheral, Anna saw Rick leading Ezekiel, Carol, Morgan, and Maggie toward them, and she straightened.

"I'm glad you decided to join us," Anna said to Ezekiel as the four stopped in front of her.

"It was not a decision made lightly," Ezekiel said.

"What changed your mind?" She asked.

Morgan shifted on his feet, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"The Saviors killed Benjamin," Ezekiel answered.

Anna's eyes widened at the news, looking between Ezekiel and Morgan.

"I'm sorry," she said.

It was quiet for a moment as the words hung heavy between them, until Rick broke the silence.

"Anna," he started, seeming to hesitate in what he was trying to say, as if unsure whether or not he should even ask.

"What's going on?" Anna asked.

"Look, the time you spent at Fort Benning," he started, scratching at the bridge of his nose. "You've got the most training in this—"

"Training that we need to be more than just a militia," Maggie added.

"What we need is an army. And from what Rick Grimes and Maggie Rhee have said, you can provide that," Ezekiel concluded.

"What we're askin' is a lot, I know," Rick said. "But we need someone organizing this thing. I think you're the best fit—we all do."

"I'm not some general—don't mistake me for one."

Anna gaped at the them, glancing at Daryl and Jessie. Jessie shrugged, and she turned back to Rick. She couldn't help but think they should be asking Glenn or Abraham, but all Alexandria and Hilltop and the Kingdom had left was her. She wasn't their best option; she was their last option.

"I'm not Glenn," Anna muttered. "He came up with the plans. I just did what he said."

"You're right. You ain't Glenn," Daryl agreed. "You're Anna and you're smart."

"I'll do it," Anna said, nodding.

Rick gently patted her right arm just as Aaron and Jesus carefully carried Sasha's body past. They gathered around as the men laid her down beside the others who had not survived the battle. Graves were already being made for the fallen, and people were saying goodbye. Gabriel made his way down the row of bodies, reciting a prayer for their souls.

"Do you think Sasha did that herself?" Rick asked.

"I don't know how, but I know she did," Maggie said. "She gave us a chance."

Anna was grateful for that, and grateful that it was Maggie and Jesus who had found her in the woods. It was better for Sasha's family to have taken care of her—someone who loved her.

"You did," Rick said, looking to Maggie. "You made the right decision to come."

"The decision was made a long time ago," Maggie insisted. "Before any of us knew each other, when we were all strangers who would have just passed each other on the street before the world ended."

Anna glanced at Daryl standing beside her. It was the end of the world that brought them together.

"And now we mean everything to each other," Maggie went on.

Anna reached out and slipped her hand into Daryl's.

"You and Anderson were in trouble. You two were trapped. Glenn didn't know either of you, but he helped you. He put himself in danger for you. And that started it all—" Maggie said, looking around at them. "From Atlanta, to my daddy's farm, to the prison, to here; to this moment now, not as strangers—as family, because Glenn chose to be there for you that day a long time ago."

Daryl squeezed her hand. So many things had led them here—every action and inaction had a consequence that somehow brought them together.

"That was the decision that changed everything. It started with the three of you, and it just grew to all of us to sacrifice for each other—to suffer and stand, to grieve, to give, to love, to live to fight for each other. Glenn made the decision, Rick."

Maggie smiled at him.

"I was just following his lead."

Isaac stormed down the hall, his boot steps echoing as he wiped at the blood still dripping from the gash just in front of his ear.

"Damn it," he hissed. "Fuck."

Both sides of his head and his hand were still throbbing from that damn stick of hers. He couldn't get her face out of his head. That shocked expression after the first two hits. That visible shift from fear to confusion to—he didn't even know what it was, but he wanted to erase it.

His mind began to race with all the delicious ways he was going to use that stupid stick to do just that. A grin curled across his face at the anticipation.

The story continues in... Above Water