Ok, so I decided I am going to post new chapters, even though I'm not finished with the story yet and I'll just have to hope I finish it before I catch up with myself. Warning, this chapter contains some brutality, as will the coming chapters, in fact, it's a recurring theme in this fic, being that it is a Walking Dead fic. Sadly no Team Family in this chapter, but there will be flashes of them on and off in the next few chapters. Please review and let me know what you thought! Thanks to Kaikitty165 for reviewing, I really appreciated it, as well as the favourites and follows:)

Also, my work isn't beta'd, so I apologize for any mistakes.

Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 2

Anamika gasped and wiped the sweat from her forehead as she stumbled along. Her side was aching where the guard had gotten a lucky shot in and her vision was blotchy. Yet she clung to the machete in her one hand and the massive duffel bag in the other as if it was a lifeline, which it very well could be. She was wearing a simple white shift and as she raised the machete to kill another of these dead… things… she idly thought that she really should get more appropriate clothing. For this moment, the shift would do, as her first priority was to escape the place that had become her prison. Chaos was everywhere, people running around, some wearing coats, some wearing military gear, some who looked like civilians and then more of those dead ones. It did, however, provide good cover for her and she was able to get out unharassed by the living. Running down the street, she glanced back at the odd concrete building with the massive glass window in the front and the sloped three-tiered roof. The military was everywhere, but no one took any mind of her.

As she ran down an alley, she saw a dead soldier and raising her machete, she made sure he stayed dead. Dropping down next to the body, she quickly stripped him of what she just knew to be a bulletproof vest, an AK-47, several pouches of ammo and a grenade. Stuffing it all into her bag, she clipped the vest on and continued down the alley.

Her breath was coming out harshly and her side ached like a bolt of lightning down her body, but she needed to get as far away as possible. She just needed somewhere safe, where she could rest, recover and hopefully find some better clothes.

Crouching in the bushes, she scoped out the building before her. When she had first seen the signs leading to a place called Terminus, she had been heavily sceptical. Only idiots invited the entire world to their doorstep in the apocalypse; either that, or people who were leading others into a trap. She knew the name Terminus could be taken at the literal definition, which just meant the place at the end of a railroad or such, but for her it felt as if it was alluding to the end of her journey, and not in a good and hopeful way.

Yet she felt that she had to check it out. If it was legit, it could be a place where she could rest a bit before moving on. She knew she wouldn't do good around other people, she had too little trust and civility to make it work long-term, but she needed to rest her body. More than a year on her own had worn her down and her body was exhausted, as it wasn't often she found a place she felt safe enough to truly sleep and not just take a power nap. If it wasn't legit, well, then it was her duty to make sure other good people, honest survivors didn't walk into the trap.

So it came to be that she was crouched in the brush, eying the place though her rifle and watching the seemingly normal people go about their daily tasks. She was far enough away that she was certain their patrols and scouts haven't spotted her yet, even the secret one that she was sure she wasn't supposed to spot. So far nothing seemed out of place, but her spidey senses was tingling and letting her know there was definitely more to this community than it appeared. Coming to a decision, she quietly backed away, making her way to her campsite about a mile or so away.

Grabbing her hiking backpack and duffel bag full of weapons, she climbed a thick tree she had scoped out before, climbing as high as she dared and tied her backpack and duffel bag to the trunk, making sure no one will be able to see it from below. She stowed away all her weapons, only leaving herself with a hunting knife and near empty pistol she had scavenged a week before. She did keep two of her throwing knives in her boot pockets and the small knife in her bra, as well as two lockpicks pushed into her messy bun. She had stumbled upon a doomsday prepper's hideout about a month previously and killed the owner, as he had come at her with a hatchet without any warning and she had just reacted. She was actually glad about that, as she had felt no guilt about stripping his hideout afterwards from anything she could use.

She had found loads of useful stuff, like MRE's, canned food, weapons, ammo, clothes and several miscellaneous items like the lockpicks she now stuffed in her bun. She had also found a big military truck, that she had no idea where the guy had got it from and loaded all her loot into it. The truck was now hidden in a thicket of trees and covered in shrubbery to avoid it being found. Hiking up the normal backpack with a few cans of food she could spare, a change of clothes and some random items, she made her way to the railroad and then followed it to Terminus.

It wasn't long before the community loomed up before her and she prepared herself mentally for the role she had to play. Walking through the gate, she followed the signs and came to a courtyard, where an elder red-haired lady stood and grilled something. Immediately, her stomach rolled even though it smelled as if it was regular pork, but something in her just recoiled at the thought of that meat. A memory niggled her mind, but as much as she wanted to pursue it, she pushed it away, as she had to concentrate now.

"H-hello?" The lady smiled at her nervous greeting, her face and body language welcoming, but her eyes seemed off.

"Hello, I'm Mary. Welcome to Terminus."

"T-thanks, I'm Anna. Were… were the signs true? Is this place safe?" Anamika chewed her bottom lip, forcing herself to fidget and shift her body nervously. She didn't want to appear too confident and get these people's guards up.

"Yes, this place is safe and a sanctuary for all. You look like you've had a rough time of it. Let me make you a plate."

The way the woman said 'sanctuary' had Anamika's guard up immediately and her stomach turned at the sight of Mary dishing her some of the meat. So she said the only thing she could to try and reject the offer while still seeming polite.

"Oh, sorry, I'm vegetarian. I know it seems silly in the apocalypse, but I can't stand the thought of meat, I become physically sick." Mary froze and for a second her eyes became ice cold and her entire demeanor screamed 'dangerous'. It was all Anamika could do to stop her body's natural reaction of responding in the same way.

"Oh… I see. How unfortunate. Come, I'll take you to meet my son, Gareth. He runs this place." She followed meekly behind the portly woman and subtly looked around, analysing escape routes and number of people with weapons. She was finally led to an open area behind the main building, where a young man was speaking to another woman and gesturing towards train carts.

"Gareth! This is Anna, she arrived just now. She's vegetarian." Anamika looked at Mary in confusion, what did her supposedly being vegetarian have to do with her introduction?

"I see. Welcome Anna, it's great to meet you. It is unfortunate that you won't be able to fit in here." Before she could react, three different guns were trained on her and she could see the people on patrol also aiming at her. Slowly, she put her hands up and forced her lip to start trembling as she widened her eyes. She hated being right.

"Wha-what's going on? What did I do? Why-"

"Shut up. Jane, search her." The woman Gareth had been talking to came closer and she grabbed her backpack from her back, throwing it behind her. She then took the hunting knife and pistol and finally frisked her. To Anamika's great frustration, Jane checked inside her boots and found her two throwing knives and that made her even more glad she had kept the rest of her set back at her camp, as she was quite attached to those knives, they were very handy. Luckily, it seemed that having found the hidden knives, she didn't search further and so missed the knife in her bra, as well as the lockpicks in her hair.

"Hmmm, seems the little bird had some secrets. Anything else you're hiding?" Anamika looked at Gareth and knew that no matter what, they weren't going to let her go, so she straightened her shoulders and shifted her stance, dropping the scared girl act. Instead she stood confidently and almost lazily, looking bored with this entire fiasco.

"Just the fact that you are going to regret this. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but I will make you regret it." Gareth seemed amused at her threat, but she didn't care. He was underestimating her and it would be his downfall.

"She's got spirit this one. Well, Anna, I don't think I will. But I will enjoy eating you. Take her to C for tomorrow." Anamika fought to keep her face neutral as what Gareth said sunk in.

Eat her

These people were cannibals, if what Gareth said is to be taken in the literal sense and she had a feeling it is. No wonder her stomach recoiled from eating the meat and they immediately captured her when they heard she's supposedly vegetarian. She wondered if they gave other survivors the option to become one of them or if they all become food. She was marched to two red containers stacked on top of each other and her stomach sank as she realised no lockpicks will help her get out of there, as it wasn't a lock that could be picked. The container was opened and she was shoved inside, before it slammed shut behind her, leaving her in darkness with only a small sliver of light reaching the inside from beneath the container doors..

She sighed, running a hand over her face and into her hair. She needed a new plan to get out of here and she had the night to think of one, if their words could be believed. A scuff in the back of the container had her turning sharply and she could just make out a figure huddled in the corner, muttering to themselves. Immediately she was on her guard, making sure there was no one else there but the one person.

"Hello?" The figure didn't reply, but their muttering increased and she walked a bit closer, trying to make out what they were saying.

"...-same, we're the same, the same, the same, we're all the same, the dead and us, them and us, we're all the same." A sudden high pitched giggle erupted from the clearly crazy man's mouth and Anamika sighed, knowing she would have to keep an eye on him. Standing near the door, her mind started flipping through various plans and scenarios, before she finally settled on one. Before she could carry it out, however, she needed to confirm something.

"Hello, my name is Anna. I'm going to escape from here tonight, do you want to come with me? Hello, do you understand me?" She walked closer to the dirty man, his hair and beard wild and his face smudged with mud and sweat. Slowly, she reached a hand out and just as she touched his shoulder, he spun around, grabbing her shoulders and screaming in her face.

"We're the same! We're all the same!"

Shocked, she pushed him away from her, watching as he fell back against the container and huddled into himself again, continuing his furious muttering, now faster than before. She sighed, knowing he was too far gone and that she shouldn't feel guilty in how she planned on using him then. It was already close to dark by her calculation and time for her plan to come into motion. Taking the small knife out of her bra, she stalked towards the man and before he could react, she slit his throat, holding him tightly as he struggled while bleeding out. Her face was set in stone as his struggles and twitches died down and she felt horrible killing an innocent man, but it was her or him and she still had her mind. If he was sane, she would have tried something else, but this was the plan with the best chance of success.

Lying him down, she pulled off his shirt and ripped it into strips, securely tying his hands behind his back and his feet together. Then she wrapped a longer piece around his eyes and threaded it down to his hands, tilting his head back as she tied the ends. Now she just had to wait for him to turn. She sat back and sighed, her heart heavy with guilt, but her plan clear in her mind.

It was a few hours later when she heard groaning and saw the man starting to twitch. Rubbing her hand over her face, she stood up and walked over, rolling him onto his back and pinning him in place with her boot. His hands were now trapped under his body and his head couldn't tilt forward far enough to bite her. He growled and struggled as he tried to get to her, but she ignored it and pulled out her small knife, stabbing him just above the groin and pulling the knife up, cutting his belly open. Plunging her hands into his stomach, she started smearing his infected blood all over her, draping intestines over her shoulders and covering every inch of her in thick sludge, her skin and clothes painted a dark red, almost black. Finally, she smeared it over her face, making her look like a macabre warrior with war paint.

Then, she flipped the dead man over, so that his face is turned towards the door. Standing, she walked to the door quietly, ignoring the growling from behind her and started banging on the container, calling for help like a banshee. As she had seen the patrols passing close to these containers every half an hour before she entered Terminus, she knew the next person would soon pass by and hear her. She screamed about the dead and help and when she heard voices coming closer, she cut herself off mid scream and stepped back from the door.

"What the fuck? What is going on in there?" She ignored the barked command from outside and made her way next to the dead man. She could clearly hear the undead growling at all the commotion and she knew the people outside would also be able to hear it in the silence now.

"Hey, what the fuck is going on in there? Son of a bitch, go call Gareth, I think they turned in there, that sounds like a rotter." She grabbed the piece of rope that tied the man's hands and waited in anticipation. The seconds ticked by and she felt it was the longest four minutes of her life. Finally, she could hear footsteps coming back.

"What is going on around here?"

"Gareth, I think something happened with the two in here. Just listen." There was silence, during which Anamika walked around the dead man and shook him, making him growl fiercely and struggle against its binds and she could hear Gareth cursing.

"Get the smoke bomb ready." Gareth had muttered it lowly, but Anamika could clearly hear him and she moved back to behind the undead, tying a leftover piece of shirt from the dead guy around her face. It wouldn't stop the smoke for long, but it would be long enough to get her out of the container. When she heard them begin to turn and lift the locks on the container, she quickly untied the walker and stepped back from it to the very back of the container. Luckily, with all the noise they were making and the rotten blood covering her, the dead man completely ignored her and was instead clawing at the door. The next moment, the door swung open as the smoke bomb was tossed in, but lucky for her, the undead was so excited at the prospect of a meal, that he pushed hard against the door, causing the guy who tossed the smoke bomb to become sloppy and it landed in the entrance of the container. It immediately went off, causing panic as the men outside couldn't see properly with the smoke billowing outward and the dead attacked the man in front.

As soon as she heard his screams, she rushed forward, her body low and fast. She grabbed the edge of the container door without slowing down and used it to almost swing her body around. Keeping her fingertips on the container, she used it as her guide to get out of the smoke and around the container. She could vaguely see the fence in the distance and made a straight shot towards it, her small pocket knife out and ready to use. Her arms pumped as she ran and she was almost there, when a body tackled her from behind. Instead of letting the unknown person take her down flat on the ground, she tucked her body in and rolled them over her shoulder, coming out on top of them, pinning their arms with her legs. She made sure to place all her weight on the person, pinning them completely even though they were heavier than she is.

A grin stretched across her face as she recognized Gareth and though she could have killed him, something dark in her awoke and she decided not to do it immediately. Oh no, she was going to do something far worse. Besides, with him injured but alive, Terminus will have something else to focus on besides her escape.

"I told you you would regret it and now you will. Be assured, though this will be painful, I'm going to enjoy it very much." For the first time, she swore she could see a flicker of fear in Gareth's eyes, but he quickly covered it up with a cocky smile.

"You can't do anything to me that I haven't overcome before." She let loose a feral grin and leaned down, close enough to intimidate him without giving him the chance to bite her.

"We'll see."

She knew she had to be fast, as the cannibals will soon come to investigate and when he started screaming, even more so. So she brought down her knife to his face and started to painstakingly carve the word 'cannibal' into his forehead, ignoring the screams that game from his lips and the blood gushing over his face. When she was done, she carved a massive capital A into his cheek, to always remind him of her. She could hear people coming now and she looked down at the man who was screaming and crying at the same time. She had made deep cuts and she knew they were gonna need stitches and scar ugly, exactly how she wanted. Hearing the yells come closer and knowing she had to go, she looked at Gareth and gave him one last sweet smile.

"You want to put up this veneer of being a friendly guy? Well, let's see you smile." With that, she plunged her knife into his cheek from the side, ripping it up towards his mouth and repeating it from just below the 'A' on the other side.

"There you go pretty boy. Now you can always smile." With that, she left the snivelling man and ran to the fence, scaling it in a second and disappearing into the woods. Glancing up at the stars, she used it to navigate back to her camp as fast as possible. She knew that everyone at Terminus would be preoccupied with Gareth at the moment, but come morning, they will probably send out a search party for her. The wounds she inflicted on Gareth were nasty and will never heal properly, but it won't keep him down for long, maybe a week at most, if they had good medication, enough to give her a head start.

Reaching her camp after 15 minutes of flat out sprinting, she quickly scaled the tree, grabbing her stuff and climbing back down. Running to her truck, she jumped in and without turning the lights on, she pulled out to the dirt road that lead to the main road, driving down it like a bat out of hell. She couldn't leave the area yet, but she did want to gain some distance from them. She would leave soon enough, but first, she had a mission to complete.

WD

Ok guys, what did you think? I know Anamika was kinda brutal in this chapter and you're going to see more of it in coming chapters, but I truly believe that as a woman travelling alone for a year and more reasons later discovered, her brutality is to be expected. Anyway, let me know what you thought, I always love hearing from you guys:)