Next chapter is here, hope you guys enjoy it and it's not too boring. So far I'm only making subtle, non-important changes to canon, the bigger changes will come later on. Thanks for all the favourites and follows, as well as to Kaylamrr, celia azul and angelstuffing for the reviews!

Enjoy!

Chapter 12

The following week was quite odd for Anamika. She had heard that Rick had discovered a quarry filled with thousand of walkers a few miles from Alexandria, and everyone was preparing for the plan Rick had come up to lead the walkers away from Alexandria.

As such, Anamika had been placed on the backburner, not trusted enough to be seen as part of the community, but trusted enough to be let out of her cell, as long as she had a guard with her. That guard usually turned out to be Carl and she had no idea who it had been that had convinced Rick of this, as it didn't sound like something he'd do of his own volition.

She found that she really enjoyed Carl's company and even Enid, the occasional times she joined them. Carl had this way of accepting her, the way kids usually do, except he was not a kid any longer, she could see the adult in his eyes. Yet he also made her laugh, sometimes without even intending to, something she hadn't really experienced before.

She had also met Judith, the most adorable little toddler she had ever seen and she took every moment she could to coo over the pretty little girl, to the great amusement of Carl, Aaron and Eric, who sometimes joined them when they weren't busy.

Another thing that was odd to get used to, was the way the Alexandrians regarded her. People would frequently come up to her, smiling and making small talk and thanking her for the meat she had sent with Aaron. They clearly had no idea what happened the night she first arrived and she wasn't surprised about it, as she had heard quite a lot had went on that night. It made her feel uncomfortable, having all this attention on her, but also strangely happy, that people had appreciated what she did.

Yet she always made sure to keep them slightly at a distance, as she still regarded them as weak prey, lambs ready for the slaughter that always inevitably happened. She smiled- grimaced more like- when they made painful small talk, but always managed to find an excuse to get back to Carl and his understanding, yet accepting eyes.

The one thing though, that made her time in Alexandria more bearable during that week, were the new fortifications that took place. Since Rick had basically took over from Deanna as leader, because the woman had completely withdrawn from the community, he had taken into advice some of her suggestions. A new watchtower had been hastily constructed, there were patrols, cars and trucks were planted in the road leading up to Alexandria to prevent anyone from getting a straight shot to the gates and barbed wire had been wrapped around the braces.

There hadn't been time to dig the trenches yet and that made the barbed braces less effective than they would have been, but it was a start. Anamika could now actually walk through the community without feeling like her skin was crawling or that the shadows would jump out at her, though she still tensed when hearing loud noises.

When Anamika woke up on the morning of the dry run, she had felt nothing was amiss. The sun was shining, preparations for the big run tomorrow were complete, if the talk around the community was to be believed and she could look forward to an entire day spent with Carl and Judith, who was the new apple of her eye. She had never actually been around someone so innocent, so guileless and who only wanted one thing from her and that was loving attention and care. It was a novel experience she found herself quickly getting addicted to and she always felt a bit reluctant giving the little girl back to Rick at the end of the day, even with him scary side-eying her.

After she had taken a quick shower and gotten dressed, she was just putting her shoes on when Carol walked into her room. She had met the woman before, but had never talked to her for longer than a greeting.

The woman was always smiling and the typical housewife, but the meek act she put on didn't fool Anamika for a second. She could see the same darkness in her eyes that was in her own and in Rick's. In fact, Carol was so much like her, it was scary.

Except… Anamika could see guilt.

She knew Carol would do anything to keep her family safe, but she could also see the burden it placed on the woman, the load she willingly carried so others didn't have to. And while that made her respect the woman all the more, it also made her cautious, as someone who resigned themselves to doing what others couldn't wouldn't take counsel from others before acting.

If Carol decided Anamika was a threat, she would act, not debate it with Rick or someone else and that made her dangerous. Anamika didn't want to have to kill Carol, as she knew that would be a death sentence in itself and make the world for the rest of her group a lot darker and more dangerous, as she knew Carol did a lot to protect them.

And so Anamika played along with Carol's act, even though she knew Carol knew she knew that it was all an act. As long as Carol put up this act, Anamika would go along with it. She didn't want to needlessly aggravate the woman by letting her know the act didn't work with her.

"Morning, ready to go? I bet you're hungry?" Anamika smiled and nodded, following Carol out of the door. They went over to Carol's house, where there was some sort of breakfast casserole that smelt divine and tasted like the food from gods. Though Carol was brutal and vicious when she needed to be, she was one hell of a cook, Anamika could admit that much.

Footsteps had her looking up to see Carl coming in, Judith in his arms and she smiled widely, gladly taking the baby who reached out for her after giving Carl a playful noogie. As much as she was fond of Judith, it seemed the small girl was equally fond of her.

When Carl finished his breakfast, all three of them went outside, while Carol continued puttering around in the kitchen. Anamika enjoyed the sun shining on her face as she walked down the road, talking to Carl about superheroes and making funny faces to Judith. When the teen had heard that she couldn't remember ever reading them, he had immediately given her some comics and she was hooked.

It was a bit of a surprise to see that she was a closet nerd, but she geeked out and had long conversations about DC vs Marvel with him, with her being firmly in the Marvel camp and Carl arguing why both is good and you can't really compare them. She thought he was full of shit, but nevertheless continued those discussions, since it was some of the times he acted the most animated.

"Wait, so you're telling me that Batman would find a way to defeat almost any hero, as long as he had the time and information to prepare?"

"Yes, I mean, he's insanely smart, he is rich and he does whatever is necessary." She scoffed, ruffling his hair, since it was one of the rare days he wasn't wearing his sheriff hat and bopping Judith on the nose, smiling at the childish giggle it evoked.

"Whatever floats your boat kid. I think you're reaching a bit there."

"No, but see-"

The next moment happened in a blur.

A man covered in blood and dirt came rushing up to them from between the two houses they were passing, a large machete stained with gore raised in the air. His teeth was a filthy yellow and his eyes shined with a crazed light. She could make out the 'W' carved onto his forehead and she had a vivid reminder of the brutalised bodies and walkers she had found in her woods with those same 'W's' carved into their foreheads.

She immediately knew what she was dealing with and it took her less than a split second to automatically react.

Instinctively making sure Judith is held securely in her arms, the little girl having gone still when she felt Anamika's presence change, Anamika ducked low, spinning as she did so and raising her leg to kick the machete out of the man's hand. Sh had reacted so fast and so precisely that the man didn't even advance a second step forward.

As soon as she saw the machete leave his hand, she pulled her leg back and delivered a hard kick to his groin, dropping the stunned man to the ground with a whimper of pain, his hands cupping his groin and his face turning to her in a snarl. Her hand flashed out, delivering a hard strike below his nose aiming up, her entire body thrown into the movement and the man had a second to look surprised, before he slumped down, dead on the ground.

Exhaling slowly, her body stayed alert as she turned towards Carl. She was kind of surprised to see that she was still herself, but the warm weight of Judith seemed to calm her down and help her keep her mind. She couldn't afford to lose it with this baby in her arms.

"Carl, do you have a gun?" Carl shook his head, his eyes wide but ready for anything.

"No, only my knife. But I have a gun back home, my dad left it in the house in case of emergencies." She nodded, knowing that gun was probably meant to be used on her, but now it didn't matter. The one time it would have helped them if Carl trusted her less and carried his gun around and she was too trustworthy. She snorted, feeling a morbid sense of amusement and panic bubble up in her, but breathed in deeply, knowing she had to act fast.

She stooped to pick up the machete the man dropped, then she started running, hiding behind bushes and houses as she continued down the street, knowing Carl would follow her. Luckily, they encountered no one and as soon as they made it back to Carl's house, she handed him Judith.

"Get inside, lock the door and kill any of them that tries to get in that house. You have to protect your sister."

"What about you?"

"I need to stop them, stop them from killing more people. Do you trust me?" Already she could hear screams starting up, but she had to make sure Carl trusted her enough to stay with his sister instead of trying to check on her.

When he nodded, his eyes serious but honest, she felt a warm feeling fill her heart and she smiled slightly, already knowing he trusted her enough to leave the gun home, but now also enough to give her free reign in his community.

Ruffling his hair, she smiled and pushed him towards the house, making sure he got in, before she took off running down the street, not bothering to hide anymore.

Down the street, she could see two men, one sitting on his knees stabbing a person who was long dead and another leading a man in a blue shirt by a chain. Eyes narrowing, she ran up, her footsteps causing both to turn around.

The man on his knees lunged at her, but with a graceful whirl she sidestepped him, sinking the machete into his skull in the same movement. Her eyes already trained on the next one, she leaned back to dodge his knife, before slipping under his guard and cutting his belly wide open. When he still tried to come for her, she blocked his clumsy strike with one hand and sunk the machete in his eye with the other.

Quickly untying the chained man and handing him a knife, telling him to get inside and hide, she looked around, making sure no one else was coming. Seeing a flash of color in the bushes, she stood and called out.

"Carol!" She ran towards the woman, her eyes constantlyl searching for threats.

"Carol, they're everywhere. I'm going to try and hold them off, but you need to get to the armory. It seems these people have no guns, so we can still get the advantage." The act of a meek woman was long gone as Carol's icy blue eyes regarded her.

"Yes, that's what I was thinking as well. You good here?"

"Yeah, I'll kill as many of these bastards as I can, you just get to the armory and show them hell." Carol didn't even bother trying to play the meek housewife, as she knew Anamika had never bought it and instead she quickly nodded and then disappeared into the bushes behind the house.

Anamika went on, losing track of how many men and women she killed. Her skin was stained red and though she amassed a collection of cuts and bruises, none were life threatening and she came out on top every time. It was after she just stopped a man from further dismembering one of the inhabitants that a horn started going off right outside the gate and she cursed.

As if things couldn't get any worse already. Killing another crazy lady who came at her with an axe, she started running towards the gate where the horn was sounding, but before she made it halfway, it stopped and she paused. Instead of continuing on to investigate, she left it alone, as there were still plenty of enemies in Alexandria. Her hair was plastered to her head and the machete was dripping with blood, as was every other part of her body.

A single gunshot sounded and her head whipped around. She sincerely hoped that was Carol and not the invaders, though she doubted one of these savages could defeat Carol. The woman was a force to be reckoned with, or at least that was the feeling Anamika got. Running on, she heard a crash in one of the houses and ran in, only to see Ron, one of the boys about Carl's age, standing in stunned silence as he watched Jesse stab a man over and over with a piece of glass.

"Jesse, you good here?" Anamika knew she sounded abrupt and uncaring, but she had things to do and people to kill and couldn't spend her time coddling a woman. Jesse nodded, kinda shell shocked, but it was enough for the auburn haired woman, as she ran out again.

A lot more gunfire was now filling the air and when Anamika turned down one of the streets, she saw, to her dismay, a invader running around carrying a gun. Just as she was about to take care of them and make sure none of the others were carrying firearms, she realised the way the person moved was familiar and then she smiled.

"Carol!" The woman looked up, took in Anamika's bloody appearance and then turned away unconcerned.

"We got most of them, but a few were heading towards the gates. We can't let any one of them live." Anamika nodded and turned to head in the direction of the gate, ready to leave, when Carol called out.

"Anna!" Turning, she automatically caught the gun that was thrown towards her, meeting Carol's intense gaze.

"Don't make me regret it." Nodding, she turned and ran down the street, shooting any enemy that she saw. She had just made it to the gate when she saw Morgan chasing some men who was running towards the gate and she lifted her arms, her eyes trained on the back of the woman and she squeezed.

The woman dropped dead, the other four pausing briefly to stare and look to see Anamika, before they continue running, the first two already out the gate. However, she was determined that not one would escape. Aiming, she was about to fire when Morgan entered her line of fire and she growled, the sound low and dangerous.

"Morgan, step back. This is not the time to go on about your life ideology!" In her time at Alexandria, she had talked a bit more with Morgan, but had found the man's ideology too idealistic and condescending. Needless to say, they weren't each other's favourite persons.

"They are leaving. You have no reason to attack them anymore." She couldn't believe what this man was saying! He had his eyes firmly closed to the world, choosing to live in a world where everyone could be redeemed just because he had been.

"Look at what they did Morgan! Look!" Morgan avoided her eyes, but his stance remained confident.

Throwing her hands up in disgust, she turned and walked away, knowing the guys would long since have disappeared into the woods. She started making her way to Rick's house, wanting to check on Carl and as she went she made sure to stab every body without a visible headwound in the head and kill any walkers that walked around from previous residents or enemies.

Coming up to Rick's house, she saw a man lying dead outside on the grass and she was immediately worried for Carl and Judith inside, though she knew Carl could handle himself. She ran up the porch, making her way inside.

"Carl?"

"Anna!" Following the direction his voice came from, she saw him in the kitchen, placing a casserole on the counter and the sight was so absurd after what just happened, that she couldn't help the laugh that escaped. Carl's face twitched into a smile and she walked around the counter, reaching a hand up to ruffle his hair, when she saw the amount of gore covering her hand and remembered it might not be the best time to touch him right now.

"Right, I need a shower. I could be mistaken for a walker almost." Carl just laughed and she grinned at him as she trudged up the stairs, craving the warm bliss of a soothing shower. She thought she deserved a reward after all her hard work.

The thought had her stifling giggles, as she contemplated that killing a murderous group of savages constituted as her job these days. Abnormal times becoming normal.

After she was done and dressed in fresh clothes, she checked on Judith, stroking the sleeping toddler's cheek, before she went downstairs. Ruffling Carl's hair, she walked out of the house and towards the gate. She knew there was a lot of cleanup to be done, but she thought it best she kept a lookout, make sure nothing happened while Alexandria was still recovering from the latest attack.

Climbing up the guardpost at the front gate, she looked out over the empty road. It was difficult to believe that it was still morning, it felt like a lot of time passed, when in reality very little time had passed, though a lot happened. She had seen Michonne on the way here and heard that they had to do the run early, as one of the truck guarding the quarry had fallen and also that half the herd broke off because of that horn and might be heading this way.

Thus she thought it prudent to keep an eye out incase, but the truck further down the road kind of blocked her sight. She twitched in annoyance and thought she would have to remedy that, as it was a serious security issue.

She glanced over when she heard someone climb up the ladder, but looked away when she realised it was just Deanna. The woman was quite shocked by what happened this morning and Anamika didn't want to make her feel worse by telling her she had warned her of this. She reckoned the petite woman was already aware of that. The silence stretched between them, until it was broken by a single sentence Deanna whispered, almost seeming to talk to herself instead of Anamika.

"I see now..."

Anamika glanced at her, before keeping her eyes forward, focused on the road as the hot sun beat down on her, sweat already crusted into her shirt.

Seeing some movement further up the road, she frowned, leaning forward to better see what it was, when a voice on the wind was carried to her. Climbing onto the support of the walls, she turned her head to hear the voice clearer and suddenly, it was as if it jumped out at her.

"Open the gate!"

It was Rick, running and sweating as what seemed to be half the horde followed closely behind. She could see the walkers coming out from in front of the gate and she knew they were going to cut off Rick before he could reach the gates, or at least make it a close call. Making a split second decision, she threw her legs over the wall and slid down the brace, the wire already damaged from the wolves climbing it, easily balancing herself.

Landing, she rolled and came up running, stabbing two walkers in the head before they were even aware of her. She could hear the gate opening behind her, so she just had to make sure there were no walkers in front of Rick to hinder him. She killed walkers left and right and as soon as Rick reached her, she moved back with him, making sure no walkers could grab hold of them.

They reached the gate just in time, because as soon as it closed behind them, the walkers were there, growling and moaning as they tried to reach the meal standing a few yards away. Breathing harshly, she stared at them wide eyed, not quite sure what to make of this.

Her back was sweaty and her palms shaky as she realized they would soon be surrounded and badly outnumbered and she had no idea how to deal with it. Their best bet, which would be to lead the walkers away with a car, still involved them getting outside the walls and that wasn't going to happen.

In short, they were trapped.

And she didn't like it one bit.

WD

So, I hope that chapter didn't go too fast for you? I know it seems like a lot of this is moving quite fast and it is. There's going to be a bit of a slow-down after this arc, but not too much, as I don't like typing filler chapters. Hoped the action was alright, as it was the majority of the chapter:D Please let me know what you thought!