SOOOOO sorry that I'm a day late from my usual post! It's been a crazy week and we have another storm, hurricane turn tropical storm that is actually making landfall here on my island as I'm writing this. Trying to get this out as quickly as possible before the electricity is knocked out so let me apologize in advance for horrible grammar and any spelling mistakes you might find in this. Oh, let's be honest, you'll most likely find some lol
Nonetheless, I really have nothing else to report, so let's cut to the review responses and straight into it!
New followers: and XJacobxBlackX98! Thank you for the follows and favorites!
UmiNight Angel Neko: haha let's be glad that Daryl isn't around to hear half the shit that comes out of Shane's mouth...pretty sure if he was, he'd have been killed off long ago lmao Thanks for the review!
snapsnap24131: Oh my god, me too! Was kind of stuck on when or who she would confess that too. But then realized that if I had to pick a character to connect to on that subject, it would be Maggie, hands down. Now, to get her to confess to the man himself lol
Bri47: I second that jealous comment because Jealous Daryl is just...hng. Girl, I'm a Rick girl too, don't get me wrong. That guy rubs me the wrong way and I find myself feeling sympathy for him on and off but then I always find my attention whipping back to Dary almost instantly whenever that idiot is nearby. Daryl and Ana just have this connection that makes it as if they were made for each other in their own twisted way. Seriously think, Ana would taint what innocence is left in Rick lmao!
KyraNoelle: Glad you liked it!
Disclaimer: I do not own the AMC's The Walking Dead or their characters, just Ana!
P.S. Revealing a little of Ana's family background in this chapter. Her family's 'occupation/business' mentioned in this chapter was supposed to be written back in the 2 chapter of the first season but I held off on it till now. It was suggested by a friend/reader back before the story was even posted so I figured i'd reveal it in this chapter. It may or may not play a role in later seasons.
Ana's POV...
Shit.
I didn't have much time in finding Sophia.
After Glenn had spilled the beans about the walkers in the barn and Lori being pregnant, I knew, it was only a matter of time.
I silently prayed that Sophia hadn't been bitten and hadn't been found, shoved into the barn like in the show.
No. I had to have faith, hope, that she had listened to my words and done exactly as I had told her that night in our tree.
Hershel had visited the morning after Glenn's conversation, checking in on me before mentioning that I looked well enough to move out of the house and into a tent outside. I could tell that he didn't exactly want to send me outside but I could also tell that he wasn't comfortable with a complete stranger staying a door down from his daughters.
"You have a very beautiful farm here, Hershel." I mentioned kindly as I slipped out of the bed, standing on my own for once as Daryl had mentioned something about helping Rick out in the fields or whatnot.
"I pride myself in my land, so has my family for generations." Hershel offered back as he packed away his medical supplies.
"Once I'm up and ready, I'd very much like to help on the farm, wherever I can." I added back, slipping on a flannel that had been left for me by none other than Daryl before he dug out this morning.
"You know much about farms?" Hershel asked in interest as I chuckled, buttoning a few buttons on the borrowed flannel.
"I grew up on a farm. My granddad owned an apple orchard and farm, along with running a gun company." I offered as he looked at me surprised, stopping in his clean up before slowly turning his head in my direction.
"Apple orchard? Gun company?" He inquired in mild interest, zipping up his medical bag as I sighed and nodded, realizing I really never told anyone about my backstory.
"Well, his apple orchard was more for our town, nothing big, but the gun company, you might have heard of. Remington?" I offered unsure if I even should be spilling such things, what could happen? I peeled my eyes from the buttons on my flannel to see Hershel staring at me intently before he turned back to his bag.
"I would appreciate the help when I can get it but as I've told Rick, once the boy is well enough to be out and about, I expect your people to be out and on your way." Okay, I hadn't expected that answer, startling me as I watched him intently as he walked across the room and out the door.
Like hell. I was going to do everything I could to make sure we could stay, even just a bit longer.
"Where are you headed off to?" A voice startled me from the empty tent that Carol had set up for me to use, a sleeping bag the only thing sitting inside. Turning from setting up my sleeping bag, I looked over to see Glenn staring down at me in concern.
"What makes ya think I'm headin' anywhere?" I gruffly offered back, my emotions slowly getting the best of me as I went back to fixing my sleeping bag before pulling my bags, that Dale had been nice enough to bring over, inside the tent.
"You got your machetes on and a gun in your pants. It's either you're paranoid like everyone else here or your heading out?"Glenn was very observant, I'd give him that as I sighed, sitting back up before looking over at him.
"I have to get back out there, look for Sophia." I confessed, glancing around to make sure that no one was in ear range as I watched Glenn's eyes widened.
"Ana, you can't go out there. You're injured." Glenn gasped in exasperation, kneeling down, gripping my bare thigh in fear.
"Glenn, I know you are just looking out for me, but I have to find her. I promised her I'd look after her and I lost her. She's my responsibility." I pushed his hand off my thigh in determination before climbing out of the tent and standing, pulling my flannel back on to hide my weapons from sight.
"Well, at least let me go with you." Glenn trailed behind me as I rolled my eyes, shaking my head back turning to look at him.
"No, you need to stay here, keep an eye on everyone. You know the barn is full of walkers and with Shane balancing on the edge of sanity and Hershel laying down the law, I need someone here with a leveled head in case shit hits the fan." I whispered, side-eyeing Lori and Andrea who were silently talking near the trees. Glenn stared at me, obviously wanting to argue my point before he sighed, hanging his head before he took a step closer to me.
"Daryl is literally going to kill me if I let you go out there alone." Glenn whined as I snorted, glancing around for said redneck, not seeing him in the current vicinity.
"Don't tell him Glenn, if he asks, you never saw me. I'm the only one that knows where Sophia might be, I'm her only hope right now." I pleaded with Glenn, watching as fear, hesitation, and frustration crossed his features before he sighed loudly, pulling me into a sudden hug.
"Seriously, Daryl is going to kill me when he finds out." Glenn muttered into my shoulder as I snorted, patting his back with my good arm.
"He's gonna have to get over it sooner or later. He's not my keeper, father, husband or boyfriend, I don't answer to him." I offered back as he snorted, pulling away from me with a 'seriously' look.
"What?" I innocently asked as he rolled his eyes sky high.
"Both you and Dixon are completely oblivious, it's almost hilarious." Glenn teased as I blushed before playfully pushing his shoulder.
"Shut up and cover for me."
As soon as no one was paying attention, I ran around the house, disappearing into the forest just behind the Greene farm before I took off running down the treeline and behind the barn, where I was able to hide through the tall grass and sneak into the opposite forest without anyone seeing me.
Sure, I tripped over everything possible, cursing under my breath with how slow and painful it was to run with an injured arm before I let out a squeal of fright, barely able to stop myself as an arrow embedded itself into a tree right in front of me. Stumbling back away from it, landing on my ass, I cursed as my hand shot up to hold my injured shoulder before my neck snapped at the sound of an approaching person. Instantly, my hand grabbed the gun from the back of my pants, cocked and aimed in the next second before a familiar face came into view.
"Fuck." I cursed, falling to lean back against the tree just behind me.
Shit. I hadn't expected Daryl to catch me and so close to the fuckin' house too.
"Where the hell do ya think yer goin'?" Daryl hissed as he ripped his arrow from the tree, slipping it back into his crossbow while glaring down at me.
Why did I feel like a child whenever he scolded me for shit? Come on Ana, grow a fuckin' pair!
"Where the hell do ya think I'm goin'?" I spat back defensively as I fought to push myself to stand with one good arm, surprised when Daryl's arm came around me suddenly, helping me from the ground before I quickly stepped away from him.
"Looks like yer makin' a run for it." Daryl barked back as I snorted, looking at him surprised.
"Ya really think I'd run?" I popped my hip out for emphasis, slightly put out that he thought so little of me.
"What should I think when I see ya ass runnin' across the field into the trees like someones got a fuckin' fire at yer ass?" Daryl spat back loudly, startling me as my eyes widened slightly, having not expected him to blow his top like that.
It grew quiet between us as I thought about what to tell him while he stood there, glaring me down. I knew he wasn't going to let me go unless I told him why I was out here, to begin with. But I also knew there was a chance that even if I did tell him, he wouldn't let me come along and that wasn't gonna sit right with me. No way in hell was I getting left behind.
"I know where Sophia is and before you start tellin' me to get my ass back to camp, I ain't. I made a promise to her and I'm determined to see it through, with or without ya." I shot back at him as he tilted his head, watching me closely before scoffing as he glanced away.
"Yer a stubborn asswipe, ya know that?" Daryl muttered under his breath as he took a step towards me, startling me when he suddenly reached out, pulling what looked to be a leaf from my hair before brushing past me. Taking in a sudden gasp of air once I realized I had been holding my breath during that short interaction, I turned in the direction he had headed in and watched as he stopped, turning to look at me.
"Yer gonna stand there all day or are ya comin' with me?" Daryl called out, surprising me as I passed him a relieved smile before jogging to catch up with him.
"Stay close and be careful. Don't wanna be carryin' yer ass back to camp again." Daryl joked, referencing the time he had to carry my 'fat ass' back from Atlanta to the camp. I snorted, rolling my eyes, having half a mind to kick him in the ass as he strolled in front of me, proudly.
"Yer an asshole, not sure if I tell ya that enough."
I stared up at the little break in the trees above us, glancing at the position of the sun before gazing back around the empty forest.
"Ya lost?" Daryl asked, trying to sound annoyed though I easily picked up on the amusement hiding behind his words. Scoffing, I turned to look at him, wondering why in the hell I even had to bring this dick along with me before I turned back to the forest.
"I ain't lost, dick." I muttered before I took off walking once more, one machete still sitting in my grasp.
"By the way, ya never told me where ya found my machete?" I mentioned over my shoulder, realizing that he hadn't explained how he had come across it, only handing it to me back at the Greene's farm with a simple 'ya lost this'.
"Found it in a walkers neck when Grimes and I was out searchin' for the little girl. That's how I knew ya were out there too, searchin'." His voice lowered ever so slightly as I snuck a glance back over my shoulder to see him gazing to the right.
"Once the walkers passed me on the highway, I took off runnin' into the woods after you guys. I found her bein' attacked by a pair of those things. The first one I threw my machete at, sent it over the small cliff and down the hill, killed the other one. Thought I wasn't gonna have my pair anymore." I quietly explained before stopping when I noticed a bit of color sticking out of some underbrush just ahead of us.
Ignoring the pain in my arm and the hushed yelling from Daryl, I ran towards it, dropping to a knee before using my machete to push the dried leaves and branches out of the way to see a shoe. Dropping my machete to the floor, I picked up the shoe, glancing at it as Daryl knelt beside me with a huff.
"Don't just go runnin' off like that." Daryl softly scolded me as I showed him the shoe, watching as he took it before inspecting it.
"Sophia's?" He asked for clarification from me as I slowly nodded, recognizing the shoe from the little girl.
"That's hers, I recognize it." I agreed, using his shoulder to help me stand before I gazed around for anything that was slightly familiar to me before landing on the arch of trees just a couple dozen yards in front of us.
"Shit." I whispered in realization, gazing over my shoulder to see a familiar tree, the one we had hid in that night.
"What is it?" Daryl stood up quickly, gluing himself to my side in alert as I pointed up at the tree.
"That tree there, with the eaten bark at the top, I hid out with Sophia there on the first night. I know where we are now." I turned to him with a relieved smile that slowly disappeared as I realized how close we truly were.
My heart stopped, my palms grew sweaty, my skin broke out in goosebumps as my eyes unconsciously drifted from his hazel eyes to his chapped lips just a few centimeters from my own. I could literally feel my heart thudding loudly against my rib cage, my cheeks flaring up at the realization that he could possibly hear the sound it was making as it tried to break free of my chest.
I internally yelled at myself to step back, to turn away, but nothing was moving. I was completely frozen as I felt his warm breath blow across my features and down the v-neck of my shirt.
What in the hell was happening?
I swallowed, heavily, almost positive that the sound alone echoed through the eerily silent forest before a notch in my breath slipped out as I felt his hand suddenly caress my hip, beneath my flannel. Biting into my tongue, I quivered slightly as his grip tightened before I unconsciously stepped towards him, his hand pulling me closer.
The tip of my shoe knocked his own, my knee brushing his as I dropped my head, unable to meet his eyes any longer than I had already done. What the hell were we doing? We were supposed to be out here, searching for Sophia, yet, we were stuck, staring at each other like some lovesick high school kids?
Suddenly, his hand slipped into view, touching the underside to my chin before forcing me to meet his eyes, which I did, forcefully for a second before they quickly darted to the right, unable to handle the depth of his own.
"Look at me, will ya?" He rasped out as I licked my dry lips, silently whimpering as I yanked my eyes back to meet his.
Once our eyes met, he stared at me for a minute longer, his face seemingly getting closer before...
A scream ripped through the air, effectively yanking us from whatever situation we had put ourselves in. Almost instantly, I yanked myself away from him, panting heavily like I had just run a mile before my head snapped in the direction of the scream, realizing it was coming from the exact location I had instructed Sophia to go in.
And just like that, the trance I had been in with Daryl was snapped in half as I took off running, without any warning, towards the scream, knowing I had mere moments to get to her before something happened.
I ignored every bump I got from running into trees, logs or boulders, every cut I got from stray branches hanging lower than others. I may have fallen a few times, yelping in pain as my arm took most of the brunt force of the fall before Daryl was on me instantly, cursing and scolding me for running off again without any explanation. But that's just it, I couldn't explain. I didn't have time to stand here and explain to him what I had told Sophia, No. I had to get to her, and quick.
Jumping over another boulder, I tripped, effortlessly and tumbled to the ground, my body turning on its own to land on my injured arm. I moaned loudly in pain as black spots darted into my vision before Daryl's arms were around me for, for what felt like the 23rd time.
"Fuck, stop that. Yer injured still, yer makin' it worse." Daryl barked out as I thrashed out at him, silently mumbling for him to let me go.
Naturally, not wanting to injure me anymore, he hesitantly let go of me, helping me to stand before allowing me to run off again but keeping a close watch on me.
With sweat pouring down my spine, my arm burning something inhumane, I continued to push myself up the hill before stumbling into a tree as my body gave out slightly, my eyes narrowing in on the two-story home that I had told Sophia to hide in till I could come to find her.
"Will ya fuckin' tell me where the hell ya headin' too?" Daryl begged impatiently from beside me as I swallowed down my dry throat before pointing to the building in front of us with my machete.
"I told Sophia to hide here if anythin' happened to me." I finally confessed, out of breath, as Daryl's eyes widened before another scream ripped through the air.
Exhaustion and pain long forgotten, I pushed off the tree, ignoring Daryl's words and took off running towards the open door of the house, my machete now held out in front of me protectively as I silently slithered into the dark entryway.
"Stay close." Daryl brushed up against my arm, his bow up and ready as he took the lead, making sure to peek into every room while I made constant checks over my shoulder for any surprises. The ground floor was deserted as I turned to say something to Daryl only for a rustle of some sort, just above us, broke us from our conversation. I met his eyes briefly, silently telling him what we needed to do before he made a beeline for the staircase, my chest glued to his back as he slid up the stairs.
Knowing we didn't have a lot of time on our hands, Sophia's screams still echoing in my ears and with the realization that the stairs led to two separate hallways, we had to split up. Daryl obviously knew what I was about to say as he glared hard at me, shaking his head before stepping closer, his hand naturally coming down on my hip again.
"We ain't fuckin' splittin' up. I ain't leavin' you alone in 'ere." Daryl's low voice shuddered through my chest as I shook the effect he had on me and pushed on his chest with my uninjured arm.
"We don't have fuckin' time. She's up here, somewhere. We have to find her." I put my foot down as Daryl stared at me for a second longer before dropping his head in defeat, his knuckles growing white as the grasp he had on his bow grew.
"If anythin' happens, anythin', ya call me, you understand?" In the next second, before I could react properly, he had gripped my chin with his pointer and thumb, eyes boring into mine with a hidden emotion that I couldn't pinpoint.
"Do ya fuckin' understand?" He gripped me just bit tighter when I didn't respond immediately before I passed him a nod, ignoring the way my stomach was doing flips of joy inside me. He stared at me in clear hesitation before finally letting go, his bow taking it's place in his arms once more as he passed me a nod.
Nodding back at him, I unconsciously brushed my chin where his fingers had been seconds ago before turning away from him and towards the darkened hallway, my machete up and at the ready.
No time to melt over how physical Daryl had been since I woke up in the Greene's house, no matter how much I wanted to look into the reason of why he suddenly had an intent need to touch me at least once every 10 minutes. Just that thought alone made me freeze in the hallway, slowly peering over my shoulder to where Daryl was now slipping into the first bedroom on his side, out of sight.
"Fuckin' hell." I muttered, rubbing my forehead with the side of my arm, frustrated that I was further cementing what had once been a fascination that had now turned into an attraction of sorts. I had told myself that there was no way I could fall for a character here, no way. It was wrong and just plain down impossible. What if I was only here for a short time? What if I woke up tomorrow and this had all been a dream? I was never good with heartache, never. I had one boyfriend in my entire life, a boy named Colby who I had the biggest crush on since elementary. We dated on and off for years into high school before he broke it off with me. I had been ignorant and naive, I hadn't seen the signs of his cheating ways and to be honest, that was what had killed it for me. He had been my best friend turned boyfriend and when we split and I found out, I realized that I couldn't trust anyone and that's where all the heartache began.
Naturally, it had been years since I had my heart broken by Colby, but still, I was not ready to go through the heartache again. I refused to go through it again.
Creak
I jumped, frightened by the noise of the door beside me creaking open, stepping back against the opposite doorway with my machete out in front of me.
"Sophia?" I called out softly, wondering if the small girl had somehow opened the door to let me in.
When no one answered, my eyes shot down the hallway to where Daryl was now searching another room before returning to the slightly opened door in front of me. Everything in me was screaming at me to turn around and go to Daryl, that it was not safe, but the smaller part of me, that laid dormant for the most part was pushing me to go, to check it out, to find Sophia.
Sophia was the top priority.
Nothing else.
I stepped off the wall, taking two steps across the narrow hallway before stepping into the opposite doorway, my machete out in front of me.
"Sophia?" I whispered again, my heart echoing through my ears as I peeked into the room, pushing the door open just a bit further. Not seeing anything but an empty desk with a lamp, a chest sitting just beside it, I pushed the door a bit more before I was ripped out of the doorway and against the wall just beside the door. I whimpered as my arm thrashed painfully in the sling before my eyes shot open, staring into the black eyes of a man I had never saw before.
"Heya beautiful." He smirked as his hand kept itself pinned to my mouth, his other hand pressing a knife into the hollow of my throat.
"Shut the fuckin' door Brent." The man against me hissed as my eyes snapped over to see a pudgy man quickly doing as he was told, silently shutting the door I had just come in before locking it just as quietly.
Fuck.
"See here gorgeous, didn't think you would come this way alone." He laughed softly, leaning forward to brush his nose through my hair as I flinched, attempting to thrash only for him to growl, the bite of his knife, pressing further into my neck causing me to freeze.
"I'd keep fuckin' still if I were you, darlin'." He rasped into my face, his nose barely touching my mine as his eyes crinkled in amusement.
"Now, I'm assuming you came lookin' for this little girl here." He nudged his head in the opposite direction of us where Sophia was tied up like a baby calf, lying on her side on the small twin size bed that sat against the wall. My eyes widened in horror, the most despicable things coming to my mind on what these men had done to her as I thrashed, the rage evident in my eyes as the man pressed me harder into the wall, pressing most of his weight against my obviously injured arm.
"See I was right." He grunted as I whimpered behind his hand sending him grinning over at his two friends.
"Now, you're gonna listen to me and your gonna listen good." He pressed further, licking his lips as he eyed me like a piece of meat.
"We'll let the little girl go, head on home with whoever the hell you came up here with. But you, you stay." He growled the last part into my face as my face hardened in rage. Was this man, seriously bargaining Sophia's life with my own?
"See here, we haven't had any good ass in a long time. Knew this little girl wasn't hangin' around by herself and figured we'd just wait it out till someone came lookin' for her. You her mom?" The one sitting on the bed, just beside Sophia, who had yet to speak, finally spoke as my eyes snapped over to him, slowly shaking my head as they passed each other knowing smiles.
"Told ya, too damn fine to be a mom." The one holding me poked as I felt bile rising up my throat, my mind reeling at what I could possibly do to get out of this situation as he stepped even closer to me, his knee slipping between my legs, pinning me completely to the wall.
"Now, what do ya say, sweetheart? Stay and play with us and we'll let this little lady hit the road with your friend out there." He whispered into my face, the stench of what I could only assume was the rot building in his teeth, engulfing my senses before my eyes shot wide at Daryl's voice echoing down the hallway.
"Shit, she came with a guy." Brent, whispered in a panic as the knife on my neck, pressed in a bit deeper, his eyes darkening at me.
"Your brother? Friend?" He inquired defensively as my eyes snapped around the room, my mind working on something to do, to get us out of here safely.
"Boyfriend?" The one at the bed stood up, showing the large hunting knife on his belt as he adjusted his belt.
I silently stared at him, not answering before the grip on my mouth grew tighter, the man holding me grabbing my full attention as I winched at the pain in my jaw.
"Doors locked, one against the 3 of us, I say we have our fuckin' fun, here and now, then gut them all." He cackled softly into my face before he dragged his nose down my cheek to my neck where I immediately flinched back at. He growled into my neck, pecking me lightly there before pulling away with a frustrated glare.
"Brent, Sam, do a man a solid and hold this piece of ass still?" He taunted as my eyes widened further, his hand slipping away as I made a move to scream, only for him to whack me heavily across the cheek, sending me into the arms of what I knew to be Brent before a nasty tasting rag was shoved into my mouth to gag me. I was pushed silently onto the floor where I attempted to kick and make any sort of noise I could to attract Daryl's attention only for my arms to be grabbed, my injured one being pulled out of the sling and over my shoulder where I let out a muffled scream at the pain. Brent glanced down from his post behind me before chuckling with the others.
"Oh shit, maybe she had a broken arm or somethin'." Sam mocked from his spot where he was holding my legs as I sobbed silently into the rag, the burning pain in my arm slowly engulfing me as I felt my shorts loosening sending my blood freezing over. Crying out, trying to wiggle my legs out of Sam's grasp while the man hovering over me, yanked my shorts down my hips, my bare thighs on show for the 3 of them.
"Shut your fuckin' mouth." He hissed as he fought to pull it down further as the door handle to the room I was in, clanked loudly.
"Ana? You in there?" Daryl's muffled voice called out from the other side of the door as I sobbed out, trying to be as loud as I could as my eyes locked on a terrified Sophia lying in the bed helplessly.
I had to do something, anything, to get us out of here.
I had to do something.
So, okay? Hope it was alright.
I'll see ya guys next week!
Until next time~