Chapter Three

Civilians

"Lost?" he repeated.

Anna stared at him, her eyes narrowing at him. She glanced around her discreetly, looking for a way out. She knew that situations like this one took planning; he might have other people in the woods with their guns aimed at her, or he might be the type of person who believed that he could handle her. She'd seen the same type in the army; they were strong, powerful and calculated. She could handle herself, having been trained in combat despite specialising in biomedical science. She knew how to use a weapon, identifying the many ways to kill a human with a gun without having to use a bullet. She was skilled, trained and capable of things another human might find hard to accept. If it came down to it, she could be dangerous.

Anna shrugged, shaking her head. "No. My group's around here."

He stared at her, his eyes dragging over her body, taking in her thin and toned body after many years of being in the army. She was short and tiny in comparison to her colleagues, but despite that, she was still able to keep up with the men. And she enjoyed it. She liked the routine, the control she had, and she enjoyed her work in biomedical science. She mostly worked alone or with one other scientist, and she enjoyed the freedom her work gave her as well as the opportunity to travel around to other countries. She made the impossible be possible.

"Oh?"

Anna gave a short nod. He was still standing there, eyes on her and a smirk playing on his lips. There were men - and women - in the old world and in the new world that were dangerous, untrustworthy and devious. It didn't matter, with the world in the state that it was in now, if you were good or bad. The good always died, and the bad prevailed. She'd seen it in the army; the weaker ones were thrown into the fire and the stronger ones climbed over their bodies and got to the top.

"That's funny…" he continued, stepping closer to her. "I've been trailing you for, what? The past mile… and…" he motioned the surrounding area with his arms. "I haven't seen one other survivor with you."

Anna narrowed her stare at him, a hint of a glare on her features. She didn't like him one bit. He made her feel uncomfortable. She smirked.

"It looks like I've got myself a stalker," she began, watching as a grimace formed on his face. "Which in this day and age is even creepier."

"You're funny," he said. "What's your name?"

There was movement behind her that caught her off-guard. She stole a glance and saw a heavy set man aiming a gun at her who seemed to have come out of the woods. Her hand was on her gun, ready for him to make the first move. She stared at the man in front of her, with the eye-patch, and bit her lip. She was trying to stall him for as long as possible, trying to devise a plan of how to get out without a scratch or a serious injury. The entirety of the man behind her with the gun aimed at her head was uncomforting but she was trained for this. She'd be able to get out of situations like this one.

"Anna."

He smiled and nodded. "Nice name. Means gracious and merciful, am I right? Are you forgiving, Anna?"

"Depends on what needs to be forgiven."

"I like her," he said to the man behind her. "She can stay."

"Stay?" Anna asked. "I have somewhere to be."

"No one has a place to be. Not anymore."

Anna furrowed her brow but dismissed his comment. "So, what's your name?"

"Philip."

"Hm… let me see," Anna began. "Philip means an idealistic nature; a desire for peace and harmony which can often cause friction with people; quite reserved and inclined to feel self-conscious sometimes despite striving to appear poised, confident and composed; quite secretive, which can make it hard to trust other people and open up to them; a desire to help others; a deeper appreciation of nature and the finer things in life; and if knowledge serves me right… a lover of horses."

Philip smirked, his eyes glowing with amusement. "You're good."

"So I've been told," Anna replied, raising her eyebrow. "Any skeletons hidden in your closet?"

The smirk was gone, and a blank expression etched across his face. His eyes burned into her as if trying to distinguish if she was able to see the secrets behind them. Anna stared at him, trying to read him. He was difficult to read, and he was a man who was able to hold in his feelings and keep them hidden. Was he like that before the outbreak or had the outbreak made him become this person? She knew he had secrets, everyone had secrets. Hell, even she had secrets.

"Wouldn't you like to know," he said, sneering slightly. The man that had been behind her moved to stand next to Philip. "So where's this place that you have to be?"

"Washington."

"Why?" Philip asked. "What's special about Washington?"

Anna shrugged, "Family."

"Ah… family… a foreign word in this world," Philip said, glancing at the man stood beside him. "Oh, how rude I am. This is Patrick… and the man behind you is Merle."

Before she knew it, the man named 'Merle' had crept up behind her and hit her on the head with his weapon. She fell to her knees, holding her head as a dull ache pierced through her pain barrier. She pulled her gun out and shot, hearing a faint thump as the body of Patrick dropped to the ground. She wasn't sure where she actually shot him and she wasn't able to see as Philip stormed towards her, blocking her view.

He grabbed her face and pulled hard so that she was looking at him. He spoke harshly. "One thing I didn't tell you… people call me The Governor. And one thing you don't do is anger me, got that?"

He threw her to the ground and walked away, leaving Merle to handle her. She moved her hand to her head and felt the wetness and slickness of blood. But she was unable to do anything as unconsciousness began to plague her senses. The last thing she saw before unconsciousness enveloped her into an unwelcome hug was the man identified to her as Merle being the only thing she could see. And then after a short moment, nothing but darkness.