Chapter Five

Quail

The heaviness in her head welcomed her as soon as she began to regain consciousness; and the little snippets of what happened, although quite faded and hazy, only caused the pain in her head to worsen. She was lying on the floor, that much was certain, and the area around her was quiet, which she could only guess that she was in a room of some sort. Where and how she got there was still up for discussion. She rolled over so that she was lying on her back, and as her senses came back to her, she felt the ache in the left side of her body at being stuck in the same position for a long period of time. The taste of blood was evident, and she moved her arm slowly towards her head, her fingers touching the dried crusts of blood.

Caught off-guard… and there was a man… with an eye patch… and then another man… had his gun pointed at me… then another man… M… Merle?… a gun had gone off… Philip…

Anna opened her eyes and found herself trying to focus on the white ceiling. Her eyes were blurry, and the chandelier on the ceiling was either moving or her mind was playing tricks on her. She tried to sit up, but as soon as she took her head off the floor, dizziness overwhelmed her. She shuffled towards the bed frame on her bottom, and rested against it, her head lolling backwards. As she regained control of her vision and the dizziness began to subside, she took a glance around the room. It was small, with a single bed, a bedside table, a practical cupboard and a little table near the window. The walls were white and the floor was a dark brown, with a cream rug near the door. The door, she squinted, had a several locks on the top part of the door, as if keeping something in or out. Her bag was situated on the table and she pulled herself up to the check the room for her weapons, but found nothing. She furrowed her brow and cursed.

The sound of the door being unlocked could be heard and she turned towards the door just as a woman just a little taller than her walked through. Anna watched as the woman turned back and nodded, and the man on the outside - watching the door - closed and locked it behind her. The woman offered her a small smile that spoke uncertainty, but Anna didn't move from where she was stood. Though unsteady on her feet, she didn't give the impression that she was vulnerable or at a weakness. She thought back to her army training; 'Despite how weak you are, whether you're bleeding, your limbs are hanging off or your guts are hanging out, you grin and bear it. The first sign of weakness you show to your enemy will allow them to get the upper hand. Never show your weakness, or you'll die.' The words of her army sergeant played through her mind and she bit her lip as the dull ache in her head persisted.

"I'm Lilly," the woman spoke up, her voice small and quiet, child-like. "I'm here to clean up your wounds."

Anna stared at her and immediately knew she was of no harm. Trusting her, however, was something that would be off the cards for the time being.

"Where am I?" Anna asked.

"You're at Woodbury," Lilly said, placing the medical box on the bed. "Philip and his men brought you in. They found you in a wreckage."

Anna furrowed her eyebrow and glanced at Lilly. "W-what?"

"You were in a wreckage when they came across you. You were unconscious. It was lucky they found you when they did, there was a huge horde of biters making their way to where you had crashed," Lilly answered, opening the box and getting out the essential bits.

Anna shook her head and held the table to steady herself. "No… no. That's not what happened…"

"You're confused. You hit your head pretty hard."

"I was hit… in the head by a man. Merle… yeah, Merle. He pistol whipped me. And…" Anna mumbled. "I was brought here. And my weapons are gone."

Lilly smiled, "Safety precaution. You'll be allowed them back when you're better, and able to stand up without needing to hold onto the table. Come on, I'll clean you up."

"I want to leave… as soon as you clean me up… I want to leave. Got that?" Anna demanded, angrily.

Lilly smiled and nodded. "I'll go speak with Philip. Tell him that you're better, and then you can leave. Okay? But first I need to clean your wound, before it gets infected."

Anna walked over to the bed slowly, her feet heavy as if made of wet sand. Lilly met her halfway and she dropped her defenses enough to be walked to the bed. Her eyes remained on the door as Lilly pulled on a pair of disposable gloves and pulled her auburn hair away from the wound. The wound was not as serious as she thought it was and despite there being a small amount of dried blood; there was only a miniature cut. It was tender to touch but Anna never moved as Lilly pressed her finger around the wound to ensure there wasn't a skull fracture. When she was happy that there wasn't a fracture, Lilly dipped a piece of cloth into a cup of water and gently placed it over the cut. She dabbed it on the skin and the dried blood was soon disappearing, faintly seeping into the cloth. Then she rubbed antibacterial gel onto a clean cloth and dabbed it again, surprised that the stinging didn't affect Anna, then she opened a small plaster and gently placed it on the wound.

"Finished?" Anna asked, and when Lilly nodded, she stood up and made her way towards her bag. "Thanks, by the way, for your hospitality. But I'd like to leave now."

Lilly was packing up the medical kit, and glanced over to her. "It's a good place here. Out there… it's horrible, but here? It's a good place. I'd stay, if I were you… get used to it, you know?"

Anna narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "No, thanks. I want to get away from here as quickly as I can. And if I were you, I'd get out too. Those men… they're dangerous."

"You were barely conscious. They're not bad people."

"I know what I saw. I know what they did to me. How many men came back with me?"

Lilly thought back to when Anna arrived just short of an hour ago, and noticed that they were a man down. Only Philip and Merle had come back. But he could've gotten bitten. The world was a scary place now.

"Two… Philip and Merle," Lilly stated.

"I'm right…" Anna nodded. "I shot Patrick, after Merle pistol whipped me. You have to believe me."

"He could've been bitten. You know what it's like out there. It's not the same anymore," Lilly began. "You were dazed… drifting in and out of consciousness."

"You're blindsided," Anna surmised. "You're involved with one of them. Merle? No. Philip. It's Philip, isn't it?"

The sound of the door unlocking halted their conversation, preventing Lilly from answering, but Anna already knew. Philip had cast a spell on Lilly. Compared to Philip, Lilly was naïve and trusting. The door opened and revealed the shape of the devil himself. Philip stepped inside and with a smile - one that Anna had seen so many times before - dismissed Lilly from the room without another word. Lilly cast one last glance towards Anna who gave her a knowing look. The door shut behind her and Anna was left alone in the room with Philip.

"I was so worried about you," Philip began. "The wreckage was bad."

Anna glared at Philip. He was standing at the doorway, blocking her exit. She glanced at the window, and thought about jumping out of it. It would hurt but she'd be able to get ahead of him and his henchmen. And without her weapons, what other choice did she have?

"You're full of bullshit."

Philip shook his head. "Language, missy. Don't bite the hand that feeds you."

"I'm leaving," Anna said. "Now."

Philip tipped his head to the side, and pouted slightly as if thinking of what to say. "But we haven't welcomed you to the group yet."

"You can shove your welcome up your a-"

She was cut off to a man entering the room. Bald head, stocky build, one hand… Merle. He smirked at her, and spoke to Philip quietly. She tried to narrow down her hearing and she heard snippets of it. Trek… shelter… prison…

Philip nodded and Merle departed the room. Anna folded her arms as he glanced at her. His eyes travelled over her body and she winced at the attention, he'd done it before…

"You can leave," Philip began. "But on one condition."

Anna exhaled. "What?"

Philip smirked. "You tell me what those blood samples are."


Author's note: Thank you to everyone who has reviews, favourited, and are following this. I really appreciate it. Hope you like it!