Author's note: I apologise profusely for the delay! Here is the next chapter - hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think, I love to read your reviews!


Chapter Thirteen

Maim

The sound of the gun cocking unsettled her. There had been many times when she had ended up with a gun pointed at her head, where she had stared death in the face and where visions of her corpse, bleeding from a bullet to the brain and her eyes, lifeless and dull, staring towards the sky. But most of the time, apart from two previous times when she had believed that her life was indeed over, she was able to brush away the fears that plagued her heart and mind and images of her dead body flashing before her eyes, and have a laugh with her training officer. But now... It was different. And there was no sugar coating it.

She had vowed to Merle that she would protect Sophia with her life and take her back to the prison. Back to her momma. She never went back on her promises, but she had failed.

The fear of it being Philip - The Governor - clasped desperately at her heart, and she hoped with all her heart that he hadn't found her. Had they followed Merle? Was it in fact Merle? Was he lying to her and had the intention to kill her all along?

Sophia held Anna's hand tightly, and shook with fear. Anna, no matter how many times she had been in this position, was scared. She tried to remain as calm as possible, mostly for the little girl's sake. She pulled the girl to her tightly, and raised her spare hand which held the rifle. It was too dark to see who it was but the fear that prickled her skin seemed to lessen. It wasn't The Governor, his henchmen or Merle. That was for sure. It was, however, someone she didn't expect to see. There was no way to tell, whoever it was, but she was sure that it was a child.

"Get away from her." The voice of a young boy filled Anna's ears. It wasn't the fact that it was a child who had cocked their gun that unsettled her, but of the lack of emotion in his voice.

She narrowed her eyes at the boy, as Sophia opened her eyes and let out a small gasp. At this, Anna scanned the surrounding woods for any stragglers but found none. But as Sophia's shaking stopped, Anna glanced down at the young girl. Sophia pulled her arms from around Anna's waist and slipped her hand into the older woman's. Anna was shocked but she assumed that Sophia, at least, had some trust in her.

"Carl! Put the gun down. She's not bad!" Sophia was talking but the boy kept his gun aimed at her.

"You don't know that."

"I do! She saved me! She's good!" Sophia exclaimed. "She promised to take me home to momma!"

Carl eyes Anna, and she tried to remain silent. In situations like this one, she had learned, that the best thing to do was to stay quiet until it was time to plead for your life. It felt like forever before he gave a short nod.

Anna exhaled. She lowered her arm. "Thank you, Carl."

Carl tipped his head in acknowledgement, and Sophia released Anna's hand and ran towards the young boy. She threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around him. He accepted the gun but kept his gaze fixed on Anna. Anna looked around her, aware of Carl's gaze boring into her, and ran a hand through her sweaty hair.

"We should get back now," Sophia whispered. "She's taking us home. Back to momma."

Carl nodded, and with Sophia's hand in his, began making his way towards Anna. She was standing near the bushes. When they came to her side, she kept still. Carl was about to say something to hurry her up, when he heard it too. There was rustling, and slow, almost inaudible footsteps in the distance. Anna glanced at Carl and they both nodded. Almost in sync, they took a step back and raised their weapons.

She knew he could handle himself, but Sophia...

There was no time to think as a straggler forced himself through the thick bushes. Anna lowered her rifle and pulled out her knife, stepping forward and plunging the sharp blade into the skull of the straggler. A squelching sound filled her senses. Its moaning came to an end, and she pushed it away, and it landed on the ground with a thud.

Anna threw a look towards Carl and he smirked. She could handle herself. But his smirk faltered as more moaning could be heard in the same direction as where the straggler came from.

The dead came thick and fast, pushing themselves through the bushes. Some fell, landing in a heap on the ground and the others stumbled over them. They were hungry, their eyes greedily flicking between the three living humans. Their hands grasped at the air, trying to claw at their skin. Sophia screamed.

Carl and Anna worked together, shielding Sophia as much as they could. Anna forcibly stabbed the dead in the head. One, two, three. And Carl fired his weapon, the silencer enabling him to make the kills without any noise. He was unaware of the amount of bullets that remained in the chamber but when the gun clicked, he glanced worriedly at Anna. She had heard the click, and just as she was about to throw her rifle at Carl, a straggler fell on top of her. She fell to the ground in a heap, and pain reverberated throughout her body. The straggler was strong and she was taken aback at the force it had on her as it held her down. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side as blood dripped from its mouth and landed on her face.

She heard it first, from a distance... a whoosh.

Something had sliced through the air and before she could comprehend what was happening, the straggler fell limp on top of her.

She pushed it off her and stood. Her balance was unstable, her breathing erratic, and she shook from head to toe. She felt the warmth of the blood on her face and tried to wipe it off, but no matter what she did, the thickness of the black liquid prevented her from doing so. Her face and neck was covered in blood. She was sure none of it had seeped into her mouth and eyes. She wasn't bit. There was no burning sensation on her skin which was a good sign. Her eyes then narrowed on the straggler that laid on the ground, an arrow protruding from its head.

It was then that she took a moment to survey her surroundings. Stragglers adorned the woodland floor, black blood seeping into the ground. Her eyes travelled over towards the children, who both stared bewildered at her as blood dripped off her face. Standing behind the children were two men. She blinked, unsure as to whether her eyes were playing tricks on her. A man stood close to the boy, a hand resting on Carl's shoulder, and his eyes watching her closely. The other man, however, had his crossbow raised and aimed at her head. He was staring at her intensely and she felt uncomfortable under his gaze.

"Stay back," he growled.

"I'm not bit..." she whispered, her voice failing her.

"Any get into your eyes?" The other man asked, to which she shook her head. "Mouth?" She shook her head again.

But as she stared at Sophia, and saw the fear in the little girl's eyes, she realised that she didn't know if any straggler blood had gotten into her system.

She just had to hope. It was the only thing she had left.