Chapter 32
(Go it Alone by Beck)
Sleep was something that I haven't done in a total of three days. I may have been in bed, but I didn't shut one eye. I'm perfectly fine with not sleeping because if I sleep my mind will most likely dream about things I don't want to dream about. It's not hard to stay awake anymore. It feels natural, and I feel as if I could go the rest of my life without sleep. Besides, who needs rest anyway? It's for the weak.
This particular morning, I did not feel like laying in bed. I managed to roll my bum ass out of bed and head down the stairs. I wasn't surprised when everyone stopped what they were doing to stare. I understand; they haven't seen me in days.
"Here darling, have some eggs." Maggie held out a plate which I reluctantly took. I wasn't exactly hungry. The thought of food actually made me want to vomit.
"Come sit by me." Beth smiled, patting the chair next to her. However, Carl was sitting directly across from it.
"Actually, I think I'm gonna go eat outside. I haven't seen the sun in days so..." I stifled a laugh, backing out of the room. I made my way to the front door and exited the house. I wasn't surprised to find Daryl sitting on the porch steps making new arrows. I sighed, sitting next to him. We sat in silence, and I watched him as he sharpened his hand made arrow. His face was scrunched up and he had beads of sweat dripping down his neck. He was so focused on what he was doing. That is until an unwanted visitor came walking our way. My breath hitched, and Daryl's facial expression changed.
"What the hell do you want?" He growled, standing up.
"I need to talk to Anna-"
"The hell- go away! Get now. Before I shoot this arrow in your ass!" Mark looked at me with his sad, puppy dog eyes as he backed away from the house. Once he finally left, my breath returned to normal. Daryl sat down next to me, patting my back.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine. Perfect actually." I smiled tightly at him.
"Explains why you dropped your eggs." He scoffed, getting up. I looked down at the broken plate and scattered eggs with shards of glass in them. At least now I had an excuse not to eat them.
Once again I was left alone, and I honestly didn't mind. If I had to, I would spend another year by myself and not shed one tear. The thought of being alone seems easier than the thought of dealing with my problems.
Rick came walking down the sidewalk, and he did not look happy. "Group meeting. Now." He spat. I got up quickly, following him inside the house. He nearly slammed the door on me. Everyone stopped what they were doing when they noticed him standing here. Rick waited until he got everyone's attention before he spoke. He was fuming. He looked like he wanted to rip someone's throat out.
"The wreck wasn't an accident. These bastards set it up on purpose. They knew where we all were and they've been tracking us since we were in Georgia. I don't know how they've even managed to find us or why they chose us, but I don't wanna stick around to find out."
"What?" Maggie questioned.
"Yeah Rick. You're not making any since here." Glenn piped in.
Rick sighed. "Look, I know it's a lot to take in, but you've got to hear me out. The wreck seemed a little suspicious to me. Why would the tire suddenly blow out? So I got to thinking about how those people would know the exact moment the accident occurred. I mean, I knew they were tracking us, but how would they be able to get news back that quickly about the accident?"
"I'm still not seeing where you're going with this." Glenn, as well as everybody, began to grow impatient.
"I went out to inspect the scene. I found evidence of broken pieces of tire spikes scattered everywhere. Guess they weren't smart enough to clean up after themselves."
Everyone sat quietly for a moment. It was hard to believe that these people would go out of their way to set up an accident just to get us all here.
"That's not even the worst part... I snuck into Tammy's house because I was so confused as to why they'd do this. But I finally found my answer... We are not a weak group. We're all strong and hardworking... And they want to trade us. Tammy is planning to trade us for supplies to some huge camp in Montana. We'd practically be slaves if we were to be sent there."
Now everyone understood, and no body was taking it well.
"What are we gonna do?" Beth rubbed her arms, which is something she does when she's nervous.
"We've got to get the hell out of here." Daryl got up from his chair and began throwing supplies in his bag.
"No, no! Stop. We aren't running. We're gonna remind them why they picked us. We're gonna kill em'."
"Rick-"
"We are... Tonight." Everyone exchanged glances, nodding. "Rest up. It's gonna be a long night."
•••••••
Usually I don't question Rick, but his decision on how to deal with this particular situation is not exactly how I would choose to handle the problem. I hate to say it, but I think we should run. Get the hell out of here before anyone else gets killed. Rick is putting all of us at risk by choosing to kill them. It's something my dad would do, and because of his decision, he's dead.
"This is stupid." I huffed, packing my stuff.
"Yeah." Beth mumbled, lost in her thoughts. She looked worried.
"Beth?"
"Someone's going to die. This is exactly what happened at the prison. Except this time we're the Governor." She placed her hands over her face and inhaled deeply.
"Beth, nothing is going to happen. We're killing them, and then we're getting out of this hell hole."
"This is house is actually really nice." Beth giggled, sniffling. I smiled at her, and opened my arms to hug her.
"I never thanked you. You saved my life. I would've been dead if you hadn't pulled me out of that tub. So, thank you." We both laughed softly. She pulled back from the hug and grabbed my shoulders. She held eye contact with me, studying me closely.
"How are you?" She asked slowly.
"Great." I smiled, trying to convince the both of us that I was.
"That's... Great!" She pulled me in for another hug and squeezed extra hard.
"I love you Anna. Please don't go any where."
I laughed. "I'm not going any-"
"No. I mean, don't. Go. Anywhere." She shook me slightly to make sure I got the point.
"I won't. I swear." Beth smiled satisfyingly.
A knock sounded from the door, and then Michonne popped her head in.
"Um, Anna, someone is here to see you."
"I don't want to talk to him." I spat, knowing it was Mark.
"Actually..." Michonne opened the door wider. Molly looked up at me with her big blue eyes and slowly entered the room. Beth left along with Michonne, and she shut the door on her way out. Molly sat in a rocking chair in front of me, folding her hands in her lap.
"I forgive you." She said after several minutes of deadly silence. "You don't know the whole story Anna."
I couldn't speak to her. It's as if there was a force telling me to keep my mouth shut. And so that's what I did.
"Mark's dad married my mom a long time ago. We were a happy family, and everything was great... until she died from cancer. Mark's dad... Well-he... He committed suicide. Mark and I were put into foster care when we were ten, and when we turned twelve we were adopted by the O'rielly's. When the outbreak started, Mrs. O'rielly passed. And since then it's been me, Mark, and Mr. O'rielly. I had always been attracted to Mark, but nothing ever happened because our parents were married. But once the apocalypse started, we decided to change our story. So we could be together without people thinking we were freaks. I may be Mark's step sister, but I'm also his girlfriend."
I felt even worse after hearing Molly's story. I couldn't even look at her. However, she placed her hand on my shoulder, saying, "I forgive you."
She slowly got up, heading for the door.
"Don't you hate him?" My mouth shot open, asking such a stupid question.
"No. Was I mad? Yes. But no, I don't hate him."
"But he cheated on you. He used me, took advantage of me, and practically stole my virginity."
Molly smile softly. "You can't choose who to love." She exited the room, leaving the door wide open.
Her words circled around in my head. They pulled at my heart strings and made me remember things I didn't want to recall. I thought Molly was weak, but all this time, she's been stronger than me myself. She's had to go through so much, yet she doesn't allow herself to fall apart. She's like a rubber band that keeps stretching and stretching, but eventually she's gonna pop. I just wonder what it's gonna be that makes her.
I finally put my last belonging in my bag, zipping my backpack up. I slid it onto my shoulders, but stopped when I looked up. Carl stood across the hall, staring into my room. I hadn't forgotten what he said. He's that real reason the whole Mark thing happened. He broke me.
"What? What do you want?" I snapped.
"I-" he was cut of by a loud bang. I heard the group screaming from downstairs. It sounded like they were saying fire. Carl and I raced down the stairs to see what all the commotion was about. The kitchen windows were busted and there was fire growing rapidly throughout the house. We all scurried thru the front door, but that didn't seem to solve our problems either. Almost half the town of Jefferson stood with their guns pointed at us. Even Nurse Lilly.
••••••••
HEY AND OOOPS
I'm sorry I didn't exactly get the chapter up when I said I would 😅 I was busy packing for Tennessee and if you've ever been to Tennessee then you know it's hard to get a connection up in the mountains. I don't even know if this chapter is gonna upload until I get back home. Buuuuut anyway I hope you liked your little hint😉 and if you didn't get it than I'll explain. Older Carl will be played by Ian Somerholder (don't know if that's how you spell it) and older Anna will be played by, you guessed it , Nina Dobrev. Well okayyyyy until next time ily guys peace ✌🏻️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️