Hey all, here's your next chapter! To be honest, it wouldn't have been finished today, but I've had a hard day filled with verbal abuse and stress, so I've been stress typing, as that's my release. That's probably also why this chapter turned out the way it did hahaha *hides* Thanks for all the votes and people adding this story to reading lists, as well as to EmmaLove0407 and Amy290 for commenting!
Enjoy!
Chapter 26
Anamika had been gone for about two and a half hours and, after checking in with Alexandria using her long range radio, she decided she had enough time to make one more stop on the way back. She vaguely remembered seeing a barn in the distance while she, Daryl and Rick had been running after Jesus and their supply van and the area it had been in wasn't too far out of her way. Leaving the waterlogged van behind, Anamika hummed as she drove the truck to where she remembered the barn being, in high spirits despite her sopping wet clothes.
It wasn't more than fifteen minutes before she saw the structure in the distance and she smiled to herself, hopeful that she'd find something good there. Parking in front of the barn doors, her spirits fell slightly as she saw the doors wide open, but decided to try her luck nonetheless.
Checking the surrounding areas and seeing only one walker in the distance, she decided it looked safe enough. Sliding her machete from her sheath, she crept to the open doors, pretty sure there would be no walkers inside, as the sound of her truck would have lured them out, but not willing to take any chances.
Peeking into the gloomy interior of the barn, she saw lots of hay stacks standing around the sides of the barn and a ladder on the left that lead to the second floor, but other than that, it seemed deserted. She entered cautiously, her eyes darting around until she made sure that there was nothing there. The smell of mildew and rotten vegetation filled her nose and she grimaced, eyeing the old wooden walls dubiously. Just as she was about to give it up as a bust, she saw a gas can in the far corner, wedged behind some of the haystacks. Coming closer, she peered around the haystacks and saw to her surprise several gas containers, not just the one.
Excitement thrummed through her as she sheathed her machete, carefully, climbing onto the haystacks after poking them to make sure they were stable. The first gas drum was empty, as was the second one, but she struck gold with the third one. Giving it a shove, the gas caddy barely moved and a grin lit up her face. It looked to contain around 25-30 gallons of gas, if she could take a guess and she saw three more caddies and two other drums behind it. Nudging them all, she was ecstatic to feel they were all full or at least close to full and the sound of the sloshing liquid inside was like music to her ears.
Climbing down, she started the task of shifting the hay bales out of the way, so that she had easy access to the gas canisters behind them. Sweat was pouring down her back by the time she moved them all, along with the two empty gas barrels, out of the way. Hands on her hips, Anamika tilted her head as she regarded the various containers of gas contemplatively.
Her throat was scratchy from all the panting she did and her muscles trembled finely and she grudgingly admitted she wasn't as fit as she used to be before Alexandria. It would be easy to get the gas caddies to the car, as they had wheels, and she could just roll the gas drums to the car as well, but she admitted that she was tired and would prefer not to struggle with the heavy gas drums too much.
Making up her mind, she walked out to her truck, climbing in and starting it, before she carefully reversed it into the barn, as close to the gas cans as possible. Seeing as some of those cans weigh almost 200 pounds, she wanted them as close to the truck as possible. Starting with the gas caddies, as they were the easiest to move, she wheeled them closer, making sure that there was enough space in the back of the truck that she could easily fit them.
Bending her knees, she shifted her weight back, her feet far apart as she braced herself to lift the gas caddy, her hands on the handle. Straining, she managed to lift it a bit, before she set it down again, her arms shaking. Frowning down at the stubborn thing, she crouched more, bracing her back against the caddy, her hands holding the handle by her shoulder. Bending forward a bit, the caddy lifted off the ground, leaning on her back and slowly, she managed to stand up. Her arm muscles bulged and her fingers whitened with how tightly she was holding the canister, but she managed to slowly walk backwards and slide the caddy onto the truck bed. Carefully setting it down, she exhaled harshly, shaking her hands out to get the blood flowing in her fingers.
That had been much heavier than she thought it would be and she was not looking forward to doing the rest. The second one was just as difficult, as was the third one and Anamika was ready to just abandon the barrels after the fourth caddy was loaded into the truck. The barrels seemed a lot bigger and she was sure she would not be able to lift it, not if she struggled already with just the caddies. Tucking some strands of her hair that had come loose behind her ear, she walked to the barrel, slowly shifting it closer to the truck, before doing the same with the last one. Regarding the two troublesome things, her eyes drifted to the two empty drums she had moved to the side and a lightbulb moment happened.
She had a gas pipe in her truck, underneath the passenger seat. If she could move some of the gas from the full drums to the empty drums, then she wouldn't have to lift all that weight at once. Sure, she would have to fit four, maybe three barrels into her truck, which would need some rearranging, but it's better than leaving two 30 gallon barrels of gas behind.
Nodding to herself, she fetched the gas pipe and rolled the empty gas barrels closer, cursing when they clanged against the other barrels before she could stop them. Huffing, she lifted the one up, before bending to lift the other one. She had just managed to right it, when a foul smell hit her nose and before she could react, rotten arms wrapped around her from behind and moaning filled her ears.
Yelping, her eyes widened and she immediately tried to drop, to get the walker to let go of her, but the dead bugger had a tight grip on her and all that happened was the two of them staggering to the side. She heard a clicking of teeth right next to her ears and her hand shot up as she attempted to keep the walker away from her neck. The next few moments seemed to blur together, as her hand pushed the walker under its jaw to try and keep the teeth away from her as she flung her body back, causing both of them to stumble backwards.
In the ensuing scuffle, she managed to brace her feet, her hand that wasn't pressed under the walker's jaw grabbing the back of its head. Bending forwards, she shouted as she thrust her shoulder up and pulled her hands forward, flinging the walker over her shoulder and causing its grip on her to slip free. Usually, most walkers were so decomposed that the amount of force she used to throw them would tear their body apart. This walker, however, seemed to be quite fresh and intact and as such, she grunted as the entire body came over her shoulder instead of just the head or so.
She staggered back as the walker moaned and got to its feet and her eyes narrowed. She yelled again as she kicked the walker in the middle of its chest, trying to gain enough space to pull out her machete, but the next moment her eyes widened in fear, as the walker went crashing into one of the support poles of the barn, the rotten wood breaking apart under its weight. For a moment, it seemed as if nothing will happen, but then the crack of splintering wood and the groan of the building filled her ears.
The support beams above her splintered and broke and with her heart pounding in her chest, she ran and dove out of the barn, just in time to hear a tremendous crash behind her. Coughing, her eyes tearing from dust and fine splinters, she turned to see that the entire second level had collapsed and half of the barn as well.
"No...Nonononononono!" Jumping up, Anamika ran forward, trying to see where her truck was, but it seemed entirely buried beneath the rubble. She wouldn't be able to unearth it herself and for a moment she thought about if the universe was against her when it came to those supplies. Sighing, she rubbed her forehead, her shoulders sagging. She had wanted to bring the supplies back to the community on her own, to lessen the trouble they had to go through, but now she had no choice. She would need to go back and get some help in order to unearth her truck.
Luckily, She wasn't that far from Alexandria, about half an hour's ride and so not too far out for a supply team to come back with her. Also, just like when the van was in the lake, she doubt any other survivors would see her truck buried beneath the collapsed barn, so she didn't feel too bad leaving it there till they could return for it. She glared at the spot she could hear moaning coming from, but the walker seemed to be pinned, as she didn't see it crawling from the collapsed barn.
Straightening her shoulders, she turned towards Alexandria, hoping she would find a car along the way she could hot wire. She had been walking for close to twenty minutes when she saw a gas station with a car repair shop attached and she hoped for the best. Entering the shop, she walked over to the first car she saw, trying to start it. When it wouldn't start, she tried the next and the next one. At the third one she tried, it spluttered for a bit before dying, but it was more than she had gotten from the other cars. She tried again, pressing the pedal down and it did the same. Slamming her hands against the wheel, her face twisted into a scowl, she was extremely tempted to unload all her bullets into the infuriating vehicle.
She decided to try one more time before giving it up as a lost cause and as if God heard her, the car spluttered and then roared to life.
"Hell yes baby!" A wide grin stretched across her face as she reversed the car out of the shop, turning it onto the road and heading home. She lost the radio with her truck, so she hadn't been able to check in and she was anxious to make sure everything was still fine, as she had been gone for close to four hours by now.
Despite losing the supplies, she knew it was only temporary and they could easily go back for it. Sure, the food she had buried in that barn is a short-term solution to their dwindling food supply, but at least it was something. She couldn't wait to see Rick and Daryl's faces when she let them know all those supplies are just waiting for them to go dig up, not even to speak of Michonne's glee when she told her toothpaste was also abundant in the supplies.
Turning down onto the road that will eventually lead her right to Alexandria, she had barely any time to react when she heard a loud bang followed by a pop and then the car swerved, her hands clutching at the wheel as time slowed down. Clear as day, she knew not to jerk the wheel, else the car might start rolling, so instead she used every lick of skill she had to try and crash the car safely.
Her body jerked as the vehicle slammed into the forest at the side of the road, her car crashing through some small saplings at the forest edge to land in a deep ditch just beyond and her head rang. She was aware that she had to get out of the car, that someone had apparently shot at her, probably hitting one of her tires. Groaning, but alert, she reached for her gun, sinking her body as low as she could and glancing around in an attempt to see her attackers.
She snarled when she saw seven men exit the woods on the opposite side of the road, their clothing and bearing clearly marking them as Saviors to her experienced eyes. Easing the door open slowly, she dropped next to the car, keeping it between her and them. Knowing she didn't have a lot of time, she lied flat on the ground, aiming her gun from beneath her car to their legs. Taking a deep breath, she shot twice quickly, downing two men, but the unexpected cries of their allies and the shattered calves had the rest scattering.
She cursed, before jumping up and running into the woods, knowing they would follow. Their shouts rang out behind her as her heart beat madly in her ears and she flinched at the sound of a gunshot and a bullet lodging into a tree nearby. She ducked around another tree, peeking back to see the position of her pursuers. There was only four men now and she reasoned that one must have stayed behind with the other two injured men.
It was still more than she wanted to take on unprepared, especially when her body ached from her recent crash, no matter how much she tried to do it in a controlled manner. Closing her eyes tiredly for a few seconds to ground her, she exhaled slowly, letting her heart calm down and her mind still. When she opened them, her eyes were cold and hard, a determined glint in their depths. Making sure she knew where all four of the men were, she slowly adjusted her position, deciding the one closest to her hiding place was the biggest threat, followed by the one that was well on his way to flanking her.
Tensing her muscles, she sent a quick sorry in her mind to Daryl, before jumping from behind the tree, her gun up and ready. The man in front of her was dead before he knew what happened and she rolled as two shots went off, dust flying up from where she just was as the bullets hit the ground. She got off another shot, but only hit the guy in his leg in her hurry. Springing up from her crouch, she kept low to the ground, zigzagging as she ran in an attempt to avoid the gunfire. She slid to the ground behind another tree, aimed and fired within a second.
Another one bites the dust.
She knew she was exhausted when her mind hysterically giggled at the song blaring through her thoughts, causing her to shake her head to focus her attention again.
The remaining two men clearly decided that she was too much trouble alive, especially seeing as one was injured in the leg, and the next thing she knew, the uninjured one came charging in, tackling her to the ground before she could get up from where she crouched. Shooting his ally had given her position away and had allowed him to get near her while she had been aiming for his injured friend.
Her breath was knocked out of her as the brute of a man knocked her to the ground and stars flashed before her eyes as he landed a heavy punch against her jaw. Black spotting her vision, she bucked her hips up in an attempt to throw him off, but the savior was too heavy and she grimaced as he settled his weight more firmly on top of her, his hands finding their way around her neck. Gasping for air and desperate to get him to release her, her hands flew up to his face, her thumbs digging into his eyes as her face turned red.
Her attacker cried out as she jammed her thumbs into his eye sockets, jerking back and releasing her and she coughed, her eyes watering, but knowing she only had a few seconds to act in. Snapping her arm up, her palm smashed into the underside of the man's jaw and she twisted, throwing him off her body and slamming a knife she pulled from her boot into his temple.
However, she had forgotten about the other man and even injured he was still a danger. Screaming, she fell to the side as a knife was plunged into her side, fire racing up her body as her eyes watered. Her hair was gripped in a dirty hand and her head jerked back. The feeling of a knife at her throat had the world coming to a stop, a cold line of ice that was dragged across the delicate skin beneath her jaw. Jerking her head back, she gurgled as she felt blood running across her neck and white filled her vision.
She was only lost in the haze for a few seconds, but it was enough to become aware of a man dead at her feet, a knife plunged into the side of his neck. Feeling dizziness overcome her, she sunk to her knees, her hand clutching at her throat as she tried to stop the blood flow. Good news was that her trachea or carotid was probably not damaged, as she would most likely already be dead if they were. Bad news was that some of the minor jugular veins had been cut and if she couldn't stop the bleeding, she might still die from blood loss.
Pulling her shirt over her head, she pressed it against her neck, stumbling up and towards the highway even as her vision dipped and blackened with spots. Reaching the road, she had a moment to be grateful that apparently the other savior decided his two injured companions needed immediate help, as the three were nowhere to be seen.
Resisting the urge to cough or start crying, she limped to the car. She almost did start crying when her car wouldn't start, as she knew time was of the essence. Alexandria was't far, which was even more worrying since the saviors was so close to home, but it would still take her a good twenty minutes to walk back and she knew she didn't have that kind of time.
Turning to start her hopeless walk, sunlight glinted off something in the trees on the other side of the road and she realised, with some relief, that it was a car, probably one left behind for the saviors she killed. Practically falling into the driver's seat, she didn't even bother buckling up, just started the car and turned down the road with squealing tires, one hand on the wheel and the other still pressing her shirt tightly to her neck.
Honestly, Anamika couldn't even remember half of the 5 minute drive home, her vision failing her just as she drove around a large truck and saw the gates of Alexandria. Her mind started to shut down and she felt as if she wanted to throw up as the car came to a stop and she tumbled out of the seat onto the road, her body not obeying her instructions anymore. Her vision was entirely taken over by darkness and knew it wouldn't be long before she fell unconscious, but if she wanted to survive she had to get the attention of whoever was on guard.
She had to...
It felt like her mind swooned and she swayed, unable to stand up as she collapsed to her knees. Her thoughts slowed and her limbs became heavy. She was less than 500 yards from home, but felt so far away.
She was slowly going under...
Not today
One hand still pressing her shirt to her neck to stem the bleeding, she crawled forward, not being able to see where she was going but knowing she couldn't stop. Even then her arm trembled and her side burned and she suddenly knew, with unusual clarity, that she was going to die. It didn't matter how close to home she was, she couldn't make it any further and she didn't even know if someone on guard duty saw her or if help was coming.
She had tried her best, but it wasn't enough. When she lifted her hand to move forward another step, her body collapsed. She rolled over onto her back, her breaths shallow and then she knew no more.
Not today...
WD
When Daryl had returned to Alexandria, the first thing he did was search for Anamika. When he couldn't find her, he sought out Carl, who told him she went on a run, but not to worry, because she took a long distance radio with her. The last time she had checked in had been an hour ago apparently and she had said she was going to make a stop on the way back, so it wasn't unusual that she wasn't home yet.
However, a lot could happen in an hour and Daryl wasn't content to take anyone's word when it came to Anamika, not even someone he trusted as much as he did Carl, not when she was out there alone.
Making his way to the guard tower, he climbed up, as whoever was on guard had the radio with them and he wanted to hear Anamika's voice for himself. Finding Aaron at the top, he greeted the man and as if he knew what Daryl wanted, the recruiter handed him the radio without a word. Pressing down the button, he brought the radio up to his mouth.
"Mika, come in." Daryl waited for a bit, his eyes roving over the road, before he brought the radio back to his mouth.
"Anamika, come in!"
"Goddamned woman, pick up the radio!" Daryl felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, his senses sharpening at the continuous white noise coming from the radio instead of Mika's voice.
"Keep an eye on the road for her." He climbed down the tower, striding over to where Rick was telling Gabriel the was gathering everyone in the church for a meeting in an hour.
"Rick!" The sheriff turned towards the archer, his brow furrowed as he took in the barely visible worry on his brother's face.
"Mika went out and she's not answering the radio." A look of worry took over Rick's face, but his voice was steady.
"Maybe she's just scavenging a house or something and left the radio in her car. Wait a few minutes and try again." Daryl paced back and forth, chewing his thumbnail and his expression thunderous. Honestly, as soon as that woman came back, he was going to have a word with her. He thought they were past this, that she knew they did things together and not on their own anymore!
After a few minutes, Daryl tried again and growled when he received no answer again. Seeing Rick stretch out his hand, he chucked the radio to him, his fingers tightening across the strap of his crossbow, the crossbow Anamika had given him, he thought with a scowl and a tightening in his chest. He was aware of Rick talking into the radio, but seeing as Anamika's voice didn't answer, he ignored the man's efforts. It was now about an hour and a half since Anamika was last heard of and Daryl was ready to just go out there on his own to search for her, nevermind that doing that was exactly what got them in this situation with Anamika in the first place.
"Michonne!" The woman came over, her trusty katana slung across her back and her eyes serious.
"Gather some people, we're going out to look for Anamika. Carl, make sure the people on guard know to look out for her return. Gabriel, tell everyone the meeting is postponed till we get back. Hopefully, it shouldn't take longer tha-"
"DARYL! RICK!" Daryl spun around at Aaron's panicked cry, seeing the man practically jump down the last few steps and waving them over before running out of the gate, Spencer on his heels. Heart in his throat, Daryl barreled down the road to the gate, his arms pumping and vaguely aware of Rick right next to him. Sasha, who was still on the other guard tower, had her sniper aimed at something and as Daryl came closer, she glanced at him, her eyes pained as she shouted down at him.
"It's Anamika, she seems to be injured and had collapsed." She needed to say no more, as Daryl put on another burst of speed and ran after Aaron and Spencer, Rick shouting out orders behind him. Soon he saw the two men some way in front of him crouch down around someone and his heart jumped as he heard Aaron's heartbreaking cry.
Skidding to a halt, his ears were ringing and his breath dragging out of his throat, as the first thing he saw was red, red everywhere. Blood was splattered across Anamika's exposed body and for a moment he couldn't understand why she was just in her bra, but then he saw the bloodied shirt Aaron was pressing against her throat, the man's eyes wild.
"Her throat is cut! Oh lord, I- I don't kno- What do we do?!" Everything seemed to fall silent as Daryl saw Anamika's slack face, a bloodied wound on her side and the gory shirt wrapped around her neck like some sort of scarf. Shouldering Spencer out of the way, he ignored Aaron's stuttered words and hefted Anamika into his arms.
He wouldn't let her die.
He couldn't let her die.
He started running.
WD
Soooo... Anamika just didn't have good luck in this chapter. It was just one thing after the other, but it all happened for very specific reasons, some of you probably even know what those reasons are. I hope to have the next chapter finished soon, wish me luck:)