All Hope Is Gone

Glenn’s mouth was still ajar as T-Dog pulled the car up next to the house. Night was just beginning to set in and they were coming back one person short. “I can’t believe she did that.”

T-Dog cut the engine and sat back in the driver’s seat. “Neither can I man.”

“We could have done something.” Shaking his head Glenn couldn’t come to terms with leaving Anastasia out there like that. There had to be something they could have done. “How do we tell them?”

“I think they’ll see she’s gone before we have to tell them anything.” He picked up his bag alongside hers and began to move from the car.

People were already coming out of the house to greet them and help bring the haul inside…people including Daryl.
The sound of the car coming to a stop had woken him from his light sleep and the sudden memory of snapping at Anastasia before she’d left on the supply trip was the first thought to meet him. He’d shuffled from the bed and pulled his sleeveless shirt on over his torso and pants before joining Carol near the front door.

Carl was next to Lori, the boy had thankfully started to show brighter signs of life and found the strength to wander out to see what had been brought back. It was like Christmas when a supply run had returned.

Glenn gulped down hard as he saw Rick and Shane look down at them and a rock set itself in his gut as he watched Shane lean over and whisper something to Rick. Whatever it had been caused Rick’s brow to furrow and he nodded.
Slowly Glenn followed T-Dog to the bottom step and they slung their bags on the stairs in front of them and looked up at Rick and Shane. “Rick…”

He held up his hand and took a deep breath in, the last thing he needed to hear was they’d lost another of their own. “Is she dead?”

The men shook their heads. “No.”

“Well where is she?!” Daryl stepped forward, his face stricken with confused emotion. He’d seen Glenn and T-Dog exit the car but not Anastasia. A cold stone crashed in his chest as he looked back at the car. “What happened?!”
Carol had followed him forward and was now placing a hand on his arm, feeling a worry of her own build up in her soul.

“Um…” Again Glenn gulped. “There were…I mean she…I can’t believe she did that.” He raised his hands to the back of his hand and let out a breath. “Walkers were blocking us from the car and Anastasia told us to go. She led them away so we could get back here with the supplies.”

The answer didn’t satisfy Daryl. “Whadda mean she lead ‘em away?”

Glenn looked towards Daryl and noted the shadow of a watery eyed expression from the hard arse Redneck. “She herded them away from us. There was no way she could get back to the car. More and more Geeks were coming for her. So she turned away from us and ran.” Glenn’s arms fell to his sides, there wasn’t anything else he could say.

Daryl took a step back, the reply knocking the breath from his lungs. It really did sound like the kind of selfless thing she’d do. Selfless and stupid. “So she’s out there, alone…” It wasn’t a question and it wasn’t meant to be heard by anyone. The sound of vulnerability in his tone was only heard by Carol as she stood so close to him.

“Daryl, she’ll be alright. We can search for her in the morning.” Trying her hardest, Carol wanted to smother the pit of fire building up in Daryl.

“I’m sorry, man.” T-Dog was lost for words.

“Don’t…” Daryl turned and left the group with open mouths on the veranda. Guilt was balling itself into a tight ball in his chest. It was his fault she’d gone out there. “If I hadn’t been such a prick…” He thought that she would still be there. He could have at least just been nice to her, but no. The last things he said to her he’d said out on anger and now there was nothing Daryl could do to change that. He couldn’t change what happened.



The bark of an old tree long unattended to was scratching at her skin as she’d waited out the Walkers. It had been hours until they had forgotten about chasing her up there and shuffled off back towards the shops.
Anastasia let out a heavy pent up breath and rested her head against the high branch she had found herself in. The moon overhead glowed fat and gluttonous in the sky. Safe and far away from the horrors happening on earth.
Looking down to the pavement she took her time in scoping out the area around her for any signs of movement. When she was sure all was still Anastasia slowly and quietly descended from the tree. Around her there was no light save for the moon, so sticking as best she could to its light Anastasia began to wander the night streets.

There was a terrible cold bite in the night and as she walked along the pavements the thought of entering one of the houses lining the road was so tempting that she almost gave in. But willing herself forward Anastasia knew that would be a death wish. If there were Walkers in there she only had a knife and no back up to fight with.
No she had to find somewhere safe. But where was safe going to be? Safe was back at the farm with her camp. She smiled to herself as she thought about them. It hadn’t been all that long ago when Rick, Glenn, T-Dog and Daryl had found her huddled away in that office cabinet back in Atlanta. Anastasia had had her qualms with joining the group thinking they’d be too much hassle, but she soon discovered how wrong she was about that.
Everything Anastasia had fought for since joining them was worth it, even being out in the cold all alone was worth it just to know two of her members were back their safe with supplies enough to keep everyone going.
Her hand crept back to the locket around her neck and as she thumbed its silver surface the sensation of where Daryl had fixed the chain scratched her skin in the most comforting way. Again thoughts of the tough Redneck entered her mind and again she thought that there wouldn’t have been anyone out there that she would feel the same away about as her late husband. But there was Daryl, making her feel those funny little things. A sigh left her chest. “And I’ll never get to see any of you again.”

Deep down even though all she wanted was to get back to the farm, Anastasia knew there was no way that was going to happen. Not now, not when she knew how far it was and how dangerous it would be. From now on she’d just have to find some other way of getting through this life.

Coming to a fork in the road she stopped. Both tongues had houses on either side and Anastasia knew not where either would end up, so as she stood there she thought. Right or left? Raising a finger she did the best and most logical thing she could think of at that time. If she were going to make a decision, the old game of eenie meenie miney moe was going to help her decide.
Her voice quivered as she recited the childhood rhyme. One she had laughed along with as she and Dana would drive Lincoln crazy in the shops deciding on where to go first. “Eenie meenie miney moe, where do all the Frenchmen go? To the East and to the West. To the bonny birdie's nest. Apples in the garden. Fishes in the sea. If you want a pretty girl please choose…me.” Her finger landed on the left tongue. “I guess this is it then.”
Her boots turned down the left fork and with a heavy heart she knew what she was leaving behind.



It was a bitter night as the group sat down to dinner. How had so much happened in one day? It was insane to think of everything that had gone in just twenty-four hours. Silence encompassed everyone as they sat in front of plates of food; the only sounds were of fork and knives scraping against the dinnerwares.
Rick glanced over his group and the feeling of control over the safety of them was quickly falling by the waist side. Sophia was out there, god knows where. Daryl had been messed up and shot and now Anastasia was missing out there too. He rubbed his temples and looked back down at his plate. What sort of leader was he?”

“Honey…” Lori rested a hand over his and tried a smile. “Everything will turn itself out fine. You’re doing the best you can.”

Rick wanted to smile at her but he just couldn’t. Again he looked up at the group and noticed two spots were empty. “Where are Daryl and Merle?”

Carol looked over at the empty seats. “I think Daryl is in his tent and Merle…I don’t know.”

Rick sighed tiredly. “I’ll go and check. Can’t have anyone else go off missing.”

Lori watched as her husband left the table in search of the Dixon brothers. Placing her knife and fork back down on the table she buried her face into her hands letting her distress become apparent to the rest of the group.

“Lori, why don’t you and Carl go and do something and we’ll clean up.” Glenn offered leaning forward.

“We’ll take care of this mess.” Dale nodded in agreement.

She smiled and nodded. “Thank you, I’d really appreciate that.”



Rick’s boots crushed the slicken night grass as he walked down towards Daryl’s tent secluded from the rest of the camp. “Daryl.” He stood outside the entrance to the tent.

“What?” Daryl grunted back as he rustled around inside.

“You weren’t at dinner…”

“So? I ain’t no kid who needs ta be checked on.” From inside the tent Daryl was sharpening his tools. He stuck his knife in its sheath and poked his head outside the tent. “Ya still ‘ere?”

“What are you doing? You got shot today and should be in bed resting up.” Now Rick’s hands were sitting on his hip and the sound of frustration was obvious in his voice.

Daryl raised a brow. “Well Officer it seems ta me that I feel just fine. I’m gonna go out and look fer Anastasia.”

“It’s pitch black out there, no way are you going out there on your own at this time of night. Wait till morning and we can break into two groups and look for both Anastasia and Sophia. Cover more ground in the light.”

Shifting from his tent and coming to full stance Daryl eyed the cop up and down before shifting his gaze towards the house. “I shouldn’tve let her go out there taday.”

“You weren’t to know Daryl.” Rick rested a hand over Daryl’s shoulder who nodded.

“Nah. It was my fault. If I didn’t act like such a dick Anastasia would still be ‘ere.”

“And maybe Glenn and T-Dog wouldn’t be. What she did today was a great thing and we know she is still alive.” Rick, trying as Carol did, was showing Daryl the brighter side of a dark situation.

He shrugged off the hand and turned his back towards the tent. “It’s been hours now, she could be dead already.”

“You didn’t think that about Sophia.” Offered Rick watching as Daryl ducked back inside.

“Yeah well…” He took a moment to think as he looked back up at Rick. “First light tomorrow if ya ain’t ready I’m goin’ out there alone.”

“Alright, first light I will be here.” He turned to leave when suddenly Rick turned back. “Where’s your brother at?”

Daryl shrugged. “Got no idea, probably went off by himself after getting’ jack of all ya’ll.”



It started out as a rustle in a nearby bush that had Anastasia look back over her shoulder and grab for her knife. The rustle soon turned into a shuffle. The shuffle turned into a groan and Anastasia’s midnight walk turned into a sweat breaking run.
From behind her she could hear more and more Geeks gather around the one that had been stowing itself away in the bush. Their collective groans and sharp screeches making Anastasia’s heart hammer faster in her chest. Chancing a glance over her shoulder the sight that met her almost had stumble and trip first face onto the cement pavement. It hadn’t been just a few Walkers that had taken up following, it was a whole damn horde. Bigger than what she had seen on the road. Panic gripped her as her boots hit the road with a loud slap and carried her towards across from the horde of flesh eating undead freaks.
“Fuck!” Anastasia cursed as she jumped the fence catching her inner thigh in the wire and tearing her flesh. The sting was nothing compared to what it would feel like to be ripped limb from limb is she stopped to cry about. So pumping her legs Anastasia ran through to the back and for a moment pressed herself flat against the back door to catch her breath.
The tall chain-link fence rattled and clinked as the dead horde pressed itself against the metal and she knew it wouldn’t last out but if she could just get a few houses down there was a chance she could find a roof to hide on top of as they passed.

Again Anastasia scaled the back fence as she did the first and landed with a thunk on the grass of the next yard. A whooshing sound escaped her lungs as the wind was knocked out of them.
“Get up!” She ground her teeth against the burn in her thighs and the tight dryness developing in her throat to clamber over another fence and another and another till the Walkers moans were distant enough for her to feel safe enough to chance a climb onto the roof of the house she’d landed next to.
Taking a run Anastasia launched herself with was left of her strength towards the vacant houses laundry roof and thankfully it was enough for her to hook her arms around the gutter before hauling the rest of her body up there.

She huffed and wheezed while clambering to the top of the roof. Once Anastasia was sitting securely in her spot she looked out over the street. The horde was easy to spot and as they shuffled through the street in front of her she watched them clamber on, forgetting they were chasing something and soon disbanded and returned to whatever space their heads were in.
Anastasia let her muscles relax as silence again surrounded her. Her eyes glanced around her as she decided that leaving the safety of a high up spot wasn’t the smartest thing to do so her next option was to spend the night up on the roof.
It wasn’t ideal and sure as hell wasn’t going to be comfortable but it was going to be safe. Anastasia let out a sigh as she rested her body against the roof tiles, her legs squeezing the top edge. Closing her eyes for a moment she could feel hot wetness prickles them, how she missed her camp.
How she missed Daryl.