All Hope Is Gone

Carol sat beside Lori and Anastasia as they scrubbed their skin clean in a near by lake bed while filling up pales of water to carry back to the camp site.

“I would be more comfortable if Shane weren't glancing back every minute or less.” Carol whispered moving her hand under her bra and back again.

“Well it's just safer this way.” Lori replied in a tone that agreed with Carol.

Anastasia just shrugged and stripped off her bra. “I'm not concerned. I just want to get clean already. Hey Shane could you hold this for me?” She waded over and held out her bra.

“Ah sure.” He gave her a quick once over and smiled.

“Thanks. Didn't fancy walking back to camp with that thing all wet and sticking to my shirt.” Anastasia smiled her thanks and made her way back over to the women who stared at her open mouthed.

“I can't believe you just did that!” Carol nudged Anastasia shoulder as she did so often.

“I have no issues with it so I don't know why you all do. It's not as if I am down to my pink and jiggling all down in front of him.”

Lori barked a laugh quickly clamping her hand over her mouth. “Yea Shane doesn't always see it that way. Especially with that tight body of yours.”

“Yeah we can tell you've never bore a child before.”

Anastasia stopped and looked up at Carol, her hand going to her locket again. Looking back Carol crinkled her brow at the sudden silence as realisation dawned over her.
“Oh sweetie I...I didn't think.”

Lori moved her hands from the water meeting the look on Anastasia's face. “You have a child?”

“Had. I had a daughter.” Raking her hands through her hair Anastasia began to move through the water back over to Shane.

Tugging her bra from its spot tucked in his belt buckle Anastasia gathered her clothes with the pales of water.

“Anastasia.” Lori called after her worried they had struck a delicate cord with the young woman. 'Had' could only have meant one thing in this violent world.

“Stay with Lori and Carol I am going back to camp.” She skilfully clipped her bra back over her ample chest.

“No. Just wait-”

“Shane I will be fine.” Anastasia cut the man off before turning and finding her way back through the shrub.

It was silly to have acted that way. Neither Carol or Lori had known but yet the subject of her daughter wasn't one she wanted anyone else knowing about.

“Christ sake.” Anastasia stomped her foot over the damp earth before setting the pales of water down by her sides.

The clothes in her hand were clean when she had picked them from the make shift clothes line that morning but since Shane hadn't been watching where he was putting his big feet they were now dusted with earth.
Bending over to pull on the baby blue jean shorts Anastasia heard a crackle to her side and froze looking over to the side. She pressed her eyes shut and mouthed the word “Fuck” to herself. Sliding the shorts over her hips she didn't bother to pull the buttons closed before grabbing for the pales when a sharp “THUNK!” hit her right on the backside.
“Ouch!” The woman yelped immediately clamping her hand over the now tender spot. “No walker would do that so who the fuck is out there?”

“Who the fuck is askin'?”

Anastasia turned to the source of the voice and was met with a flannel clad man smiling a wicked grin in her direction.

“I asked first.”

The man grunted coming further out from the bushes. “Name's Merle.”



Clearing through the bushes with Lori and Carol in tow Shane looked around the camp knowing he was one woman short and just hoped to God she had made it back on her own. Every fibre in his body had told him not to let her go alone. He should have held her down even if she kicked or screamed.

“Where's Anastasia?” Rick asked as he wife passed him with her pales of water.

“She ain't back yet?” The worst feeling struck Shane in the pit of stomach.

Rick rose a brow and stood with his hands over his waist. “What do you mean back yet? I thought she was with you and the other women?”

A huff left Shane's mouth while he rubbed the side of his head. “She was man, but stormed off before I could catch up and I couldn't leave Carol and Lori.”

“Shane!”

“I thought she would be okay. We weren't far from the camp.”

Daryl looked up from his spot beside the fire with a dead and partially skinned rabbit in hand watching as the two boss men began to argue. “Hey Lori.”

Lori turned as Daryl leaned over to face her. “Yea Daryl?” She was just as anxious and worried as Shane was. As soon as she saw Anastasia wasn't back at camp the foreboding feeling in her belly began to settle around her tenfold.

“Where's Anastasia?” His gore encrusted hunting knife was still firmly clamped in his hand as he asked.

“I don't know.”

Snapping from his spot. “What do ya mean ya don't know?”

“There was a bit of a hiccup at the lake and she went off on her own. I'm sorry it's all I know.” Feeling deflated and useless Lori let her arms drop by her side.

“And Shane did nothing? Typical that bastard can't do his job right.”
Lori was left in Daryl's wake as he stomped his booted feet in Shane's direction. “Dickhead. Ya just let her go on her own?” Daryl confronted Shane pushing Rick to the side.

Shane put a hand up to Daryl. “I didn't mean to, man.”

“Fuck this shit. I'll go lookin' for her. You useless dicks stay here in case she comes back.”

“Daryl it'd be best to go in a group.” Rick placed a hand on the riled up Redneck's shoulder only for him to shrug it off.

“Hell it is. I don't need you idiots messing up any tracks and losing her completely.”



“Merle?” Anastasia took a step back as Merle took one closer. “Merle Dixon?”

He nodded. “How'd ya know that one little missy?”

Careful not to trip Anastasia continued to back up her paces as he approached her. She had heard he was a real hard faced bastard that was looser than a loose cannon. “I know your baby brother, Daryl. In Rick's camp with Shane.”

“Oh do you now?” His voice was filled to the brim with menace and just by looking at the less than savoury glint in his eye Anastasia could tell this man was worse than the stories she had heard about him.

“Yeah I do.” She nodded detecting a hint of shake in her voice.

With one heavy footstep Merle had closed the distance between them. Anastasia could feel the rough bark of a tree rubbing against her back which was bare save for the thin bra straps.

“So what is a hot bit of meat like you doing away from your camp?” His breath stank of rotting flesh and Merle's skin was covered in dirt and dry blood. Planting a hand either side of her head Merle leaned in and began snorting in her scent.

Her skin began to crawl and she cringed as the chapped skin over his lips brushed against her chest. By now he had her scared. With no where to run and without a way to move without him grabbing hold all she could so was clamp her hands into fists and hope for the best. “They know I am missing and I bet they are out looking for me now.”

He growled a short laugh. “I bet they are too.” Merle wrapped a hand around her unzipped shorts and with a rough tug pulled Anastasia' hips closer to his. “It's been some time since I seen a woman as pretty as you with a pulse. So we better make this a quick one.”

“Touch me and I will scream till so many walkers come down on us we both get torn apart!” Anastasia threatened the man. If Lincoln had taught his wife one thing it was to never show fear even if rattles you to the core.

Merle only laughed. “No you won't kitty cat. Now why don't you purr for daddy and pass me some sugar.”

He pressed his body against hers and with lightening fast reflexes had her wrists firmly pinned under his heavy hands.

“Let me go you filthy fuck!” Finding a seething pit of anger inside her wallowing sorrow Anastasia began to scream and jolt her body in protest. This wasn't going to happen to her. Not after every fucked up thing that had befell her. Merle wasn't going to add to it. No way!

Raising her knee Anastasia kicked as hard as she could at any part of Merle she could get to and continued to thrash as she connected a knee deep into his stomach.
He made a winded sound which momentarily forced his grip to slacken giving Anastasia the chance to tug her wrists away and start moving.

Branches whipped her cheeks as she ran as fast as her bare feet could carry her but behind her Anastasia could hear the sounds of Merle thundering after her. Turning past a tree Shane had left a marker at Anastasia knew she was close to camp. But it wasn't close enough and she landed with a thud as Merle's heavy frame forced her to the ground.
“Stupid bitch.” It was a laugh that came from his lips. A laugh of triumph from catching his prey and landing it without too much damage.

“Get off me!” Anastasia began to scream as loud as she could hoping that someone, anyone would hear her. She didn't care if only walkers came, Anastasia only wanted this piece of trash dead.

“Shut up!” His laugh soon turned to a growl as his hand came down in a heavy fist over her face.
Anastasia cried out in pain while blood began to trickle from her nose.

“Fucking pig!” Immediately her hands went to the silver locket around her neck as they always did when her thoughts began to stray or she was terrified beyond reason.

“What's that, huh?” Merle clamped a paw around the chain and tugged on it until it snapped and threw it to the side. “I want all your attention on me girl. All of it!”

“No!” Her voice began to crackle as another scream ripped from her lungs.

Anastasia twisted her body under Merle's grappling for the chain now lost in the thick foliage covering it's rot over the forest flooring.

Another fist punched her hard in the stomach causing her to yelp and cringe. Merle was a man who never had an issue with laying his hands on a woman in the worst way and he wasn't about to start caring about it now. Not now that he was his own king without social rules to abide by.
A cough left her lungs when Merle turned her aching body back over to face him. His heavy body pressed down on hers and squeezed out every inch of air in her. Anastasia began to gasp for air but Merle ignored her wheezes and forced a dirty hand down her bra.

“Merle.” She managed to gasp at the sounds of twigs snapping near by.

“Shush kitty cat.”

She could feel his other hand tugging and pushing at her shorts. Trying as best her fading body could Anastasia kept pressing her legs together causing Merle's temper to rise again as he failed to move her shorts past the top of her thighs.

“Merle!” A booming voice shattered the silence blanketing Anastasia's ears.

Looking up Merle had a look of shock scouring his face which was soon wiped clean off as a fist rounded and connected hard with his jaw.
Rolling to the side Merle looked up at none other than his little brother staring down at him. “What the fuck Merle?”

Anastasia ignored the brothers as she forced her body to move and scamper to something that wasn't lying down and as far away from Merle as she could get.

Daryl turned to Anastasia as his brother got up from the ground. He looked down at her face and frowned. “Come here.”
Feeling his strong arms slide under her arms, Daryl lifted her to her feet and pulled Anastasia's arm over his shoulders. “Can ya walk?”

She nodded glancing over at Merle. “Yeah I can walk.”

“Rest ya weight on me.” He knew exactly what a belting from Merle felt like and tried best he could to lessen the pain she was feeling at that moment.

“My locket. He tore off my locket.”

Daryl looked at the naked space across her neck where the silver chain containing the last images of Anastasia's family had been. “I'll come back and look fer it later. Promise. I need ta get ya back to camp.”

Groggily she nodded in agreement. “Is that fuck coming back with us?”

Daryl looked back at his brother with a cold stare. “He's my brother.”

That was all the answer Anastasia needed as she pulled her arm away from Daryl. “Fucking Dixon's.”

He was speechless watching as Anastasia limped towards the camp site.

“Ain't she a firecracker.” Merle came up beside his brother. “Mighty punch there pup.”

“Shut the fuck up Merle.”