Sequel: Final Hope ›
All Hope Is Gone
Hands
The early hours of the following morning were a running parallel to what Anastasia was facing by mid morning. Tightly knitted into a formation alongside Maggie, Glen, Rick, T-Dog and Daryl her machete was hacking its way through dead skull after dead skull as they cleared the block.
It was the plan to move into and claim it as theirs. A safe space to bunker down in. Blood slushed around them with every slice, gunshot and bludgeoning. One not so dead at her feet got a swift and heavy stomping to the face, it's skin so rotten it began to slip off under Anastasia'a boot.
It was that early morning interaction with Daryl that kept her mind calm in the wake of walkers out numbering them.
She had woken just as dawn began to trickle down over the green and grassy field. Daryl's arm was still where she had dropped it around her and his other hand mindlessly rested on her waist. She looked up from his chest to his face to see him looking down at her.
"Yer were snorin'."
A smile with a sigh left her lips. "Told you I was tired."
She felt his body flex under hers as he stretched, the hem of his shirt just riding up over his belt, immediately her fingers crept towards the bare flesh in a moment abandonment for the silent half way touches they'd become accustomed to. It was her chance to push the man's boundaries and see how far he'd allow her to go.
"Wouldn' go doin' that if I were you." He warned in his usual gruff tone.
Anastasia's fingers traced a line over the bare spot where now his shirt had shifted back down over those fingers. "And why's that?"
He grunted as his skin turned to gooseflesh. "Ya'd be gettin' yourself inna whole other mess ya don't wanna get yerself in." But as her hands refused to move, he began to ask himself if she was the woman he wanted to involve in his trash. In another life he wouldn't have hesitated at having her pretty face in his bed, but in another life that is all she would have been. Just another pretty woman in a long line of them. If he was going to truly let her in, it was going to be more than just that. But wasn't it already just more? His eyes squinted as her fingers began to creep towards his chest. His breath quickened and before Anastasia could reach any further his hand grabbed hold of hers and held it tight to his skin.
"And what if I said I wanted to get myself into a whole other mess?" By now her face was mere inches from his and the hot breath coming from his lips was hitting her neck in a plume of pure enjoyment.
Daryl looked Anastasia directly in the eyes. "Not like this."
Now those eyes that had been peering deep into her own flesh were concentrated on beheading the walker coming up behind her. "Watch yerself."
"Thanks." She replied almost breathless from her body's fast movements.
Around the tight group walkers were falling but as they rounded towards a gate Anastasia's gut wrenched. Before them was a knot of biters; prisoners, guards, riots officers and unexpectedly civilians. There was a break in the fence somewhere that would need to be dealt with. But what caught her breath and attention was something that forced time around her to seemingly slip away into a blur. Staggering towards Anastasia was a beautifully pale man, so pale his skin was almost transparent. His white hair covered in undead guts as was the rest of him.
"Jesse!" Her own scream echoed in her ears as she pelted forth towards the man shouting her name back.
Her hands grabbed onto him and hurriedly she dragged him into the group. Jesse was sobbing like a frightened child and quickly his hands latched onto the back of her shirt. "He's dead. He's dead. Jess is dead!" Jesse wailed.
Anastasia felt the now alone albino twin buckle under the weight of his own grief and as she turned to wrap her arms around him, she too collapsed to the cement with him. Eyes were on her as the silence around the two came back to her. The walkers were dead and for the moment they were safe. Hot tears hit her neck as the once soldier in training cried and cried and cried.
"We need to get inside." Was all she said.
* * *
"Hush Jesse." Anastasia cooed as Jesse sobbed for his twin brother.
"It was me, I had to kill him Ana. I should have protected him." Broken were his words betweens floods of tears.
"You did all you could, don't hurt yourself like this." She rubbed the middle of his shoulders as he sobbed into a pillow on her lap. She didn't know how long it had been since Jesse had seen a bed and the weakness in what she remembered to be a strong man was apparent and her guess was he was more than just a weary traveller.
Quickly the group had moved into the cell block picking their sleeping quarters. Anastasia had picked upstairs in cell block C near to where Daryl had chosen an open space that he could perch from and watch the group.
"Get some rest. You're clean and fed. I know this hurts but for now catch some sleep it's time to mend." Speaking from experience, Anastasia shifted around the bed and gently pushed Jesse into the comfort of the mattress. "You can sleep in here with me tonight, if you need me I won't be far. But please rest up little one."
Without argument Jesse nodded into the pillow, feeling a light blanket being draped over his showered and clean clothed body.
Daryl had been watching from his spot while the others took their rest waiting for Anastasia to come out of the cell. "So, one of yer other camps?" He asked as she quietly shut the cell door.
"Yeah, his name is Jesse...Jess was his twin..."
Looking to the floor Daryl acknowledged the loss of a brother. Merle hadn't been heard of since he had willingly gone off on his own from the camp and Daryl couldn't help but miss his big brother despite all the dumb and nasty shit he had pulled. Blood was blood. "Harsh."
Laying a hand over the red necks shoulder gently she led them both towards the makeshift bed Daryl had made over the floor. "Care to let a gal rest with ya?"
A small flinch tickled at the corners of his mouth. "You go, I am gonna keep watch for a lil' longer." His voice was of soft gravel as he looked down at her with her hand still over him warming flesh under palm. It was a comfort, she was his comfort.
"Don't be too long."
"I won't." Now it was Daryl thinking back to those early morning hours and as he did think of Anastasia's wanting of him Daryl began to ponder.
It was the plan to move into and claim it as theirs. A safe space to bunker down in. Blood slushed around them with every slice, gunshot and bludgeoning. One not so dead at her feet got a swift and heavy stomping to the face, it's skin so rotten it began to slip off under Anastasia'a boot.
It was that early morning interaction with Daryl that kept her mind calm in the wake of walkers out numbering them.
She had woken just as dawn began to trickle down over the green and grassy field. Daryl's arm was still where she had dropped it around her and his other hand mindlessly rested on her waist. She looked up from his chest to his face to see him looking down at her.
"Yer were snorin'."
A smile with a sigh left her lips. "Told you I was tired."
She felt his body flex under hers as he stretched, the hem of his shirt just riding up over his belt, immediately her fingers crept towards the bare flesh in a moment abandonment for the silent half way touches they'd become accustomed to. It was her chance to push the man's boundaries and see how far he'd allow her to go.
"Wouldn' go doin' that if I were you." He warned in his usual gruff tone.
Anastasia's fingers traced a line over the bare spot where now his shirt had shifted back down over those fingers. "And why's that?"
He grunted as his skin turned to gooseflesh. "Ya'd be gettin' yourself inna whole other mess ya don't wanna get yerself in." But as her hands refused to move, he began to ask himself if she was the woman he wanted to involve in his trash. In another life he wouldn't have hesitated at having her pretty face in his bed, but in another life that is all she would have been. Just another pretty woman in a long line of them. If he was going to truly let her in, it was going to be more than just that. But wasn't it already just more? His eyes squinted as her fingers began to creep towards his chest. His breath quickened and before Anastasia could reach any further his hand grabbed hold of hers and held it tight to his skin.
"And what if I said I wanted to get myself into a whole other mess?" By now her face was mere inches from his and the hot breath coming from his lips was hitting her neck in a plume of pure enjoyment.
Daryl looked Anastasia directly in the eyes. "Not like this."
Now those eyes that had been peering deep into her own flesh were concentrated on beheading the walker coming up behind her. "Watch yerself."
"Thanks." She replied almost breathless from her body's fast movements.
Around the tight group walkers were falling but as they rounded towards a gate Anastasia's gut wrenched. Before them was a knot of biters; prisoners, guards, riots officers and unexpectedly civilians. There was a break in the fence somewhere that would need to be dealt with. But what caught her breath and attention was something that forced time around her to seemingly slip away into a blur. Staggering towards Anastasia was a beautifully pale man, so pale his skin was almost transparent. His white hair covered in undead guts as was the rest of him.
"Jesse!" Her own scream echoed in her ears as she pelted forth towards the man shouting her name back.
Her hands grabbed onto him and hurriedly she dragged him into the group. Jesse was sobbing like a frightened child and quickly his hands latched onto the back of her shirt. "He's dead. He's dead. Jess is dead!" Jesse wailed.
Anastasia felt the now alone albino twin buckle under the weight of his own grief and as she turned to wrap her arms around him, she too collapsed to the cement with him. Eyes were on her as the silence around the two came back to her. The walkers were dead and for the moment they were safe. Hot tears hit her neck as the once soldier in training cried and cried and cried.
"We need to get inside." Was all she said.
* * *
"Hush Jesse." Anastasia cooed as Jesse sobbed for his twin brother.
"It was me, I had to kill him Ana. I should have protected him." Broken were his words betweens floods of tears.
"You did all you could, don't hurt yourself like this." She rubbed the middle of his shoulders as he sobbed into a pillow on her lap. She didn't know how long it had been since Jesse had seen a bed and the weakness in what she remembered to be a strong man was apparent and her guess was he was more than just a weary traveller.
Quickly the group had moved into the cell block picking their sleeping quarters. Anastasia had picked upstairs in cell block C near to where Daryl had chosen an open space that he could perch from and watch the group.
"Get some rest. You're clean and fed. I know this hurts but for now catch some sleep it's time to mend." Speaking from experience, Anastasia shifted around the bed and gently pushed Jesse into the comfort of the mattress. "You can sleep in here with me tonight, if you need me I won't be far. But please rest up little one."
Without argument Jesse nodded into the pillow, feeling a light blanket being draped over his showered and clean clothed body.
Daryl had been watching from his spot while the others took their rest waiting for Anastasia to come out of the cell. "So, one of yer other camps?" He asked as she quietly shut the cell door.
"Yeah, his name is Jesse...Jess was his twin..."
Looking to the floor Daryl acknowledged the loss of a brother. Merle hadn't been heard of since he had willingly gone off on his own from the camp and Daryl couldn't help but miss his big brother despite all the dumb and nasty shit he had pulled. Blood was blood. "Harsh."
Laying a hand over the red necks shoulder gently she led them both towards the makeshift bed Daryl had made over the floor. "Care to let a gal rest with ya?"
A small flinch tickled at the corners of his mouth. "You go, I am gonna keep watch for a lil' longer." His voice was of soft gravel as he looked down at her with her hand still over him warming flesh under palm. It was a comfort, she was his comfort.
"Don't be too long."
"I won't." Now it was Daryl thinking back to those early morning hours and as he did think of Anastasia's wanting of him Daryl began to ponder.