Little do you know

Chapter 3: Cleaning the mess

A/N: I own nothing except my mistakes.

"Thank you." Anissa smiled gratefully at the woman treating the wound on her left arm, which had started to infect by the dirt and the blood from the walkers. "No need to thank me, darling." She smiled back and focused on Daryl, treating the cut at his shoulder blade.

Anissa looked around the house, feeling rather odd to be in such a place again. For years she had been living outside, not used to a proper kitchen, or a normal living area. It felt so surreal to know that they had what was close to how it once was. And she now understood why they had been so eager on fighting for it.

Going back outside, she immediately went over to Naomi and gave her a hug, smiling as she whispered: "Thank you for staying." Pulling back, she got a hesitant smile in return. "Anissa was it, right?" The voice got her wheeling around and she looked at Rick, who seemed just as blood stained and tired as the others surrounding the house. "That's right." Anissa replied and watched as Daryl came walking out the door.

"You two feel like staying?" Rick asked and Anissa immediately looked to Naomi, already knowing the answer herself but wanting Naomi to agree to it as well. Naomi bit on her lip, a habit she had developed whenever she got nervous. Nodding her head to behind her, Anissa got the hint and excused them for a second, walking a bit further to the street filled with dead walkers to talk with her.

"How are you so sure we can trust them?" Naomi asked, now more confident as she wasn't surrounded with other people. "I don't. But they're good people, I just know it. Daryl's been looking out for me these past two days, and so have Abraham and Sasha for you." Anissa sighed as she squinted as the sun shone in her eyes, bringing a hand to her forehead to create a shadow. "Besides, where else can we go?" She hopelessly let out and Naomi nodded in agreement.

Taking her lack of arguing as a sign that she agreed to staying, they walked back to the group, growing slightly nervous under all the staring eyes, but tried to solemnly focus on Rick. "We'd love to stay. If that's alright with everyone, of course." Chuckles were heard and everyone nodded, "Welcome to Alexandria, girls." Rick said and outstretched his hand, which both of them shook.

Turning to the entire group, she listened in admiration as Rick spoke with a power of leadership, the group listening attentively to what he had to say and actually respecting the words he spoke. "Everyone, you've done an amazing job. Why don't we all get cleaned up at home and get cleaning the streets tomorrow." Everyone voiced their agreements, and slowly people started to walk to their own respected houses.

Naomi and Anissa lingered behind, not quite certain where they could go. "Right, you see that first and second house from the left over there?" Rick asked and pointed at the left of the street, the one that turned to the left if you'd walk through the main gate. Both girls nodded. "Our group is split in two houses. There is only one place left at each house, so you can figure out where it is you want to stay."

Anissa turned to Naomi, letting her decide. For her it didn't matter. As long as she could finally clean herself up a bit, and had a roof above her head, she would be fine. "Which house is Sasha in?" Naomi tentatively asked Rick, to which he replied: "The second." Naomi then uncertainly turned to Anissa, who laughed heartily at her. "Of course." She didn't even need to ask, for she already knew that Sasha and Naomi would most likely get on really well.

"I'll show you around that house, then. Daryl, you mind showing Anissa her room?" Daryl shook his head, "Sure thing." And with that he started walking, Anissa bidding her goodbye to Naomi before taking off after Daryl and following him inside the house.

It felt beyond weird to be in a clean house, where no dead walkers were laying around, or no blood was staining the walls. Everything looked so nice and clean, and even better – most things seemed to function. Daryl guided her to the second floor, and pointed at the second room on the left down the hall. "That one will be yours."

"And over there's the bathroom, if you need it." He added and pointed at the end of hall to the right. Anissa nodded and smiled gently, "Thanks, Daryl." He shrug it off and walked back down again, disappearing to God knows where.

Immediately heading over to the bathroom, she watched in delight as the water seemed to work. Carefully taking off her clothes, she winced slightly as she brushed against the abrasion on her elbow.

Looking into the mirror, she was surprised with what she saw. No longer did she recognize the girl she once used to be – the one who used to look as nice and clean as she possibly could, the one who always tried to look her best. No, right now all she saw was the dark circles under her eye, blood stains all over her face.

Dirt was sticking to her forehead with a combination of sweat that was dripping over her dark eyebrows. Her grey eyes that were staring back at her seemed lifeless. The bubble filled with hope and happiness had been long gone – leaving her empty.

With a sigh she removed her hair tie, letting her dark brown hair fall gently over her shoulders, watching how it fell all the way below her ribs. It wasn't very convenient to have such long hair in times like these, but she couldn't bear cutting it off. So instead she just mainly wore it in a ponytail or bun, and even on rare occasions in a braid. Whatever was most useful in a particular situation.

Turning the shower on, she sighed in bliss as the warm water soothed her aching muscles, washing away all the dirt, sweat and blood with a relieved feeling. Glad to finally be clean again after all those times.

Not wanting to waste too much water, she turned the shower off after she finished washing her hair and dried herself with the towel that she grabbed out of a cabinet. It was almost a pity to get back into the clothes that were still dirty and wet, but she had little choice.

After she was all dressed and done, she moved to the appointed bedroom and carefully opened it as if she was expecting the rest of the horde to jump out from behind it. To her relief, however, the bedroom was completely empty and without any second thoughts, she let herself fall on the bed.

The feeling of the soft fabric and the comfortable mattress nearly had her moaning out in satisfaction. She was used to sleeping on the ground – which her back was highly complaining about, so to lay on such a soft surface, was both a relief and even a little weird. She had become so accustomed to the outdoors, that something as simple as a bed was completely strange to her.

Yet, she wasn't complaining as her back finally seemed to relax, sinking lightly into the mattress. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the silence that hung in the air, distant chattering on the street allowing her to gently fall asleep.

When she awoke, it was still dark outside, but upon taking a closer look at the sky, she saw that it was nearing morning, and thus allowed herself to leave the bedroom and quietly head down to the living room.

A box with cookies on the counter top in the kitchen caught her attention, and reading the note that was attached to it, she opened the box with a smile spreading on her lips.

'Anissa,

You must be starving, so I made you some cookies for when you wake up.

- Carol.'

She had no idea who this Carol was, but didn't say no to food. It had now been three days since she last ate, and she was beyond starving. It therefore didn't take her all too long to finish each one of them, leaving her finally somewhat fulfilled with the last bite.

"You liked my cookies?" The voice scared her half to death, as she instinctively moved for her knife and wheeled around. Upon seeing the grey haired woman she saw before during the fighting, she tucked away the knife and brought a hand to her heart as she tried to regain her breathing.

The woman chuckled lightly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." When she felt confident enough to speak again she shook her head and let out a breathless laugh. "You made those?" Anissa asked and the woman nodded. "Yes, baking is one of the things I enjoy doing." Anissa smiled as she looked at the woman and nodded at the empty box, "They were really good, thank you."

Carol smiled in return, "I'm glad to hear that." Anissa looked around the room, listening to a few soft sounds coming from upstairs. "Is anyone else up?" She questioned and the woman nodded, "Yes, I just saw Rick in the hallway. I'm sure he'll be here any second now."

Anissa nodded and took a seat on the couch and lightly tapped her finger on the side of it, a habit she had developed whenever she got nervous or annoyed. In this case it was just nervousness, for she didn't really know how to act around the woman she just met.

To her relief Rick came walking down soon afterwards, greeting the two women. "Anissa, can we talk for a bit?" He gently asked and she nodded, wondering what he wanted to talk about. Did he perhaps regret his choice of letting them stay and was now going to ask her to leave as soon as Naomi woke up?

Rick laughed making her head turn to him questioningly. "Don't worry so much, just wanted to talk about how we first met, if you don't mind." He asked softly as they walked outside, taking a slow stroll through the streets.

"What did those people mean to you? The ones who got bitten?" Anissa swallowed as she looked down at her feet, carelessly placing one foot in front of the other. "They were family – brother and father." She quietly stated and looked up to find him with a sympathetic look. "Sorry to hear that." She nodded, for she was sorry too that she had to lose them.

"Been out there for long?" Anissa nodded, "Yeah, since the beginning. Didn't really have anywhere else to go. You weren't safe anywhere. The woods were often more safer than the buildings. At least there you could hear them coming." Rick nodded in understanding and Anissa watched how it had already gotten lighter outside since the moment she had woken up. "You?" She cautiously asked, not quite sure if she had the right to ask him questions just yet.

He lightly chuckled, noticing her uncertainty. "Woke up in the hospital, only to find out that the apocalypse happened. Ever since I've been kinda out here with my group." Anissa nodded, glad to hear he had found people to travel with through this mess. She couldn't even begin to imagine how terrible it must be to be all alone in a world like this now.

"Daryl said you never killed any people, how come?" Anissa shrugged, "I never had to. The only time it was needed, my father and brother took care of the situation. Ever since I've been lucky enough to not have to do it myself." Rick nodded absentmindedly, "It sure does change you."

The stroll was a bit difficult with all the dead walkers occupying the street, but nonetheless it did feel rather pleasant. Rick seemed like a very reasonable man, and seemed to be genuinely interested in what she had to say. "Naomi, she's quite the jumpy one, isn't she?" Anissa nodded with a soft laugh. "Has she always been like that?"

"Yeah, she's always been rather squeamish. Gets scared easily by all kinds of things. It got even worse with the apocalypse as you can imagine." Rick nodded with a grin, but it slowly fell. "It's not an all too bad idea to work on that. Might save her life and others if we're out there." Anissa nodded in agreement, "Trust me, I've been trying. But it's difficult to change someone if they aren't willing themselves."

"Why isn't she willing?" Anissa shrugged her shoulders as she sighed, kicking a walker's arm away before she'd tumble over it. "She doesn't believe she can change. Thinks she isn't strong enough. Rubbish, of course. That girl can show some serious strength when needed to be. She just needs a little confidence." Rick nodded slowly as he seemed to be taking that piece of information in.

"You feel like helping out today?" He then asked, changing the subject to something lighter. Anissa nodded, "Absolutely. It's the least I can do." Rick smiled warmly, "Great, how about I wake the rest up and we all get started on ridding the walkers from the street?" Anissa nodded her agreement, "What will we do with the bodies?"

Rick seemed to consider this as he scratched his stubble beard, looking at the dead bodies on the ground. "We'll get them all together, pile them up at the main gate. Then we'll get people to bring them elsewhere and burn them. If we do it here, the smoke might attract more."

Agreeing to his plan, she waved him goodbye as he went to wake up the others. Not wanting to waste any precious time, she got behind one of the bodies, grabbed it underneath the armpits and slightly hoisted it off the ground with some panting, dragging it backwards until she arrived at the main gate and let it drop.

She repeated this four more times until the streets slowly started to fill with other residents, each one helping to drag the bodies to the main gates. A couple of men, including Rick, went to rebuild the fences and seemed to make some improvements with the outside protection.

Anissa let out a breathless sigh as she wiped the sweat off her forehead, rubbing her hands clean on her pants as she put her hair into a bun to reduce the warmth she was feeling. "Here." Anissa looked to her right and saw Naomi handing her a water bottle with a smile, "You should stay hydrated, you know." Anissa gratefully took it and thanked her with a smile in return and gulped the contents down.

"Did you sleep well?" Anissa asked as she handed the bottle back and picked up yet another walker, Naomi following suit as they both walked to the gates. Anissa had grabbed it by the ankles, making it easier for her to drag it over the ground, requiring little strength and thus allowing her to keep her energy. "Haven't slept so well in forever." Naomi beamed at her, causing Anissa to grin in happiness. She was glad that Naomi seemed to become slightly more adjusted to the idea of staying here, and was also feeling glad as she heard Sasha calling out for Naomi, waving her over.

Anissa watched for a moment, how the interaction between Sasha and Naomi lightened up both their faces. Somewhere, deep down, she felt rather jealous. This was her best friend for almost her entire life, the one that was now slowly slipping away from her.

But then again, could she blame her? It's not like she didn't expect this to happen. One way or another, she knew that if they'd be accepted to this group, they'd both make new friends. And if Sasha would be the one for Naomi who could perhaps help her get through her insecurities and bring her some confidence, she'd gladly approve of their new formed friendship.

"She'll be in good hands." Anissa turned to look at the woman on her right, the dark skinned woman with the dreads. "Michonne." The woman smiled and outstretched her hand, which Anissa shook with a smile on her face, not bothering to say her own name for it was mentioned in the group last morning already.

"I don't doubt that. Just a bit weird to know your best friend is slowly slipping away from you." Anissa confessed as they both walked down the streets, grabbing yet another walker they could drag to the gates. "For how long have you been friends?" Michonne asked and Anissa let out a groan as she lifted the walker up by the ankles.

"Seventeen years." Anissa replied and Michonne whistled, "Well, a friendship like that is hard to break. Yeah, things might change. But that's the world we live in now. Don't question your friendship. Good things have a habit of coming back to those who are truly deserving of it." Anissa smiled gently at the woman, bidding her goodbye to her as she announced she'd be helping the others out at the end of the street.

Anissa sighed as she looked up at the main gates, watching a woman with brown short hair stand on the scaffolds. Deciding on getting to know the residents a bit better, she allowed herself a break from the cleaning as she climbed on the scaffold until she was all the way up.

The woman turned to look at her, a tired smile planted on her face. "You enjoying your stay?" Anissa nodded as she walked a bit closer, watching over the fences down the abandoned street. A couple of men were working on the reinforcements of the fences, their work looking heavy and tiring as she watched their bodies soak up in sweat.

"It's a nice thing you got going on here." Anissa admitted as she turned around and leaned lightly against the fences, watching everyone working hard in piling all the walkers up near the gate. Compared to this morning, they had already cleaned up a great part. But they were nowhere close to done yet.

"We sure do. I'm Maggie, by the way." The woman introduced herself and Anissa turned to look questioningly at the place. "How did you end up here?" Maggie seemed to turn around as well, watching the place over just like she was. "Our group came across a guy named Aaron who introduced this place to us. They've been very nice to us."

"Unfortunately the founder of this community didn't make it, along with her family. Only one son managed to survive." Anissa's face turned serious as she slowly nodded, but didn't dare saying anything. At loss for the right words.

A metal clinging sound got her attention, and she watched the Asian guy climbing up. "Ah, Anissa, didn't know it was you up here." She smiled sheepishly, "I can see where I'm not welcome." She teased lightly, almost feeling sorry as his eyes widened and he quickly began to apologize. "No no, I didn't mean it like that."

Anissa laughed, "I know, I was just playing with you." The boy shook his head with a disapproving chuckle, "I'm Glenn." Anissa smiled as she looked between the two. "I'll leave you two to it, then." The boy scratched behind his head with a sheepish smile, and Anissa said her goodbyes as she climbed back down, planning on helping the rest once more.

"Hey, Anissa." The voice belonged to someone behind her, and after a bit of struggle trying to turn around whilst still keeping a hold of the walker, she looked at Rick staring at her with an amused smile. Noticing the man with the dark brown hair covering his face, she watched Daryl slowly approaching them with Glenn sprinting behind him.

"What's up?" She wondered as they all walked with her to the main gate, where she panted as she dropped the walker. "We were planning on bringing these walkers away to burn them, but we're a hand short. What do you think your participation could add?" Rick asked and she watched how Daryl looked her over once, his eyes observing – almost piercing uncomfortably into her skull.

Anissa chuckled, "I studied journalism before all this, so unless you want me to interview the walkers, I'll be of little help to you. But you can always take me along for some amusement." Anissa offered laughingly.

"I used to be a pizza delivery boy. What else can you do? How well can you defend yourself?" Glenn asked and Anissa shrugged, not quite sure how to describe her skills. She wasn't amazing, but she managed to safe her ass when needed to be.

"I'm alright, I guess. I'm terrible with guns, but give me a knife and I'm good." Rick nodded in approval, "I figured when I saw you fighting out there last night. What do you say? Feel like joining us to burn them?" He asked as he nodded to the pile of walkers.

Anissa nodded casually, not having anything else to do anyway. "Count me in." Rick nodded gratefully, "Great, meet us at the gate in an hour." Anissa nodded her agreement and set off once more, willing to bring just a few more walkers to the pile before they'd take the first load away.