Anna's pov:
We drive into the parking lot of the mall and everything seems quiet.
"Everyone ready?" Maggie asks.
"Yep. Let's do this." I answer for Carl and I since he doesn't answer her.
I pick up my backpack and open the car door, my knife in my hand. The door of the mall is open and we quickly go inside.
"Carl, you and Anna stay together. Glenn and I are going to look for any walkers in here." Maggie says.
Carl sighs, but I ignore it.
We go into forever 21 first because it's closest. I shove a bunch of random clothes in my bag.
Then we go into Charlotte Rouse and I take some of their boots and jackets.
Hollister is next, and there we find the first walker. Carl quickly stabs it in the head. I grab a pair of overalls for farming in because Rick will probably get a kick out of them, and they are actually really cute.
"I don't really like this store so do you wanna meet in aerie?" I ask.
"We're not supposed to split up." Carl replies.
"It's right next door and I can take care of myself for five minutes." I retort.
"Whatever." He says, and crosses over to the other side of the store.
I try to go quickly in aerie, because the idea of underwear shopping with Carl doesn't exactly thill me. I pick out a bunch of random things and wait for at least ten minutes. Carl still hasn't come, so I decide to find him.
With my knife still in hand I go back into Hollister. I hate how dark it is in here. It makes it hard to see. I hear growling. Oh no.
Banging on a storage room is four walkers and three more are dead on the ground. I quietly duck behind a clothing display. Carl is trapped behind that door. I guess my best option is to stab and if any get to close, run.
I quietly go up behind the biggest male walker that I would guess is six feet tall. This will be the hardest one to kill when attacking me, so I push my knife into its head first and it falls to the ground.
Now having gotten the attention of the other three walkers I take a few steps back. The next one I kill is short so it's easy, but the remaining two come at me from either side. Crap.
"Carl!" I shout backing up. "Now would be a good time to come out!"
I stab the female walker in the head and my knife gets stuck. I'm gonna die. The door bursts open and Carl shoots the short male walker that is about to take a bite out of my shoulder. My knife finally comes out of the walkers head.
"I could've done that myself." Carl snaps at me, not an ounce of thankfulness in his voice.
"Oh really? Because from this side of the door it looks like you were trapped!" I say, feeling flustered.
"I was about to take care of it!" Carls voice is rising now.
"The least you can do is say thank you." I say cooly. And with that I leave. Ungrateful jerk.
I spot a baby store and I pick up some diapers, clothes, onesies, bibs, and a few teething toys for Judith because she has been very fussy lately.
By now I am cramming stuff into my backpack so I decide to go find Glenn and Maggie. I am walking out the door when I hear Maggie.
"Anna! Run!" my heart stops. 200 yards Behind me is a herd of about 100-150 walkers chasing Glenn, Maggie, and Carl.
My brain tells me to run but my feet stay where they are. As Carl runs by me he grabs my hand and forces me to run with him. My chest feels very tight, but I can't reach my inhaler since it's in the front pocket of my back pack. I can tell I'm having a panic attack already.
We reach the car and Carl basically tosses me in the backseat and then climbs in after me.
Glenn and Maggie frantically search for the key, which they somehow lost, and meanwhile I'm having a full on asthma attack while hungry corpses are banging on the windows. The glass threatens to break at any second.
"My inhaler." I manage to choke out.
"Where is it?!" Carl asks.
"In my backpack." I say, clutching my neck.
Carl immediately starts rummaging through my backpack and I start to see black spots.
The car starts and we begin to drive. Maggie turns around in her seat and grabs my hand.
"Anna, look at me ok?" I look into Maggie's eyes. "Everything is gonna be alright. We're driving see?" as she points to the window. "We'll be back at the prison in about half an hour, and then you can be with Daddy and Carol, and you can hold Judith."
My breathing slows a little and the black spots are gone. I try to focus on what she's saying, and I think about taking care of little Judith. Carl finally hands me my inhaler and I take a pump. The tightness in my chest goes away and my breathing slows.
The asthma attacks are always triggered by panic or emotional stress. I've had them since I was little, but I hadn't had one since Lori, Carls mom, died, and I was all by myself when that happened. Lori was like my best friend.
I rest my head on the window for the rest of the car ride.
The ride home goes a lot faster than the ride there. We pull into the prison and Rick opens the gate for us.
Daddy is out farming in the gardens and when I get out he says, "Did you have a nice trip?"
"It was ok." I say and give him a small smile. I shoot Maggie a look that says 'you better not tell him what happened' and she slightly nods her head.
I don't need Daddy worrying about me and everyone in the group thinking I'm weak. I head into the prison and I give the clothes and toys I got for Judith to Carol who is taking care of her.
I take a nap after that, because I'm exhausted from the panic attack.
********************************
(I know these chapters are kind of short but they will get longer as the book goes on - xoxo Isabella✨)