Tour Guide ➣ Carl Grimes

43. Not a Professional

Once the man had finally left, Hannah stayed on the ground where he'd stood over her, trying to let her lungs refill with much needed air. Each breath she took in felt cold and it stung the inside of her throat. But there was nothing she could do about that.

After a beat of time, once she had composed herself, Hannah stood to her feet. She could still see the Savior walking towards the center of town, her knife by his side. Daryl's knife. As quietly as she could, Hannah followed far behind the man, mimicking his wide and heavy steps. The other Saviors had begun packing up their stolen supplies in the center of town. One of them, a man with long, slicked back hair, was ushering his companions towards the back of a large truck. They paid no mind as they became surrounded by wide eyed members of the Hilltop, all staring, terrified at the menacing guns in their hands.

Hannah stayed back slightly, standing near some of Hilltops farmers, her breath quick between her lips. She could feel the couple beside her tense as the next group of Saviors rolled in from behind the infirmary, and Hannah realized she had missed something. Out of the corner of her eye, the girl could see Gregory taking in the remnants of his community. Of his people. With anger clouding her thoughts, Hannah almost scoffed at the forlorn look he wore on his face, shaking his head at each of the Saviors that walked by. This was his fault, his doing, and yet he had the nerve to stand there like he was just as lost as the rest of them. Hannah couldn't bear it.

When she looked away from the man, the cloud disappearing,Hannah realized what it was she was missing. Why everyone around her had gone so still. Why the soft hum of whispers had gone silent. Right in front of her, the Saviors were dragging Dr. Carson away.

He didn't fight back as they pushed him into the bed of one of the trucks, his hands not even bound in front of him. His face was straight while the rest of the Saviors climbed in beside him, their weapons held against their chests. It wasn't as if they were going to use them, Hannah thought, and yet they held them so tightly she could see their knuckles turn pale. She felt bad for thinking it, but what did the Saviors have to be scared of? What could have threatened them enough to bring weapons in the first place?

As hard as she and the rest of her group had worked, Hannah knew the Hilltop wasn't ready to fight yet. They would be one day, Hannah didn't doubt that for a second, but the Savior's didn't know that. The Saviors knew nothing.

She realized, that was why they had brought their guns.

They didn't know that this group was stronger than they looked. They didn't know that each person within the Hilltop, whether they were a farmer or a guard, had a fire in them. A fire that Rick had set. A fire that Maggie had kindled. A fire that could only grow bigger and stronger with each threat the Saviors threw at them.

As the Saviors left, their truck sputtering slightly as it moved down the dirt road towards the gate, Hannah made eye contact with the driver. With his head stuck out the window, Simon gave her a quick smirk, his lips curving slightly around his teeth as she stared back. There was a certain amusement in his eyes. A look that said he had won. That he'd beat them.

But Hannah had been taught better than to give into his goading stare. She simply followed the man with her eyes, never tearing her gaze away, and held her chin high.

They hadn't won yet.

---

Once all of the Saviors had cleared out, Hannah jumped to find Maggie. By now she and Daryl had likely left the cellar, probably just close enough to have seen the Saviors roundup Dr. Carson, but not enough to have been spotted.

Hannah's feet moved quickly below her as she turned away from the rest of the town. Just as she had thought, the girl could see Maggie through the window of what could only be described as her office. It was nothing like Gregory's, lacking the grand entrance and overpowering decor, and yet it felt so right for her. Maggie didn't need to be in some fancy space to do her job. All she really needed were the essentials and the people around her.

And hopefully, Hannah would become one of those people soon. There was still more she could do.

"Hey," Hannah spoke softly as she tapped on the door of the small structure. Maggie looked up from her spot at the table.

"Hi, sweetheart," her voice dripped with a calm, southern drawl, "You looking for Daryl?"

"Um, no, actually," Hannah stepped into the space, pulling the door closed behind her, "I wanted to talk to you."

At that Maggie straightened a bit.

"Alright. Sit," she gestured to a seat across from her.

Hannah moved from the door to the chair, scooting in to fit her legs underneath the table. There were papers strewn about its surface, probably left there from before the alarm had sounded. On some of them Hannah could recognize Enid's handwriting, especially the specific curves of her G's and D's. The thought made her smile.

"What's up, Hannah?" Maggie pulled the girl from her memories and back into the present moment. She reminded her of the mission she was on.

Hannah took in a breath before speaking, "Well, I wanted to tell you how sorry I was that Dr. Carson was taken away. I know how important he was here, especially for you," Hannah paused, gauging the woman's reaction. Maggie was smiling softly at her, gesturing for the girl to continue.

"And, while I'm not a professional by any means, I have a lot of experience in the infirmary. When Denise died," Hannah's breath hitched slightly, "I sort of tried to pick things up where she left off. I read all of her books and the notes that she kept. I studied everything there was. I know you know about what I did for Eugene,"Hannah paused, "I've shown a lot of the people back home how to take care of themselves and how to use all the equipment, you know. They'd be okay if I wasn't there for a little while."

Maggie hummed at the unspoken question Hannah was asking. Then she spoke.

"There's a reason I let you start those classes here," Maggie started, " I've seen the way you take care of these people. These people you've only known for a week," Maggie chuckled lightly, "I remember when we were on our way here for the baby, 'fore the Saviors stopped us," her voice got quieter at the last part, "I remember the way you held my hand the whole way. The way you told me everything was gonna be fine." Hannah could see a sheen grow over Maggie's eyes and she couldn't help but bite her lip to stop her own eyes from doing the same. "Hannah, I'd be glad to have you here, holding my hand when this baby comes, telling me everything is gonna be fine. I'd be glad to have you as my doctor."

---

Hi Loveliesssss! I know this one is shorter than usual but I just wanted to get something out for you all. I'm trying my best to keep updating regularly but I've just been so busy lately and this week I have finals. Still, I hope you liked this one enough and are still gonna stick around for what is to come!

Doesn't Dr. Grant have such a nice ring to it?? Now not to make y'all sad, but just think how proud Denise and Deanna would be of our girl...

Thanks for Reading! 

P.s if you haven't seen my announcement yet, I am changing my update day to every Sunday rather than Saturday!