Dawn.

The pink, orange, and yellow of the early morning sunshine stung Andrea's eyes as she blinked them open. With a groan, she threw the thin sheet off her body and turned around. Imprints of leaves and sticks on her arms silently annoyed her. Michonne was still peacefully asleep. With a little smile on her face, Andrea got up and went into the woods to urinate.

Crack

Andrea froze. Automatically, her hand dropped down to her sheath and pulled out her Bowie knife. Armed, she carefully and slowly walked towards the noise. Her blue hunter eyes scanned left to right, and then back again. She took a few more steps to the left.

Crack

Andrea's eyes narrowed. Slowly, she gently pulled back a low-hanging branch from the tree. On the ground, she discovered the source of the noise.

She smiled.

.

Michonne's eyes opened. After a yawn and a dehydrated smacking of her lips, she threw the sheet off her long body and readjusted her hairband. Pulling her knees up, she hiked her body into an erect position. She turned around and was instantly concerned – Andrea was gone.

And right at that moment, Michonne heard a sound from the woods. Turning to her left, she grabbed Her Girl and unsheathed it, the sheer sound invading the woods. Michonne only got a couple of steps forward before she realized the sound was coming towards her!

Gameface instantly turned on, Michonne raised her sword in attack position and took another step forward. Suddenly, Andrea appeared. Instantly, Michonne relaxed and resheathed Her Girl. But then, her eyes narrowed in confusion over what was in Andrea's hand.

Andrea looked down and then right back up with a little smile on her face, holding up the corpse of a rabbit.

"Breakfast is ready!"

.

While they ate, he watched them. A person Andrea knew (or, at least, knew of) chewed on some beef jerky, raising his binoculars. A little chuckle escaped his mouth now and then as he watched them eat breakfast. Once in a while, he'd lick his lips when he caught sight of Andrea's full breasts. Dropping his binoculars, he made a quick inspection of his supplies. He rifled through his satchel, verifying he had enough of the essentials – water, beef jerky, rope, can opener, duct tape, plasticware, gags, canned goods, etc.

Smiling, he resumed his task of staring at them, biding his time…

.

"Enjoying Bugs?" Andrea playfully asked.

Michonne's facial expression soured. "Don't call it that."

Andrea chuckled. "Why not?"

"Blondie, it's much easier to eat this if I don't think of it as Bugs Bunny."

Andrea looked up towards the sky as she swallowed her mouthful of Bugs Bunny. "Think it'll be a hot one today?"

"Always is."

Andrea dropped her head and took another bite. With her mouth full, she asked, "Should we find a creek?"

"Nah." Michonne casually replied as she pulled out three full water bottles. "We're good on water."

They finished their meal in silence. The smell of the dying campfire filled their nostrils as the sun rose just a little higher. After a few good swigs of water, the girls stood up in unison, wiping their hands on the backs of their jeans. Michonne sighed as she gathered up her belongings. Andrea trotted over to The Boys, just to wake her up even more. Just as it had the previous night, walker eyes met human eyes for just a moment until protocol took over.

There it was again. That unreasonable fear in Andrea's eyes. It quickly went away. Even though she'd been around The Boys for months now, there was always that little concern about her personal safety. Of course, she was MORE than capable of taking care of herself. But fear was always a motivator for self-protection and preservation. It always is.

Within minutes, the girls were on their way. They had fallen into a routine that was perfected by daily repetition – a daily routine that happened every single day. A routine that even started when they met…

.

…"-aaaaah!"

She fought. She fought and fought and fought. She was outnumbered. Three walkers were approaching her on the narrow path. Her last bullet slammed into the first walker's head, effectively ending its harrowed life. Her knife got stuck in the second walker's skull. But then, no knives, no more ammunition…and no more energy. She tripped over the second's walker's shoulder and fell to the ground, just as the third and final walker approached her. From the ground, Andrea was looking up into the dead eyes of the walker, primally fighting to eat her. Guttural snarls ate the air as its jaws snapped open and closed and open and closed just inches from Andrea's face.

The dirty blonde fought even harder against her attacker, pushing at its chest. But exhaustion and dehydration took its toll on the former civil rights attorney as the walker's jaws got closer and closer…

Desperately fighting, Andrea screamed over and over. The walker relentlessly fought to eat her, as Andrea could smell its dead, rotting breath on her face. Fresh drops of blood fell from its mouth and landed near her screaming mouth. Her eyes, half-closed from fatigue and heat and terror, lost their focus and almost closed shut...

Fffffffftt!

Suddenly, the battle was over. Andrea's hands were still in the air, unexpectedly grasping at nothing, when she opened her eyes. To her left was the headless walker that attacked. And when she looked to her right, she saw the most unexpected and odd image. Cloaked in a black hood was a figure, sword in one hand and two chains in the other.

She fainted…

.

…That memory of meeting Michonne invaded her mind nearly every day. Owing her her life, Andrea gave Michonne a sideways glance as the two trekked along State Highway 24. East. They were always walking east. So did their follower.

.

Noon. The sun was beating down on them harshly. They rarely rested in the morning. The girls discovered that if they rested too soon in the day, they wouldn't want to get back up. And who would? They were surrounded by cruel, unforgiving terrain, and creatures that wanted to eat them. Andrea was a good ten yards ahead of Michonne and The Boys. This often happened. Walkers, in general, were not fast-moving creatures. Whatever their…species was, they weren't very quick. The only time they really increased their speed was when food was nearby. Michonne noted that walkers proceeded much faster when an available food source was human. Andrea remembered shivering when she heard Michonne say this.

But suddenly, Andrea came to a complete stop, near the top of a hill on Highway 24. It didn't take long for a perplexed Michonne to reach her. Something distracted one of the boys, which slowed her down for a bit. But a sharp, almost angry tug on the chains had them back in line again.

Michonne caught up to her and followed Andrea's line of sight.

A house. And not just an ordinary house. It was a farmhouse. The chances of canned goods, tools used for weapons, and even medical supplies rose exponentially with a farmhouse. Andrea turned to her, with the resemblance of a smile on her face. Michonne returned her cautious eyes to the farmhouse and watched Andrea start to walk in that direction.

"Are you sure?" Michonne carefully asked.

"It's…it's worth a shot."

Michonne studied the house. From a distance, which was considerable, the farmhouse looked relatively untouched. There was no way to tell if anybody was there, living or dead. There were no signs of fire or external damage. Then again, they were at least a hundred yards away and her observations could've been wrong. But as she was studying it, Andrea had already taken at least seven steps towards it. So, with a quick tug of the chains, Michonne walked towards the farmhouse. Their follower did too.

There was no shade to speak of on their hundred-yard trek to the farmhouse. Now and then, the two beautiful survivors took swigs of their lukewarm water, which only seemed to help a little. Sweatbeads became sweat rivers. Andrea angrily brushed her hair out of her eyes and Michonne took another gulp of water. Only The Boys seemed unaffected by the heat. Then again, who cares?

Andrea was the first to reach the farmhouse. With the stealth of a SWAT team member, she pulled her Bowie knife from its sheath and leaned against the side of the house, patiently waiting for Michonne to join her. Andrea turned her head towards her warrior companion. Michonne was tying the chains to a nearby tree and within seconds, had joined her along the house. But Andrea started to notice something annoying and disturbing. Her eyesight was filled with spots now and then. She took another big gulp of her water, which was her last. She knew the heat was beginning to get to her and then was not the time for this. She shook her head, clearing the spots away as best she could. But her peripheral vision continued to be filled with clear evidence of heat sickness.

Tension rose. Approaching a structure was always the scariest part of this process. One never knew what was inside. There could be a walker or two. There could be humans, which was always the bigger scare. Or, there could be a big number of walkers. Or, it could be empty. There were too many variables to take this lightly and the girls were on high alert.

Knife in hand, Andrea was the first one up the front porch. She peered through one of the windows and saw no one. Hearing the sound of Michonne's katana being removed, Andrea more confidently strode up to the front door and turned the knob. It was locked.

She turned and motioned to the side door. Michonne nodded.

The pair sneaked away, down the stairs and back to where they approached. The side door was in front of them and this time, Michonne was the first to try it.

It was unlocked.

After a quick inspection through the door's windows found no one and nothing, Michonne swiftly flung the door open. Warm stale air flooded out of the room and Andrea instantly reached for her water bottle. But it was empty. Michonne didn't notice. Her focus was on the opened door in front of her. Carefully, she tiptoed into the farmhouse. Andrea followed.

They were in the kitchen. It was tempting, oh so tempting, to begin raiding the cupboards. But they learned a long time ago to secure the facility and then scour its contents. They split up. Michonne nodded she would head towards the dining and living rooms. Andrea nodded in return to go through the kitchen to the pantry and back around.

Silence. The girls thanked the heavens above that carpeting muffled their footsteps. Sword extended, Michonne wildly looked around her, verifying room by room that she was alone. Meanwhile, Andrea did the same, ensuring the pantry and back hallway was empty. After about a minute, they had come full circle and were reunited.

The first floor was secure.

The second wasn't.

Michonne went first. But the stairs weren't carpeted. Creaky, haunted house-style floorboards groaned with each step. And the girls weren't in step either, causing multiple creaks and groans to be easily heard. Step by step, they stalked their way up the stairs, to the landing, and back up.

"Psst."

Michonne whirled around. Andrea flicked her head to the left, then pointed to herself, and finally, pointed to the right. Michonne nodded in understanding. They nearly simultaneously reached the second floor. Andrea turned to the right and headed to the only room on that side. Michonne took the left.

The air was stale and hot. And those damn, annoying spots filled Andrea's vision again. But this time, she swayed a little. Rapidly blinking, Andrea gradually regained her composure and took a deep breath before opening the door. After a quick inspection, the room was empty. She turned and followed Michonne.

Michonne, after clearing one room, had already moved to the next. She entered the room, unaware that Andrea was nearby. A relaxed sigh of relief could be heard from Michonne's mouth. The house was clear.

Suddenly, the closet door opened and an open-mouthed walker bounded towards Michonne! She whirled around, but the walker's hands grabbed her! It lowered its mouth towards her throat!

It all happened so fast that Michonne barely comprehended the chain of events. The walker suddenly stopped attacking and fell to the floor. And as it did, she saw the knife Andrea held to kill the walker.

"Thank God." Michonne exclaimed. "Thank you."

But Andrea had no expression on her face. Her vision was now filled with spots and she looked very pale.

"Andrea?" Michonne asked, "Are you O-?"

"Good job, blondie!"

Michonne and Andrea whirled around towards the voice. Michonne's katana quickly went up in defense. But Andrea's jaw dropped in recognition.

"Merle!"

Andrea fainted.

.