This chapter was... interesting to write. I planned on having a smut scene but the characters didn't agree with my train of thought. Sorry to disappoint!

12.31.12. 5:31am

Rain pounded against the windshield. It was still too dark to see much of anything. The truck's headlights illuminated the road in front of them but not much else. That, combined with the sheets of rain falling from the black clouds, made it almost impossible to drive.

Amon had pulled to the side almost half an hour ago, hoping to wait out the storm.

"So." Korra dragged out the word, making it a question.

The past few days had been filled with uncomfortable silences. They had been driving almost non stop. The only time they pulled over was to refuel and eat or take a nap. Even though they spent almost every waking moment together and every night they slept side by side, Korra and Amon had hardly spoken. Amon didn't want to risk getting closer to her.

Well, he wanted to but he knew he shouldn't want to. It was only going to make things more difficult in the long run. They were bound to part ways one day and when that day came, Amon didn't want it to hurt anymore than it already would.

"Korra," Amon tested her name, trying out how it felt on his tongue.

Korra stopped fidgeting and stared up at him.

"What are we doing?" Amon hissed, his breath coming out in a small puff of air. With the rain had come cold air. The weather hadn't been making any sense lately. Apparently the end of the world meant that the seasons were all jacked up.

Korra didn't answer him. He tried to read the emotions flickering across her face but he felt too detached.

"What are we doing? What's the point in surviving? The world has gone to Hell in a hand basket." Amon looked out the window. He didn't really want an answer because he already knew it.

Survival was human instinct. The body would fight to live until its very last breath.

"What does it matter?" Amon said under his breath.

His whole family was most likely dead and he had fallen in love with a woman who was apparently destined to be his enemy. And Korra had no clue. If she knew what Amon was capable of and what he was going to do, she would kill him.

It's what Amon would do if he were her.

"It matters." Korra whispered. She placed her small hand over his that were folded in his lap.

Amon closed his eyes. He could hear Korra's steady heart beats. He could even hear the soft rustle of fabric as her chest moved up and down with each breath she inhaled and exhaled.

He could remember. Amon remember his past life and the things he'd done. He'd stripped the Avatar of her powers and led an army of non-benders against benders. All benders. Even the innocent.

Equalists didn't distinguish between man, woman, or child. No bender had been safe from his army.

Clearly, Korra didn't recall her past life. If she did, she wouldn't be touching Amon. She would run away as fast as she could.

Amon had hurt Korra, taking a piece of her, a piece of her soul, away.

Bending is evil.

The thought sounded like his own but it couldn't be. Those must have been Loh's words. She was trying to influence him like the spirit Koh had done in his past life. Koh had given Amon powers and told him what must be done in order to rid the world of bending.

And he had. Amon had won. Him and his Equalist had completely erased bending from this world. It wasn't even in the history books. There weren't any legends or myths.

"Amon, talk to me." Korra's soft voice pleaded with him.

But Amon couldn't. He couldn't tell her how disgusted he was with himself. He couldn't tell her that he had thoughts of hurting her. Korra would be terrified of him.

"We should get moving." Amon cleared his throat. His hand reached for the keys in the ignition. Korra stopped him before he could start the truck back up.

"No. Tell me what's troubling you."

"You want to know what's wrong?" Amon yelled, turning on Korra.

She narrowed her eyes and him and withdrew her hand. Amon knew he was having another episode but couldn't stop himself.

"Everything!" Amon shouted. "Every damn thing is wrong in this fucked up world! We haven't seen another living soul. All that's left is the dead eating anything that moves!"

"Well, ex-cuse the fuck out of me!" Korra snapped back. There was a fire in her eyes, a warning that she wouldn't put up with his misdirected anger.

"Dammit!" Amon punched the wheel of the truck. He knew he was wrong but he couldn't help the anger. He was angry at everything and everyone. But especially himself.

How could he have allowed Loh to give him these powers? The powers were going to corrupt him.

No. They've already corrupted me.

"You think I don't know how this feels?" Korra was yelling at him now. Her voice was loud as it bounced back at them in the confined space.

"No!" Amon snarled. "You don't know how this feels! I close my eyes and all I see is death." Amon covered his face with his hands. He couldn't look at her but he could feel her piercing gaze.

"Your death." Amon whispered so low he wasn't sure Korra had heard him at first.

"Amon," her voice was barely audible over the pouring rain. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm not dying and I'm not leaving you."

Amon took a deep breath as the words sunk in. With each day that passed, he fell in love with her more and more. How was that even possible? How was it possible to fall in love with someone in such a sort amount of time?

Love is for the weak.

Amon's hands balled into fists. The thought was true no matter where it came from. Loh was already using Korra against him. She rubbed it in his face that Korra was the Avatar, destined to be his enemy. Should Loh learn just how strong Amon felt about Korra, she'd do everything in her power to break his heart.

"Let me help you." Korra whispered into his ear. Her hands wrapped gently around his wrists as she pulled his hands away to see his scarred face.

Amon shook his head. Korra was the last person who could help him.

"Please, Amon." Her breath was warm on his cheek. His groan twitched in response.

The moment her lips touched his, Amon knew. He knew he was already too far gone. His head was underwater and there was no saving him. Korra was the ocean he was drowning in and he would willingly breath her in.

12.31.12 11:01am

Korra watched the farm pastures go by her window. The rain had finally let up and the sun was shining. She and Amon had decided to look for another motel to spend a night in. The last few nights sleeping in the truck had not been good on her back. A nice, comfortable bed was just what she needed.

Korra had no idea what state or town they were in now but she honestly couldn't find it in herself to care. The open road was ahead of them and they hadn't seen an Other in almost a week. Perhaps it wasn't as bad as they originally thought. Perhaps it was an isolated thing, some kind of illness that had only affected a few towns.

"I'm going to pull over for a minute." Amon explained as he slowed down the truck, parking it on the shoulder.

"Why?" Korra's eyes darted around, trying to see if there was any movement in the tall wheat growing on either side of the road. But the only thing that moved was the wheat swaying in the wind.

"I need to relieve myself." Amon opened the door and climbed out. He looked both ways before crossing the street. Old habits must die hard. Not a single thing was headed in their direction on the flat, straight road.

Korra let out a long sigh, deciding that it might be nice to stretch her legs for a few minutes. She climbed out of the truck and closed the door behind her.

The breeze felt warm on her skin. Unseasonable warm. The weather was seriously unbalanced. Nights were colder than ice and the days were like spring.

Oh, well.

Korra had someone to keep her warm at night and keep her company during the day. So what the weather was weird? It was weird in a good way. The warm air felt incredible. It lifted her spirits and made her feel like not everything had gone to shit.

"Korra!" Amon's shout snapped Korra out of her light mood. Her heart fell to the bottom of her stomach at the alarm in his voice.

"Amon!" Korra ran across the road, trying to find the spot Amon had disappeared to. Leaping over the wooden fence, Korra hit the wheat at a full sprint. "Amon, where are you?"

Korra's ears strained themselves, trying to hear Amon over the sound of her heart racing.

"Korra run!" Amon's voice shouted from somewhere on her left.

Korra quickly changed directions, heading straight towards him.

Pop, pop, pop!

Birds took off into the air as the gun fire went off. The shots sounded too close and too many. It couldn't have been Amon firing his gun. The sounds came from different spots.

"Amon!" Korra cried, fearing the worst.

Why had she been so foolish? Why had she pushed him away when he confessed his feelings for her? None of this would have happened. She wouldn't have been attacked by Others and then burned Amon's face in the process.

And now here they were, running through a wheat field with people shooting guns off.

Korra's heart raced faster than her feet. She should have reached him by now.

"Amon!" The sob escaped her mouth in a single breath. Korra hands shook and her body ached.

Korra burst out of the wheat into a clearing. It was like a crop circle, small and perfectly round with wheat growing on all sides.

In the center lay Amon, clutching his left arm.

"Amon!" Korra fell to his side, not bothering to look around. All that mattered was making sure Amon was okay.

"Korra, get out of here." Amon blocked her hands and pushed her back. "Get to the truck and leave."

"No." Korra slapped his hand away from her shoulder. "I'm not leaving you."

Amon let out a sigh but gave up on pushing her away.

His left arm was bleeding just below the shoulder. There was no hole where Korra expected to see a bullet wound.

"It just grazed me." Amon explained.

"Don't worry. I'll heal it." Korra smiled down at him. She had thought she would find him dead. Instead, she found him with a small injury, one she could easily take care of. It wasn't any worse than his leg had been when they first met.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A man's voice asked from across the clearing.

Korra's heart leapt into her throat.

"Shut up." Another man responded as they stepped through the wheat, fully revealing themselves.

The first one that spoke up was the younger of the two. He had dark hair just like the other man but that was about the only thing they had in common. The first was short and muscular whereas the other was tall and lean. The shorter one had dark green eyes and the other had light brown, almost golden. Yet somehow they looked similar.

"Holy shit." Korra breathed. She knew them. She'd seen them somewhere before.

"Dammit, bro. I told you not to hit him, just scare him." The second man turned on the first with anger. "He's not one of the living dead. We could use him."

"I'm sorry. I guess my aim is better than I thought." He didn't seemed to be at all bothered by the anger. In fact, he seemed happy, almost hyper about the whole ordeal.

"Great. Just great." The second man threw his hands up. "Now we have to get this injured guy all the way back to base."

"He can still walk." The other argued. "He'll be fine. Doc can heal 'em."

"That's not the point!" He advanced on his younger companion, poking him in the chest with his gun. "We were sent out to find supplies, not shoot survivors!"

"Amon." Korra hissed into his ear as the two men argued a few feet away. "Do you recognize those guys at all?"

"No." Amon hissed back, keeping his eyes on the two men. "Should I?"

Korra had that nagging feeling again. She knew she knew those guys from somewhere. Maybe she'd seen them on a billboard or a TV ad.

"Forget it. Let's just get them back to base. I'll deal with you later." The second man turned and head in Korra and Amon's direction.

"Sorry about my brother. When we first saw movement, we thought you might be one of the dead. My brother got a little excited. It's his first raid." The man tried to explain. "After I realized you were one of the living, I thought you could be dangerous and just wanted to scare you. We haven't seen another of the living in these parts since the first bomb went off."

Korra stared at him, unsure of what to say. She's was shocked to even be speaking with another person besides Amon. And she still couldn't shake the feeling she knew him from somewhere.

12.31.12 11:30am

Amon glared at the stupid boy kneeling in front of them. Oh, he knew him all right. From a different lifetime. The only reason he hadn't said anything was because he didn't want to trigger any memories in Korra.

"Are you guys okay?" The boy asked, looking directly at Amon.

"I've just been shot." Amon replied in a cool voice.

"We'll get you some help. I promise. Just come with us back to our base camp." The boy reached out towards Amon, offering his help to stand.

"Why should we?" Amon asked.

"Who are you?" Korra spoke over him.

The foolish boy stood up and looked between the two of them on the ground.

"My name is Mako and that's my brother, Bolin."

;ajsflajlkds So what do you guys think!? I'm so glad that I'm at this part in the story. I've got big, big, big things planned! Hope you guys liked it! :D