A shorter chapter, but not by much. I'm sad about finally nearing the end of the first season. So much happens in the second season, though, that I'll be able to add in more side-events. As always, read and review!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - ANDREA - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The moment Andrea twisted around to see what was the matter with her sister, that moment was the beginning of the end of her life. Her mouth twisted in horror and she could feel her heart begin to pump harder and harder as she tried to push herself out of her seat. Everyone else acted simultaneously, some falling out of their chairs in fright. She tried to crawl forward but her foot caught on her folding chair. Perhaps taking that extra time to kick her chair free saved her life. Perhaps she didn't want her life saved.

Behind her Shane was firing like crazy. In front of her, Amy had been caught by another walker; it dug its teeth into the soft skin between her shoulder and her collarbone. Andrea scrambled forward crying out the word 'no' over and over, but was pushed away by a person with a bat. Jim. It was Jim, she realized dimly. He swung the bat at the attacking walker, smashing its skull in. Then he dropped the bat, turned in a slow circle, and then shambled away.

"Oh! Oh!" Andrea cried as she scrambled forward now on her hands and knees, hair in her face, her hands frantically trying to stem the blood that poured from her sister's neck. "Oh God, oh my God."

Amy was wheezing. Amy was wheezing as she spoke, and whenever she took a breath, blood poured out into the cold, unforgiving earth. "Help me." She groaned.

"Oh God, I don't know what to do." Andrea cried desperately. Trying to decide which would should have the most of her attention. "I don't know what to do!"

Then they were both crying. Amy crying while Andrea wiped her sister's blood all over her neck, the side of her face as she grabbed her sister's head in frantic gestures. Andrea crying while she saw her sister, the one person that she had decided to live for in this shithole of a world. Her eyes stung badly but no tears would come out. Amy was struggling; Andrea could tell she was hurting. Andrea could tell she was dying.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - ANDREA - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"What would you do if I got bit?" Amy asked one day. The sisters were new to this 'living with others' thing, but they were happy, at least, to not be doing the laundry. The other women had volunteered for that.

"Bitten. If you were bitten." Andrea mused as she dunked the soup spoon back into the large pot she was fixing dinner in. She looked at Amy, her mind blank. Finally, she shrugged. "I have no idea. I haven't thought about losing you. Not that way."

"That's not good enough," Amy flicked water at her sister from where she was washing potatoes. "Tell me what you'd do."

"You'd never get bitten." The older sister said with a wry grin. "I wouldn't let you."

"But if I did." Amy pursued.

Andrea stirred the pot thoughtfully. "I would put you out of your misery, Amy. I would make sure you had the best burial anyone had to offer. I'd make sure you didn't come back. Why'd you ask?"

Amy grinned, "To see if you still liked me."

Andrea laughed and tried a nonchalant shrug, "Oh, I didn't say I liked you."

More water came her way as Amy made to splash her again. Then they were both laughing. "Hey, like is different from love, Amy."

Amy grumbled something under her breath but she was smiling so it was bound to be good. Louder, she said, "I would probably let you rot and die."

"Hey!" Andrea whined, "Here I was all sweet and you throw it in my face!"

Amy was giggling now, "And then I'd watch you come alive and you could be my pet."

"Pet?"

"Yeah, you know. You could follow me. Like Daffodil." She continued. Daffodil was Amy's dog. A golden retriever, Daffodil had been Amy's baby and it showed. Andrea had not been a part of Amy's life then, having gone off to college; that's probably why she'd gotten the dog. Why Dad had allowed her to own a dog, Andrea didn't know. He'd never allowed Andrea to have any pets.

"Please," Andrea proclaimed frankly. "You'd be too sweet for me to follow."

Amy snorted then, "Well you wouldn't be able to get close to anyone else. You're not like that, Andrea. You pick one and you get close… but only to that one."

"Who died and suddenly made you God of all knowledge?" Andrea laughed out.

Amy shrugged. "I just know things. I know you."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - DARYL - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The small group of men knew they were too late when, suddenly, screams and gunshots filled the air. He was too far behind Rick to hear him, but he was pretty sure the man asked for something from God. Though they were exhausted, Daryl found renewed strength when he heard those cries. Fuck those walkers. He'd kill every last one of them. He'd kill them so much they wouldn't know they were dead, or re-dead, or whatever. Shit.

Double-timing it, they reached the camp and immediately began to aim for heads and hope for the best. It was panic, like hell had broken loose, and God dammit stay still people and stop your incessant screaming! Rick shot first, the walker being only a foot away from where Rick arrived. Then they were in the thick of the action and the walkers spotted the new feast.

Daryl tripped over a pole from one of the unlucky tents but his aim was true and even as he crouched a walker fell where it stood, shot through the eye. Each step took him closer to his unfortunate targets. He pulled his gun up, aimed, and shot. Again and again. The others did, too, and slowly the camp was more alive and less dead.

His rage overtook him with one walker. It had been crouching over the body of that old black woman he'd actually rather liked despite what Merle thought of her. She'd been a kind woman and had even offered to help spice up his squirrels once in a while. Sure he'd said he didn't need his squirrels 'spiced up,' but he'd grown to like her. Now this walker took her. He slammed the butt of his rifle into its head once, twice, three times. Fifty times it seemed. Then he hit her in the head, too, to make sure she didn't have to endure the horribleness of becoming one of them.

Anger still infuriating him, he stepped off of their bodies and slammed his rifle into the head of another walker. Then he stood up and wiped the sweat off his brow and, lowering the rifle, he looked around. Those who were still alive clustered around the RV as if it was some sort of safe haven. He began counting them, mentally. Running the numbers in his head. Carol, Sophia, Rick and his family, Shane, Jim. Those Mexicans. That black lady, and T-Dog and the rest of his group. And the old man had somehow survived. He would survive, of course. And Andrea and Amy.

Wait just a second.

Oh fuck. There had been a lot of deaths tonight and there would soon be one more. He knew just by a glance that Amy wouldn't make it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - ANDREA - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Shhhh, shhhh. Shhhhh." Andrea cooed, stroking Amy's face. Amy wore the most pained expression that Andrea had ever seen her sister wear. She couldn't… wouldn't imagine how it felt to die. She just wanted to make Amy's passing better. She couldn't fathom, but she tried to be there. She hadn't been there in Amy's later years. She had to be here now. No matter where she'd been before. Amy would have wanted that.

"Oh, Amy." Andrea whispered. Amy gagged in response; Andrea could do nothing to help her sister breathe. Amy was so scared, and her eyes pleaded with Andrea. Why? What happened? Help me? Please be there for me? I don't know what to do. I don't know what's happening. I don't want to die. Andrea answered those questions with: "I don't know what to do, Amy."

She could tell it was taking everything for Amy to lift her hand. She could feel the touch, Amy's deathly cold fingers, as they dragged down the side of her cheek. Andrea just stared at her sister, caressing her face, wishing her to be better. But then, all so suddenly, she could see the light go out of Amy's eyes. Could see the last of her shuddering breaths. Swore she could see Amy leave her body at the moment of her death. She didn't believe it for a moment. Couldn't believe her sister was dead.

And then it sunk in and she backed up slowly. Looked at Amy's chest. It wasn't moving; no breath would ever fill her lungs again. At least not a life-sustaining breath. Amy's head dropped to the side, her eyes closed and she was gone.

"Oh." Andrea not-quite-moaned. "Oh. Oh."

She could feel a tear course down her nose. More threatened to come but they wouldn't; they were stuck behind a barrier of… something. She didn't have any words. She could only repeat that one word over and over and over again. She could barely mutter out Amy's name. Maybe she was still there. But Andrea knew she wasn't.

"Oh, no no." She started sobbing and she could hear her own sobs coming out, her throat rasping, her voice loud and low. Not her voice. "Amy!" She wailed. Hoping her voice would bring her last lifeline to the world back to her. "Amy!"

But Amy was lost. She was lost to the world. And so was Andrea.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - DARYL - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Daryl gnawed at his mouth as he attempted to stem an angry retort while he watched Andrea out of the corner of his eyes. She didn't deserve that. But while he felt sorry for her, he glowered at her incessant crying. Her sister was dead and no amount of 'perty tears' were gonna bring her back. Daryl turned around, glowering at the walker on the ground in front of him. Well fuck her and fuck the walkers and fuck the world. Andrea didn't deserve to lose her sister. Daryl deserved to lose Merle, of course. Merle was an evil son-a-bitch. Amy had been nothing but kind.

Hell, now that Merle was gone, he was feeling a connection to these people. Hell, it was the inkling of a connection, not a real one, not yet. He wasn't ready for connections yet; his only one had been with Merle, truly. But he wouldn't give up. Besides, Rick had allowed him to live despite all the shit he'd thrown the former sheriff's way. He looked around, saw all the dead bodies of people he'd almost known, and for some reason his throat choked.

Daryl's throat never choked.

He glanced over at Amy and Andrea again and cursed God for taking away such an innocent child. Man, fuck it. He hated life, but he'd chosen to live. Sure, he'd live. But as he watched Andrea mourn her dead sister, his throat got all itchy. So as to not focus on their deaths, he focused on making sure those dead wouldn't come back any longer. And his anger built up again as he picked up a pick-axe discarded by one of the survivors and swung at the head of an undead.

Hell if he let them hurt his group anymore.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - ANDREA - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I hate that Mom and Dad made you come with me." Amy moaned. "Was supposed to be just Dad'n'I."

She slouched in the car seat, red headphones stuck permanently to her ears, phone superglued to her hand. Andrea rolled her eyes and only tightened her grip on the steering wheel. "You know Dad always planned it this way."

"Then he tricked me." Amy retorted, picked up her iPod and switched through the songs.

Andrea shrugged. "I don't like it any more than you do. But let's just pretend we like each other for a minute and catch up on things. You have a boyfriend?"

"Andrea, you missed everything because you didn't care. Why should I tell you anything? Why should you care now?"

Feeling her temper begin to rise, she mumbled, "I care now, okay?"

"Doesn't count. Dad made you come, I bet." Amy grumbled. "I hate you."

Andrea sighed. Rolled her eyes. Decided that it was too much to talk sense into her sister. "Look, I don't care if you don't like me, but we're stuck together for a couple of months. Can you at least pretend to like me?"

Amy copied Andrea's eye-rolling. "Sure, I'll 'pretend' to like you," She said, quoting the word 'pretend' with her fingers, "Doesn't mean I have to actually care."

"Think of it as an adventure." Andrea mused. "Seeing colleges, seeing awesome sights. Keeping your eyes glued to your phone."

Amy laughed shortly and then promptly said. "Yeah, have fun with that... that other stuff. Me and my phone keep great company."

Andrea slowed the car down as the stoplight turned red and shook her head slowly. She didn't doubt that it'd be a while for her sister and her to be friends again. But they'd get there one day. Perhaps they'd even act like sisters. Maybe that's what Dad wanted, to make sisters out of them. Well, it wouldn't happen soon, that was for sure.

"How about we plug your iPod in? There's an adapter cable somewhere around here." Andrea rummaged in the center console of her car and Amy just stared at her.

"You like Hip-Hop? Rock? Oldies?"

Andrea shrugged. "I'm not an old hag, Amy. I'm with the times."

Amy looked at her incredulously for one long moment and then nodded, "Sure. Let me find it, though. The light's green."

Maybe this vacation wasn't going to turn out all that bad. Maybe Andrea would actually have a sister by the end of it.