CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

"Why aren't you helping Daryl take the bodies out?" Melissa asks as she stands with Andie by the gate at the top of the courtyard.

"I was trying to, but I didn't really get the feeling that my presence was wanted. I told him I'd get the supplies for the dig, and he grumbled something at me while I was walking away." The younger girl says as she turns to watch him park the trailer by the field where they're gonna be burying their dead.

"What's going on with you two?"

Andie's eyes are still on him when he turns and looks their way, almost like he could hear them despite the distance. Or like he felt her gaze on his face... Or maybe he's just waiting for her to show up with the shovels.

Melissa looks between the two of them as Andie raises her hand and waves at Daryl, forcing a small smile to pull at the corners of her mouth. He stands there a moment longer before turning around, and she can't tell if he gave his usual nod or not.

"He hates me, that's what's going on." Andie says as she turns back to Melissa.

"He's awkward, honey." The older girl refutes. "Just talk to him."

"That's not really a strong personality trait for either of us..."

"I thought you said talking to him was easy."

"It used to be." Andie sighs as she adjusts her hold on the items in her hands. "I gotta get the shovels over. Thanks for walking with me."

A while later, Andie and Daryl are both wearing gloves like Hershel told them to, and they both have a bandana tied around the lower half of their faces. They're digging graves side-by-side, and Daryl can tell that the brunette's struggling with something.

"Take a break if you need to." He tells her, and she glances his way.

"That would be the exact opposite of helpful."

"The exact opposite of helpful would be me having to stop to carry you back after you pass out."

"Well, I'd hate to be an inconvenience for you." She mutters, continuing to dig.

"That wasn't what I meant." Daryl looks over when she doesn't stop or slow down. "You're gonna hurt yourself."

"I'll survive."

"At least go get some water."

"Much as I appreciate the concern — forced as I'm sure it is — the problem isn't exhaustion or thirst." She tells him, and he slams his shovel into the ground.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means she's stubborn and she's a bitch." Theo says as he walks over to them with a shovel in his hands. "Why are you actively trying to pick a fight?"

"Go fuck yourself, that's why." Andie says, not letting up from her job.

"You're not the one burying your boyfriend."

"I wasn't aware you had a boyfriend."

"You know what I meant."

"No, actually, I don't." She argues. "I don't have a boyfriend to bury, but you can keep being a prick about Carter if you want."

"I just think it's a little messed up that you're leading him on, stringing him along." He says, and she stops digging as she looks up at him.

"Excuse the fuck out of me for not wanting to spend the last six months on my own." Andie says, and he nods, letting her yell at him. "But if I had known that befriending someone of the opposite sex was gonna be a come-on, I never would've said shit to Carter and Zoe that day... I lead him on. Fuck you, you're the one being pissy over one of the girls you were screwing."

"You feel any better yet?"

"Oh, yeah, tons. Because bickering with you gets the screams out of my head." She says as she climbs out of the freshly dug grave. "Now help me put a body in the ground."

Daryl watches them for a moment longer before returning to his task. And the younger two start refilling the hole after they place one of their people inside of it.

"It's not the same thing, you know?" Theo says, and Andie moves to the next spot to start digging again.

"What's not?"

"Today...and whatever you keep replaying in your head." He tells her, and her movements halt for a moment. "You like to think you're a bigger mystery than you are."

"Actually, I think it's kinda hard to be a mystery to your stalker." Andie says as she starts digging again. "You think you know me so well, then you shouldn't have to ask. So why don't you shut up and get to work?"

"You said you can't get the screams out of your head."

"Do you want me to kick your ass?"

"You told me about this one yourself." He reminds her.

"I was under the misconception that you were a better person than you are." She says, and he watches her for a moment longer. She isn't just angry or sad because they lost even more people this morning. She's scared.

"This isn't about cell block D...or the fire."

Andie chucks her shovel at him, and Daryl looks at the younger two again as Theo side-steps out of its path. "Watch your mouth." She warns, and the older man's eyebrows furrow

"He's still alive, Andie."

"Why don't you go see if Stilinski needs some help?" She suggests as she walks past him to get her shovel. "Because I won't miss next time."

"Finding you was the only thing he cared about. Trust me, he's not dying before he sees you again."

"Theo."

"I'm going." He sighs. "It wouldn't kill you to have a little hope, you know."

"It might." Andie mutters as she gets back to work, and Daryl looks at her once Theo's gone. "I may not throw a shovel at you, but I will still kick your ass if you start prying."

"Is it prying to ask if you're okay?" Daryl asks, and she sighs as she looks over at him.

"I'm alive." The brunette shrugs. "Right now, that's all I got."

Rick walks over to the two of them not long after Theo leaves, and Andie tries to tune out their conversation. She doesn't want to hear them talk about whether or not Rick's fit to take on any authoritative responsibilities in the camp.

All three of them turn when Maggie starts yelling for them. They see the walkers leaning against the chain-link fence, and it's starting to give under their weight. Daryl grabs his crossbow and takes off running after Rick, but Andie heads in the opposite direction as she calls for Theo.

Sasha, Tyreese, and Glenn are with the other three, and Noah pulls hard on the rope to open the main gate in and out of the prison. Theo drives the truck out with Andie kneeled down in the bed, and then Noah shuts the doors behind them.

The fence is going down, and the six inside are struggling to keep it up. Andie starts yelling at the walkers when Theo stops the truck, and a few of them turn to face the werewolves. She starts firing off bullets, hitting every walker that she aims at, and the gunfire draws more of them their way. As the dead get closer, Andie holds onto the side of the truck, and Theo drives a little farther out before parking again.

After running through her second clip, Andie tells Theo to stay put. She uses her hatchet to kill the walkers that get close enough, and he watches to make sure they don't end up surrounded.

"Hey, we're good!" Daryl yells when enough of the walkers have left the fence. It's no longer in immediate danger of tipping. "Get out of there!"

—

"Hey." Andie walks over to Rick as he's taking care of things where they were keeping the pigs. It isn't safe to have them anymore, at least for a little while, because there was at least one that was sick with the same thing that Patrick died of. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Uh, sure." He nods.

"Ever since we got more kids in the prison, I've been having Carl look in on them. He tells me anything that he thinks is worth mentioning. Usually, it's not too concerning. I mean, they get into trouble every now and then, but I usually just go straight to their parents if I think it warrants it." She tells him. "It's normally pretty harmless. Kids learn plenty all on their own."

"I know your arrangement with Carl." He says. "I appreciate it too. I think it makes him feel like he has a little more responsibility, but it's nothing a normal big brother wouldn't be doing."

"That was the goal. He's a good kid, wants to help." She takes a deep breath. "Things get hard when lines start to blur. Pulling him back a step or two was a smart move."

"He tell you something you think warrants concern?" He asks, and she nods.

"Yeah, actually."

"Maybe you should take it to the council."

"Part of the council might be a concern. I want your take before I do anything else."

"Mine?" He squints as he looks at her. "Over Daryl's."

"We don't get along much lately."

"You still work well together."

"Yeah, I know, but... I'm worried that he and I might not be the best judges here." She admits. "I want someone who knows her, but is capable of being a little more...subjective."

Rick turns to face her with a furrow brow. "Has Carol done something?"

"I guess you suggested that Carl go to story-time yesterday." She says, and he nods. "Well, he snuck in and Carol didn't know that he was there... She pulled out a collection of knives after one of the kids' parents left the room. She's going behind the parents' backs, teaching the kids how to use weapons without their permission. She's been teaching them how to kill walkers. Carol saw him in there, asked him not to tell you. He told me, he thinks she should be allowed to do it."

"Did Carl know that you'd tell me?"

"Yeah." She nods. "He thinks you should know, but he and I have this agreement already. He had more to tell me anyway, said I could pass this along to you."

"What do you think?" He asks, and she takes a deep breath as she looks down.

"I think... I understand why she wants them to know how to protect themselves. I mean, her daughter didn't, right? And that's how she lost Sophia. So, I get it... But I think I maybe can't step far enough back to think about the other parents."

"I think she may be onto something." Rick tells her, and her shoulders sag with relief. "That's good news to you?"

Andie nods. "It's always good news to hear that I'm not letting my emotions cloud my judgment too much." She tells him. "It could get people killed."

He looks over at the younger girl as she leans against the post, her hands resting on top of it. Her fingers are anxiously tapping the wood, and he can tell she has a lot on her mind. "Are you alright, Andie?" He asks, and she offers him a weak smile.

"It's not really an option not to be anymore."

"Maybe you should take a step back." He suggests. "Skip the next run. Go lay down a while."

"Being alone with my thoughts..." She shakes her head. "Sounds like a bad idea."

"Anything you wanna talk about?" He asks, and she huffs as she looks up. "Just because I stepped down as leader doesn't mean I stepped down from caring about you, kid."

"I'll be alright." She tells him. "There was one more thing about the kids, if you're up for it. I think a parent might have better insight on this one — especially one with a kid in this place." She glances behind her.

"The other thing Carl told you about the younger ones?" He asks, and she nods. "What is it?"

"They were naming the walkers outside the fence." She says, and his eyebrows furrow as he takes a step forward.

"What?"

"I guess they saw one in a work uniform, and it still had a nametag on its shirt. So, they thought that the others should have names as well." She explains. "There were a few of them standing by the fence, looking at the herd...and they started pointing out walkers, telling the others the names that they had given them. I don't know if that should be concerning, or if it's just kids trying to make sense of the world we live in now. I don't know much about kids... I don't think they shouldn't be humanizing the walkers that way, I just— I-I don't know."