CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Andie was staring at the two charred bodies with tears in her dark eyes; she couldn't tear her gaze from what remained of Karen. Daryl was watching her, worried about how she was gonna take this after the way she reacted to what happened in D block that morning.

"You found 'em like this?" Rick asked, standing behind Tyreese.

"I came to see Karen..." He told them. "And I saw the blood on the floor. Then I smelled them."

Andie kneeled down, her elbows resting on her knees as her head hung. She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried not to cry over her lost friend. She knew that it wasn't the time.

"Somebody dragged them out here and set 'em on fire!" Tyreese snapped. "They killed them and set them on fire!"

He turned suddenly, looking ready to lunge at Rick. Daryl moved behind him, preparing to intervene if he tried anything.

"You're cops." He said, looking between Rick and Stilinski. "You find out who did this and you bring 'em to me. You understand? You bring 'em to me."

"Hey, we'll find out who—" Daryl reached out to grab his arm, but he shoved him off.

"I need to say it again?" Tyreese questioned, and Stilinski looked over at Andie; the brunette tended to get very protective very fast, and he didn't want her getting in the middle while he was so angry.

"No. No." Rick shook his head. "I know what you're feeling. I've been there. You saw me there. It's dangerous."

"Karen didn't deserve this." He said, and Rick shook his head. "David didn't deserve it. Nobody does."

"Alright, man—"

"Man, I ain't goin' nowhere 'til I find out who did this!" Tyreese turned and lunged at Daryl when he tried to pull him away from Rick; he pinned him against the bars behind him.

Daryl held his hands out to stop the others from advancing, and Stilinski grabbed Andie to keep her in her place. Her hand's balled up into a tight fist, and he had his fingers curled around her wrist.

"We're on the same side, man." Daryl said, looking down at Tyreese as he had his vest clutched tightly in his hands. His fists were against Daryl's chest as he seethed.

Andie looked up at Stilinski. "Let go." She whispered, and he hesitated for a moment before doing as she asked.

"Hey, look," Rick started. "I know what you're going through. We've all lost someone. We know what you're goin' through right now, but you've got to calm down."

"You need to step the hell back!" Tyreese released Daryl as he turned and shoved Rick.

Andie watched them, and she saw Rick starting to lose his own composure. She snapped her fingers twice as she looked at Stilinski, and he looked down to see her motion for him to get a handle on Rick when this went south. He nodded, and she returned her focus to Tyreese.

"She wouldn't want you being like this." Rick said, and Andie saw the blow coming.

As Tyreese clenched his fists and got ready to punch Rick, she lunged and knocked into his left side. Daryl grabbed Carol, pulling her out of the way as Tyreese stumbled a few steps, but it didn't take much for him to steady himself.

He was seeing red, and he had no idea who had come at him. He turned, throwing a punch in her direction, and she stepped back to dodge the hit. His body turned with the momentum, and she bent on one leg as she swung her other out and kicked him in the back of the knee. He went down, one of his hands getting trapped between his torso and the concrete below him, and she stood one foot on his shoulder and free arm, applying just enough of her body weight to keep him down.

"You done?" Andie asked, and she let up when she heard him start crying.

The brunette took a few steps back, and Tyreese rolled onto his side. He wasn't hurt too badly, but the grief was overtaking the anger as he looked at Karen's burned corpse.

Stilinski let go of Rick as they all looked between Andie and Tyreese, but she turned her head and looked at Karen's fried body as well. She took a moment to make sure she could maintain her own composure, then she started for the exit.

"Where are you going?" Stilinski stepped into her path, forcing her to look up at him.

"To tell Carter and Zoe what happened out here."

"And it has to be you who does it?"

"Who else?" She questioned. "Anger issues, out for blood, or the one who glares at him every time they're in the same vicinity?"

He sighed as he looked down, knowing that she had a point. "Were you ever a kid?"

"You and I both know that was never in the cards for me." Andie shook her head, and he reluctantly stepped out of her way.

She was making her way through the prison, and it wasn't long before she found Carter sitting alone in a corridor. He was slumped against a wall, his breathing heavy as his fever made his body temperature skyrocket.

"You shouldn't...be next to me." He said as he looked up at her. "I don't wanna get you sick."

"That's the least of my worries right now." She told him as she brushed his hair off of his forehead, listening to his lungs and heartbeat. "Theo!"

—

"It's spread." Hershel said as they sat around the table in the council room. "Everyone who survived the attack in cell block D."

"Everyone but Andie and Theo." Glenn said as he looked over at the brunette.

"Uh... Strong immune system." She said, glancing over at Melissa and Noah.

"Sasha, Caleb, and now others." Hershel continued.

"I just put another in A block." Theo said as he walked into the room. "Uh... Merle." He told them, and Daryl's jaw tightened as Andie looked over at him.

"So, what do we do?" Carol asked.

"First things first — cell block A is isolation." Hershel told them. "We keep the sick people there like we tried with Karen and David."

"What the hell are we gonna do about that?" Daryl questioned, his gaze flickering over to Andie, knowing that she was taking Karen's murder pretty hard.

"Rick and I will look into it." Stilinski said. "It won't be easy, but we can try to make a timeline, see who was where when."

"And here I thought we were past the point of alibis." Andie muttered.

"What are we gonna do to stop this?" Carol asked.

"We can't stop it." Melissa said. "Anyone who gets it has to go through it."

"But it just kills you?" Michonne questioned.

"The illness doesn't. The symptoms do." Hershel explained.

"We need antibiotics." Melissa told them.

"We've already been through every pharmacy nearby." Andie said.

"And then some." Daryl agreed.

"That veterinary college at West Peachtree Tech — that's one place people may not have thought to raid for medication." Hershel told them. "The drugs for animals there are the same we need."

"That's fifty miles."

"It was too big a risk before, but it's not anymore." Andie reached out and swatted at Daryl's chair, making him look at her. "You up for a road trip?"

"Hell yeah, let's go. Best not waste any more time." He said as he got to his feet, and the brunette looked over at Theo.

"You know I'm in." He told her as she stood as well.

"Me too." Michonne said, and they looked over at her.

"You haven't been exposed." Melissa reminded her. "You get in a car with these three, you will be."

"Daryl's already given me fleas."

"I think that was Theo." Andie smirked. "Filthy mutt."

"You're hilarious." The Chimera flipped her off as she howled, mimicking a coyote.

"I can lead the way." Hershel said as he got to his feet, and Daryl and Andie exchanged an uneasy look. "I know where everything's kept."

"When we're out there, it's always the same." Daryl told him as Andie looked down. "Sooner or later, we run."

"I can...draw you a map." He conceded, knowing he'd only slow them down while they were worrying about how well he'd do on his prosthetic leg. "There are other precautions I feel we should take." He said, stopping them from leaving.

"Like what?" Carol asked.

"There's no telling how long it'll be before Daryl, Andie, and their group return. Wouldn't it make sense for us to separate the most vulnerable? We can use the administration building. Separate office, separate room."

"Who is the most vulnerable?" Glenn asked as he looked at him.

"The very young."

"What about the old?" He asked, trying to express his concern for Hershel.

"Oh, no, you gotta quarantine, Sheriff." Andie smirked, and Stilinski looked up at her.

"You were there when Stiles gave me that backhanded compliment when I was getting ready for my date, weren't you?" Stilinski asked, and she nodded. "You remember what I said?"

"I'm not your son, so that comment won't offend me." The brunette winked at him as she started for the door. "Nice hair, Pop!"

"Almost like he's here, isn't it?" Melissa mused, and he looked over at her.

"I should've grounded him from seeing her more often." He mumbled as she pats his shoulder, headed for the door.

"He was good for her."

After they gathered all of the kids, Andie headed over to the administration office and called out for Carl. He rounded the corner, but didn't walk over all the way; he knew he wasn't supposed to get too close to anyone who was exposed.

"What is it?" He asked as he looked at the older girl.

"I know you don't like this, but I wanted to explain something to you." Andie said as she squatted down where she was. "Despite what you may think, this is an important job."

"Yeah. Sure it is."

"It is, Carl." She insisted. "These kids didn't go through all the same things we did. Sure, they saw a lot of awful things, but most of them have had their parents protecting them... I may not agree with the way Carol's going about it, but you're right — she should be teaching them. Because they haven't had to kill walkers like you have, and they don't have the same know-how that you do. We don't know what's gonna happen or who could die from this sickness before we get back with the meds."

"You think we'll lose a lot of people?" He asked, and she took a deep breath.

"I don't know. I really don't." She shook her head. "I'm just being realistic. And it's very real that if this section of the prison ends up with any walkers, you're the one who has to take it down. I know you think you're being given the jobs that aren't as important, but that's not true. Every job that gets assigned is important, and you're the only one we have who can do this job. The rest of us were exposed or have been too close to someone who's been exposed. You're the best defense that these kids have, and that's no small thing."

Carl nodded as he looked at her. "I'll protect them, I promise." He told her, and she nodded before heading out to find Tyreese.

The brunette walked out as he was just about finished refilling the graves. Tyreese stopped and looked at her, and she took a deep breath as she looked at the cross that he was standing next to.

"I want to find out who killed her too." Andie said, and he nodded as he looked down at the bracelet in his hands. It belonged to Karen, and it was a bit burned after being in the fire. "She was a good person, and you're right — she didn't deserve what happened to her... I just wanted to make sure that you and I are alright after earlier."

"I understand what you had to do back there. No hard feelings." He told her. "I am pretty impressed though. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"My dad believed that two women who lived alone should be able to defend themselves. He taught me and my mom everything he knew." She said, and he nodded.

"Good man."

"Yeah, he was." A sad smile crossed her face before she turned around and walked away from him.