Stay Alive --Hamilton Apocalypse AU--

.:3:.

The Schuylers

There was one reason and one reason only that Angelica Schuyler and her sisters had survived as long as they did. They were smart. As soon as their aunt was taken by the virus, they left for home. They tried to help as much as they could, and none of them could really bring themselves to put her out of her own misery, but they stayed away as soon as they realized it was dangerous. 

By the time they got home, the rest of their family was already gone. It was just them. 

But they were smart. They saved their gas and they rationed their food supply and they never opened the door unless they absolutely needed to. In their backyard, they had a clothesline and area of chickens so they could get eggs. It wasn't ever fenced in when they were growing up, though, so they all three worked together as much as they could make their own barbed wire fence to keep things out. 

Angelica didn't want anything to feel like it had changed, though, so she taught her sisters anything they would learn in the old world. She'd teach them readings and how to analyze plays and how to cook, clean, take care of children. . . Anything she could to make sure they felt at least a little normal. Of course, not everything could remain perfectly the same. If they needed supplies, it was Peggy's job to launch stones and pine cones at cars to set off their alarms and draw the zombies toward the noise. It was Eliza's job to grab as many necessities as she could, and it was Angelica's job to protect the three of them. 

Going into the backyard was never much worry to Angelica since there was enough space to see if anything was coming. That was the only place Peggy and Eliza were supposed to go alone. They weren't complaining about that particularly, it was everything else that bothered them. 

"What do you think's even out there?" Peggy asked one day as she plucked clothes from their pins. 

"We've already seen what's out there," Eliza reminded her, putting the wet clothes up as Peggy took the dry ones down. 

"No, we've seen one street, a few if you count the drive back here but I mean like. . . Do you think there're others out there?" 

"Others?"

"Other survivors. It can't just be us, right?" 

Eliza sighed and paused what she was doing to glance at her sister. "I want to think there are more people like us still wandering the streets, but come on. We've seen enough to know that it's not exactly likely." 

"Well, what if it's just here that got infected? We haven't left the state, you know." 

"I know, but if it did this much damage to this area, imagine what it did to the world. The idea of there actually being other groups of people living like us is just completely unrealistic, not to mention—"

"Eliza," Peggy interrupted, "you sound like Angie. Chill, okay? I'm not saying we need to go out and look, I just want to be open to the idea. If there is another group of survivors, and I'm not saying there is, but if there is, we'd need to stick together, right?" 

Eliza thought for a second. "I guess it would make sense to keep them around. What's the worst that could happen!" 

"The worst that can happen," the oldest cut in, stepping out of the house. Neither of the other girls even heard her open the door. "is that they took the end of civilization as an end to laws. All laws." 

Peggy and Eliza looked at each other, then back at their older sister. They hadn't actually thought about what the end of the world might do to other people. 

"Stay away from anyone or thing that you see. Please?" Angelica warned. She didn't like playing the role of an overprotective parent, but her sisters were all the family she had left. She didn't want to risk losing either of them because they were too trusting. Especially Eliza, who would probably try to bring in the first person she saw. 

Peggy and Eliza both nodded, promising that they'd stay away from any other survivors. Angelica sighed again and waved them in for dinner. Unlike the survival movies they used to watch together on the weekends, they didn't have to eat from cans. Most of their food was egg-based, but it was better than canned beans over a campfire every night. 

The two younger girls finished what they were doing. As they were walking in,  Eliza rested the two baskets on her hip and made a face mocking Angelica. Peggy covered her mouth to suppress a laugh. 

"I know you're making fun of me, Liza!" Angelica called. Neither Peggy nor Eliza could hold their laughter after that.