Andrea and Amy had a little brother. A very little brother. When the world ends Andrew Harrison is just six, sick with a chronic illness and very unprepared for living in this new world. Andrew only has his sisters, they're all he's ever known until...
I sit next to Andrea, kneeling by Amy as she lay on the ground.
I didn't understand what was happening, why everyone was so sad.
"Andrea."
Andrea didn't respond to me.
"It's Amy's birthday," I whisper. "And you're here."
I wipe away a few stray tears that fell from my face. "You're here this year."
Andrea lets out a choked sob and wrapped her arm around me, pulling me into her side.
Someone kneels beside me and I look up to see Lori.
"Andrea. Andy."
Andrea doesn't even look at her but I do and Lori wipes away some of my tears.
I slap her hand away, upset, and frustrated.
"I'm so sorry. She's gone. You got to let us take her. We all cared about her and I promise we'll be as gentle as we can." Lori tells us, not at all offended by my slap.
We don't reply to her and she sighs, standing up and patting Andrea's back before ruffling my hair and leaving.
We sit in silence for a few more minutes.
I want Amy to sit up and tackle me into a hug and tell me that she's joking around and that she's okay.
I have her blood on my skin. It's sticky and uncomfortable. It stains my clothes a pale pink.
I hear footsteps from behind me and I see Rick stoop beside us.
"Andrea-"
Andrea pulls out the gun that pa gave her and aims it at Rick.
She cocks it, voice hoarse as she speaks.
"I know how the safety works." She whispers as she pulls me closer to her.
Rick gets very quiet as he puts a handout and slowly backs away.
Dale comes by to pay his respects. He tells me a story about his wife and how she died.
He said that we were the first things to come into his life that he cared about.
"Andrew needs his meds," Andrea tells Dale. "One white capsule, two orange ones."
Dale nods and stands up. "C'mon Andy."
I don't want to leave Amy. I can't. But I know that I have to.
I'm experiencing a new type of pain but this one won't go away with pills. This pain in my heart can't be fixed with physiotherapy or surgery.
It hurts and I want to cry. I want to scream and throw up at the same time. I want to hurt somebody, kick and punch and blame them. I want mama and pa to come back and tell me that they're sorry that they abandoned me with Amy and Andrea and that they love me. I want to not be sick anymore and be able to play with Carl.
I want things to be the way that they were before the dead started walking.
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