A/N: Thanks for all the Rickdrea love! It made my day to know you all still care. Honestly, the ship needs more of that. :(

Also, in regard to the size of my chapters: I really do apologize for the brevity of them. School really doesn't make things easier. I'm also writing a novel on top of this fanfiction (and many others I will get back onto someday). I really do try to make them longer. I'm sorry! Hopefully I will improve...

Note: This chapter does contain heavy swearing. If you're offended by such content, proceed with caution.

Chapter Eight

Andrea stilled beside him.

Through the thin wooden walls, she could discern muffled hoots and hollers, coupled with the commonplace comings and goings of the forest about them.

She peeped her head up, eyes narrowing. A band of four men were circling the perimeters, faces scrunched in what was arguably animosity. "What do we do?" Andrea breathed, glancing up at Rick.

Rick's tall frame hugged the contours of the window as he stood, judging the foreboding men outside. He looked down at her. "We'll think of something."

"We know you're in there! No use in hidin'!" One of the men hollered from outside. "We saw ya'll movin'! Don't you dumb shits think you can get away with this..."

Rick swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing roughly. His stare flickered to Andrea, and she nodded. Rick cleared his throat, his lips quavering in a sneer. "Get away with what?"

The same man, evidently the leader, shrieked again. "Takin' up our home to make your own, doing hell knows what!"

Andrea rose then, her own form curving against the silhouette of the window. It was pointless, now that the aggressors outside knew they were there, but Andrea did so anyway. "Rick," she whispered. "We have to do something before they kill us."

Rick raised a hand at her in acknowledgement, then refocused to the band outside. "What makes you think we'll leave?"

There was a pause. The man spoke once more, cackling. "Oh, I don't know...maybe the fact that there's four of us with loaded weapons, and two of you?"

Rick squeezed the bridge of his nose, cursing beneath his breath. "We aren't in the position to leave-"

"Like I give a shit!" The man screamed. "This place is our home. You and your pretty little girlfriend got ten seconds 'till we take care of you two ourselves."

Despite the dourness of the situation, Andrea couldn't stifle a blush at the stranger's reference to her. Her leader, however, was unmoved. "Rick...come on. We have no other choice."

"You're not well enough for us to go," Rick pressed, taking his Python from his holster.

Andrea noted this, and blanched. "God, Rick, you aren't really going to fight, are you?" she whispered.

"One...Two..." came the irritated sound from the man outside. "I don't see nobody movin'!"

"Rick-" Andrea started, yet was silenced as a bullet whirled through the wood and into the room. "Rick, come on!"

Rick paid her no heed, his eyes transfixed to the men outside.

"Three...Four...Five!"

Over the sound of the boor's counting, Rick began to reload his weapon. Andrea groaned in response as her head rattled against the gunfire. She pulled out her knife from the waistband of her pants, glowering. "You're so stupid, Rick."

By now, the man was almost finished counting. Rick seized Andrea's wrist, hauling her into the only other room in the house. His eyes glinted in the gloom, bearing a deranged and animalistic fervor.

"Eight...Nine...Ten!"

The sound of the door meeting the wall caused Andrea to jolt. A chorus of men shouted and cursed, swaggering across the floor with an almost humored craze. Their sneakers bit the floorboards, receding and drawing close in a constant motion. She peered through a slat in the door, lips wilting in a frown.

"Damn bitch ate my peaches!" One of the men spat. He flipped the box of goods over, kicking aside the barren can. "I'll kill her, Jon, I'll kill her..."

"Calm yourself, Mick," Jon, apparently of whom owned the title of "leader", said. "They can't be far."

There were only two in the room, which most likely implied that the others were keeping watch. Andrea's fingers itched about the hilt of her knife.

"Clear the second room, see if they're in there," Jon ordered Mick, turning their back to them.

Rick pushed Andrea behind him with a sweep of his arm, much to her chagrin, and tensed near the entrance. A sliver of his face was radiated in the onyx, revealing a quarter of a frown.

The moment the door creaked open, Rick emptied a bullet into Mick's skull.

Shouts reverberated from outside as the remaining members scrabbled up to the entrance of the shack.

"What the hell...?" Andrea heard Jon hiss as he clopped across the floor.

Rick leveled his gun, clearly preparing for another kill. Andrea bunched her muscles and inched beside Rick, her eyes darting to the open door.

Jon's shadow flashed across the entryway.

Before Rick could stop her, she leaped.

Andrea landed atop the vagrant, her hands flying across his face as she battered him down. He cursed, and tossed her aside as he fumbled for his gun. Andrea huffed as she made impact, then released a gasp upon feeling the weight of metal biting into her temple.

"Take one more step and I'll kill her, I swear to God," Jon hissed, nearly frothing at the mouth. His hot breath ricocheted across her ears, and she resisted the urge to recoil.

Andrea's eyes darted to the second room. Rick emerged from the shadows, his eyes locked to hers in a smoldering glare.

"Move and she's dead!" Jon shouted, taking a few paces back. "Put your gun down, now!"

Rick remained still, gun in his hands.

"Now!" Jon hollered, further drilling the barrel of the gun into her temple.

Rick's blue stare remained on her as he growled, "Leave her alone."

"One last shot for you to drop your gun or she's dead," Jon wheezed into her ear.

Rick kept the weapon trained to the opposing man's skull, unblinking.

"Time's up," her attacker clipped. Andrea writhed from his grasp, driving the knife into forearm. Jon screeched, releasing his gun as he coddled his limb.

Rick fired two times, each bullet making contact with the other members of the group.

Andrea scrambled for Jon's gun, aiming it at her former assailant. Before she had the change to even tap the trigger, Rick was upon him.

"Place was a dump anyway," Rick snarled. He snatched a fistful of the man's shirt, shoving him to the wood. His fist came down upon Jon's windpipe. The impact cracked about the room, sending Andrea's head whirling.

Silence embraced the two survivors, sending them both tight-lipped and trembling. Andrea looked up at Rick, a sort of enlightened gleam in her eyes. She yearned for something, anything, to occupy the nefarious void of quiet. In its place, she whispered, "Shit."

"That was too damn close," Rick remarked, striding across the room to help Andrea to her feet.

"Got that right," she whispered, taking in the sight. "What do we do now?"

"We leave," Rick muttered, sauntering across the room to retrieve the toppled cardboard box.

"Excuse me?" Andrea quirked a brow. "All this shit we just went through for this place, and you suggest we leave?"

"Walkers will be coming this way because of the gunfire. We gotta move," Rick said. "I didn't want to have to, but it's our only way. Unless you want to wait here and find out what happens in about thirty minutes..."

"Just stop," Andrea huffed. She shoved open the front door, stumbling down the steps as she went. "I can't believe this."

"What, Andrea? What cant you believe?" Rick barked, hurrying down the steps to reach her.

"That you would go to all this trouble just for us to leave again!"

"They were gonna kill us if we stepped one foot out of that damn house-"

"And they would of killed us if we didn't, anyways! We could of stayed there, Rick. Negotiated, or something, at least." Andrea retorted back.

"Negotiated? With those idiots? Yeah, right," Rick chuckled coldly, then began to stride ahead of her. "This is why I make the decisions and you don't..."

"What did you just say?" Andrea asked, struggling to keep up.

"You heard me," Rick snarled.

"What? Is it because I'm a woman? If that's it, then I think you should-"

"It's because you don't have any goddamn sense in your head!" Rick lashed, whipping around to loom above her.

Andrea winced. A spear of pain weaseled through her heart, latching onto her very core, threatening to render it asunder at any moment.

Rick seemed to note the wounded look on her face, and his own curdled in shame. "Andrea, I didn't mean it. I'm just stressed, and-"

"Shut up," Andrea silenced him. "I need you to shut the hell up right now. As it is, I don't even want you looking at me until we get back with the group. Understand?"

Without awaiting a reply, Andrea whisked past him and scurried further into the woods.

Rick watched her blond head regress further from view, gnawing on his lower lip.

And, seeing no other option, he followed her.

A/N: I tried to make it longer this time. I hope it's okay. Please review! :)