No.

Forest only watched, his extended hand failing to be taken. This couldn't be real; it had to be some sick, twisted nightmare. Only, he knew it wasn't.

Overcome in terror, Winter struggled to pry the teeth from her arm. "Brother, help me!" she cried. "I can't die, please!"

The boy blinked hard, snapping back to reality. He tossed the dead flashlight aside and drew out his knife from the holster. Through squinted eyes, Forest stabbed the walker in the back of the head and it collapsed to the ground with a thud.

His eyes were trained on the still body, thoughts racing through his mind. Maybe if Forest didn't look up, he wouldn't have to face the horror that awaited him. Maybe it wouldn't have to be real.

But he knew better.

The heavy silence lasted for several moments, each too stunned to speak. Neither had the courage to look at one another as they wandered aimlessly. It was as though time had been put on pause.

Winter was the first to break the quiet. "Forest-"

"-no."

"Yes." She stopped walking and put her hands firmly over his shoulders. When he finally met his sister's eyes, she gestured to the knife in his hand. "You know what you have to do."

"You can't expect me to... k-kill you," he muttered, wiping at his eyes.

"You ain't killing me! How could you think like that? No, you're not going to kill me." Winter paused and let out a long sigh. "My arm - you need to cut it off."

Forest shook his head, stray tears falling down his cheeks. Before he could manage a response, Winter tipped his chin up and they locked eyes.

"You need to do that... now. If you don't-" she lowered her gaze- "I die."

"I know," he said in a small, trembling voice. "I know."

He set his jaw as he stared down at the blade. The boy swallowed hard, feeling guilty. If only he had offered his hand sooner, this could have been avoided. He couldn't do what was asked of him, and yet he had no choice.

"Okay, I'll do it." The words slipped past Forest's mouth and he couldn't take them back. "Let me see your arm."

With a weak smile, Winter handed him her working flashlight. "Just make it quick." She revealed the bite and looked up at the sky, her face suddenly clouded with panic. "Let's get this over with, come on."

------------------------

How he did it once, let alone twice, Forest would never know. The pain he felt in his heart when all was said and done couldn't be described with words; they would never do it justice.

His hands shook violently until they dropped the knife and flashlight. But he didn't care. After willing himself not to tear up and failing miserably, he collapsed next to his sister. Forest rubbed circles over her back while she screamed into the night. All the while, he couldn't bare to look at her. He just couldn't.

It would be more than a few minutes later before the shock had passed and the siblings finally found their feet. Halfheartedly, the boy collected the knife and flashlight. And on they walked.

"Brother," Winter said suddenly, "I-I need a bandage." Her words were dangerously low.

Forest nodded quickly and withdrew the backpack from his shoulders. "I wasn't thinking, Win, I'm sorry." He found the dressing and held it up. "I knew Autumn had brought some along."

The boy took a deep breath, and then another. Gently, he wrapped her arm with the fabric and cringed when she hissed. His reassuring smile was anything but returned. "You okay?"

"Nothing's okay." Winter watched him shrug the bag back over himself. "Nothing at all."

"I know," he said, averting his gaze. "Let's get going."

"Where?"

Forest tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"We have no idea where we are."

"Well, we can't stay here. It's dark and dangerous."

They shared a glance and continued forward, their flashlight trained on the earth ahead. While Forest carried a knife in one hand and the light in his other, Winter only held her arm. The silence had once again overcome the scene, and they couldn't help but to get lost in their own thoughts.

Follow my lead. Forest remembered Autumn's words and sighed. At the time, he had been comforted, but now he knew that they didn't mean anything. She was gone and he was the one leading instead.

"I love you."

What? The boy stopped walking and gave his sister a double-take. "Winter," he said, uneasy, "you're acting like Dad when he had an infection..."

"That's what you say?" When Forest opened his mouth, she shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Forget I said anything."

"It's kinda hard to forget. You've never said that before."

"Sure I have. You were just young." Winter started forward and her brother followed suit. "Don't count on me saying that often."

"You know, I love you too." His voice was small and hesitant. "I just..."

"What?"

"We're not alone."

Winter's eyes were suddenly critical. She followed her brothers' stare ever-so-slowly and swallowed hard.

In the early hours of the morning, a hint of light was only beginning to peek through the trees. If not for this, neither would have seen the figure of a man but a few yards away. Tall and confident, he withheld a rifle that was aiming right at them.

Forest blinked once, and then twice. This was happening. Wasting no more time, the boy snatched the handgun from his holster and pulled the trigger.

But missed.

Before he could try again, Winter took the weapon from him, found her target, and fired.

A trail of red inched down the center of his chest. Stunned, the man dropped his weapon and collapsed.

It was then that Forest realized something. All these years, his family had only killed the dead; not the living. This was a first.

He shivered as he watched the still body. "You need to shoot him in the head..." he mumbled.

Winter sighed. "Forest, I need to tell you something."

"What's been up with you lately? You've been different." The boy studied his sister, and she shifted. "What now?"

"I..." She paused, straightening up. "I just wanted to say I could really go for some worms right now."

He set his jaw. "You can't tell me that's what you were gonna say. What is it?"

"Nothing."

If not for the trauma she had recently endured, he would have pressed harder. Instead, however, Forest gave a light nod and turned his attention back to the body.

But he was gone.