Alicia curled up in her little nest, hoping that sleep would claim her soon. For God knows how long, she had been lying in the back seat of the car, a blanket and Elyza's coat draped over her. Elyza was fast asleep in the front, her shotgun nestled across her chest. The image reminded Alicia of how children clung to toys.
Alicia's fingers drifted over the marks on her wrist, pushing away still raw memories that she could never forget. So much had happened in such a relatively short time. Matt's face still loomed in her dreams; visions of what he could have become. One of them.
And then there was Nick. Was he alright? Was her mother? Travis, Chris, Ofelia, Liza... All of them. After they had left the safe zone, they had headed east to the desert. They stopped in a few towns to replenish supplies along the way. It had seemed like a normal day. Only a few walkers wandered on the outskirts of the town. But things changed, and Alicia had become separated from them. Emotion swelled in her chest. She missed them so much. She felt vulnerable, open to attack at all times. Her eyes slid to Elyza again. At least she wasn't completely alone.
Suddenly, Alicia felt something slip across her lap in the darkness, falling to the floor with a soft thud. "Damn it!" she whispered, reaching down to pick her phone back up.
A tired groan came from the front, the car suspension creaking quietly as Elyza shifted onto her other side. "Are you always this noisy?"
"I'm sorry," hissed Alicia sharply in reply, blindly feeling about the floor for her phone. Elyza shifted again, wearing only her jacket over her thin clothes. During the day, it was warm enough, but out here at night, the car leached its heat to the outside, and Elyza refused to put on the heater in case the battery ran low. "Are you cold?"
"I'm fine."
"Wake up! Time's a'wasting!"
A dull hammering roused Elyza from her uneasy sleep, blinking in the bright morning sunlight. Her finger tightened on the shotgun trigger as she sat up straight, aiming it at the source of the noise. It wasn't the first time she had woken up to walkers around her car. But all she could see was the brunette, still thumping on the car roof. "Let's. Go. Already!" She punctuated each word with a louder thump against the roof.
"I could've shot you," grumbled Elyza as she kicked open her door and stepped out of the car, slinging her shotgun strap over her shoulder and stretching her stiff muscles.
"Could've but didn't," was the terse reply. "Now let's move."
Elyza yawned and strode leisurely around the car to the boot, popping it open and searching the bags she had stored there for more water to replenish the bottle in her rucksack. She could hear Alicia's nails tapping a fast beat off of the car roof.
"Come on!"
After weeks of being in her own company, she was unaccustomed to dealing with another person. One that wasn't trying to eat her, at least. "Should've shot you," she muttered under her breath.
"What was that?" asked Alicia, her never-ceasing tapping growing louder.
"Nothing." Elyza poured some water over her face, the chill sharpening her senses, making her more alert. She took a quick swig before closing the boot. Turning to her eager companion, she rolled her eyes and gestured for Alicia to get in.
The brunette practically flew around the car and into the passenger seat as Elyza started the car and shoved her rucksack into the backseat. Her shotgun, she kept by her side.
"It's off-road terrain for a good few miles. Don't slam your head against anything," said Elyza with a grin as she gunned the engine.
Alicia nodded, reaching up to grip the handle above the door. Elyza noticed the marks on the inside of her arm, but decided not to comment.
Helping the girl had been a split second decision. She didn't spend long in towns, choosing to load up on food and drive to quieter, more difficult to reach places. Halfway through loading up the car, she had heard the horde a street away. Usually, that was her queue to run. But the shrieks and cries of the family drew her attention. They sounded so familiar, bringing up haunting memories. She got into her car, hoping to maybe mow down a few of the walkers so they could make their escape. Then Alicia had fallen. The next thing she knew, she was hauling Alicia out of harm's way.
"So," said Alicia, dragging Elyza out of her thoughts. She sounded bored, but Elyza could sense the nervousness underneath. "What're you doing out here?"
Elyza shrugged. "Surviving. Same as you, no doubt."
"Do you have…" Alicia tailed off, catching herself. "Are you alone?"
"Yep."
They lapsed into silence for a few minutes, Elyza concentrating on navigating through tricky terrain, while Alicia tried her best not to think about what she might find back at the town.
"My family lived on a farm," said Elyza at last. "My mum was a doctor. My dad used to be an engineer before he quit." Elyza knew that engaging Alicia in conversation would help calm her nerves slightly, or at least distract her. "I was home from university for a few weeks. I was meant to be going back a few weeks ago. But then the infection happened. It was all over the cities, and we got cut off. We didn't know what was happening anywhere. Then one night, a bunch of them came. My dad bundled me into the car and went back for my mum. I waited for as long as I could but he never came out. Neither of them did."
"I'm sorry," replied Alicia.
Elyza sighed, a little smile on her face as the morning sun filtered through the windscreen. "I try not to dwell on it. Just the good times."
"Don't you get lonely?"
Again, Elyza shrugged, swerving around a large rock and onto a dirt road. "Not really. If you're alone, you just have to look out for yourself. No one else to worry about." No one else to lose.
Alicia nodded, looking distant. "We were heading east. We decided to stop off a few places to get food while the others were resting nearby."
"Do you know where?"
Alicia thought for a moment. "It took a half hour drive to get to the town from where we left Ofelia and the others. They were on a cliff, pulled over into the side."
Elyza smiled. "There's a map in the glove box. We can check out this cliff."
Alicia dug through the objects in the compartment before she withdrew the appropriate map, unfolding it and finding the town, scanning the surrounding area for the cliff. "Hopefully they've stayed there."
"Alicia," said Elyza, her tone grim. "Are you sure they'd wait if they thought you'd… you know."
Alicia fixed her with an angry glare. "Did my family see you help me?"
"I don't know."
"Then they might have. And we didn't survive everything just to be split up now."
Elyza was impressed at Alicia's insistence, her sheer determination. And it wasn't like she had much else to do. She might as well drive her to the cliff, just in case. Elyza knew that if the roles were reversed, she'd want Alicia to do the same for her. However, she tried hard not to consider the possibility that Alicia's family had not escaped unscathed.
"We'll be at the cliff in about an hour."
The hour passed with very little conversation between the pair. Elyza didn't expect much else, and wasn't particularly used to small talk so it didn't bother her. Soon enough, they were on the approach to the cliff, the car swiftly ascending the winding roads to the meeting point. She could almost feel the anticipation, the hope emanating off of Alicia. Alicia had spent the majority of the drive sitting back in her seat, either playing with the window controls, much to Elyza's chagrin, or simply staring out of the window with a faraway look. But now as they drew close, she was upright, all senses on high alert. Elyza slowed the car at the top of the cliff.
There was no one there.
"I'm sorry, Alicia," said Elyza, pulling the handbrake and turning to her passenger. She heard the door open. "Alicia!"
Alicia was running across the deserted road. She let go of her backpack, leaving it in a cloud of dust as she headed straight towards the cliff face. Surely she wasn't going to…
Elyza leapt out of the car and ran after her, her heart racing as Alicia came to a halt at the very edge. A loud, echoing scream borne of pain, frustration, fear and who knows what else ripped from her lungs, tearing loose from her throat. Elyza halted a metre or so from her. Alicia screamed until her breath ran out. She collapsed to her knees, staring out over the distant water flowing far below and the miles of land stretching out to the blue horizon. Though her scream was piercing and painful, she didn't cry. She trembled and shook, with fury or sadness, Elyza couldn't tell. But she didn't sob. She didn't crumble into the dust. She just stared out over the land below, as if in a trance.
Elyza stood close by as Alicia knelt on the edge of the cliff, her shoulders hunched forwards. She was just close enough to lunge forwards in case any of the few flaky rocks came loose.
A few minutes passed before Elyza stepped forwards and gently placed her hand on her shoulder. "We should go."
"Where?" was the whispered reply.
Elyza wasn't sure. "Somewhere. We can't stay here. We can…" She was at a loss for words. What could possibly make her feel better?
Alicia rose to her feet. Elyza could see a few cuts and scratches on her knees from when she collapsed. She was only a little shorter than Elyza, but with the sun at her back, she cut an impressive figure. "I'm going to find them." She tore her gaze from the horizon. "You can help me or not. I don't care." Alicia brushed past Elyza and began walking along the road, slinging her backpack on her shoulder. "Don't try and stop me."
Elyza's eyebrows rose. She had never met someone as determined and hot-headed in her life. Folding her arms, she could feel a slight smile tugging on her lips as she watched the girl disappear down the road and around the bend.
She returned to her car and drove around the corner. It surprised her to discover that she might actually miss Alicia if she decided to leave. In seconds, she had caught up to her, rolling the car along beside her. Alicia kept her gaze dead ahead as Elyza rolled down the window.
"How long do you think you'll last out here with barely any food or water? Or weapons?"
Alicia gripped her bag straps and kept walking. "I'll find a way."
Elyza laughed again, unable to remember the last time she had laughed as much as she had in the past few days. Not for a long while. "I won't be there to help you."
"That's fine," nodded Alicia.
"You're very stubborn."
"I've been told."
With a sigh, Elyza tapped the brakes. "Just get in."
"What?" Alicia halted in her tracks.
Elyza rolled her eyes, leaning over to open the door. "I'll help you."
Alicia paused, eyeing her suspiciously. "Why?"
"Why not? I don't have anywhere to be." Elyza sat back, drumming her fingers against the steering wheel. "Or I could just drive on. Good luck catching up with them on foot."
Alicia pondered it for a second longer before she threw her bag in the back seat and climbed into the front, closing the door behind her.
Elyza drove off without a word.
"Uhm…" said Alicia, rubbing the back of her head. "Thanks."
"No problem."